Surveillance Debate, Park Upgrades & New Business Moves From the Editor Good Wednesday morning, Central Oregon! We’ve got a little bit of everything in today’s Buzz — a tense Highway 26 standoff that ended peacefully, a $20,000 golf gear theft case cracked after stolen clubs showed up on Facebook Marketplace, and a big round of upgrades nearing the finish line at Bend’s Pine Nursery Park.
Down south, Sunriver’s Flock license plate cameras are back in the spotlight as residents raise privacy concerns, while La Pine Community Health Center moves closer to opening its long-awaited Wellness Center. We’ve also got three local producers headed to the Ranching for Profit program, a new chapter for High Desert Chamber Music, and — yes, the rumors were true — Panera Bread is officially working toward a Bend location in the former Cracker Barrel building.
Grab your coffee and let’s get caught up on what’s happening around Central Oregon. 🚨Crime News 🚔 Armed Standoff Near Mitchell Ends Peacefully A multi-hour standoff on Highway 26 west of Mitchell ended without injuries Friday after an armed man surrendered to law enforcement. Wheeler County deputies initially responded around 2:15 p.m. to a disabled vehicle near milepost 51, then contacted a man in his mid-30s who was associated with the vehicle and found he had multiple active warrants.
Deputies said the man became aggressive and brandished a firearm, and a gun was fired during the encounter. Highway 26 was closed in both directions while Oregon State Police and its Crisis Negotiation Team responded. After several hours of negotiations, the man surrendered peacefully. The investigation remains open. Read more →
⛳ Facebook Marketplace Ad Helps Crack $20K Golf Gear Theft A Portland man was arrested Aug. 21 in connection with the theft of about $20,000 in golf clubs, bags and other equipment from Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte. Crook County deputies began investigating after the resort reported the gear stolen July 20 — and got a major break when the missing clubs appeared for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Investigators matched serial numbers in the online photos with equipment sold to Brasada Ranch, then used a storage-unit placard visible in one photo to track the gear to Portland. Matthew Wayne Chavis, 44, was arrested at the storage facility and booked on aggravated theft, burglary and criminal trespass charges. Read more →
🔫 Bend Teen Arrested After Replica Gun Pointed During Dispute A 15-year-old Bend resident was arrested early Tuesday after police say he pointed what appeared to be a handgun at three teens during a dispute outside the Westside Village Apartments on NW Albany Avenue. Police said the confrontation began after a disagreement on social media between the 15-year-old and a 17-year-old, who was sitting in a vehicle with friends outside the apartment building.
According to Bend Police, the 15-year-old came outside and pointed the gun at each person in the group while using a laser sight. Members of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team responded, and officers called the teen out of the apartment around 7:38 a.m., taking him into custody without incident. A later search recovered a realistic replica handgun with a laser sight. The teen was taken to Deschutes County Juvenile Community Justice on suspicion of three counts of menacing. ⛰️Bend 🏀 Pine Nursery Park’s $8M Upgrade Nears the Finish Line Bend Park and Recreation District is putting the finishing touches on an approximately $8 million improvement project at Pine Nursery Park, with several of the new amenities already open. The 159-acre park now has a new full-court basketball court, eight additional pickleball courts, upgraded sports fields, improvements to the off-leash dog area and a new pedestrian connection to Deschutes Market Road.
Crews also added dark-sky-compliant lighting, repaired and paved portions of the perimeter loop trail, converted ball field infields to artificial turf and made maintenance upgrades. The new courts bring Pine Nursery Park to 24 pickleball courts total, with final project elements expected to wrap up by early fall. Read more → 🌞La Pine/Sunriver 🏥 La Pine Wellness Center Moves Closer to Opening La Pine Community Health Center’s long-awaited Wellness Center is moving closer to opening, and the project is considerably further along than a construction site these days. The three-story, 27,000-square-foot building has received its Certificate of Occupancy, and the health center expects to begin moving into the new space later this year.
The facility will more than double LCHC’s current space and is planned to add dental care, expanded behavioral health services and, once equipment is secured, local access to mammograms, ultrasounds and CT scans. Compass Commercial is also helping lease a turnkey five-chair dental suite and more than 5,500 square feet of office space in the building. Read more →
📷 Sunriver Residents Push Back on Flock License Plate Cameras Sunriver’s four Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras are drawing renewed pushback from residents concerned about privacy and surveillance. The cameras, installed in 2024 at South Century Drive and Abbot Drive and at Cottonwood Road and Imnaha Road, are now the last Flock system still operating in Central Oregon after Bend shut down its network earlier this year.
Sunriver Police Chief Pete Rasic said the cameras have helped with thefts, stolen vehicles and missing or endangered person cases, and that the department has no plans to remove them. He said the system records vehicle information such as make, model, color and license plate data — not facial recognition — and that outside agencies must request Sunriver’s data rather than access it directly. Read more → 🌞Central Oregon 🌾 Three Central Oregon Producers Earn Ranching for Profit Scholarships Three Central Oregon producers have been awarded scholarships from the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance to attend the nationally recognized Ranching for Profit program this October. The recipients are Courtney Riding of 3R Livestock and Land in Redmond, Kate Grace of Lost Grace Farm in Bend, and Zoey Oquist of The Crow’s Croft in Redmond.
The business-management program focuses on profitability, decision-making and building sustainable agricultural operations. HDFFA says the privately funded scholarships are intended to strengthen individual farms and ranches while giving participants new tools and strategies they can bring back and share with other producers across Central Oregon. Read more →
🎻 High Desert Chamber Music Heads Into Its 19th Season With New Venues High Desert Chamber Music is changing venues as it heads into its 19th season. Beginning in September, the organization’s Concert Series will move to First Presbyterian Church of Bend, a location HDCM says offers more seating, improved sightlines, strong acoustics and significantly more on-site parking while keeping the intimate feel of chamber music performances.
The organization’s Annual Gala is also moving, this time to the Riverhouse Convention Center. The 2026-27 concert season opens Sept. 25 with the Yu&I Duo, featuring violinist YuEun Gemma Kim and guitarist Ines Thomé, and includes six concerts overall. Read more → 💼Business News 🥖 Panera Bread Files Plans for Former Bend Cracker Barrel One of Bend’s not-so-secret restaurant rumors now has paperwork behind it. A permit filed Monday with the City of Bend calls for a full interior build-out for a new Panera Bread inside the former Cracker Barrel building on the city’s north side. Cracker Barrel closed the Bend location in 2023 after about four years in business.
The permit describes new interior walls and finishes, kitchen equipment and mechanical, electrical and plumbing hookups for the restaurant. Panera won’t be the building’s only new tenant, either — a separate permit filed Aug. 6 shows Carhartt is also preparing a store in the same building. Read more → That’s your midweek catch-up! We’ll be back Friday with another round of Central Oregon news, local happenings and the stories worth knowing before the weekend. | 
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