Kelsey Merison
Are you looking for something to do this weekend in Central Oregon? Kelsey Merison highlights three local events, from Jurassic Quest returning to Redmond to a party at The Pavilion in Bend.
For many more and to submit your own events, visit https://events.ktvz.com.
David Pace
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Representative Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls) announced that she has accepted a position to serve as the Director of the Office of Child Care in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.
“I first ran for elected office because I want every child to have the opportunity for an excellent education. This is an opportunity to continue that work,” Horman said in a release. “The principles of limited government, individual liberty, and fiscal responsibility that guide Idaho will continue to inform my work at the national level.”
She is the second Idahoan selected for a significant role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this year, following Dr. Alex Adams, who was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Family Support over the Administration for Children and Families by the U.S. Senate on October 7.
“I am grateful and honored by this opportunity to again serve with Dr. Alex Adams in a new capacity to help make this nation a better place for children,” she added.
Horman will serve under U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
She will officially resign from the Idaho House of Representatives on January 5, 2026, and begin serving in Washington, D.C. later that month.
“As I transition to this new role in the Trump Administration, I will carry with me the values and lessons learned from serving the people of Idaho,” Horman said.
Horman currently serves as co-chair of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, which sets the budget for the state of Idaho and has been an influential voice in the Idaho Legislature since 2012.
Claire Elmer
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — In Redmond, a community-backed arts effort is stepping up where school budgets fall short. It’s exactly the kind of innovative, student-centered effort KTVZ News and Mid Oregon Credit Union look to celebrate through One Class at a Time — supporting the teachers and programs that make a difference every day.
When budget cuts eliminated art programs in Redmond schools, students lost an important creative outlet. That’s when the Dry Canyon Arts Association stepped in, launching its Jumpstart Art program to fund artists working directly in classrooms.
“Without this program, there is no visual art education in elementary schools,” said Mel Archer, chair of the Dry Canyon Arts Association. “That means there are 3,000 children who wouldn’t get art education except for what we’re doing.”
At Hugh Hartman Elementary, Principal Jen Temple says the impacts go beyond creativity.
“Art really is a medium for communicating culture,” Temple said. “For some kids, it’s the most meaningful way of communicating in general. It’s incredibly impactful to be able to share art with one another.”
The program doesn’t just help students express themselves — it encourages teamwork, connection, and confidence that can carry into other subjects.
Linda Seeburg, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Redmond School District, said the arts play an essential role in a well-rounded education.
“We work hard on helping kids learn to read and be proficient in math and science,” Seeburg said. “But the arts round out that experience — and you never know who you’re going to inspire.”
Last year, community donations helped fully restore elementary visual art programs across the district — a major milestone made possible by dedicated educators and local support.
To recognize those efforts, Mid Oregon Credit Union and KTVZ News awarded an additional $1,000 through One Class at a Time — our program to honor teachers making a difference in students’ lives and support initiatives making a difference.
It’s another example of how Central Oregon communities are working together to make a lasting impact — one class at a time.
KTVZ – News Team
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Trinity Lutheran School in Bend has announced it is closed today, Friday, December 19th, due to no power in the building.
The school said it will send more information to parents via email.
Lucas Geisler
Editor’s note: A source error led to Smith’s name to be initially spelled incorrectly. The name has since been corrected.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The woman at the center of a Columbia AMBER Alert on Thursday is now charged with three felonies.
The Boone County Prosecutor’s Office charged 24-year-old Joy A. Smith with two counts of second-degree kidnapping and tampering with a motor vehicle. Smith is being held in jail without bond.
Smith was arrested near Higginsville in Lafayette County on Thursday afternoon, about an hour west of Columbia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an AMBER Alert for two children in the car with Smith.
New court documents claim Smith drove away from the Welcome Inn on Providence Road in Columbia on Thursday with the 1-year-old and 3-year-old in the car.
A woman claimed she was driving Smith to a relative’s house with the children in the car, and stopped at the Welcome Inn to speak with the children’s father. The woman said Smith drove the car away while she was outside.
Smith is currently in custody at the Lafayette County jail, according to documents.
MSHP released bodycam video of the arrest later on Friday on its Facebook page.
The Columbia Police Department responded to the 911 call around 3:45 p.m. Thursday.
Lieutenant Clint Sinclair said CPD and other law enforcement agencies, like MSHP Troops A and F, used flock cameras to track down Smith.
Sinclair said flock cameras record license plate information and vehicle descriptions, allowing law enforcement to track where the car traveled.
CPD also used emergency GPS locations to track Smith, Sinclair said. Along with other tactics like monitoring social media and checking in at frequent places Smith might go.
According to MSHP, Smith was stopped about 15 minutes after the AMBER Alert.
By Emma Burch
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BEGGS, Oklahoma (KJRH) — The nearly century-old bell tower at First United Methodist Church in Beggs is finally getting the repairs it desperately needed after water damage threatened the historic landmark in August.
Rex Godsey, a church member, said the congregation never imagined they would be able to afford the extensive restoration work required to save their beloved bell tower, which has marked weddings, funerals, and Sunday mornings for generations.
The church discovered water damage in the tower that caused a ripple effect throughout the building.
“We have tried every avenue that we could come up with… anything anybody could imagine helping raise money,” Godsey said.
The church is now in phase two of repairs, with the bell tower restoration alone requiring about $250,000. So far, the congregation and community have raised roughly $115,000, and crews are already repairing and upgrading the front of the church.
A&S Construction began demolition work, removing the very top level of the bell tower while trying to preserve as much of the original structure as possible. Workers are now finishing the walls around the bell tower and will install new siding and a hip roof designed to direct water away from the structure and prevent future damage.
“God answers prayers. We’ve asked for more than money — we asked the community to join us in prayer. If you can’t give, that’s fine; if you can, thank you,” Godsey said.
The fundraising effort has drawn support from neighbors and members, with donations coming from as far away as Alabama. Church leaders say many people who no longer attend the church still care about preserving the town’s landmark.
“The people of Beggs have a connection to this church as well as the other churches here,” Godsey said. “We’re hoping that when we open the doors again to the bell tower, they’ll all come in and check it out.”
The church expects the bell tower restoration to be complete shortly after the first of the year, with plans for a rededication ceremony. In just a few weeks, the community will once again hear the familiar sound of the bell ringing across town.
Future phases of the restoration project include repairing and protecting the church’s historic windows, rewiring the building, and ensuring it meets ADA compliance standards.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
By Kurt Williams
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ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina (WTKR) — For the first time, we are hearing from the donor who gave one of her kidneys in a transplant that’s been life-changing for a local woman. This is the story of Katisha Vertrees News 3 has been following through on for some time now — but up until now, the donor hadn’t gone public.
It was News 3’s Jennifer Lewis who first introduced us to Katisha in December of 2023. She was 28 years old, by then her kidneys had already stopped working.
“I went to my mom, and she took me to the hospital, and I remember them taking my blood pressure and it was like 170 over 100, and they said I had stage 3 kidney disease and lupus,” Vertrees said. “I have to connect every night for eight hours. So, I come home from work, do my routine and connect to dialysis for eight hours.”
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. One of the complications of lupus is kidney disease. Over the past two years News 3 has followed her journey —who with the help of her husband, Taylor — turned to social media for help raising awareness about their desperate search.
“I was like, Tisha, this is the only way we’re probably going to be able to grab traction. I mean, we’re gonna have to put your life on the main screen, essentially. And so, I started making posts every day.”
It worked! They found a match. That was a year ago — weeks before Christmas. For the first time, we’re getting to meet the donor, Margie Smith. I asked her, how did she spot the post? Was she just scrolling on social media?
“It wasn’t something I was searching for or anything. It just popped up. And I read the story, and it broke my heart.”
News 3’s Blaine Stewart followed up in December of 2024 after her transplant surgery, including video of the actual procedure
Especially the part in the post that mentioned in 2022, the couple was expecting their first child. The pregnancy sent Katisha into end-stage kidney failure, making a manageable diagnosis dire. Sadly, she suffered a miscarriage at just 15 weeks.
The only way Katisha could ever lead a normal life is with a kidney transplant. That really touched Margie’s heart.
“The part about her being pregnant and not being able to carry the baby to term and not being able, they were young couple, recently married, I was tearing up and almost crying,” Smith said. “And I’m not a big crier.”
The same day she read the post, she applied to see if she could be a donor. It was a lengthy process, but she was a perfect match.
It was Dr. Duncan Yoder, kidney transplant surgical director Sentara Health, who performed the operation.
“Katisha had such a great outcome because somebody was willing to donate for her, and those are the most successful transplants,” Yoder said. “When you have a living donor, those outcomes, those kidneys, those transplants, they last the longest.”
I asked, why is that?
“Well, a couple reasons, usually it’s a very healthy donor. And then secondly, usually you minimize the amount of time that the kidneys outside of the body, and so you get the kidney reimplanted into the recipient very quickly. And it’s almost like an elective procedure at that point, as opposed to, you know, your middle of the night transplant from a deceased donor that might come whenever. And so when it’s a more controlled setting from a living donor, the outcomes are just better.”
Initially, Katisha didn’t know who the donor was; she was hoping it wasn’t going to stay that way
“I just wanted to meet who would save my life,” Katisha said.
She described what it was like, when they finally met.
Katisha launches effort to help other patients find donors
“Wonderful! I mean, she’s a great person, and I feel like I just grew a sister. I was just really, really excited to meet her. I just wanted to know like, about her, like, why and how she decided to go through this.”
Margie says there were a number of reasons she felt compelled to help Katisha.
“Being a mom of two daughters who are close in age to her, I kind of felt that—- I hope somebody out there, if my daughters needed something, would at least apply and see if they could be a donor. And so I donated.”
Meeting them was one thing. But why did Margie decide to do this interview?
“I wasn’t even thinking about going public, like that never entered my mind because I wasn’t, I didn’t do this for any publicity,” Margie said. “But when Katisha was so involved with trying to find other people to get living donors, I wanted to help with that. And so when she mentioned this interview and asked if I would do it, I said, ‘Yes’, I would love if our story can help other people get donors as well.”
And Margie says for people sitting on the fence about being a living donor, “Yes, it is a major surgery…. the recovery isn’t that bad. And once your recovery period is over, you’re you’re back to normal, you’re back to everything. But in the end, not only do you save a life, you gain family. And it really is one of the most meaningful things I think I’ve ever done.”
Meanwhile this Christmas season, Katisha continues to celebrate this life-changing gift.
“Grateful, I made it to a year. Grateful I got to meet Margie. I get to spend another Christmas here. Last Christmas is really special because I got my transplant, and now this one’s even more special because it’s been a year and I’m still here.”
Another gift is on the way. Because pregnancy can be hard on your kidneys, Katisha and her husband Taylor are now are in the process of adopting. They’ve been matched with a mom who’s expecting a boy due in May.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
By Will Thomas
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KILL DEVIL HILLS, North Carolina (WTKR) — One hundred twenty-two years ago, the Wright Brothers flew into history with the first flight. History was also made Wednesday, as students and graduates of First Flight High School’s Aviation Program unveiled the aircraft they built over the past two years — becoming the first plane built on the grounds here since the Wright Brothers.
“It’s just really kind of heartwarming that people take enough seriousness about the project, to actually come here,” said Paul Wright Jameson, a great-great nephew of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Paul Wright Jameson and fellow descendants joined more than 100 people Wednesday in Kill Devil Hills to celebrate the Wright Brothers’ timeless achievement of the first flight 122 years ago.
“We have been coming to Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills for decades and decades because we were immersed in the story of the Wright Brothers,” said Paul Wright Jameson.
History was made here Wednesday for a second time. For the past two years, students and graduates of First Flight High School’s Aviation Program have been building a flyable aircraft in a building on the grounds of the Wright Brothers National Memorial — putting in hundreds of hours of work along with plenty of blood, sweat and tears.
The students and graduates unveiled their plane at the ceremony Wednesday, becoming the first plane built here since the Wright Brothers’ historic achievement.
“The historical meaning behind all of it, considering that 122 years later, we are the first ones to build an aircraft right here since the Wright brothers, that’s wonderful. To do it, is amazing,” said Alexander Sharp, a senior at First Flight High School.
“It’s a very significant point because no one else has built it here, and we’re kind of following in the steps of our forefathers. There’s nothing like it,” said Gavin Dibler, a graduate of First Flight High School.
A message echoed by the program’s aviation instructor — retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Joey “JT” Tynch — who has worked alongside the students for the past two years.
“All these young men and women for the rest of their lives, can say they built the first aircraft on this spot since the Wright Brothers. They embraced that, and they just ran with it so hard. This aircraft you see in front of you has thousands upon thousands of parts, and they began with wooden crates full of these parts, and have assembled the aircraft over time. It’s been phenomenal to watch and to be a part of,” said Tynch.
A special moment for everyone Wednesday, including descendants of the Wright Brothers to see how far aviation has come.
“Wilbur and Orville kind of invented a whole bunch of stuff just to make the airplane work. Now that they have the ability to kind of do that, that you can teach students to do that, that’s what’s great,” said Paul Wright Jameson.
The plane is not just something to look at — the plan is for it to be up in the air in the New Year.
Aviation legend William P. Lear was also inducted into the First Flight Society at the ceremony Wednesday. Lear was instrumental in manufacturing aircraft radio receivers for navigation and founded the Learjet Company.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
By De’Jah Gross
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CINCINNATI (WCPO) — Grief can hit hard during the holidays.
But for brothers Everette Jr. and Jeff, grieving their father is what brought them back together.
Friday, 89-year-old Everette Linton Sr. passed away, months after we first met him at a Mason memory care facility where he was living with dementia. Despite his fading memories, his heart remained focused on seeing his wife, Patricia, who was battling advanced dementia at another facility.
After months apart, the couple was reunited, and Everette got to enjoy something he had done for 30 years one last time — a semi-truck ride to visit Patricia.
“You know who I am, I’m your husband,” Everette said to his wife during their reunion.
The story resonated far beyond the couple’s love story.
Everette’s firstborn son, Everette Jr., said watching his father’s final wish play out on television revealed something to him about family.
“My dad showed me family was important to him because he took care of us when he was growing up, had respect for his wife. He’s a patriot,” Everette Jr. said.
Everette Jr. and his brother Jeff told us the story helped heal a rift between them, bringing the siblings back together during their time of grief.
“That whole process right there was from God,” Everette Jr. told us. “He didn’t tell anybody about it because we had some type of distinction between us all in the family, and news wasn’t getting out how it was supposed to.”
Everette Jr. lives in Boston and is working to get to his father’s funeral in Iowa in hopes of reconnecting with siblings scattered across the country. He said he sees his father’s story as an inspiration for other fractured families to heal.
“I’m trying to reconcile us together, and … apologize if necessary when my time comes, because I know I was probably in the wrong,” Everette Jr. said.
When asked how he plans to carry forward his father’s legacy, Everett Jr. emphasized the importance of family communication and humility.
“I hope that what comes out of this is that maybe some family member might see themselves in the situation that I’m in right now,” Everette Jr. said. “They might want to come from all of that and humble themselves and apologize. And think about everybody else, not just yourself.”
As the holidays approach, Everette Jr. said he hopes to be able to spend extra days with his family. Their father’s memorial is scheduled for January in Des Moines.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
