Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
Redmond Spokesman · Redmond, OR
Nearby: Redmond, ORVeterans and volunteers placed over 1,600 American flags across Redmond this Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Redmond School District Superintendent Charan Cline, a veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne Division and as a long-range surveillance unit for the Seventh Corps during the Gulf War, placed flags along Highland Avenue with his wife and city housing program analyst Linda Cline and volunteers from the Deschutes County 4-H program. Other volunteers with Redmond’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program were placing flags near Centennial Park in downtown. This was the last flag placing of 2026 and Flag City USA’s 35th year. Flag City USA, also known as ad-hoc group Redmond Downtown Flag Committee, has been placing full size American flags with monogrammed names on the hems throughout the city on national holidays, like Memorial Day, Flag Day and the Fourth of July, since 1991. The group’s work is all based on community support. Cline was trained as a sniper.
Redmond Spokesman · Redmond, OR
Nearby: Redmond, ORExplore themes of love and loss in a remote, mystical town at Redmond Proficiency Academy’s production of “Almost, Maine.” With shows Thursday through Saturday this weekend, the student theater production is playing at the McClay Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Redmond. It’s based on John Cariani’s 2004 romantic comedy made up of nine short plays. Showtimes are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students. The Saturday show is sold out.
Redmond Spokesman · Redmond, OR
Nearby: Redmond, ORThe Spokesman will update items in the police log when such a request is received. Any new information, such as the dismissal of charges or acquittal, must be verifiable. Arrests Monday, Nov. 2 12:10 a.m. 1200 block SW Highland Ave. Alexia Ocampos Robles, 21, Redmond. Charges: Disorderly conduct II and improper use of 911. 2:05 a.m. 2500 block NW 10th St. Madelene Bartosz, 20, La Pine. Charges: Probation/parole violation — misdemeanor. 4:11 p.m. 900 block SW Emkay Drive. Sophia Krawski, 23, Redmond. Charges: Telephonic harassment. 4:59 p.m. 1700 block S. Highway 97. Patrick Morris, 43, Redmond. Charges: Disorderly conduct II, escape III, false info to police — criminal, interfere with police officer, warrant arrest — in state and warrant arrest — out of state. 7:34 p.m. 4600 block SW 37th St. Breezy Pinkerton, 36, Redmond. Charges: Child neglect II. 7:34 p.m. 4600 block SW 37th St. Jason Wick, 44, Redmond. Charges: Child neglect II. 9:59 p.m.
Central Oregonian · Redmond, OR
Nearby: Redmond, ORMothers from Redmond, Madras, Terrebonne form nonprofit, continue work reaching out to others who face suicide loss A year after Julie Leutschaft’s son, Kiefer, died by suicide in 2021 she attended the funeral of another 26-year-old, Tegan. Someone close to the family had reached out to Leutschaft following Tegan’s death. Leutschaft asked if she could attend the graveside funeral. “When that happens to your family, it’s cataclysmic,” Leutschaft said. “You don’t know where to turn. You feel very alone. You don’t even know that there are resources out there.” After some time passed, Leutschaft, who lives in Redmond, reached out to Tegan’s mother Mary Jo Brunner, of Madras, with encouraging words and told her to give herself grace. She also welcomed Brunner to join her grief group at St. Charles Redmond. Six months earlier, Leutschaft had received a call from a mother who had also lost a 26-year-old daughter to suicide. Having both worked for St.
Source Weekly · Bend, OR
Nearby: Bend, ORRecorded 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
Nearby: Bend, ORSilver 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
Nearby: Bend, ORA 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
Nearby: Bend, ORHave 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 Medical 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 Medical and the Bend schools.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Nearby: Bend, ORWhen 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
Nearby: Bend, ORBend’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
Nearby: Bend, ORA 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
Nearby: Bend, ORWalk 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
Nearby: Bend, ORLast 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
Nearby: Bend, ORImprovements 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
Nearby: Bend, ORBend’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
Nearby: Bend, ORSchools 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
Nearby: Bend, ORDeschutes 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
Nearby: Bend, ORBend 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
Nearby: Bend, ORSometimes 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
Nearby: Bend, ORSt. 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
Nearby: Bend, ORJune 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.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Nearby: Bend, ORCentral Oregon Community College invites students, staff and community members to help shape the future of its campuses by providing feedback on its facilities master plan at a presentation on Monday, Nov. 16 from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom and at the Bend campus’s Wille Hall. The 2028-38 plan will guide future needs and improvements for the college’s facilities. The public will have a chance to ask questions, review draft planning scenarios and share feedback. The presentation will be led by Mahlum Architects Inc., who designed COCC’s Wickiup Residence Hall. No registration is required.
The Bulletin · Bend, OR
Nearby: Bend, ORIraq War veteran Rob Walker’s nickname during his seven-year stint in the U.S. Army was “Easy.” He tried his best to keep a calm demeanor, even in hectic situations, and his fellow soldiers picked up on that. Now home in Bend, Walker has carried that same calm into his new role as a stay-at-home dad of a disabled child. “It really prepared me to be a dad,” Walker said of serving in the military. “When there’s total chaos in the house, I’m usually the calm one.” Walker comes from a long family line of military veterans. His mother was in the Women’s Army Corps and his father in the Air Force, his sister joined the National Guard and his uncle was a Chief Warrant Officer in the Army. He has relatives that trace back their service to the Civil War. Walker enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 when he was 18. He said it felt like the right thing to do. Throughout his seven years in the service, Walker served as a U.S.
