Letters of Interest Due April 7 BEND, Ore. -- The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners is looking for a citizen volunteer to fill a vacancy on the County Fair Board. The Commissioners plan to fill the position by mid-April. Fair Board candidates may be interviewed in early April and will have a term that begins the day of appointment and expires December 31, 2010. The five-member Fair Board oversees the operation of the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. -- The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office will be presenting a Concealed Handgun licensing class on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.  The class will be held in “MAC” center of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, 63333 West Highway 20 in Bend, Oregon.  The fee for the class is $25.00 per person.  The front doors will be opened at 5:30 p.m. and the class will begin promptly at 6 p.m., at which ... [full story]

CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Sturgeon retention will close at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 26 on the Columbia River and associated tributaries, from the John Day Dam upstream to the McNary Dam (John Day Reservoir). The retention closure remains in effect through the end of the year. This stretch of the river is managed for a recreational harvest guideline of 165 white sturgeon. Current projections indicate the recreational fishery in the John Day Reservoir will meet the ... [full story]

ODA Director Says it is a Fascinating Time For Agriculture Oregonians and citizens across the United States have a chance to say thank you to the nation's farmers and ranchers this coming week, and maybe learn something about agriculture at the same time. That's the hope of Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba as National Agriculture Week takes place March 16-22. The annual event is designed to salute the more than two million agricultural operators ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. — Deschutes National Forest fuel specialists are planning to conduct a series of controlled burns covering 100-140 acres through the month of March. The units are located between the 46 road (Mt. Bachelor road) and the Deschutes River, approximately two miles west of Bend. This area will be burned to reduce the hazardous fuels and decrease the risk of catastrophic fire, as well as provide defensible space for the west side of Bend. ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. – Long time Bend resident and former mayor Kathie Eckman announced her bid this week to run for Bend City Council Position 3, which is currently held by Linda Johnson. As part of her campaign, Eckman plans to focus primarily on financial stability, economic development, and a increased communication with Bend residents. “Bend has always been near and dear to my heart. That is why I have decided to run for Bend City ... [full story]

Deschutes County learned this week that is has been awarded a $30,000 chronic disease grant from the State of Oregon. The funds will help County Health Department staff build an expanded Chronic Disease Care Program. The program will work closely with the County's tobacco prevention program and will use similar strategies focusing on health policy development. The policies will support prevention and successful management of chronic disease.  The County received just over $30,000 for the ... [full story]

On Thursday, February 28, the Deschutes County Health Department began offering a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic day for men only. The creation of the male specific clinic is an effort to combat the high rate of HIV and Syphilis among males in Oregon.  Open from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a walk-in basis, the clinic will be held at the Department's Downtown Health Center, 1128 NW Harriman St. in Bend, Oregon. The clinic ... [full story]

Beginning April 8, 2008, the City of Bend will no longer hang door tags for delinquent water utility accounts. The move is a cost-effective measure for the City’s customer service utility program. "The City of Bend has been using the door hanger program for a number of years to assist in the collection of delinquent water and sewer accounts. The program has served us well,” said Paul Rheault, Interim Public Works Director. “However, the ... [full story]

The second-annual South County Girl’s Summit promises a day of fun and exciting activities for young women ages 11 to 16 on March 25. The goal of the event is to empower young women in South County with activities that are positive in nature, healthy and easily available in their home setting. An additional goal is to mentor young women with other adult females in their community. The day of activities will start with a ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore. -- The classroom portion of Oregon’s hunter education course is now available online at http://www.hunter-ed.com/or/ Hunter education is mandatory for all hunters under the age of 18 and recommended for any new hunter. The course covers topics like firearms safety, hunter ethics, wildlife identification, hunt preparation and techniques and outdoor survival. “We are very excited to be offering online hunter education,” said Chris Willard, ODFW hunter education coordinator. “This will make hunter education ... [full story]

Registration for Central Oregon Community College’s Community Learning spring classes begins Monday, March 3. The schedule includes more than 250 new and regular noncredit offerings. New classes this term include: Hoop Dancing, Zumba Fitness, Create a Family Cookbook, Portland Performing Arts Tour, Green Building and Remodeling, Photographing Action, Cave Exploration and Eco Challenge, Landscape for Resale Appeal and Parenting Your Pet. Classes in computers, fitness, business, language, gardening and art are held in Bend, La ... [full story]

Kris Arnold has been named the 2007 Volunteer of the Year for 106.7 KPOV, Bend Community Radio.  The award was presented at the annual KPOV Volunteer meeting.    Kris Arnold, 2007 KPOV Volunteer of the Year - submitted photo“We are a volunteer powered radio station,” said Mike Riley, president of the KPOV Board of Directors, “and we are honored to have someone of Kris’ caliber volunteering for the station.  She is a ‘volunteer among volunteers’ helping to ... [full story]