SUNRIVER, OR -- Emergency managers from across the state gather in Sunriver this week for their annual conference. And this year brings a new focus on a high-tech disaster. 

Oregon Department of Emergency Management Training Officer Eli Davis says federal agencies, like the FBI and FEMA, join the Oregon Health Authority and other state agencies. But most of the attendees work on the local level, "Local, city, county and tribe professional emergency managers, as well as volunteer emergency managers, those that have been kind of ‘other duties as assigned;’ lots of hospitals represented." He tells KBND News, "500 people that play in the emergency management game, whether full time or ‘other duties as assigned.’ And this is an opportunity for us to get together, talk about lessons learned, things that we’ve faced either individually or as parts of Oregon."

Among the more than 40 presentations and discussions, cybersecurity is a central theme, "It’s not new. But it’s definitely had a higher level focus from locals on up to the federal side." Davis says last year’s ransomware attack on Curry County was eye-opening for a lot of emergency managers, making it a big topic for this year's Oregon Prepared conference, "We have best practices - or lessons learned from Curry County. We have somebody from the federal agency of Homeland Security that talks about analytics from cybersecurity. We have our [Oregon] Department of Administrative Services."

Davis says topics are selected by attendees, "There are some themes on funding and the other one is cybersecurity. But, woven in there are quite a few others that are touched on in themes that are not as predominant as those two." In the past, there’s been a bigger push to discuss natural disasters, "Yes, that’s still a focus that both our state agencies as well as everybody else is looking at," Davis tells KBND News, "But we want to make sure that there are other emerging trends and that we put a focal point on that as well."

The conference kicks off Tuesday morning in Sunriver, and runs through Thursday. 

MADRAS, OR -- Oregon’s Department of Transportation hosts a meeting Wednesday, to discuss the public's concerns about safety in the Highway 97 corridor between Madras and Terrebonne. ODOT Principal Planner Ken Shonkwiler says it's part of a long-term study, "We’re actually not focused on ‘how to fix it.’ We want to look at and get the public’s agreement on where the issues are at."

He tells KBND News closing intersections, like what happened at Bear Drive three years ago, isn’t practical for every trouble-spot, "There’s not a silver bullet for the crash fixes that happen on this corridor. Bear Drive intersection was unique, because the sight distance was horrible, it was a skewed intersection; and that’s just not the same issue that we have at some of our other intersections and segments, nor is it represented in the crash types. So, it is more of a holistic look at safety." And he says many options are on the table, "We might look at adding turn lanes, we might look at consolidating accesses, maybe realigning intersections."

Shonkwiler says, "Part of what we’ve done recently is pulled together our most recent five years of crash data; we have a participant advisory committee that we got feedback from last week on these areas with safety issues. This next step, we want to take these issues and locations to the public and see if they agree with us." He says they want to know, "‘Do these locations make sense to you? Are there locations that we have maybe not considered, to include in our report? And, are we on the right track?’ Those are really the questions that we are asking the public right now."

Wednesday's open house is 5-7 p.m. at the Madras Performing Arts Center. There’s also an online survey available through May third. More meetings are planned before a final report is completed early next year.

REDMOND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners are still navigating a land swap with the state, more than 20 years after the initial deal was made. A 137-acre county-owned parcel east of Redmond is supposed to transfer to the state, in exchange for 140 acres of state-owned land near the fairgrounds. "In order for this land exchange to move forward, the county-owned land would need to be free of people living there, and also free of debris," Deputy County Administrator Erik Kropp told Commissioners Wednesday. He says campers must first be relocated. "There’s still a lot that needs to be done before the county is ready to move forward with a specific date for relocation." Moving campers was put on hold last year, while the county works to develop a sanctioned camp. 

The city of Redmond and County Commissioners have discussed using 45 acres near Oasis Village and the airport. But Kropp says a lot still needs to happen before development can begin, "A big piece of that solution is the Coordinated Houseless Response Office RFP effort, and working through that process to see if there are service providers that will provide services at that 45 acres. It could look like what we currently do at Juniper Ridge, with just the basic hygiene supports, all the way up through a full-fledged managed camp."

Commissioner Tony DeBone asked about potential issues with the 45-acre site, "And it’s kind of up and down, rocky land, with junipers." Kropp responded, "Yes, that will be one of the challenges, is the terrain." Debone also noted, "And people are on that property already."

Commissioner Phil Chang worries about the lack of firm plans for that site, "We have so little idea what’s going to happen on the 45 acres that it’s premature to talk about to say that we’re ready to go on the 137 acres. Because we are so not ready to go."

County Property Manager Kristie Bollinger says there’s a $400,000 budget to get the 137 acres ready to transfer to the state, "Mark property lines, give notice to the individuals, do the clean-up of abandoned and burned out encampments once people relocate to either the 45 acres or a place that they choose to go to, then going in and cleaning up those encampments." She says some of that money would also help provide hygiene services, similar to what's already provided to the houseless community living on the north end of Juniper Ridge. 

All three Commissioners support using the 45-acre parcel as a managed site for people moving off the 137 acres involved in the land swap. But the exact timeline and what’s involved in the sanctioned camp remain unclear.

REDMOND, OR -- Two men are accused of committing a string of burglaries at two Redmond businesses. Last week, police arrested 28-year-old Michael Moran (right), of Redmond, and 25-year-old Christien Richardson (left), of Sisters, in the Dairy Queen parking lot. 

Investigators believe the pair is responsible for at least four break-ins at La Frontera, where burglars took off with "a large multitude of items," according to Redmond Police. The Redmond Tap House was also a theft victim. 

RPD released photos of Moran and Richardson in an effort to find people who may have bought things from the suspects. Stolen items were listed for sale on websites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Some have been recovered. But, bracelets, watches and other stolen jewelry remain missing. Anyone who may have purchased items from Richardson or Moran is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Tyler Kirk at 541-504-3400.

BEND, OR -- A fight between two unhoused campers near China Hat Road sent one man to the hospital Sunday afternoon. Deschutes County deputies responded to the area south of Bend at about 4 p.m., when a 911 caller reported someone had been shot. Dispatchers say the person refused to provide any other information, although they were able to determine the general location of the call. 

When deputies arrived, they learned a 32-year-old man had been taken to the hospital by ambulance, with a non-life threatening injuries. Investigators determined two men who live in the area were arguing when one brandished a gun. The other man, a 36-year-old, then armed himself. He shot the 32-year-old, striking his hand and stomach. 

The investigation is ongoing, and the identities of the two men involved have not been released.