LA PINE, Ore. -- The La Pine Rural Fire Protection District Budget Committee will hold a work session on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 6 p.m. to review and discuss the proposed 2009/2010 budget.  This meeting will be held at La Pine Fire District's Main Station at 51550 Huntington Road in La Pine, Oregon. All citizens are invited to attend. This meeting will be held at La Pine Fire District's Main Station at 51550 Huntington Road ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. -- Snow removal crews have been working for the past few weeks to clear the snow prior to fishing season. As of April 22, access is limited. The Spring River Road (Forest Road 40) has been cleared to Cascade Lakes Highway (Foreast Road 46).  Forest Road 4270 has been cleared between Road 40 and 42. South Century Drive (Forest Road 42) has been cleared to Cascade Lakes Highway. There is a construction project on ... [full story]

Prineville Area Resident ducks and geese are to pairing up in preparation for nesting along the Crooked River and Prineville Reservoir Wildlife Management Area which is home to a variety of shorebirds and nesting birds of prey. The access road along the north side of Prineville Reservoir through the area is open and offers great opportunities for camping, hiking and wildlife viewing..  Directions to the wildlife area: From Prineville, take Paulina Highway 1.7 miles. Turn ... [full story]

OPEN: Cougar, coyote, spring turkey, spring bear (controlled hunt) Don’t forget to report your hunt results. Anyone who purchases a big game or turkey tag must report hunt results online or by phone. Reporting is required even if you did not fill your tag or go hunting.  More information Visit the turkey and spring bear hunting forecasts for tips and information about conditions in each zone. PRINEVILLE/OCHOCO WILDLIFE DISTRICT Snow accumulations are receding, but drifts ... [full story]

Weekend fishing opportunities: Several Cascade lakes will be accessible and ice-free in time for their spring opener on April 25, including Crane Prairie and Wickiup reservoirs, and Odell and South Twin lakes.  Crescent Lake has been giving up great catches of lake trout and brown trout. There have been reports of anglers catching some nice fish on the Fall River – expect insect activity to increase as temperatures increase. BIG LAVA LAKE: rainbow trout Big ... [full story]

TUALTIN, Ore. – Tualatin Police say that a Cottage Grove woman left her dog in direct sunlight in her SUV when temperatures soared to 80 degrees, and was cited for animal neglect when the small pug died. Officers responded to the Bridgeport Village Mall about 3:20 p.m., April 20, and contacted the driver, 55-year old Linda Rae Daniels of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Daniels told police she left the dog in the SUV with the back ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. administration figures, including Condoleezza Rice and John Ashcroft, approved harsh CIA interrogation methods as early as summer 2002, documents indicate. Declassified information about the evolution of the Bush White House's decisions to employ interrogation methods on terrorism suspects that some consider to be torture -- such as simulated drowning known as waterboarding -- were contained in Senate Intelligence Committee documents released Wednesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, The Washington Post reported. A timeline ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama will soon be receiving his long-sought, super-secure BlackBerry, sources told The Washington Times. Obama had been forced to give up his beloved but insufficiently secured BlackBerry after his inauguration and in the interim has been made to attach it to a cumbersome handheld device known as a Sectera Edge, supplied by the National Security Agency, the newspaper reported Thursday. The added device is necessary to ensure that the president's e-mail, instant ... [full story]

DENVER -- A Colorado man who admitted to killing his date when he discovered the person was a male has been sentenced to life in prison without parole, authorities said. A jury in Denver deliberated for only two hours Wednesday before convicting Allen Ray Andrade, 32, of first-degree murder and a hate crime in the bludgeoning death of Angie Zapata, 18, of Greeley, Colo., the Los Angeles Times said. Zapata, a transsexual, met Andrade, a convicted felon ... [full story]

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- A Russian official said Moscow and Sofia, Bulgaria, could soon sign an agreement on the South Stream pipeline, which will transport Russian gas to Europe. Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said the text of the agreement was fully correlated between the two sides and it is likely to be signed Monday when Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev visits Moscow, the Russian news agency Itar-TASS said Thursday. The South Stream pipeline, to transport Russian gas ... [full story]