Month: August 2018

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – A sheriff in a county in southwest Oregon is asking for money from the state to investigate illegal marijuana operations, saying his department lacks the resources to do so. The Daily Courier newspaper of Grants Pass reports Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel is asking the state for $648,000 to help

The 2018 Bend Park and Recreation District Youth Flag Football program enrollment is at an all-time record high, with more than 540 youth participating on 54 teams. Adult volunteers are needed to coach for numerous teams this season. The fall flag football season runs Sept. 4 through Nov. 4. Program participants are boys and girls

With thick wildfire smoke still swirling over much of the state, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Thursday it is extending an air quality advisory for the Portland metro area, North Coast and Willamette Valley until 4 p.m. Thursday and one for Central and Eastern Oregon until noon Friday DEQ is extending an air

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon has issued $43,200 in fines to a Seattle-based seafood company after environmental regulators found wastewater violations at its surimi factory in Newport. The Statesman Journal reports the recent fine is the third time since 2015 the state Department of Environmental Quality has fined Trident Seafoods for polluting Yaquina Bay. The

If you’ve been lazily enjoying the dog days of summer when behind the wheel, well, perk up and pay attention: school’s getting back in session all across Oregon. Children are zipping around on bikes or skateboards, making their way to school on foot, hopping excitedly in and out of cars… and not necessarily paying attention

The Bend City Council is weighing options for transitioning one of Bend’s unsewered neighborhoods from septic systems to sewer service. The SE Bend Septic to Sewer Advisory Committee recently gave the council its recommendations for financing and implementing public sewer. Property owners in unsewered areas and citywide sewer utility ratepayers may all be affected. The

(Update: DA says woman took drug overdose; GoFundMe page created; comments from disability support group) A Bend woman was recovering in the hospital Wednesday, two days after authorities said she apparently shot and killed her disabled 7-year-old son in their southwest Bend home, then took an overdose of pills in an apparent suicide attempt. Those

Good Thursday Morning, Everyone… Due to heavy wildfire smoke a Moderate to Unhealthy air quality is expected to stay with us for much of the day, despite seeing clear skies overhead. The Air Quality Alert put in place by The National Weather Service is slated to be lifted at noon today, but that does not

Human traffickers look for one thing when seeking their victims. Vulnerability. Youth are particularly susceptible and local nonprofit IN OUR BACKYARD (IOB) is leading the charge to empower Central Oregon youth through Teens Against Trafficking, expanding across all three counties in Central Oregon in the 2018-2019 school year. For the past six years, IOB Founder

(Update: Hiker identified) BRIDAL VEIL, Ore. (AP) – Authorities have identified a 64-year-old man who fell from a trail while hiking in the Columbia River Gorge as John Ferdinand Winther, of Mastic Beach, New York. Media outlets report that Winther was hiking with his two adult children on his birthday Tuesday when he fell along

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say a new wildfire in southwestern Oregon has prompted mandatory evacuations and an emergency conflagration declaration. The Mail Tribune reports a fire erupted Wednesday afternoon north of Medford near Gold Hill. The Ramsey Canyon fire is burning around Hull Mountain south of the Garner fire, which has been 85 percent

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) – The city of Yakima in southern Washington state is lifting its more than 30-year-old ban on pit bull terriers. The Yakima Herald-Republic reports Yakima residents will be able to legally bring pit bulls into the city starting in late September after the city council voted Tuesday to lift the ban. Efforts

(Update: Site reported Bend had ‘hazardous’ air quality; small fire breaks out N. of Madras) Air quality readings soared to unhealthy, even hazardous levels Wednesday afternoon and evening around much of Central Oregon as thick smoke even made for reported ashfall on cars and the ground in some areas. Officials said it was blowing in

The future of policing in the city of Sisters has been called into question recently. Mayor Chuck Ryan and Sheriff Shane Nelson spoke at Wednesday night’s city council meeting to clear the air about the situation. Sisters has contracted with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement for more then 20 years, but the

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced Wednesday that the Redmond Municipal Airport will get a $5.2 million federal grant to boost airplane parking capacity and make other improvements. The grant from the federal Department of Transportation for Roberts Field-Redmond Municipal Airport will support an expansion to accommodate two additional aircraft parking positions, as

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Wednesday it has awarded a $447,000 “imminent threat” grant under its Indian Community Development Block Grant program to the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Central Oregon to repair and preserve its water system. Specifically, the HUD funding will be used to repair two

Recent outbreaks of mountain pine beetle and western gall rust are slowly causing long-term damage to lodgepole pine trees in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. According to monument manager Scott McBride, those infections kill trees, and they need to be removed. “The overarching goal is to ensure the longevity of a stand, the forest health

State and federal agencies are working to add more prescribed burns, to rid forests of fuel that stokes major wildfires — but that depends on wether Oregon’s smoke regulations change or not. There’s been a push to change the way the state measures pollution, specifically as it relates to prescribed burning. NewsChannel 21 spoke Wednesday

The cost of Oregon’s wholesale outdoor-grown marijuana is now the lowest in the country. Last October, wholesale marijuana in the state sold for about $700 a pound. Now, it’s just $398 per pound. That’s likely due to excess product and not enough people consuming it. According to Deschutes County, far fewer marijuana processing applications are

A 38-year-old La Pine homeowner was arrested early Wednesday on a first-degree arson charge, accused in an explosion and fire that destroyed his home late Tuesday night, authorities said. Deschutes County sheriff’s 911 dispatchers received a call shortly after 11 p.m. of a house fire in the 16000 block of Cassidy Drive, Sgt. William Bailey