The Deschutes Basin Land Trust announced recently that TransCanada has made a five year, $75,000 commitment to the Land Trust’s Community Preserves and Back to Home Waters programs. The donation will help conserve land for local communities and for the return of salmon and steelhead to the upper Deschutes Basin. TransCanada officials toured the Land Trust’s Metolius Preserve on October 5th to see the education and restoration made possible by their gift.TransCanada operates the Gas ... [full story]

More Bend-La Pine Schools high school students stayed in school in 2004-05 than their peers statewide, according to information released by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) this week. The ODE study shows that the five Bend-La Pine Schools high schools average dropout rate of 2.6% is significantly lower than the state dropout average of 4.2%. Superintendent Doug Nelson says that lowering the dropout rate has been a community effort.  “We have been working closely with our ... [full story]

One out of three home fires begins in the kitchen October is National Fire Prevention Month and Bend Fire & Rescue is reminding residents to 'Prevent Cooking Fires: “Watch What You Heat”. During this year's fire safety campaign, Bend Fire & Rescue will be spreading the word about the dangers of cooking fires--most of which result from unattended cooking—and teaching local residents how to prevent cooking fires from starting in the first place. According to the ... [full story]

Chat Up Writers and Literati at Readings, Workshops and Dinner Where do great writers get their great ideas? And what inspires them to stay focused? Come to The Nature of Words, Central Oregon’s premier literary event, November 2-5, 2006, and ask award-winning authors what you’ve always wanted to know about their craft. From the post-reading book signings to the author-led workshops to the dinner and panel discussion, you will have a chance for an informal ... [full story]

Federal and state fire managers in Central Oregon are asking hunters, and other public and private wildland visitors to take extra precautions to prevent wildfires this fall.  To date, 138 of the 450 fires reported this year to the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville were human-caused. “Abandoned campfires are the leading cause of wildfires in the West,” said Tom Goheen, Deputy Fire Management Officer for the Deschutes National Forest.  “We’re especially concerned about ... [full story]

Cascade Bancorp and Community First Bank announced Thursday record-breaking performances with the release of their 2006 third quarter results. Robin B. Freeman, President & CEO of Prineville Bancorporation, the parent company for Community First Bank stated, “I am pleased to report that all of the effort we put forth to be positioned as Central Oregon’s only real community bank is being met with interest from individuals and businesses throughout the region. We are committed to ... [full story]

For two weeks, more than 100 students at High Lakes Elementary School engaged in a slightly unique kind of school work -– bicycle riding. The 5th grade students have been participating in an intensive one hour a day bicycle safety education program provided by Commute Options of Central Oregon. The free course takes students through the parts of the bicycle, helmet fitting, traffic laws and safe bike operation. The ten day/ten hour course is divided ... [full story]

If you love waterfalls and wilderness, then a great fall hiking destination should be Whychus Creek (pronounced “Why-choose”) in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. From Sisters, turn south on Elm Street (which becomes Forest Road 16) and head toward Three Creek Lake. At 7.2 miles, turn right onto Forest Road 1514, where you’ll see a sign for Whychus Creek. After five miles, turn left on Forest Road 600. This is a rough road with sharp ... [full story]

Oregon's 221,000 food-stamp households will receive small increases this month in the amount of their benefit and in how much they can earn to qualify. The changes, affecting about 431,000 people, were effective Sunday, Oct. 1. The federal government, which finances the food-stamp program, revises food-stamp payments annually to reflect changes in food, housing and other costs. Recipients are people who are low-income, elderly or disabled. The average amount of food stamps received by an ... [full story]

A jogger passing by a small campsite north of Bend Saturday afternoon found the body of a transient who appears to have been deceased for over one month, authorities said. According to Lt. Shane Nelson with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the body of a male was found about 1:20 p.m. September 1 in a small camp which appeared to be occupied solely by the deceased.  The camp was located east of Highway 97 near ... [full story]