Author: KTVZ

Spencer Sacks

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — There’s a new app being used by Bend-La Pine Schools called My Ride K-12, and it gives parents up-to-date time and route information for their kids’ bus. 

This new app will replace their old one, which only gave general messages about delays.

Now you can see the bus moving toward your house in real time.

Bend-La Pine Schools Executive Director of Transportation Kim Crabtree told KTVZ News, “You know, on a morning that’s pretty cold, they can see – ‘Oops, it’s coming up the hill! I’d better get my kids out there!’

“While we ask kids to be out five minutes before the bus stop time, we understand there’s mornings that are really cold, and you know, you’re running a  little behind.” With the new app, she said, “You can see, ‘I’ve got a little bit of time to get there.’”

This app tracks buses, not individual students. But there’s a way that you can track your kids, using a card linked to your student.

If you sign up for the card, you get notifications whenever your child gets on or off the bus.

To register, you can download the app or reach out to the school district for assistance.

The district asks that you register your kids this week, in order to make sure they are is ready to take the bus to and from home on their fast-approaching first day of school.

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Tyson Beauchemin

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) — Killer Burger has opened its doors in Bend.

The chain started in Portland, but has opened stores all across Oregon. They’ve set up shop in Eugene, Medford, Salem – and now here, next to the new Costco. The burger shop is one of the first businesses to move into the new shopping area next to the Costco on U.S. Highway 20.

What makes Killer Burger unique, they say, is their precision-crafted gourmet burger. They pride themselves on making each burger to exact specifications, and the interesting ingredient combinations.

There’s no better example of this than their flagship burger, with peanut butter, pickle AND bacon.

“It’s a burger that most people actually haven’t ever heard of before,” Logan Miller, the new general manager of our Killer Burger told us Monday. “So when they hear about it with Killer Burger, it’s kind of pretty iconic. It’s what we’re known for. A lot of people think it’s a very weird combination, but it definitely works! And we think you should try it when you come by.”

Right now, their menu includes a burger with Swiss cheese fondue, blue cheese crumbles and bacon. Another is filled with roasted green chiles and covered in Monterey Jack cheese.

However, if you’re not feeling adventurous, the menu also includes standard burgers, chicken strips and well-seasoned fries.

 “I think we’re going to fit in really well,” Miller said. “I know that Bend loves their fast casual restaurants, so I think we’re going to do great here.”

This new location also means new employment: Killer Burger is currently hiring. 

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Bend man arrested on charges he beat and dragged his dog down a busy northeast Bend street entered a negotiated guilty plea Monday and faces a likely 15-day jail term. He also will be sentenced on two probation violations and agreed to give up the dog, a brown Labrador named Freya. 

Sentencing is set for Wednesday morning for Kyle Jensen Strong, 36, who police said was seen by witnesses on Saturday evening, August 9th “repeatedly hitting, grabbing and dragging the dog” on NE Third Street near Olney Avenue. 

Officers found Strong walking his bike along Third Street with the dog on a leash. He denied hitting the dog, but witnesses approached police and provided several videos and witness statements to confirm the actions, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said. 

Strong appeared by video Monday from the Deschutes County Jail, where he’s been held without bail for violating probation. 

Strong signed a petition Friday, pleading guilty to one of the three counts of second-degree animal neglect, a Class B misdemeanor. Strong said in the petition that he “did unlawfully and recklessly cause physical injury to an animal, to-wit: a canine known as Freya.” 

Freya, dog allegedly beaten by Bend man, is in the care of the Humane Society of Central Oregon

As a result, prosecutors agreed to recommend that the judge impose a 15-day jail sentence, concurrent with any sanctions for violating probation in two 2023 cases. 

Circuit Judge Beth Bagley also canceled a hearing set for Tuesday on prosecutors’ petition to require that Strong forfeit the dog, after court-appointed defense attorney Dylan Potter pointed out that his client already agreed to do so, as part of the guilty plea. 

Court records show Strong pleaded guilty in Deschutes County in 2024 to DUII, hit-and-run (property damage) and resisting arrest. Six other charges were dismissed, including second-degree burglary, third-degree theft, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. His three-year probation in that case continues until early 2027, and his driver’s license was suspended for life.

Strong also pleaded not guilty in June and has a jury trial set for September in Grant County on a felony DUII charge, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless driving, hit-and-run (property damage) and driving with a suspended or revoked license. 

He also pleaded not guilty a year ago in Multnomah County to three misdemeanor charges of first- and second-degree criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. That case may go to trial next month.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Bend on Monday invited community members to attend an open house for the Reed Market Road & 15th Street Roundabout Improvements Project on Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at Larkspur Community Center.

“This drop-in event offers residents an opportunity to meet the project team, ask questions, and learn more about proposed improvements,” the city said in a brief announcement that continues below

An online participation option will also be available on the project website at bendoregon.gov/reedmarket-15th.

The project is focused on enhancing safety and improving system capacity at this key intersection. The design will feature a more intuitive multi-lane roundabout, with upgrades that help promote safer travel for people walking and biking, while also improving traffic flow and making navigation easier for drivers.

Sign up to receive project email updates and learn more about the project at bendoregon.gov/ReedMarket-15th.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Bend woman was killed and six people were injured, including four children, in a head-on crash of her car and a minivan on Highway 97 south of Bend Thursday night, Oregon State Police reported.

Here’s the full news release issued Saturday by OSP:

On Thursday, August 14, at 9:49 p.m., Oregon State Police responded to a two-vehicle fatal crash on Highway 97 near milepost 145 in Deschutes County.

The preliminary investigation indicated that a silver Honda Accord, operated by Felicia Devin Nicholson (33) of Bend, was traveling northbound on Hwy. 97 near milepost 145 when it drifted across the center line for an unknown reason and struck a southbound silver Honda Odyssey, operated by Earl Leone Christison IV (46) of Oregon City.

The operator of the Accord (Nicholson) was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The operator of the Odyssey (Earl Christison) was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Odyssey passenger Erin Ruth Christison (45) of Oregon City was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries.

Four female juvenile passengers (ages 17, 14, 11, and 9) in the Odyssey were also transported to a local hospital with serious injuries.

The highway was impacted for approximately three hours during the on-scene investigation.

OSP was assisted by the Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Sunriver Police Department, and multiple area emergency medical service responders.

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Matthew Draxton

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) —  A disabled veteran and his wife in Powell Butte say they are drowning in medical bills after losing their VA medical benefits. Matthew Draxton spoke with him and another veteran who says navigating the available resources through the VA is difficult.

“I’m a veteran of 21 years, three deployments, Iraq for a total of three year and eight months,” said Dennis Brophy, a retired veteran living in Powell Butte. Ten years ago when Brophy retired he and his wife enrolled in Champ VA, healthcare for veterans.

“We thought that being a veteran and spouse, that TriCare and Champ VA were our primary, for the rest of our lives,” Brophy continued.

At the time when they were well over a decade before turning 65. They didn’t know when they turned 65, they would no longer receive Champ VA coverage unless they were also enrolled in Medicare, both Part A and B. Brophy points to a lack of communication as the reason for not knowing this detail.

He said, “there’s no clear communication from the VA. There’s a pamphlet that they gave us and it’s not clearly explained.”

This sentiment is not uncommon among other Central Oregon veterans. Local disabled Vietnam veteran Bill Gabriel, shares the frustrations.

“Understand most of the Vets that get out don’t think they need medical– the Iraqi and Afghan vets. I have to talk them into going to get their card,” Gabriel said.

The issue for Brophy though, is not needing to file for Medicare, it’s about principal of having to pay a premium each month.

“I don’t have A and B and paying that extra money, who can afford that nowadays? I can’t afford $300 for you know, something that I should be getting from the army,” Brophy explained.

Gabriel added, “I don’t remember them saying I’d have to pay a copay when I signed up and got sent to Vietnam.”

Gabriel notes when he enlisted he was under the impression that health care would be provided to him at no cost once he became a veteran. Now that he has been a veteran for many years, and has dealt with the VA, he believes navigating the VA’s resources is not easy.

“They need to figure out how to run a smoother system. Most of us old vets don’t know how to navigate the system,” Gabriel said, pointing to a lack of communication by staff, workers lacking education on resources, and the process being too complicated.

“They said we streamlined it, you go home, you get on your computer and fill up the form for this. Well, it took me watching six videos before I could actually figure out which one you needed,” Gabriel says, adding if you need immediate attention, you can expect long wait times.

“You don’t have anybody in the front counters, you really can’t do that. You call the VA and in Portland especially, it says ‘because the call volume, you’re going to have to leave a message,'” Gabriel said. He continued, “three weeks later, they haven’t gotten back to me. That’s not streamlined, that’s not helping veterans.”

Both Brophy and Gabriel say they feel like the system is cheating veterans as a whole.

“You know they say, ‘oh we appreciate your service,’ but that’s just a fallacy,” Brophy hypothesized.

“Veterans sigh an open check. If you will give your life for the country, that’s your part of the contract. Their part of the contract is to take care of you.”

KTVZ reached out to the Central Oregon Vets Center for comment on what they’re doing to help better connect veterans with vital resources, but we did not get a response to our inquiry.

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KTVZ

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend Police have confirmed a motorcycle and car collided late this afternoon near the Les Schwab Tire Center, just off South Highway 97.

The crash happened sometime before 6 p.m. Sergeant Scott Salvage with Bend Police says very little information can be released right now, but one person was injured and taken to the hospital.

The cause of the collision has not been determined, and the situation remains under active investigation.

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Claire Elmer

(Update: adding interview with Senator Wyden, video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has been in Central Oregon this weekend to speak with residents about their most pressing concerns. Before continuing onto the next destination in his state-wide tour, Senator Wyden stopped by KTVZ News to speak with Claire Elmer and Spencer Sacks.

Social security, wildfires, medicaid, Secure Rural Schools (SRS), and tariffs were the main topics of conversation during Wyden’s candid conversation with KTVZ.

Sacks asked Wyden, “we recently celebrated the 90th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s landmark social security legislation. According to the Social Security’s Trustees’ Annual Report, by 2033, the program may only be able to pay 77%. How can we solve this looming problem and what kind of bipartisan solutions should we be looking for?”

“First of all, these reports are being done at my request. I’m the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security,” started Wyden.

“One of the obvious steps we ought to be taking is ensuring that the billionaires and those at the top actually pay into the program. The billionaires don’t do that today because they really make sure they don’t take any income. They buy, borrow and die and evade taxes. I’m going to change that,” Wyden stated.

In regard to wildfires in Oregon, Elmer asked, “you push back on the Trump administration for downplaying wildfire risks. What do you think Washington still doesn’t understand about the scale of wildfire danger in the West? And what would you like to see change as far as federal policy?”

Wyden referenced his recent conversations with community members when replying, saying “what I heard over the weekend is that these yo-yo policies, like when the Trump people came in at the beginning, they really weren’t dealing with these burnable fuels on the forest floor. Folks in Prineville and elsewhere were talking to me about it.”

“You’ve got to go in there and get those burnable fuels off the forest floor, because we have lightning strikes, we have fires, and all of a sudden you have an inferno on your hands. That’s what I want to change,” said Wyden of his intended solution.

Touching on Medicaid, Sacks asked, “massive cuts are being projected to Medicaid after the ‘one big bill’ passed. How do you balance fighting those cuts while also working towards bipartisan solutions to reduce healthcare costs?”

Wyden replied, “well, a bipartisan solution. What I and Senator Merkley, and others, are interested in, is dealing with something called up-coding. It’s really an insurance company rip-off. You know, they take a condition that really isn’t particularly serious, they blow it up into a big deal so they can get more money out of the taxpayer. We could save billions of dollars by stopping insurance company up-coding.”

In regard to Secure Rural Schools (SRS), Elmer asked, “you and Senator Merkley have celebrated the reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools, but local leaders often call it a band-aid. What’s your vision for a permanent fix that keeps rural counties from facing a budget crisis every few years?”

Wyden replied, “I’m for multiple-use in terms of our policy in the forest, but the way to get off this roller coaster is to create something that I propose, in effect, is an endowment — where you take that money and make sure you gain interest as you go, and the counties have a fund they can count on.”

To end the conversation, Sacks wanted to touch on a topic that has recently been looming-large in many minds — tariffs. Sacks asked, “there’s a lot of debate about whether tariffs hurt or help American workers. What specific policies do you support to make sure trade rules actually strengthen jobs here at home, especially in manufacturing in rural communities?”

Wyden wanted to clarify his definition of tariffs and explain the impacts by saying, “as far as I’m concerned, these these tariffs are taxes. They hit working people. I and Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, offered the proposal to get rid of the Trump approach, which we believe is illegal. We lost on a 49 to 49 vote. There were a couple of senators absent. I think we’ll get those votes in the future. And we want to end these Trump policies because they’re clobbering small businesses and individuals. Tariffs are taxes and we ought to recognize that.”

After concluding the interview with KTVZ, Senator Wyden and his team headed off to Crater Lake for another speaking event. While on recess, the senator is packing his schedule with his trademark community events which he uses to stay connected to his constituents.

KTVZ News appreciated the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Senator Wyden. You can view our earlier story on Wyden’s town hall in Madras here — that event took place on Saturday morning.

As part of KTVZ News’ commitment to connecting our communities to their members of congress, you can watch our recent interviews with Rep. Cliff Bentz and Rep. Janelle Bynum.

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Claire Elmer

(Update: adding public questions and comments from town hall)

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Senator Ron Wyden brought his trademark open-door politics to Jefferson county Saturday morning, holding another in his long-running series of town halls.

Gaza, tariffs, and the impacts of political polarization — especially here at home — were the main topics of concern from residents. 

Questions ranged from a national level, with one audience member asking, “how would you characterize the state of our democracy at this point?” To which Senator Wyden replied, “fragile.” To a local level, with a St. Charles employee asking, “how are you advocating for, I’m specifically going to say Saint Charles Madras, so that we can not be forgotten?”

Senator Wyden heard from the audience for over an hour, many voicing strong opinions and posing tough questions about the humanitarian toll overseas and what role the U.S. should play.

Direct questions were asked of the senator, such as “if those people in Gaza were not Palestinian, but Jews slaughtered and starved to death, what would you do?” Followed by passionate statements from others, “people are dying. They’re being shot by these people with guns that are monitoring these food giveaways.”

Attendees also pressed the senator on the challenges of political division, saying polarization is making it harder to solve problems at every level of government. Many expressed their feelings of hopelessness and disappointment. 

“It seems to me the rules aren’t being followed by any of the three branches of government. It’s all corrupted,” said one audience member.

Senator Wyden said he welcomes tough questions, even on heated issues, and pointed to these town halls as a way to bridge divides through direct conversation. He vows to follow-up with specific details on his plans for those still wanting more accountability.

Saturday’s event in Madras marked Wyden’s latest stop as he continues holding town halls in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year. Senator Wyden says he’ll keep hosting these events as long as Oregonians keep showing up and asking questions.

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