Community Journalism

Sisters Food Bank, run by the Kiwanis Club of Sisters, was bustling on a cold Thursday morning as people waited for their food orders.

The Bend-La Pine education center, also known as Bend Union High and Cascade Junior High, turned 100 years old Sept. 7. The building now holds administrative offices for the district, but is still a well-known spot in the middle of downtown.

When Ashily Von Hurst finishes a full day as a school counselor at Crook County Middle School, she heads to OSU-Cascades for evening classes to complete her master’s degree in school counseling. But a looming loss of federal funding has put that goal and the future of the program that supports her in jeopardy.

Mourners gathered in the Bend High gym bleachers Saturday afternoon, ready to honor Bradley Hughes: a friend, brother, student, cousin, coworker and athlete. The family requested a moment of silence to start the memorial. Taylor Swift’s song “Shake It Off” broke it almost immediately. Bradley Hughes’ friends and family rose to dance.

Redmond High School’s aging HVAC system will get $3.5 million worth of desperately needed repairs this summer as the school district wraps up projects paid for with the $27.5 million bond measure passed in 2020. Repairs to the 50-year-old system, which begins with new fans, will take over a year to complete.

The Bend-La Pine elementary school teacher was bleeding. One of her students had stabbed her arm with a pencil in a classroom she described as often out of control. Chairs have been thrown, desks overturned, and once a student darted out of the room, scaled a nearby fence and disappeared.