Author: KTVZ

Barney Lerten

EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) — A federal judge who refused to grant an emergency court order to block the removal of dozens of homeless residents from the Deschutes National Forest south of Bend explained his reasoning in a ruling filed Thursday, offering sympathy for their plight but saying the forest health and fuels-reduction project is crucial for the broader public’s safety.

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane, who denied the requested court order to block the closure two days earlier, filed his six-page written opinion Thursday, the very day the U.S. Forest Service closed the gate on China Hat Road and authorities began efforts to remove any remaining homeless people.

“The court is sympathetic to the circumstances faced by Plaintiffs and the dozens of others who have called China Hat home and will need to employ significant efforts to relocate,” McShane wrote.

“As Plaintiffs note, the majority of China Hat residents are not there by choice, but because of personal disabilities, wide-ranging policy choices, and costs of living that are outside of their control,” the judge said.

While the Forest Service apparently complied with federal environmental regulations, McShane said that “does not diminish the community’s need to provide better support to houseless and disabled people.”

“Despite Plaintiffs’ very real struggles, the balance of equities does not tip sharply in Plaintiffs’ favor, nor is an injunction in the public interest,” the judge wrote.

“This Project will serve the public by preventing ‘uncharacteristic large-scale loss of forest habitat’ and increasing public and firefighter safety,'” he added, quoting Deschutes National Forest Supervisor Holly Jewkes.

“The public’s significant interest in restoring natural habitat, preventing catastrophic wildfires, and preserving the overall health of Deschutes National Forest is not outweighed by the interest of 150 or so individuals in residing on this particular plot of land,” McShane concluded.

TRO rulingDownload

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Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video, comments from co-founder)

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — More home-grown beef should be returning to Central Oregon shelves in coming years as The Symons Beef Company soon will start building a 40,000-square-foot meat processing facility on their property just north of Madras. 

JoHanna Symons, co-founder of the business with her husband Jeremy, started a ranching and feeding operation in 2007. And it’s now set to move well beyond the cows and calves to become even more involved in every step of production, from ranch to table. 

JoHanna Symons presented their plans recently to Jefferson County commissioners. She talked with KTVZ News at first last week, just before and after she met with Economic Development for Central Oregon and Central Oregon Community College’s Small Business Development Center, which she said are “helping me pursue a few grants” for the project. 

On a visit to the ranch this week, Symons told us, “We feel it’s very important to know where your food comes from – what goes into it, all of the logistics behind it.”

A few years ago, Symons said, they were selling beef products at stores around the region, from Sisters Meat and Smokehouse to the Pump House in Prineville and Bend-area food cart lots, among others. 

“I was dropping live cattle off at local butcher plants,” Symons said. “Everybody wanted more and more, and it got to the point where local butcher shops couldn’t handle the demand.” 

Symons said Thursday, “It was so well-received that they just kept calling everybody. I was never turned away one time, and they just wanted more and more. And so I hope that’s the same, you know – that I get the same result.”

Back then, the couple decided that “until we can control that step of the process, harvesting of fresh frozen beef, we’re just going to stop altogether.” 

And now, if plans stay on track, their dry-aged, premium local beef products will be back on local shelves by July of next year.

The new plant will process about 50 head of cattle a day and have coolers for up to 200 head, also helping other area ranchers who now must transport cattle out of the state for processing. 

The business also plans to expand from the current 10 full-time workers and a few part-timers to 40-50 jobs with the new facility to start, hopefully growing to about 70 employees within three years. 

One “tricky” factor Symons mentioned, in terms of construction, is the current trade situation with our neighbors to the north. 

“We’re dealing with tariffs,” Symons said. “It’s affected one of more most expensive pieces of equipment out of Canada. It’s made with U.S. steel, which is shipped north, then shipped back as a finished product.” 

But with the large increase in cattle and production, the Symons farm and ranch will now have to prepare for more water use, at a time that seems nearly impossible.

“There are so many different avenues involved, and the profit margins are so sliver-thin. And it is incredibly risky,” she said. “We have a pretty large farm that we grow all of our food to feed all these cattle. And so we’re constantly struggling to get enough water to water that land. So it’s very difficult. “

Jefferson County farmers have long struggled with water rights. The Symons receive much of their water from the Wickiup Reservoir, which is now 86% full. But in two years, the reservoir will be depleted to help with the spotted frog.

“The water situation will go back to being pretty catastrophic then, unless a lot of things happen and all the stars align to get that situation resolved,” Symons said. “There are a lot of moving pieces and a lot of challenges. But I’m not afraid of a challenge, thankfully.”

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest lifted the Bachelor Complex Emergency Fire Closure on Thursday, reopening Edison Sno-Park and the surrounding area, including Forest Service Road 4525.

However, drivers along roads in the area are advised to use caution, as hazard trees remain along roadsides.

“Additionally, many of the roads in the area still have significant stretches of snow at this time,” the forest said in a Facebook posting.

The fires burned more than 15,000 acres near Mt. Bachelor.

Here’s the rest of the new info:

Please use caution when recreating in areas that were impacted by the Little Lava Fire. A burned landscape presents a number of safety hazards that either did not exist prior to the fire or have been exacerbated by the effects of the fire.

In some cases, these hazardous conditions may persist for several years after a fire. Be very aware of your surroundings, follow warning signs, area closures and directions from agency personnel, and pay particular attention to these potential safety hazards. Be especially wary of hazard trees after rain events or during wind.

When recreating in a burned area:

LOOK UP for upslope burned areas, snags, and exposed rocks that may fall.

LOOK DOWN for debris from falling rocks, erosion – especially at road and trail edges, and ash pits (which may form from root pockets or stumps of burned trees).

LOOK AROUND. Be situationally aware. Check the weather before you travel, including at higher elevations. Wind, rain, ice and snow can increase the risk of tree fall, rock fall, slides and other hazards. Flash floods and landslide risks are elevated below severely burned areas.

LOOK BELOW the surface of standing water and moving water for floating logs, submerged trees and other debris, which can strike or entangle swimmers and boaters and damage other infrastructure.

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Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BURNS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Craig Webre announced this week that a Redmond, Oregon woman has been arrested in Eastern Oregon on a kidnapping charge as part of an investigation into a runaway teen from Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Roxanne Mocaby, 41, of Redmond, Oregon, has been arrested by Oregon State Police, Webre said in a news release, which follows in full:

On Tuesday, April 20, deputies responded to a Burma Road residence in Thibodaux regarding a 16-year-old male who reportedly ran away from home, leaving his electronic devices at home.

Through investigation, detectives learned the boy had been in contact with a teenage girl from Oregon on the social media app Snapchat. They learned he had told the girl he no longer wanted to live with his adoptive family and planned for the girl and her mother to pick him up.

Investigators tracked the girl’s phone back to Oregon and contacted local authorities. Oregon State Police located their vehicle and conducted a traffic stop, identifying the occupants as Mocaby and the two teens.

During questioning, Mocaby admitted to knowledge of the situation and her involvement, the sheriff said.

Mocaby was arrested and booked into the Harney County Jail in Burns on a Lafourche Parish warrant for simple kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Jail records Thursday show she remains there awaiting extradition to Lafourche Parish. Bail is set at $50,000.

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Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest said Thursday it will install a new, permanent boat dock at Crane Prairie Reservoir May 8-9.

The Crane Prairie boat launch will be temporarily closed during installation to provide for public safety.

The new, permanent boat dock will provide improved access and will not need to be seasonally installed and removed each fall and spring, officials said.

The Crane Prairie Boating Site parking lot will be minimally impacted by the project and will remain available for vehicle and trailer parking.

The closest alternative launch site during the temporary closure is Crane Prairie Resort, which is available for public use for a fee.

For more information about the boat dock installation, contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-5300.  

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Kelsey Merison

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — It’s a big year for Central Oregon Community College—the school is celebrating its 75th anniversary! 

On Friday from 4-7 p.m., an anniversary party will take place.

COCC is the oldest two-year college in the entire state of Oregon.

COCC Applied Science Building

To celebrate, KTVZ News is taking a look back at the college’s history and how its partnerships with the community have contributed to its success.

“I think that a lot of people feel pressured to go to a prestigious four-year university. And I think it makes so much more sense to go to a community college to start out,” said Suzanne Painter, a former student.

“I was pretty young at the time and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. So it gave me the opportunity at a pretty decent price to explore a lot of different classes. I took all kinds of classes, from language classes, literature, science – anything I felt like I could explore, because the tuition wasn’t high and at the time, books weren’t that expensive.”

Painter attended COCC in 1967 and 1968.

Suzanne Painter with classmates in the 1960s, COCC

“I loved the people, the instructors, they were so student-oriented and were available to you. Their instruction was good,” Painter recalled. “As good as I got at a four-year college.”

Her advisor, Jim Crowell, was the first former student who came back as a member of the faculty.

Jim Crowell

“In 1955, the college was a night school. Even in those very early years, they had some professors who were equal, and in most cases better than many of the professors that I had for the rest of my academic career,” Crowell said. “It was so great coming back to the campus as an instructor and a member of the faculty and administration. That was pretty heavy stuff for a little guy from Bend, Oregon.”

He shared fond memories of his time as both a student-athlete in the 1950s and his return as a staff member in the ’60s.

“When we were students and then faculty, we were privileged in many, many ways,” Crowell said. “I will always be eternally grateful because I did not have any athletic ride offers coming out of high school. But we played the JV team for Portland State, Willamette, Southern Oregon, etc. And we did pretty well. And so I was able to get a ride to what was then Boise Junior College, which is now Boise State.”

Former COCC President Bob Barber (1990-2004) says the success of the school largely comes from its partnerships with the community.

Bob Barber

“(It) took a lot of cooperation between the various communities because it required politics. Their representatives, politicians, etc., to take advantage of that… It really took all of our communities,” Barber said.

“The college has always been very student-focused. A college has to remain student-focused. The primary people that we are serving directly day to day are the students. And so almost all the decisions that are made by the college, whether it’s a program or service or whatever, has to be done in the context of, ‘How does this benefit the students? How can we improve this so students more benefit from our programs?'”

Now, 75 years after COCC was established, Redmond, Madras, and Prineville campuses have opened. 

“The college has always taken a leadership role in the state, in terms of moving forward. We’re not the biggest community college by any stretch, but we cover a lot of territory,” Barber said. “Our graduates have always been very successful, because from the very beginning, under Dr. Boyle’s leadership, he required our faculty members to be well-credentialed at whatever level was appropriate that they were teaching at. And that was extremely important.”

Students in a COCC classroom, 1962

With thousands earning an education thanks to the school, while creating lasting relationships and memories.

“People in Central Oregon knew that Central Oregon was going to grow. They knew it was going to get better. And they wanted to plan for the future,” Barber said. “The college does strive for excellence in teaching. It’s just part of who they are, and the fact that it’s very strong and it’s really important. So it’s important for the reputation for our students to leave here and be prepared to attend other schools.”

1966, first library

Painter said, “I had Bob Powell, who taught science. And then later, when I was teaching in Redmond, he came and talked to my third-graders about astronomy. So that was very sweet.”

“I took a Computer Science class. It was like in 1968, maybe Introduction to Computers. And (David Habura) gave us these little punch cards and had this little exercise, and I thought, ‘I get it, but computers are not my thing.’ And then I wind up, of course, being a full-on computer nerd.”

Crowell said, “I set the school record in ‘55. And I think about 10 years later, a kid from Bend smashed it all to heck,” he added with a laugh. “I’ve been able to keep really good, close track of what’s going on and the people there. And I still shoot in the gymnasium three or four mornings a week.”

These three can all agree: Much has changed with the physical appearance of the school, but not its commitment to its students’ success.

To learn more about COCC or its 75th anniversary party, click here.

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Isabella Warren

(Update: Adding video, comments from Forest Service, advocates, homeless)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The gate on China Hat Road south of Bend swung shut early Thursday, closing a large area of homeless encampments on the Deschutes National Forest as dozens of people who had been living there, some for years, scrambled to leave and take as many belongings as possible to wherever they go next.

One of the people forced to leave, Chris Daggett, has been helping people move out. He told KTVZ News: “It’s to the point where some of these people are — you only have so much supplies. They’re scared. And they’re gonna lose their stuff. I can only bring so much stuff in my trucks.”

Advocates were out early to provide food and water

Eric Garrity, with the Bend Equity Project said, “Unfortunately, we’re going to put as much effort in, but we are going to lose contact with people. And so that means that, possible placement and housing is going to be delayed or those opportunities will be lost entirely.”

Homeowners near the encampment have long complained, citing filth, fire and fentanyl, among other concerns.

The Forest Service says the project will protect those homes. Kaitlyn Webb said, “Our goal is to reduce wildfire risk to those adjacent communities and promote and restore forest health. “

Three months ago, the Forest Service notified China Hat Road campers that the area would be shut down for over a year, starting now.

Two advocates, Chuck Hemingway and Garrity, along with disabled homeless people in the area, sued the federal government, filing a temporary restraining order to pause the May 1 closure. But days before the deadline, a federal judge denied that plea.

Garrity said, “At the end of the day, most of the people who are there, their only crime is not being able to afford the frankly absurd cost of housing in Bend. ”

The area will now be thinned as part of forest mitigation, and campers left behind could face a fine of $5,000 or jail.

“Our goal is voluntary compliance of the closure. Our law enforcement officers and our staff will be patrolling and enforcing the closure, and citations will be issued if needed,” the Forest Service spokeswoman said.

Critics of Forest Service move hold news conference: ‘The answer is housing – not handcuffs’

Meanwhile, advocates and others involved in the issues held a news conference to decry the Forest Service’s forced relocation of dozens of people. 

“The only answer to homelessness is housing – not handcuffs,” said Garrity.

“This helps no one,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director for the National Homeless Law Center. “The government needs to focus on housing and help.” 

He said it’s believed to be the largest forced relocation of homeless people from federal land in recent years.

Chuck Hemingway, another Bend homeless advocate part of the federal lawsuit, said the area has been home to up to 200 people at up to 90 encampments across 900 acres. 

“This was their home,” he said. “The people who lived there were a microcosm of society. Quite a number of working people, a large number of disabled and elderly. The numbers grew with the high cost of housing in Bend – sure, some bad actors gave it a bad name.” 

“We understand the need for fire mitigation,” he said, but are “disappointed there was an organized effort by the Forest Service that would have (allowed) an orderly relocation. Instead, what resulted in a mad mass exodus” until early Thursday morning. 

Among others speaking at a news conference by the closed gate was Mandy, a native Oregonian who settled in Bend in 1999, left in 2007 and returned in 2018 to end an abusive relationship. Her ex-partner kept trying to find her, and so without help from local law enforcement, “I felt there was no other option, so I went out in the woods.” 

“That’s a mild story, compared to other campers,” she said. “It’s sad that this is what it’s come to. People forget that we’re human. We’re not all out here because we’re drug dealers, or crooks. We made wrong choices – not bad choices.” 

Dr. Graham Pruss, executive director of the National Vehicle Residency Collective, said: “Their crime is poverty, solved the only way they can – to turn a minivan, RV, pickup, camper shell into the safest homes they could afford.” 

Since a Supreme Court ruling in a Grants Pass case, things have become even more challenging, as local governments pass new regulations and restrictions, Pruss said. 

“In effect, we’re telling people to leave federal land but don’t come into town, abandon your vehicle but don’t sleep on the sidewalk. It turns human beings into trespassers.” 

“We can do better,” Pruss said, calling for more safe parking and saying the forced move from the forest “simply shifts the burden from one jurisdiction to another.” 

The advocates said they were not aware of anyone cited so far, but estimated that 40 to 60 people were still inside the now-closed area. 

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Here is the recording of the KTVZ News live stream of Thursday morning’s news conference held by several homeless advocacy groups at the closed gate to China Hat Road south of Bend.

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Jillian Fortner

(Update: Adding video, adding comments from FFAH, veterans, Deschutes County Commissioners)

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Foundation for Affordable Housing broke ground Thursday in La Pine on a 39-unit apartment building serving individuals and families who make 30-60% of the Area Median Income.

Jillian Fortner attended the groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon. Her report airs on KTVZ News at 6 p.m.

The Wickiup Station Apartments will be built on a one-acre site on Drafter Road in the Wickiup Junction area.

“It has a bit lower income overall, compared to the rest of the county,” foundation Chief Strategy Officer Tommy Waldron said. “The amount of housing choices are very limited in La Pine. So there’s a big need here.”

Once completed, the 39 units will offer a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom options, with rents starting close to $600/month and all utilities included.

Foundation President Deborrah Willard said, “They’ll accommodate families as well. So we’re looking for a pretty good mix here. We’re looking for veterans. We’re looking for possibly some seniors and some families.”

Ten units will be reserved for veterans.

Veteran Rick Davis said, “Housing down here is very expensive. Unfortunately, not a lot of veterans have the money it takes to rent some of the housing down here.”

Deschutes County commissioners spoke at the groundbreaking Thursday to support the project.

“I wanted to particularly thank them for helping us reduce homelessness,” said Commissioner Phil Chang.

Construction on the project is beginning this spring, with an estimated completion date in the summer of 2026.

Davis said, “The more housing that we can find for veterans, the better off the whole entire veteran community is. La Pine needs this.”

Upon completion, the property will feature a range of amenities, including a large community room, game rooms, fitness area and a common deck. The grounds will also include a playground, raised bed gardens, covered bike storage and natural areas.

For information on leasing a unit, email contact@ffah.org.

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Tyson Beauchemin

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)–  Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Half a century ago, on April 30, 1975, United States military forces withdrew from Vietnam. The evacuation was broadcast live to televisions across the country.

For the veterans who were there, it’s a day that will live with them for the rest of their lives. KTVZ spoke with local veterans to hear their stories.

Lyle Hicks brought a special photo to a Deschutes County Commission meeting where a proclamation was read and memories were shared.

He later was holding the photo of a baby’s rescue as he told KTVZ News: “I was there 50 years ago. There’s a fellow that’s in the picture that dove in and saved the life of a of a baby and was told not to dive in by the officer that was there and he dove in anyway, came up, passed the baby over and dove back down. Because the boat was coming back in again, cut his arm on the boat, but he kept pulling the people out. In fact, I met a lady about 15 years ago, that she said the thing that hit her the most was that brave man that had a bloody arm who pulled her out of the water.”

Mark Wirges, another Vietnam veteran, told KTVZ News, “It was a very sad day for all of us veterans that had spent time part of our lives in Vietnam and some of our blood, and we left a lot of people there that the sacrifice and the treasures of this country were lost.”

One of the things the veterans shared with us Wednesday was the similarities they felt between the fall of Saigon and the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. For them, the day’s bittersweet – bitter because of the men who lost their lives, only for the war to end the way it did, and sweet because of those who survived and went on to live accomplished lives.

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