Deschutes County | featured news

Gov. John Kitzhaber declared the Grouse Mountain fire, burning just outside the city of John Day, a conflagration late Thursday, according to the Oregon State Fire Marshal.Abut 75 buildings were threatened as the fire made a run toward the northern city limit due to an abrupt change in wind direction Wednesday.

HEALTHY BEGINNINGS SCREENINGS: Health screenings for ages 0-5; call for Bend location; free, Aug. 16; 541-383-6357 or www. myhb.

PermitsCity of Bend• Suterra LLC, 20950 N. E. Talus Place, $5,500,000• Godfrey Family Living Trust, 1070 N. W. Roanoke, $340,306• Brookswood Bend LLC, 61157 Teton, $205,325• George F. Darcy, 61060 Bachelor View, $371,952• RF Wilson Trust, 2713 N. E.

The median home price in Bend last month dipped slightly compared with June, while Redmond’s median rose a bit, according to a report released Wednesday by Bratton Appraisal Group.Bend recorded a median home price of $280,000 in July, down from $281,000 in June, the report shows.

Oregon State Police issued an Amber Alert on Wednesday for two children who may be traveling with a man suspected of killing a woman in Southern California.According to OSP, 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio is believed to be driving a blue 2013 Nissan Versa with the California license plate 6WCU986.

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 at 4:51 p.m.

Fire investigators reported Wednesday that a desk lamp with a faulty power cord was likely the cause of a house fire on Shady Lane in La Pine Sunday evening.According to the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District, the lamp was left on in the bathroom as a night-light when the home’s residents left for the afternoon.

A Prineville man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possessing sexually explicit material involving underage children.Samual Cleve Sorg, 57, is charged with multiple counts of displaying obscene materials to a minor, according to a news release from Crook County Sheriff’s Sgt.

Firefighters leapt onto 11 new fires sparked in Central Oregon in the past 24 hours and contained all of them, according to a morning update from the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center.Air tankers that focused on the Green Ridge fire are now being shared with the Grouse Mountain Fire just north of John Day and new starts in the Vale area.