Author: KTVZ

Barney Lerten

SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) — Viewer Paul Evenson often encounters elk on the move in Sunriver and shared with KTVZ News a video he took Tuesday evening.

“I call it the showdown at the OK Corral,” Evenson told us. “I was stuck for about 20 minutes near the river in Sunriver. It’s fun watching them jump the fence on the right of the screen.”

KTVZ – News Team

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — From airport parking fees to development plans and community concerns about the upcoming China Hat Road clearing in Bend, Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch talked Thursday with the KTVZ News at Sunrise team in our studio, answering viewers’ questions.

Fitch appears on KTVZ News at Sunrise in the 6:30 a.m. segment on the third Thursday of every month. Make sure to submit your questions for the mayor here for next month’s segment. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

You can also pose a question for Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler on this page – she joins us at Sunrise on the second Thursday of every month.

Triton Notary

BEND, Ore.– (KTVZ) – Today, people trying to fill their prescriptions at Bend’s Rite Aid got an unpleasant notice. The store is closing. Many customers were bit surprised by the news after noticing an increasing number of empty shelves inside the store.

In October of 2023, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy, and last fall it had closed 1,300 locations. Customers of this Rite Aid also got a notice in the mail announcing its closure. Its final day is the 29th of April.

Sophia Bel told KTVZ News, “Well, it seems really inconvenient. That’s where they have my prescriptions, which I can’t find anywhere else, so it’s going to be really unfortunate. I don’t know where else I’m going to find certain prescriptions that I need, only because this Rite Aid typically has the ones that I need.”

Off-camera, one person told KTVZ News they’ve been shopping at this location for 40 years, long before it was a Rite Aid. Customers will have their prescriptions transferred to the nearby Fred Meyer pharmacy, unless they make other arrangements.

Isabella Warren

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Commissioner Phil Chang is sharing his disappointment as controversy continues to swirl around Deschutes County’s new Sheriff Kent van der Kamp.

“Sheriff van der Kamp has really done important things in these 100 days,” Chang told KTVZ News on Wednesday. “And that’s part of what makes all of this so sad for me. “

Chang says the first 100 days of the sheriff’s term have been successful: “Inspiring sheriff’s office personnel and raising morale, and improving fiscal responsibility and management. Reintegrating the sheriff’s office into the county.”

But this week, the community learned that van der Kamp has been placed on the county’s Brady list, meaning he is barred from giving testimony in future cases as an expert witness because of issues regarding his truthfulness.

District Attorney Steve Gunnels made the decision last week after determining the sheriff may have lied under oath multiple times, including two DUII cases.

Van der Kamp has denied the allegations and told KTVZ News Wednesday he is meeting with his legal team and will have more to share next week.     

Police expert Dr. Thomas Shea says public trust may never be the same: “He’s the sheriff. He’s getting accused of lying. How’s it going to impact the men and women who serve under him? No one’s going to trust them, too, or they’re going to have to deal with the consequences of his own untruthfulness.”

Some residents on social media are demanding that van der Kamp resign.

When asked if the sheriff could gain back public trust, Shea said: “You can’t.”

The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training is reviewing the reports submitted by the DA’s office, but a spokesman told KTVZ News they cannot specify when that report could be released.

Commissioner Chang says if the sheriff’s certification is revoked, commissioners will decide who takes over. “In the case that the sheriff can no longer serve or in the case that the sheriff resigns, our job will be to appoint someone to serve as sheriff until the next election.” 

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 25-year-old Bend man was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in prison and permanent loss of his driver’s license after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide, DUII and assault in a 2023 rollover crash that claimed a La Pine man’s life. 

Bryce Tanner Lupton was arrested in February of 2024 on manslaughter, DUII and assault charges in the crash that occurred late on a Saturday night in September of 2023, when police said his 2023 Ford Focus left Southeast 15th Street near Bear Creek Road and overturned. 

Passenger Jacobic Lee Barnhill, 23, of La Pine, was killed in the crash. Lupton and a second passenger, a 22-year-old Redmond woman, were injured and taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment. Police said at the time that speed and alcohol were believed to be factors in the crash. 

After a settlement conference, Lupton signed a guilty plea petition on April 3 to the lesser, but still Class B felony charge of criminally negligent homicide, as well as third-degree assault and DUII. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a 100-month prison term, which Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby accepted at Tuesday’s sentencing, along with imposing permanent revocation of his driver’s license.

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Researchers at Oregon State University–Cascades have received a $2 million grant from the National Park Service to monitor and analyze data gathered by the agency, assess the ecological health and resilience of parks and better understand management practices that can help parks adapt to changing conditions.

With the grant, announced Tuesday, scientists at OSU-Cascades will harness data collected by hundreds of NPS scientists across thousands of projects at more than 280 national park sites.

Scientists within each network track a unique set of resources that are considered vital signs for a given region. For example, within the Upper Columbia Basin network, vital signs include water quality, sage grouse health and populations, and the persistence of the Lemhi penstemon, a rare flowering plant at risk of extinction due to habitat loss.  

Led out of the Human Ecosystem Resilience and Sustainability Lab at OSU-Cascades, the new research analysis unit will analyze data from networks that track terrestrial, freshwater and marine specimens and conditions. 

The five-year project is led by Matt Shinderman, a natural resources instructor and co-director of the HERS Lab. 

“The idea is to provide park managers with the best information possible to steward national parks and resources,” he said. “It’s also to build a body of knowledge that can be helpful to land managers, conservation practitioners, and policy makers confronting widespread threats to native biodiversity in our national parks.” 

HERS Lab experts will also assess ecological monitoring studies and determine if improvements can be made to current approaches.

Shinderman anticipates that the project will offer educational opportunities at OSU-Cascades in ecological and data science for post-doctoral researchers, faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students.

The HERS Lab has previously collaborated with NPS on studies throughout the Pacific Northwest on persistence and extinction risks facing park natural resources.

Barney Lerten

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — New data calculated this week by NeighborImpact reveals a record-breaking rise in demand for food across Central Oregon – at the same time the organization deals with a reduced federal food supply.

In the most recent quarter, the organization’s Food Bank and its partners served an average of 83,000 individuals per month—the highest in its history. That equates to a 13.7 percent increase over the previous quarter’s 73,000 individuals served.

This surge in need comes as the food bank grapples with a 17 percent drop in federal food supply, the result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture cutting commodity distribution.

This freeze has already canceled orders through July, slashing a key supply of dairy, eggs, meat, and produce relied on by food banks, including NeighborImpact, across the country, the organization said in a news release Wednesday that continues below:

In response, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation have called on the USDA to reverse the freeze. A joint letter—signed by Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle, Maxine Dexter, and Andrea Salinas, as well as U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley—urges Secretary Brooke Rollins to immediately restore the flow of federal food assistance.

“We urge you to take immediate action to correct course and ensure that the communities we represent do not face heightened food insecurity because of your official actions,” the lawmakers wrote.

Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, who represents the Bend and Redmond areas in Congress, visited the regional Food Bank in Redmond last week. During her visit, Bynum met with food bank staff and community partners, including The Father’s Group, Mosaic Community Health, Madras Community Food Pantry, Redmond City Council, and Latino Community Association, and representatives from local food pantries, among others.

“We are grateful for Congresswoman Bynum’s advocacy and her commitment to standing with us in the effort to fight hunger and feed hope in Central Oregon,” said NeighborImpact Executive Director Scott Cooper. “As need continues to rise, so does the importance of this work—and the need for sustained support from federal partners.”

Congressman Cliff Bentz, who represents most of Central Oregon’s geography, did not join in the delegation letter, but his staff met with NeighborImpact representatives in March in Washington, D.C. and expressed concern for having an effective means of addressing hunger in the region.

NeighborImpact operates the regional food bank for Central Oregon, distributing over 6 million pounds of food through 57 partner agencies across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties, as well as at the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.  

The organization urges community members to take action as Central Oregon faces a deepening crisis in meeting food demand. To help meet the record demand, donations can be made at neighborimpact.org/donate. Every contribution helps provide critical food resources to individuals and families across the region.

However, donations alone cannot make up for the gap created by federal funding cuts. To continue meeting the need at scale, NeighborImpact—and food banks across Oregon—require restored support from the federal government. Constituents are encouraged to contact their elected representatives and demand immediate action to reinstate USDA funding for food assistance programs.

Cooper noted that while NeighborImpact is managing the current situation with reduced allocations of food to partners, he worries about just how deep the crisis could go. 

“If unemployment rises or if the cost of food rises more, due to tariffs or other economic policies or if rumored cuts of 30 percent to SNAP benefits are enacted or the enhancements to SNAP benefits implemented in 2021 are reversed, that would drive even more people into food banks,” he said.

“The food supply doesn’t magically expand. What do we do then? Without federal partnership, we simply cannot keep pace with the growing need. We need both the compassion of our neighbors and the commitment of our leaders.”

—

April 7 news release from Rep. Bynum:

Following Visit to Redmond Food Service Facility, Bynum Leads Letter Demanding USDA Reverse Funding Freeze

“We urge you to reverse this funding freeze immediately to ensure that Oregon families—and families across the country—do not face disruption to essential food distribution services.”

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) led the bicameral, Democratic Oregon Congressional delegation in sending a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, strongly condemning the administration’s payment freeze to a set of food assistance programs funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) after her visit to NeighborImpact in Redmond, OR.

During her visit to NeighborImpact’s new food service facility, staff told Rep. Bynum that due to the freeze, they are telling partners to expect a 20% decrease in food aid. Purchases made by the CCC account for around 18% of the food distributed by the Oregon Food Bank, the largest food bank network in the state. If the freeze continues, the equivalent of 30 truckloads of food – including dairy, meat, eggs, and produce – will be impacted as soon as this month.

“This misguided freeze is actively impacting the ability of Oregon food banks to place food orders and worsening food insecurity in our communities,” the Members wrote. “We urge you to reverse this funding freeze immediately to ensure that Oregon families—and families across the country—do not face disruption to essential food distribution services.”

The Local Food Purchasing Assistance program, which supports the sale of fresh, locally grown foods to food banks, also receives funding from the CCC. Without it, local farmers will also face interruptions.

“President Trump and his administration have a stated goal of lowering prices for American families,” the Members continued. “Cuts to food assistance programs like food banks push that goal further out of reach for the families that rely on these essential services.”

The CCC provides payments to food assistance programs including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDIPR), and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). At the date this letter was sent, all CCC TEFAP orders have been cancelled through July. 

Read the full letter here and below: 

Dear Secretary Rollins:

We, the undersigned members of the Oregon congressional delegation, write to condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing payment freeze issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to a set of food assistance programs funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). This misguided freeze is actively impacting the ability of Oregon food banks to place food orders and worsening food insecurity in our communities. We urge you to reverse this funding freeze immediately to ensure that Oregon families—and families across the country—do not face disruption to essential food distribution services.

As you are aware, USDA announced in early February 2025 that it would suspend CCC payments to food assistance programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDIPR), and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). We are gravely concerned about the impact of these funding freezes on the families that we represent. Our state’s largest food bank network, Oregon Food Bank, distributed 73 million meals in 2023 and saw 2.5 million visits to its food assistance sites last year. CCC purchases account for about 18% of the food the Oregon Food Bank distributes to its clients, and as of the date of this letter, all CCC TEFAP orders have been cancelled through July.

If the funding freeze is not lifted, the flow of dairy, eggs, meat, and produce – the equivalent of 30 truckloads of food – to neighbors in need will be disrupted as soon as this month. On top of this, local farmers will lose the funds they would have received from selling fresh, locally grown foods to food banks under the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) program, which is funded by CCC.

We ask that you reverse the destructive funding freeze at CCC and immediately restore the flow of federal funding for programs that feed our communities and keep our farmers afloat. President Trump and his administration have a stated goal of lowering prices for American families. Cuts to food assistance programs like food banks push that goal further out of reach for the families that rely on these essential services. We urge you to take immediate action to correct course and ensure that the communities we represent do not face heightened food insecurity because of your official actions.

Tyson Beauchemin

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Bend cyclist has a message and a warning after being attacked by dogs on China Hat Road south of Bend.

“To have dogs that attack people there just riding their bikes, that’s to me, that is unacceptable behavior,” Chris Carey said Tuesday. “That’s why I’m making a stand here.”

On Monday afternoon, Carey was wrapping up a bike ride around the Deschutes National Forest. He’s been biking in the area for 30 years without incident, but as he passed a trailer on the Forest Service road, he says two dogs ran out of the woods and attacked him.

“I got off my bike, and one of them came up and immediately bit me in the leg,” he said. “The other one got me in the pants. And then I had to actually fight him off.”

Carey described the attack, saying he swung his bike at the dogs to defend himself. “When I’d go after one dog, the other one would sneak in and bite me, so I mean these animals were vicious animals and were on an attack.”

Carey says a third dog was tied up near the trailer, and the trailer’s occupants came out and tried to call the dogs back, but had no control over them. He claims he fought the dogs for about five minutes before he was able to move away from them and eventually escape.

After calling 911, Carey went to urgent care and had his bites treated.

While Carey wants the owners to take responsibility for their actions, he feels it’s important he uses his story as a warning: “Be careful. I’ve never had a problem, but in this case, had it been, had I been a smaller child or possibly a woman, it could be a much more serious situation.”

Carey does not take a weapon with him when he rides, and he says he doesn’t think people recreating in the forest should have to carry one.

The Forest Service and police are still looking for the dogs, so they can do a rabies test. They have some idea of who owns the dogs but have not located them.

And as our viewers know, we’ve been following the situation on China Hat Road for years, and lately it’s been a fast-moving situation.

Here are three facts you need to know: First, in just a few weeks, the hundreds of homeless campers will need to move. Second, the reason why is because the Forest Service is closing nearly 35,000 acres for wildfire fuel projects.

And third, service providers and the homeless themselves told KTVZ News they don’t know where they’ll go. Many have trailers and mobile homes that cannot be moved. The Forest Service says it’s working with local governments, nonprofits and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to help remove the camps.