Local

A months-long investigation into suspected financial exploitation at Regency Prineville Rehabilitation & Nursing Center (Regency Prineville) led to the arrest of a former employee on Thursday, according to a statement released by the Prineville Police Department.

A Prineville man was arrested Sunday after allegedly leading officers on a high-speed pursuit that began in Prineville and stretched across multiple counties before ending in Harney County, according to a press release from the Prineville Police Department.

Pastor Jason Swick appeared in Crook County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning for his arraignment on a charge of first-degree animal abuse, formally beginning the criminal case stemming from the September shooting of a neighborhood cat named Pumpkin.

The Prineville Review has prevailed for the second time in recent months in a public records appeal petition to the Crook County District Attorney, securing an order requiring the Ochoco West Water & Sanitary Authority (OWWSA) to release a few months of recordings of its board meetings.

A suspect with a well-known history of behavioral health concerns was arrested for an outstanding warrant in Prineville after a social media threat included coordinates to a local elementary school and prompted increased security measures at Crook County School District.

Thousands of Central Oregon patients will continue to receive in-network care at St. Charles hospitals and clinics after the health system announced Wednesday that it has reached a new agreement with PacificSource.

A Wednesday night rollover crash on SE Juniper Canyon Road sent one person to the hospital and left another with minor injuries, according to a press release from the Crook County Sheriff’s Office.

As proponents push to expand the Alfalfa Fire District’s boundaries farther east into Crook County to include the rural Juniper Acres area, records obtained by the Prineville Review show the district is once again facing possible dissolution over multiple years of missing financial reports — marking a repeating issue under Chief Chad LaVallee’s leadership requiring the State and County intervention over audit compliance.

The Crook County District Attorney’s Office has filed a charge of first-degree animal abuse against Pastor Jason Swick, following an investigation into the shooting of a neighborhood cat that drew widespread outrage across the Prineville community earlier this month.

A longtime staff member at High Desert Christian Academy (HDCA) says she was unexpectedly dismissed from her position Friday, prompting a wave of social media reaction and a formal response from the school’s board.