Month: September 2019

(Update: Adding regional economist comments) The job situation is once again largely unchanged across all three Central Oregon counties, the state Employment Department reported Tuesday. Employment levels are nearly identical to what they were this time last year, and the unemployment rate has now remained at low levels for several years. How can jobless rates

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — After two wildfire-filled seasons, Oregonians got a break this summer. Oregon’s fire season was the mildest since 2004 and the least expensive since 2010, according to statistics from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. The Statesman Journal reports that statewide, wildfires burned just 67,795 acres this year compared to 883,405 acres a

Fire managers plan to burn piles of slash left over from thinning projects in several units this fall across the Ochoco National Forest, as weather conditions allow, officials said Tuesday. Forest officials said burning slash piles in the fall is a safe way to remove hazardous fuels from the forest and reduce the potential for

Cool, rainy weather across much of the state has allowed the first controlled burns to be lit in parts of Oregon. New rules governing smoke may allow more of these burns than in the past. Oregon Department of Forestry officials said Tuesday they believe increasing the amount of burning will help landowners reduce the public

Redmond Municipal Airport and Redmond Fire and Rescue will conduct a full-scale emergency response disaster training drill on Thursday, Oct. 3, beginning at 8 a.m., as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Several emergency response vehicles and personnel will be onsite, and RDM officials would like to reassure travelers the exercise will not impact commercial

While Central Oregon has seen a rash of online and other school threats prompting arrests and parental concern, another potential threat posted online over the weekend will keep all schools in the Lake County School District No. 7 closed for a second day Tuesday. The school district, located in one of Oregon’s most remote areas,

This week, the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment focuses on building a digital defense against scams targeting international students. Kids are headed back to school — and for some students, the journey is more than just a walk down the street. This time of year, there are plenty of foreign exchange students arriving to spend

-Good Tuesday Morning, Everyone… We sit at the leading edge of a nearly motionless high pressure center and that will bring us a very pleasant day today. We will see much sunshine with highs that reach the mid 70’s . Do watch for a breezy afternoon, however, as NW winds pick up to 10 -20

Economic expansion after the Great Recession of 2008 has done little to get Oregon children out of high-poverty neighborhoods, according to a new report. The Annie E. Casey Foundation measured the number of children living in areas of concentrated poverty — census tracts where poverty rates are 30% or more — and found Oregon’s rate

A 14-year-old Three Rivers School student was arrested Monday afternoon on charges he made up a report of hearing another student threaten a shooting at the Sunriver school, in a ” copycat ” incident after one that led to an arrest hours earlier in Bend, officials said. Around 2:30 p.m., a school resource deputy with

(Update: Adding comments from director of corporate affairs of Fred Meyer and UFCW Local 555 communications director) The union representing thousands of Fred Meyer workers in Oregon and southwest Washington called on consumers Sunday to boycott the grocery chain, accusing the company of unfair labor practices ahead of another round in 15 months of negotiations

(Update: More comments from school officials; adding Three Rivers false threat) A 12-year-old Bend boy was arrested Monday on charges he made an online threat of a shooting at Cascade Middle School during a weekend video game chat, prompting extra police presence at the school and 40% of students to stay away. Bend police learned

Dutch Bros is celebrating National Coffee Day a few days early with the company’s annual Buck for Kids event. On Friday, all of Dutch Bros’ more than 350 locations will donate $1 from every drink sold to a local children’s organization. “I can’t think of a better way to spend our energy and resources than

Happy First few hours of Fall, everyone! Partly sunny to partly cloudy skies will be overhead between now and midnight. Winds will be light gusting 15 miles per hour. Overnight low temperatures will be quite mild in the low to mid 40s. The average overnight low in Redmond is 36 degrees. Tuesday will be our

(Updating with second burn planned south of Crescent) Deschutes National Forest fire managers are planning to do burns in two separate prescribed fire project areas this week. The Deadlog Prescribed Burn unit is 300 acres and located about 28 miles east of La Pine, near the junction of Forest Service roads 22 and 23. The

Here is ODOT Region 4’s weekly construction update for the week of Sept. 23: The Oregon Department of Transportation is committed to providing a safe, efficient transportation system. ODOT invests in Oregon’s future through roadway improvement projects. The following projects are located in ODOT’s Region 4 encompassing Central Oregon from The Dalles to Klamath Falls

Only one of eight Sunriver-area licensees sold alcohol to a minor decoy in a recent sting operation, for an 88 percent compliance rate, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission said Monday. The one OLCC licensee who sold alcohol to the minor during the Sept. 4 sting operation was El Caporal in Sunriver, the agency said. The

(Update: Adding other mugshots, correcting 2 names) Neighbors’ complaints of possible drug sales led to a raid on a southeast Madras home Sunday morning and the arrests of 10 people, including the homeowner, police said. Madras police and officers with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team and Central Oregon Emergency Response Team served a search

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon state representative is encouraging people to loiter at Clackamas Town Center after she says her teenage daughter was harassed and racially profiled by mall security for sitting in her car with friends. State Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from Clackamas, said her 17-year-old daughter was in a parked car

Dozens of students moved into the residence hall at OSU-Cascades on Sunday, three days before the official start of the school year. Among the 176 students who will be living on campus, 100 are first-year students, 45 are from other states and six come from other countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia. Of the total, 22