The Bulletin · Bend, OR
“It is not acceptable for parents to wait at Reunification for hours to be told their student was injured (or is perfectly safe but delayed because law enforcement is interviewing them).” That’s a quote from a version of the manual Bend-La Pine Schools uses to guide how to reunify parents and their children after an incident at a school. Some parents of children at the Oct. 15 Bend school shooting did have to wait for many hours at Journey Church to know that their children were safe. The district made the decision to wait to tell them. Parents have every right to be angry, upset or frustrated about that decision. It is hard to say the district got it wrong. Scott Bojanowski, the district’s director of safety, said at Tuesday’s school board meeting he went back and forth in his head about making an announcement to those waiting: “’Everybody that’s here, you are going home with your child tonight.’ I decided not to do that.” There’s an understandable reason why.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
A blast of wintry weather is expected to hit Central Oregon in several rounds over the coming days, bringing a mix of snow at higher elevations and rain across the High Desert. Wet weather is expected over the weekend in Bend and surrounding areas with snow accumulations in some areas late on Tuesday and into Wednesday. “We are seeing a train of systems coming through,” said Brandon Lawhorn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton. Skiers and snowboarders hoping for substantial amounts of snow, however, will have to wait. Snowfall is expected to be around eight inches at higher elevations, forecasters say. In the valleys it could be little more than a dusting. The first system is expected to bring cloudy skies, breezy conditions and scattered showers over the weekend. While temperatures will remain too warm for snow accumulation in Bend, Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters could see some snow on Sunday.
Source Weekly · Bend, OR
Every so often, a community gets a real chance to shape what it becomes. This is one of those moments. The City of Bend has launched the Bend Made Survey, and what you share will help set the City’s priorities and guide its decisions for the next 20-30+ years. The roads we travel, the neighborhoods we build, the way we grow: your voice can help shape all of it. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to weigh in. How Bend Made and Envision Bend fit together You may be wondering how this connects to the work we’ve been doing together. The short answer: these are two different efforts that work best side by side. Bend Made is a planning process required by the State of Oregon. It gives the City a framework to set priorities, meet state requirements, and move key initiatives forward, and it’s your direct line to the people making those decisions. The Envision Bend Vision Action Plan grew out of a community-driven visioning process.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
At the direction of Bend City Council, city staff will design a future upgrade for the roundabout that connects Bond Street, Reed Market Road and Brookswood Boulevard with a new lane to reduce congestion. A right-turn only lane would be added to Reed Market Road entrances and exits while Bond and Brookswood traffic would have two lanes available to navigate the roundabout. Councilors were also interested in methods to slow people down as they go into the roundabout, either by raising it above street level or other method. The upgrades would serve for about 15 years before more traffic would require additional improvements, said staff. The cost has not been determined yet, but the project has a $7.25 million budget paid for by the capital improvement program. The roundabout was first built in 2003. The intention of the upgrade is to improve traffic flow and flexibility for emergency evacuation. Construction would begin next year and wrap up in 2028.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
No gun law will stop a committed shooter. What gun laws can do is make it more difficult and/or more expensive for a person to get a gun and use it to kill others or themselves. After the school shooting in Bend on Oct. 15, we are sure many Oregonians and state legislators are reflecting on gun laws and wondering what if any changes would be appropriate. We emailed on Wednesday three Bend legislators — state Sen. Anthony Broadman and state Reps. Jason Kropf and Emerson Levy — asking if they knew of any such effort in the Legislature. Levy believed there might be some effort on gun safe storage requirements, but she didn’t know for sure. Broadman and Kropf did not get back to us by our Friday morning deadline. There are, though, many possibilities. For instance, Oregon does not have any specific taxes on guns or ammunition. The federal government does. Bills were introduced in several states earlier this year to add new taxes specifically on guns and ammo.
Forest Grove News Times · Bend, OR
Silver Rail Elementary students walked back into school Thursday, Nov. 13, for the first time since a Bend teen killed students and a teacher on Oct. 15. Children walked, biked or were driven in by parents or bus on a bright fall day. Bend Police officers were on campus, and school staff welcomed students back. A chain-link fence next to the front entrance was covered in red and purple fabric hearts, one for each student to carry with them. The trees at Stone Creek Park across the street had sparkly purple ribbon wrapped around their trunks. Families felt strongly about returning to a site where many had traumatic memories. “My daughter is excited to go back, but my wife and I still have some feelings of uncertainty surrounding how things are going to go,” said Ian Inman, parent of a 6-year-old Silver Rail student. “Ultimately, though, we are ready for her to go back, too.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Stubbornly high mortgage rates are keeping some Bend homebuyers on the sidelines, slowing sales and keeping prices within a narrow band. The median price for a home in Bend is $728,000, according to the latest Beacon real estate report. The price is unchanged from the previous month and down by around 6% compared to a year ago and a 9% decline compared to the same month two years ago. Home sales in October also dropped to 137 in October compared to 162 sales a year ago. In September, Bend notched 155 home sales. Shane Cass, a broker with Keller Williams Central Oregon, says borrowing costs of over 7% interest has helped cool the real estate market and pushed prospective buyers to the sidelines. “The main reason we’re seeing those pending sales drop so dramatically I think this year over other years is because of interest rates and general buyer sentiment around high rates and affordability,” said Cass.
Source Weekly · Bend, OR
Recorded live at The Coyote in Bend, this Veterans Day edition of Nighttime Benders brings comedians Jamon Jamison, Pat C (USMC), and Jon Brown (USAF) to the stage for a spirited round of audience-suggested hot topics. The panel tackles Bend’s seemingly endless dog population, the state of public education, modern dating, and the enduring mysteries of pillow talk. Host Julia Reed Nichols also sits down with Jo Ellis, an Army veteran, former Black Hawk pilot, and Austin-based comedian. Ellis shares the remarkable story of how the U.S. government spent more than a million dollars training her to fly Black Hawks, only to end her military career under the Trump administration’s transgender military ban. Rather than retreat, Ellis found a new mission in stand-up comedy. She talks about the policy that changed the course of her life, the unexpected online firestorm that followed, and why she relocated to Austin to tell her story on some of the country’s biggest comedy stages.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Silver Rail Elementary students walked back into school Thursday for the first time since a Bend teen killed students and a teacher on Oct. 15. Children walked, biked or were driven in by parents or bus on a bright fall day. Bend Police officers were on campus, and school staff welcomed students back. A chain-link fence next to the front entrance was covered in red and purple fabric hearts, one for each student to carry with them. The trees at Stone Creek Park across the street had sparkly purple ribbon wrapped around their trunks. Families felt strongly about returning to a site where many had traumatic memories. “My daughter is excited to go back, but my wife and I still have some feelings of uncertainty surrounding how things are going to go,” said Ian Inman, parent of a 6-year-old Silver Rail student. “Ultimately, though, we are ready for her to go back, too. It’s what she wants.” He and his wife have had several conversations with their daughter about everything that’s happened.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
A German-style pub in Bend’s westside will celebrate its final night Sunday, Dec. 6, before closing. After five years of Prost! Bend slinging schnitzel and Bavarian pretzels, owners Dan Hart and Chris Navarra announced the restaurant and beer hall would close. Hart told the Bulletin the pub is closing because it wasn’t financially sustainable. “We had to make a very tough decision to close it down. It’s not something that we wanted to do,” Hart said. “I wanted that bar to live forever and be a part of the Bend community, but at this point, it just didn’t math out.” He said that business has continued to struggle since after the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other restaurants and breweries, Prost! also faced a slow winter last year as Mt. Bachelor’s poor snow conditions deterred tourists. “It’s a struggling economy in Bend, Portland and nationwide with what we try to do,” Hart said. “Last winter was a bad, bad winter. That’s where we hopefully get to see a boom, and it didn’t pan out.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Have a gun? Lock it up. Keep it safe. It’s the law in Oregon. It’s a good idea to keep the ammunition in a different place, as well. About half the states in the country are similar to Oregon and have the legal requirement that guns must be stored safely. There are trigger locks, cable locks, gun safes. The great thing in the Bend area is you can get gun locks for free. Many other places also give them away. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has given them away. Mosaic Community Health does. Walk in to the Bend Police Department, ask at the front desk and they will give you one. Even the Bend-La Pine Schools will give you one for free, as Steve Cook, superintendent of the Bend schools, said last week. Go to the reception desk at the district’s Education Center, 520 Northwest Wall St. That’s the administration building across from the library downtown. Central Oregon Gun Safety Advocates donated the recent batches to Mosaic and Bend schools.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
When Peter Fox reflects on his life, certain moments stand out. Most of them involve rafting some of the most intense whitewater rivers on the planet. “These were extremely vivid events in my life,” said Fox, 72, who has lived in Bend since 2015. “I forget most of my life,” he added jokingly, “but I remember these things very vividly.” Those clear memories and a well-researched dive into whitewater rafting history are the basis for Fox’s new book, “Let the Water Do the Work,” a project that took Fox 10 years. The book is part memoir, part history lesson, and a fascinating read for anybody who loves outdoor adventure. “It was a labor of love, of my love for whitewater, all things whitewater rowing, and running rivers,” Fox said of the book. “It grew out of my own curiosity for the subject and the desire to write down some of my own experiences and learn about the bigger-than-life characters that kind of wrote the history of whitewater rowing.” On Nov.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Bend’s south end Starbucks is closed until further notice after a car crashed into the building Tuesday morning. At around 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, Bend police confirmed they received a report of an elderly driver who had confused the gas for the brake. There were no injuries to any person, including the driver. A sign on its door reads Starbucks is working to reopen the store on 61470 S Hwy 97 across from Fred Meyer “as quickly as possible.” Construction workers repairing the storefront Wednesday morning said the car slammed into an exterior wall and broke its wooden framing, pushing it into the store and blocking access to the men’s bathroom.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
A new snowboard and skate shop will open in Bend on Saturday, in the wake of Tactics Board Shop’s closure in late September. Owners and Bend locals Marcel Dolak and Andrew Kimmell said they moved quickly to fill the gap left by the longtime shop. “We’ve both been long time snowboarders, skateboarders, surfers, and when we heard about Tactics going out, we jumped to action right away,” Dolak said. “The community needs it so bad, and we felt like there was such a hole. We saw the sadness when Tactics closed so we just said, ‘There’s no way, and we gotta make it happen.’” Obsidian Board Shop is located at 345 SW Century Drive, Suite 100, the former Skjersaa’s Ski & Snowboard Shop across from Bend’s westside Safeway. The all-season board shop will focus on snowboarding in the winter and stock skate and surf products in the spring. Obsidian will provide rental snowboards and equipment for all levels and offer tuning and repair services.
Source Weekly · Bend, OR
Walk into School of Rock in Bend on any given weekday, and you’ll hear bands jamming to “Creep” by Radiohead, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana or “Zombie” by The Cranberries. The band members range from “still losing baby teeth” to “taking the SATs,” but they have one thing in common: They love to rock. Zander MacQueen, 9, began drumming much like many of his instructors did: as a rhythm-obsessed toddler, using whatever makeshift drumsticks he could find to tap out beats before he could even talk. “Zander was always made to drum!” said his mom, Cassie MacQueen. “I knew there was something special when we were on a camping trip and he picked up another ‘stick’ because what he was drumming with didn’t sound right.” Zander and many other young musicians have found a home at School of Rock, which offers weekly small-group classes for children as young as four, private lessons and group rehearsals starting around age eight and programs for adults, too.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Last week, I reminisced about the 25th anniversary of my family’s move to Bend, where I began working at The Bulletin in 2001. Maybe reminiscing is shameless sentimentality, but on the other hand, the need to share stories is one of the most basic of human things, right? And you don’t get much more basic than me and my compulsion to make noises with my mouth — or, in print (and online!). The point is, unspooling memories last week pitted me against this column’s space constraints, and so I barely mentioned my journalism peers or the newsroom of 25 years ago. Let’s remedy that. Throughout my career, including my six years at a Florida paper, I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredibly smart and dedicated journalists. If you were to generalize about print (and online!) journalists, it’s that they are more often than not intelligent, skeptical, cynical, creative, humorous and good with words.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Improvements that may make Bend schools more secure are going to cost money. Higher fences, increased hardening of entries, metal detectors, cameras, more school resource officers, more counselors — they would all cost the district money. Now, maybe Bend schools will get some additional funding from federal grants it is applying for. Maybe the Legislature’s emergency board will give Bend schools what Gov. Tina Kotek requested: $10 million. Maybe legislators will funnel additional state money to Bend schools — and all schools — in the next legislative session. There are other ways to give right now. The district has a Silver Rail Recovery Fund. The district’s education foundation has a Silver Rail Support Fund. The Oregon Community Foundation has a rapid response fund and there is a Silver Rail PTO fund. There is more information here: www.blschools.org/news/silver-rail-community-information-hub.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Bend’s westside residents will soon have a new place to buy local food when Central Oregon Locavore opens its second grocery store in Discovery West next week. Locavore will host a grand opening starting at 9:30 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting and will open the store at 10 a.m on Thursday, Nov. 19. The first 100 shoppers will receive prizes and local farmers, ranchers and producers will offer samples. Locavore opened its first nonprofit grocery store in 2013 and moved to its current NE Third Street location 10 years ago, improving local food access for consumers and helping local farmers sell year-round. The Discovery West location at 1135 NW Ochoa Drive, Suite 100, marks the nonprofit’s second store. From a survey last year, Locavore found producers need more stable, year-round sales while customers need better access to local food. “This isn’t just about opening another store.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Schools need more security I am a Silver Rail mom who attended the community engagement meeting. School security came up often because what is offered just isn’t enough — one school resource officer dedicated to Silver Rail. As welcomed as that is, we all know we need at least two or more per school. But what is more, as much as I appreciate efforts towards school security, I feel angry that schools are expected to pay for it. I learned that there was a $250 million bond that we passed, which went towards replacing the 3,000+ doors with locks you can see from the inside. That money could have gone towards special education, more money for teachers and improving education for our children. Locks also did not stop the shooter. The gun industry has been relentless in stopping legislation that makes communities safer from their products. Measure 114 has been held up in court since it passed on the Oregon ballot in 2022. Let’s make the gun industry pay for our school security.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Deschutes County Behavioral Health has established a dedicated phone line for Silver Rail students, staff and families seeking mental health support. The Silver Rail phone line, which is 541-585-5580, is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding holidays. Other community members who are seeking mental health support or help finding treatment can call Deschutes County Behavioral Health at its main line. The Deschutes County Stabilization Center also offers walk-in behavioral support for children and adults. The center, located on Jamison Street in Bend, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and no appointment is necessary.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Bend High was trying to reach its first boys soccer state title game in 20 years. But the two-time defending state champions stopped the Lava Bears in their tracks. No. 7 La Salle defeated No. 3 Bend 2-1 in a Class 5A state semifinal match at 15th Street Field in Bend on Tuesday. “I felt like it was a pretty even game,” said Bend senior Ben Costa. “It just didn’t fall our way.” La Salle (12-5-1) will take on No. 1 Summit in the 5A championship match at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium, going for its third straight state title. Tim Scherler scored for La Salle in the 36th minute for a 1-0 lead. The match appeared destined for overtime after Costa scored the equalizing goal in the 45th minute on a penalty kick. But in the match’s closing minutes, La Salle delivered the knockout blow.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Sometimes as a lover of live music, there are rooms you want to get into — concerts you want to see, performances you want to be a part of, experiences you want to experience. What I mean by that is this: There are shows every week in this town, and you can go to them and have a good time. Totally valid! You should do that regularly. But then there are times when none other than Arturo Sandoval comes to Bend to play his trumpet in the cozy basement of a hotel in downtown Bend, and if you have a ticket, you can go there and watch him play from, like, 20 feet away. That’s a room you want to get into. You don’t have many opportunities in life to watch a musician like Sandoval in a space this intimate. We’re talking about a man who learned from Dizzy Gillespie, who has won 10 Grammy awards and who is widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
St. Charles Bend Emergency Department opened its new rapid medical evaluation unit in Bend on Monday, adding enough space to treat 12 more patients. St. Charles Health System had 107,558 emergency room visits across Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville in the last year, up 7.7% from 2023. In 2025, nearly half of those visits — 53,411 emergency room patients — were in Bend. By 2043 the health system projects that there will be more than 75,000 annual visits to the Bend emergency department, the only Level II trauma center east of the Cascades. “Our Central Oregon community continues to grow at a rapid pace,” said Stacy Youngs, Vice President of Operations for the Bend hospital campus. “Our Emergency Department is often full, which can sometimes mean long waits for care or treatment in creative spaces like hallways, which is not ideal.
The Ithaca Voice · Bend, OR
June Hopps Pollack June Hopps Pollack, 93, of Ithaca, died peacefully on October 25, 2026, in Bend, Oregon. She had her family around her and a kitty cat on her bed. June was born July 24, 1933, in New York City, the daughter of Stewart and Jean Ferguson Hopps. She was independent and adventurous from the start. At ten, June went to live with the artist Arthur Kaufmann and his wife Elizabeth, who became her surrogate family. June attended Smith College and Columbia University. She also studied and taught classical piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. She married Bob Appleton, an Episcopalian minister, and had a daughter, Betsy, in 1963. That marriage lasted only a few years. In 1967, she met Dennis Pollack. June and Dennis moved with Betsy to Danby, New York, where they bought a piece of undeveloped land. They built their own house and barn, learning as they went. They gathered animals nobody else wanted.