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Central Oregonian
Repairing riparian habitat in Crook County
The Ochoco Preserve property isn’t hard to spot as you drive down Madras Highway, but people who don’t know about the project might wonder what they’re seeing. Heavy machinery is moving large amounts of dirt around, forming channels through which water bodies flow with no apparent pattern or plan. But all of the changes have a purpose and have been carefully calculated with the goal of improving riparian health on the property. ...
BACK IN TIME - 1974: State health officials step in to help with local hepatitis epidemic
110 years ago July 9, 1914 Prineville’s big celebration has passed into history and with it many glad memories of the occasion, for never did this town give a more cordial welcome nor care better for her guests. One the morning of the Fourth, streets leading into town were thronged with visitors who were eager...
Hay, horses, and the new Central Oregon OSU Extension agronomist
I have big shoes to fill here in the Crook County Extension office. I started about a year ago as the new Central Oregon Extension Agronomist, and the learning curve has been steep as I understand the unique aspects of this part of the world. I certainly have big shoes to fill following Mylen Bohle’s 30+ year career with the Extension Service. I’m just at the tip of the iceberg in sorting out what projects to work on and how to be useful to our farming community (and I am so thankful Mylen will still take my calls). ...
Our TV picks for Thursday, July 4: 2024 Copa America; Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; A Capitol Fourth 2024
2024 Copa America KPTV 6 p.m. The cream always rises to the top as the best of Copa America have reached the quarterfinals. The United States hosts the tournament at NRG Stadium in Houston. Which teams will advance to the semifinals, hoping to earn a trip to the final? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ...
OPINION: Oregon patients, pharmacies suffering at hands of pharmacy benefit managers
The recent article appearing on the Portland Tribune, “Oregon second worst in the nation for retail pharmacy access, new analysis finds” along with in-depth articles from outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal all drive home a hard truth: Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), profit-driven middlemen who negotiate drug prices between manufacturers, health insurance plans and pharmacies, are bad for the country and bad for Oregon. Not only are they driving up prescription drug costs, but they could make community pharmacies extinct in...
Exploring Portland middle housing at the NW Natural Street of Dreams
Today, many Oregonians face high housing costs because the supply of diverse housing is so low. For a variety of reasons, the construction of more traditional housing types like single-family homes and apartment complexes has remained the primary form for any new housing built in the last several decades. However, given the growing housing crisis, Oregon became the first state in the nation to re-legalize another form of housing, often called “Missing Middle Housing.” ...
Oregon Democrats join 40 federal lawmakers urging rehearing on landmark youth climate case
More than three dozen Congressional Democrats, led by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, are hoping to help revive a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. government by 21 young Americans — including 11 Oregonians — over continued federal support for fossil fuel production and a failure to urgently mitigate the worst effects of climate change, violating the plaintiffs’ right to a livable environment. The case, Juliana v. United States, was first filed in the U.S. District Court in Eugene nearly 10 years ago. At the time, the...
Readers Respond: "Light fireworks responsibly"
It’s fireworks week in Oregon—exciting! But with the rising heat, Oregonians must remember to keep fireworks safe this year. Your Oregon News asked readers about their fireworks usage habits, and whether they support stricter regulations. Here’s what you said. About 85% of reader respondents said they support stricter regulations on the sale and use of fireworks in Oregon, in order to reduce wildfire risks. About 7% said they are neutral...
Anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim acts spur surge in reported hate incidents in Oregon
Hateful acts directed at Oregonians because of their religion drove an increase in reported bias-related crimes and non-criminal incidents over the past year, according to a report released Monday, July 1, by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Oregonians in 2023 reported nearly 3,000 incidents of bias to a confidential state hotline, and about 20% of those incidents were related to the victim’s religion -- most targeted at Jewish people. As it has since the commission began collecting data in 2020, race remains the largest motivating...
Happy Healthy Hearts is here to help you pay for Crook County parks programs
Summer is well under way, and the cost to participate in activities keeps adding up, including signing your family up for recreation or sports/athletics programming. Did you know that the Crook County Parks and Recreation Foundation offers a Happy Healthy Hearts scholarship program? This program offers financial assistance for individuals of all ages and families who are unable to afford to participate, up to $75 toward one program per individual per season. Any individual or family that is facing difficult financial circumstances that inhibit them...
Letters to the editor
Yes, good news sources are getting harder to find Larry Ulrich in his letter to editor of June 18 makes a good point that what we think we know about vaccines (or anything else for that matter) depends on where we get our news. And where to get trustworthy news has become a huge problem for us citizens. After living through those three years of daily Trump/Russia Collusion “news,” which...
Wyden town hall in Prineville covers water contamination, forest management and more
Sen. Ron Wyden dove into a Prineville groundwater contamination issue and addressed forest management, homelessness and more at a recent Crook County town hall. About 40 people attended the session, held late last month in the Crook County Middle School cafeteria. Like many past sessions, the town hall began with an explanation of the ground rules – audience members getting chosen by random ticket drawing to ask questions – followed by a few brief words from Wyden before he began taking questions. ...
Our TV picks for Wednesday, July 3: The Price Is Right; MasterChef; Reginald the Vampire
The Price Is Right KOIN 8 p.m. Celebrating active-duty military, veterans and their families, this Fourth of July special episode welcomes The Band of The Golden West from Sacramento, Calif., performing with airmen-musicians under the command of Lt. Col. Cristina Moore Urrutia. MasterChef ...
Democrats back cities limiting camping on public property
At least two Democrats say they want to revisit a 2021 law requiring Oregon cities to adopt “objectively reasonable” standards when they regulate the place, time and manner of camping on public property. The calls by Rep. Paul Evans of Monmouth and Sen. Mark Meek of Gladstone echo those made by the Republican minority leaders in the House and Senate on Friday. All did so after the U.S. Supreme Court...
Oregon expands free Medicaid health insurance to tens of thousands more people
After two years of planning, Oregon is officially expanding its Medicaid program to provide tens of thousands of more people access to the free health insurance program. The Oregon Health Authority announced on Monday, July 1, the launch of its OHP Bridge Plan to those who earn more than the federal limits for traditional Medicaid. The Oregon Health Plan, the state’s version of Medicaid, currently covers 1.4 million Oregonians who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or nearly $21,000 per year for...
OPINION: She started with vaping. He started with vaping. They started with vaping.
Vaping has affected many in my life, and I’ve seen how it alters the lives of my peers and cuts off the path to a healthy future. I’ve seen them at school, seen how their behaviors change, their grades change and their spirit changes. What I haven’t seen — or what I can’t see — is the irreversible damage to their minds, heart and lungs that e-cigarettes cause. I especially can’t see or feel the cancer and sickness inside their chests, ready to take over...
Prineville man dies in vehicle collision east of Redmond
A Prineville man died in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 126 near Redmond. The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, June 28, near milepost 6. According to an Oregon State Police (OSP) report, a preliminary investigation determined that a westbound Honda Civic, operated by 24-year-old Humberto Ruiz Vargas of Prineville, drifted off the side of the roadway with the passenger side tires entering the gravel shoulder as it negotiated a left- hand curve. The Honda overcorrected and crossed the centerline into the eastbound lane...
State council proposes new literacy requirements for teacher training and licensing
Oregon teacher colleges, plus future and current teachers hoping to get hired at public elementary schools in the state soon could be required to demonstrate a much more robust understanding of how to teach reading and writing than is currently required. Gov. Tina Kotek’s Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council — made up of K-12 and staff from Oregon teacher colleges, as well as literacy experts, an indigenous language expert and bipartisan state legislators — shared its final recommendations last week for overhauling literacy training for...
Crook County Seniors win state championship
The Crook County Seniors youth baseball team won the state championship Sunday, June 30, and has advanced to the Western Regionals, which will be held July 17-23 in Oakland, California. Crook County defeated Del Norte, California, 9-5 Sunday afternoon in Madras to win the Oregon State Championship. The two teams had met in the championship game a year ago, but the results were reversed. “This feels amazing," said starting first...
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Central Oregonian serves Crook County. It is a member publication of Pamplin Media Group and is published weekly.
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