Tag Archives: City of Madras

Former Madras prison official must pay back stolen paychecks

A former superintendent at the state prison near Madras was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to repay the prison $38,565 in wages for work he never performed, a Jefferson County judge ruled Wednesday. Richard “Zack” Ackley, who now lives in Bend, was accused of stealing more than $20,000 between March and December […]
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COCC’s Madras campus expanding medical, nursing education

Central Oregon Community College is set to bring more healthcare and early childhood education opportunities to Jefferson County by expanding its Madras campus, which should be ready in the fall of 2025. Officials decided to bring three health education programs, as well as the early childhood education program, to Madras in the hopes of training […]
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Madras residential treatment center helps Latinos

Latino residential treatment center combines culture with care. Behind the nondescript green exterior of the Madras house, a dozen Latino men are working together toward a sober life. They spend their days together learning, reflecting, cooking, cleaning, eating and sleeping in the state’s only residential substance use disorder treatment facility operated entirely in Spanish. Source: […]
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Prison partnership helps provide meals for seniors in Madras

Whenever praise comes in from the Madras senior citizens, the inmates that prepare their meals at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution smile. The praise is a reward for the small group of inmates in the prison kitchen who prepare meals for the Madras Senior Center. Through food, the inmates have forged a bond with people they […]
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COCC receives $1 million for Madras expansion

Central Oregon Community College received $1 million from the JTMF Foundation to help create its long-planned Madras campus expansion in Jefferson County. The funding will help the college develop a 24,000-square-foot building to house early childhood education programs, a child care center and an area for registered nurse and health career pathways. The project, set […]
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Daimler puts trucks through their paces in Madras

Mt. Jefferson rises majestically in the distance as an electric truck silently corners a curve on a track carved out of the scrub brush north of Madras Airport. Here, at Daimler Truck North America’s High Desert Proving Ground, horsepower means something different than at the region’s ranchlands in this wide-open landscape. The 3.5 miles of […]
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COCC growing Madras campus, investing in high-demand careers

Looking up the road from Madras High School, Julie Mitchell can already envision the changes taking shape on the near horizon. For the early education teacher, COCC’s pending campus expansion nearby — expected to break ground this winter and be fully open by spring of 2025 — will bring some incredible opportunities to her hometown. […]
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$4 million on lottery revenue for COCC’s Madras expansion

Central Oregon Community College received more than $4 million from lottery revenue bonds that were included in the 2023-25 legislative budget, according to a press release from the college. The funds will be used for the Madras campus expansion project, which is scheduled to break ground this winter, the college said. The expansion includes a […]
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COCC Madras campus expansion getting $4 million Oregon Lottery boost

Oregon Lottery bonds will provide a boost toward expanding the Central Oregon Community College campus in Madras, including health care, early learning classrooms and on-site child care. Source: COCC Madras campus expansion getting $4 million Oregon Lottery boost

Madras failed to investigate officers’ allegations against former chief. The state took ‘no action.’

Four Madras police officers approached the city in June 2022 with a shocking disclosure. Much of the department — possibly half of its officers — were at risk of quitting. In a series of meetings with a city human resources staffer, the officers said this was largely due to a steep decline in morale and […]
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