Smith Rock

Oregon State Parks has completed some large projects, including at Beverly Beach State Park and Silver Falls State Park, and others are on track for 2026, but a few planned improvements, such as a new visitors center and better parking at Smith Rocks State Park, are now on hold.

A man convicted of planning to harm participants at a climbing festival in Central Oregon two years ago has been sentenced to three decades in prison.

The trial is scheduled to go on for nearly four weeks, until Sept. 11.

Samson Garner will face 26 separate charges, including four for attempted murder.

Records obtained by OPB show that 39-year-old Samson Garner's life was in tumult in the years before police accused him of threatening to carry out a mass shooting in Central Oregon.