Category: Hometown News – Bend

Bend PD make 2 arrests in tools, trailer thefts

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March 2, 2021

Two transients were arrested on Tuesday on a series of theft charges after Bend Police said they stole tools and a cargo trailer from a construction site.

A caller reported seeing two people standing outside a dumpster in the area of 20600 Grandview Drive in Bend, and they had bolt cutters.

They said a log splitter was also in the dumpster area and they believed the log splitter was stolen.

When Bend PD responded, officers said they located 31-year-old Michael Delucia.

The investigation found that Delucia and Brent Hermanns had stolen a log splitter from Lowe’s earlier in the morning.

Both Delucia and Hermanns were identified through video surveillance.

Delucia and Hermanns were found to be associated with a travel trailer parked on Hunnel Road.

During the investigation regarding the stolen log splitter, officers found evidence that connected Hermanns to a recovered cargo trailer that was stolen from around a construction site in the 600 block of NW York between February 28th and March 1st.

During the theft investigation on NW York on March 1st, it was reported around $15,000 dollars of tools were stolen from the construction site.

Other items stolen from the construction site were found inside and around the travel trailer on Hunnel Road.

The stolen cargo trailer was previously recovered on Forrest Service Road 41 on March 1st with the stolen tools inside of it.

Hermanns was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was lodged for Theft I, Aggravated Theft I, Burglary II, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Mischief III and Possession of Burglary Tools and Probation Violation.

Delucia was arrested for Theft II and Criminal Mischief II. He was issued a citation to appear in Deschutes County Circuit Court on the listed charges.

Officers are continuing to investigate this incident. Further arrests could follow based on the information received.

▶️ Plans appear to show Tesla service center in the works for Bend’s north side

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March 2, 2021

By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS

Bend couple Richard and Linda Ingle love owning their two Teslas.

They’re fun to drive, they lower pollution…But getting them serviced?

That’s another story.

“If something were to go radically wrong, having to take it over to Portland is not a good deal,” Richard said. “Driving it or even having it towed a few miles to a service center here would be a game-changer.”

Plans and permits filed with the city of Bend show a Tesla service center is possibly on the horizon in the former mattress factory building on Bend’s north side.

But neither Tesla nor the property broker could confirm the plans.

If things move forward, it could be a game-changer for more than all the Tesla owners here.

“A service center like this is I think one of those checkboxes, like hey I can move to Central Oregon because it has a place, I can get my car serviced,” said Roger Lee, CEO of Economic Development for Central Oregon, an agency that works with businesses to set up shop in the region. “I think this is one of those things that maybe people move to a city and expect it is there and this development I think delivers that.”

For now, the Ingles and other Tesla owners have to travel over the mountains or rely on mobile repair services like the one they had on Tuesday morning.

“We had our maintenance. Changed out the air filter and wiper blades,” Linda said. “He came to us, which was great and that is the only maintenance it has needed.”

And the mechanic seemed to have an inside scoop.

“He said that in a few months there would be a service center in the area,” Linda said. “Having it here. I don’t know why anybody would buy any other car.”

BLP offers free streaming service to watch high school sports this spring

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March 2, 2021

With a handful of high school sports starting back up – sans spectators – Bend-La Pine Schools announced Tuesday it will offer a free streaming service to watch the competition from home.

“While spectators cannot cheer in-person, we are excited to announce a new way for folks to root for their favorite teams from home,” said Dave Williams, Bend-La Pine Schools’ district athletic director. “As we progress through our seasons, we will re-evaluate state guidelines and opening our facilities to spectators but for the immediate future, spectators will not be part of our athletic competitions.”

Interested families, friends and community members are encouraged to sign up for a free subscription with the NFHS Network to watch competitions taking place at Bend Senior High School, La Pine High School, Mountain View High School and Summit High School this school year.

Each school will host automated broadcasts of competitions taking place in football stadiums and main gyms, including, but limited to, football, soccer, volleyball and basketball.

All competitions taking place at these sites will be broadcast through the NFHS Network.

As manual broadcasts ramp up at school sites, Freshmen and Junior Varsity competitions will be broadcast at harder-to-reach facilities as well.

For full schedules, or to watch competitions, visit:

Registration Details

Create a free account https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/users/sign_up
Click ‘Subscribe’ in the top right corner of the page

Enter Bend-La Pine Schools or your high school in the ‘Find your school, event, association’ box, for example: Bend Sr. High School

Note: There is no need to select either of the paid subscription options, you will be allowed free access to our select high school regular-season home games.

Understanding Guidelines

Bend-La Pine Schools is required to adhere to county sector guidance with gathering limitation sizes. To this end, 2020-21 athletic and activities competitions will occur without in-person spectators.

Capacity limits include everyone at the facility, including players, coaches, officials, game event staff, and spectators.

Schools have made the decision to suspend allowing spectators at all events for the time being to increase roster sizes for schools involved in competition, allow more coaching staff, and event staff while staying within our limits.

“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make adjustments to how we safely participate in high school athletics,” said Williams. “We are thrilled to see our student-athletes back in uniform and ready to compete and hope families will take advantage of the exciting option to watch games live.”

▶️ ‘More confident, more safe,’ Touchmark senior facility fully vaccinated

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March 1, 2021

By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS

One year into the pandemic and some of the most vulnerable populations are receiving their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Touchmark at Mount Bachelor Village, a senior living community in Bend expressed what it was like to get residents fully vaccinated.

“This last year has been a year of challenge,” said Touchmark Executive Director Scott Neil. “It’s been a year of opportunity; growth and it has drawn us closer together in ways that we did not think were possible and were certainly unexpected.”

Touchmark had 22 COVID cases at its facility, eight of those cases were residents.

“With our first case there was a great amount of fear and trepidations,” Neil said. “It was hard for residents because we had to create that isolation for people.”

Recreational classes were canceled and dining was confined to individual rooms.

“The mental health component, the emotional component is very significant because many people live here because of the socialization,” Neil said.

Touchmark’s last COVID case was discovered on February 4th.

Now, 96% of the residents and workers have had their second dose of the COVID vaccine.

“They feel more confident, they feel more safe, knowing that if there is potential exposure to COVID,” Neil added. “They feel like they have better protection because of the vaccine.”

He’s hopeful some recreation classes and more visitation can return in the next couple months.

Bend man arrested on assault charges after alleged fight at apartment complex

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March 1, 2021

A Bend man was arrested Saturday on assault charges after an alleged fight at an apartment complex, according to police.

Sgt. Wes Murphy said officers responded to the Awbrey Pines Condos just after 12 p.m. on a report of a physical domestic dispute.

When officers arrived, they learned the victim had been taken to the hospital by a friend and the suspect, 43-year-old Brandon Chadbourne was in the apartment.

Officers contacted the victim and were able to develop probable cause to arrest Chadbourne, who also had an active warrant for failing to appear in court on separate assault, menacing and harassment charges.

Murphy said officers tried to contact Chadbourne at the apartment but nobody answered the door.

Police obtained a search warrant and came back later that afternoon, but nobody was in the apartment. Murphy said other evidence was obtained during the search.

Just before 6 p.m. officers learned Chadbourne had returned to the apartment; a CERT Team Crisis Negotiator contacted him on the phone and he surrendered without incident.

Chadbourne was arrested on second-degree assault charges, unlawful use of a weapon and the charges related to his warrant.

▶️ A Year of COVID: Restaurant worker reflects on rollercoaster industry impact

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March 1, 2021

A year ago this month, COVID-19 became a household word.

The novel coronavirus swept through the U.S. and Central Oregon, impacting every aspect of every day life.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at the professions hardest hit by the pandemic, talking to people whose jobs and lives were turned upside down.

Central Oregon Daily’s Photojournalist Steve Kaufmann sat down with a restaurant worker who talks about the rollercoaster that was the last year.

 

DCSO investigating shooting near Alfalfa; victim expected to survive

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March 1, 2021

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting Saturday near Alfalfa.

Deputies were called to the 25000 block of Alfalfa Market Road arond 3:30 p.m. for a report of a person with a gunshot wound.

Sgt. Jayson Janes said deputies arrived and discovered a 55-year-old woman with a gunshot wound.

A 70-year-old man was also at the scene.

The woman was taken to St. Charles in Bend via air ambulance. She is expected to recover, Janes said.

Deputies and detectives are still actively investigating this incident, so no further details can be released at this time, he said.

There is no perceived threat to the public.

 

▶️ SAR volunteers clean up abandoned homeless camps along Deschutes River

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March 1, 2021

By BROOKE SNAVELY
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS

Deschutes County Search and Rescue volunteers cleaned up abandoned transient campsites along the Deschutes River over the weekend.

The steep canyon near the Riverhouse Convention Center served as a training opportunity for volunteers to practice rope rescues.

An escaped campfire last summer and high water this winter forced transients to abandon their campsites downstream of the North Canal Dam.

They left behind piles of garbage in a difficult to access area.

“Camping equipment, kitchen stuff, rotting food, hypodermic needles, clothes, shoes. Just tons and tons of trash rotted from sitting down here all winter,” said Neil Marchington, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.

SAR decided to help remove the trash via a rope system with litters that normally carry injured people.

They erected a complex rope and pulley system anchored to juniper trees that cantilevered out over the cliff.

A device called a “vortex” kept the rope clear of sharp rocks.

“That will involve setting up systems to haul the garbage up and being a litter attendant,” said Kamilla Farkas, Search & Rescue Lead. “Right now, there’s no live load but there could be, so this is a good training.”

Volunteers who pulled more than 2,000 pounds of garbage out of the canyon over two days say the cleanup couldn’t happen soon enough.

“There was literally trash floating down the river where people are swimming and kayaking. Bags with hypodermic needles floating across the Deschutes River here in Bend,” Marchington said. “That’s something we don’t want to have endangering our kids and our families.”

The cleanup served as one of three monthly trainings that Deschutes County Search & Rescue volunteers undergo year-round.

Such trainings sharpen their skills for when somebody needs to be rescued from difficult to reach areas.

OFNHP says St. Charles filed ‘frivolous lawsuit’ ahead of planned strike

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February 26, 2021

The union representing nurses and health professionals at St. Charles said the hospital has followed through with filing a lawsuit to stop a planned strike.

Earlier this week, the hospital’s medical techs gave notice they would strike on March 4 if the two sides were unable to agree on a contract.

Late Friday night, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals issued a statement that said an Unfair Labor Practice was filed by management at the hospital, contesting the length of the notification period.

The hospital said on Monday it planned to file the lawsuit.

St. Charles medical techs vote to strike; give hospital 10-day notice

The union claimed it followed all the requirements of the National Labor Relations Act when it gave the hospital a 10-day notice.

“The hospital’s frantic response is another example of their efforts to break up the bargaining power of the medical providers who are fighting for fair compensation, safe working conditions, and respect in the workplace,” the release said.

“We are a core part of this community, we are essential to its care, and all we are asking is to be treated that way,” said George Wainscott, a certified surgical technologist in the family birthing center. “The workers who are most capable of safely and reliably staffing this hospital are available. The employer is simply unwilling to treat us with the respect and value that we are worth.”

Here’s the rest of the release from OFNHP:

“The hospital filed an Unfair Labor Practice contesting the length of the notification period, something that labor law experts have rightly said shows their misunderstanding of the NLRA. They originally wanted a state court to issue an injunction to halt the strike. By filing in state court—the wrong jurisdiction—they would have been provided an unfair path to an injunction. This matter actually belongs in federal court, which is why it was immediately moved to a federal jurisdiction.

This is another example of extreme tactics that are intended to frighten St. Charles’ employees into submission, something that management often does in an effort to avoid unionization. While this action has been couched in the language of public health, it is a transparent attempt to undermine their own employees’ right to collective action. The union is fighting this in court, and the strike will still commence on March 4th, with community and political leaders from around Bend joining them on the picket line.”

▶️ Cideries, breweries worried about bill calling for huge tax increase

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February 26, 2021

By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS

Lawmakers in Salem Tuesday introduced a bill that would increase beer and cider tax by almost 3,000% and the wine tax by nearly 2,000% percent.

The bill would send that money to addiction recovery programs and help reduce underage and binge drinking.

Those involved in one of Central Oregon’s key industries worry it’ll do much more than that.

“We obviously want to support alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers; we do not see this as a correct avenue to do it,” said Avid Cider Manager Lou Crooks.

“Cideries alone will be increased so much that you are going to see a lot of your favorites go down,” Crooks said. “There is no way anyone can withstand this tax increase.”

She believes the impacts of the bill would ripple through the town.

“They don’t just come here to ski and golf and float the river,” Crooks added “They come here to drink, so when they are coming here and our craft is all about bringing in tourism, we are going to shy a lot of that away.”

The winery tax increase would be 1,700%.

Cider companies and breweries like Silver Moon would see a tax increase of 2,800%.

“If you take a brewery like Silver Moon or Crux or Cascade Lakes, any of us that brew anywhere from 8,000-12,000 barrels, it adds up to significant dollars,” said co-owner of Silver Moon Brewing Matt Barrett.

Barrett says the timing could not be worse.

“As a state, we are struggling to get our business back on track and come through this COVID and survive and create jobs,” Barrett said. “To put that kind of burden on a small business just makes absolutely no sense.”

At Avid Cider, Crooks says the bill would force them to increase the price of a six-pack of cider from $12 to $15.

“It’s such a family-owned and operated market here in Oregon … Don’t tax my drink,” Crooks said.

If approved, the bill would go into effect in January 2022.