Month: August 2025

KTVZ – News Team

(Update: Adding video)

Construction will begin Tuesday on Franklin Avenue, between Fourth and Eighth streets, to improve safety for all users. To reduce impacts to traffic, one direction of travel will remain open during construction. The one-way closure, between Fourth Street and Eighth Street, will occur east of Third Street/Highway 97.

To minimize traffic impacts, one direction of travel will remain open during construction:

September–October: Eastbound closed; westbound open

November–December: Westbound closed; eastbound open

Plan ahead for potential delays and use the posted detour route.

Once one side of the street is completed, the closure will switch direction to westbound. Use detours on Greenwood Avenue and plan for extra travel time. Access to businesses will remain open throughout construction.

Project improvements aim to reduce conflict points and calm traffic to improve safety for all users. Replacing and widening sidewalks, shared-use path improvements, and new crosswalks will also provide safer connections for pedestrians and bicycles traveling between neighborhoods, schools, parks, and trails.

The detour map and project information is available on the Franklin Avenue webpage at bendoregon.gov/midtowncrossings.

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Harley Coldiron

(Update: Adding video)

State prison near Madras tells KTVZ it has half the visitor space of others around Oregon

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Long drives, limited hours and growing frustration. For months, the Problem Solvers have been digging into visitation issues at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution. Officials say the concerns boil down to them having half the visitation space as other state prisons, while dealing with a 30% vacancy rate.

Deer Ridge is a medium-security prison for men, located just east of Madras, and houses over 1,000 prisoners. Though the prison declined an on-camera interview, they did provide the Problem Solvers with exclusive access inside their visiting rooms.

The Problem Solvers also spoke with half a dozen women who have husbands incarcerated at the facility, though some of them declined to be on camera. We caught up with Sarah and her son, who traveled hundreds of miles and spent hundreds of dollars to visit her husband, who’s nearing the end of his sentence at Deer Ridge.

Sarah described the stressful travel: “Packing up the kids, getting in the car, traveling with kids – you know. It’s hard.”

She’s not the only one. The Problem Solvers spoke with Jennifer, who also has a loved one locked up at Deer Ridge, who told us: “I’ve had to rearrange four visits, and I’ve traveled for five, six hours away.”

Sarah and her son go into their motel after arriving in Madras.

Jennifer takes a selfie with her husband and their daughter.

Compared to many other Oregon state prisons, Deer Ridge has some of the shortest visiting availability, while being in one of the most remote locations. 

Sarah said it’s normal to be able to visit multiple times at Oregon state prisons; however, this is not the case at Deer Ridge: “You can only visit one time a day, so if you want extra visits like Saturday morning, you have to request those.” 

But getting that time confirmed can take weeks, according to the women we spoke to. Other prisons they visited their husbands in have been mostly first-come, first-served, with many more days and times. 

Sarah said in an interview outside the prison, “In my experience, I’ve never had to call for an extra visit.” That was also reiterated by Jennifer: “You can’t put more than one time in a day. You have to call every time and figure it out.” 

Sarah talks about her experiences at Deer Ridge.

All of the women we spoke to reiterated that the staff they have interacted with have been friendly, and try to be as helpful as they can.

During our visit inside Deer Ridge, officials stressed they are doing everything they can with the space they have. Not only is the prison working through a 30 percent vacancy rate, but its facilities are far behind other prisons. 

When friends and family come to visit after being checked in, they are assigned one of 20 tables. While one might think the room is quite big, it’s about half the size of other facilities with around 1,000 prisoners. That means officials have fewer days and times to offer, and can only accommodate so many guests per prisoner.

View of Deer Ridge’s visitation room, which is about half the size of other state prisons.

Jennifer asked the Problem Solvers why the prison doesn’t move visitation to the original minimum-security facility, located right next door. The building has been used for training, but has been mostly vacant since they moved, due to its prisoner population getting too large.

Prison officials told us the facility can’t be used for visitation because it will eventually be utilized as another minimum-security prison. According to the official, “When this will occur is based on a variety of different variables.”

Deer Ridge says they help make the visits productive and family-friendly. The walls of all the visitation rooms are covered in murals that prisoners painted during their visits. 

But until appointments become more available and easier to add onto, it’s not just the children left affected, according to Sarah: “A lot of times the kids don’t want to come because they don’t want to deal with the stress, or see me stressed.” 

The inmates who are meant to be on the road to recovery suffer also: “Our visits, our family is what keeps them going; we don’t know what they go through behind these walls. People make mistakes, but they also turn their lives around.”

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Barney Lerten

Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the individual identified and arrested by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was not a camp counselor at Camp Caldera per Caldera.

CAMP SHERMAN, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 29-year-old Portland man was arrested Thursday on rape, sexual abuse and related charges of sexual misconduct while working at Camp Caldera in Camp Sherman, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputies said.

Here’s the press release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office:

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving a camp counselor at Camp Caldera in Camp Sherman, Oregon.

On August 12, 2025, Deputy Larson responded to the initial report. Deputy Larson met with the reporting parties and victims at a neutral location, where several individuals provided detailed statements. During the interviews, the victims identified the suspect as “Bear,” later confirmed to be Zackary Perry, 29, of Portland, Oregon.

During the investigation, multiple accounts of inappropriate conduct and sexual misconduct by Perry were documented. The reported incidents included unwanted physical contact, inappropriate comments, and coercive behavior toward victims at the camp.

On August 21, 2025, Detective Josh Capehart and Deputy Larson, with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Child Abuse Team, arrested Perry at his residence in Portland without incident. He was transported to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office where he is currently lodged on the following charges.

Charges included:

• Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree – ORS 163.415 (Class A Misdemeanor)

• Assault in the Fourth Degree – ORS 163.160 (Class A Misdemeanor)

• Harassment – ORS 166.065 (Class B Misdemeanor)

• Rape in the First Degree – ORS 163.375 (Class A Felony)

• Sodomy in the Second Degree – ORS 163.395 (Class B Felony)

• Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree – ORS 163.411 (Class A Felony)

• Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree – ORS 163.425 (Class C Felony)

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals involved. Anyone with additional information related to this case is encouraged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Following the arrest of the staff member, Caldera provided this statement to KTVZ News:

At Caldera, the safety and well-being of our youth, staff, and community is our highest priority.

Eleven days ago, three staff members came forward with serious allegations regarding the behavior of a former employee. We took immediate action: we terminated his employment and, at the staff members’ request, reported the matter to the Jefferson County Oregon Sheriff’s Office.

We want to be clear: we have no information that any youth or children were impacted. The allegations were made by adult staff members.

To clarify for our community: the individual in question was employed as a Youth Advocate and Media Coordinator—not a camp counselor. In addition, we want community members to know that to protect both the youth and staff, in addition to running thorough background checks on every staff member, we adhere–at all times–to the “Rule of Three.

”Under this rule, individual staff are never alone with an individual youth: staff + 2 youth; or 2 staff +1 youth. The “Rule of Three” is maintained both in person and via email (Programs Coordinator or other full-time, regular staff member, must be cc’d on any correspondence with youth.)

Since that time, we have been cooperating fully with law enforcement as they conduct their investigation. Out of respect for those affected and to protect the integrity of the legal process, we are limited in what we can share. What we can share is our continued commitment to transparency, accountability, and the safety of every young person, staff member, and artist who is part of the Caldera community.

We know this news is deeply upsetting to many. Our priority now is to support those who have been harmed and to ensure Caldera remains a safe, empowering, and creative space for the young people and artists we serve.

If you have information relevant to the investigation, please contact the Jefferson County Oregon Sheriff’s Office at 541-475-6520 and ask for Detective Capehart or Deputy Larson.

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