BEND, OR -- Temperatures are rising, the tourists are coming and events are stacking up on the calendar; summer must be right around the corner. Happy Girls kicked off a full slate of races last weekend, in Bend. Conquer the Canyon returns to Redmond June 8th. Aaron Switzer, with Lay it Out Events, says there’s a half marathon, 10K, 5K, and a new 5K doggie dash, "It’s a very cool course. It’s the reason that we got pulled up to doing the event. So, we start on the street, under the Redmond arch. It’s a very cool start place, and it runs into the Dry Canyon and around the Dry Canyon." He tells KBND News, "They’ve got a beautiful park up there. If you haven’t taken a moment to hike in Dry Canyon, it’s incredible. It’s where the river used to flow. We run down and back it, and back into town for a little party afterwards."

June 21st and 22nd, Bend's Alpenglow Park hosts the new Big Bend Barbecue. "Some people may remember the bond the Parks passed to create this event park down south, to kind of diversify where events are happening in our community. Well, we are stepping up to the plate and going to do a barbecue event down there," says Switzer, "It’s very family friendly. Bring your picnic blanket and there will be five to six different barbecue people; you’ll be able to sample them all, get a tasty beverage, listen to some music."

Of course, the traditional favorites are back. Switzer says Bend Summer Festival is one of the most popular; it returns July 12th through the 14th. "Everybody in the community gets to come to downtown and walk the streets. There’s art vendors from all over the region, music going all day and night. A ton of fun and a great way to celebrate living in the community during the middle of the year." More than 80 regional and national artisans will display their works this year, "We do a jury now for the art. It’s pretty sought after, just because - as you know, the community’s affluence is raised, so there’s more commerce going on and artists are doing better down there, which is great. And, you’re getting a better quality of art."

Balloons Over Bend (pictured) is July 26-28 and in August, Theater in the Park returns to Drake Park, with Mamma Mia. Click HERE for more information.

WARM SPRINGS, OR -- Human remains found last year near Warm Springs have been positively identified by the State Medical Examiners Office as the body of a missing 18-year-old.

In December of 2022, LeBron Boise walked away from his Warm Springs Home. Despite several days of searching, investigators had no leads on his location.

More than a year later, in December of 2023, a group of people checking trap lines on the Jackson Trail discovered human remains near a cliff face. The State Medical Examiner's Office worked with the Bone Technology Lab to identify Boise through DNA.

The Warm Springs Police Department issued a statement Friday, saying, "Although this is not the outcome we were all hoping for, we are thankful that Mr. Boises’s family is now able to lay their loved one to rest. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family as they navigate this difficult loss."

WARM SPRINGS, OR -- The Museum at Warm Springs reopens Tuesday. It closed in December for renovations of its heating and cooling system.

The Museum is located on Highway 26 in Warm Springs. Regular operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

BEND, OR -- Central Oregon wildland firefighters responded Friday to an eight-acre wildfire near Hole in the Ground, south of Bend off Highway 31. By Sunday morning, the South Pasture Fire was estimated to be 105 acres and 100% contained.

The wildfire is surrounded by areas previously treated by prescribed burns and thinning. Officials believe the fire was human caused and it’s under investigation.

REDMOND, OR -- A Redmond man is accused of firing a gun inside a home Friday evening. The incident led to a three-hour standoff and a "shelter in place" order issued at about 7 p.m., for the area near SW 27th and Pumice Place. 

Redmond Police went to a home on Pumice Place after a caller to 911 reported the shots fired. The person reported taking the gun from the man before leaving the house. State Troopers and members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team (CERT) also responded after reports indicated the man may still have access to weapons.

After three hours, 59-year-old Robby Dulley was taken into custody. He received medical attention prior to going to jail. Dulley faces charges of Menacing, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Reckless Endangering. 

MADRAS, OR -- Madras Police arrested four people at Sahalee Park Friday afternoon, including minors. Authorities did not release details of the incident, which remains under investigation, but said officers responded quickly, at 3 p.m., with the Sheriff’s Office, State Police and medics.

At nearly the same time, Jefferson County Fire and EMS helped rescue a man with a broken leg from the Boyce Corral area of the National Grasslands. He was injured by a horse, at around 2:30 p.m.

Firefighters and Sheriff’s deputies hiked to the 50-year-old patient and transported him to a waiting Lifeflight helicopter (pictured). He was flown to the hospital. 

BEND, OR -- Central Cascade Wilderness Permits used in some parts of the Deschutes and Willamette National Forest is about to start its fourth season, and the U.S. Forest Service considers it a success. 

"We are coming up on the time period, June 15th through October 15th, that any overnight use requires a permit within Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness Areas," says Kaitlyn Webb, with the Deschutes National Forest, "Back in April, 40% of the overnight permits were released, for advanced reservation. And the other 60% will be released once the permit season opens in June; and that will be a seven-day rolling window." She tells KBND News, "There are also several trails, 19 out of 79, within those wilderness areas that also require a day use permit. So, we’re getting close to that permit time period." Day use permits won't become available until June.

When it launched in 2021, the Central Cascade Wilderness Permit system was supposed to curb resource damage in some of the area’s most popular camping and hiking spots. Webb says it's working, "Our staff are starting to see improvements to really highly impacted sites. We’ve seen reduced crowding and we’ve also seen better dispersion of users. That’s made a real visible difference for folks when they’re actually out experiencing that wilderness area."

In 2022, the USFS rolled out a similar permit for parking at Lava River Cave, south of Bend, "This permit system is making it much safer, as far as parking goes. That was one of the reasons it was implemented. We were seeing over 70,000 visitors per year, and there isn’t a ton of parking in that area." Lava River Cave opened May third and those reservations can be made now, "In the past, we had a 30-day booking window, and we decided to move that to a seven-day booking window. It provides a more accurate trip-planning opportunity for visitors and a more efficient use of the reservation system."

Central Cascade Wilderness and Lava River Cave permits are all available at Recreation.gov.

BEND, OR -- Central Oregon Community College received a nearly $112,000 grant from the Oregon Clean Fuels Program and Pacific Power. "This grant allowed us to install charging stations at our Bend and Prineville campuses," says COCC Sustainability Coordinator Noelle Copley, "Which means we now have charging on all four COCC campuses, that are free and open to the public." She tells KBND News there are now 12 charging stations across COCC's four campuses. The new ports are located on the north side of Newberry Hall, on the Bend campus, and on the east side of the Prineville campus parking lot.

"The charging stations, themselves, are now open to the public," says Copley, "So, we’ve had charging stations at Madras and Redmond. They’ve been seeing an average charge two to 15 sessions a day, depending on which station it is." She notes, "The one close to the airport is pretty popular."

Copley says, "The grant also provided for us to partner with 350 Deschutes, to do education around electric mobility. And, also purchase three vehicles that we are now using in our COCC fleet." Those new EVs have proven quite popular with faculty and staff, "They’re going out daily to area high schools, they’re using them to shop for the student food pantry and faculty are using them to go between campuses. So, it’s been more successful than we even thought, originally."

In 2022, COCC President Laurie Chesley signed a climate pledge. Copley says, "The focus on electric vehicles and EV infrastructure for Central Oregon is part of the college’s greater mission to prioritize sustainability, in general."

file photo

REDMOND, OR -- Starting next week, crews begin making improvements to Redmond sidewalks. That includes pavers, street trees, curb bump outs, new storm water facilities, and a flashing beacon pedestrian crossing.

“There are just portions of our city that are missing sidewalks and we are wanting to improve those connections, especially around schools and downtown areas,” City primary engineer Jake Sherman tells KBND News Redmond’s plan to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act started seven years ago, “This project specifically was kind of that starting point of that original plan from 2017 and we ended up getting some funding about a year ago. So, we're using that funding to do the work on 12th. But then also working with our Urban Renewal staff here at the city, we were able to add on the fourth street. So that way it can kind of get updated to the more downtown standard.”

They’ll start at the intersection of SW 4th and Cascade. Work begins on 12^th street between Highland and Lava Avenues in June. “They'll be installing new sidewalks as well as reconstructing driveways to incorporate those sidewalks as well as we'll be installing new ADA crossings at each of the intersections,” Sherman says the project will take place through the summer, wrapping up in September, before the start of the school year.

PRINEVILLE, OR -- Crook County deputies arrested a Prineville man this week, as part of an ongoing theft investigation. In April, tools, motorcycles, tractors and other vehicles, valued at more than $10,000, were taken from a remote property.

Deputies executed a search warrant on Tuesday at a property on SE Palm Lane. Among other items, they discovered a gun and arrested 36-year-old Miguel Martinez for being a felon in possession of a firearm. They also recovered a gooseneck trailer reported stolen from Lake County (pictured).

A second search was done the next day at a property on SW Redwood Lane, where deputies found many of the items taken in the April burglary. No other arrests were made, but authorities say they are still investigating. 

BEND, OR -- Capping a 10-month investigation, the former head of a local sober living facility was arrested Thursday on 10 counts of Aggravated Theft.

In July of 2023, the vice president of D.A.W.N.S. House (Directly Assisting Women Newly Sober) reported someone had stolen from the nonprofit. Bend Police reached out to a financial investigator at the Oregon Department of Justice for help in the investigation, and determined there was probable cause to arrest former Executive Director Dawn Holland.

A Deschutes County Grand Jury indicted 51-year-old Holland last week and the court issued an arrest warrant. She was taken into custody Thursday at the Bend Police station.

EUGENE, OR -- A 41-year-old Bend man who left his drugs behind after checking out of a local hotel was sentenced Wednesday to more than 12 years in federal prison. According to court documents, a Tetherow Resort housekeeper discovered a suspicious trash bag in a guest room in March of 2021. Responding deputies investigated and found a quarter pound of meth, two hypodermic needles and a metal safe containing another half pound of meth in the sack.Dana Lee Johnson later contacted the hotel, asking about his missing bag. He was arrested during a traffic stop on April 1, 2021, where deputies found more drugs, cash and a loaded pistol in his rental car.

Johnson was also driving with a suspended license, and had an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a sex offender. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Euegene on four counts, including illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. 

In October 2023, Johnson pleaded guilty to the gun charge and meth possession with intent to distribute. 

BEND, OR -- Local troops are adjusting to this week’s announcement from Boy Scouts of America that the youth organization is rebranding as simply “Scouting America.”

Crater Lake Council COO Jennifer Mooney says the name change solidifies work that started five years ago, when girls were first allowed to join, "It’s just an opportunity for those girls that have maybe sat on the sidelines and watched brothers do this program, and they want to be part of it. And the nice thing for a lot of us families that have daughters and sons is, we can do it as a whole family." She admits there's been some pushback, "In anything you do, change is scary, right? And it’s not just with our organization, it’s with anything in life. And, if they don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, they’re going to continue to want it the way it was." Mooney says those people typically don't realize the organization's mission and values haven't changed. She says it's still focused on character, leadership, citizenship and personal fitness. 

The Crater Lake Council has 69 packs and troops in 11 counties across Central and Southern Oregon and northern California. Mooney says for those existing members, not much will change. But, "For the incoming families that are curious about Scouting," she tells KBND News, "I think it just solidifies something that we’ve been working on for five years, of inclusivity." About a fifth of the Council's 1,300 youth members are female, "The 20% female is actually pretty encouraging. Of course, our hope is eventually to be 50/50. But, it’s just a continuation, as we continue to let more and more people understand and know what our program is."

Not all the boys are pleased with the shift. When they complain, Mooney says, "I’m a little snarky sometimes with that and say, ‘Well, prove yourself that you can do the skills just like the girls can. Because the girls have proven themselves.’" She adds, "It’s still very fresh for girls to learn these same skills. And I watch them in their troop meeting just really get very excited about getting these skills done."

The name change officially takes effect on the organization's 115th anniversary, February 8, 2025. 

REDMOND, OR -- The city of Redmond plans to increase its System Development Charge for transportation - those are fees paid by developers for roads and other infrastructure in the growing city. "We haven’t had a substantive increase since 2008," says Mayor Ed Fitch, "We’re way behind, in terms of some of the projects that are needed for transportation, both for congestion and safety." He tells KBND News, "There’s about a $15 million gap currently, in what we have as resources and what we need to do over the next five years. So, the city’s looking to increase the System Development Charge for transportation from about $5,600 to somewhere around $11,000 to $13,000."

Fitch says the City Council hopes to meet with the Cetral Oregon Builders Association before making a final decision, "We’re going to be talking to COBA and with Redmond Economic Development (REDI) to go over that and get their input." He says the question is not whether to raise SDCs, but by how much and when? "It’s challenging; we recognize that. So we may be staging in over time because certain projects were already in place or in development, and financing’s already lined up. So, we’ll be looking at how that gets phased in, as well."

Fitch says those conversations will take time, "We expect that process to take a couple months. Then, there’s about a two or three-month process to get hearings set and the change implemented. So, I expect it to be sometime around September."

LA PINE, OR -- La Pine voters will decide on two measures funding the Rural Fire Protection District, on May 21st.

“I think with this being an essential and emergent service, people understand how critical that is, especially when you're dealing with the very time sensitive functions between getting to a hospital, and then also time sensitive nature of just dealing with fire suppression,” Fire Chief Erick Holsey tells KBND News La Pine’s growing population means more emergency calls, “We have to replace our ambulances at a faster rate than average. Generally, it's about 250,000 miles or seven years of service and we can reach 250,000 miles on our ambulances probably closer to five.”

Holsey says both levies have been continuously renewed going back decades, “I think people understand that, and they understand the value to it. So, I haven't really heard any opposition to that. And, then since we're also not asking for additional funding, we are maintaining our current rate. I believe that our citizens feel that that is important. There's just a lot of things that keep asking them for more money and we're really just asking them to maintain what we're currently doing so we can continually provide the same level of service to them.”

The 10-year capital levy would bring in about $5.6-million over that period.

The five-year operations levy would raise $7.5-million.
 

KBND FILE PHOTO: La Pine Fire & Rescue

REDMOND, OR -- Oregon Housing and Community Services has approved nearly $23 million to create 157 new homes at 10 developments around the state, including more than $10 million for 77 homes in Redmond and Sisters.

Woodlands and Adams Commons, two projects from Sisters Habitat for Humanity, received $950,000 and $3.8 million, respectively. And in Redmond, RootedHomes' "Rooted at 19th" and "Rooted at Antler" will share just over $6 million. Timber Cottages, a Redmond project from Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity, will also get $1.45 million. 

OHCS says 30% of the projects receiving funding are in rural communities. The investments are aimed at helping establish "concrete pathways" for Oregonians to pursue homeownership. 

BEND, OR -- A local nonprofit will soon launch a special grief support group for those who have lost a child. "It is one of the hardest losses anybody could deal with." says Partners In Care Bereavement Coordinator Carla Purusa, "It’s very out of sync from what we expect in life. And that doesn’t matter if your child is six or 60."

She tells KBND News grieving parents requested their own group, to help them through unique circumstances, "It’s not that we weren’t serving that population; we were. They were just in different groups. We have had Traumatic Loss groups, where those losses were due to accidents or trauma of some sort, and a lot of the parents were in those groups." Purusa adds, "A lot of those losses are young men in their early 20s. That’s a big one. They’re taking a lot of risks, they’re very active and a lot of accidents happen."

Partners in Care hosts a half-day workshop on May 24th in Bend to start the conversation about dealing with the loss of a child. "There will be a panel that have lost adult children and they’ll talk about their own experience with that. And, we’ll do a luncheon and an experiential exercise in the afternoon." says Purusa. Attendance is free, although pre-registration is required. Click HERE for more information.

Weekly support group meetings start in the fall. Purusa says they'll be similar to other groups already taking place, "We try to help people understand the process and then offer skills to manage the grief process, and how to best deal with that. And then, allow them to have some discussion with each other in the group, also." 

REDMOND, OR -- Redmond Schools officials are dropping a proposal to consolidate the district’s two high schools. A task force considering options for an upcoming bond initially supported the idea, to save money and free up Redmond High for other district uses. But after two community listening sessions brought out opponents to the plan, the committee changed course and is looking at other options.  

Superintendent Dr. Charan Cline tells KBND News, "It was clear there was a community preference for keeping two schools going, as opposed to combining into one school." But, he says major renovations are still needed at RHS, "It’ll be around $40 million worth of work into Redmond High. A huge amount of money will go into first replacing the heating pipes, taking out the asbestos." He says the roof also needs to be replaced. The project would be paid for by a bond expected to go to voters in November.

Cline says there were benefits to the consolidation idea, "Having both of them into a single school would’ve helped us keep a more consistent and robust set of offerings for kids. But, in this case, there are advantages to having smaller schools, as well. And that is where our community is interested and their value is in the smaller school." He adds, "I’m interested in making sure our community is well served and their educational purposes are well served." He says the community is not well served by a bond package that doesn't garner support from voters, "I’m optimistic that we are giving people what they want." 

While the RHS consolidation proposal received a lot of attention over the past few months, Cline says the bond would fund work at nearly every school in the district, "Mostly maintenance items; lots of replacements of heating systems, a lot of work with parking lots, replacing windows, working on trying to lower the amount of water that we’re using in the school district." For Redmond High, he says, "It won’t really add any square footage to the place and we may add a small ag building; we’re taking a look at that. But it’s mostly a bond about maintenance. It’s mostly a bond about maintaining their schools and making sure that these buildings last a long time."

Cline is now finalizing his recommended list of projects for the bond. The Redmond School Board is scheduled to vote on the list at their June 26th meeting, likely sending it to the November ballot. If passed, the tax rate would stay the same, because it replaces an expiring bond.

PRINEVILLE, OR -- Organizers of the Greater Idaho Movement are frustrated Crook County Commissioners aren't doing more to correct an error made by the County Clerk. As KBND reported last week, two arguments in favor of Measure 7-86 were omitted from Crook County’s voters pamphlet. County Clerk Cheryl Seely recently explained to County Commissioners how the statements were inadvertently left out, "Those all I submit in a bundled packet, they all go in, I missed two of them. I don’t know what happened, but- they were some of my early submittals. So, I have two that didn’t make it." Both of the missing arguments were submitted by members of the Greater Idaho Movement. Seely says she called the Secretary of State’s office and learned there’s no way to reissue the voters pamphlet. She told Commissioners she was told, "We are under no obligation to do anything, other than put a corrective statement or something on our website. And we’re actually not even under an obligation for that."

Seely considered asking the local paper to print a correction. The Greater Idaho Movement has asked the county to issue a supplemental page and mail it to every household. Commissioner Seth Crawford prefers the latter, "I think we should do all of them again, just for fairness. I think the paper is great; but it doesn’t reach even a small portion that you would with a direct mailer." But Seely says a direct mailer would cost at least $4,600 and it wouldn't fit all 13 arguments. It's tax money Commissioner Susan Hermreck doesn't want to spend, "I do appreciate a person’s voice. I do appreciate that it should be on the voters’ thing. But $4,600 kind of sticks in my craw a bit." Commissioner Brian Barney agreed, noting the measure wasn't the work of the Greater Idaho Movement "This was an advisory question that the board put up, that they didn’t put up. They weren’t out seeking signatures, they have no work effort in it, and one of the stipulations for when this was put on- that the county wasn’t going to be responsible for any additional funding of any sort."

Crawford disagrees, "If it wasn’t our mistake and they turned it in late and they weren’t able to get their information in, that’s one thing. But the fact that we, as the county, were the ones that missed it, that’s where I think it’s different."

The Movement's Executive Director issued a statement Monday, saying in part, "Through no fault of our own, our organization and it's supporters have had their political voice minimized and harmed." Matt McCaw went on to say, "While we understand that mistakes happen, the county has a duty to treat everybody fairly, and where their errors have caused that to not happen, they should remedy the situation in a way that's acceptable to those who've been harmed.  This is a very important vote happening in Crook County, and mistakes made by the county can not be allowed to impact the results.  We continue to call on Crook County to mail a supplemental to voters so that our supporters get the same reach and voice that our opposition was given."

Commissioner Hermreck is satisfied by the press release issued by Seely and the inclusion of all arguments for and against the measure on the Clerk's website, "I just feel that a corrective statement is the way to go, because I would rather spend the $4,600 and have it [directly] help somebody."

Of the 13 arguments received by the Clerk's Office on Measure 7-86, nine are opposed and four are in favor.

BEND, OR -- Anticipation is building for the opening of Bend’s new Costco store on the north end of town later this year, and attention now turns to the future of the current Costco at The Forum Shopping Center. 

Pat Kesgard, with Compass Commercial Real Estate, says Costco owns its stores, "So, when you think about The Forum, the current location, they own the building, the land and that large parking lot." He believes they'll sell, "In talking to the broker in Chicago, I just said, ‘Can you give us an update? You’re supposed to have the new store open late summer or early fall.’ And he responded back, they have had significant interest in that building." But a sale isn't imminent, "He said they’re really not focusing on it at this point. They will in another three months. So, by the time they get a tenant in tow, they get the plans drawn up, submit to the city, city’s going to take at least six months going through that process, probably more than that." That development could take another year, "Odds are, it will probably be cut up into two, three or four different tenancies. But, it’s not going to be a problem leasing that out, is what he indicated to me."

Kesgard tells KBND News, "I think it’ll be an investor group. I know the developer of the new Costco. He told me he and two other companies are standing in line to try and buy that property. So, a lot of interest." 

PORTLAND, OR -- Oregon’s Governor signed a package of bills Monday, all aimed at increasing housing production and helping cities pay for residential infrastructure.

Governor Tina Kotek says when she took office last year, Oregon’s housing supply was short by about 140,000 units, "And while Oregon has already made great strides in passing innovative legislation, we are still too far behind and we have a lot of work to do." She told the crowd gathered Monday in Portland, "Our under-supply of housing worsens our homelessness crisis, drives up home prices and makes it harder for Oregonians to live near where they work and play and go to school."

Among the four bills she signed at Monday’s ceremony was SB 1537, sponsored by Kotek. It establishes the Housing Accountability and Production Office. "This office will provide a more comprehensive approach to support housing production across our state and will be a resource to support local governments and developers who are just trying to build more housing," says Kotek, "Second, the bill provides a one-time option for cities to expand their Urban Growth Boundary, if they have shown that they meet specific land and affordability eligibility metrics." She adds, "Within expansion areas, 30% of all housing units must be legally restricted for affordable housing. The 30% requirement would be one of the strongest affordability requirements in the United States."

The other three bills signed Monday fund municipal infrastructure to support new housing, pay for continued operations at  homeless shelters around the state and direct the state to adopt model ordinances cities can use to meet housing goals.

Vice Chair of the Senate Interim Committee on Housing and Development Dick Anderson (R-Lincoln City) is pleased with the package but says, "I’m a big believer of managing expectations. So, we can celebrate, but we’re not done. This is a nice step but there’s plenty more ahead of us." He told the crowd, "The key to get us out of the crisis is production. We need more housing units at all levels, all types, ownership and rental, and incomes- all incomes." He wants future legislative sessions to stay focused on increasing housing production.

State Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville) also attended Monday's ceremony. She was Vice Chair of the House Interim Committee on Housing and Homelessness and believes the spending package will help alleviate the difficulty in Central Oregon to build more homes, "It has to do with regulation, it has to do with infrastructure issues, where we get stopped because we just don’t have the dollars to create the infrastructure to help the next project happen. And all of those things were addressed inside of the package of bills that we talked about today. So, it is a win for Central Oregon, as well as all of Oregon."

Breese-Iverson was joined by Madras City Administrator Will Ibershof, who says his city gets $1.4 million from the package, "That is for infrastructure for both workforce housing, as well as apartments and condos." KBND News asked what that level of investment means for a city like Madras. He says, "It’s huge. I mean, we have a general fund budget of $4 million. So something like this is significant. The other part of it is, we have employers that want to open shops: stores, businesses, manufacturing, etc. and they need housing for their workers that are making $35 to $40 an hour. And that’s not something that comes easily."

They were also asked why it was important to travel to Portland for the signing ceremony? Breese-Iverson responded, "There was a team of us that worked together to get this legislation forward and we did it with our local partners. And if we don’t show up for each other, for the good things and the bad things, what are we doing?" Ibershoff added, "And for me, it was just coming up to say thank you. You know, if you don’t thank them, they’re going to forget about you."

Also in the spending package: $2.5 million for Redmond to develop infrastructure for the Northpoint Vista housing development, and another $1.5-million for Deschutes County’s Stabilization Center. 

WARM SPRINGS, OR -- A Happy Valley man was killed in a crash that shut down Highway 26 near Warm Springs for several hours on Saturday morning.

State Police say 30-year-old Kyle Kircher was reported as suicidal, shortly after midnight Saturday. About an hour later, Warm Springs Police found his vehicle at the bottom of the canyon, below the Mill Creek Bridge. Investigators believe the crash was intentional.

Authorities were forced to wait until daylight to launch a recovery operation, which included Deschutes County Search and Rescue and Warm Springs Fire.

BEND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners are asking for public input on the next Comprehensive Plan. Senior Long Range Planner Nicole Mardell says it’s, "Our guiding policy framework for decision making on planning, growth, resource protection and development in the rural county - so, all the areas outside of city limits - over a 20-year period." She tells KBND News, "So, even if we have new Commissioners, even if staff changes, this document is used over a 20-year period to determine what direction to go on things like zoning code amendments, county grant programs, criteria for rezoning." For more on the plan, click HERE. 

Development of the plan has been underway for several years, and Mardell says they've already received around 280 comments from the community, "As staff, we tried to create a really representative plan for rural community members. There were a wide diversity of opinions on a lot of issues. So, what you see is - a lot of the content is finding a middle ground, trying to balance a lot of those issues."

The fourth and final public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan is Wednesday evening. "This is the chance for folks who may not have been involved in the process, or who were waiting to see the final draft, to weigh in," says Mardell. She notes the format is different from typical hearings, like the proposed RV rental dwelling code, which also goes before the Board Wednesday, "For that one, we’re asking for feedback on very specific code; there’s really limitations on what people can focus on. Where, with the Comprehensive Plan, everything is on the table."

The public hearing for allowing RVs as rental dwellings was initially scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, but the agenda now shows it at 10:50 a.m. The Comprehensive Plan hearing is at 5:30 p.m. Both are at the County Services Building, at 1300 NW Wall in Bend. 

REDMOND, OR -- Redmond hosts a groundbreaking ceremony Monday afternoon, for its new public safety building. The public is invited to attend at 3 p.m. at the construction site, located at 2983 NW Canal Blvd. Click HERE for details.

The new Public Safety Facility is funded by a $40 million bond approved by voters in 2022. The 42,000-square-foot building will eventually house the Redmond Police Department, an emergency operations center and training room. Officials told KBND News it'll provide more privacy for crime victims meeting with officers, ample parking for employees and the public, and offer a high-visibility location for custody exchanges and marketplace transactions. 

It's expected to open in June 2025. 

SISTERS, OR -- An Idaho woman wanted for kidnapping was arrested in Sisters over the weekend. A Deschutes County deputy patrolling the area around Highway 20 and Forest Service Road 4606 discovered Leah Marie Sharp’s encampment at about 7:30 Sunday morning.

The 37-year-old was accused of custodial interference and kidnapping in Caldwell, ID. With the assistance of several other deputies, Sharp was arrested without incident and her three kids were found unharmed.

The children, a seven-year-old and two four-year-olds, will be returned to Idaho. Sharp was taken to the Deschutes County Jail.