Good morning, Bend.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office’s Central Oregon Partnerships for Youth program will host a 3.5-hour training on Sept.

26 for volunteer mentors of children with an incarcerated parent. Volunteers must register in advance, pass background checks & commit to mentoring weekly for at least one year.

The owners of High Camp Taphouse in Sisters left Monday for Nepal to help 28 children orphaned by a flash flood, with local donations of $30,000 to $35,000 backing their plans to offer housing, education, medical care, and counseling.

BLM will host two volunteer events in Central Oregon for National Public Lands Day: the Reynolds Pond Restoration Project on Sept.

25 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and the Hampton Butte Rockhound Site Cleanup on Sept. 26 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) in the Prineville District; free coupons or t-shirts may be offered.

Lonza is expanding its Bend facility with a new spray-drying plant that will create more than 80 jobs and include energy-efficient systems & improved emissions controls.

The project will be completed in 2029.

Mimi’s Bagel Deli opened its brick-and-mortar at 1314 NW Galveston Avenue on Sunday, Sept.

6 and sold 1,200 New Jersey-style bagels daily in its first few days, offering bagel sandwiches, naked bagels and assorted cream cheese flavors (reflecting strong local demand for authentic tastes).

Economic Development for Central Oregon announced 10 Oregon startups as semifinalists in the Bend Venture Conference Early Stage competition.

They will pitch on Sept. 24 (4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) at Worthy Brewing, and one will win a $5,000 prize before the main event on Oct. 15 to Oct. 16.

Amazon opened its first Central Oregon distribution hub near Redmond Airport on Tuesday — designed to boost same-day and next-day shipping and add over 300 jobs.

The facility processes more than 30,000 packages weekly and partners with local businesses to speed up deliveries.

Central Oregon Community College will host free JobFest events next month for career-seekers with over 40 local companies participating.

The job fairs are set at the Bend campus on Oct. 1 (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Redmond on Oct. 6 (10 a.m.), Madras on Oct. 14 (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Prineville on Oct. 21 (10 a.m. to noon).

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners approved $275,000 to extend funding for the temporary safe stay area in Juniper Ridge until June 2027.

The area — managed jointly by the city and county — houses about 200 people and received mixed reviews from commissioners and locals.