Bend News

H1N1 continues to spread throughout Western states.

Oregon is home to the country’s first reported fatal case of swine flu in a cat.

The cat, a 10-year-old male, died Nov. 7 near Portland.

The Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory examined the dead cat and discovered he carried the H1N1 virus.

While this is the third confirmed case of a cat with H1N1, it is the first fatality in a feline reported nationwide

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FOLLOWING MY SHOTS 2

I used to play basketball, but not too much since the day my coach took me aside, patted me on the head, and said, “Bill, you’re short, but you’re slow, and you really need to follow your shots.”

Well, that was a long time ago, and I admit to never doing anything about the shortness or the slowness, but I have learned to follow my shots. And sometimes, they’re worth following. When I write my columns, I frequently hope something happens, and guess what sometimes it does. Check out these updates to past columns.

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Where to go? What to do?

It’s no secret there are a number of Oregonians who enjoy smoking marijuana. And while that may be the case, there are millions in the West who don’t enjoy having their water polluted to produce the plant.

An estimated 200,000 marijuana plants were discovered in raids during the Oregon growing and harvest season this year, according to state and federal documents.

And while that number may be staggering, pools filled with chemical fertilizers to grow the plants are a main nerve of concern among state officials and environmentalists. 

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Bend visitor claims to be hit by minivan

After being struck by the large motorized vehicle, Gerad Byrne felt as though he was living in southern Florida.

“There’s some pain, yeah,” he said Wednesday morning, just several hours after being hit by a minivan on the streets of Bend.

Byrne, an Irishman presently living in Central Oregon, was walking Wednesday morning near the intersection of Lava Street and Franklin Avenue when the incident occurred. According to Byrne, a turquoise-colored minivan driven by a woman with black hair and who had a crazed looked in her eye struck him while he attempted to cross the street.  Oddly enough, the event occurred approximately 48 hours after Bend was named the second friendliest city for pedestrians in Oregon.

“It happened so quick, ya know,” Byrne said of being hit by the vehicle.

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WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE

Dear Mr. Buffett:

I read with interest and glee about your recent acquisition of the majority ownership in Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF). Congratulations on buying a great company--investment wise, I should clarify, because BNSF is a not-so-great company on the public relations front.

Now that you own the railroad, you can change that bad image with one phone call and instantly make your new acquisition--and yourself, of course--a corporate saint out here in Montana.

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Winter weather arrives to Pacific Northwest

Weather is the topic of many conversations throughout Oregon as the week begins, with massive amounts of snowfall dropping in the Cascades and wind and heavy rain blasting the coast.

“I was planning a trip to Portland to visit some friends but called it off this morning,” Randal Rosbury told me this morning outside of Newport Market. “If I had snow tires, maybe. But it sounds pretty nasty up there.”

And while there’s nothing unusual about snow dropping in the mountains at this time of year, a rare event took place during the weekend in Lincoln City. It was a tornado. And the spinning strand of energy scared the wits out of a collection of Oregonians.

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