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Smoke hung thick in the air this morning around Bend, to a level deemed by the state as unhealthy for sensitive groups.While there were no prescribed burns on the Deschutes National Forest, firefighters today were burning piles of thinned wood south of town near Crescent, said Lauren Miller, fire and fuels planner for the forest.

Bank of the Cascades will likely have to close branches next year after its parent company acquires Idaho-based Home Federal Bank, a company official said Wednesday during a conference call.Terry Zink, bank president and CEO, said the Home Federal purchase, expected to be finalized by late March, would leave 50 percent of Bank of the Cascades’ branches within one half-mile of another branch.

City of Bend• Sage Builders LLC, 2458 N. W. Crossing Drive, $204,276• Tennbrook Financing LLC, 62794 N. W. Imbler Drive, $265,901• Bend Area Habitat for Humanity, 2881 N. E. Aldrich Ave., $139,764• FC Fund LLC, 2970 N. E. Dogwood Drive, $224,537• Awbrey Woods U.S.A. Limited Partnership, 2337 N.W.

A former La Pine High cheerleading coach has pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree sexual abuse and furnishing alcohol to a minor and is serving a 10-day jail sentence.Nicole Mickelson, 31, was arrested on April 18 and charged with contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, two counts each of second- and third-degree sexual abuse and four counts of furnishing liquor to a minor. At the time, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Lt.

Police LogThe Bulletin 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. For more information, call 541-383-0358.Bend Police DepartmentCriminal mischief — An act of criminal mischief was reported and an arrest made at 9:06 p.m. Nov.

The Oregon State Public Health Laboratory confirmed Wednesday that a recently deceased bat has tested positive for rabies in Deschutes County.Of the sick and dead bats tested in Oregon during the last 10 years, about 9.5 percent have had rabies, the state lab announced.“This is a good reminder to take some necessary precautions to protect yourself and your pets from rabies," said Emilio DeBess, public health veterinarian in the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Cover Oregon, the state health insurance exchange, is hosting a series of applications fairs to help applicants begin the enrollment process.In Bend, staff will be available 12-8 p. m. Nov. 22 at The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center, located at 3075 U. S. Highway 97 Business.Since launching Oct. 1, Cover Oregon has yet to enroll a single person. (See Page B3 for story.) While the state continues to work on the website, officials are enrolling people through paper applications. To be covered by a plan by Jan. 1, applicants must have enrolled by Dec.

Friends and families congregated at Bring Someone You Love to Lunch, a Thanksgiving meal, at Vern Patrick Elementary School in Redmond on Wednesday.

On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot in the head while riding through the streets of downtown Dallas in an open limousine with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Gov. John Connally, and Conally's wife Nellie. Kennedy was rushed to the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital where doctors were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead about 1 p.m.

A Bend-based land conservation group filed a lawsuit today against the U. S. Forest Service, challenging the agency’s approval of a special-use permit for Bend’s planned surface water intake upgrade and new water pipeline west of town.Attorneys working for Central Oregon LandWatch filed the lawsuit with U.S. District Court for Oregon in Eugene, according to court records.