Month: May 2025

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest said Thursday it will install a new, permanent boat dock at Crane Prairie Reservoir May 8-9.

The Crane Prairie boat launch will be temporarily closed during installation to provide for public safety.

The new, permanent boat dock will provide improved access and will not need to be seasonally installed and removed each fall and spring, officials said.

The Crane Prairie Boating Site parking lot will be minimally impacted by the project and will remain available for vehicle and trailer parking.

The closest alternative launch site during the temporary closure is Crane Prairie Resort, which is available for public use for a fee.

For more information about the boat dock installation, contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-5300.  

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Kelsey Merison

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — It’s a big year for Central Oregon Community College—the school is celebrating its 75th anniversary! 

On Friday from 4-7 p.m., an anniversary party will take place.

COCC is the oldest two-year college in the entire state of Oregon.

COCC Applied Science Building

To celebrate, KTVZ News is taking a look back at the college’s history and how its partnerships with the community have contributed to its success.

“I think that a lot of people feel pressured to go to a prestigious four-year university. And I think it makes so much more sense to go to a community college to start out,” said Suzanne Painter, a former student.

“I was pretty young at the time and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. So it gave me the opportunity at a pretty decent price to explore a lot of different classes. I took all kinds of classes, from language classes, literature, science – anything I felt like I could explore, because the tuition wasn’t high and at the time, books weren’t that expensive.”

Painter attended COCC in 1967 and 1968.

Suzanne Painter with classmates in the 1960s, COCC

“I loved the people, the instructors, they were so student-oriented and were available to you. Their instruction was good,” Painter recalled. “As good as I got at a four-year college.”

Her advisor, Jim Crowell, was the first former student who came back as a member of the faculty.

Jim Crowell

“In 1955, the college was a night school. Even in those very early years, they had some professors who were equal, and in most cases better than many of the professors that I had for the rest of my academic career,” Crowell said. “It was so great coming back to the campus as an instructor and a member of the faculty and administration. That was pretty heavy stuff for a little guy from Bend, Oregon.”

He shared fond memories of his time as both a student-athlete in the 1950s and his return as a staff member in the ’60s.

“When we were students and then faculty, we were privileged in many, many ways,” Crowell said. “I will always be eternally grateful because I did not have any athletic ride offers coming out of high school. But we played the JV team for Portland State, Willamette, Southern Oregon, etc. And we did pretty well. And so I was able to get a ride to what was then Boise Junior College, which is now Boise State.”

Former COCC President Bob Barber (1990-2004) says the success of the school largely comes from its partnerships with the community.

Bob Barber

“(It) took a lot of cooperation between the various communities because it required politics. Their representatives, politicians, etc., to take advantage of that… It really took all of our communities,” Barber said.

“The college has always been very student-focused. A college has to remain student-focused. The primary people that we are serving directly day to day are the students. And so almost all the decisions that are made by the college, whether it’s a program or service or whatever, has to be done in the context of, ‘How does this benefit the students? How can we improve this so students more benefit from our programs?'”

Now, 75 years after COCC was established, Redmond, Madras, and Prineville campuses have opened. 

“The college has always taken a leadership role in the state, in terms of moving forward. We’re not the biggest community college by any stretch, but we cover a lot of territory,” Barber said. “Our graduates have always been very successful, because from the very beginning, under Dr. Boyle’s leadership, he required our faculty members to be well-credentialed at whatever level was appropriate that they were teaching at. And that was extremely important.”

Students in a COCC classroom, 1962

With thousands earning an education thanks to the school, while creating lasting relationships and memories.

“People in Central Oregon knew that Central Oregon was going to grow. They knew it was going to get better. And they wanted to plan for the future,” Barber said. “The college does strive for excellence in teaching. It’s just part of who they are, and the fact that it’s very strong and it’s really important. So it’s important for the reputation for our students to leave here and be prepared to attend other schools.”

1966, first library

Painter said, “I had Bob Powell, who taught science. And then later, when I was teaching in Redmond, he came and talked to my third-graders about astronomy. So that was very sweet.”

“I took a Computer Science class. It was like in 1968, maybe Introduction to Computers. And (David Habura) gave us these little punch cards and had this little exercise, and I thought, ‘I get it, but computers are not my thing.’ And then I wind up, of course, being a full-on computer nerd.”

Crowell said, “I set the school record in ‘55. And I think about 10 years later, a kid from Bend smashed it all to heck,” he added with a laugh. “I’ve been able to keep really good, close track of what’s going on and the people there. And I still shoot in the gymnasium three or four mornings a week.”

These three can all agree: Much has changed with the physical appearance of the school, but not its commitment to its students’ success.

To learn more about COCC or its 75th anniversary party, click here.

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Isabella Warren

(Update: Adding video, comments from Forest Service, advocates, homeless)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The gate on China Hat Road south of Bend swung shut early Thursday, closing a large area of homeless encampments on the Deschutes National Forest as dozens of people who had been living there, some for years, scrambled to leave and take as many belongings as possible to wherever they go next.

One of the people forced to leave, Chris Daggett, has been helping people move out. He told KTVZ News: “It’s to the point where some of these people are — you only have so much supplies. They’re scared. And they’re gonna lose their stuff. I can only bring so much stuff in my trucks.”

Advocates were out early to provide food and water

Eric Garrity, with the Bend Equity Project said, “Unfortunately, we’re going to put as much effort in, but we are going to lose contact with people. And so that means that, possible placement and housing is going to be delayed or those opportunities will be lost entirely.”

Homeowners near the encampment have long complained, citing filth, fire and fentanyl, among other concerns.

The Forest Service says the project will protect those homes. Kaitlyn Webb said, “Our goal is to reduce wildfire risk to those adjacent communities and promote and restore forest health. “

Three months ago, the Forest Service notified China Hat Road campers that the area would be shut down for over a year, starting now.

Two advocates, Chuck Hemingway and Garrity, along with disabled homeless people in the area, sued the federal government, filing a temporary restraining order to pause the May 1 closure. But days before the deadline, a federal judge denied that plea.

Garrity said, “At the end of the day, most of the people who are there, their only crime is not being able to afford the frankly absurd cost of housing in Bend. ”

The area will now be thinned as part of forest mitigation, and campers left behind could face a fine of $5,000 or jail.

“Our goal is voluntary compliance of the closure. Our law enforcement officers and our staff will be patrolling and enforcing the closure, and citations will be issued if needed,” the Forest Service spokeswoman said.

Critics of Forest Service move hold news conference: ‘The answer is housing – not handcuffs’

Meanwhile, advocates and others involved in the issues held a news conference to decry the Forest Service’s forced relocation of dozens of people. 

“The only answer to homelessness is housing – not handcuffs,” said Garrity.

“This helps no one,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director for the National Homeless Law Center. “The government needs to focus on housing and help.” 

He said it’s believed to be the largest forced relocation of homeless people from federal land in recent years.

Chuck Hemingway, another Bend homeless advocate part of the federal lawsuit, said the area has been home to up to 200 people at up to 90 encampments across 900 acres. 

“This was their home,” he said. “The people who lived there were a microcosm of society. Quite a number of working people, a large number of disabled and elderly. The numbers grew with the high cost of housing in Bend – sure, some bad actors gave it a bad name.” 

“We understand the need for fire mitigation,” he said, but are “disappointed there was an organized effort by the Forest Service that would have (allowed) an orderly relocation. Instead, what resulted in a mad mass exodus” until early Thursday morning. 

Among others speaking at a news conference by the closed gate was Mandy, a native Oregonian who settled in Bend in 1999, left in 2007 and returned in 2018 to end an abusive relationship. Her ex-partner kept trying to find her, and so without help from local law enforcement, “I felt there was no other option, so I went out in the woods.” 

“That’s a mild story, compared to other campers,” she said. “It’s sad that this is what it’s come to. People forget that we’re human. We’re not all out here because we’re drug dealers, or crooks. We made wrong choices – not bad choices.” 

Dr. Graham Pruss, executive director of the National Vehicle Residency Collective, said: “Their crime is poverty, solved the only way they can – to turn a minivan, RV, pickup, camper shell into the safest homes they could afford.” 

Since a Supreme Court ruling in a Grants Pass case, things have become even more challenging, as local governments pass new regulations and restrictions, Pruss said. 

“In effect, we’re telling people to leave federal land but don’t come into town, abandon your vehicle but don’t sleep on the sidewalk. It turns human beings into trespassers.” 

“We can do better,” Pruss said, calling for more safe parking and saying the forced move from the forest “simply shifts the burden from one jurisdiction to another.” 

The advocates said they were not aware of anyone cited so far, but estimated that 40 to 60 people were still inside the now-closed area. 

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