Month: August 2018

(Update: Contaminated well identified, shut down; chlorination underway) One of three wells that serve nearly 600 homes in an unincorporated area north of Sisters has been identified as a source of E. coli and total coliform bacteria contamination that prompted a boil-water notice late last week, and efforts are underway to chlorinate the system, officials

(Update: Level 1 pre-evacuation notice lifted) A wind-fanned wildfire that destroyed two Cloverdale-area homes and six outbuildings and closed U.S. Highway 20 for hours was caused by an electrical problem with a travel trailer, Fire Chief Thad Olsen said. Sunday. Crews from numerous agencies remained on site Sunday to help mop-up the 74-acre Cloverdale Fire,

Cannabis growers and extractors are invited to an unprecedented opportunity to learn from government and business leaders about safety and health in the cannabis industry as part of a two-day event in Bend next month. Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA), a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, is one

A fire at an Alfalfa-area home Tuesday night apparently was caused by an electrical wiring issue, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies and the Alfalfa Fire District responded shortly before 8 p.m. to the reported attic fire at a home in the 25000 block of Cultus Lane in Alfalfa, east of Bend, sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the federal government Tuesday to improve the quality measures for adequate staffing that American seniors and their families use when selecting a nursing home. “Seniors and their families deserve to know what they’re getting when they select a long-term care provider, but it’s clear that

A 60-year-old Portland man was sentenced Tuesday to three years’ probation, including eight months of home detention, for falsely reporting a suspicious package on a TriMet MAX train, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. According to court records, on June 9, 2017, Wilifredo Reyes called 911 to report a suspicious package with protruding wires on a

The financial statements in a newly completed audit by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office reveals possible mismanagement of the Oregon Department of Energy’s (ODOE) Small-Scale Energy Loan Program (SELP). Currently, the program shows a deficit of over $10 million, when comparing assets to liabilities. The audit also revealed significant deficiencies within ODOE’s internal controls

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The parents of a child with disabilities have filed a lawsuit against a state senator and a Salem homeowners’ board after it prohibited a school bus from providing door-to-door service for the girl. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Erika Hernandez and Paolo Regalado filed the suit earlier this year, claiming the restriction by

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Federal officers arrested six people at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in southwest Portland. KGW-TV reports that the arrests came as a group of clergy and others marched to building Tuesday morning and blocked a driveway. The group sought a meeting with the regional ICE director and the release

Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, or COVO, is taking over organizing of the Bend Veterans Day Parade after the Bend Chamber of Commerce agreed to transfer all the responsibilities to the veterans organization. Both organizations signed an agreement Monday that COVO would take over all the rights to the parade, as well as its planning, sponsors

The State Land Board on Tuesday approved the next steps for developing 945 acres just south of the Deschutes County Fairgrounds near Redmond. The project aims to bring tech businesses, a fairground expansion and military readiness center to the area. Plans include bringing the parcel inside the Redmond urban growth boundary and annexing it into

It’s no secret the population in Central Oregon is growing, and new-business growth is booming as well. Entrepreneurs registered 275 new businesses in Bend last month. That’s an increase of 18 percent over July 2017. In fact, each month this year except February and March has seen more business license registrations in Bend than last

Happy Tuesday evening, everyone! AN AIR QUALITY ALERT IS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL OREGON FOR POOR AIR QUALITY LEVELS DUE TO WILDFIRE SMOKE COMING FROM SOUTHWEST OREGON AND WILDFIRES IN CANADA. SMOKE IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. Tonight we’ll see mostly clear skies with poor air quality levels. Currently, Central Oregon is seeing

(Update: Adding Saturday evening fundraiser for homeowner at Big Dog Saloon) A Crooked River Ranch man whose house caught fire late late Sunday night was awakened by his dog’s barking and escaped unhurt- but the dog was unable to escape and perished in the blaze, fire officials said. Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue was

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Southwest Clean Air Agency on Tuesday issued air quality advisories for the Portland area, the Willamette Valley and southwest Washington, as well as for Central and northeast Oregon, where smoke from wildfires burning in Washington has created unhealthy air quality. Central Oregon’s air quality alert was issued

A Tumalo horse that got three legs trapped in a cattle guard prompted some impromptu teamwork and a successful rescue effort Tuesday morning, Bend fire officials said. Bend Fire and Rescue was dispatched around 8 a.m. to the area of High Mowing Lane for an animal rescue, Captain Jeff Jenson said. The crew arrived to

(Update: Fire apparently caused by overheated, charging lithium-ion battery pack) A fire that heavily damaged a northeast Bend home on Sunday apparently was caused by an lithium-ion battery pack that overheated while plugged in to charge at an outlet in a child’s bedroom, investigators said Tuesday. The smoky fire caused $210,000 in structural damage and

A project that aims to bring tech businesses, a fairgrounds expansion and a new military readiness center to Deschutes County moved forward Tuesday as the State Land Board approved the next steps for a 945-acre property south of Redmond. The project, a collaboration between the Department of State Lands, the city of Redmond, Deschutes County

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon says its unemployment rate for July was the lowest in 42 years of keeping comparable records. The state reported Tuesday that the July rate was 3.9 percent, a slight dip from June’s rate of 4.0 percent. That’s the lowest rate since 1976. The U.S. unemployment rate exactly matched Oregon’s rate

People living in southeast Bend’s Old Farm District are facing a big problem two decades in the making: a potentially sizable bill to connect to the recently completed sewer line near their homes. In 1998, the city of Bend annexed the Old Farm neighborhood. Now, the city wants to get rid of all the home