Month: November 2025

KTVZ

 BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest is selling permits to cut Christmas trees from local national forest lands.

The public can purchase Christmas tree permits at Forest Service offices, online, and from local vendors around Central Oregon.

Christmas tree permits for the 2025 season are available for purchase online at Recreation.gov. They are $5.00 per permit with an additional $2.50 reservation fee. Christmas tree permits purchased online must be printed to be valid. Traditional, in-person Christmas tree permits are available at Forest Service offices and several participating local vendors (fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r06/deschutes/publication/2025%20Christmas%20Tree%20Vendors.pdf). Individual Christmas tree permits are $5 each and households can purchase a maximum of five permits.

Fourth-graders are eligible for a free Christmas tree permit as a part of the Every Kid Outdoors initiative, which is a national program to encourage children to visit national parks, forests, and public lands. To be eligible for the free tree permit, the student must have an Every Kid Outdoors pass. Information about getting the Every Kid Outdoors pass can be found at everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm. 

Students using the Every Kid Outdoors voucher can obtain their free Christmas tree permit by visiting a Forest Service office or on Recreation.gov. The student should check the box indicating they have a pass and enter the pass or voucher number (a $2.50 reservation fee will be applied).

Visit the Deschutes National Forest website (fs.usda.gov/r06/deschutes/offices) for office locations and hours.

Christmas Tree Guidance

Check the weather forecast and road conditions before traveling.

Dress for the season. Always be prepared for the cold and snow.

Start tree hunting early in the day to have plenty of daylight hours.

Bring emergency supplies, including water and food and a first-aid kit.

Remember to tell someone where you are going.

Bring a map and compass. Your cell phone may not work.

The tree you choose must be at least 200 feet from main roads, recreation sites and campgrounds, and away from areas along the sides of streams, rivers, lakes, and wet areas. Check with the forest or ranger district for the specific distance.

Select a tree with a trunk six inches or less in diameter and prepare to cut the tree no more than six inches above ground level.

Never cut a tall tree just for the top.

Select a tree from overstocked areas and thickets. Watch restricted areas. Cut only one tree per tag.

Attach your tree tag to harvested tree before placing in vehicle.

Bring a rope and tarp to move your tree from the harvest area to your vehicle.

Remember, you are responsible for your own safety and for the safety of those around you.

For more information regarding Christmas tree permits, visit the Deschutes National Forest website (fs.usda.gov/r06/deschutes/permits/christmas-trees).

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Gregory Deffenbaugh

(Update: Suspect indicted, makes 2nd court appearance)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 19-year-old Bend resident accused in a recent road rage shooting incident was arraigned Monday on a five-count indictment and a plea hearing was set for later this month.

A grand jury last week indicted Saxton James Deaton on three Class C felonies – two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one of first-degree criminal mischief – and two Class A misdemeanors, menacing and recklessly endangering another person.

Bend Police assisted by the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team arrested Deaton a week ago at his home on Butler Market Road, the day after he allegedly shot a car during a road rage incident on Third Street near Wilson Avenue and the railroad overpass. The driver of the car that was shot was uninjured.

Deaton said little as he appeared by video from the Deschutes County Jail for Monday’s arraignment, where Circuit Judge Raymond Crutchley set a Dec. 22 plea hearing.

Defense attorney Raun Atkinson noted that the indictment did not include one initial arrest charge of first-degree attempted assault, a Class B felony, but prosecutors did not request any change in the bail amount.

Deaton remains held in the Deschutes County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Earlier story:

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ-Nov. 24) — A Deschutes County judge set bail at $100,000 Monday afternoon for a road rage shooting suspect arrested at his home earlier in the day by Bend Police and the region’s SWAT team.

Circuit Judge Raymond Crutchley also told Saxton James Deaton that if he can post bail for release, he is to have no contact with the man whose car his bullet allegedly struck Sunday afternoon, and not to use or possess any firearms.

Deaton appeared by video from jail for his arraignment on charges of first-degree attempted assault with a firearm, a Class B felony, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree criminal mischief, menacing and recklessly endangering another person.

The judge set bail after a prosecutor said Deaton fired a gun “in the middle of the day in the middle of town,” at the intersection of SE Third Street and Wilson Avenue, during a road rage incident. She said the alleged victim could not be present, because he was at work, but that he believed the suspect “appears unstable and extremely reckless” and should not be released from jail.

The judge set a Dec. 1 arraignment on an expected grand jury indictment.

Around 2 a.m. Monday, members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team, Bend Police detectives and officers served a warrant at Deaton’s home in the 900 block of Butler Market Road, Bend PD Captain Brian Beekman said. He was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of first-degree attempted assault, menacing, and unlawful use of a weapon.

The road rage incident led to a shooting on Sunday afternoon near SE Third Street and Wilson Avenue. The victim, a 19-year-old Bend resident, was not injured, police said.

Bend Police are investigating the incident, which occurred at approximately 1:45 p.m. A single round was fired into the victim’s occupied vehicle following an altercation on the road.

Prior to the shooting, the suspect’s vehicle was reportedly seen driving at a high rate of speed southbound on SE Third Street, performing an unsafe passing maneuver near the railroad overpass.

The motive behind the shooting remains unclear.

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