Local News Archives for 2011-09

Drug Bust in Sisters

A traffic stop outside of Sisters leads to the arrest of two Bend residents. Brandon Bowen, 22, and Alicia Barr, 23, were arrested on drug charges last Thursday morning. The two had been the focus of a nearly month long investigation into drug trafficking. Officers found they had nearly a half an ounce of heroin, a quarter ounce of meth and a small amount of marijuana.

Firework Causes Small Brush Fire

Another fire in a vacant lot in northeast Bend. Just after 10 p.m. Bend Fire received a call of a small fire burning in a vacant lot at the intersection of Northeast Dalton and Northeast Sedalia Lane in Bend. A witness says some people lighting a roman candle type firework in the vacant lot, and it apparently ignited the dry grass. Bend Fire was able to extinguish the small 500 square foot fire before it spread. The fire department would like to thank the property owners for keeping the lot maintained and trimmed, so the fire did not spread to nearby homes and apartments. Bend Police are investigating who is responsible for the fireworks.

 

 

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Alder Springs Fire Consumes Over 1500 acres.

The newest Central Oregon fire, the Alder Springs Fire about five miles southwest of Culver, has now consumed over 1500 acres.  The fire was first reported early Thursday afternoon, and Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch spokesman Bill Queen says the firefighters' early attack prevented the fire from reaching any structures. He says although today's weather was hot again, winds do not be an issue and weekend weather should be helpful. "Winds don't appear to be what's contributing to the overall growth of the fire. Unseasonably high temperatures and low relative humidity and associated dry fuels. that's what's really contributing to the growth of the fire. We do expect more normal weather to move into the area on Sunday as a passing cold front, which would being cooler temperatures and a chance of showers being forecasted." Currently, Forest Road 6360 is closed as well as the Alder Springs Trailhead and trail.

 
About 180 firefighters are on the scene and Valerie Reed with C.O.O.D says there is about a 40% containment at nightfall. She says crews will attempt a 100 foot mop up 100 feet from the line.
 
A much welcome cold front is due to move into our area by Sunday afternoon, not only bringing relief for firefighters, but possible some rain to help with the fight.
 
 
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Sheriff’s Got A New Boat

The Deschutes County Sheriff's office got a new boat to patrol area waterways today. The Oregon State Marine Board supplied the funds for the boat. Back in November, the Sheriffs Office learned they were recipients of $45,000 to buy the new patrol boat. The remainder of the equipment was supplied by the Sheriff’s Office. The new boat has ample room for two deputies to work in and carry search and rescue personnel if needed.

 

 

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OSU Standout Honored Saturday

Former Oregon State football great and longtime Bend resident, Bill Enyart, was recently selected one of 14 players to the College Football Hall of Fame. Enyart will be recognized by the National Football Foundation this Saturday in Corvallis during the Beaver - UCLA football game. Enyart was a star fullback at OSU in 1967 and 1968, and was a first team All American in 1968. He was also drafted by the Buffalo Bills and played three seasons for the Bills and Oakland Raiders.

 

 

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Alder Springs Fire Spreads to Almost 700 Acres

The Alder Springs Fire has grown to well over 600 acres. Bill Queen is the Public Information Officer for the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch: "Current estimate is between 650 and 700 acres. The fire is burning in a mosaic of grass, shrubs and scattered timber. While several private ranches and Crooked River Ranch remain threatened to the east, initial attack efforts have prevented any loss of structures." Queen says they are planning more aerial reconnaissance today to better map the fire and survey any fire closure needs. Right now, the Alder Springs Trailhead and trail and Forest Road 6360 are closed.  Unseasonable high temperatures and low humidity caused the fire to spread quickly yesterday, and today's weather is predicted to be the same.

 

 

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Meth Bust Biggest Yet

A record breaking drug bust in Madras as the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) seizes a million dollars worth of methamphetamine. The bust happened on Wednesday, when officers got information that a large quantity of narcotics was being transported on a commercial travel traveling from California. They arrested 20 year old Juan Luis Rangel Cancino of Washington state. Ken Mannix with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team says the investigation is ongoing. “35 pounds of meth in a seizure is a huge amount so we'll be looking at a drug trafficking organization. There’s a lot of work to do. We’re working with law enforcement to try and find who else is responsible in trafficking of such a large amount of methamphetamine.” When officers stopped the bus, they originally found 13 pounds of marijuana concealed in a suitcase. It was only after Rangel Cancino started acting suspicious at the bus station, that they discovered the 35 pounds of methamphetamine.

 

 

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Robbers Get a Cash-Only “Take Out”

Bend Police are looking for two Hispanic men who held up the Papa John's Pizza place on Greenwood in Bend Thursday night. The two entered the back of the restaurant just before 8 p.m. with a gun and got away with an undisclosed amount of money. Lt. Paul Kansky with Bend P.D. says the aggressiveness of the suspects is disturbing. “Around 8 p.m. is still a time when people are moving around in the 8th and Greenwood area. So it is somewhat, brazen is kind of a good word for it.” No employees were hurt in the hold up. Police are asking anyone who was in the area at that time last night and who saw something, to give them a call. The suspects are described as Hispanic males in their 20's with short dark hair. One was wearing a white t-shirt, dark shorts and dark high top shoes with white shoelaces. The other was wearing a blue gray sweatshirt, tan shorts and dark high top shoes with white shoelaces. To report any information: 541-639-6911.

 

 

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Grant to St. Charles for Palliative Care

A $227,000 grant from the Regence Foundation of Blue Cross Blue Shield, will help expand St. Charles' Palliative care. The program that tries to enhance the quality of life for seriously ill patients will get a huge boost from these funds. Dr. Laura Mavity is the Director of Palliative care at St. Charles. “This grant puts major funding into our program. It’s a huge chunk of our budget. It helps us with direct patient care. It helps pay for staffing so we can take care of patients and families. The funds will help pay for an additional social worker for the department, that will help consult with families about how to improve their quality of life, for seriously ill patients.

 

 

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Empire & 3rd Street to Close

The Oregon Department of Transportation is hoping to start and finish a big project in record time. "It’s no surprise to motorists who travel through the intersection at Third Street and Empire that it needs some help. So, what we're going to do is have our maintenance crews get out and grind out the bad stuff and put down the new stuff. And make the intersection a lot better. You know that's the busiest intersection here on the highway/street system here in Bend." ODOT's Peter Murphy says they are closing the intersection at 6 p.m. tonight and are planning to reopen the intersection by Sunday. Murphy says there will be flaggers in place; but the intersection will be closed from time to time and it's probably the best idea to find another route if you are planning to drive in the area.

 

 

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Update on Alder Springs Fire

 

SISTERS, Ore. -- A new wildfire was spotted Thursday afternoon near Squaw Creek, east of Sisters and west of Crooked River Ranch, and quickly burned about 200 to 300 acres of brush and scattered trees, officials said.
 
The fire, named the Alder Springs Fire, was reported by a caller around 1:45 p.m., and within three hours had burned an estimated 200 to 300 acres according to the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville. The cause of the fire was under investigation, they said.
 
An air tanker and helicopter was called in, along with five engines, to tackle the fire, burning mostly in brush with some trees.
 
Jefferson County sheriff's deputies said deputies were evacuating people from the Alder Springs Trailhead, after the fire jumped Squaw Creek into the Alder Springs area. They said some hot embers were drifting onto areas of the ranch, and residents reported ashfall.

 

 

Crooked River Ranch Fire Chief Tim McLaren said the fire was about 1 1/2 miles west of the ranch and burning at first south, then to the northeast as winds shifted.
 
He said the fire had crossed Squaw Creek and that while CRR was not immediately threatened, some homes could need to be evacuated if it reached and threatened to jump the Deschutes River.
 
"Right now, there's no reason to be concerned," McLaren said.
 
Smoke also was rising from a roughly 700-acre planned field fire in the Post area east of Prineville, but no problems were reported on that blaze.
 

New Fire Near Wychus Creek

If you're seeing smoke in the direction of Sisters, it's from about a 40 acre fire that started around 1:45 today in the Wychus Creek area. Officials are calling it Incident 815. Valerie Reed is with the Central Oregon Dispatch: "We have quite a few engines. We have an air attack that air tankers are dropping and some helicopters are doing some bucket drops there." Reed says the weather is cooperating, and it is not spreading too quickly, and no structures are threatened at this time.  She says they don't know how it started, but investigators are on the scene now. The fire is burning west of Crooked River Ranch, between Sisters and Lake Billy Chinook in dense brush.

 

 

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Drastic Dow Dips

The Dow closes down at almost 392 points or about 3.5% capping off several days of wild swings. What does this mean to the average person? Money analyst Troy Reinhart with Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management says the markets swings are a result of small investors who are nervous about the world situation, and problems in Washington. "Fear and greed are the same coin, just two different sides, and fear is a very powerful emotion. And especially small, individual investors will run with the heard. And that that made sense when you're trying to get away from saber-toothed tigers, but it doesn't when you're trying to run away from the market. And most people who sold into today, will probably rue to regret that decision." Reinhart says history does repeat itself, and in the long run, if you can just hang on to your investments the market will eventually right itself. He says seniors are probably the most fearful; because they are going to need that cash to live on, but if they can keep the investments intact, they will come out all right after time.

 

 

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Bid to Legalize Marijuana

A petition to legalize marijuana in Bend is circulating. Former City Council candidate Ron Boozell filed with the City his intention to put the issue on the ballot. He has until September 2013, to get the necessary signatures for Bend residents to vote on the issue. Boozell feels officers need to focus on real crime instead of marijuana use, and he feels legalizing marijuana will help. He'll be out gathering signatures around town starting today. “We don't see 5,000 signatures as a problem.” Boozell is trying to collect the needed signatures to put the question on next year's ballot.

 

 

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Project Connect is Saturday

A one day event at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds brings hundreds of volunteers and services for low income and the homeless together. This is the fifth year for Project Connect. Spokesperson Marty Betsch says they are expecting the biggest attendance yet, because the numbers of needy are growing rapidly.

"But I’m very, very excited this year because it is going to be our biggest yet. Unfortunately in Central Oregon, our homeless count is going up. The number of 70-plus, the number of kids 12 and under, it really breaks your heart. So this kind of an organization is really exciting, because we're out there, providing all kinds of services to them that they're not going to get elsewhere."  Betsch was a guest on today's "Your Town" on KBND. Project Connect is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hooker Creek Event Center, and it's free. Contact the Partnership to End Poverty if you need transportation to the event.
 
 
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Children Most Affected by Poverty

Some of the people most affected by poverty are children. And the latest state numbers bear that out. Results from the American community survey, which is the successor to the long census form, paints a picture of a lot of families with children struggling in the State. In Oregon last year, 18.2% of families with children under 18, had incomes below the poverty line. Jessica Moskovitz with Children First for Oregon, looks at some of the local numbers.  “The Deschutes County the poverty rate for families with kids below the age of 18, the poverty rate is 19.5%.” Nationally, the poverty rate is 1 in 6 , reaching a 27 year high. That's about 46 million people living in poverty.

 

 

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Are Your Ready for Fall?

Fall officially arrives at 2:04 Friday morning. But, Michael Palmer with the Weather Channel says we'll be experiencing continued summer-like weather for a while. "It looks like probably the first month of fall, I think is going to be, for the most part, on the warm side, or at least above average for this time of year. We really didn't have much of a summer. Certainly June, July, well below average and even through the first part of August. The latter half of August and into the middle of September, that's when we had the hottest weather, we went into the upper 80's and even the 90's." Palmer says we've cooled down a little bit now and it will get cooler next week.  But generally,  we will be above average for the first part of fall.

 

 

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Jail Blazer- Again

Portland Trailblazers' center Marcus Camby faces drug charges in Texas. Camby and Kendal Johnson, 24, were arrested Monday in a Houston suburb on suspicion of possessing marijuana near a school. They were released on bail. A conviction could mean a one-year jail term and a $4000 fine.

 

 

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Walden Happy WIth Congressional Committee Committment

 

For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 22, 2011
 
Rep. Greg Walden says forest health legislation can put Oregonians back to work in the woods
 
Draft legislation considered today would replace ‘county payments’ with a solution that produces revenue for schools, law enforcement, and roads by putting Oregonians back to work in the woods
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Greg Walden released the following statement following the House Natural Resources Committee’s hearing on draft legislation to increase active federal forest management, put Oregonians back to work in the woods, and create revenue for rural schools, first responders, and transportation budgets.
 
“The House Natural Resources Committee today took the first step toward developing a long-term sustainable solution for our rural forest communities. There is bipartisan agreement that the status quo doesn’t work. Counties don’t want a federal handout anymore. Oregonians want jobs back in their communities and forests that are actively managed instead of tied up in endless lawsuits.
 
“Unemployment remains at unacceptably high levels. Our federal forests are choked due to overgrowth and the resulting wildfire comes at extraordinary costs to federal taxpayers. Forest management is frozen on public lands, due in large part to endless litigation against productive use or maintenance of our renewable natural resources. It’s time to put Oregonians back to work in the woods to improve the health of our forests and re-establish the federal government’s commitment to federally forested counties.  
 
“The most certain way to bolster local school, law enforcement, and transportation budgets is to put people back to work so they can earn a paycheck and contribute taxes. That’s all rural Oregonians are asking for — access to work once more on the public lands that surround their communities. Solutions like the one the committee explored today is what our forests and rural economies need, and I look forward to continuing to work with the committee and my colleagues to move this legislation forward so it can be signed into law and put people back to work in the woods.”

Arrest in Dual Robberies

 

Suspect Arrested in Home Invasion Robbery & Burglary of Summit Xpress Market (please refer to Sept. 20, 2011 Media Releases by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office)
 
Arrested:
Troy Kenneth Dahl, 26 years of age
55374 Gross Dr. – Bend, Or
 
Charges Regarding Summit Xpress Market:
Burglary II – Bail $10,000.00
Criminal Mischief I - $5,000.00
Theft II - $5,000.00
Probation Violation – No Bail
 
Charges Regarding Home Invasion Robbery:
Robbery I - $100,000.00
Burglary I - $20,000.00
Unlawful Use of a Weapon $5,000.00
Felon in Possession of a Firearm - $5,000.00
UUMV - $5,000.00
Coercion - $5,000.00
Criminal Mischief II - $2,500.00
Theft I - $5,000.00
 
 
On September 21, 2011 at about 1740 hours the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office assisted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Warm Springs Police Department took Troy Dahl into custody after conducting a traffic stop of a vehicle Dahl was in. The traffic stop was made north of Deschutes County, on Hwy 97, in Jefferson County with-out incident.
 
The Sheriff’s Office determined Troy Dahl to be a suspect in the two above incidents early in the afternoon on Wednesday. Sheriff’s Detectives applied for and received a Search Warrant for Troy Dahl and his residence located on Gross Drive.
 
Evidence located at both crime scenes, victims description of the suspect during the robbery, patrol deputies quick response to the alarm at the Summit Xpress Market, and persons contacted regarding their observations/direction of travel of a suspicious ATV helped detectives to develop Troy Dahl as a suspect. Dahl was transported to the Deschutes County Jail and lodged for the described charges above.
 

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is continuing this investigation and asks to be contacted with any information that will assist in this investigation as it relates to Troy Dahl or the arrest of any others that may have been involved in either criminal incident. We ask that you contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division at 541-617-3398.

 

 

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Sex Offender Re-Arrested

Deschutes County law enforcement found and arrested the 29 year old sexual predator who walked away from his transitional house in Bend Tuesday night. Officers found Daniel Timmons in Redmond near southwest 15th Street and Forest Avenue this afternoon. Charity Hobold is the Supervisor of Deschutes County Adult Parole and Probation. She explains how he escaped Tuesday night. “We were monitoring him by GPS, but he cut the GPS Office. As soon as the probation office was notified, we alerted law enforcement and we've been looking for him ever since.” Again Timmons was caught this afternoon. Hobold says Timmons has spent most of his adult life in and out of jail on sex charges, mostly for public indecency. Timmons was taken to a local hospital for treatment of apparent injuries.

 

 

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Reaction to Federal Stimulus Announcement

The Federal Reserve will go forward with plans to swap debt, to lower interest rates even more. It's a move to lower interest rates on everything from mortgages to business loans. News of the stimulus, caused the market to close down 283 points. Troy Reinhart with Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management offers his analysis of what happened: “The market got what they wanted. This is called a twist.   It’s not unexpected. But like my 13 year old daughter, it got what it wanted and that wasn't good enough and that's part of what went into it.”  Some Republican lawmakers sent Federal Chair Ben Bernanke a letter Tuesday warning about further steps to lower interest rates. They fear it could escalate the risk of inflation.

 

 

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Bend to Amend their Transportation SDC’s

It’s definitely good news that could be coming out of the Bend City Council meeting tonight. Transportation Engineering Manager Nick Arniss says they have found new ways to recalculate just how much funds they need to complete city projects; and as a result: "The fees resolution for Transportation System Development charge fees have gone down slightly, based on new methodology that they accepted at the previous Council meeting. And they go down just a bit, not much, but they stay about the same or they go down by about $10 or $20." Arniss says since building has really slowed over the past several years. They wanted to find ways to take the pressure off builders. Transportation System Development charges are applied to new developments and projects within the City. Arniss says they have periodic reviews of the SDC rates to keep them in line with current construction trends.

 

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Redmond Schools Begin “Wacky Wednesdays”

Redmond’s 7000 students got out of school early today for its first School Improvement Wednesday. The District is starting early release on Wednesdays, as the Bend La Pine Schools do, to do professional development for teachers. Linda Seeberg is the Director of Elementary Education for Redmond Schools: “Kids get out one hour earlier. So if high school student, middle school student, elementary students. If parents are confused, just take their regular time for release and subtract one hour. That would be the release time every Wednesday from this point forward.” The objective is to improve student outcomes in the District, through this Professional Development on Wednesdays.

 

 

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Convenience Store Hit by Burglar on ATV

An early morning burglary at the Summit Xpress in Sunriver causes major damage. Around 5 a.m., Deschutes County Sheriff responded to the call of a burglary at the Summit Xpress convenience store on Spring River Road. The deputies found the front doors of the store had been broken down, and after looking at security cameras, found someone had ridden a 4-wheel ATV through the doors. After breaking down the doors, the suspect tried to pull out the ATM by winching the machine to the ATV. The suspect was unsuccessful, and left the store after taking some cigarettes. The Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help to locate the suspect or ATV. It is described as being a camouflage colored, possibly green and black with black fenders. Contact Deschutes County Sheriff at 541-693-6911 if you have any information.

 

 

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Redmond Council Gives Their Chamber Funds

Each year, communities in Oregon receive a portion of tax dollars that are generated from visitors staying in local lodgings. Redmond Mayor George Endicott says the State mandates that those dollars are to be used for promote tourism in the area, and so this year, the Redmond Chamber of Commerce will receive about $152,000 for that purpose. "Promote Redmond, you know go to other event to try to attract things to come here, such as a sporting event. We’re having a BMX motorcycle, “The Rally, you know the big RV Rally, FMCA, the big motor coach association. Those are the kinds of activities to get involved with . They publish some nice glossys. The visitors bureaus do, to attract people to come to the area and spend their dollars." Endicott says the City Council elected to give the Chamber the money after representatives laid out their plans to promote the City. The Chamber reported that in 2010, Redmond hosted about a half-million visitors to the area with the various events happening in Redmond.

 

 

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Biedschied Going to Trial

The Bend man accused of killing a bicyclist and leaving the scene last January will be going to trial on the charges. Bret Biidschied and his attorneys met behind closed doors Tuesday to try to reach a plea deal, but none was reached. Biedschied has pleaded not guilty to hit and run, criminally negligent homicide in the death of Anthony Martin. Martin was crossing 3rd Street on his bike last January when was hit and killed. Biedschied then left the scene. The five day trial is set for January 17th.

 

 

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Redmond’s Street Projects Progressing Nicely

In Redmond work is continuing on the 27th Street Arterial Project; but it is at a point where some residents that use Wickiup as an access are a bit inconvenienced: "We've kept open, a path for children to walk, those that are pedestrians that go to school, but there's kind of a 4 to 5 block detour that parents have to take. We’re expediting getting that fixed, but it's like any road construction project, you are going to have some delays and detours." Redmond Mayor George Endicott says they need the road closure to put in some pipes, but it will only last about three weeks. Endicott gave an update on Redmond's projects on this morning's "Your Town”on KBND.

 

 

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Primal Cuts Raises the Bar

One man is hoping to raise the bar on the quality of met available to you at home. Primal Cuts Meat Market, located on Galveston on Bends' west side opened their doors in June. Owner Bryan Tremayne says he believes he's found a good niche in Bend: "I have a restaurant background, and so restaurant quality is what I am looking to bring to people. So if they had "that steak" at the restaurant, they would be able to come in here and take it home and they would have that same high quality." Tremayne says he carries the regular the variety of meats like beef, pork, chicken and includes some specialty meats like ostrich, pheasant, rabbit and more. Primal Cuts Meat Market is having a grand opening and ribbon cutting with the Bend Chamber of Commerce on Thursday ...you can stop by for samples and meet the farmers.

 

 

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Community Alert

Daniel Timmons, DOB: 07/05/82, is a predatory sex offender who was recently released from custody on post-prison supervision and probation having been convicted of a multitude of crimes including Sexual Abuse I, Public Indecency and Stalking.

 
Timmons is 5’4”, 120 pounds, recently shaved head (brown hair).     
 
He left his residence without permission last night; his current whereabouts are unknown.   A BOLO (Be On the Look Out) has been issued throughout Deschutes County law enforcement.  
 
If anyone sees Timmons or has any information about his whereabouts, please call 9-1-1 immediately or contact the probation department at 541-385-3246.

Unemployment Numbers Stagnant

The latest unemployment numbers for Central Oregon show unemployment still high and pretty much unchanged from last month. The August numbers have Deschutes County's Unemployment at 12.7%, Jefferson County at 13.6% and Crook County at 15.6%. Deschutes County lost 510 jobs between July and August and that's not a good sign according to regional economist Carolyn Eagan. “Usually between July and August there are no job changes. Which leads me to think two things. One, the season layoffs are starting early and sales were down across the board. So we don't have the need for as many employees we normally would in August.” Crook and Jefferson Counties also lost between 50 and 100 jobs.

 

 

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Home Invasion Suspect Still On the Loose

Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputies are asking for the public's help in finding a man who entered a home south of Sunriver with a gun and held up woman. He got away with cash and a car. The suspect also fired a shot in the home's ceiling during the robbery, but no one was hurt. The suspect is described as 5'6", medium to stocky build. He was dressed in all dark clothing, wearing a black "hoodie" and ski mask. Officers were able to retrieve the stolen vehicle in the general vicinity shortly after the robbery. But the suspect remains at large. If you have any information, you are asked to contact the Sheriff's Office.

 

 

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Small Fire South of Madras is Curious

A small fire broke out on private lands near Highway 26, 10 miles south of Madras around 12:30 this afternoon. Lisa Clark with the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch says they don't know how it started. "It’s actually under investigation. it did start fairly near the highway and we have investigators enroute. We’re working with Jefferson County Rural Fire District No. 1 on this. It looks like it may have started on private land before moving on to federal land."  Clark says at last report, the fire burned about 10 to 15 acres, and firefighters will be watching for any winds that may kick up the fire. ODOT did close the highway for about an hour while crews worked on the blaze.

 

 

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DMV Mulling Over Location Possibilities

The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles is getting closer to making a decision on where to put Bend's DMV. A feasibility study just completed found it would cost $1.5- million to renovate the Welcome Center on Highway 97, where they are currently located. Oregon DMV spokesman Dave Thompson says they're considering several options: “Now we look at comparables to see if that is the best use of taxpayer money. If there is, we'll bring the alternatives to the citizens, and ask their opinion.  It there’s not, if it’s jusy sticking around in the Welcome Center and spending the million and a half, then we’ll certainly let people know, but I don't think they're will be a lot of argument if we decide to stay there.” The DMV is looking at comparable retail and commercial space in the central Bend area. Last year, the DMV backed off plans to put the new DMV Office off of Brookswood, when residents had a fit. The DMV hopes to make a final decision on a  permanent  location in the next month or two.

 

 

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Another Honor Flight to Set Sail

The third Honor Flight carrying World War II veterans from Oregon will be heading to Washington Thursday morning. The Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon raises funds to help get Oregon's World War II veterans to see Washington's Veterans Memorials in person. Veterans advocate Dick Tobiason says this latest group has nearly 50 veterans. “So we're down to the last 10% of the 2-million veterans left. We’re losing 1200 a day, that's 400,000 a year. So we only have three to four years left to do this.” The group will have breakfast with U.S. Congressman Greg Walden and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. They'll see the Veterans Memorials and get a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol. The group will return on Sunday.

 

 

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CODE Team Drug Busts

The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team reports several drug arrests over the last several weeks. On September 2nd, they arrested Steven Depatie, 58, for trafficking cocaine following a three month investigation. And on August 25th, they arrested Edward Milne, 31, and Thanh Nguyen, 33, for trying to sell cocaine at a parking lot near the intersection of SE 3rd and Wilson in Bend.

 

 

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ODOT Happy With RRFB’s

The Oregon Department of Transportation has hit on a device that works well in saving lives. The Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon, or RRFB for short seems to have a good effect on drivers on the Parkway. "Once somebody actually steps into an intersections, that's where the cars have to stop. And we're finding that the compliance rate for cars at reed lane, on the parkway, went from 23%, where just about a quarter of the people were stopping when somebody stepped out, to 83%.  So we've almost, like, "fourpled" the number of people who stop at the intersections waiting for someone to cross."  Peter Murphy with ODOT says the only problem they have is that the pedestrians are not using the device to cross the parkway, so they need to get more awareness out there to walkers.  But Murphy says ODOT is very pleased with the results of the RRFB.

 

 

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Rollover in Powell Butte Leads to Arrest of Man

From the Crook County Sheriffs Office:

 

 

 

Contact: Sergeant Travis Jurgens
Date: 09/19/2011
Case No. 111087
Event: Motor Vehicle Crash, Failure to Perform Duties of a Driver, Reckless Driving
Location: Crook County

 
Media Release
 

On Monday, September 19, 2011 at approximately 0101 hrs., deputies from the Crook County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a report of a single vehicle rollover with unknown injuries on Highway 126 at Calvary Way, near mile post 4 in Powell Butte.
 
Upon arrival deputies located a Gray, 2006 Nissan Xterra on its side off the North side of Highway 126. The driver of the Xterra had fled the scene on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement. The area was searched, but the driver was not located.
 
As a result of the investigation it was determined that the Xterra had been traveling Westbound on Highway 126 when the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle traveling off the South side of the Highway onto the gravel shoulder. The driver then overcorrected, crossed both lanes of traffic and left the Highway on the North side of the road. The Xterra then cut a guide wire for a power pole and rolled one time before coming to a rest on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
 
The driver of the Xterra was later identified as being Matthew Anderson age 26 of Powell Butte, Oregon. On Monday, September 19, 2011 at approximately 2056 hrs., Deputies located Matthew at his residence on the Powell Butte Highway. Matthew was subsequently taken into custody and charged with Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver/ Property Damage, and Reckless Driving. Matthew was transported to the Crook County Jail where he was booked and later released.
 
The estimated damage reported by the power company was approximately $5,000.00. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the investigation by the Redmond Police Department and the Oregon State Police.
 
Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash. No further information is available at this time.

 
 
 
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Reaction to Obama’s Speech is Quick & Critical

This morning, President Obama unveiled a plan to cut the national debt by about $3-trillion over the next decade. The plan is somewhat different from the plan he was trying to broker with the legislature over the past summer.  Financial analyst Troy Reinhart with Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management doesn't believe the plan is feasible. "When I listens to the speech today; he's our President and I respect him as our President. But it sounded very much like a campaign speech and it's probably one of those goal posts that sets out there that will be debated upon further and further. But as an intact plan that's going to get passed, it probably isn't going to get passed through the Democratically controlled Senate and certainly not through the Republican held House." Reinhart says in reality it calls for tax increases for the wealthy, and that is not a popular proposal with the republicans. He believes its a very short sighted plan and not sustainable in the long term. Obama's plan calls for $580 billion in mandatory spending cuts and $1.5 trillion in tax revenue.   $800 billion would be realized by letting the Bush era tax cuts expire for high income households. Another $400 billion would result from capping itemized deductions for high income households.

 

 

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Monday Fires Update

The Shadow Lake Fire is now at about 10,000 acres and is 40% contained. Officals are letting the fire burn out naturally. The next step is to begin the rehabilitation work and this includes replanting trees. Thanks to the cooler weather, the High Cascades Complex was declared fully contained after burning more than 108,000 acres.

 

 

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Money Expert Says Down Stocks Are Affected by Greece

Stocks fell today on news Greece may fail to qualify for more financial aid to avoid default. The Dow closed down 108 points. Financial Analyst Bill Valentine with Valentine Ventures says this dip isn't unexpected. “The markets have gone up and they've gone down. The market fell off a cliff in early August. We're sort of testing the same lows. Europe hasn't solved issued and probably in a week or two, the Greek issue will play out.” Valentine expects Greece to default and he believes it will cause the market to drop but then it will head back up, since the U.S. holds very litle Greek debt.

 

 

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Madras Man Improving Dramatic Accident

The 28 year old Madras man involved in a bad accident on Highway 97 near Terrebonne a week and a half ago, is doing much better. Josh Wagenblast is now in fair condition at St. Charles Bend. Originally he was in critical condition following the accident. On September 8th, he was traveling southbound on Highway 97 when he crossed over into the northbound lane and struck another car.

 

 

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Proposed Sisters Roundabout Causing Friction

The City of Sisters is still contemplating with to do to improve Highway 20 at Barclay Drive. At the last public meeting, City officials announced that they had plenty of input from the public about what type of traffic control is needed at that location. "As part of our 2010 Transportation System Plan Update, the consultants had talked about a signal at that location. But during the end of the process, we heard from the public during many of our public hearings that the community would be interested to see if a roundabout would be a better option." Pauline Hardie, Planning Director with the City of Sisters says they have contracted with a Bend firm to do a feasibility study on a roundabout at Barclay and Highway 20. Since then, officials with the freight industry have stated an objection to a roundabout and say the City would be in violation of a condition of approval for anything other than a light on that route. Without approval from the freight industry, the project could be in jeopardy.

 

 

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High Lakes Healthcare Moves into New Digs

The largest primary care private practice in Bend has moved to a new location. High Lakes Healthcare closed its downtown office on Oregon and is now on Simpson, across from Deschutes Brewery. Administrator Dan McCarthy says the new facility has more space and parking. “So it's a much more accessible visible location. It’s bigger. We’ve grown. We’ve added two new physicians and we have capacity and need for an additional three.”  The new location is more than 12,000 feet, an additional 3000 feet bigger than the downtown building. The clinic is also extending its hours with the move.

 

 

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A Positive Outlook Can Bring Positive Results

The real estate market is still facing many challenges, but that doesn't mean realtors aren't making money. Consultant Eric Plantenburg has worked with Compass Commercial and many agents are having great years. Plantenburg was on KBND's Your Town this morning offering advice how others can too.  “Yeah the biggest pit fall not just in Central Oregon, but all over. Blaming someone else. The biggest pit fall is blaming other people 100% for the situation you're in. It's not going to help your problem. It’s not going to help you get a better result.”  Plantenburg is with Freedom Personal Development. He says those who analyze how they contributed to their financial failings, will recover faster.

 

 

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Local Theatre is Changing It’s Lineup

Innovation Theatreworks in Bend is adding more productions to its lineup. They used to just offer professional shows, but now they're going to include more community productions to utilize their facility more and hopefully bring in more money. The founder of Innovation Theatreworks, Brad Hills, says they made the decision after disappointing sales for the two last shows. “When we took a look at the numbers and the whole situation from January 1st through June 30th, we had only done two shows and two events. Our doors had been open only 33 days out of six months. So that's not a sustainable model to go after.” Their next show starts this Friday, a local adaptation of Studs Terkel's oral history of the great depression, "Hard Times."

 

 

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Redmond Community School Very Effective

Community schools in Redmond are helping students do better in the classroom. That’s according to a report given to the Redmond School Board last week. Board Chair Jim Erickson says the before and after school programs are funded through grant money and seem to be helping students during regular school hours. “We took a look at the positive results with respect to testing scores. The increase in certain population groups of students who'd accessed those services and the data was really, really positive in terms of the success in meeting the needs of those particular students.” He says its been good for families too who take advantage of family night- parenting classes and financial planning courses. Hundreds of people in Redmond take advantage of the community schools. Erickson says some schools are open from 7:30 in the morning to 7 at night.

 

 

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Powell Butte Man Dies in Accident

A Powell Butte man was killed Sunday in a farming accident in a hay field northwest of the Prineville Airport.  Crook County Sheriff's deputies tell our news partner, News Channel 21, the incident was reported around 2 p-m. Sergeant Travis Jurgens identifies the victim as Michael Rachor, 52, of Powell Butte. Few details have been released, but apparently a hay wagon collapsed onto Rachor, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

 

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Redmond Police Dog Succumbs to Cancer

Police in Redmond suffered a loss on Thursday night, as one of their crime fighting dogs died from cancer.  10 year old Tanjy was with the force for just three years. The drug-detection dog joined the team back in 2008 with her partner, Officer Ryan Fraker. Replacing Tanja is a new drug dog, another Belgian shepard dog named Ike. Ike is in training with Officer Fraker right now and He joins two other dogs in the Redmond K-9 unit, started in 2000.

 

 

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Whisnant’s Work on Website Bill a Real Champion

We recently reported that State Representative Gene Whisnant was selected as "Legislator of the Year" by the American Legislative Exchange Council. One of the achievements that Whisnant is very proud of is the development of the government transparency website in 2009. Whisnant says it's been online for over a year now, and they are still improving it. "And we also want to make it more user friendly. We created this website with no additional tax money. There was some opposition to the Bill in 2009. I think people thought, including the Governor's Office that this would cost too much money. And we were able to bring it in for zero cost to the taxpayers." Whisnant says in the last session, they added spending information from the Treasurer's Office and Public Contracting, so you can check out how your tax dollars are being spent. Here's link: Oregon Transparency Website.

 

 

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Bend Chamber Golf Tournament

The Bend Chamber offices are closed today and the sign could read outside on the door: Gone Golfing. Its the annual Member Invitational Golf Tournament - this year at Awbrey Glen. Chamber spokesperson Courtney Linvelle says it’s always a well attended chamber event: The golf tourney is very popular for the Chamber because its once a year and you get to network with other business people. We have sponsors at every single hole of the golf course; so its always fun to see what the sponsors are doing for the golfers as well.” For example: she says the Baldy’s Barbecue hole is pretty popular. The Bend Chamber has about 1200 members and is the second largest in the state, second only to Medford.

 

 

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Kids Ski Programs Very Popular

Mt. Bachelor is the largest ski resort in the Cascade Range with over 3600 acres of ski-able terrain.  Each snow season they offer programs for kids six to 14 to learn or become better skiers and snowboarders. This year, they are offing an easier way to pay for these lessons. "This is new.  We had our payment plan with our season pass products the last 2 years. And this is the first time we've rolled out with anything other than a season pass product. So it allows any parents that want to register their kids into these multi-week programs convenience of our payment plan which is can be done anytime between now and September 30th." Mt. Bachelor spokesman Andy Goggins says they have a wide variety of season-long programs to choose from.  Sessions begin on December 3rd, but you must register by the September 30th. You can get more information on the Mt. Bachelor website.

 

 

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Ignite Bend

The fan base for Ignite Bend is growing with every event. It allows various Central Oregonians five minutes on a stage to talk about - and hopefully- inspire others to get involved in their communities. The next event, “Ignite Bend 7” is on September 28th at the Tower Theatre. They have announced the speakers, who will broach such subjects as "What is an Inactivist?", "How to Swim with Sharks and Not Get Eaten", and "Learn 'Em Good." Seating goes quickly for the event. You can make your reservation through the Ignite Bend website. We have a link on our "Links" page.

 

 

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Surprising Stats From Study on Economic Positions

There are some surprising results from a study that compared Oregon and other state's economic positions. The Deschutes Economic Alliance held a special meeting in Bend yesterday and unveiled the results of the report commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Oregon ranked number one in terms of higher education efficiency; in other words compared to other states, we spend the least amount of money to produce a person with a college degree. Delore Zimmerman says the speech also gave local business and government leaders tips on ways to attract more jobs to Oregon and the region. One big issue is how regulation is stifling business across the country: “Some of the states have commissions now to take a look at every rule and regulation, every law that's passed and it's impact on jobs. Some of the state's have established thresholds on the impact and if it crosses that threshold they will veto it, or it won't pass." He says many states are also encouraging more regional and streamlined interaction so that businesses don't have to waste as much time dealing with several different agencies.

 

 

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Smoky Skies Affect Some Kids

The recent fires in the area have been giving us some smoky air during the day, and some kids are feeing the effects of the smoke. Mary Lou Patterson, lead nurse with Bend La Pine Schools says kids are allowed to opt out of P.E. if they are have problems breathing.  "We have a fair number of both students and staff that have asthma. And we don't usually see problems with the kids until the people start with their wood stoves, later on in the school year. But the smoke in the air has been noticeable, and even though the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), the air quality index still says moderate, we have had a number of children who have some difficulty." Patterson says they try to reminds asthmatic kids to use their inhalers more often, as a preventative measure.

 

 

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Whisnant Names “Legislator of the Year”

State Representative Gene Whisnant of Sunriver has been named "Legislator of the Year" by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Whisnant says he one of eight chosen in the nation by ALEC. "The organization is based upon Jeffersonian principals of free market. They advocate free market, individual liberty, limited government and federalism. It’s a nonpartisan, public-private partnership of state legislators a members of the private sector." Whisnant says he's very honored to receive this award, and he's very happy serving. In fact;.he says he's planning to run again in 2012. Whisnant has been an Oregon State Representative since 2003, and with the new legislative boundaries, will also represent about 2000 more people in Bend.

 

 

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Businesses React to New Minimum Wage

Some Oregon businesses are reacting to an increase to the minimum wage; and some business owners may think twice before hiring more people. They say times are tough and the 30 cent an hour bump will hit their bottom lines. January 1st is when the increase takes effect, and this means businesses big and small will be shelling out a minimum of $8.80 an hour every employee. Tom Burke owns Sunset Lanes: “It’s a time right now that’s pretty challenging or us to have wages go up. We’re fighting to maintain the benefits that we have here.” And Melissa McKusky, the manager of Hollywood Bowl says, the impact runs deep. “We’re a family owned business. We’ve been a family owned business for 30 years, and with the economy the way that its it, it’s going to make me think twice before hiring more people.” Still, January, the rwo0edged business sword grows sharper here in Oregon. Oregon is one of ten states' that raises its minimum wage based on what the consumer price index, or inflation, is doing. Another state that does that, Washington state, is expected to announced its new minimum wage hourly rate on September 30th.

 

 

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Furlough Day for State Employees

Today is not a good day to do some business with the State of Oregon. Most state offices are closed while workers take a mandatory unpaid furlough day. This is the first of ten furlough days the state has scheduled over the next two years. Each day is expected to save taxpayers about $2-million. Other furlough days:

2011
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
Friday, Nov. 25, 2011
 
2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, Aug. 17, 2012
Friday, Oct. 19, 2012
Friday, Nov. 23, 2012
 
2013
Friday, Jan. 18, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013

 

 

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Poverty Hits Families Especially Hard

Families of four are hit especially hard in this economy. Several days ago shocking numbers were released on poverty in America. An Oregon family of four talks about the challenges they face. “Right now, we’re just trying to make it through, I mean, there’s not much else.” Natea Captain fits neatly into that family of four poverty statistics. She’s a single mom with three kids who wants to complete her education, and become a teacher. “I want to stay on the straight an narrow and take care of my children, on my own and not depend on anybody or anything else. But you can’t always make it on your own.” She’s getting help from Human Solutions for the Basics, but her biggest need is child care fro her children, so she can complete her education and get a job. “You’re stuck. If you don’t have a job you can’t survive. If you don’t have childcare you can’t have a job. And it’s so expensive, you work just to pay your babysitter.” Captain says that vicious cycle will remain as long they keep making cuts in childcare benefits for families living in poverty. People struggling in Central Oregon will get some help Saturday, September 24th from 9 to 4 p.m. "Project Connect" is at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and it offers health and other vital services to anyone in the tri-county area who needs it. Last year they served about 3,000 people.

 

 

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Portland’s Race for the Cure Expects Big Turnout

She’s in her 30's and has been diagnosed with breast cancer, twice. Helen Oppenheimer was just 36 when her life changed: “I found a lump, during the course  of taking a synthetic hormone, a progesterone.” The doctor confirmed her biggest fear: she had breast cancer. “Wow, it’s been short, but it’s been fun. You’re literally staring at mortality.” She chose the option with the best odds. “I could actually do a mastectomy, no chemo, no radiation, and take tomoxocin for five years. And it was less than a one percent chance of reoccurrence.”  Unfortunately, she defied those odds. “I found another lump, on the same side, where I had already had a mastectomy. And I immediately went in. It was about the size of a small pea, as I could put it. And I got that same fearful phone call ‘I’m so sorry, but you’ve got cancer again’.” She’s had four rounds of chemo, and is awaiting radiation treatment that begins next week. Oppenheimer loves to see the ”Race for the Cure” come to town because she knows, she’s not alone. And she knows good things are being done to fight the disease. She also knows early detection has saved her life, twice.  In Portland this weekend, 35000 people are expected to turn out for the "Race for the Cure"  on its’ 20th anniversary.

 

 

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Are Midwives on Trial?

Two different trials in Oregon are expected to bring more scrutiny to the practice of being a mid wife. in Eugene, a woman who’s baby was born dead after eight days of labor is suing. She says the two midwives who attended that birth refused to take her to the hospital, and didn’t appear to know how to performn CPR on the infant. In Oregon City members of a faith healing church has a premature baby die 9 hours after birth, with a midwife helping. Oregon and Utah are currently the only states that don’t require midwives to be licensed. About half of practicing midwives in Oregon are unlicensed. And increase in recent complaints has licensed midwives stressed out and it’s driving up their costs. Most of them favor increasing regulation for midwives in Oregon. In the trial of the Oregon City couple: the defense is wasting no time going on the attack. They are trying to prove that Dale and Shannon Hickman are being targeted.  They are members of "Followers of Christ Church" and the fourth set of members prosecuted in the last two years.

 

 

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Northwest Fires Update

Oregon fire crews have the upper hand on a several wildfires that have burned thousands of acres. The Monastery Fire near Goldendale, Washington is about 90% contained. It destroyed several nearby homes. The Dollar Lake Fire near Mt. Hood is 50% contained. And near Sisters, on the Shadow Lake Fire, managers are re-opening many popular areas.  All trails in the Three Sisters Wilderness and the McKenzie River Trail is open. Plus, Coldwater Cove campgrounds and the Clear Lake Resort, all open again.

 

 

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Post Office Looking at Consolidation

The U.S. Postal Service is considering consolidating its processing centers in a cost cutting move. So they are conducting feasibility studies all over the country, including here in Bend. They want to look at the cost savings of consolidating Bend's processing and distribution center with Portland’s. Ron Anderson is the Postal Services spokesman in Portland: “What we're looking at doing because we have more capacity, not just in Oregon, but nationally. This consolidation would save up to three billion dollars for the postal service.” Currently there are 500 postal processing centers in the U.S. and the postal service is looking at reducing to 200 centers. The feasibility study should be completed by early 2012.

 

 

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Bend Park & Rec Featured at Town Hall

Bend’s Park and Rec District has been recognized nationally for its outstanding park system. We've got more than 2000 acres of parkland. It certainly draws people to our area. Friday morning, Bend Parks and Rec leaders will be addressing the Bend Chamber of Commerce town hall breakfast. Courtney Linville with the Chamber says they expect lots of questions. “It is a controversial topic to see how much money is going into the park system.  They want to know is it worth it. Am I getting my money out of it. And we want to provide a forum so they can come in and get those questions answered.” The town hall breakfast will be at the Bend Golf and Country Club from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday.

 

 

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Sisters Fall Street Festival

About 3000-4000 people are expected to come out to the annual Sisters Fall Street Festival this weekend.  Organizer Richard Esterman says some of the money raised during the festival will benefit the Sisters High School Art Department. He says the event is also good for the local economy. "Actually what's good about it is; people who would normally drive through Sisters will stop, get out of their cars, walk around, go to a few events maybe a few stores and a few restaurants, and it helps the economy in this area.” It is Saturday and Sunday in Sisters. An entire street will be blocked off and the festival will feature the usual attractions of food, art, music, and auction and even a climbing wall.

 

 

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Redmond Schools Figuring Out How the High Schools Will Be Populated

Redmond school leaders are preparing for their second high school to open next year and today we are getting an early picture of what the big change may look like. So far the Board is recommending roughly an even, north-south split. KBND talked to the Board chair, who says there will also be some flexibility for some students. Redmond School Board Chair Jim Erickson says Redmond High School and Ridgeview High will offer the same basic courses, but will show some individuality when it comes to specialized programs. “So at one there would be an A.P. program; the other ones, an international baccalaureate school. At one school there would be particular specialized technical courses. At another one it would be different technical courses. So students would have the ability to choose a high school outside of what their boundary would be designated, based on those particular interests of the individual student.” He says some of that inter-district movement would be capped. These early boundary suggestions will be discussed more at several upcoming community meetings. The District want to hear from students and parents and community leaders like real estate agents who may have some helpful insight. You can go to the District's website for more details about upcoming community meetings on the attendance boundaries for the high schools.

 

 

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Project Connect Coming Up

It’s the fifth year in a row for the Partnership to End Poverty's "Project Connect" at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds. The one day free event will help those low income or homeless get some services they really need. "What is, is over 130 agencies and organizations are bringing the services that they have and assistance and support that they have to the hooker creek event arena. And we're inviting anybody who is struggling to make ends meet or is homeless, to come down and access that." Cindy Pasko with Project Connect says the event is open to everyone in the tri-county area that needs help last year they helped about three thousand people. Transportation is provided for people who need it; contact the Partnership to End Poverty for locations. Project Connect is September 24th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

 

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Third Street Underpass Issues Discusses

It’s a traffic issue many people in Bend are familiar with. When it rains hard, the Third Street underpass often floods, and it can cause problems.  So the City has come up with a plan to deal with it, but it' not sitting well with everyone. The project is supposed to begin next summer, a crucial time of year for area businesses. While last night's City Hall community meeting was supposed to be about the underpass water system, it quickly became about how construction was going to affect business. A lot of traffic flows that an estimated 20,000 cars or more.  The underpass would be out of commission for up to six weeks, between July 4th and when schools start.

 

 

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Suspicious Fire Still Under Investigation

An early morning fire at a vacant building on Northeast Second Street has Bend Fire and Police investigating the cause of the fire. Bend Police Officer Rob Emerson says they did find some evidence, but not enough to say with certainty that it was deliberately set, or if it's connected to previous fires recently set: "We don't have enough information at this point to connect them. We’re still kind of working through facts and evidence and see what we can come up with. Usually on purely accidental fires, we can determine the cause really quickly. And we haven't been able to do that, which is kind of why we're a little suspicious about it at this point." The fire burned mostly the outside of the building and caused some smoke and minor damage to the inside. The estimated loss is $50,000. If you have any information about this fire or any of the others, contact Bend Police at 541-693-6911.

 

 

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Texting Suspect In Court

The La Pine man charged with manslaughter in a fatal accident on Reed Market Road seven weeks ago will be back in court today to set a date to enter a plea. Erik Conn, 28, faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted. Officers say he was texting while driving on Reed Market Road in July and struck and killed a Forrest Cepeda, 16. Conn is currently being held in the Deschutes County Jail on $250,000 bail.

 

 

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Garden Fire Affects Wilderness Area

The "Garden Fire" burning about 10 miles northeast of Fort Rock is estimated at 7000 acres. That fire was first reported last Friday, and is burning in sagebrush, juniper, grass and nearby lava flows. It’s also burning within a wilderness study area. Fire officials are trying to keep the Garden Fire contained within the wilderness study area and away from private lands where some structures may be threatened, as well as a nearby power line. Fire danger throughout south Central Oregon remains "extreme".

 

 

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Poverty’s Vicious Cycle

One official with the Partnership to End Poverty says he doesn't expect the number of people living below the poverty line to change much from last year. Scott Cooper says it's a vicious cycle, and there is only one way to get out of the poverty problem. "You know, if we could just maintain flat for a couple of years, that would be an improvement over where we've been since the beginning of the recession. There’s still hope that things could get better out there. Lots of things going on at the national level and even at the state level, hoping to get things turned around. But ultimately the answer to all this is that people gotta have a job. We’ve got to put people back to work." Cooper says one indication that more people are dropping below the poverty level is that the number of kids needing reduced or free lunches in our schools is escalating. He adds that the real state numbers will not be released for a couple of weeks, but he doe not expect to see much change from last year.

 

 

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Republican Platform for Oregon Ready to Go

Oregon’s Republican leaders came up with their stances on issues for the 2012 election. The group hammered out their platform this last weekend in Bend. Greg Leo, spokesman for the Oregon Republican Party, says social issues aren't the focus. “One thirteenth of the platform deals with social issues. It's primarily jobs and economics issues that are going to drive this election. This upcoming 2012 election is getting people back to work, reducing taxes and reducing burdensome regulations that businesses face.” The delegates removed some language from the platform regarding civil unions, that some felt was offensive.

 

 

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Gathering will Focus on Jump-Starting the Economy

"How to Jump Start Central Oregon's Economic Recovery" is the topic of a special meeting Thursday. It’s sponsored by the Deschutes Economic Alliance. Speaker Delore Zimmerman with the Deschutes Economic Alliance says he'll be offering some success stories from other states. “I'll be talking about states that are creating jobs. And how Oregon stacks up compared to these other states. Where we are leading, where we're lagging. Some of the state's successful at creating jobs, how that can be applied at the local level.” Dr. Zimmerman's talk will be at the Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center Thursday at 10:30 a.m. It is free to the public.

 

 

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Yep- School’s Back…It’s Early Release Wednesdays!

Students in Redmond will join those in Bend and other parts of Central Oregon with an early release on Wednesdays. This is the first year that Redmond schools are doing the early release. The School Board spent time in Tuesday night's meeting discussing "School Improvement Wednesdays." Teachers and other staff members in Redmond will spend that chunk of time improving their skills. Although its sometimes controversial to parents, School Board Chair Jim Erickson says this growth time for teachers is really important: “In the past it was brought up one prior time, and we did get some backlash. But I think that's because we hadn't done enough homework on it, letting everybody know etc. etc. etc. This time it was spearheaded from the part of the class project group and administration. And like I said, at this point it seems to be smooth sailing.” The Redmond School Board also adopted a new teacher and principal evaluation system, and outlined some general boundary recommendations for students going to Ridgeview and Redmond High Schools. Several more public meetings on the high school boundary ideas are coming up soon.

 

 

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Tony DeBone Visits KBND

In his short nine months as a Deschutes County Commissioner, Tony DeBone has had to make some tough decisions. One of the most recent was the firing of Deschutes County Administrator Dave Kanner. It was a close vote on ending Kanner's contract. “It just boils down to leadership style. He’s the one person leading the county. It was a 2 to 1 voted. We’re moving forward. Our future looks bright. I don't have any reservations on our decision. We are now in the process of looking for the next administrator.” Deputy Deschutes County Administrator Erik Kropp is acting as the Administrator on an interim basis, until a replacement is found. Kropp has informed the Commissioners he's not interested in the position, because he has young children.

 
He says the Commission is focusing a lot on economic development and is hearing some innovative ideas. “Deschutes County Economic Alliance is a group of volunteers who look at what we can do big to create new jobs. Some of the projects include applied research or higher education, an elite fitness training center, structured built housing. The concept is we have people who can build things here, and build manufactured houses here and sell them elsewhere, traded sector opportunities, like these big ideas.”   Tony Debone was the guest Wednesday morning on KBNDs Your Town.
 
 
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Want to See a Big Horned Sheep in Oregon? We’ve Got A Website for That!

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has identified about 236 places where you can go to see some very interesting Oregon wildlife. The ODF&W took two years to create a website that identifies where most of these animal viewing "hot spots" are. "Part of the strength of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and something that not everyone realizes, is that we manage all wildlife in this state. Not just those species that are hunted and fished. So our biologists in the regions, in the fields and local offices have a wealth of information. So we talked to our biologists and we found places where people will be able to go and see species." Meg Kenagy with ODF & W says on the website, they have information about what kinds of wildlife is in that location, what time of year to see them and how to get there. We have a link to the ODF & W on our links page at KBND-dot-com.

 

 

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Madras Soldier Gets Warm Welcome

A Madras soldier got a warm homecoming as he arrived at the Redmond Airport Tuesday. Army Sgt. Ryan Craig, 24, was shot in the head by a sniper while serving in Afghanistan nearly ten months ago. He's been recovering at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Maryland since them, with his mom Jennifer, by his side. “I didn't expect to be emotional as I am. But it's a great relief to have him in our hometown and back with us. It’s pretty amazing, pretty blessed today.” Craig sometimes struggles with language, but he's able to walk and talk, which is a huge step forward. He will head back to Florida next week for more rehabilitation.

 

 

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“Suspicious” Fire at Vacant Building

An early morning fire at a vacant building on Northeast Second Street is being called "suspicious". Bend Fire received a call around 5:45 a.m. that there was a fire on the outside of a vacant building owned my Melrose Construction. When firefighters arrive, they determined that the fire was beginning to breach the interior of the building. They were able to knock down the fire quickly, but the inside of the building sustained smoke damage, and the estimated loss is at $50,000. The cause of the fire is listed as "suspicious" and is now under investigation by Bend Police.

 

 

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Fire Near Terrebonne Burns about A Dozen Acres

A fire in the Lower Bridge area west of Terrebonne burned about a dozen acres yesterday. The fire was reported on BLM land near Northwest 43rd Street and Lower Bridge Way around 4:30 p.m. it reportedly may have been ignited by a man target-shooting in the area. The wind-driven fire brought Redmond and Crooked River Ranch firefighters to the scene, as well as crews from Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch. We're told by Prineville dispatchers that they had the fire pretty much contained by nightfall, but one engine and a five-person crew will be mopping up and monitoring for any rekindling overnight.

 

 

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Two Arrested After High Speed Chase

After a high speed chase with speeds reaching up to 110 mph, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with some K-9 units were able to apprehend two suspects involved in a Deschutes River Woods burglary Tuesday afternoon.

 
Our news partner, News Channel 21 reports around 3 p.m., Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in DRW, south of Bend, where a woman reported confronting a man who illegally entered her house, said sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Eggert.
 
The woman was unhurt, and the man fled to a pickup truck parked nearby, leaving with a second man in the pickup as well, Eggert said.
 
The woman was able to provide deputies with a description of the man and the pickup, determined to be a white 1992 Dodge pickup with Oregon license plates and the business name “Schaffer Bros. Electric” on the sides of the doors. Eggert said an investigation revealed the business no longer owned the pickup.   Only about 10 minutes after the burglary, a responding deputy spotted the pickup headed east and tried to pull it over. When the driver refused to do so, a pursuit began and the deputy reported watching as it passed in ongoing traffic.
 
Bend police, Oregon State Police and Forest Service officers responded and joined in the chase, during which the pursuit was terminated at one point due to heavy traffic, and later when they lost sight of the pickup, then spotted eastbound on Bear Creek Road.
 
The pickup turned onto Highway 20 and headed east, reportedly at 80 to 85 mph, now staying in its lane of travel. Scanner reports indicated the pickup reached 110 mph around milepost 11 (near Dodds Road) as arrangements were made to bring out police dogs, in case the pair pulled over and ditched the truck.
The driver turned north off Highway 20 near milepost 25, reportedly going through a barbed wire fence. The two men fled the pickup near the Millican OHV area and the Central Oregon Shooting Sports firing range.
A perimeter was established, and by about 4:30 p.m., both men were found and taken into custody, with the assistance of Bend police K-9 Zlatan and his handler, Eggert said.
 
They were identified as Robert Joseph Warren, 48, of Chiloquin, and Michael Edward Klemt, 59, of Davenport, Wash.
 
They were booked into the county jail in Bend on felony and misdemeanor charges of attempting to elude a police officer, as well as first-degree burglary, reckless driving and reckless endangering.
 

Sheriff’s deputies asked for the public’s help. If you have any information about the pickup or the suspects, you’re asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (541) 693-6911.

 

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Suspicious Fires in Crooked River Ranch

Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office need your help to solve a crime. "We’ve had three fires that have ignited late at night, from 11:30 at night until two in the morning. We’ve investigated them and have determined them to be human caused." CRR Fire Chief Tim McLaren says the fires have been set over the past month, and thankfully, were set when the weather worked against them spreading. He says they have found some evidence that is now being examined by the Oregon State Police Crime Lab. McLaren say if you saw anything unusual in the areas of Chinook or Horney Hollow on August 10th, 12th or September 11th, late in the evening or early morning, to contact Crooked River Ranch Fire or Jefferson County Police.

 

 

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GOP Platform Changes?

300 Republican delegates were in Bend last weekend to hammer out the 2012 Party Platform. The group met at the Riverhouse on Friday and Saturday and came up with 13 points. One of the points dealt with family and removed some anti-gay language from the party platform. Ken Taylor was at the convention, as the Chair of the Crook County Republican Party: “The platform still is actually very pro-traditional family. We removed some wording that some felt was offensive. But we are still the party of traditional family values.” The platform still defines marriage as between a man and woman, really unchanged from the 2010 Republican Platform.

 

 

 

 

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The Final Pedestrian Safety Operation is Wednesday

The City of Bend is holding its fourth and final Pedestrian Safety Operation tomorrow. It will be at the crosswalks at Wall and Georgia in bend from ten until 2 o'clock.  Plainclothes police department personnel will pretend to be pedestrians using the heavily traveled crosswalks. Drivers who violate the pedestrian safety laws could get a ticket of $297. Bend Police say the focus of these crosswalk operations are to educate the public, and they are funded through federal grants.

 

 

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Bend Marathon Planned for October

Runners from all over Central Oregon are signing up for the first annual Sisters to Bend Marathon on October first. Kevney Dugan with Visit Bend says there is a perfect running course between Sisters and Bend. "So we went out and tried find a great course and the course that we came up with was actually starting in Sisters and running to Bend, on a 26.2 mile course that ends right in heart of the Northwest Crossing Neighborhood." Dugan says our area has a lot of runners, and many people are already signing up for the event. He says there will also be a half-marathon and a kids' run that will take place over several days, so the kids running totals will add up to 26.3 miles. The Bend Marathon is also a fundraiser to benefit the Education Foundation for the Bend La Pine Schools.

 

 

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Unemployment Rate Remains the Same

Oregon’s unemployment remained about the same last month at 9.6%. The State's Unemployment Rate has been in that range for the last five months. State Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks says it's one step forward, two steps back. “There's some growth in private sector, but the government job loss is off setting or those month more than offsetting the private sector job growth. That's to be expected given the budget crisis we're facing, and until we see real force of growth we might see this for awhile.” The sectors that saw the most job growth were leisure and hospitality and educational and health services.

 

 

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Fires Update

It was a hot and dry weekend as crews in Oregon and Washington battled several large fires; but the weather is expected to cooperate going forward. The Northwest Fire Coordination Center is monitoring 14 large fires in Oregon right now and two in Washington. The most destructive fire seems to be is the Monastery Fire near Goldendale, Washington. “All it does is burn so many homes up. It’s at 4,251 acres with 50% containment.” That's fire spokesperson Jeree Mills. She says the largest fire in Oregon is still the High Cascades Complex near Warm Springs at 108,000 acres and 85% containment. The fire on Mt. Hood is now at 5800 acres and doesn't appear to be threatening Portland's water supply as previously feared. And near Sisters the Shadow Lake fire is now at about 10,000 acres. 

 
Firefighters are taking advantage of favorable weather conditions to aggressively build fire line along the Shadow Lake Fire’s northwestern flank this week, and hope to shut the door on the fire’s westward movement. Lower temperatures and relative humidity, combined with a moderate westerly wind are expected to suppress the fire’s growth through the remainder of this week. Because of the favorable fire and weather outlook, Clear Lake Resort and Coldwater Cove Campground area will reopen this weekend. The fire is approximately 10,000 acres, no change from Monday. “We’ve been looking for a way to shut the door on this fire,” Operations Chief Mike Matarrese said. “On Monday, we found the hinges. This week, we hope to install the door.” It’s close to 10,000 acres, and 30% contained.
 
 
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Larry Blanton Seeks Reelection

Sheriff Larry Blanton is throwing his hat into the ring again. Balancing a budget and getting a tax rate reduction for the law enforcement tax are just a few of the things Blanton says he's accomplished during his tenure. "I think one of the biggest challenges as Sheriff, upcoming will be the same as any business or any household sitting around the dining room table and that is trying to make it work with what you have and we are very proud to serve the public and you won't us complain. We’ll just to the best with what we have, because that's what people expect of us." Blanton says he has not heard if anyone else is interested in running against him. He was serving as undersheriff in 2007 when then Sheriff Les Stiles retired and the County Commission appointed him to serve out the term. He then ran for Sheriff successfully in 2009, and now hopes to win the publics' support for another term in 2012.

 

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Oregon’s Child Poverty Rate One of the Highest

46 million people in America are living in poverty; that’s one in 6. These findings from the last census mark a 27 year high. 15% of Americans are living below the poverty line. Reagan Gray with Children First for Oregon, a non-partisan child advocacy group, says Oregon is especially hard hit. “And a report came out a month ago that found Oregon has the highest rate of childhood hunger in the nation and that's on top of this report about a record high national level of poverty. We need to be thinking about what can we do to mitigate the effects of poverty. How can we keep families whole.” The National Child Poverty Rate has hit a record high of 22%, a level not seen since 1994. The government defines the poverty line as income of $22,000 a year for a family of four and $11,000 for an individual.

 

 

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Teen Bitten by Rattlesnake at Madras Camp

If you don't like snakes, this story may really grab your attention. Jefferson County Sheriff's officials report that a 17 year old Portland girl was bitten by a rattlesnake at a camp near Madras. She was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover. The girl was crossing a road at the campground around 9:30 at night and using a flashlight, when she was biten on the ankle. An emergency room manager in Bend, Steve Kreps says they sometimes see rattlesnake bites during the summer when people are out camping and hiking. He says most bites are on the hand, and if struck you need to remove your rings right away, and, of course get to an emergency room.  "Another thing that people don't think about but this helps: in the treatment when you do finally get to the hospital, if you've got a pen is marking the swelling as it occurs. It’s something that helps us in the Emergency Department to know how bad this bite will actually be. If they invenomate you that helps us know how much anti-venom you might need." He also says its important to try and stay calm so the venom doesn't race through your body faster.

 

 

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Bend Man Involved in High Speed Chase

A short police chase on I-5 in Tualatin with speeds up to 120 miles an hour ends in the arrest of a Bend man. Dallas William Bradley of Bend was booked into the Washington County Jail on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, felony attempt to elude and reckless endangering. Initially Oregon State Police tried to pull Bradley over for speeding, but he opted to speed up for the chase. The report says the chase lasted less than two miles, and ended after Bradley encountered heavy traffic.

 

 

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Driver Who Fatally Hit a Cyclist Charged

A La Pine man who investigators say was texting and driving has been arrested and charged in connected to the death of a Bend pedestrian. The fatal crash happened seven weeks ago in southeast Bend. The 16 year old boy who was struck and killed was Forrest Cepeda and he would have been a junior at Marshall High School this fall. Erick Mackenzie Conn, 28, is charged with reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. He scheduled to be in court this afternoon and is currently held on $150,000 bail. Conn’s pickup and cell phone were seized during the investigation. Court documents showed Conn had sent text messages to Lee and another woman about two minutes before the crash.

 

 

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Redmond Seeking to Help New Businesses

The City of Redmond is seriously thinking about offering zero interest loans to attract new restaurants to the downtown area. One of the owners of a delicatessen called Soup 2 Nuts says the city has already helped them and they support other restaurants coming downtown. Rozy Arno says competition is good if more people flock to downtown Redmond. She says also says the City's help made a huge difference to her business. "It’s essential; without that, without all the City's help it would've been hard for us to make that decision. Seriously, Redmond is the best place I've ever lived, seriously." The City Council is expected to put the final details on the loan program together at a September 27th meeting.

 

 

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People Gather to Remember

Ten years after the worst terrorist attack in American history, people in Bend pause to remember those lost. Dozens gathered at the Bend Heroes Memorial Sunday morning to pay tribute to the nearly 3000 people who died on September 11th, 2001. Bend Police Sgt. Clint Burleigh says he wanted to honor the first responders who ran toward danger, when others ran away. “I think honor is the best word to describe this for me. There's 300 plus firefighters and police officers that went into the building when everyone was running out and I hope I have the courage to do that.” The Bend memorial had speeches, salutes and a moment of silence.

 

 

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Warm Springs Fires Now in “Mop Up”

Fire crews heave begun mop up operations on all seven fires in the High Cascades Complex. Crews conducted very successful burnout operations over the weekend, allowing crews to really get the upper hand on the fires. Mop-up means the crews start at the edge of the fires' perimeter and can work inward to find hot spots. Fire bosses say that conditions are still ripe for active fire behavior, and crews will be watching for spot fires.   Officials will analyze fire situations today and consider time frames for lifting closures that are in place. The High Cascades Complex Fires have burned about 108,000 acres.

 

 

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Bank of America Cuts Jobs

 It’s the largest single job reduction by a U.S. company this year. The country's largest bank, Bank of America, is slashing 30,000 jobs. The cuts represent about 10% of the bank's workforce. Many industry experts are blaming the housing crash and the federal regulations that followed for major changes in the banking industry.  Linda Navarro, the CEO of the Oregon Bankers Association, says the biggest hit to all banks is regulation that restricts the amount of money retailers paid banks for credit and debit card processing. In this case, she says the big box retailers won, and the banks lost: "We raised the issue several times last year that taking that income out of the hands of banks that use that to pay for the debit card system and basically putting it back in the hands of the major retailers.” She says many of those retailers are now reporting big profits. The bank has already cut 6000 jobs this year. These cuts are the largest by a U.S. employer this year. The postal service announced 30,000 job cuts last year and GM cut 47,000 jobs in 2009.

 

 

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Cascade Middle School Coping With Enrollment

Cascade Middle School in Bend is a little less crowded this fall. The District redrew boundaries to ease the overcrowding there. Principal Stephanie Bennett says there are still pretty packed, but things are better. “We were projected to stay on course last year if we didn't redraw the boundaries. We were projected to have 975 and we have 905. It's down 70 people to be at.” Because some students have been grandfathered in allowing them to stay at Cascade and not move to Pilot Butte, the halls are still pretty crowded. It will much better in a couple years.

 

 

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Employees’ Quick Thinking Curbs Fire

Quick thinking and solid procedures in place helped keep a fire at a local business confined this morning.  Bend Fire reports that they were called to Bend Plating on southeast Bridgeford Boulevard around 11 a.m. this morning after an employee found fire burning in the ductwork in the grinding operations area.  Quick actions by the employees kept the fire from spreading outside the ductwork to any other part of the building. Bend Plating is no stranger to fire. In 2006, another fire was at their robotics building causing about $2 million damage. Now they have a new safety plan and sprinklers in place; damage from this fire was estimated at $5000.

 

 

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County Roads Reconstruction Completed for the Year

Some very long road reconstruction projects have been completed. George Kolb, Interim Director for the Deschutes County Road Department says there is some smooth sailing down in Sunriver and La Pine now that they’ve completed some big reconstruction projects. "Basically what we did is we took the existing roads, most of their widths were around 27-28 foot widths, and where we could, we actually widened out the roads out to 30-foot widths. So what you'll get is roughly an 11 foot travel road and 3 1/2- 4 foot paved bike shoulder where, before you maybe had one to two feet."  Kolb says this project cost about $3.2 million for the 11 mile project on Spring River Road, Century Drive and La Pine State Rec Roads. He adds that they are done with all road reconstruction projects for the year and will begin a little road maintenance and get ready for snow removal.

 

 

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Monday Fires Update

Burnout operations are giving firefighters the upper hand as they battle the last active fire of the High Cascades Complex of wildfires near Warm Springs. Those fires have now charred about 108,000 acres. Containment is currently at 85%.  And the Shadow Lake Fire, northwest of Sisters, is now mapped at roughly 10,500 acres. And the Dollar Lake Fire on Mt. Hood is estimated at 5800 acres, is 35% contained. All of these fires were sparked by lightning during storms that moved thru Oregon in late August.

 

It’s the conditions weary fire crews have been waiting for. Only one more day of warm temperatures and lightning strikes are expected. Jeri Mills with the Northwest Coordination Center says containment is increasing on the Monastery Complex near Goldendale Washington as well as the Dollar Lake Fire on Mount Hood.

 

 

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Smokey Skies Could Be With Us Several Days

A big wind blew in plenty of smoke Sunday afternoon, mostly from the Shadow Lake Fire back burning procedures. Frank Messina with the Department of Environmental Quality says, now that we have an inversion layer, we could have the smoke with us for several days. "During the day, it does change to a certain degree. But what the problem is, is it's like a kettle with a seal on top; it just compounds itself and just holds it in. And unless we get good mixing, it just doesn't change. And for the next few days we're probably going to be living in a very smoky environment in the Central Oregon area." Messina says we are in the "moderate" area right now. If you are someone with asthma or some kind on compromised breathing problem, it's best to stay indoors.

 

 

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Bend Remembers 9/11

Ten years after the worst terrorist attack in American history, people in Bend pause to remember those lost. Dozens gathered at the Bend Heroes Memorial Sunday morning to pay tribute to the nearly 3000 people who died on September 11th, 2001. Bend Police Sgt. Clint Burleigh says he wanted to honor the first responders who ran toward danger, when others ran away. “I think honor is the best word to describe this for me. There’s 300 plus firefighters and police officers that went into the building when everyone was running out and I hope I have the courage to do that.” The Bend Memorial had speeches. Salutes and a moment of silence.

 

 

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Teaching 9/11 in Schools

As for teaching about 9/11 in schools; it’s still too early for extensive instruction out of textbooks. The Superintendent of Bend La Pine Schools Ron Wilkinson says much of the 9/11 instruction here is centered around safety and why certain rules are in place in case of an emergency. “And I think that's the kind of conversations teachers have with kids, and how different events threaten our safety, and why certain things are in place to are there to maintain our safety, obviously, America changed after 911 in terms of particularily everyone of us who board a plane and major changes in terms of airport security." He was the Deputy Superintendent on that morning of 9/11 ten years ago. He says the District phones were flooded with calls and many parents came and picked up their kids from school. He says they also had to deal with the trauma of students seeing it unfold live on TV; and some kids having connection with some of the victims of 9/11.

 

 

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Fundraiser is Just “Ducky”

17,000 colorful rubber ducks sailed down the Deschutes River as part of the 22nd Annual Great Drake Park Duck Race on Sunday. The Bend Rotary fundraiser donates the $85,000 raised to nine charities. People buy ducks for $5, for a chance at some big ticket items. All the prizes were donated, so all the money raised, goes to charity. Some of the organizations that benefitted are the Kid’s Center, Bend's Community Center, and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Oregon. Organizers says this year's event was the biggest yet.

 

 

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Fires Update

Burnout operations have given firefighters the upper hand as they battle the last active fire of the High Cascades Complex of wildfires that have burned more than 108,000 acres on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation over the past three weeks, officials said Sunday.

 

The Shadow Lake fire is now mapped at 10,500 acres. It’s burning in a wilderness area15 miles northwest of Sisters.   The weather this week is expected to be more cooperative for those fighting the fire. That fire is now 25% contained. Much of the new acreage over the weekend is due to intentional burning to establish fire lines.

 

 

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West Coast Bank to Close

Another bank is pulling out of Bend. Officials at West Coast Bank say they are closing both of their branches here in Bend. The closures will occur in early December and will eliminate 8 or 9 local positions. The bank has had some problems complying with federal and state regulations regarding on-hand cash levels. The FDIC issued a “Cease and Desist Order” in October of 2009 alleging the bank had conducted unsafe and unsound banking practices, by failing to maintain sufficient liquidity and capital to cover poor quality loans. West Coast Bank raised the required capital and met other requirements, allowing the FDIC to terminate the order. The Bend closures are expected to allow the bank to maintain a better cash position.

 

 

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Regulations Help Credit Unions

New federal regulations on banks are filtering down into the business models of banks throughout the country- and feeding some customers into local credit unions. Kyle Frick with Mid Oregon Credit Union says they seem to be seeing more customers coming in because of changes in fee structures. He says the regulations from the government are having a big impact on how banks operate."So we're starting to see different business models starting to emerge and fees are part of that. The way that different banks and financial institutions are approaching, how do we make money in this type of environment? They have to try and figure out how to earn income and so they are imposing different types of fees and things." The regulations have cut the amount of money banks have typically raised through fees and debit card use, another problem facing some banks is that fewer people are borrowing money and fewer people are qualified to get a loan. Frick says at the Credit Union they are also seeing fewer borrowers and more people aggressively paying down their debt.

 

 

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Bend Business Expands

Because of a bad economy, many companies are downsizing and are taking cost-saving measures such as consolidation. But, Bend-based Glasweld is expanding by decentralizing its core functions to Phoenix and Saginaw, Michigan. The company calls itself a complete solutions provider for the glass repair industry, including supplies and training. Glasweld General Manager Dennis Garbutt says: "We have created these new offices to strategically service our customers where they are located.” Each location, including the corporate headquarters here in Bend, will handle sales, training, and service for its respective region.

 

 

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Fire Restrictions Now in Place

Fire danger is prompting fire restrictions on local forests that haven't been in effect since 2007. Spokesperson Lisa Clark says the restrictions went into effect Saturday morning, just after midnight and will probable remain in place at least for several days or weeks. Campfires and smoking are restricted in the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, and the Crooked River National Grassland. Motorized vehicles, including ATV’s are also banned from many areas right now: "I think also the main thing; that people should know that this affects where your ATV's can go. The trails for the Bend Fort Rock and the BLM are closed. We do still allow people to use the Roseland and Millican ODOT play areas. But other than that, ATV riding is closed.” He says they are also seeing similar closures in nearby areas, so check first before you leave for an ATV or hunting trip in other parts of the state.

 

 

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Motorcyclist in Critical Condition After Head-On Crash

A Redmond man is in critical condition following a motorcycle -truck accident in Redmond. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office says Bob Haney, 41, hit a truck head-on Thursday afternoon on NW Pershall and NW Coyner. Investigators say Haney crossed over the centerline in a corner and struck the truck head on.

The crash is still under investigation.

 

 

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9/11 Memorial in Bend

Bend will hold a ceremony at the Bend Heroes Memorial off of Newport Avenue Sunday morning at the time planes ten years ago, flew into the Twin Towers in New York. Bend City Manager, Eric King says the observation will start at 7 a.m. our time.  “So there will be a moment of silence and a ringing of the bells in Memorial Park near Mirror Pond Park. There will be an event with first responders and entertainment, a brief event.” There will be a color guard, the pledge of allegiance, a moment of silence and a benediction during the ceremony.

 

 

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One Military Officials Memory

As we near the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. It’s a time for reflection for many. One high ranking Oregon military official was at the Pentagon when the plane hit the building. Now retired, Alex Bergen was a Major General in the Oregon National Guard. He was sitting in a committee meeting at the Pentagon when it hit: “And we were about two corridors down when it hit, but we didn’t really know what had happened. It felt like an earthquake to me. And then they came in and told us what had happened. There’d been a couple planes flown into the World Trade Center and they didn’t really know what happened in the Pentagon, they just know they had an event. So we evacuated the building.”  He was forced to walk back to his hotel that day because the gridlock in D.C. was that bad.

 

 

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A Parent’s Story

A Central Oregon parent will never forget 9 /11. Robin Gould lost his 29 year old son Michael, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in New York's World Trade Center. The financial services firm lost 658 of its 960 employees that day.  We talked with Michael's dad a couple months ago, about his loss, ten years later. “We certainly spent a lot of money. Not sure we made a lot of progress. I think the world is a scary place. I don't think there's a lot we can do to change their point of view.” Gould is happy the U.S. caught Osama bin Laden, but he feels that has not changed the hatred toward the U.S.

 

 

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What Do Kids Remember About 9/11?

Very few people do not remember what they were doing 10 years ago on 9/11. Ponderosa Elementary School Principal Steve Austin was a 6th grade teacher at the time. They had the TV on in his classroom, because he was teaching about the stock market. He says the kids were awe-struck. "I think we all knew it was real. And I think the question was: ' ok are we supposed to be watching this right now?' because this is something that is pretty traumatic, are we supposed to have this on TV? And it was a big discussion amongst all the staff members, should we not be showing this, because it hasn't been filtered." Austin said for a while they thought it was an accident, and after a short time they realized it was history in the making. He says some parents were upset that their kids saw the devastation; but he feels they handled it in a sensitive and appropriate manner, they encouraged the kids to talk about the events with their parents.

 

 

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Great Drake Park Duck Race is Sunday

A popular fundraising event is this weekend; it’s the "Great Drake Park Duck Race" on Sunday. During the past 21 years the Duck Race has raised about $850,000 for local charities. Kyle Frick with Mid Oregon Credit Union says last year they raised about $60,000 for the Rotary Clubs in Bend. "We put that money out to the different charities here in Bend; Boys and Girls Club, Bend Community Center, there's a whole group of causes that are supported with this money. So it's really a great cause." The festivities take place from 11 to 4 in Drake Park in downtown Bend. There's also a free kid's race at noon.

 

 

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Oregon Congressmen’s Reaction of Job Bill Speech

Congressman Greg Walden and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden are reacting to the Presidents idea to create jobs.

Walden says we could start helping business by halting the tidal wave of proposed federal regulations. He says all of those rules are paralyzing small businesses.
 
And Senator Ron Wyden says there is no silver bullet for economic recovery.  It's a fight to be fought on several fronts and to be successful we must make strides toward putting Americans back by rebuilding crumbling transportation infrastructure, improving our manufacturing by getting tough on trade cheaters and making the tax code simpler and fairer for American businesses and families.  He believes that the President's bill is a step toward those goals.

 

 

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Platypus Pub?

A new pub will open its doors in Bend next Monday. The "Platypus Pub" on northeast third will have a basement pub and a retail shop with beer supplies upstairs. Owner Tom Gilles explains how they came up with the name. “The name came about because we were searching for a name and many were taken. So we decided on Platypus Pub because two of my partners are Beaver fans and two of us are Duck fans and that kind of made a platypus.” The Platypus Pub is the former Ernesto’s Restaurant. The new pub will be open Sunday through Monday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturdays 11 a.m. to midnight.

 

 

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Drive Less & Win!

Do you know just how far your walk or how much time you commute every day? Commute Options of Central Oregon has just launched a new program: Drive Less – Connect, a rewards program that offers a lot more. "You go to: www.CommuteOptions.org. Click on the "register now" and you can sign up. Very briefly, it just takes a few minutes, and begin tracking all the trips you make all throughout your days of the week and times of the day to anywhere that you're going. You can log your trips right in there and you will be eligible to win prizes." Kim Curley with Commute Options says it's also a great way to find single rides, carpools, and other options to make your commuting greener. And they have incentive prizes just for signing up this week.

 

 

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Judges Announce Their Retirement

Two Deschutes County Circuit Court Judges are ending their careers on the Circuit Court Bench. An announcement from Court Administrator Ernie Mazarol states that Judge Michael C. Sullivan has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2012 for the new term that begins January 2013. Sullivan became a Circuit Court Judge in 1988, and has been residing judge since 2003. Sullivan will continue as presiding judge until the end of the year, and will work as a trial judge through 2012.

 
Also, Circuit Court Judge Stephen N. Tiktin will retire at the end of 2011 after 23 years on the bench. Tiktin gained notoriety as he presided over a high profile child custody case involving Lysia Northon, the Bend woman who is serving a sentence for the murder of her husband, Chris Northon. In retirement, Tiktin will serve as a senior judge throughout the State of Oregon.
 
 
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False Alarm Prompts Search

It was a scary false alarm today in Bend. The report of a blonde boy in the nearby irrigation canal. Deschutes County Sheriff's Officials say it turns out the report was a diversionary tactic an alleged burglar used to throw people off of his trail. The 911 call came in around 10:20 this morning. Sgt. Troy Gotchy with Deschutes County says several emergency units responded from the Sheriff's Office and Bend Fire responded to the alleged water rescue, and did a thorough check of the canal in northeast Bend near Ann Margaret Drive. They found nothing and here's why: it was a story made up by an alleged burglar. “Essentially was it was is: he kicked in the back door. A female that was home came down the stairs, she interrupted this burglary and he told her there was an emergency down by the canal, there’s a kid in the water. And then he fled the scene.” He says they are frustrated over the false alarm and hope the public can help them find the home break-in suspect. “The suspect in the burglary is a white male 6’ 2” to 6’ 4” about 220 to 230 pounds, with blond hair. And he was riding a bike dark colored or camouflaged bicycle. So if anyone saw him in the area, we would really love a phone call.”  Gotchy says the person who stumbled upon the suspect was shaken up when she realized what actually happened; he also says home break ins where someone is at the home are pretty rare in Deschutes County. 541-693-6911.

 

 

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Crash North Of Terrebonne Closes Highway 97 for a few Hours

A four car crash closed down all lanes of Highway 97 north of Terrebonne around 9:30 this morning. Airlink was dispatched to the site just north of the Rex Barbour Bridge. It is unknown how many people are injured, or their identities. ODOT opened up the southbound lane around 11:15; Oregon State Police are still investigating the crash at this time. 1110 KBND will report you more details when they are available.

 

 

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Dollar Lake Fire Update

It’s a pleasant surprise for crews fighting the Dollar Lake Fire burning near Mt. Hood the weather has been more cooperative than expected.  Containment is now up to 25 percent on the Dollar Lake Fire near Mt. Hood  thanks to a little assist from Mother Nature. “Paul Norman of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center says the fire stands at about 7 square miles. Meantime, the Shadow Lake was on the move Wednesday forcing to move the fire command center to the Hoo Doo Ski Area. It’s fire now burned about 9 square miles and no containment date is set. Norman says they expect some erratic fire behavior there today.  The latest mapping on the Shadow Lake fire has its size at about 6000 acres, and a new closure area is in effect related to the Shadow Lake Fire. The closure now extends to the west along the southeast quadrant of Highways 20 and 126. This includes a portion of the McKenzie River Trail. At this time the Clear Lake and Cold Water Cove Recreation areas do remain open.  

 
High Cascades Fire Update
 
Firefighters made significant progress on the Badger Butte Fire Wednesday.  Crews were able to hold established lines, construct new lines, and aggressively fight the fire. Crews are conducting burnout operations and large amounts of smoke may be visible in the area of the Badger Butte fire.  The fire is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Warm Springs. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Agency officials have lifted the Level 1 evacuation order for residents.  A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) remains closed due to fire activity associated with the Badger Butte Fire.  The High Cascades Complex wildfires have burned an estimated 107,588 acres.

 

 

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Focus on Suicide Prevention This Week

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in Oregon, especially for young people. That's why the Deschutes County Children and Families Commission is releasing a video to inform parents of the warning signs of depression. Nick Stevenson with the County says you can also find the video on the Deschutes County website. “One video is focused on parents and teens and trying to empower parents to reach out to teens when they exhibit some of the signs of depression and to point parents toward resources at the County. This week is National Suicide Prevention Week. A recent survey in Deschutes County, found that 15% of 8th graders had contemplated suicide.

 

 

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Bend City Council Discusses Neighborhood Association Support

The Bend City Council discussed changes to the City's agreement with neighborhood associations during its meeting Wednesday night. City Manager Eric King says the City of Bend says with all their recent cuts, had to lay off all the employees of the office of neighborhood associations. The Council is just working out an agreement that reflects what they're doing. “We still see the neighborhood association as a vital link with the City. We just don't have the resources to support the staff, when it was formed ten years ago. So we decided, let's remove the requirement, not enforceable no staff. And still provide grants all be it a lot less money providing.” The Council tabled the motion, but will take up the discussion again at future meetings. King was the guest on KBND's "Your Town" Thursday morning.

 

 

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Oregon Attorney General Appointment Controversy

There’s a controversy today over an appointment in Oregon. The Oregon State Sheriff's Association was urging the President to appoint Dwight Holden as the next U.S. Attorney for Oregon; but his name was not forwarded to the White House by Senator Wyden's Office. The White House nominated Amanda Marshal, the attorney in charge of the Child Advocacy section at the Oregon Department of Justice since June of last year. Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergen feels Holton is a better choice. “The person that apparently is going to be appointed, we believe, potentially, has some issues and we can’t lend out support to that.” Marshal is expected to be appointed later today by President Obama.

 

 

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Another Small Fire Set in Bend â€" Are They Linked?

Bend Police are investigating a series of small fires that have been set in Bend recently. Yesterday, around 5:15 in the afternoon, Bend Fire received a report of a small brush fire in the vacant field next to the Subaguru on South Highway 97. The fire was limited to a 20 by 20 section and the crew was able to extinguish it quickly. But authorities are now determining if this fire was set intentionally or was an accident. They are also investigating of this fire is linked to previous trashcan fires set around Bend over the past week.

 

 

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Bend City Council To Present Proclamation on 9/11 Tonight

The Bend City Council meets tonight and part of the agenda includes a special proclamation in reference to 9/11. President of the Bend Heroes Foundation, Dick Tobiason says the Mayor will present the proclamation honoring those who lost their lives on 9/11. "The Mayor will present that proclamation to me tonight at the council meeting at 7 o'clock and with me will be Bob Maxwell, the World War II Medal of Honor Recipient and today is exactly the 67th anniversary of his heroism in France that lead to the highest award for bravery and honor in the United States.” And on Sunday, the Bend Heroes Foundation is planning a special ceremony at the Heroes’ Memorial in downtown Bend at 7 a.m. They are also asking everyone to hold a moment of silence and reflection at 10 a-m. Pacific Time to remember the hour that the first attack occurred on the World Trade Center.

 

 

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Some Guard Have Returned

They spent 400 days serving overseas away from home. Here in Central Oregon friends and family waited for their return.  And today (Wednesday), the suspense was finally over.  16 local National Guard soldiers came back home today. The air as filled with excitement and expectation, and the troops opened the terminal doors and walked in to a huge cheering crowd. Taylor Salmons of Redmond was greeting by his fiancée, Elizableth: “I’m happy to get back. I’m ready to get my life back on line, after taking a year off.” Taylor wants to start building a car and then he will report back to military training in December. And the homecoming triggered memories for Ron Clemons of Madras: “Just welcoming home the troops. We weren’t afforded that opportunity when we came home.” Patrick Johnstead has planned a special surprise for his mother: “They don’t know I’m here. I’m going to surprise them, show up in a police car, to see they’re reaction. “ 16 soldiers are from the 3rd battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade. The National Guard soldiers were in Iraq for 400 days to help stabilize the country. They served as "convoy security" for products that needed to be safely transported throughout the country.

 

 

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TSA Jobs Are Available Now

If you ever wanted to work for the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) now is your chance. About 80 jobs are available around the State. They are hiring in Portland and even in Central Oregon. Mike Erwin is Oregon's Federal Security Director: "We're going to be hiring some officers in Medford, Eugene and Redmond and that is because we're getting the body scanners. It requires a little more staffing.  He says the other reason they need more people is because as we come up on the 10th anniversary of the TSA; people are retiring or have relocated away from a TSA job. He also says these are mostly part-time jobs.

 

 

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High Cascade Complex Fire Containment Pushed Back

Fire crews battling the huge high Cascades Complex near Warm Springs have pushed out the expected full containment date out two weeks to Wednesday, September 21st. Earlier, they had hoped to contain it by Labor Day. And as of 8:00 a.m. today, a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail was closed due to fire activity. At this time the closure is from north of Olallie Lake area at the Triangle Lake Horse Camp, to just south of the Clackamas Lake campground where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Road 42.

 

 

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Shadow Lake Fire To Burn Out Naturally

The latest mapping on the Shadow Lake Fire, 15 miles northwest of Sisters, shows noticeable growth. Yesterday the fire moved one and a half miles to the west and its now within four miles of Highway 126. Its’ total size is now at almost 5500 acres, up about 900 acres from the day before. And with a very hot and dry weather system moving in, chances are things will get worse. Fire spokesperson Kristen Bowles says the fire is so dangerous to fight and in such a remote area, that they decided to let parts of the fire just burn out naturally: "This fire's going to burn until we have what we call a season ending event, rain or snow, within the perimeter of where fire-fighters are. Where the fire has come to the edge of our fire lines they are going to be mopping up. Mopping up hot spots. But as far as the interior part of the fire we don't have any resources on that - its going to continue to burn until it goes out on its own."  Fire crews are trying to keep the fire within the wilderness and out of the Clear Lake area; they are using helicopters and tankers to slow its most toward the west, and they may even use the lava fields as part of a fire line.

 

 

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First Day for Freshmen

There were a lot of unsure faces as incoming freshmen attended their first day at Summit High today. Junior Harrison Johnson is part of the "Link Crew;” a group of upperclassmen who buddy up with freshmen to help them through their first year. He says he's expecting a very busy year: "I expect a lot of work. Junior is the hardest and I just have to make sure I stay focused and get it done." Math teacher Kathy Quick says with the change to a seven period day, she might be able to get more accomplished: "My goals are to stay positive and have fun with the kids. And I’m actually looking forward to the seven period day and being able to extend my lessons out over two days instead of just one." And the cheerleaders were on hand and always ready to keep the spirits high: “Go Storm!”

 

 

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Bend Park & Rec Board Hears Suggestions about Miller’s Landing

An impressive turnout at Tuesday night's Bend Parks and Rec Board meeting. Dozens of skateboarders were in attendance and testified about the need to turn Miller's Landing riverfront property near the Old Mill District into a skate park.  Community organizer Justin Gottlieb says Board members heard testimony for several hours. “The Board members sat there and attentively listened. I had the personal feeling that the general consensus in the room among those in favor of a skate park and those opposed to it, was the west side of Bend needs a skate park somewhere.” No decisions were made last night, but the Board expects to make a final decision this winter on how to develop the Miller's Landing Community Park.  Other ideas for the park include making it a dog park, or just leaving it as it is.

 

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Soldiers Homecoming Postponed

It’s a homecoming for some local National Guard soldiers today, but also a disappointment for others.  52 soldiers were expected today in Redmond at the airport, but only 18 are arriving. The rest are delayed. Local veterans spokesman Dick Tobiason says he was surprised by what he describes as the lack of good planning: "You would think they would do better than give notice at 4:30 yesterday afternoon for something that is happening at 11:30 today. And that didn’t work well. And then this morning we hear that they changed the numbers.  So that is not normally what we expect. It’s usually is very well orchestrated and publicized a week or so in advance.  We were shocked to get this late notice.” One local spouse told KBND News that she was told the soldiers are in Washington State and should be coming home to Redmond soon, probably in the next day or so.

 

 

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Early Morning Fire Causes Minor Damage

The cause of a small fire at a home on Brian Ray Court in Bend is still being investigated today. Bend Fire is called out to the report of a fire at the residence of Jonathan Sullivan-Shipley around 4-45 this (wed) morning. Bend Fire Chief Bob Madden says when crews arrive, they find a fire burning under the front porch of the home, and it had extended to the outdoor siding. The fire was quickly extinguished and there was no smoke or damage to the inside of the house. Estimated damage stands at about one thousand dollars.

 

 

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National Guard Troops Return to Central Oregon Today

It’s an emotional day in Central Oregon; the first day of school for many, and a homecoming for Oregon National Guard soldiers. About 50 soldiers will arrive at the Redmond Airport around noon today. Captain Stephen Bomar says its good timing for families who want to be there for the start of school. He says the soldiers were in Iraq for 400 days, working as convoy security to help stabilize the country. "Convoy security is where they protect goods and services as they get distributed to the provinces; and that helps build the overall structure of the nation.  Obviously they've done it well because we continue to move forward in Iraq."  He says as part of that mission they often traveled 1000's of miles a day.

 

 

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Wednesday Fire Update

More hot dry weather is expected to challenge fire fighters this week and even for much of September.Jeree Mills is with the Northwest Fire Coordination Center and she says experts in that center are closely watching the short and long term forecasts. "It’s so bad that the concern, we came in Saturday and put out an extreme weather alert.  It’s just rapidly changing fire weather. Takes off like that." Temperatures are expected to rise into the triple digits in some parts of the state, with low humidity and high winds forecasted. The biggest problem with the wind is not even the speed at which it blows, but the unpredictable nature. As for the latest on the Shadow Lake Fire 15 miles from Sisters, it’s still estimated at 4600 acres with no containment yet.  The huge fire complex burning near Warm Springs has grown slightly to 107,000 acres. And it's a pivotal day on the Dollar Lake Fire burning near Mt. Hood. Its size is now 7 square miles, and it's 20% contained. That fire is expected to send a lot of smoke into nearby Sandy.

 

 

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Almost Everyone is Back in School Today

Bend La Pine students will head back to class this morning. Normally students start school the day after Labor Day, but this year it was delayed a day. School Superintendent Ron Wilkinson explains why: “Actually the delay was for a couple of purposes. One, we're on a reduced contract length for teachers and in balancing the school year, if we had not made the reduction at the beginning of the school year, we would have ended the last day of school on a Monday and that didn't make sense.” So instead they started school a day later and shifted things around a bit. 9th graders and below will return to school today. 10th through 12th graders return on Thursday.

 

 

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Skateboarders Show Support for New Skatepark

A big turnout during Tuesday night 's Bend Parks and Recreation meeting to discuss future plans for Miller's Landing. Community organizer Justin Gottlieb is a big advocate for a skate park there and has circulated a petition with one thousand signatures on it, to push for that. He says a lot of people feel disenfranchised. “They were just being dismissed. They were being told skateboarding is not a legitimate recreational activity. I believe for my generation, it very much is a legitimate recreational activity.” But Ted Schoenborn on the Parks and Rec Board says the public process allows everyone to have a voice. “Certainly they're being heard, it’s part of the public process. That’s why its important to understand what elements go into any particular park and the process we use.”

 

 

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Financial Expert Doesn’t Expect Much from President’s Speech

After the three day weekend investors may have had too much time to worry, the stock market had another big down day, with the Dow closing down about 100 points. Bend financial advisor Bill Valentine says the sell-off is a continuation of what started in early August, on concerns of the U.S. economy and big problems in Europe.  Looking forward, Valentine doesn't think the President's speech on jobs this Thursday will move the market much: “We know what he's going to say and I don't expect it to have any effect on the market or frankly on the economy, but it is important to note that we are still way ahead of where we were in August. We had a big fall in early August, then a quiet recovery, then another big fall.” Valentine does not believe at this time that we are headed towards a double dip recession.

 

 

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Madras Administrator to Retire

15 years in Madras government and City Administrator Mike Morgan is retiring. Mike Morgan has been the Madras City Administrator for more than seven years and was the Administrator for Jefferson County seven years before that. He told the Madras City Council last week, he plans to retire in December. “Well, hopefully they can hire someone with better skills than I have and I think that's what will happen. They'll decide at an upcoming Council meeting whether to initiate an advertising process. It’s purely a political decision made by a Council.” Morgan plans to retire on December 16th, but told the Council he would stay on longer if a replacement couldn't be found by then.

 

 

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It’s the Happiest Day of the Year

Bend La Pine students will head back to class tomorrow. Normally students start school the day after Labor Day, but this year it was delayed a day. School Superintendent Ron Wilkinson explains why: “Actually the delay was for a couple of purposes. One we're on a reduced contract length for teachers and in balancing the school year, if we had not made the reduction at the beginning of the school year, we would have ended the last day of school on a Monday and that didn't make sense.” So instead they started school a day later and shifted things around a bit. 9th graders and below will return to school tomorrow. 10th through 12th graders return on Thursday.

 

 

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Watch Your Speed in School Zones

Zooming around town is about to slow down. That's because the first day of school means you must slow down to 20 miles an hour in the schools zones. Bend Police Community Liaison Steve Esselstyn says it can really ruin your day if you're caught driving over the limit. "It ticket can range; it depend on how fast you're going and where you're going. it can range, it's ranges from, well it can go up to about $410." Esselstyn says that kids are very excited about the first few days of school and will not pay attention to what they are doing, and could run into the street without looking. He adds that kids who ride their bikes could also inattentive too, so just slow down around bicyclists.

 

 

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New Family Center Clinic to Open Wednesday

St. Charles is opening a new Family Center Clinic with a different approach. The new clinic off of Connors Avenue near the hospital opens on Wednesday. Six family practice physicians and a psychologist will staff the clinic. Jim Diegel, the CEO of St. Charles Health System says the new clinic is trying to meet the area's need for more primary care doctor in a unique way. “And so by imbedding a psychologist in the clinic, if they are identified with a behavior or mental health need, they can actually right there in the moment, have a psychologist available to work with the patient.” By combining medical and mental health doctors in the same location, they are better able to meet patient's needs in one location. St. Charles runs family care clinics in Prineville, Redmond, Sisters and Bend.

 

 

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Who Lit the Trash Can Fires?

Bend Police need your help after several garbage cans were lit on fire overnight. The first call came in just after 11 Monday night on Northeast 5th Street about 2 large recycle containers on fire. Then about 15 minutes later, police and firefighters were called to another report of a trashcan on fire in front of Juniper Swim and Fitness. This morning, Bend Police are asking anyone who saw anything last night to give them a call at 541-693-6911.

 

 

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Authorities Eyeing Hot Weather and Winds this Week

The fire burning near Mt. Hood has expanded to 4500, and it's 10% contained. Paul Norman, at the Northwest Coordination Center says they want to create a larger buffer with private lands before strong winds hit Wednesday and Thursday. The fire burning west of Sisters has also grown expanding past containment lines. They're very concerned about the winds expected with the extreme hot weather forecast later this week. The other major concern is the Shadow Lake Fire near Sisters. It has burned past containment lines and managers are working on a new plan to stop it from advancing. The winds forecast this week could also cause that fire to grow.

 

 

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Shadow Lake Fire Update

The Shadow Lake Fire, 15 miles northwest of Sisters, is now at 4600 acres and crews are trying to make progress before a new weather system moves in. Fire officials say a very successful burnout was undertaken along the 960 Road and the historic Santiam Wagon Road to secure the line and protect the campgrounds and structures adjacent to the Big Lake area. A short window of opportunity existed for crews to successfully burnout the north and northwest sections of the fire line before unstable air, warmer temperatures and increased winds come into the area on Thursday, pushing the fire west back towards Big Lake.” Fire spokesperson Katie Lighthall says the biggest impact to the local community at this point is all the smoke: “The decision that they made, as a group to fight it with indirect suppressions techniques as based upon firefighter safety. And just the fact that the area up there is so rugged and so full of dead and downed trees and snags, that it just was not a safe place to put firefighters. There were no safety zones.” Starting Wednesday, fire activity will probably increase and growth is predicted to be driven by winds out of the east. A community meeting is planned for tonight in Sisters; at 7 p.m. at the Sisters Elementary School.

 

 

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Redmond Boys and Girls Club Get New Home

The Boys and Girls Club in Redmond plans to move from near the closed down Evergreen Elementary to across from Obsidian Middle School. Currently they are renting the old bus barn for their club. But thanks to the Cascade Child Center that recently went out of business, the Boys and Girls Club is moving to a better facility. The center donated their building to the Club. Lisa Burbidge is the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Oregon: “We' re just so excited. We're about 40% in our fundraising and a few of our projects will begin. We’re working on the roof and driveway. We’ve gotten some generous contributions. So we're just trying to get momentum going so we can relocated to that better situated property.” The Boys and Girls Club estimates it will need to raise a quarter of a million dollars to fund the needed renovations.

 

 

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Miller’s Landing Plans Discussed Tonight

Bend Parks and Rec is expecting a big crowd tonight for its meeting on plans for Miller's Landing. Community Organizer Justin Gottlieb who wants to see a skate park there, is trying to organize a big turnout. “As of right now, we have on our Facebook meeting site 85 people who are planning on being in attendance. We’ve been making phone calls and we're expecting well over 100 people there tonight.” Tonight's meeting is a work session, but will allow public comment. Currently, Gottlieb says he has 1000 signatures on a petition advocating for a skate park / snow play area at Miller's Landing. The meeting starts at 5:30 tonight at the Bend Parks and Rec District Headquarters on Columbia.

 

 

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ATV Accident Kills One

A 37 year old portland woman was killed in an ATV accident in the Three Rivers Recreational area on Sunday. Killed was Carrie Shaver, 37, who was a rear passenger on an ATV. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says the driver failed to stop for a stop sign and to negotiate a right hand turn, driving over a 30 foot embankment. Speed and alcohol are suspected in the fatal crash.

 

 

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Culver Woman Injured in Crash

A Culver woman was seriously injured when she pulled into the path of a semi on Highway 97 north of Madras Sunday afternoon. Oregon State Police say Sylvia Shepherd, 65, of Culver was stopped at a stop sign at an intersection with Highway 97 and pulled out in front of the truck. Shepherd was transported to St. Charles in Bend with serious injuries. She is currently listed in serious condition.

 

 

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Central Oregon Fires Fanned by Weather

About 2400 fire fighters continue to battle the large High Cascades Complex burning near Warm Springs. Its been a tough fight, and they already missed one goal for containment. Fire bosses had initially hoped for full containment on Labor Day; but that did not happen, and now it's pushed back to tomorrow.  The High Cascades Complex is now made up of seven fires burning in the Warm Springs area; total acreage is at least 106,000 acres. And the fires have been described as aggressive and fast, especially when the weather has been hotter and drier; some have even created their own weather systems. The last few mild days have given crews some of the break they've need as they prepare for the next round. For the next 6 to 9 days a number of thermal troughs will pass over Oregon and Washington, causing more prolonged hot, dry and unstable weather.  

 
The Shadow Lake Fire-
 
The shadow lake fire burning in a wilderness area near Sisters continues to challenge firefighters. Its in a very rugged remote area that is dangerous for fire fighters to battle. The fire event interrupted a weekend camping trip for about 500 people who were evacuated from the area of the Big Lake Youth Camp and surrounding campsites. Fire spokesperson Katie Lighthall says it was an important precautionary decision, and most people understood. "I have heard so many people say that was the easiest evacuation they've ever conducted. Some people were smiling and saying thank you.” On the way out that they were grateful that it happened during the day." Looking ahead, fire officials say a big weather system later this week could pose some big challenges. Tonight a special community meeting is being held in Sisters at the Sisters Elementary school at 7 o'clock.
 
The Dollar Lake Fire
 

Crews are making progress on another lightning sparked fire in Oregon: the Dollar Lake Fire burning near Mount Hood is now about 4200 acres in size; as of Monday is was 10% contained. If you plan a trip in that area fire officials warn that smoke can be especially thick in the early morning and evening hours. You're asked to use your headlights, drive slower and watch for fire traffic.

 

 

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Traveling Softball Team Looking for Girls

Teams are already forming for spring softball. Jeremy Puckett with the High Desert Yellow Jackets says they are holding tryouts for next season's traveling team. He says their league, American Softball Association, is a very intense league: “The traveling team is very competitive. And it's for the girls that really love softball. Last year at the seven tournaments we played, we played a total of 31 games. So it's a lot of softball, but it's something above and beyond what they can currently play at the other levels." Puckett says they are looking to field two girls travel teams: 10 and under and 12 and under.  Tryouts begin September 20th at Bowlby Fields in Redmond. Contact: 541-325-3689 .

 

 

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Summer Tourism Ends on an Up Note

All those Labor Day travelers put an exclamation mark on the summer tourism season for Central Oregon. The Executive Director of the Central Oregon Visitors Association says even with fires burning nearby, visitor numbers looked good for the three day weekend. Alana Audette says this bucks a national trend of fewer Labor Day travelers this year. She believes a short summer is part of the reason for the big Labor Day numbers here: "Because a lot of our tourists are coming from within a drive market and our summer season started so late; and so we're finding that a lot of people postponed their early summer travel just to take that one last trip over Labor Day weekend and thankfully Central Oregon is one of the destinations that they are choosing to come to, and it's going to bode very well for us.” Overall, those in the local lodging industry project that they are going to be between 4% and 10% ahead of last Labor Day weekend.

 

 

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Update on High Cascade Complex

                                   Monday, September 5, 2011 – 8 a.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Tom Lavagnino – ORCA Incident Information Officer (541) 553-8283
Incident Command Post is located at the Warm Springs Fire Management Office
Ada Takacs– Blue Mountain Incident Information Officer (877) 324-7993
Incident Command Post is located at Simnasho
 
High Cascades Complex
 
            The High Cascades Complex is comprised of seven major fires totaling approximately 106,355 acres. There are currently 2,412 personnel assigned to the complex and resources are being shifted to the areas of most concern as mop-up objectives are met on some fires. Firefighters were able to contain several spot fires on Sunday and continued to make good progress in creating and maintaining fire line. 
            Incident Commander Brett Fillis and the ORCA Type II Incident Management Team will be transitioning the Razorback, West Hills, and Seekseequa fires back to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs on Tuesday, September 6 at 6:00 a.m.
            The Razorback, West Hills and Seekseequa fires showed little or no growth yesterday with firefighters continuing to mop-up the perimeters to reach containment. Some smoke may continue to be visible from the interior of these fires as unburned fuels are consumed. 
 
For the next seven to ten days, a number of thermal troughs will pass over the Oregon and Washington Cascades, causing a prolonged period of hot, dry, and unstable weather. Hot temperatures and low relative humidities, some of them ranging into single digits, will create dangerous burning conditions.
 
Under the influence of the thermal trough, existing fires can suddenly come to life in areas that had been quiet. Spot fires and new ignitions will have the potential to spread rapidly. 
 
The Badger Butte Fire saw increased activity yesterday and traveled over the Butte to Badger Creek and down into the drainage. Firefighters continued to hold the line and respond to spot fires. Contingency lines are also being created in the event the upcoming thermal troughs create increased fire activity.
 
 
Warm Springs Agency natural resource staff and resource advisors who are working closely with the incident management teams have identified huckleberries and timber as important resources to protect.   Every attempt is being made to utilize existing roads as fire breaks and to minimize operational impacts to these important resources.
            There are currently no road closures and the Deschutes River recreation sites remain open. Travelers are encouraged to monitor road conditions on the Oregon Department of Transportation website www.tripcheck.com. Drivers should use caution while driving in fire activity areas, expect smoky conditions, and drive with their headlights on. In addition, short-term road closures may be necessary, so travelers should plan accordingly by allowing extra time for their journey.
 
Status of the seven larger fires within the High Cascades Complex:
 

Fire Name
Acres Burned
% Contained
Razorback
64,677
80
West Hills
15,373
80
Seekseequa
3,797
40
Powerline
20,910
53
Trout Lake
844
21
Badger Butte
720
26
Lemiti
34
80

 
 
 
 
 

Shadow Lake Fire Grows

The Shadow Lake Fire more than doubled in size over the weekend. The Central Oregon heat and low humidity allowed the Shadow Lake Fire, northwest of Sisters, to grow over the weekend. Fire officials sensed the danger and took action to protect people in the area.   Close to 500 campers and hikers were evacuated Saturday from the area of the Big Lake Youth Camp and surrounding campsites.   A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail between Highways 20 and 242 was also closed due to the fire danger.   The fire doubled in size overnight, pushing it to over 1400 acres by Sunday morning. Then, on Sunday afternoon, the wind shifted, and drove the flames to the north with an estimated 800 more acres going up in smoke.   Despite all of the growth, fire officials say there still is no danger to any structure or to the public.    Because the fire is in a wilderness area, firefighters continue to use indirect tactics, including bulldozers and water drops from helicopters. 

 
As of 9:30 Monday morning, the Shadow Lake Fire has grown to over 3,300 acres.
 
 
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Patriot’s Day in Sunday

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is coming up this Sunday. The Bend Heroes Foundation is organizing a special remembrance at the heroes memorial at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, that includes a proclamation by the Bend City Council. Heroes’ President Dick Tobiason says they will place flags at the memorial, adjust the flag on the pole to half-staff, and bagpipes will play “Amazing Grace.” He say there will be one difference they are asking all citizens to do: "A moment of silence. In the past, we've done a moment of silence based on the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center. This time its going to be different. In our case, the West Coast, Pacific Daylight Time, 10 o'clock, we'll have a moment of silence. So I think that's the word you get out to the public is that: no matter where you are 10 o'clock Sunday morning, just think of the nearly 3000 people we lost through terrorism in the United States." Tobiason says the moment of silence at 10 a.m. is something each citizen can do on their own, and he hopes everyone will take some time during the day to reflect on the meaning of Patriot’s Day.

 

 

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Foreclosures: Are We Done?

The troubled housing market is ground zero for our struggling economy. An Oregon company that tracks foreclosures in the state, says we may have hit bottom. Since 2007, more than five million Americans have lost their homes to foreclosures or short sales. Some economists estimate another five million may lose their homes before the crisis is over. John Helmick with Gorilla Capital, that tracks foreclosures in Oregon says its important many of these foreclosures go through. “So while government is trying to help people avoid foreclosure, their actions are only extending the foreclosure crisis by keeping home prices down, more people are entering foreclosure.” Helmick believes we are at the bottom when it comes to foreclosures in Oregon. He says for the last fifty years, when median home prices are around three times the median household income, that's when the housing market stabilizes.

 

 

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Family Care Clinic Opens in Bend

St Charles in Bend is opening its Family Care Clinic on Wednesday here in Bend. The center will institute a different approach. The clinic located on Conners Avenue near the hospital, will employ six family practice physicians, along with a psychologist. Jim Diegel, the CEO of St. Charles Healthcare System says it's a different approach to primary care. “We're actually embedding a psychologist in our primary clinic. One of our physicians told us recently 40% of his patients have a behavioral or mental health need.” St. Charles has family care clinics in Prineville , Sisters , Redmond and Bend.

 

 

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Innovation Theatre Works Announces Season

A beloved American author's work comes to life in Bend. Innovation Theatre Works has announced their new season of plays and it's kicked off by "Hard Times" by Studs Terkel. Spokesman Brad Hills says some of the shows will be community based and other will have professional actors cast. "This is the first time that we've had the opportunity to actually announce a full season. We’ve been going show to show previously. So we've gotten out act together and we're doing a while season, kicking off with our first community production, which is an adaptation of Studs Terkels' “Hard Times,” a very collaborative and cooperative production that the cast and I are actually adapting on our own." Hills says other productions like “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” and “Waiting for Godot,” and many others are also scheduled. They also have a new venue in the building ; The Balcony Café; a smaller area for readings, one acts and the like.  Season ticket sales are going on now...you can find out more on their website, we have a link on our links page.

 

 

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Weekend Fires in Central Oregon

A Saturday fire in Deschutes River Woods damaged two small motor homes and a shed, and threatened a propane tank and a mobile home. When firefighters arrived at the Shoshone Circle address, the fire had spread to several trees and a debris pile. Investigators say it was all caused by a candle left burning in one of the motor homes. Damage is estimated at $7800.

 
The cause of a kitchen fire remains under investigation after Redmond Fire responded to the 300 block of Elm in Redmond late Saturday morning. Damage is estimated at $15,000. The renter was home at the time and exited the building without injury.
 
 
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Speeder Dies in Crash

Oregon State Police say the driver killed in a wreck on Highway 97 near Madras last week was doing 127 miles per hour just seconds before the crash. Investigators say David Ramirez, 26, of Madras was southbound on Highway 97, when he lost control and rolled several times before end up in a 30-foot ravine. Ramirez died at the scene, and a 19-year-old female passenger was seriously hurt.

 

 

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Wind Could Cause Evacuation in Fire Areas

Higher winds out of the east have moved the Shadow Lake Fire towards the crest of the Cascades and closer to the Big Lake recreation area, west of the fire. There is significant smoke in the area. Fire managers, Forest Service officials and the Linn County Sheriff's Department are discussing the need for evacuating the Big Lake recreational area. No decision has been made, however, people are asked to be prepared in the event that an evacuation is necessary. People not already in nthe area shoud avoid going there. There is a road closure in effect for Forest Road 2690 into the Big Lake recreation area from the Hoodoo/Big Lake Cutoff on Highway 20.

 

 

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Crash on Highway 20 Injures Two

 

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
63333 Highway 20 West
Bend, Oregon 97701
(541) 388-6655

 
 

MEDIA RELEASE
 

 


 

Injury Motor Vehicle Crash Highway 20 and Plainview Rd.
 
Driver of vehicle #1
 
Matthew W Kiesel, 20 years of age, from La Pine Oregon, driving a blue 1992 Geo Metro
 
Driver of vehicle #2
 
Anthony James Powers, 51 years of age from Bend Oregon, driving a black 1996 Toyota Tacoma
 
 
On September 2, 2011 at about 7:25pm Deschutes County Deputies were dispatched to an injury motor vehicle crash at Hwy 20W and Plainview Rd. 
 
The investigation revealed that Anthony Powers was on Hwy 20W at the intersection of Plainview Road and had stopped waiting to turn left onto Plainview Rd. Matthew Kiesel, who was also west bound on Hwy 20W rear ended Powers’ Tacoma pickup causing the crash. Both vehicles ended up on the north side of Hwy 20W just west of Plainview Road. Both vehicles were towed due to extensive damage.
 
After extricating Matthew Kiesel from his vehicle by use of the Jaws of Life. Both driver's were transported to St. Charles in Bend with non life threatening injures, however it appeared that Mr. Kiesel’s injuries were more serious than Mr. Powers’. Hwy 20W was closed intermittently for approximately an hour while this crash was investigated.
 
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Oregon State Police, Cloverdale Fire.
 
Alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor in the crash and both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.
 
 
Sgt. Ronny Dozier
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
 

High Cascade Fire Update- Saturday

The evacuation order for residents on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation has been lifted. Crews are making steady progress on the 101, 292 acre fire known as the High Cascade Complex. The Razorback Fire is the cause for the recent growth, which added more than 6000 acres in the northeast corner of the reservation.  Officials say they now hold the containment at 40%. While crews work today to establish strong containment lines, our weather forecast calls for warmer and drier conditions with increasing winds. There are about 2400 firefighters in the line now fighting the fires in Warm Springs. 

 

 

 

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Madras Aquatic Center Expanding Offerings

The Madras Aquatic Center is taking steps to expand its park and rec activities. Since opening in 2008, the center has focused mainly on its pool. But in an effort to increase membership and revenue, General Manager Bobby Deroest will be offering soccer in a couple weeks, among other activities. “So we're just expanding services and we're offering more rec and leisure activities and broadening our base, so its not just aquatic based programs. We’re doing a survey of the needs of the community and going to try to fill those needs.”

the center just received a one year $75-thousand dollar grant from the bean foundation to help them expand their activities and hopefully their revenue.

 

 

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Warm Springs Fire Update

It’s almost half contained; but time is running out for fire crews on the fire complex near Warm Springs. That's because a new weather system with wind and warmer temperatures is moving in this weekend, and even hotter weather is expected midweek. More than 2100 firefighters are there now trying to control those flames. 300 homes are under a mandatory evacuation notice in the Dry Hollow Area south of Warm Springs. “And they have a level 1 precaution notice in effect for several neighborhoods. They haven lost any homes yet, but they have lost three outbuildings with the fire.” Jerree Mills with the Fire Coordination Center says hot temperatures and windy conditions are expected over the weekend and things will get even worse by the middle of next week.  They may bring in more fire crews, as some fires in eastern Oregon die down.

 
And in other fires-
 

Visitors in the greater Sisters and Big Lake areas can expect to see fire plumes near Mt. Washington over the Labor Day weekend and into next week based on predicted fire weather and behavior. The Shadow Lake fire burning in Mt. Washington Wilderness 15 miles northwest of Sisters and 7 miles west of Black Butte Ranch put up a visible plume yesterday. It was for the first time in a few days and due to increased fire activity, lower humidity and a slight increase in winds out of the north. The total fire perimeter grew Thursday to over 560 acres, an increase of about 60 acres.

 

 

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GO DUCKS!

A brand new PAC 12 season starts Saturday. The Ducks are favored by a field goal over the LSU Tigers. Oregon is ranked 3rd in the nation; LSU is number 4. For Duck fans, Oregon is really number one. Many say they are as excites as the Bowl game last season. KBND will carry that big game - pregame is at 4 - kickoff is at five. And Beaver fans don't have nearly as much to be excited about this weekend; they play Sacramento State in Corvallis.

 

 

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Labor Day Travel Could Be Busy

Oregon Triple A says Labor Day travel is expected to be down slightly this year compared to last year, but people who do travel will go further, and most will drive. Oregon State Police will be on saturation patrols all weekend, starting tonight. Lt Greg Hastings says it's important that you don't drive drowsy or drunk: “It’s the 2nd deadliest holiday weekend in Oregon. We now that alcohol is a contributing factor in over half of the holiday crashes that happen.” Those State Police saturation patrols start tonight at 6 o'clock. 31.5 million Americans are planning to go somewhere this weekend. Most are traveling by car.

 

 

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Red Cross Needs Your Help

It’s been a tough year for the Red Cross. Early in 2011, extreme snow and cold caused a lot of emergencies in the northeast. Then fires, tornadoes, flooding and now Hurricane Irene wreaks havoc along the eastern seaboard. "Everybody has probably friend or family on the east coast who have been affected one way or another by this massive hurricane. So people in Oregon can help by giving blood. Right now there is a shortage of blood. Right now there is a shortage of blood because of the disruption of blood supplies on the east coast and the fact that lots and lots of blood collection campaigns have to suspend services." American Red Cross spokesperson James Roddey says they give help to anyone free of charge. Coffers and blood supplies need your help. There are a number of Central Oregonians who are deployed to the northeast to help with disaster relief services.

 

 

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Bend Wages Below National Average

The average worker in the Bend metro area earned $19.05 an hour in May 2010; roughly 11% below the nationwide average of $21.35 an hour. This is according to a report just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food preparation and serving related workers were the lowest paid occupational group in the area at $11.11 an hour. The three largest occupational groups in Deschutes County are: : office and administration support,  sales related jobs and food preparation and food service. Healthcare practitioners and healthcare technical occupations in the area were highest paid at $38.97 an hour, followed by management occupations at $37.93 an hour.

 

 

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Drunk Driving Pursuit End in Arrest

Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies arrest a 73 year old Idaho man for drunk driving, following a six mile pursuit on Highway 20 on Thursday. Callers reported a pick up truck driver swerving all over the road 65 miles east of Bend. Police arrested Ray Poff of Nampa, Idaho after chasing him for several miles. Poff was taken to the Deschutes County Jail in Bend with a blood alcohol limit just above the legal limit. He is charged with drunk driving, reckless driving and the felony charge of eluding an officer.

 

 

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Things Looking Upbeat in Warm Springs Fire

Things are feeling more upbeat on the fire lines near Warm Springs. Don Ferguson says the turn in the weather seemed to helped change the attitude immediately, and they gained a lot of ground on the fire Wednesday. "You can feel it, you really could feel it. You have an opportunity here, where the wind dies down, humidity coming up a little bit, and you have enough people where preparation meets opportunity and we're taking advantage of that opportunity because its the first significant break in the weather that we've had.” Ferguson says they've only lost three small structures: an old vacant cabin, a storage shed an pump house.

While the complex grew by 15,000 acres Wednesday, he says much of that was intentional burning to create a fire line.

 

 

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Rally Stresses Need for Jobs

Cutting government also means cutting jobs and a group rallying in downtown Bend Thursday night wanted to get that message out. The rally in front of the Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Bend had several speakers addressing the urgent need in our state for family wage jobs. Maureen Crawford is a community organizer. “We also want to get out that the economy can't be fixed by budget cuts alone or stimulated by tax loopholes for corporation or the wealthy or budget cuts to Medicaid. Those programs actually do fund jobs in Oregon. And making cuts not only affects the people on them, but cuts jobs and it stresses the system.” The rally in Bend was part of a statewide effort over the last couple days to target Congressional leaders and stress to them the need for job creation and not just government cuts.

 

 

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Madras Dogs Beats the Odds

A Madras dog shot in the face and dumped at the Jefferson County Kennels and Dog Control is recuperating nicely. "Bullet" the 6 month Jack Russell terrier has undergone surgery and is resting at the shelter. Bullet was left on their property last Friday, but it took them several days to catch her. Animal control officer Renee Davidson says Bullet is doing great. “She's able to eat and lick and whine and be happy at this point.  She's probably six to seven months old very young, very playful and very sweet.” Bullet is expected to make a full recovery. She should be available for adoption in a couple weeks. The shelter has already had people ask about adopting her. If you know who Bullet's owner is, you are asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

 

 

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Fires Update

At latest word the huge fire complex burning near Warm Springs is at around 90,000 acres, and 25% contained. Dozens of homeowners in the area have been on either mandatory evacuation status or evacuation standby, and drivers have been impacted with frequent road closures and detours in that area.

As for the rest of Central Oregon, the smoke from those fires has affected many others. Fire spokesperson Carol Connelly says the smoke may be around for the next few days.  "Those fires have, because of the range of the fires and the grass and the junipers, you know a classic range fire, it is putting up quite a bit of smoke. And because of the winds, a lot of that smoke is settling into Central Oregon." Full containment on the High Cascades Complex is estimated for Monday.

 

 

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Rally for Jobs Tonight

A rally to fight for good paying jobs will take place in downtown Bend this evening. Labor, faith leaders, union members and others will be at the Well Fargo Bank downtown from 5:30 to 6:30 tonight. The rally called "Which side are you on? The rich or the rest of us, Representative Greg Walden?" wants to emphasize the urgent need for decent jobs. “We're calling out to Congressional delegates to stand up for good jobs, not just budget cuts. It's not a protest, but a rally.  We really want the message to be our economy can create good jobs for people that they can support their families on. Representative Walden will not be at the rally.  This event is part of a statewide effort to tell Congressional leaders to create jobs, not make cuts to stimulate the economy.

 

 

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Wages Lower than Average in Deschutes County

A new report shows that Deschutes County trails the nation in wages; about 11% lower than the national average. The wage report comes form the U.S. Department of Labor, and it shows that the average worker in the Bend metropolitan area (all of Deschutes County) earned $19.05 an hour in may 2010, roughly 11% below the nationwide average of $21.35 an hour. Food preparation and serving related workers were the lowest paid occupational group in the area at $11.11 an hour. Regional Economist Carolyn Eagen isn't surprised;  another interesting trend in Oregon, for the first time in State history jobs in leisure and hospitality outnumber factory workers. “It’s really been the trend across the country, across state and we’re seeing it locally where the demand for manufactured goods has not returned since the end of the recession.” There was an interesting bright spot in the report: there were a few areas where wages were higher than the national average. Those jobs are in health care, protective service and personal care services.

 

 

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Religious College Plans on Hold

A Eugene based religious college is putting its plans to move to Sisters on hold. Gutenberg College still plans to move here, but college leaders want to make sure they've firmed up financing before moving forward. Mac Hay is the Economic Development Manager for Sisters. “Gutenberg is going to regroup and redo its financial plan and then move ahead. They are still serious about moving to Sisters. We're still excited and optimistic it will happen. But it might not happen until next fall or it might be later than that.” Gutenberg College wants to secure $2.5 million in funds to purchase the Weitech building in Sisters. The Eugene school currently has about 31 students and a dozen staff members.

 

 

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Small Fires Set in Northeast Bend

Bend Police say an arsonist could have set four small fires in northeast Bend last night. Our news partner, News Channel 21 reports that starting just after 10 p.m., four fires were reported in fields near the intersection of Neff and Hamby Roads, and Eagle Road as well. Firefighters said the largest burned about 100 square feet. Someone living in the area told police they saw someone running from a burning tree, headed west into Bend. Anyone who saw something that could help in the investigation is asked to contact Bend police at (541) 693-6911.

 

 

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Gala at the Riverhouse Looking for Nonprofits

The Gala at the Riverhouse draws a lot of people together for a great cause. This year, the benefitting charity at the 2012 Gala is Grandma's House. Officials with the Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center are calling for those nonprofits that wish to be considered for the 20-13 gala contact them to apply. Past beneficiaries include Sparrow Clubs, The Boys and Girls Clubs, Habitat for Humanity and Volunteers in Medicine, among many others. 100% of ticket sales directly go to the chosen charity. For more information, contact Erin Woods at the Riverhouse. 541-550-9947 or erin@riverhouse.com

 

 

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