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🚨Arrest Made Following Victim's Report to National Human Trafficking Hotline

🚨Arrest Made Following Victim's Report to National Human Trafficking Hotline

Issue #103

26 Mar

Be aware Gmail will sometimes ‘clip’ the newsletter, but you can always:

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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia

🌄 Bend, OR Weather

📰 Local News - What’s a Happening?

📰 Deschutes County Weighs Pros and Cons of Landfill Sites

📰 Smith Rock Way Bridge Replacement Underway

📰Deschutes County Commissioners Discuss Progress and Funding for Homeless Encampments at Juniper Ridge

📰 Sisters Ranger District increases staff

📰 New Stop Signs on O.B. Riley Road and Empire Avenue

📰 Crime News

🚨Arrest Made Following Victim's Report to National Human Trafficking Hotline

😁 MEME of the Day

📅 Lots of Events

What was the original name of the community that eventually became known as Tumalo?

A) Drakeville

B) Lava Butte

C) Central Crossing

D) Laidlaw

👇Find the Answer at the end of the Newletter👇

BEND

Deschutes County Weighs Pros and Cons of Landfill Sites

Deschutes County's Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) is nearing a decision on recommending a new landfill site in east county as Knott Landfill approaches full capacity. The committee discussed costs, projections, and environmental impacts, with two finalist sites under consideration. Public comments highlighted concerns about wildlife habitat and operational costs, with a decision expected by April 16.

Smith Rock Way Bridge Replacement Underway

Posted by Heather Roberts KBND

TERREBONNE, OR -- Smith Rock State Park is expected to be a big tourist draw over Spring Break, but visitors may encounter a road construction project in the area. Deschutes County Road Department Director Chris Doty tells KBND News crews are, "Replacing a bridge on Smith Rock Way, just east of the main entrance or turn-off to Smith Rock State Park."

Because of length restrictions on nearby O’Neil Highway, the bridge is frequently used by heavy trucks traveling to and from Crook County. An estimated 900 vehicles travel that stretch of Smith Rock Way each day. The bridge is about 80 years old, although its deck was replaced in 1971, "It’s outlived its useful life expectancy; being replaced as we speak. So that section of road will be shut down for the next couple of months. There will be detours in place."

The two-lane bridge crosses the canal, east of Northeast 33rd. Doty says the work, "Shouldn’t affect a lot of folks accessing the park because it’s on the east side of that entrance. But that’s a project that has an impact, nonetheless, to the traveling public."

He expects the million dollar project to be complete by June.

Deschutes County Commissioners Discuss Progress and Funding for Homeless Encampments at Juniper Ridge

BEND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners heard Wednesday about progress at the houseless encampments on county-owned property at Juniper Ridge north of Bend.

Health Services Director Janice Garceau told commissioners about 20 people live there, with hundreds more on city and BLM land, “It is definitely cleaner; it is definitely somewhat safer and people are definitely making use of resources without damaging them and some people are leaving for regular housing and I would count those things as successes… and I think there are also challenges.”

Since summer, in response to safety and health code vioations, the county has provided sanitation, water, and security in the area, but commissioners must decide if, and how they will pay for the effort after current funding runs out on June 30^th.

Commissioner Phil Chang noted the unsanctioned camps are seeing some successes, “I would much prefer to have something more like a complete managed camp for people. But, there's lessons to be learned essentially from this experience.”

“So that means, yeah, we're going to… I would support, supporting people out there at the level we have and knowing that we're in full on code violation. We're not even following our own rules and laws,” Commissioner Tony DeBone said.

Commissioners will get another update in May.

They could fund the $200-thousand project with ARPA money set aside to address homelessness, the General Fund, or put it in the next fiscal year’s budget, which begins July 1st.

Sisters Ranger District increases staff

By Bill Bartlett The Nugget News

Over the past several months the Sisters District of the Deschutes National Forest has seen its head count grow from 80 to 114. It’s part of a larger national effort for the agency which has a workforce of over 31,000 managing 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, more than the entire stare of Texas.

In 2022, Chief Randy Moore called on the Forest Service to build its workforce for the future: “Forest Service hiring had not kept pace with attrition, and we needed to attract and retain employees at a rate that would grow our agency. The passing of significant legislation gave us the rare opportunity to increase the size of our federal workforce to meet additional workload demands created by major initiatives like the Wildfire Crisis Strategy.”

Much of the funding benefiting job gains in the Sisters District is from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid told The Nugget, “About half the increase is for fire and fuels reduction with added engine and hand crews. We’ve added a number of biologists and wildlife technicians and have been able to move some seasonal and part time staff to full time.”

It’s in this area where Reid sees the most benefit.

“There’s a lot of lost time in always having to retrain seasonal and part time personnel,” he said.

Including the U.S. Postal Service, federal agencies have seen robust growth of 86,000 jobs over the last year. Of the 11,000 jobs gained in January, about 4,500 were for the Postal Service and 6,500 went toward the rest of federal government. Only a handful of non-census months over the last 20 years have seen such significant federal job growth. Federal employment has increased in 16 of the last 17 months.

Construction of the new District headquarters building is well under way with excavation and grading completed. Forms are being erected and concrete pouring will be in full swing soon.

Reid has issued an invitation to any interested persons to the annual open house Tuesday, April 9, starting at 4:30. The open house is a popular event where the community can learn about upcoming projects, including prescribed fires, ask questions and give feedback to district employees, and visit with their public servants and learn in greater detail the work of the increased staff.

New this year the District will host the event on the ranger station campus and offer an optional walking tour to see the final site plan, which includes a new warehouse and fire engine bay, new ranger station, employee housing, and increased visitor parking. If you are interested in attending the open house or the campus tour call 541-549-7700 or e-mail [email protected].

New Stop Signs on O.B. Riley Road and Empire Avenue

On Tuesday, March 26, the City is installing new stop signs at O.B. Riley Road at the Crusher Avenue and Empire Avenue intersection. Because of increasing traffic volume, the intersection now qualifies for an all-way-stop configuration.

O.B. Riley Road has changed from a low-volume rural road to a busier urban street. The corridor has seen new construction of housing developments. It’s a route to the North Star Elementary School and the Riley Ranch Nature Preserve. East-west traffic on Empire Avenue is also increasing.

The City’s 2020 GO Bond projects include building a roundabout there in the future, but that project is more than three years away.

“An all-way-stop control improves traffic flow and safety where two, higher-traffic volume main streets meet,” said Assistant City Engineer Janet Hruby. “Until the roundabout is built, the all-way stop will improve visibility that is limited with higher speeds and the off-set streets at that intersection. It will make it easier for people driving to see people in the crosswalk and make it easier for people walking and biking to cross O.B. Riley Road.”

“Over the past eight years, 20 crashes have occurred at the location and 14 of them resulted in some kind of injury,” said Hruby. “The all-way stop will help reduce the number and severity of crashes."

The most common crash type involved a through vehicle on Empire and a southbound vehicle on O.B. Riley.

Weekly Road and Traffic Report for the Week of March 25th - 31st Bend

Weekly Road Construction Update Week of March 24th - 29th Deschutes County

Arrest Made Following Victim's Report to National Human Trafficking Hotline

At approximately 2:16 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, Bend Police responded to a report of a possible sex crime and human trafficking.

According to Deschutes County 911 Dispatch, a 31-year-old Salem woman texted the National Human Trafficking Hotline to report that she was being forced to engage in commercial sex acts and was being held against her will in a room at the Red Lion Inn & Suites on NE Butler Market Road.

After multiple attempts to contact the victim went unanswered, officers knocked and announced themselves, ordering those inside to open the door. When the victim answered the door, officers evacuated the victim and took the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Vancouver, Wash., resident Orlando Smith, into custody.

During a later interview with the victim, she told police that Smith had punched her in the face multiple times and forced her to engage in sex acts with multiple men over the course of two days. Officers located an online ad for the victim, as well as more than $1,000 in Smith’s possession.

Smith was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault and promoting prostitution, and was cited for a warrant involving a traffic offense in Salem. He was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail.

If you or someone you know is involved in a trafficking situation, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733. Advocates are available 24/7 to take reports of potential human trafficking.