Month: August 2018

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – An Ashland teenager accused of stabbing his sister and killing his mother has pleaded guilty to the charges. The Mail Tribune reports 14-year-old Ezekiel Holmes pleaded guilty Tuesday in Jackson County juvenile court to charges of murder, attempted murder and first-degree assault in the January 2017 attack that injured his 16-year-old

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon State Police have suspended the law enforcement credentials of the Oregon Humane Society’s animal abuse officers, pending an investigation into allegations of mishandled evidence and improper investigative practices. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports a letter earlier this month from State Police to the humane society states the organization’s law enforcement officers are

Internal auditing has been persistently undervalued and neglected by state leadership, increasing financial and programmatic risks, according to an audit released Wednesday by Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. Historically, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) has done little to meet its statutory requirement to coordinate internal audits, promote their effectiveness, and ensure audit integrity

Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and John Kennedy (R-LA) announced Wednesday the introduction of the Fly Smart Act, new bipartisan legislation to prevent taxpayer dollars from being wasted on first-class flights. The legislation would ban federal government employees — including Cabinet secretaries and other high-ranking public servants — from using taxpayer dollars to purchase first- or

Deschutes County dispatch installed a new, but faulty 9-1-1 radio system more than a year ago. Officials involved say the system has come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go for it to be considered acceptable for public safety. Police officers say the two main problems they’re having are volume and

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Wednesday the addition of Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as cosponsors to his bill to strengthen election security and require paper ballots, as well as an endorsement of the bill by the American Civil Liberties Union. The Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2018 requires

The U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women announced Wednesday 54 grants totaling $32 million through its Improving the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program, including one for about $450,000 to Deschutes County. These grants will help fund state, local, and tribal governments and courts’ efforts to

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Federal prosecutors in Oregon said Wednesday they have charged six people with running two “vast” interstate trafficking operations that they say delivered marijuana grown in Oregon to Texas, Virginia and Florida. U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams that proceeds from the black market sales returned to Oregon as cash stuffed in airplane

New developments are popping up all over Bend, but it’s what’s coming down that’s concerning some people. “For some reason, they came in and took every tree out of the entire 12 acres,” Ron Jensen said Monday. Jensen lives right next to a residential construction site on Neff Road, across from a school. He said

(Update: Correcting name, adding background from friend An 18-year-old Warm Springs resident died Monday at St. Charles Madras after an early-morning shooting outside his home on the reservation, the FBI said Tuesday night. Oregon FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said the FBI and the Warm Springs Police Department are investigating the shooting death of Raymond

(Update: Jordan arraigned on aggravated murder charge; next hearing Sept. 24) A 28-year-old Bend woman was arrested at St. Charles Bend on Tuesday and arraigned from jail Wednesday morning on an aggravated murder charge after she allegedly shot and killed her disabled 7-year-old son and took an overdose of pills in an attempt to kill

The Humane Society of Central Oregon said Wednesday it has been awarded an $8,000 grant from the Petco Foundation to replace failing medical clinic lighting. The grant enabled the shelter to purchase two LED surgical lights upgrading the quality of light without residual heat. The HSCO veterinary clinic performs surgeries four days a week, spaying

Happy Wednesday evening, everyone! Breezy conditions tonight as a westerly flow brings more smoke our way from the Terwilliger Fire burning in the Willamette National Forest near Cougar Reservoir. A few clouds are expected between this evening and midnight. Temperatures will be slightly above average for overnight lows in the low to mid 40s. Tomorrow

The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs signed a memorandum of understanding this week that will enable the tribal government to establish the state’s first-ever tribal veteran service office. Once established, the tribal veteran service office will operate similar to a county veteran service office, providing direct services to tribal

The Terwilliger Fire burning at Cougar Reservoir on the Willamette National Forest has grown to more than 6,800 acres but has reached 17 percent containment, officials said Wednesday as a wind shift apparently blew the wildfire’s smoke back into the Bend area. Air quality readings which had improved in recent days were back in the

Despite efforts to find new funding and revenue options, such as Mt. Jefferson heli-skiing and other eco-tourism, the Warm Springs Tribal Council voted Tuesday to proceed as announced in early July and close the Kah-nee-ta Resort and Spa next Wednesday. KWSO reported, “The closure announcement follows nearly two years of efforts to identify ways to

The Deschutes National Forest announced Wednesday it will temporarily close Lower Canyon Creek Campground including the West Metolius Trailhead, and Forest Roads 1420-400 and 1420-430 in order to reconstruct the campground and address resource damage. From September 10 through October 26, forest officials will close the campground and trailhead to complete the Lower Canyon Creek

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week joined their colleagues in filing a brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the Federal Communication Commission’s December 2017 decision to eliminate net neutrality rules. “In sum, the FCC’s reclassification decision in its 2017 Order is based entirely in the misuse of language,”

Work begins next Tuesday on the Burgess Road / Day Road intersection improvement project in La Pine, including left-turn lanes for all four legs of the intersection, Deschutes County officials said Wednesday. The project also involves realigning Day Road and Pine Forest Drive at the intersection so that the roads are no longer offset from

Traumatized and afraid, the path back to healing is a rocky one for victims of human trafficking. It may begin with a phone call, a recovery, a run. But that’s only the beginning; rebuilding a life takes so much more than just stepping back into liberty. Fortunately, in Deschutes County, a local response team comprised