The public is invited to join the Sheriff at the La Pine substation on Wednesday, May 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment is necessary to come and talk with Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton. "I want to thank all the citizens who came to the coffee meetings over the past year.  I have enjoyed talking with everyone.  I hope to see you in La Pine on the 14.  If you are unable ... [full story]

Members of the Bend City Council will attend a National Incident Management System (NIMS) Training at 4 p.m. on Monday, May 12. The meeting will take place at the North Fire Station Training Room, 63377 Jamison Street, and is open to the public. A quorum of the Council may be present. For additional information, please contact:   Patricia Stell, City Recorder, City of Bend, Oregon, 541-388-5517. [full story]

BEND, Ore. -- The Deschutes County Road Department has announced the planned road closure of NW Helmholtz Road from NW Antler Road to Highway 126; scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The closure will allow crews to replace a culvert. Traffic will be limited to residents only, and a detour to Highway 126 will be routed via 35th Street.  Drivers are advised to use alternate routes where possible.  For more information, call Deschutes County Road ... [full story]

April 19-27 at Knott Landfill in Bend. May 3-4 at Deschutes County Transfer Sites: --  Negus Transfer Station in Redmond --  Fryrear Transfer Station in Cloverdale --  La Pine Transfer Station in La Pine May 3-4 at the Sunriver Compost Site in Sunriver. April 19-20 and April 26-27 at Box Canyon Transfer Station in Madras. FireFree encourages residents to get prepared for the upcoming wildfire season by cleaning up their yards and creating defensible space ... [full story]

With steadily increasing numbers of vehicles on the road with auxiliary or fog lights, state transportation safety officials are reminding people to use vehicle lighting correctly and safely. "Driving towards a car with both headlights and fog or auxiliary lights on can be like driving toward a car with its high headlight beams on, it can be blinding," said Michele O'Leary with the Oregon Department of Transportation's Safety Division. Fog lights are designed to be used at ... [full story]

Redmond Fire and Rescue has implemented a new outdoor burning permit program. If residents conduct any outdoor burning inside of the city limits that meet the following criteria, they will first be required to obtain an outdoor burning permit: -- If you are planning to burn a field or lot that has not been cut and placed in a pile. -- If you are planning to burn a pile of vegetation that exceeds 6 feet ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. -- Thinking about a thorough spring cleanup of your property with a nice fire to burn the debris? Think again. A new city ordinance has almost completely eliminated all circumstances where outdoor burning is allowed within the city limits of Bend, Oregon. Former city regulations allowed for 20 days within the month of April, and an additional 20 days in November, where outdoor burning was acceptable. The new ordinance, which takes effect Friday, March ... [full story]

Oregon State Fire Marshal Nancy Orr urges residents to check their smoke alarms when changing their clock to Daylight Savings Time (DST) on Sunday, March 9. Many Oregonians have smoke alarms with ten-year batteries so the old saying, 'Change your clock, change your batteries' may not be correct for many households.Smoke alarm laws in Oregon are different from most other states. Since 1999, law requires all ionization-only smoke alarms sold in the state to have ... [full story]

Through a joint effort from local community partners, two Deschutes County residents have been trained to conduct workshops in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). The Deschutes County Commission on Children and Families, the Oregon Public Health Youth Suicide Prevention Division and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Central Oregon (NAMI), sponsored the training for Cheryl Emerson and Lisa Golden. Emerson and Golden are members of the Deschutes County Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition and ... [full story]

The public is invited to attend any of the following scheduled Crook County Sheriff’s Office Spring 2008 Town Hall Meetings.  The Sheriff, Undersheriff, and the deputy assigned to the specific area will be present at the meetings.  Post/Paulina Area:  Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 6 p.m.—Post Store. Juniper Canyon Area:  Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 7 p.m.—Juniper Canyon Fire Hall. North/Northwest Area:  Monday, March 10, 2008, at 6 p.m.—Ochoco West Community Center. Powell Butte Area:  ... [full story]

On Thursday March 20, 2008, Deschutes County will auction 18 parcels of vacant land.  The properties are residential lots in Bend, Redmond and southern Deschutes County. Auction bidding starts at 10 a.m. in the Barnes Hearing Room of the Deschutes Services Center at 1300 NW Wall Street in Bend, Oregon. Bidders may register in advance any business day between March 10 and March 19 at the Deschutes Services Center, Suite 200, second floor.  Interested persons ... [full story]

The Crook County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol in conjunction with the Oregon State Marine Board has scheduled a Mandatory Boater Education Class and Exam on Saturday, March 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  It will be held at the Crook County Fire and Rescue building rear entrance located at 500 NW Belknap Street in Prineville, Oregon. Marine Deputies will instruct boaters to obtain a Boater Education Card and at the end of the class a final ... [full story]

CLACKAMAS, Ore. – The mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 upstream to the Interstate-5 Bridge will be closed to salmon and steelhead fishing as of 12:01 a.m. Monday, Feb. 25. This area will remain open to fishing for other species including sturgeon. Salmon and steelhead fishing will reopen Monday, March 24 between Buoy 10 and the Hayden Island powerlines west towers (approximately three miles west of the I-5 Bridge) and run through Friday, April 4. ... [full story]