Sept. 28 Reports: David Blasé LaFlamme, 43, was arrested for suspicion of DUII and reckless endangering. Mark James Douglas, 25, was arrested for suspicion of DUII. Samuel Christian Zurcher, 31, was arrested on an outstanding Crook County warrant. Elizabeth Ann Flanders, 50, was arrested for suspicion of DUII. Jose Manuel Sotelo-Lopez, 18, and Eduardo Molina Pacheco, 19, were arrested. Molina Pacheco for delivery of a controlled substance to a minor. Sotelo-Lopez for delivery of a controlled substance to a minor ... [full story]

ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Quality time spent with a partner works in your favor. Seek out shared interests and enjoy dreaming and scheming about the future. TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Slow down and pay more attention to your physical needs. Get on the fast track to health with a new diet or exercise program. GEMINI (May 21 - June 21): Good humor and laughter is in the air. Surround yourself with ... [full story]

A 16-year-old girl suspected of selling marijuana, and a 15-year-old boy who allegedly had pot in his possession near La Pine High School were cited and released to their parents Thursday afternoon. According to a news release prepared by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Lt. Shane Nelson and Deputies Stacy Crawford Zach  Neemann, school authorities requested a drug-detecting dog to check the school property for controlled substances during the noon hour on October 11. Deputy Crawford and ... [full story]

After observing a number of traffic violations, a Deschutes County Sheriff’s sergeant and deputy assisted by a drug-detecting K-9 partner stopped a van on Highway 97 Thursday and ultimately arrested three Fresno, California men for allegedly smuggling untaxed cigarettes and pirated DVD movies.   (L - R) Deputy Crawford, Narch, & Sgt. Cima with items seized during traffic stop - DCSO photo According to a news release prepared by Lt. Shane Nelson and Sgt. Gary Cima, the Toyota ... [full story]

SALEM, Oregon – The Oregon Association of Realtors HOME Foundation awarded $50,000 Thursday in grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to affordable housing throughout the state of Oregon. The HOME Foundation is a non-profit corporation providing financial resources to create, expand, and encourage home ownership opportunities for Oregonians at or below local median income.  GRANT RECIPIENTS: Bend Habitat for Humanity Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation Corvallis Neighborhood Housing Services (dba Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services). Habitat for Humanity ... [full story]

Referendum 304 fails to make ballot SALEM - Today the Elections Division of the Secretary of States Office announced verification of signatures for referendum petition #304 submitted for the November 4, 2008 General Election ballot has been completed. The result of the signature verification is referendum #304 did not contain enough valid signatures to qualify to the ballot. Referendum #304 was filed on SB 2 passed by the 2007 Oregon Legislature. This proposed referendum required ... [full story]

The dream of today's mortgage lenders and brokers: paperless e-mortgages. The Internet and the digital era have opened the door to almost everything else - why not replace those piles of mortgage paper documents with a fast and easy paperless digital system? It could save a lot of time, money and frustration. But there are formidable problems in its development. For the past eight years, the Mortgage Bankers Association has been trying to establish voluntary ... [full story]

In mid-September, the hired guards for American diplomatic personnel in Baghdad - Blackwater USA, the guards call themselves - engaged "suspected troublemakers" in a firefight that cost the lives of 11 to 17 Iraqi civilians. (The exact number depends on the varying reliability of eyewitnesses.) Descriptions of what happened that day (Sept. 16) vary only slightly. The driver of one of four Blackwater Suburbans mistook an oncoming civilian vehicle as a possible attacker. Machine-gun fire ... [full story]

America's global struggle against international drug smuggling rates hardly a mention by the presidential candidates of both major political parties. Given that these narco-traffickers flood America's streets with an estimated $23 billion a year in destructive drugs, that's a deeply worrying omission. National security is a top priority when it comes to countering international terrorism. Where's the recognition that billions of dollars in illicit narcotics that ravage the lives of 7 million seriously addicted Americans, ... [full story]

The American people rose up out of their usual apathy and soundly defeated the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 that would have given amnesty to illegal immigrants. Now, some senators are trying to get Congress to pass a backdoor amnesty by calling it the DREAM Act, and it's really a nightmare for Americans. The cutesy title DREAM, which is meant to be a double-entendre, is an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien ... [full story]