Fire inspectors have yet to determine what sparked the fire that completely destroyed a 2,600 square foot house under construction in northeast Bend last night, a blaze that threatened to burn nearby homes but only caused moderate heat damage, officials reported. Bend firefighters responded to the alarm at a two-story structure at 20721 Kilbourne Loop about 10:15 p.m. on May 14, said Fire Inspector Dan Derlacki.  The home, under construction by the Hollman Company of Wilsonville, ... [full story]

Prineville city officials today announced that effective immediately, residents should stop irrigating with municipal water and curb any unnecessary water consumption, limiting usage only to necessary domestic purposes. According to City Manager Robb Corbett, the city determined today that three of the city’s nine wells were not operating properly after suffering a series of pump failures.  Officials are concerned there may not be enough water to meet demands, prompting the requests for preservation.  “As a result of these faults, ... [full story]

Neighbors in a Redmond RV park who noticed a nearby 28-foot travel trailer was on fire early this morning roused two sleeping women, helped them escape, and extinguished the fire using a garden hose. According to a news release issued by the City of Redmond Fire & Rescue, a woman seeing flames and smoke from the nearby trailer in Space E of Green Acres RV Park located at 7777 S. Highway 97 told her husband, who ... [full story]

A bomb threat indicating a detonation at 1:20 p.m. today found written on the wall in the boy’s bathroom at Elton Gregory Middle School in Redmond, Oregon prompted an immediate evacuation and search of the premises, police reported.   A bomb threat, apparently unfounded, prompted an evacuation of Elton Gregory Middle School in Redmond this afternoon.  The school, with grades 6-8, has approximately 700 students. Redmond Police responded to the school at 1220 NW Upas on May 15 ... [full story]

A Prineville man was injured and transported to the hospital by AirLife this morning after his speeding car failed to negotiate a corner on SE Juniper Canyon Road about 20 miles southeast of Prineville, ran off the road and rolled twice, ejecting the driver.   The area marked "End" on the map above shows the approximate location of the single-vehicle crash that injured Samuel Christian Zurcher of Prineville Tuesday morning. Crook County Sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police ... [full story]

A 42-year old Prineville man was arrested Monday on over a half-dozen criminal charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of a juvenile female in his home, officials reported.   Charles Boldman - CCJ photo Charles Boldman was taken into custody Monday, May 14, and lodged in the Crook County Jail with bail set at $350,000, Crook County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Travis Jurgens said. According to a news release, Boldman is charged with three counts each of ... [full story]

A 40-year old Bend man sustained non-life threatening injuries to his neck and back when his motorcycle struck a van in southeast Bend this morning, police reported. Bend Police responded to the collision at SE 15th Street and SE Wilson Avenue about 10 a.m. May 15, said Lt. Gary Mack.  Officers found that the motorcyclist, William James Gordon, was traveling south on SE 15th Street at an excessive rate of speed when he crashed into ... [full story]

EUGENE, Ore. - Legal arguments before a Eugene, Ore., judge began Tuesday on whether 10 environmentalists who confessed to arsons committed acts of terror. The six men and four women were members either of the radical Earth Liberation Front or Animal Liberation Front, and were convicted of the fires in the U.S. Northwest that did as much as $40 million in damage to various facilities, but caused no physical injuries. Federal prosecutors will attempt to ... [full story]

BUELACH, Switzerland - An air traffic controller on trial in Switzerland over a fatal in-air collision said Tuesday one controller was left on at night in Zurich. Marti Luthi, the first of the eight defendants to testify in the trial, said the night-time controller staff was reduced to keep costs down, RIA Novosti reported. Luthi also denied overwork could have prevented controller Peter Nielsen from warning pilots earlier that their planes were on a collision ... [full story]

SDEROT, Israel - An Israeli woman was seriously injured Tuesday when her Sderot home was hit by a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza, officials said. The 45-year-old woman's son was also injured in the rocket attack, Ynetnews reported. Mother and son were taken to a hospital. Eight rockets landed in Sderot Tuesday evening, including one that heavily damaged an elementary school, Ynetnews said. A man received minor shrapnel injuries and five people were treated for ... [full story]