Local

Just before tonight's Crook County School District Board's public meeting, the board released a statement reaffirming that the board's restriction on comments regarding individual staff members is not a violation of the First Amendment, at least within Oregon.

Amid several issues of controversy surrounding the Crook County School District, its' superintendent, as well as the district's elected board, Board Member Cheyenne Edgerly resigned effective yesterday, according to a statement provided to the Prineville Review this afternoon.

A battalion chief with Crook County Fire & Rescue (CCFR) made a surprise announcement of his resignation directly to the organization's elected board on Thursday morning, while primarily raising issues related to confidence in the fire district's leadership and turnover in frontline staff.

Superintendent Melissa Skinner makes first public statement amid calls for her resignation

The Prineville Review has released audio of a December 9th, 2024, executive session held by the Crook County School Board. This decision follows the results of yesterday's meeting (December 16th), where the school board avoided substantive discussion during the open meeting after previously holding an illegal executive session behind closed doors.

The Crook County School District Board voted Monday night during a special meeting not to accept review of an appeal of an earlier complaint that was made against Athletic Director Rob Bonner. The decision was followed with a wave of cheers and celebrations by a packed room students, parents, and other community members who came out in support of Bonner.

Downtown Prineville as well as the Crook County School District Office was overrun this morning by hundreds of high school and even some middle school students who were protesting the district's handling of a complaint against Athletic Director Rob Bonner.

The Prineville Review discovered earlier this week that that the Crook County School Board likely violated provisions of Oregon's public meetings law with its use of executive sessions, potentially since last year, including during another executive session that took place on Monday.

The investigation into allegations against a local Prineville car salesman, Michael Smetzer Jr. and his company Central Oregon Motors, has been taken over by the FBI.

The Crook County Board of Commissioners moved to recognize approximately two dozen county employees during its regular board meeting for their over respective decades long service to Crook County. The employees were from all corners of county government, including the public works, fairgrounds, sheriff's office, district attorney, administration, and more.