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🔥Swift Action Averts Major Fire at Bend Commercial Hub / 🚨 Armed Fugitive Apprehended at Bend Shopping Center

🔥Swift Action Averts Major Fire at Bend Commercial Hub / 🚨 Armed Fugitive Apprehended at Bend Shopping Center

Issue #122

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

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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🌄 Bend, OR Weather

📰 Local News - What’s a Happening?

💥🏗️Sixth, likely final blast, for Highway 97 construction set for Tuesday

📰Deschutes County commissioners OK new homeless camp eviction policy, on hold pending managed campsite

📰Deschutes Peace Garden: Nurturing Growth and Learning at Juvenile Detention Facility

🚮Dumping trash in Redmond will soon be an indoor experience

⛑️🔥Fire & Rescue News

🔥Swift Action Averts Major Fire at Bend Commercial Hub; $50,000 in Damages After Exterior Blaze

🚨 Crime News

🚨 Armed Fugitive Apprehended at Bend Shopping Center

📰Caught on video: Suspected hate crime in Redmond injures members of traveling mariachi band

🚨Hit-and-run through fence at Pilot Butte leads to traffic stop, China Hat pursuit of DUII suspect, manhunt and arrest

📰 Regional News

📰‘We need to treat this as an emergency’: Eastern Oregonians await action from state, feds on groundwater contamination

📰 Community News

💖🐴Anonymous donor gives 26 tons of hay to DCSO’s Rescue Ranch to help rehabilitate 15 seized horses

🌲🌲Kids and families plant Ponderosa pine tree at COCC for Arbor Day

😁 MEME of the Day

📅 Lots of Events

BEND

North Oregon Cascades

Today

Becoming partly sunny this afternoon. A slight chance of thunderstorms. Snow showers this morning, then a chance of snow and rain showers this afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce small hail. Snow level 2500 feet. Snow accumulation of 2 to 5 inches. Pass winds west 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. Rainfall amounts a quarter to a half of an inch.

Tonight

A slight chance of thunderstorms and snow showers in the evening, then snow showers after midnight. Some thunderstorms may produce small hail in the evening. Snow level 2000 feet. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Pass winds southwest 15 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph in the evening. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch.

Tuesday

A slight chance of thunderstorms. Snow showers in the morning, then snow and rain showers in the afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce small hail. Snow level 2500 feet. Snow accumulation of 2 to 5 inches. Pass winds southwest 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. Rainfall amounts a quarter to three quarters of an inch.

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy. Rain showers, snow showers likely with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Some thunderstorms may produce small hail in the evening. Snow level 3000 feet. Pass winds west 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny. A slight chance of rain and snow showers in the afternoon. Snow level 4000 feet in the afternoon. Pass winds west 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. A chance of rain and snow showers. Snow level 4000 feet. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Thursday

Rain and snow showers likely. Snow level 5000 feet. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of rain showers. Snow level 6000 feet.

Sixth, likely final blast, for Highway 97 construction set for Tuesday

Traffic on U.S. Highway 97 will stall between 8 and 9 p.m. on Tuesday for a blast of hard basalt to advance construction on the North Corridor project, state transportation officials said Friday.

The blast, which was rescheduled from Saturday morning, will be the sixth conducted by crews constructing a new section of the highway, and it will likely be the last, the Oregon Department of Transportation said in a news release.

The highway will be closed for roughly 15 minutes for the blast.

"This brief highway closure allows for a clear zone around the blasting sites," the department said. "If you travel this route Tuesday evening, plan ahead and give yourself extra time."Drivers heading north on the highway are now using one of the newly built sections — the parkway on-ramp at Cooley Road. Drivers return to the existing highway just north of Grandview Avenue. This route is effective until July when all new northbound travel lanes are expected to be finished, the department said.

Northbound access from Empire Avenue has also been shifted to the new section of the highway until Robal Lane, where drivers rejoin the highway at the intersection's stoplight.

"Travelers should expect congestion and are advised to take a different route when possible," the department said.

The entire project is expected to be finished in December.

Deschutes County commissioners OK new homeless camp eviction policy, on hold pending managed campsite

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County commissioners voted unanimously this week to approve a new homeless camp eviction policy and procedure for county-owned lands, although that process is still on hold while the county works to create a managed camp for them to be relocated to.

"This policy is for notification when the county has determined to close vacant county-owned land to the public and the notification that will be necessary to the encampments on that identified land," county Legal Counsel Kim Riley told NewsChannel 21 in an email Friday.

The existing 72-hour notice policy from last August is still in effect, but that only covers encampments deemed unsafe.

"The county would first identify an alternative property for encampments to relocate to prior to any notification of a closure to vacant County-owned land," Riley said.

Riley assured commissioners at Wednesday's meeting that the new policy had no more or less “legal exposure” for the county than the initial version, if they were to remove homeless campsites from their property without a place for them to go.

After a brief discussion, Commissioner Tony DeBone moved to approve the policy, and commission Chair Patti Adair seconded it when colleague Phil Chang did not do so.

Chang voiced a familiar concern, that the process to make a managed camp on county property has moved too slowly.

“I’m really concerned that we have not made more progress on alternative places for people to go,” Chang said. “I think we certainly could have in this time frame,” noting the initial policy was approved last August.

"I will vote yes on this motion, because I hope that adopting this policy will make us more focused and really do what’s necessary to establish places for people to go to,” he added.

The notice will contain the date of posting, the type of notice, information about the county property, and the location for personal property. County crews and contractors will then begin taking personal property to be stored for 30 days for pickup.

DeBone said, "This is what it would look like as we try to proceed and work together in the community to, you know, improve this situation, public safety, offering resources for people in need and not having unsanctioned encampments where it's very impactful."

Deschutes-County-policy-removal-of-unauthorized-encampments Download

The post Deschutes County commissioners OK new homeless camp eviction policy, on hold pending managed campsite appeared first on KTVZ

Deschutes Peace Garden: Nurturing Growth and Learning at Juvenile Detention Facility

Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council have launched the Deschutes Peace Garden at the county's Juvenile Community Justice Facility. Funded partly by grants and supported by several community partners, the garden serves as an outdoor classroom for detained youth, offering a blend of academic and vocational learning through gardening. Nancy Gilbertson, a teacher at the facility, emphasizes the therapeutic and educational benefits of working with soil and plants. The garden features raised beds, a pergola for outdoor classes, and a composting station, providing a space for the youth to grow food and engage socially. Although not yet fully complete, the initiative is already fostering engagement and vocational skills among the youth, with plans to donate surplus produce to local facilities and shelters.

Full Story Here

Dumping trash in Redmond will soon be an indoor experience

The way Redmond residents dump their trash is about to change. Negus Transfer Station is preparing to open a $20 million indoor disposal facility in May.

Redmond residents currently dump their trash at the station from a cliff and into huge trailers that haul the waste away. In about a month, locals will bring their trash indoors to a huge new building designed for the express purpose of processing solid waste.

"Customers will come in up the hill and drive right into the building. There will be an attendant here to tell them where to go. They’ll back up towards the wall," said Jeff Merwin, Deschutes County Solid Waste project manager. "It’s a 35,000-square-foot, enclosed building. Once they dump their load and pull out of the way, we’ll have a loader push it over to the bays on the west side."

Bend-area residents already use a similar indoor trash facility at Knott Landfill.

This new building at Negus Transfer Station in Redmond is larger and will accommodate the public and commercial waste haulers at the same time.

"It’s actually much easier because you are putting your material directly on the ground and we’ll have signage to route people back over. One thing that’s different is there’s scales. We charge by cubic yard currently, but next month it will be by weight which is much more accurate."

The overall set up of driveways, weigh stations and buildings is easy to navigate.

The existing recycling center will continue operating in its current location. The Negus Transfer Station recycling center now accepts up to 10 cans of latex and oil-based paint per trip.

The transfer station also plans to increase collection of hazardous household waste items from once a year to once a month.

Weekly Road and Traffic Report for the Week of April April 29 – May 5 Bend

Weekly Road Construction Update Week of April April 28 to May 4 Deschutes County

ODOT - Region 4 Weekly Construction Update April 26, 2024 - May 3, 2024

Swift Action Averts Major Fire at Bend Commercial Hub; $50,000 in Damages After Exterior Blaze

Bend Fire Department was called to a fire on the exterior of a commercial building at 9:30 this evening. Multiple 911 calls reported a fire behind the warehouses and businesses at NE 1^St St and NE Olney Ave. The occupant of 147 NE Olney Ave was working on prepping the space for her new business when she heard several bangs outside the building. When she came out ash was falling in the parking lot and she immediately called 911. Fire crews were able to get the fire stopped before it could spread inside the building it was adjacent to and keep it from the two neighboring buildings. Damage to the building is estimated to be $50,000.

The remains of an encampment were found burned up in the fire behind the building. Its unclear at this time the exact cause of the fire but it is related to the camp. The investigation is ongoing. The fire only caused minor damage to both the building at 147 NE Olney Ave and the building to the west of it. The quick reaction of the occupant saved Her’s and neighboring buildings.

Hampering fire suppression and allowing the fire to spread was a accumulation of pallets, wood, stored materials, and flammable vegetation on all three properties involved. Creating a defensible space around your home and business isn’t just for wildfire safety, it can help prevent the spread of any type of fire to your building. Keeping combustible vegetation at least 5 feet back from the building and preventing the buildup of combustible storage, especially in inaccessible areas, can greatly increase the safety of your home and business. In this case, the two buildings along NE 2^nd St had wood material stacked up between and behind their buildings. The building behind the fire off NE 1^st St had dense juniper bushes right up against the building in an area with only 10 feet between the buildings. The juniper bushes caught fire and broke out one of the windows in the back building. Had this fire not been caught as early as it was the potential that all three buildings would have burned is very high. If you have any questions or would like a free assessment of your home or business, please call our office at 541-322-6300.

Armed Fugitive Apprehended at Bend Shopping Center

BEND, OR - Ryan R. Gossett, a 38-year-old male from Turner, Oregon, was arrested on Friday at Cascade Village Shopping Center in Bend after a tactical operation conducted by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team.

Gossett, who was wanted on nationwide extradition warrants for multiple charges including Robbery in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Fleeing or Attempt to Elude a Police Officer, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, was apprehended at approximately 4:39 PM.

The arrest followed a tip from the U.S. Marshals that Gossett, known to be armed and dangerous, was likely in the Bend area. DCSO and CODE initiated surveillance at the shopping center, where Gossett and a female associate were spotted conducting what appeared to be counter-surveillance maneuvers.

According to Sergeant Josh Spano of the DCSO, the operation culminated when law enforcement executed a pre-planned maneuver to immobilize Gossett's vehicle as he attempted to drive away from a retail store within the shopping center. The maneuver resulted in minor damage to law enforcement vehicles but ensured Gossett and his associate were taken into custody without further incident.

Gossett was found to be carrying a concealed handgun and a significant amount of suspected Fentanyl at the time of his arrest. He has been lodged in the Deschutes County Adult Jail under the charges listed above. His female associate was released pending further investigation.

This case highlights the coordinated efforts of local law enforcement to address serious crimes and ensure public safety. The investigation remains ongoing, and further details will be provided as they become available.

Caught on video: Suspected hate crime in Redmond injures members of traveling mariachi band

A suspected hate crime in Redmond injured members and instruments of a traveling mariachi band Tuesday night. The episode was captured on video.

www.centraloregondaily.com/caught-on-video-suspected-hate-crime-in-redmond-injures-members-of-traveling-mariachi-band/video_b70f6f36-7852-5846-8737-10be72b47676.html

Hit-and-run through fence at Pilot Butte leads to traffic stop, China Hat pursuit of DUII suspect, manhunt and arrest

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A hit-and-run crash through a fence at Pilot Butte State Park Sunday night led to a traffic stop on Bend’s south end and a pursuit of the suspected DUII driver, who fled down China Hat Road and abandoned his SUV. A manhunt involving a K-9 team and a drone ended in his arrest, police said.

Officers were dispatched around 8:40 p.m. to the reported crash that damaged a fence at the park, Sgt. Whitney Dickson said.

The reporting party followed the vehicle, a Toyota 4-Runner that police eventually pulled over at Third Street and Reed Market Road, Dickson said.

Officers developed probable cause to investigate the driver for DUII, but he soon took off southbound on Third Street. Dickson said officers did not pursue him due to public safety concerns.

The suspect driver, identified as a 27-year-old Bend man, was spotted by officers and Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies after leaving the city and heading south on China Hat Road, Dickson said.

‘We need to treat this as an emergency’: Eastern Oregonians await action from state, feds on groundwater contamination

Ongoing nitrate contamination in Morrow and Umatilla counties' groundwater has been worsening for over three decades, impacting drinking water safety. Despite early identification in the 1990s and subsequent legislative efforts, progress has been slow. Recent meetings led by Governor Kotek and official Sixkiller focused on intensifying response efforts, including expanding testing and water delivery to affected residents. The state aims to enhance coordination with local communities to address the crisis, with long-term solutions including potentially integrating rural areas into municipal water systems. However, challenges remain in balancing economic impacts, regulatory approaches, and community trust.

Full Story Here

Anonymous donor gives 26 tons of hay to DCSO’s Rescue Ranch to help rehabilitate 15 seized horses

By Harley Coldiron KTVZ

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office announced someone has anonymously donated 26 tons of hay to help rehabilitate 15 horses seized from a Bend-area ranch. The sheriff's office told us the horses are making a steady recovery on the Rescue Ranch, but full rehabilitation will take some time.

Kids and families plant Ponderosa pine tree at COCC for Arbor Day

Several kids and their parents got their hands dirty, planting a soon to be mighty tree at COCC. It was the all ages Pop-Up Pondo Planting Party. The event was a hands-on educational celebration of Ponderosa pine trees with COCC, Project Ponderosa and musician Ian Carrick. It was put on in honor of Arbor Day, where people learned about the resilience, adaptability, and beauty of Ponderosas.

"Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain & the mountain will keep it, folded, & not throw it back as some creeks will. The creeks are the world with all its stimulus & beauty; I live there. But the mountains are home." - Annie Dillard