Do you have a youngster who can’t wait to pick up a pole and go fishing?  Then go to St. Louis Ponds near Woodburn, Oregon Saturday, April 7 and let ODFW bring the poles.   The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is stocking approximately 300 larger rainbow trout ranging from 16-18 inches in addition to over 1,500 legal size rainbow trout as part of the Youth Angling Enhancement Program. The department is also supplying ... [full story]

A 17-year old Prineville boy was arrested Monday in connection with a sexual assault that occurred near Crook County High School in December of last year, authorities reported.  The teen was initially identified as a suspect, police said, which was later confirmed through DNA evidence. Prineville Police responded to a report of sexual assault at 1220 SE Sixth Street in Prineville shortly before 6 a.m. December 14, 2006, Chief Eric Bush wrote in a news ... [full story]

The public is invited to learn more about the Juniper Ridge Master Plan. The Juniper Ridge Team is holding its second Open House on Wednesday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m. at the Tower Theatre in downtown Bend.   Drawings, maps, and other planning materials will be on display to help the public start to visualize what the 1,500-acre area could be. In addition, the team will welcome public comment to help them understand the community’s ... [full story]

Safety, value, convenience set these vehicles above all others. Nine new vehicles have been added to the 2007 AAA and Parents magazine Best Cars for Families list.  The 15-vehicle list, now in its fifth year, appears with detailed reviews of each model in the April issue of Parents magazine.  By combining AAA’s auto-safety expertise with Parents’ understanding of what families want and need, the team of reviewers created a list of sedans, economy cars, vans, ... [full story]

Residents of a mobilehome in southeast Bend with no working smoke alarm were lucky to escape unharmed early Sunday when they smelled smoke from a fire which was sparked by a smoldering cigarette in a bedroom, fire officials reported. The homeowner at space 70 in the Country Sunset Mobile Home Park at 61445 SE 27th Street noticed smoke coming from a back bedroom about 1:15 a.m., Fire Inspector Dan Derlacki reported in a news release.  ... [full story]

"Ascent" by Jed Mercurio; Simon & Schuster; 243 pages; $24. Neil Armstrong, Johnny-Come-Lately? He will be if the Russians have their way in Jed Mercurio's full-throttle "Ascent." The novel opens in the rubble of postwar Stalingrad, where young Yefgenii Yeremin and other orphans toil away at the backbreaking work of rebuilding. Horribly brutalized by the older boys, Yefgenii, a bright, talented kid, sees an opportunity - every year one orphan is selected to be groomed ... [full story]

Former Leaders Praise Administration's Requested Park Funding Increase, But Caution That Allowing Additional Yellowstone Snowmobiling Would 'Radically Contravene' Kempthorne Pledge. Every living former director of the National Park Service (NPS) -- except one -- has joined in a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne urging him to ensure a continued transition away from snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park.    Snowmobiling in Yellowstone – NPS photo Spanning every Democratic and Republican presidential administration from Lyndon Baines Johnson to ... [full story]

Waiting has often been part of the equation for the pioneering black aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen. They're nothing if not patient. When World War II was brewing and they wanted to become pilots, they were told no: We don't take your kind. Then, when legal and political pressure forced open the door, and they walked through it with spectacular results, they still came home to a land of inequality, of separate drinking fountains ... [full story]

Two men were injured Sunday afternoon in a head-on crash involving two dirtbikes on an off-road trail near China Hat Road at milepost 26, authorities reported. Emergency 911 dispatch received a report of the collision on a US Forest Service (USFS) OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) Trail about 12:40 p.m., Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Davis wrote in a news release. Citizens led USFS Law Enforcement to the area, Davis said, but details including the names of ... [full story]

LAS VEGAS - This city may be best known for casinos, drive-through wedding chapels and Elvis impersonators, but suddenly it's also become a magnet for presidential candidates. Seven 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls showed up at the University of Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday to outline their health care plans. A similar forum last month in Carson City attracted eight. Traditionally, no one has paid much attention to Nevada in presidential nomination politics. But thanks to ... [full story]