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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia

🌄Bend, OR Weather

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

🚴MX13 Jump Show

🎉New Event Calendar! Central Oregon Local Live!

📰Local News - What’s a Happening?

📰Les Schwab up for sale, owner group says

🦌🚸Central Oregon LandWatch proposes 4 new wildlife crossings along Highway 20

🏞️Crater Lake north entrance to temporarily close Tuesday due to nearby fire

👮Former Bend Police officer intends to sue city, claiming wrongful termination

🛠️Restoring History: Rimrock Springs Field House Gets New Life with Volunteer Effort

Central Oregon Fire Info

Updates of Oregon Fires

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

🚨 Crime News

 📰 Community News

🍻Cheers for a Cause: Support Recreation Scholarships at Cascade Lakes Brewing on 8/15!

🤔Meet the Vandeverts: Bend's first family and early Oregon pioneers

 Got some news or know of news for our Community News Segment - share it with C.O. Local Buzz!

😁 MEME of the Day

🌆 On going Events

📲Sponsors & Partners

What year did Joel Palmer, the superintendent for the Oregon Territory, receive orders to clear the Native American tribes from their lands in the Oregon Territory?

A) 1830

B) 1845

C) 1855

D) 1865,

👉Find the Answer in Tomorrow’s Newsletter👉

BEND

REDMOND

Events Sponsored By Enjoy Bend Life Real Estate

What’s Up Central Oregon 

MX13 Jump Show

MX13 Jump Show in Redmond! This year's event is a fundraiser for Hospice of Redmond. It is free to attend and family friendly.

August 22nd 5pm - 8pm @WildRide Brew Co

Les Schwab up for sale, owner group says

Meritage Group, the investment firm that owns Les Schwab Tires, may be looking to sell the tire company.

A report from Reuters says the group has brought in investors from Goldman Sachs to begin the sale process.

Meritage Group has owned Les Schwab since 2020, it values Les Schwab at more than $7 billion.

The group has made clear a deal isn't guaranteed.

Central Oregon LandWatch proposes 4 new wildlife crossings along Highway 20

Central Oregon LandWatch announced newly proposed wildlife crossings along Highway 20, meant to preserve wildlife, like deer and elk, and protect drivers.

The organization is working with state and federal agencies to help design the crossings.

Last month, CO LandWatch finished a feasibility study and chose four spots along Highway 20 based on its findings.

"This section of Highway 20 has the highest density of mule deer and elk vehicle collisions in the entire state," Jeremy Austin said. "Oregon Department of Transportation collects that information, and they estimate anywhere between 350 and 600."

With the locations established, CO LandWatch is handing the project off to state agencies for the design of the four structures.

The group is hoping to see construction begin in the next 2-5 years.

Crater Lake north entrance to temporarily close Tuesday due to nearby fire

The north entrance of Crater Lake is closing Tuesday due to fires in the area.

The temporary closure will allow firefighters to access the Middle Fork Fire, to create better control lines.

This change is the keep the fire from threatening the park and moving further east.

The closure stretches from the north junction to the park boundary at the junction with Highway 138.

All other park roads will stay open besides those already closed for construction on East Rim Drive.

Former Bend Police officer intends to sue city, claiming wrongful termination

Central Oregon Daily

A former officer with the Bend Police Department has sent notice with plans to sue the city over wrongful termination.

Kevin Uballez was charged with excessive use of force for an incident in 2021.

According to court documents, he responded to a call of a possibly intoxicated person in the middle of Skyliners Road. When he got there, documents say he grabbed the man from the back and violently slammed him into the pavement. It was later determined the intoxicated man had been assaulted by three high schoolers before the encounter with Uballez.

He was placed on administrative leave and it wasn't until 2023 that those charges were dropped by the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office.

The Bend Police Department then performed its own investigation and fired Uballez in January, saying he violated several policies including unreasonable use of force.

Uballez filed a tort notice, informing the city and Bend Police he is planning to sue for wrongful termination and claims he was defamed in the process.

Uballez’s attorney, Andrew Mittendorf, provided this statement.

“Mr. Uballez was very disappointed to be terminated by the Bend Police Department. He loved serving the citizens of Bend and Deschutes County. As a law enforcement officer for over 16 years, Mr. Uballez is upset that he could not retire as a law enforcement officer and that his career is over. He is seeking to restore his reputation and clear his name. He is also hoping that this helps to prevent discrimination of other BPD officers or employees. The double standards need to stop.”

Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller provided the following statement:

"While our Department cannot comment on the specifics of the tort claim notice, we dispute many of the claims alleged in the notice and intend to vigorously defend against any lawsuit Mr. Uballez may choose to file.

As you know, Mr. Uballez’s criminal charges were dropped by the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office in November 2023, at which time our Department proceeded with an internal affairs investigation. That investigation determined Mr. Uballez had violated several policies, including the unreasonable use of force, and he was terminated from employment in January of this year. Our Department stands by that investigation and disciplinary actions."

Restoring History: Rimrock Springs Field House Gets New Life with Volunteer Effort

PRINEVILLE, OR -- An effort to preserve a piece of Central Oregon history is underway just off Highway 26, between Prineville and Madras. The Rimrock Springs Wildlife Management Area Field House is getting restored, with help from HistoriCorps. "It's a chance for the volunteers to learn about woodworking and historic preservation, and get to go to a new place and learn about the history of that place," says Anne Dowd, Crooked River National Grasslands Forest Archaeologist, Heritage and Tribal Relations Program Manager, "It's cheaper, but it's also a little more fun. And it provides educational opportunities for partner organizations, which is of course important too."
Dowd says the 640-square foot building went up in the mid-1930s, as part of a Depression-era work camp for what was then called the Farm Security Administration. But the location has a rich cultural history, "American Indian tribes have used this area near the springs for many thousands of years. After the homesteading period, federal agency management activities were focused in this area." Most recently, the building was a machine shop for the Grasslands.

It's being converted into an office space. "But the building's going to stay very much the same, just in good repair," Dowd tells KBND News, "So, it'll still have big, broad doors you can open up, and a cement floor and you can bring a vehicle in if you need to work on it." Over the next couple of years, the Grasslands will take additional steps to convert the area into a wild horse adoption center, "Creating good access to the property, and the different facilities such as corrals, and a place for a caretaker, some utilities work, to make it functioning for being able to bring horse trailers in and out."

Work on the restoration project is expected to wrap up this week. 

Updates of Oregon Fires

Link to: Air Quality Index map

Another AQI Map

Link to: Northwest Large Fire Interactive Web Map

Cheers for a Cause: Support Recreation Scholarships at Cascade Lakes Brewing on 8/15!

On Thurs, 8/15, raise a glass and recreation scholarship funds at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co.'s Reed Market pub while you enjoy food, live music & fun. $1 of every pint will be donated to Bend Park & Rec Foundation’s recreation scholarship fund. Big thanks, Cascade Lakes!

Meet the Vandeverts: Bend's first family and early Oregon pioneers

Scott Elnes, Anchor

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