In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia Wednesdays

🌄Bend, OR Weather

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

🦀Powell Butte Community Center Crab Feed! Yum

📅Save The Date Section

📰Local News - What’s a Happening?

⚖️Deschutes County No Longer in Public Defender Crisis, But Statewide Issues Persist

🔥🗺️State's fire map catches heat in Deschutes County

📰Bend Outdoor Worx adds companies to mentorship program

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

⛑️Two Backcountry Skiers Killed in Avalanche Near Bend; Recovery Efforts Completed

🚨Crime News

🚨Madras Gunfire Report Sparks Major Response, Turns Out to Be False Alarm

📰Community News

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Local News…

Deschutes County No Longer in Public Defender Crisis, But Statewide Issues Persist

After nearly a year, Deschutes County has resolved its public defender shortage, but thousands of defendants across Oregon remain unrepresented. District Attorney Steve Gunnels says local efforts, including bringing in more attorneys, reduced the backlog of cases. However, state-level changes are needed to prevent future shortages.

Despite $90 million in additional funding, other counties report an 11% increase in unrepresented defendants. Gunnels and Presiding Judge Wells B. Ashby argue that the current public defender caseload limits are outdated, forcing attorneys to stop taking cases midyear while still being paid.

Gunnels supports a “pay-by-the-case” model, but public defense attorney Joel Wirtz warns against overloading attorneys, citing past unethical practices. All agree that simply increasing funding isn’t the solution—better oversight and systemic reforms are needed.

Lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 337, which would require a portion of public defenders to be state employees by 2035.

State's fire map catches heat in Deschutes County

• By CLAYTON FRANKE For The Spokesman

• Feb 14, 2025

Deschutes County won’t join others that have asked the state to walk back its map assigning a wildfire hazard level to every tax lot in Oregon — but the map has caught plenty of heat from rural residents worried their livelihoods might be at stake.

After multiple hours of deliberations and testimony, Deschutes County Commissioners could not come to agreement over how to address residents’ concerns, mostly rising insurance costs, home values and personal property rights.

Commissioner Patti Adair instigated the discussion with hopes to send a letter on behalf of the commission demanding the state do away with the map. Adair said she has told Gov. Tina Kotek the state “desperately and immediately” needs to get rid of the map.

“That map is a mess,” Adair said Feb. 12.

Commissioner Phil Chang refuted many of the claims about home insurance and property value, and said many of the potential impacts of the map — which intends to make people more aware of their risk to wildfire — have been overstated and misconceived.

“My primary interest here is helping our residents do everything they can to reduce the likelihood that they are going to lose their home in a future wildfire,” Chang said Wednesday. “This discussion has been largely a distraction from that work, and I’m ready for it to be done.”

Chang didn’t rule out suggesting that the state approach changes to the map. Commissioner Tony DeBone said he would support suggesting the state retool the map to designate hazard levels for broad areas, rather than specific tax lots.

That’s the premise of a proposal to the Legislature from Sen. Jeff Golden (D-Ashland), with hopes to address anger and rumors from property owners with high hazard designations.

Opposition is stronger from other local elected officials in Central Oregon. Crook County joined several others in Southern Oregon opposing the map when a draft version was released in August. In a letter to Kotek, Crook County Commissioners said the map unfairly and inconsistently applied high hazard designations in Central Oregon and left little room — a 60-day window — for property owners to appeal.

“The state is effectively ‘convicting’ certain property owners without a trial and only very limited grounds to challenge the classification of their property,” the letter stated.

Two Republican-led bills in the state Legislature to repeal the map or altogether nullify Senate Bill 762, the 2021 legislation directing state agencies to create the hazard map, draft building and defensible spaces codes for wildfire, and mitigate wildfire smoke impacts.

The bill was a response to broad devastation delivered by the 2020 Labor Day fires.

The map, published in January, includes revised hazard levels for some properties and other changes from the first version, which was released in 2022 and withdrawn after public backlash.

The map ranks each property in Oregon as either low, medium or high hazard. Properties prescribed with both the high hazard designation and within the wildland-urban interface will be subject to defensible space codes and home-hardening codes on new construction and significant renovations. The codes are still undergoing rulemaking at the state level.

In Deschutes County, 20% of properties are in the high hazard category, according to Joy Krawczyk, public affairs director with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Insurance concerns remain

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Bend Outdoor Worx adds companies to mentorship program

The outdoor accelerator Bend Outdoor Worx, has twice as many companies this year participating in its mentorship program.

The Bend mentorship program was awarded grants from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, to support outdoor business mentoring through funding technical assistance and capacity building.

This year’s cohort includes Bend businesses Eyeonize, GiddyUP Gloves, SnoPlanks, Snowshoe Labs, Sunny, Spiral Wax, StoryBooth and Wanderhut Vehicle, and a Portland business, Howl at the Spoon.

Businesses compete for a year-long slot to receive mentorship specific to each company. Participants also receive guidance from notable outdoor business founders who work with the companies to connect with critical resources such as legal, financial, marketing, branding, logistics and support, sales and marketing and product development.

The accelerator is the brainchild of Gary Braceline, and was launched in 2014 with the help of Will Blount, Justin Rae and Eric Meade.

 City of Bend Events

Fire & Rescue News…

Two Backcountry Skiers Killed in Avalanche Near Bend; Recovery Efforts Completed

Deschutes County, Ore. – The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) has recovered the bodies of two backcountry skiers who were buried in an avalanche near a snowmobile trail west of Bend. The incident occurred in an area known as Happy Valley, where avalanche conditions were reported as “moderate to considerable” in the Central Cascades.

Sheriff Kent van der Kamp said the search began late Monday after friends reported the two skiers overdue. "Their plan was to snowmobile into an area they could ski," he told KTVZ News.

Avalanche Details and Search Effort

According to the Central Oregon Avalanche Center, the avalanche was classified as a D2 Storm Slab avalanche, occurring at an elevation of 6,700 feet on a south-facing slope. The avalanche’s crown height averaged 45 cm (about 18 inches), and the debris ran 320 vertical feet into a dense clump of trees. A D2 avalanche is considered "large" and capable of burying or injuring people, according to avalanche.org.

The skiers’ family and friends became concerned when they did not return home and used cellphone location data to search for them. Upon arriving at the site, they found one of the victims buried in the avalanche debris field and immediately called 911.

A DCSO Search and Rescue team was deployed around midnight and located both victims around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Out of an abundance of caution, they waited until daylight to begin recovery efforts, ensuring that conditions were stable and that rescuers would not trigger another avalanche.

The sheriff said the bodies have since been transported to a local funeral home. The names of the victims have not yet been released, pending family notifications.

Community Mourns Loss

The Central Oregon Avalanche Center expressed condolences in a statement on Facebook:

Sheriff van der Kamp echoed similar sentiments:

Avalanche Risk Remains High

Authorities warn that avalanche conditions remain hazardous in the Central Cascades. Recreationalists are urged to check forecasts at coavalanche.org before heading into the backcountry and to take necessary precautions, including carrying proper avalanche safety gear.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, established in 1916, continues to lead search and rescue operations, among other public safety duties, across its 3,055-square-mile jurisdiction. Officials are reminding residents to stay vigilant and prioritize safety when exploring Oregon’s winter wilderness.

Crime News…

Madras Gunfire Report Sparks Major Response, Turns Out to Be False Alarm

A report of gunshots near Love’s Travel Stop in Madras early Tuesday led to a shelter-in-place alert and a large-scale law enforcement response. Officers searched two locations, including a forested area southeast of town, but found no evidence to support the claim.

Madras Police Chief Tim Plummer called the situation a "big nothing-burger" but said the report had to be taken seriously. Despite online rumors of an active shooter, no injuries or threats were found.

The shelter order was lifted at 5:50 a.m., and authorities continue searching for a minor believed to be connected to the call.

Community News…

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