The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Deschutes County 9-1-1 is encouraging Deschutes Alerts-subscribers to update their contact information. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday), Deschutes Alerts will send a message to the 775 alert-subscribers who have specialized needs such as oxygen dependency or mobility challenges. Current subscribers who do not have additional needs will not receive the message.  Deschutes Alerts sends messages via phone, text and email, about emergencies such as natural disasters or endangered and missing people. Service areas include Deschutes County, Crooked River Ranch, and Camp Sherman. 

Staffing shortages are hitting many businesses right now in Central Oregon and the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSCO) can be added to the list. HSCO is closed today, 9/24/21, due to lack of staff. While the doors will be closed, staff will be on hand to take care of the animals.

Corrected from the a.m., on-air reports:

• For stray dog pickups, call non-emergency dispatch at (541) 693-6911. 
• For lost and found animals, call the shelter at (541) 382-3537 and leave a message, providing a description of the animal, the area lost and contact information.

A Redmond elementary school teacher is keeping her job despite her refusal to wear a mask. Last night, Superintendent Charan Cline led a termination hearing for fourth grade Terrebonne Community School teacher Tori Caudell who refuses to wear a mask. The rule adopted by the Oregon Health Authority at the direction of the Governor is that all staff and students wear face masks at school. Cline stated the school district has 184 students currently in quarantine. Caudell argued that mandating masks infringes on her safety and her liberty. After statements, the board voted 3-to-2 to not approve the termination. Caudell is still not allowed in a school building without wearing a mask and the issue will now go back to the district as a matter of operations and not personnel. For more information:  Redmond School Board; Superintendent Charan Cline, Ed.D 

The Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory is just one week away from completing a $500,000 observatory expansion. Astronomy fans will enjoy six new telescopes, one of which shows solar prominence around the sun. Both nature and astronomy lovers can see the new additions and explore the center at the annual fall open house, tomorrow, 9/18/21. Admission is free for the entire day. Programming is offered from 10 to 3 and will include talks and demonstrations about meteorites, volcanoes, telescopes, rocket launches, eagles beavers, and beekeeping. Reserve tickets online.

According to the City of Bend, there are about 1,000 people who are experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon on any given night. City Manager Eric King says the unsafe conditions in many homeless camps prompted the creation of "outdoor shelters" to provide safe parking areas. He says Council would like to provide more options for the homeless and has directed staff to search for any suitable city owned property. These plans are modeled after successful programs in other cities in Oregon. Listen to the entire Your Town interview.

The Humane Society of Central Oregon has been forced to close the Bend Spay and Neuter Clinic for an extended period of time due to a staff shortage. Today is the clinic’s last day for services.  The Humane Society of Central Oregon’s Community Cat Program will continue, which traps and alters feral or community cats and places them back in the area they came from.  Last year the program altered over 800 cats. 

Six Oregonians represented by the Freedom Foundation have sued Gov. Brown and the Oregon Health Authority over the Governor’s recent order to fire employees who have declined to get vaccinated by the government’s arbitrarily set deadline.  The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, and names Gov. Kate Brown and OHA Director Patrick Allen as defendants. All six plaintiffs have previously had Covid and have natural anti-bodies to the virus.

The Forest Service will be waiving fees at day-use recreation sites in Oregon on Saturday, September 25^th, which is National Public Lands Day.  Additionally, fees will be waived on Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11^th.  The fee waiver includes many picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads, and visitor centers.  Fees for camping, cabin rentals, or other permits will still apply.  The fee-free days are offered by the Forest Service each year to encourage exploration of the outdoors and a visit to public lands in the state.

Covid concerns have prompted the closing of the Crooked River Ranch Golf Course until Friday.  One of the workers tested positive for the virus.  The golf course and pro shop will be undergoing a deep clean this week.  Guests who may have come in contact with the staffer have been notified.  The course will open over the weekend but will be closed next Monday through Wednesday (Sept 13-15) because of staffing issues.

Deschutes County is putting together a new Cannabis Advisory panel and is seeking members of the community who want to be on it.  The panel will make recommendations to the County Board of Commissioners on the use of marijuana tax revenue, public safety measures related to marijuana use and marijuana entities in the county, and issues presented by marijuana growing, processing, wholesaling, and distributing in unincorporated parts of the county.  The panel will meet quarterly beginning in October.  You can apply to be on the panel online until September 13th at “Deschutes-dot-org”.

(Bend, OR)  --  An investigation is ongoing into a two-vehicle crash that killed a 56-year-old Seaside man and seriously injured a 46-year-old Lyons woman near Bend.  Oregon State Police say the crash happened just after 1 a.m. yesterday on Highway 97 at Vandervert Road when the woman failed to yield when turning onto the highway and T-boned a commercial vehicle, which caught fire.  The woman was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries while her passenger Robert Owens was killed.  The driver of the commercial vehicle was not injured.
 

A man from Redmond is asking his friends, neighbors, and community residents to donate school backpacks for the coming academic year.  Brandon Graves has already collected a couple dozen backpacks with a goal of hitting 50.  He’s also collecting pens, pencils, glue sticks, colored pencils, and paper.  He’ll be holding a school backpack drive at Sam Johnson Park from 9 to noon on Saturday if you want to donate then, but you can donate monetarily between now and then through “Brandon’s Back Pack Drive” on Facebook. 

Schools throughout Deschutes County and the rest of Oregon can now register to get their students and staff tested for Covid 19 through the Oregon Health Authority.  Schools that are interested in participating have to register for the programs for this fall even if they participated in the testing last year.  The OHA testing options include rapid testing kits and mail-in weekly screenings that can be done at home.