Month: August 2017

Oregon Housing and Community Services on Tuesday has released findings from the 2017 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, which took place in January. Every two years, communities across Oregon come together to identify the number of homeless individuals living in sheltered and unsheltered locations, demographic trends surrounding homelessness, and the unmet needs of homeless households. It’s at

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission said Tuesday its preliminary data shows a 43 percent ($737,000) increase in distilled spirits sales year over year from 57 retail liquor stores along the path of totality from Wednesday, August 16 through Sunday, August 20 . Statewide, the agency has tracked more than $10 million in spirits sales during

The Prineville Police Department is joining other Oregon Law Enforcement agencies in a statewide safety belt and traffic enforcement “Blitz” from August 22 nd to September 3rd. This enhanced enforcement is provided through overtime funding from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the USDOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This enforcement focuses on proper use

The Great American Eclipse is behind us, and as the crowds leave and Madras returns to normal, many are saying it wasn’t as crazy as they expected. “It was amazing, amazing. I thought it would be chaotic, but it wasn’t at all,” Baryl Knaugh said Tuesday. It took awhile for the crowds to hit. “We

About 1.3 million gallons of retardant have been dumped on fires in Central Oregon so far this year. That is a record. It’s not because we’ve had more acres burn this year, but because many of the fires, such as the Milli Fire, are close to homes. That’s what made the Milli Fire a high-priority

It is camping season, but this is decidedly different: Some Sisters-area residents have been camping out at Sisters Middle School for about five days, since being evacuated from their homes last Friday. The American Red Cross has set up a shelter for those who were forced to leave their homes Friday, providing a place to

Bethlehem Inn announced Tuesd ay that they are once again able to accept in-kind food donations in support of its Emergency Meal Program that served over 77,000 meals last year! The Inn is now settled into their temporary buildings, which will be “home” for the next year while the new building is under construction. The

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s governor and the head of the state police defended the state’s legal marijuana industry in letters to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has been hinting at a crackdown on states like Oregon that have legalized pot in defiance of federal law. Gov. Kate Brown noted that Sessions’ earlier letter to

BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) – Authorities have designated a wildfire burning in southwestern Oregon as the top firefighting priority nationwide.  Five homes have burned in the 98,000-acre (153-square-mile) blaze near Brookings, a coastal town near the California border. Greg Heule, a spokesman with the Incident Management Team, says more than 700 people are under mandatory evacuation. The wildfire

LAS VEGAS (AP) – A federal jury in Las Vegas has refused to convict four accused gunmen in a 2014 standoff with federal authorities near the Nevada ranch of anti-government figure Cliven Bundy. In a verdict that stunned Bundy supporters, the jury on Tuesday acquitted Ricky Lovelien and Steven Stewart of all 10 charges against them. Defendants

(Update: Missing man’s body found) The body of a 33-year-old Sisters man who disappeared at Suttle Lake west of Sisters more than a week ago has been recovered, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said Tuesday. The body of Ben Hendrickson was recovered from the lake around 8:40 a.m., Adkins confirmed in a post to the

Whatever they thought of Monday’s total solar eclipse. the vast majority of KTVZ.COM Poll respondents say they wouldn’t travel – at least not very far – to see another one. Here are the results: Would you travel to see another total solar eclipse? Yes – 21% (137 votes) No – 79% (522 votes) Total Votes:

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Police arrested a Eugene man accused of threatening a worker with a paintball gun during a robbery. Prosecutor David Schwartz said in court documents that Benjamin Martinez smashed a glass door Tuesday morning to enter the business called Paintball Palace. They say he left with the paintball gun and a paintball mask. The

A statewide ban on open fires in state park campgrounds was lifted Tuesday, but officials said fire restrictions are still in effect in many state parks, and restrictions from other authorities often apply to state parks as well. Visitors planning a trip to a state park or the ocean shore during the rest of the

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) – Gov. Kate Brown plans to visit southeastern Oregon next week to hold a ceremonial signing of the state’s $5.3 billion transportation bill. The bill includes $26 million for a major rail transload facility in Malheur County. Those in the onion industry tell the Capital Press newspaper (https://is.gd/fY5oqM ) that the facility is

Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in reaction to President Trump’s Monday night address on the future of the war in Afghanistan: “This evening, in his address to the nation on the future of the war in Afghanistan, President Trump outlined a vague framework for a

(Update:Sheriff releases pilot’s name) Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies late Monday identified the pilot killed in Saturday’s plane crash south of Madras Airport as a 58-year-old man from Menlo Park, California. Deputies said Mark James Rich was killed when his 2002 fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft crashed into Willow Creek Canyon shortly before 2 p.m. “The Rich family

Central Oregon highways were completely gridlocked as the Great American Eclipse came and went on Monday. People trying to beat the crowd were stuck in slow traffic from Madras to Bend. License plates from all across the nation could be seen as cars pulled over on the side of the Highway 97 near the Crooked

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Lane County officials are seeking $11.7 million in funds to design and construct a 50-unit apartment building in Eugene that would house homeless people and offer them support services. The Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/2wqHt8G ) county officials plan to fund a portion of the building through a federal program that gives low-income housing

 SALEM, Oregon (AP) – The Latest on the solar eclipse in Oregon, Idaho and Washington (all times local) :  2:50 p.m. Julia DuBois saw two rings during the total solar eclipse – one in the sky and the other on her finger. The Statesman Journal reports (https://is.gd/ygzjJO ) the Seattle woman visited Newport, Oregon, to see Monday’s