Population growth is back

But not past the Deschutes County line

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Bend seems to be back in growth mode. The city's population grew by an estimated 2,470 residents between 2010 and 2012, according to estimates released today, putting its population at 79,109. After ballooning by more than 20,000 residents from 2000....MORE

Memorial Day Weekend

Flurries of activity heading into holiday

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Flurries of snow at higher elevations in recent days are unlikely to affect travel across the state over the approaching Memorial Day weekend, according to forecasts by the National Weather Service. In Central Oregon and on the highways over Santiam, ....MORE

Bend projects health savings

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

As Bend prepares its biennial budget, officials are projecting that employee health insurance costs will be $1.3 million lower than they would be if the city faced a premium increase and employees remained on traditional health insurance plans. City....MORE

Redmond hires city manager

• Keith Witcosky will leave Portland to fill a position that's been vacant for nearly a year

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

When new Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky steps into his office for the first time July 15, it will mark a nearly one-year anniversary since the city had a permanent administrator behind the desk. A first-round search in fall 2012 yielded a....MORE

Mushroom hunter lost, then found

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

A Deschutes County Search and Rescue team saved a La Pine man late Tuesday from a freezing night in the woods west of town.“I’m just glad there were people looking for me because it was cold and wet," Albert Reisert said Wednesday.....MORE

Green light for U.S. 97 stoplight

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

A bill that will allow Deschutes County to use $200,000 from the sale of county-owned lands to make safety improvements to U. S. Highway 97 in La Pine is on its way to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s desk for his signature, according to Kevin Curry from....MORE

Permits

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

City of Bend• Robert A. Seam, 19494 Spencers Crossing, $279,847• NTC & Co., 20033 S. W. Millcrest, $197,624• Wood Hill Enterprises LLC, 2938 N. E. Dogwood, $188,062• Bridges at Shadow Glen, 61148 S. E. Ambassador $246,....MORE

House OKs foreclosure measure

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

SALEM — A measure aimed at giving homeowners facing foreclosure a chance to speak face-to-face with their lenders before losing their homes sailed through the Oregon House on Wednesday. Senate Bill 558 passed on a 45-12 vote and now heads to....MORE

Health Dispatches

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Healing Bridge Physical Therapy was recently accepted on the preferred provider panel for United Health Care Insurance, now known as Optum Health Care. Patients are being accepted for most insurance plans.....MORE

Health Events

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Testing an Emergency Operations Plan in a Rural EOC: The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium is offering a Department of Homeland Security certified course to elected officials, emergency operations center personnel and rural community leaders....MORE

Health People

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

• Megan Haase, CEO of Mosaic Medical, was recognized by the Oregon Primary Care Association with one of its annual Health Center Leadership awards. The awards honor Oregonians who contribute to the success of the state's network of community....MORE

News of Record: Police Log

Bend Police Department, Redmond Police Department, Prineville Police Department, Oregon State Police, Bend fire runs, Redmond fire runs

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Police LogThe Bulletin will update items in the Police Log when such a request is received. Any new information, such as the dismissal of charges or acquittal, must be verifiable. For more information, call 541-383-0358. Bend Police DepartmentTheft....MORE

Election Update

TURNOUT • Deschutes: 34.3% • Crook: 39% • Jefferson: 43.9% Source: County clerks' offices

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

These are updated results from Tuesday's election from the Deschutes County Clerk's Office. Crook and Jefferson results remain unchanged from Wednesday's Bulletin, except for races and measures that spanned multiple counties, including Deschutes (as ....MORE

Fitness

Circus fitness goes beyond the big top

• Center brings aerial acrobatics to Bend

May 23, 2013 4:00 am

Here's a new twist on fitness — an aerial twist. In a recent “aerial silks" class at the Bend Circus Center, four female students climbed up long lengths of fabric hanging from the ceiling above thick padding on the floor. At the step-by-....MORE

Curry voters say no: ‘It’s going to get interesting,’ sheriff says

May 22, 2013 1:02 am

On Tuesday night, Curry County Sheriff John Bishop shook his head and sighed. Voters had defeated Measure 8-71, which would have increased property taxes to fund public safety in a county near bankruptcy.“I’m disappointed in the real....MORE

Public safety

Big win for 911

May 22, 2013 1:06 am

Deschutes County voters agreed by a wide margin Tuesday to continue funding 911 dispatch service for another five years. And in La Pine, where a brush fire blackened 170 acres in early May, voters extended existing levies to fund the La Pine Rural....MORE

Bend-La Pine school bond

'Full speed ahead' for new schools

May 22, 2013 1:06 am

Two new schools are on Bend's horizon after voters approved a $96 million Bend La-Pine Schools bond Tuesday to fund their construction.“It's a bit of a relief," said Superintendent Ron Wilkinson. “It allows us to keep moving forward, and ....MORE

More school races

Most incumbents keeping their seats

May 22, 2013 1:01 am

In school board races throughout Central Oregon, Tuesday was mostly a good night for the incumbents. David Ford, 61, appeared to defeat Adele McAfee, 59, to retain his seat on the Central Oregon Community College board of directors. It was the only....MORE

Bend Parks

Little change, with 1 new face on board

May 22, 2013 1:01 am

The Bend Park & Recreation District board will look much the same after Tuesday night’s election. Voters elected one incumbent who ran unopposed and a second incumbent who faced little opposition, and chose to keep recent appointee Daniel....MORE

Liquid nitrogen lesson teaches about science in Spanish

May 22, 2013 1:01 am

For more than an hour Monday morning, the noise of glass shattering against linoleum could be heard coming from Stephanie Montoya's first-grade classroom. But students weren't breaking windows. They were breaking hot dogs and flowers instead. Monday,....MORE

Crook County schools

$33M bond measure narrowly passed

May 22, 2013 1:02 am

Prineville appears to be getting a new elementary school as of Tuesday night, with voters in the Crook County School District narrowly saying yes to a $33.5 million bond measure. Dean Noyes, chairman of the bond committee, said he and others with the ....MORE

School Notes

May 22, 2013 1:01 am

Military NotesArmy National Guard Pvt. Bradley Hargraves has graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. He is a 2012 graduate of La Pine High School and the son of George Hargraves of Penrose, Colo. Air Force Airman....MORE

Bankruptcies

May 22, 2013 4:00 am

Chapter 7Filed May 13• Cheryl L. Burnside, 755 N. W. 22nd St., Redmond• Curtis L. Warfield, 2600 N. E. Forum Drive, Apt. 61, Bend• Nancy J. Hayes, 14260 S. W. Buckhorn Place, Terrebonne• Jimmy D. Meeks, 663 S. E. Ebert St.,....MORE

News of Record: Police Log, Bend Police Department, Prineville Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

Police LogThe Bulletin will update items in the Police Log when such a request is received. Any new information, such as the dismissal of charges or acquittal, must be verifiable. For more information, call 541-383-0358. Bend Police DepartmentDUII....MORE

Shooting under investigation

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that occurred in Crooked River Ranch Monday afternoon.“The victim and the shooter are acquaintances, so there’s no danger to the public whatsoever," Sgt. Troy Gotchy ....MORE

Dutchman closed to snowmobiles

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

The Deschutes National Forest closed Dutchman Sno-park’s snowmobiling access last weekend, citing early snow melt. According to a news release, the closure is earlier than normal; often snowmobilers can access high country from Dutchman Sno-....MORE

Closures planned for DMV offices

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

All Oregon DMV offices will close for a statewide furlough day Friday and for Memorial Day Monday. Because waiting times tend to be longer on days before and after DMV office closures, customers are asked to do any business by mail or online if....MORE

Park board candidates weigh in on leash issues

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

The Bend Park & Recreation District board election has prompted several candidates to wax poetic on their canine companions. Justin Gottlieb reminisced about his dog Archie, Craig Chenoweth recalled exploring the outdoors with his family dog and....MORE

Sawyers appeal rulings, sentences

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

The Bend couple sentenced to federal prison April 30 for their roles in a real estate fraud scheme have appealed their convictions. Former Bend Police Capt. Kevin Sawyer and his wife, former real estate broker Tami Sawyer, pleaded guilty in January....MORE

Bombs away

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

Harry Fuller, left, and Ann Hodgkiss, dancers participating in a '30s-'40s swing dance party, view the B-17G Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast" WWII bomber, one of 13 Fortresses still flying, Monday at the Bend Municipal Airport. The restored....MORE

Jets may get more airspace

• Proposal would expand training area over Central Oregon

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

A 2,500-square-mile section of airspace over parts of Central and Eastern Oregon could become training space for F-15 fighter jets. The U. S. Air Force and the National Guard Bureau are proposing to expand the amount of airspace used in the state for....MORE

Hospital tax in Salem

$1.9B in doubt if bill fails

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

SALEM — Billions of dollars in federal funds floated to the state to overhaul the health care system could be on the line if lawmakers don’t approve a measure extending a tax on hospitals and nursing homes. The normally noncontroversial....MORE

Deeds

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

Deschutes County• Eric M., Megan S., Paul J. and Janice O. Davis to Tanya M. Parsons, Neal Addition, Lot 4, Block 1, $215,000• Michael K. and Dana N. Coffman to Kevin Rueter, Stonegate P. U. D., Phase 1, Lot 39, $425,000• Brett J.....MORE

Region's jobless rates drop

May 21, 2013 4:00 am

Unemployment rates in all three Central Oregon counties dropped roughly 1 percentage point in April compared with April 2012, according to data released Monday by the Oregon Employment Department. It was the second consecutive month that seasonally....MORE

A woodpecker's status is debated

•Environmentalists and timber interests have reports, but the public can provide info, too

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

Discussion of the black-backed woodpecker quickly turns to debate about salvage logging after a wildfire. The environmental groups calling for federal protection for the bird say salvage logging takes away what habitat is available. Timber interests ....MORE

Bend cemetery may raise fees

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

Bend officials say it is time to stop subsidizing operations at Pilot Butte Cemetery, which the city has owned for 100 years.“It's an operation that has not been breaking even and that we have to subsidize from the general fund," City Manager....MORE

Bike-share station to open Friday

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

The first bike-share station in Bend is scheduled to open Friday. The private station will serve people who work in offices at 50 S. W. Bond St. in downtown Bend. This includes the Oregon Natural Desert Association and Commute Options, a nonprofit....MORE

Sisters receives Ford Foundation Grant

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

The city of Sisters received a $10,000 grant to help the city purchase and install a quilt called “Two Rivers, Three Sisters," which was made by Central Oregon quilt artists. The quilt is part of a project to raise money for conservation....MORE

Crash near Redmond causes power outage

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

A 20-year-old from Redmond crashed his Ford Explorer into a power pole on O’Neil Way early Sunday morning. Nicholas Burns was driving westbound around 4:45 a. m. Sunday when he allegedly swerved to avoid a deer, losing control of the vehicle....MORE

Ballot is chock full of bond measures

May 20, 2013 4:00 am

Voters have until 8 p. m. Tuesday to drop off their ballots at an official drop site for their votes to be counted. As an odd-numbered year, this month’s election includes no candidates for state or federal office, with the bulk of the ballot....MORE