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Prineville Review

A local & independent general-interest news publication focused on bringing you the latest in Crook County and surrounding communities of Central Oregon.

Alfalfa Fire’s attorney says investigation ‘advisable’ over handling of FEMA grant funds as residents call for fraud, waste reports to feds

6:38 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism Project By: Justin Alderman ALFALFA, Ore. (PRINEVILLE REVIEW) — Alfalfa Fire District officials acknowledged Wednesday night they still do not have access to critical banking records needed to determine what happened to potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in state

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Records dispute former Alfalfa Fire Chief Chad LaVallee’s claims of a 16-year fire service career

1:15 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism Project By: Justin AldermanALFALFA, Ore. (PRINEVILLE REVIEW) — Former Alfalfa Fire District Chief Chad LaVallee has been traveling the country teaching firefighters while representing himself as having 16 years in the fire service, including experience in both career and

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Company stiffed $165K for equipment ordered by former Alfalfa Fire Chief Chad LaVallee, despite receiving a FEMA grant to pay for it

9:31 am

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism Project By: Justin Alderman Alfalfa, Ore. (Prineville Review) — A company that supplied the Alfalfa Fire District with approximately $165,000 in new breathing equipment to protect firefighters says it has not been paid anything for the purchase more than half

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New records reveal Fair Board’s ‘Funding Committee’ held closed-door meetings on how to spend $1 million in state grant funds

4:22 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism ProjectBy: Justin AldermanPrineville, Ore. (Prineville Review) — Newly released Crook County Fair Board records are providing substantially more detail about a previously undisclosed Funding Committee that met privately to discuss how Crook County should spend $1 million in state funding

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Crook County adopts new public records policy, advancing transparency initiatives

4:22 pm

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (PRINEVILLE REVIEW) — The Crook County Board of Commissioners has approved a new public records policy, marking the second major phase of an ongoing transparency initiative championed by Commissioner Seth Crawford with unanimous support from other commissioners. The efforts were part of one of the commissioner’s early requests made of Crook County Manager Will Van

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Former Prineville Police dispatcher arrested in fatal DUI crash that killed bicyclist

8:07 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism Project By: Justin AldermanPrineville, Ore. — A former Prineville Police dispatcher was arrested in a fatal crash that killed a bicyclist late Friday night in Prineville, according to jail and other publicly available records. The crash occurred at approximately 10:59 p.m.

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Alfalfa Fire District under state investigation over alleged election law violations tied to levy campaign that would double taxes

2:48 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism ProjectBy: Justin Alderman Alfalfa, Ore. (Prineville Review) — The Alfalfa Fire District and its Chief are reportedly under investigation by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division for potential violations of state election law related to advocacy for a local levy measure,

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Fire Chief’s improper filings led to illegal taxing of Juniper Acres property owners; records reveal nepotism in wife’s hiring

1:00 pm

Editor’s Note: The Prineville Review is a content partner with KTVZ News through the Oregon Journalism ProjectBy: Justin Alderman Alfalfa, Ore. (Prineville Review) – State and county officials have confirmed that boundary-change filings submitted by Alfalfa Fire District Chief Chad LaVallee last year improperly classified Juniper Acres properties as annexed into the district, a sequence of events that resulted

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The Prineville office for TDS

Readers report improper billing increases on TDS “Price for Life” internet plans in Central Oregon

10:39 am

Published by our media partner, Prineville Review, on 02/18/2026. Click here to learn more. BEND, Ore. (Prineville Review) — The Prineville Review has been investigating following numerous tips from Central Oregon residents who say their TDS internet bills unexpectedly increased despite being enrolled in so-called “Price for Life” or similar long-term promotional plans. Over recent weeks, readers

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DA Hathorn says Crook County has no unrepresented criminal cases after Supreme Court dismissal, but warns risks remain

2:29 pm

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Supreme Court’s recent right-to-counsel decision has resulted in the dismissal of nearly 1,500 criminal cases statewide, but no such dismissals have been reported in Crook County, the Prineville Review reports. The ruling, which imposes firm deadlines on the state to provide court-appointed attorneys for defendants who qualify, has already reshaped

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Crook County Library

Crook County Library considers meeting room restrictions amid security issues, alcohol use, misuse concerns

1:28 pm

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — Crook County’s public library may soon restrict use of its meeting rooms to normal operating hours after staff raised concerns about after-hours security problems, building access issues, and facility misuse. The discussion took place during the Crook County Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 11 work session, where Lead Library Tech Kim Bales outlined

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