Three intersections on Highway 97 near Metolius in Jefferson County that have a history of serious and deadly crashes is being permanently closed Wednesday.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is shutting down SW Bear Drive and Eureka Lane at US 97. ODOT said poor visibility and the fact the intersections are at the end of a passing lane have made the intersections especially dangerous.

A concrete barrier will be installed where Bear Drive meets the highway.

SEE ALSO: 3 trail segments near Phil’s Trailhead closing to remove vegetation

SEE ALSO: 22 Deschutes Nat’l Forest campgrounds closed for snow

The closure will mean changes for…

Desert Sky Montessori has received On Point Community Credit Union’s Community Builder Award. Learn more here.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — As the 13th annual OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education campaign continues, OnPoint Community Credit Union announced Tuesday the five schools. including Bend’s Desert Sky Montessori, that have won this year’s Community Builder awards. The winning schools will receive up to $5,000 for a special project that positively impacts their school and community.

OnPoint also announced today the six finalists for the Educator of the Year awards. Three winning teachers (one representing grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12) will have their mortgage or rent paid for one full year and receive $2,500 for each of their schools. The three runners up (one…

Meta in Prineville awarded a $11,200 grant to Family Access Network. Find out more here.

Meta’s (previously Facebook) Prineville Data Center just gave a $11,200 Community Action Grant to Family Access Network (FAN).

The funds are meant to assist FAN’s Crook County program, supporting the two advocates in the area.

FAN has connected 474 people in Crook County to crucial needs like clothing, food, and school supplies during the first three quarters of 2021-22.

“FAN is deeply grateful for Prineville Data Center’s support of our services in Crook County, and their long-term commitment to the community,” said Julie N. Lyche, FAN Executive Director. “This grant will help many families in Crook County regain stability, so kids can thrive in…

Big funding for multiple irrigation districts, including Tumalo, announced. Learn more here.

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced on Wednesday the Tumalo, Owyhee, East Fork and Ochoco Irrigation District projects will be receiving critical federal funding that will help communities with limited water supplies.

These projects—funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bill—will support efficient irrigation methods with better resource management providing water for agriculture, protecting and restoring wildlife habitats and improving water quantity and quality.

This funding will help establish climate resilient solutions to offset the impact of drought throughout the regions of Deschutes River, Tumalo Creek, Snake River and Hood River watersheds.

Existing open irrigation canals will be…

Brightways Counseling Group of Bend was named SBA’s 2022 Small Business Person of the Year. Find out more here.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — – The U.S. Small Business Administration 2022 Small Business Person of the Year is Brightways Counseling Group of Bend, founded by husband and wife team Kevin and Angie Shaw.

Founded in 2017, Brightways Counseling Group counselors provide whole person care for people suffering from a variety of different mental health issues in Central Oregon. What started with one clinic and eight employees has grown to four locations in Bend, Madras, Redmond, and Woodburn, Oregon with 65 employees who in 2021, helped 2,634 patients be the best version of themselves.

The SBA Small Business Person of the…

Mosaic Medical will have a new community health center in Madras. Find out more here.

Mosaic Medical was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation as well as a substantial grant from The Ford Family Foundation.

The funds will be used to support the development of the new Madras Health Center, a partnership with Jefferson County Public Health that is scheduled to open this spring.

These two grants bring Mosaic’s capital campaign for the project closer to reaching the $5.3 million funding goal, over $5 million has been raised to date.

“My grandmother, Marie Lamfrom, was committed to caring for people, especially those who were hospitalized or in need of care,” said Sally Bany, co-founder…

Agility Robotics, a Corvallis-based company that makes robots that walk like a person, reported $150 million in new investment Friday, a whopping sum the company hopes will accelerate the arrival of robots in the workplace.

Using technology originally developed at Oregon State University, Agility has developed robots that walk on two legs, climb stairs, carry and stack objects, and operate indoors and out. The company said its most advanced robot will begin working for customers later in 2022.

“Unprecedented consumer and corporate…

The chance of measurable snow on the floor of the Willamette Valley goes down considerably by April. Snow in the hills? Sure. But it is “very rare” for snow to fall down to the valley floor, as it did April 11, 2022, the National Weather Service said.

In much of the Portland/Vancouver metro area, this is the latest measurable snow in the spring. Here is the record report from the Portland weather service office for Monday’s snow:

For PORTLAND AIRPORT (1941-2022), this snow was…

** Most ever in the month of April,…

Katherine Holden, assistant principal of Ashland Middle School, has been named the national assistant principal of the year in recognition of how she helped creatively and cheerfully guide her school through the aftermath of 2020′s home-destroying wildfires.

Holden said in a statement that she considers it “my mission to do everything I can to create a school environment where students feel safe and staff feel supported so they can be their best and have fun teaching and learning.”

“As…

Tini’s Bar in Portland donates 100 percent of its profits to nonprofits for low-income youth. Learn more here.

by Maya MacEvoy

Portlanders can now help fund aid for unhoused and low-income teens while popping by a neighborhood bar.

Mike and Courtney Nierengarten, the owners of Oregon-based distillery Dregs Vodka, opened Tini’s in January — a Portland tasting room on NW 23rd, pouring flights of mini-cocktails and selling bottles of its branded vodka. But the Nierengartens aren’t pocketing the sales from Tini’s; rather, the couple donates 100 percent of the profits from the bar and distillery to nonprofits specifically working with low-income youth, including Portland-based P:ear Mentor, Friends of the Children,…