High Desert’s top news stories of 2015
NewsChannel 21’s Kandra Kent takes a look back at 10 of Central Oregon’s biggest stories of 2015, in chronological order, including some that rocked the entire state and region.
Gov. Kitzhaber resigns
What started as a historic fourth term for Gov. John Kitzhaber quickly turned into another record when he became Oregon’s first governor to resign amid an ethics scandal in February.
Pressure from state leaders and others led to his downfall as the scope widened in legal and ethical investigations concerning the governor and his fiance, Cylvia Hayes of Bend.
Inmate death investigation heads to DOJ
In March, a death investigation at the Deschutes County Jail took a significant turn when troubling video was released showing jail staff mocking inmate Edwin Mays as he overdosed on meth in a cell. Four jail employees were eventually disciplined. Mays’ father has filed a $10.7 million wrongful death lawsuit, and the criminal case into his death now sits with the Department of Justice.
Recreational marijuana legalized
On July 1st, Oregon witnessed history when parts of Measure 91 took effect and recreational marijuana became legal. The reverberations and the rules are still being drafted, as numerous cities and counties opted out of allowing such businesses, foregoing tax revenue and sending the matter back to local voters in November 2016.
Canyon Creek Complex Fire destroys homes
A summer of drought and dozens of large, raging wildfires showed no mercy in Grant County in August. The 110,000-acre Canyon Creek Complex fire destroyed 43 homes and dozens more buildings. The wildfire became the state’s most destructive in terms of loss in nearly 80 years.
OSP Crime Lab scandal
As fall approached, a scandal shook Oregon’s judicial system, forcing prosecutors around the state to review thousands of cases. Oregon State Police Forensic Analyst Nika Larsen is under investigation for reportedly stealing drugs and tampering with evidence at the Bend crime lab. However, she has not yet been charged with any crimes.
Deschutes Sheriff’s captain accused of stealing
In September, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was hit with another black eye: Capt. Scott Beard was placed on leave while investigators build a case accusing him of stealing money from several multi-agency law enforcement accounts. Beard also has not yet been charged with any crimes.
Tragedy in Roseburg
Oct. 1 was a day of horror in southern Oregon that brought the nation to tears — again — in a year too full of the carnage of mass shootings. Nine people were gunned down and seven more injured at Umpqua Community College. The gunman dies in a gunfight with police, and the ambush is Oregon’s worst mass shooting, in terms of casualties.
WWII tank explosion kills two
Just before November, Steven Preston and Austin Lee of Oregon City were killed in an explosion while the pair were firing a World War II tank destroyer at a range east of Bend. The accident is still under investigation.
Bend police face two bank robberies in three days
Bend was hit with two bank robberies in just three days in mid-December. Both suspects in the unrelated incidents were quickly arrested. However, there’s no doubt the second heist was more dramatic.
Thomas Henderson, 72, of La Pine, is accused of holding Wells Fargo employees hostage with fake explosives he claimed were dynamite. The incident shut down Third street for hours and brought in OSP’s bomb squad from Salem.
Legal fight over OSU-Cascades campus ends
Finally, a years-long legal saga surrounding OSU-Cascades’ new four-year campus on Bend’s Westside finally ended just before the new year. The Oregon Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal by a group of Bend residents opposed to the university’s new location. The campus is expected to open next fall, though due to the delays, its dorm and dining hall will be ready a few months later.
More of 2015’s biggest stories coming
Tune into NewsChannel 21 each day this week for more of Central Oregon’s top stories of the year. KTVZ will have reports on the biggest wildfires, the impacts of severe weather and the viral stories of 2015, and online we’ll have a look at the “Year in Links.”
