Month: March 2017

Residents of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District may see reduced fire insurance rates as a result of a recently completed survey by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). ISO is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire departments, insurance regulators and others by providing information about risk. ISO has evaluated and classified over 46,000

WARRENTON, Ore. (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard helped rescue a diver near the entrance to Tillamook Bay. A Coast Guard spokesperson in Seattle says two boats and a helicopter were dispatched Sunday after an alert that multiple divers were in distress. After the rescue of the first distressed diver, the search continued until the

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon lawmakers are considering a new approach to addressing the nation’s student debt problem. Senate Bill 1034 would allow Oregonians with federal or private student loans to deduct the total amount of interest and principal they paid throughout the year from their state taxable income. It expands the existing federal student-loan

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Democratic lawmakers in Salem say last week’s failure of the GOP health care overhaul hasn’t changed their plans to protect women’s access to abortions under their insurance plans. House Bill 3391 would require Oregon health plans to fully cover reproductive health services such as abortions, birth control and pap smears at

Three Prineville teens escaped serious injury in the rollover crash of their car west of Prineville Monday morning, but all went to the hospital and the driver was cited in lieu of custody on charges of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies and medics were dispatched around 9 a.m.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led a hearing Tuesday on reducing traffic fatalities in Oregon and throughout the country. During the hearing, Walden cited the state’s decades-high number of vehicle-related deaths in 2016 as need for innovative solutions such as self-driving cars to improve the safety of Oregon’s

A group of West Coast governors and mayors, and Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley took stands Tuesday in opposition to President Trump’s executive order aimed at putting American jobs ahead of what the president called overly burdensome federal environmental regulations. Gov. Kate Brown released the statement below with California Governor Jerry Brown, Washington

In conjunction with National Public Health Week in April and Mental Health Month in May, the Deschutes County Public Health Advisory Board is pleased to announce its 2017 Health Hero award recipients. The awards, which are presented annually, honor an individual and a group that demonstrate excellence in promoting and protecting behavioral and public health.

(Updated: Adding economist background on what rates include, how compiled) Following the state’s lead, unemployment levels dropped significantly across the High Desert in February, the Oregon Employment Department’s regional economist said Tuesday. Deschutes County saw its rate plummet to the lowest level on record (comparable county records only go back to 1990). Although the rates

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon State Park officials say a record amount of people camping out may lead to a price hike for popular campground sites, and lower rates for least-used sites. The Salem Statesman Journal reports (http://stjr.nl/2o1REvO ) that House Bill 2318 would make park fees more flexible. The prices for popular sites could

Mid Oregon Credit Union, the member-owned financial institution headquartered in Bend, announced Tuesday that they have opened their seventh community branch in Sisters, conveniently located across the street from the post office at 703 N Larch. Residents in Sisters will have access to a full-service Mid Oregon Credit Union branch that offers many conveniences including

Around 40 to 50 people packed a room in the Deschutes Public Library on Monday evening for the first meeting of the High Desert Chapter for the National Organization for Women. The High Desert Chapter is being formed to promote positive change locally and is based on the national group’s goals of creating full equality

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A judge has sided with two environmental groups in a ruling that halts a timber sale in southern Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest. The Statesman Journal reported (http://stjr.nl/2ncLpla ) Monday that Judge Jolie Russo ruled that the forest must conduct a more comprehensive study of environmental impacts caused by the proposed logging

Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday denounced the announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the Trump administration would begin withholding Department of Justice grants from “sanctuary cities” and counties. Their announcement said, “Sanctuary cities and counties are those that choose not to deputize their local law enforcement as federal immigration

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Portland police officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy last month testified that he warned the teen several times to keep his hands away from his waist. According to transcripts released Monday, Officer Andrew Hearst told a Multnomah County grand jury he believed Quanice Hayes’s hand movements were intentional and

Like many in Bend, Kristin Holton has a familiar struggle. “Obviously I’m practiced at this, because I’ve been desperately on a waitlist for 11 months. It’s been rough,” she said Monday. Hilton is a single mom of four, sharing a one-bedroom place with three of her children. For her, and many others, affordable housing in

RIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) – Napheesa Collier scored 28 points, Gabby Williams had 25 and UConn advanced to its 10th consecutive Final Four with a 90-52 victory against Oregon on Monday night. Top-seeded UConn (36-0) will face Mississippi State on Friday night in Dallas in the national semifinals. The win was the Huskies’ 111th consecutive victory

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A 25-year-old man who has been allowed to stay in the U.S. because he was brought into the country illegally as a child will be released on bond after his weekend detention. Rose M. Richeson, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Monday that Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez was

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel filed charges Monday against a Redmond man accused of hitting his girlfriend on the head with a gun last Friday near the entrance to Obsidian Middle School. The alleged assault prompted a lockout and evacuation, standoff, SWAT team call-out and the suspect’s eventual surrender. Steven Arce, 29, was charged

A U.S. District Court judge approved a landmark settlement agreement Monday between people with disabilities and the Oregon Department of Transportation that holds the promise of making communities throughout the state more inclusive of people with physical disabilities, the lawsuit’s supporters announced. The agreement — the largest commitment to accessible transportation in state history–compels ODOT