Month: November 2018

Planning and preparations are underway for the 2018 Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Shop with a Cop program, the agency said Wednesday. Here’s their full statement: Shop with a Cop is a joint venture between local law enforcement agencies throughout Central Oregon, local Walmart stores, and McDonalds. Its primary focus is to help make the holidays

The $1.9 million expansion of Redmond’s Centennial Park is underway, city officials said Wednesday. The focus of the initial work by Kirby Nagelhout Construction will be asbestos abatement and demolition of the former Printing Post building, undergrounding utilities and removal of trees that have been deemed unhealthy by the city arborist. “This park expansion project

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is inviting the public to weigh in on long-term planning for Smith Rock State Park as part of the process of updating the park’s master plan. The plan, last updated in 1991, will guide recreation use and resource management for the next 20 years. The Master Plan update process

J Bar J Youth Services in Bend is building a new vocational program on its ranch campus east of Bend. To make room for it, Taylor Northwest brought in equipment Wednesday morning to tear down the current building on the site. The vocational program will teach trades like carpentry, landscaping, woodworking, auto repair and computer

Some voters who returned ballots on time for Tuesday’s election will still need to take further action for their votes to count, Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson said Wednesday. There are three scenarios where this occurs: If the voter forgot to sign their ballot envelope; If the signature on the voter’s ballot envelope does

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., warned Wednesday against any interference in Robert Mueller’s investigation following the announcement that Matt Whitaker would be named acting attorney general. Last year, Whitaker speculated that Trump would fire Jeff Sessions and appoint a replacement to cut Mueller’s budget and prevent Mueller from continuing a full investigation of Trump and his

(Update: Latest numbers; McLeod-Skinner winning in Deschutes, Hood River counties) Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., held a more than 17-point lead over Democratic challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner of Terrebonne in Wednesday’s results in Oregon’s sprawling Second Congressional District. But it was his least-strong victory in 20 years in office. The first count, released just after 8 p.m.

(Update: Wednesday numbers) SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has been re-elected, winning her first full term as leader of the state. Brown on Tuesday bested Republican Knute Buehler, who proved to be a strong challenger in a state where the GOP has a difficult time winning high-profile offices. Brown, who also defeated

Several Oregon ballot measures that were the topic of costly, high-profile campaigns were going down to defeat on Tuesday night. The first item on the ballot was the only one passing: Measure 102, which allows local bonds for financing affordable housing, was passing 56-44 percent with more than 1.25 million ballots counted. But Measure 103,

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Voters in eight Oregon counties have approved ordinances to bolster residents’ gun rights that were championed by militia groups. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday that the ordinances say that residents of those counties now have the right to own semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, regardless of state or federal law. They also

SEATTLE (AP) – A Washington state task force on critically endangered Northwest orcas wants to temporarily suspend whale-watching boat tours focused on those whales. The group advising the governor voted Tuesday to recommend a three- to five-year moratorium on viewing southern resident killer whales by all boats in Puget Sound. Disturbances from boats can interfere

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein on Wednesday named Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, chair of the Attorney General’s Marijuana Working Group. The working group is part of the Attorney General Advisory Committee’s Controlled Substances Subcommittee. “I am honored to be named chair of the Marijuana Working Group and look

To honor student veterans at Oregon State University – Cascades in advance of Veterans Day, the Bend campus is hosting a variety of activities from Nov. 3-11. Seven percent of Bend campus students are veterans, including 65 active duty veterans and 18 students receiving veteran dependent benefits. Included in the week of activities are: An

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – The state of Washington says it will kill wolves from two packs that have been preying on cattle. The Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday that it will kill members of the Smackout Pack in Stevens County and members of the Togo Pack in Ferry County. Agency director Kelly Susewind

(Updated results) Bend’s first directly elected mayor in 90 years will be Sally Russell, who won 50 percent of the ballots in a six-way race to 41 percent for fellow City Councilor Bill Moseley, according to election results Wednesday morning. Brian Douglass finished third with about 3.5 percent, followed by Michael Hughes with about 2

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Payton Pritchard scored 22 points while Paul White added 15 and No. 14 Oregon opened its season by routing Portland State 84-57 Tuesday night. Pritchard, the only player remaining from the Ducks’ 2017 Final Four team, had 18 points by halftime as Oregon led 45-29. He only missed one of his

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Sabrina Ionescu picked up her 11th triple-double, Satou Sabally scored 23 points and No. 3 Oregon opened the season with a 115-36 win over Alaska on Tuesday night. Ionescu had 18 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. Ruthy Hebard, playing in her hometown, had 15 points, making 5 of 6 shots

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Tres Tinkle had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Oregon State Beavers won their season opener 72-59 over UC Riverside on Tuesday night. Ethan Thompson added 19 points and older brother Stephen Thompson Jr. had 18 more for the Beavers, who came out sluggish in the second half

A 37-year-old Bend-area man was arrested Monday on first-degree arson and burglary charges, accused of setting several fires in the basement of the historic Thomas McCann House and taking several items from the home, where he also left some items. Homeowner Sanjay Dholakia, 48, arrived at the home last Friday morning and found it was

One of two Bend-area races for Oregon House seats was closer than the other, but the Republicans were winning both seats in Tuesday night’s balloting. In House District 53, covering much of Deschutes County outside of Bend, Jack Zika, who had both the Republican and Independent parties’ nominations, took 55 percent of the vote to