Month: July 2017

The Oregon House has approved a bill that would provide greater safety measures for dams in the state that are considered “high-hazard.” The legislation, sponsored by Representative Rick Lewis (R-Silverton), requires owners and operators of state-regulated Oregon dams that are “high-hazard” to develop an emergency action plan, with periodic plan review and updates. “This legislation

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Public health officials say an Oregon woman was bitten by a rabid bat. The Benton County Health Department says the attack happened Sunday, after the woman noticed the bat acting strangely on a porch north of Corvallis. The Gazette-Times reports (https://is.gd/iht08F ) the Oregon State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tested the bat Monday and

(Update: Fire holds at 200 acres; update on new fire burning along John Day River) As high temperatures, low humidity and a red flag warning continued Thursday, crews continued with patrolling and mop-up throughout the Grizzly Fire area northwest of Prineville. The 195-acre fire area was reported at 75 percent containment Wednesday night, with firefighters

The Oregon State Parks Foundation today announced the publication of Oregon Coast — A Legacy Like No Other in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the signing of Oregon’s “Beach Bill” on July 6 , 1967. The 362 mile long Pacific coast beach of Oregon is effectively the longest of Oregon’s 255 State Parks, and

The Oregon Senate has voted to support paying workers fairly for their extra hours at work and establish consistency for how employers pay for employees’ overtime. House Bill 3458 – which passed the Senate Wednesday on a bipartisan vote – directs employers in manufacturing, seafood and food processing sectors to pay the greater of daily

The Oregon Senate on Wednesday passed House Bill 2356, clearing the way for the landmark consumer legislation setting new rules for debt buyers to go to the governor for her signature, said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. Unfair debt collection practices have scored near the top of the Oregon attorney general’s list of frequent consumer

A 32-year-old Redmond man was cited for child neglect Wednesday, accused of leaving his 4-month-old baby in the car for several minutes while visiting the Bend Home Depot as temperatures outside rose toward 90 degrees, police said. Officers responded to the home-improvement store on North Highway 97 on a report of an unattended infant inside

The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation has awarded Saving Grace a $10,000 grant to support Central Oregon parents who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or stalking through its supervised visitation and safe exchange program, Mary’s Place. “The new grant award to Saving Grace from Cow Creek will fund additional hours for the Mary’s

The streets of downtown Bend have been due for maintenance, officials say, so crews will work overnight Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. to start a paving project for Wall and Bond streets. They will stop construction during the Bend Summer Festival on Friday and Saturday, but will continue after and will

The Oregon House approved legislation Wednesday to combat the growing opioid addiction crisis. The final bill included concepts first introduced by Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend. “Opioid addiction is an epidemic in this country and particularly in Oregon where we have one of the highest per person prescribing rates,” said Rep. Buehler. “Not only does this

The Oregon House has approved a pair of bills that will expand the Wildfire Damage Housing Relief Program. The program, first established in 2015, provides financial assistance to low-income Oregonians who suffer a loss of housing due to a wildfire. HB 2742 expands eligibility for the program to include families with an annual household income

If you feel like this Fourth of July in Bend seemed wilder than usual, you could be right. “Worse is a relative term, according to everybody and where they’re at, and what they experience,” Bend police Sgt. Tom Pine. “But it certainly was a very, very busy Fourth of July.” The Bend police and fire

The Cultus Lake boat launch was closing at 10 p;m. Wednesday, until further notice. It’s being shut down while 500 dead and dying trees are removed from the area. The Cultus Lake Campground has been closed since June because of hazardous trees. Every five years, the U.S. Forest Service has a plant pathologist check certain

(Update: Comments from neighbor, police) Bend police are investigating reports of a man breaking into at least three houses in the northeast part of town and sleeping in them over the last few days. The unidentified man has been sleeping in garages, and in one case ate food out of a homeowner’s refrigerator, police said

The city of Redmond said Wednesday it has officially reduced the speed limit along N. Business 97 (6 th Street) from NW Jackpine Avenue (North Y) to NW Quince Avenue from 45 to 40 mph. The city said the decision to reduce the allowed speed limit was in response to a recent speed study recommendation

Police spotted a stolen motorcycle in Madras and tried to stop it early Wednesday morning, triggering a five-mile high-speed pursuit, a crash and the arrest of the Warm Springs man riding it as he tried to run away, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said. Madras police and sheriff’s deputies tried to conduct a traffic stop

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon House has passed a transportation bill that would raise $3.8 billion in new tax and fee revenue over seven years for repairs to the state’s roads and bridges. The Register Guard reports Wednesday (http://bit.ly/2tSM2HI) that House Bill 2017 now heads to the Oregon Senate, where it’s expected to pass. The bill

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Insurance companies in Oregon would be required to cover abortions and a variety of other reproductive services at no cost to the patient under a $10 million reproductive health bill approved by the state Legislature. Oregon already has among the most liberal abortion laws in the nation, which are absent of otherwise

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Three Republicans in the Oregon House have officially launched an effort to block a multimillion-dollar health care tax to fund Medicaid before it can go into effect. Reps. Julie Parrish, Cedric Hayden and Sal Esquivel filed initial paperwork with state elections officials on Wednesday for a voter referendum on House Bill 2391,

DAMASCUS, Ore. (AP) – A police dog was injured when a barricaded suspect struck him with a pipe during an arrest. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that 35-year-old Mario Reyes-Orozco was arrested with the help of the dog after he locked himself in his Damascus home on Tuesday armed with an ax and a