Category: ktvz-local-news

Barney Lerten

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Over the last week, several Oregon Department of Forestry fire protection districts have announced the start of fire season and implemented the necessary fire danger levels and restrictions to reduce the number of human-caused fires.

Fire danger levels may be low, moderate, high, or extreme at different times throughout the year, based on local fuel conditions, weather and other potential fire hazards. Public use restrictions on activities are enacted during fire season in an effort to reduce the number of human-caused fires, and may fluctuate throughout the season.

Conditions across the state are quickly becoming more susceptible to wildfire due to reduced rain and high temperatures.

As of Friday, the following ODF districts have announced their declaration of fire season:

Southwest Oregon (Jackson and Josephine counties) – June 1 – Moderate Fire Danger

Central Oregon (Hood River, Jefferson, Deschutes, Crook, Morrow, Wheeler, Grant, and Harney County) June 2 – Moderate Fire Danger

Walker Ranger FPA (northern Klamath County) – June 2 – Moderate Fire Danger

Northeast Oregon (Wallowa, Union, Umatilla, and Baker County) – June 5 – Low Fire Danger

Klamath-Lake (Klamath and Lake County) – June 6 – Moderate Fire Danger

Coos FPA (Coos and Curry County) – June 6 – Low Fire Danger

Douglas FPA (Douglas County) – June 6 – Moderate Fire Danger

Western Lane (Lane County) – June 9 – Moderate Fire Danger

South Cascade (Linn and Lane County) – June 9 – Moderate Fire Danger

Additional fire regulations may be implemented as fire danger levels change throughout fire season.

With the forecast of a hotter, drier summer this year, the Oregon Department of Forestry urges residents not to become complacent in wildfire prevention.

With several districts in or going into fire season, and others not yet there, it’s important to check the local fire restrictions where you live and where you’re planning to travel. Remaining informed of local fire restrictions can prevent you from bringing prohibited fire hazards onto the landscape and from potentially starting the next large wildfire.

Remember, the fewer human-caused fires in Oregon we have, the more you’re helping protect Oregon’s natural resources, communities, and firefighters. For tips on wildfire prevention, visit www.keeporegongreen.org. Check your local restrictions at https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions.aspx.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — We told you recently that six vocalists from Bend were traveling to France to take part in several events commemorating D-Day commemoration events June 3–9 in Normandy, France, with a final stop to perform in Paris. 

On Friday’s 81st anniversary of the Allied invasion, a critical step toward the end of World War II, the group gathered on the beach at Normandy to sing the Star-Spangled Banner.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A northwest Bend apartment complex was evacuated Thursday night due to a small but smoky fire that was quickly put out and traced to a charging lithium e-bike battery.

Numerous Bend Fire and Rescue engine crews and Bend Police responded around 9:45 p.m. to the fire in a three-story apartment building off Newport Avenue in the 1400 block of Northwest Eighth Street, officials said.

Bend Deputy Fire Marshal said the fire caused about $5,000 in damage, mainly due to smoke.

“The cause was a lithium e-bike battery that was left plugged in and charging,” Kettering told KTVZ News.

“We recommend not charging batteries inside the home whenever possible, and unplugging them when the charge is complete or before leaving the home.”

Initial reports from several 911 callers said there had been an explosion of some type, so a full structure fire response was initiated, the fire official said.

The fire was in a third-floor apartment at the south end of the building, Kettering said, and no one was home at the time. A total of six units were evacuated.

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Isabella Warren

(Update: Adding comments from organizers)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Drake Park will be filled with rainbows, booths, and pride for Bend’s annual Pride event. Parties and events will be held all weekend long, beginning Friday night.

Bend Pride Coalition and SUS Magazine are teaming up again for this year’s Summer Pride.

“It’s just grown every year, and it’s been really beautiful to see,” said Julia Canales with SUS. “This year is a little different. So really excited to see who shows up. And even if you are feeling a little nervous about it, it really means a lot to still show up and be there for your community.”

The annual Drake Park celebration begins Saturday with a 5K in the morning and the festival in the afternoon, starting at 11 a.m. Food, musical performances and booths are all scheduled for the day.

Brooklyn Wagner with Bend Pride said, “We’re going to have lots of stuff going on at the park, but super family-friendly, everyone will have something that they enjoy there.”

It comes as uncertainty over safety at public events surfaced, with many events being cancelled, including Bend’s annual Juneteenth celebration (though another Juneteenth community event is now set for June 20th) and events organized by the Latino Community Association.

Organizer Sean Lawrence said, “With the climate we’re in now, it’s more important than ever to show solidarity and allyship for, marginalized communities, including the queer community that’s in your backyard.”

This year’s slogan, “Never Going Back,” is a reminder of the history of the LGBTQ community, as well as the continuing fight for justice. 

The human rights campaign says nearly 1 in 5 of any type of hate crime is motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias.

“Never going back, especially in these times, to me, really means, like, I’m standing on business and I’m standing on the ground like, I am who I am. I can’t change that. I’m not going back to an inferior version of myself,” said Lawrence.

Maria Jackson, who is headlining the event, said, “Recognizing where you come from, recognizing the people in the sacrifices that they made in order for us all to be here. As diverse as this is, in a state like this, in a time like this is very important.”

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Claire Elmer

(Update: Adding video; adding photo, info that K-9 was uninjured)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Bend man has been arrested following an early Friday gas station burglary, followed by an attempted attack on law enforcement officers, police say.

Around 4:15 a.m., Bend Police responded to a report of an attempted burglary in progress at the Space Age gas station on Grandview Drive. Steven Earl Ramsey, a 55-year-old Bend resident, was allegedly inside of the gas station, “building Molotov cocktails and dousing the store with flammable products,” officials say.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to the call. Upon arrival, Ramsey attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail at a DCSO deputy. DCSO K9 Vinnie was deployed and bit Ramsey.

Miller said Vinnie might have sustained minor injuries during the arrest. But Sheriff Kent van der Kamp later told KTVZ News he’d learned the dog was unhurt and is cleared for duty Friday evening.

Ramsey was taken to St. Charles Bend and then Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary, first-degree disorderly conduct, first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree theft, reckless burning, and for a felony warrant.

Here’s the full breakdown from police:

“At approximately 4:15 a.m. on Friday, June 6, Bend Police responded to a report of a burglary in progress at Space Age Fuel on Grandview Drive. The reporting party was watching the burglary on surveillance cameras, and reported the man inside was damaging property, building Molotov cocktails and dousing the store with flammable products.  

Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to the call, arriving on scene shortly before Bend officers to find a shattered front door. The man in the store, identified as Steven Earl Ramsey, lit one of his makeshift Molotov cocktails and threw it at a deputy, lighting the store’s rug on fire. He attempted to light a second Molotov cocktail and to light the floor on fire as well. Deputies deployed K9 Vinnie, and K9 Vinnie bit Ramsey. Ramsey eventually complied and was taken into custody.  

Damage to the store is estimated at between $11,000 and $15,000.  

Bend Fire responded to evaluate Ramsey and to ensure there was no longer a threat of fire at the gas station. Ramsey was transported to St. Charles Bend and then to the Deschutes County Jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary, first-degree disorderly conduct, first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree theft, reckless burning, and for a felony warrant.  

K9 Vinnie sustained minor injuries during the arrest. Bend Police thanks Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Bend Fire & Rescue for their assistance on this case.”

Claire Elmer is continuing to investigate the situation and will include updates as we receive them.

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Kelsey Merison

TUMALO, Ore. (KTVZ) — Here at KTVZ News, we focus our resources on bolstering the health and well-being of Central Oregon’s youth — through our 21 Cares for Kids partnerships. 

We have six incredible community partnerships and are now kicking off a new monthly segment called ‘Making a Difference,’ highlighting each of these nonprofit organizations. 

For our first feature, we took a trip out to Healing Reins — where lives are transformed through the power of horse therapy. 

A horse enjoying time in a pasture at Healing Reins

Hazel Quinn is an 11-year-old who was long searching for a place to assist with her physical therapy — until she discovered Healing Reins.

“I really like how my (physical) therapist helps me with the music aspect, especially with the rhythm,” Hazel said. “It really helps me know where my surroundings are.” 

Hazel with her little sister at Healing Reins

Hazel’s mom, Catie, said their lives have changed for the better, thanks to the equine-assisted services offered at the Tumalo ranch. 

“Hazel’s an extremely intelligent, smart kid, but has been delayed on gross motor skills,” Catie said. “It’s been, like, a huge blessing.” 

Catie, Hazel’s mom

Darrion Cotroneo is the development director at Healing Reins, and said the nonprofit assists many community members with varying needs. 

“Our mission statement is to heal with horses. And we do that in a number of different ways,” said Darrion. “We provide adaptive riding lessons. We have a ‘Heroes Horsemanship’ program, which is specifically for veterans and first responders. And then we offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, and we have an on-site mental health clinic.” 

Darrion Cotroneo

In turn, it receives immense support from the Central Oregon community. 

“We love any chance to meet our community members. If you’re interested in just taking a tour out here, I love giving tours. If you’re just interested in what we do and meeting some of the horses, you can absolutely sign up to volunteer. Once you take a volunteer orientation class, it’s very easy to sign up, and you can kind of do that whenever you like if you only have one free hour a week. That works for us,” Darrion said.

“And of course, funding for any nonprofit right now is more important than ever. And we are a small but mighty organization and utilize every single dollar to its fullest benefit. We had a huge donation to help us build our arena here. We also almost 200 volunteers who are active. It takes us about 100 volunteers at least a week… So, we have a huge amount of support, which is wonderful.”

It’s now working on an expansion at the site to help meet a growing need. 

“We are going to put a roof over our outdoor arena, which will allow us to more consistently utilize that throughout the year. We’ll be able to offer adaptive horsemanship classes in after school time slots. That will also enable us to hire another three to four physical and occupational therapists, as well as four to five mental health therapists. And this will almost double our capacity over time for seeing those clients, patients, and participants.” 

A new physical therapy gym and office spaces to accommodate the growth will also be added in the expansion.

Allowing the ranch to better serve those who rely on its services — like Hazel.

Hazel working with her physical therapy team at Healing Reins

“I think we figured out, like, what I need, because I feel like before it was just kind of hard because we didn’t know what I needed or what would help me,” Hazel said. 

Click here to learn more about 21 Cares for Kids. 

Click here to learn more about Healing Reins. 

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Harley Coldiron

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Central Oregon’s largest hospital for wildlife is encouraging hunters to change to non-lead ammunition, as they’ve treated over 85 animals for poisonings in the past 4 years, almost all of which passed away from the illness. But the cost, availability, and accuracy of the bullets are major hurdles for hunters.

Sally Compton, the executive director for Think Wild, says most poisonings come from eating the carcass of an animal killed by lead ammunition.

“As it permeates through their system, gets to their brain, gets to their internal organs, that’s when they start to really feel those symptoms,” she said.

When lead ammunition enters an animal, it usually splinters, sometimes up to 12 feet. When it does this, it infects the animal’s carcass with lead, which can sometimes lead to these poisonings.

During a visit to Think Wild, the Problem Solvers observed a routine test for the United State’s official bird, the bald eagle, whose recovering from lead poisoning. The results brought good news, but for most animals, this isn’t the case. “Usually, they pass away,” Compton told the Problem Solvers. 

Of the 85 animals brought to Think Wild for lead poisoning over the years, three of them have been bald eagles. Almost all died from the illness.

So why would hunters use lead?

Nathan Wismer, who owns a wood and steel company, says lead bullets are more lethal and make for a better shot. He said last time he went hunting he was able to bag a deer with just one shot.

Kenneth Brown, who founded Liberation Firearms training in Redmond, agrees, “At the end of the day, you’re just going to get a better shot. It’s going to travel more consistently,” Brown told the Problem Solvers.

The other reason… dollars and cents.  

Brown, who buys and sells ammunition regularly, says non-lead ammunition is always more expensive, sometimes costing up to 50% more. 

The Problem Solvers went to his gun range, where non-lead ammunition is used, so customers aren’t exposed to lead fragments.  

It’s similar to why Think Wild says lead bullets can contaminate carcasses.

“Lead is going to be harmful to the body. You know it just is. Non-leads not,” Brown said, “You’re inside of a shooting platform, inside of the bay, and I don’t want you to have a bunch of lead all over the place”. 

So what’s the solution to getting more hunters to make the switch? 

Most seemed to agree: getting that cost down, and raising awareness.

“Hunters are typically one of the greatest conservationists, like hunters love fish and wildlife,” Compton said. “So I think the more that we can educate and make accessible opportunities for not using lead, the better.”

Wismer, who hunts once a year, said, “If it became more affordable and you could buy them in bulk, yeah, I have no problem with it.” 

There is a group out of the Oregon Zoo called the North American Non-Lead Partnership. They raise awareness and educate hunters on the issue, but bringing down the cost is still a major hurdle 

States like New York have created incentives for non-lead ammunition, which is something Think Wild would like to see in Oregon. The Federal Fish and Wildlife Service also briefly had an incentive program.

The Problem Solvers have reached out to our federal representatives to see what, if anything, they may support.

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Barney Lerten

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Ayama, a golden eaglet widely viewed on the Golden Eagle Camera along Whychus Creek Canyon, flew off from his nest Wednesday evening as many online watched and cheered.

Jim Hammond of the East Cascades Bird Alliance said Ayama left around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday after a nesting season that began when the egg was laid in February

The East Cascades Bird Alliance supports the online nest camera, located on the property of Leslie Lawrence.

The camera, which has been in place for over 15 years, is located in the Deschutes Land Trust’s Aspen Hollow Preserve, and the project is supported by Yellowknife Wireless.

“This is the only live camera viewing a golden eagle nest outside of eastern Europe (as far as we know),” he said.

Hammond said while they don’t really know the gender of the eaglet, “we seem to be comfortable calling it a ‘he.'”

He said Ayama’s name is derived from a Native American word meaning “golden eagle.”

The now empty-nester parents, Petra and Rocky, have been using this nest for 12 or more years, Hammond said.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A court order in a lawsuit joined by the city of Bend keeps in place tens of millions of dollars for key projects, Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler told fellow councilors Wednesday evening.

Here’s the statement read by the mayor at the council meeting:

“Two weeks ago, the City joined 30 other local governments in a lawsuit to prevent certain federal agencies from imposing unlawful conditions on grants the City was awarded for critical infrastructure projects.

“Yesterday, we got our first win.  The court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the cities and counties.  The court concluded that imposition of the conditions at issue — which relate to immigration enforcement and diversity, equity, and inclusion — likely violates the Constitution and federal law. 

“What that means for Bend is that we can access over $43 million in funds for our airport and the planned Reed Market Overcrossing, without having to agree to conditions that the court said are likely unlawful and that may require us to violate State law, which restricts the use of local resources for federal immigration enforcement. 

“The goal of joining this effort, as I said a few weeks ago, is to complete these necessary safety-related projects as cost-effectively as possible. This lawsuit does that. 

“We are being represented in this case for free. And if we ultimately win, we will save Bend taxpayers millions of dollars by delivering these projects with federal funds, rather than looking to reallocate city dollars in an already tight budget.”

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Bend Police said Thursday they have yet to identify a suspect in an assault early Tuesday morning on the Bend campus of Central Oregon Community College.

Officers responded around 1 a.m. Tuesday to the reported assault on a 19-year-old woman who was struck on the head, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said. She was taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Miller told KTVZ News on Thursday that they have not been able to identify a suspect at this time. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to call Deschutes County non-emergency dispatch at 541-693-6911.

COCC officials sent this alert to staff and students by text and/or phone around 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday:

“COCC Alert: Early this morning, an individual was assaulted on the Bend Campus. The victim reported being struck over the head by an unknown assailant. The suspect fled and has not been identified. Local law enforcement is investigating. Anyone with information, please contact Bend Police Department at 541-693-6911.”

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