Avatar photo

Jack Harvel

Jack is originally from Kansas City, Missouri and has been making his way west since graduating from the University of Missouri, working a year and a half in Northeast Colorado before moving to Bend in the Spring of 2021. When not reporting he’s either playing folk songs (poorly) or grand strategy video games, and checking out the different hiking trails in Central Oregon.

jharvel@gannett.com
Posted inNews

Listen and Learn

Board members at Bend La-Pine Schools to meet with community members after hearing dissenting voices at its first meeting
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

After a return to in-person meetings, school board directors from Bend-La Pine Schools will host listening sessions to meet with the community members in a less formal setting than a typical board meeting, where public comment must be directly related to an agenda item. The first will take place on Thursday, July 29 from 5:30-7:30 […]

Posted inNews

Rescue Plan B

The American Rescue Plan Act provides funding that Bend will use to achieve housing goals
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The City of Bend is adjusting its budget to meet City Council goals after it were awarded $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. The supplemental budget presented at the city council meeting on July 21 outlined a $13.1 million budget adjustment in total, with a lot of the funds going toward housing projects.   […]

Posted inNews

New Ideas At Senior Center

The Redmond Senior Center is returning after the pandemic with a new staff, a new direction and the same mission
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

A ticker on Redmond Senior Center’s website is counting the days until Aug. 3, when programs return after a year of pandemic-induced inactivity. What returns won’t be quite the same senior center that the staff found when they came back to the building. “It was almost like a time capsule when we came in, because all […]

Posted inNews

New School Board, Same Problems

The two issues that dominated the 2021 school board election rear their heads at the Bend-La Pine district’s first in-person meeting in over a year
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The four recently elected members for the Bend-La Pine Schools Board of Directors were sworn in at the board’s regular meeting on July 13, opposite a large and vocal crowd mostly opposed to mandating children to wear masks and the belief that critical race theory is being taught within the district. The issues of masks […]

Posted inNews

Three Fires

The Grandview, Darlene and Swamp Wells Trail Fires have burned thousands of acres during the early fire season
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Grandview Fire The fire 10 miles north of Sisters torched 6,032 acres, just under 10 square miles, since it was first reported on July 11. The Grandview Fire fed on timber, juniper sage and grass and grew with the help of high heat, low humidity and active winds. It threatened 421 homes, but none were […]

Posted inNews

Need A Ride

The labor shortage has made it harder than ever to hail a ride in Bend
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Before the pandemic, when Bendites needed a ride, be it to the airport to avoid parking fees, home after a few too many at the bar or – for those without a car – to simply avoid the walk or bike ride to their destination, they could usually find it on a ridesharing app or […]

Posted inNews

Turnkey Funding Awarded In Bend

After the purchase of the Old Mill & Suites was rescinded, Bend finds a new shelter for the unhoused
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Bend Value Inn will be converted into a transitional shelter for the homeless thanks to a $2.9 million grant through Project Turnkey, a state program that funds the purchase and renovation of motels into shelters for people who are experiencing houselessness or at risk of becoming unhoused. The City of Bend originally sought to acquire […]

Posted inNews

Grandview Fire Nears Sisters

The fire was first reported on Sunday before spreading to over 4,500 acres
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The Grandview Fire was first reported on Sunday afternoon and by Tuesday was raging over 4,500 acres of private land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Crooked River National Grassland which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. It was visible from Sisters and Redmond on Sunday evening, but it didn’t enter […]

Posted inNews

Fireworks Banned Through August

The City extended the ban due to continued fire risk in the area
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The City of Bend is extending the state of emergency that banned non-professional firework use and provided services to unhoused communities until August 31. The emergency order went into effect on June 28 and was originally set to expire on July 9, but was extended due to continued fire risk. “We appreciate the community’s assistance […]

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article