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Jefferson County

Two last Jefferson County weed burns before season closes get away in gusty winds before firefighters corral them

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon’s outdoor debris burning season closes Saturday. That meant some with materials they wished to burn were doing so Friday – and in at least two locations along US Highway 97 in Jefferson County, gusty winds meant firefighters needed to help corral them. In both cases, people were “doing weed-burning

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Jefferson County landowners may be eligible for $600 reimbursement through defensible space grant

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, in a collaborative effort with the Jefferson County Fire Chiefs, is offering private landowners the opportunity to apply for funding to minimize fire danger as outlined in the Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Eligible residents will be offered a flat-rate reimbursement of $600 for treating the

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Metolius Basin prescribed burn set to continue Monday on 313 acres east of Camp Sherman

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Sisters Ranger District plan to continue prescribed burning in the Metolius Basin directly east of Camp Sherman on Monday, the Deschutes National Forest said Saturday. The Sisters Ranger District plans to conduct 313 acres of prescribed burning in the Metolius Basin directly adjacent to

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Oregon’s better snowpack, water supply outlook brings state denial of Jefferson County’s drought declaration request

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A better winter snowpack for much of Oregon has improved water supply conditions to the point where Jefferson County’s request for a state drought declaration for the sixth straight year was denied, and a request for consideration Wednesday fared no better before the Oregon Drought Committee. County Commissioner Kelly Simmelink and

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Culver fentanyl and meth trafficker sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison, year after raid and arrest

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Culver resident and drug trafficker who conspired with others to traffic fentanyl and methamphetamine to Madras, Redmond and surrounding areas, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Israel Sarabia, 30,was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court

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Former Deer Ridge prison official pleads guilty to pay for hours not worked, gets 30-day jail term, must repay $38,000

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A former assistant superintendent at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution near Madras has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years’ probation and ordered to repay more than $38,000 after pleading guilty to theft and official misconduct for being paid for hours he did not work. Bend resident Richard Robert

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