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🎣Fishing season gets underway on Central Oregon lakes and reservoirs /🐶Pet of the Week: Meet Missy 💖

🎣Fishing season gets underway on Central Oregon lakes and reservoirs /🐶Pet of the Week: Meet Missy 💖

Issue #124

Be aware Gmail will sometimes ‘clip’ the newsletter, but you can always:

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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔 Local Trivia ANSWER

🌄 Bend, OR Weather

📰 Local News - What’s a Happening?

📰 US Postal Service seeking workers, holding events each Thursday in May at Bend Post Office

📰State grant to help fund long-awaited river access upgrades at Miller’s Landing Park in Bend

📰'Born in Bend - our home': Crux has no plans to leave, despite putting its tasting room property up for sale

🎣Fishing season gets underway on Central Oregon lakes and reservoirs

📰2024 Spring Fire Free at Knott Landfill

🔥Prescribed burn planned for today

🎉 May Day

📰 Local Government News

📰Seven Candidates Running For One Jefferson Co. Commissioner Seat

🐶Pet of the Week: Meet Missy 💖

😁 MEME of the Day

📅 Lots of Events

Whychus Creek | Photo: Zachary Collier

WhyChus Creek was called a different name for a time, what was it?

A) Lone Creek

B) Squaw Creek

C) Polk Creek

D) Black Butte Creek

Answer: B) Squaw Creek

The name "Whychus" comes from the Sahaptin word "wai-chush," which means "a place to cross the water." This name was chosen as part of a restoration and reconnection effort with the cultural heritage of the area. In 2006, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially changed the name from Squaw Creek to Whychus Creek.

This renaming was also part of broader conservation and restoration initiatives in the area, aiming to enhance both ecological health and cultural connections. The change sought to acknowledge and respect the indigenous peoples of Central Oregon, particularly the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, who have long-standing historical and cultural ties to the land and its waterways.

BEND

North Oregon Cascades

Today

Partly sunny. Free air freezing level 3500 feet, increasing to free air freezing level 4500 feet this afternoon. Pass winds west 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight

A chance of rain and snow in the evening, then rain and snow likely after midnight. Snow level 4000 feet. Snow accumulation up to 2 inches. Pass winds southwest 5 to 10 mph, becoming southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy in the morning, then becoming partly sunny. Rain and snow likely. Snow level 4500 feet. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch. Pass winds southeast 5 to 10 mph, becoming light in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain in the evening, then partly cloudy after midnight. Snow level 5000 feet. Winds light. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Friday

Partly sunny. A slight chance of rain in the morning, then a chance of rain in the afternoon. Snow level 5000 feet, increasing to 6000 feet in the afternoon. Pass winds southeast 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Friday Night

Rain. Snow level 6500 feet. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Saturday

Rain and snow. Snow level 5000 feet. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Saturday Night

Rain and snow likely. Snow level 4500 feet. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

US Postal Service seeking workers, holding events each Thursday in May at Bend Post Office

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As May arrives, mail carriers, handlers, and clerks are still very much in demand at the Postal Service throughout Oregon.

The USPS employs more than 635,000 people throughout the nation, and with nearly 63,000 military veterans on its rolls, it is also one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

A career with the Postal Service offers the opportunity to make a difference in your community by giving employees the ability to work where they live. The jobs provide stability, good pay, lifelong benefits and nearly endless career advancement opportunities throughout the entire agency.

If getting a new job is on the “to do” list, stop by any of the events listed below, including an event every Thursday at the Bend Post Office:

Date	Location	Time
Thursday, May 2	Bend Post Office 2300 NE 4th St. Bend, OR 97701	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Friday, May 3	Hillsboro Post Office 125 S 1st Av. Hillsboro, OR 97123	11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 9	Bend Post Office 2300 NE 4th St. Bend, OR 97701	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday, May 16	Bend Post Office 2300 NE 4th St. Bend, OR 97701	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday, May 23	Bend Post Office 2300 NE 4th St. Bend, OR 97701	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 25	Oregon City Post Office 19300 Molalla Av. Oregon City, OR 97045	10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday, May 30	Bend Post Office 2300 NE 4th St. Bend, OR 97701	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Employees will be available to help fair attendees with benefits, qualifications, and application questions. Laptops will be available on the day of the event for immediate application submission.

State grant to help fund long-awaited river access upgrades at Miller’s Landing Park in Bend

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Access to the Deschutes River for kayakers and river floaters is about to get better in the Old Mill area. A grant will help fund the long-awaited upgrades at Miller's Landing.

At their recent meeting, the Oregon State Marine Board approved several statewide grants for boating facilities. Among them - $300,000 for the Bend Park and Recreation District to improve waterway access.

"We applied for it back, I believe was November," park district landscape architect Ian Isaacson said Tuesday. "It worked its way through the process. Ut's a competitive grant process."

The state funding will go toward the Miller's Landing Park river access project.

Right now if you want to kayak, paddle-board or float the river, you have to step on uneven and jagged rocks, making it a challenge to enter at the boardwalk and non-motorized boating access area.

"We just want to be able to provide that recreational opportunity for everyone, regardless of age and ability," Isaacson said.

Renderings of the project show it includes a smooth, accessible launch area with a transfer bench, plenty of room to maneuver your craft and a lifejacket loaner station.

The park district hopes to get the state funding for the upgrades by this summer or fall. The total cost for the Miller's Landing water craft access area is estimated at nearly $700,000.

The $300,000 in grant funds combined with a cash match will go towards the water craft access area.

Isaacson added," I'm just really excited to see this thing started. It's been a couple of years in the making, and it's going to really improve conditions for folks."

Bend Park and Rec is hoping to break ground on the Miller's Landing improvements in December.

The post State grant to help fund long-awaited river access upgrades at Miller’s Landing Park in Bend appeared first on KTVZ .

'Born in Bend - our home': Crux has no plans to leave, despite putting its tasting room property up for sale - KTVZ

(Update: adding video, comment from managing director) Instead, it plans to lease SW Division site back; $5.5 million sale will 'free resources to reinvest' BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Crux Fermentation Project announced Monday that it's selling the property that has served as the brewery’s iconic Bend tasting room since 2012 -- but only with the

ktvz.com/news/bend/2024/04/29/born-in-bend-our-home-crux-has-no-plans-to-leave-despite-putting-its-tasting-room-property-up-for-sale

Fishing season gets underway on Central Oregon lakes and reservoirs

By MARK MORICAL EO Media Group

Eager anglers can expect nearly full lakes and reservoirs and relatively easy access to several high lakes as fishing season gets underway in Central Oregon.

“We’re excited about this year,” said Jerry George, the Deschutes Watershed District fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “It’s nice to have a lot of water for a change in a lot of our lakes and reservoirs after several years of drought. In some of our reservoirs, that might make it a challenge for anglers to locate fish with them being a little more spread out this year.”

Monday was the official opening day for fishing on popular Wickiup and Crane Prairie reservoirs southwest of Bend in the Deschutes National Forest. George said both reservoirs are ice free and accessible. Cascade Lakes Highway remains closed between Mt. Bachelor ski resort and the entrance to Lava Lake, so high lakes must be accessed from the south until the Deschutes County Road Department fully opens Cascade Lakes Highway later next month. Most lakes are open to fishing year round, but snow and ice can make some of them hard to reach until later in the spring.

“They’re making progress on Cascade Lakes Highway and they will have it open well before Memorial Day Weekend,” George said.

Wickiup and Crane Prairie reservoirs

Wickiup is 77% full, so anglers should have no difficulties launching boats, according to George.

“With the new water management, Wickiup gets drained first and Crane Prairie is held full,” George said. “Those boat ramps become a challenge for big boats once the water starts coming down.”

Wickiup was drained down to the stream bed in 2020 and 2021, harming the fish population. But a decent amount of refill last year made for a surprise kokanee fishery in 2023, according to George.

“We know that there’s fish in there and the potential for people to have a good day there, but they will be a little bit spread out and hard to locate,” George said.

Crane Prairie, just north of Wickiup, is a popular place to fish for big native rainbow trout. The fish will be spread out in the cooler water during the early season, then will hunker down into the old river channels as the temperatures rise, according to George.

Odell Lake

Located farther southwest of Bend off state Highway 58 near Willamette Pass, Odell Lake also officially opened on Monday. Odell is an extremely popular kokanee fishery, and some anglers also target large lake trout there.

“Last year it was a good fishery,” George said of Odell. “The kokanee were bigger than they had been in the last couple years, averaging about 12 inches.”

Kokanee fisheries have been a positive in Central Oregon, George noted, especially at Odell and Paulina Lake. (The road into Paulina and East lakes in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument east of La Pine is expected to open later next month.)

Kokanee populations are doing so well that the ODFW has added a kokanee bonus bag for East, Paulina and Crescent lakes.

“Some anglers get confused about what that means,” George said. “You can keep 10 fish. You can have up to 10 kokanee, but a maximum of five trout. So it can add up to 10, but only five of those can be trout.”

On Odell Lake, anglers can keep 25 kokanee per day in addition to the daily trout limit.

Haystack Reservoir

Haystack Reservoir near Culver has been fishing really well for rainbow trout, George noted. The reservoir was drained completely down for work on the dam a couple of years ago. That gave the ODFW an opportunity to reset the fishery there.

“We put quite a few rainbow trout in there and they have grown really well and are healthy,” George said. “We also put some of our excess broodstock fish in there this spring. We’ve gotten a lot of positive reports for trout fishing at Haystack.”

As temperatures rise this spring, fishing should improve throughout Central Oregon.

“Warmer weather will speed up the hatches and will get the fish more active, and get their metabolism going coming out of winter,” George said. “Having some nice warmer days will get the whole food web fired up.”

Some river sections are set to open May 22, but many are open year-round in Central Oregon. The Upper Deschutes River from Benham Falls to Little Lava Lake opens to fishing on May 22, as does the Fall River below the falls.

2024 Spring Fire Free at Knott Landfill 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Calendar Date:

Repeats every day.

Friday, May 3, 2024 - 7:00am to 4:30pm

Add this event to your Outlook calendar (iCal).

Add this event to your Google calendar

Reduce the risk of losing your home to wildfire and take advantage of FREE yard debris disposal at local collection sites.

Create and maintain defensible space around your home and recycle your needles, branches, brush, shrubs and limbs for FREE!

(No sod, dirt, rock, lumber metal, trash, plastics (including plastic bags) or stumps over 12" diameter.)

Knott Landfill
7:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. May 3 - 12, 2024
61050 SE 27th Street, Bend

Prescribed burn planned for today for 28 acres 3 miles south of Sisters adjacent to Three Creek Lake Road. Ignitions planned for 10 a.m.

Weekly Road and Traffic Report for the Week of April April 29 – May 5 Bend

Weekly Road Construction Update Week of April April 28 to May 4 Deschutes County

ODOT - Region 4 Weekly Construction Update April 26, 2024 - May 3, 2024

May Day, celebrated on the first of May, has a rich history and is observed in various ways around the world. Here are some key aspects of this day:

1. Historical Significance: Traditionally, May Day is associated with the celebration of spring and fertility. Ancient festivals, like the Roman Floralia and the Celtic Beltane, featured rituals to protect crops, livestock, and people, and to encourage plant growth.

2. International Workers' Day: May Day is also known as International Workers' Day, which is a celebration of laborers and the working classes. This aspect of May Day began prominently in the late 19th century, when trade unions and socialist groups designated May 1st as a day in support of workers, in commemoration of the Haymarket affair in Chicago (1886), which was a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day that turned violent.

3. Celebrations and Symbols: Traditional May Day celebrations include dancing around the Maypole, crowning a May Queen, and Morris dancing. The day is also marked by public and private events celebrating the themes of spring and fertility with flowers, ribbons, and other symbols of nature’s abundance.

4. Modern Observances: In many countries, May Day is a public holiday, often marked by rallies and demonstrations focusing on labor rights and social justice issues. In some places, it coincides with or is related to other public holidays like Labor Day.

Each country and community may have its own unique traditions and ways of observing May Day, reflecting local histories and social issues.

Seven Candidates Running For One Jefferson Co. Commissioner Seat

by Heather Roberts KBND

MADRAS, OR -- Seven candidates are running for one open Jefferson County Commissioner seat, to replace the retiring Wayne Fording. They each addressed hot-button issues at a forum this week, hosted by the Madras Chamber of Commerce. You'll find videos of the event HERE.

Contractor Ara Erdekian says he supports funding the animal shelter, which lost its county contract earlier this year, "They’re running a $50,000 a month sanctuary for $20,000 out of Jefferson County taxes.

They have 13 part time employees, who all live in Jefferson County. These people are doing a thankless job." Small business owner Cindy Brockett says pet owners should take responsibility for their animals, "Yes, we do need to have better management.

But we also need to ask for better spay and neuter instruction and demand that they follow those rules."

When asked about addressing the homeless crisis, special education teacher Seth Taylor says existing drug laws should be enforced, "This is a created problem by the failed policies of Salem. When we allow drugs to be used in our state legally, we attracted homeless or people who want to abuse drugs from around the nation."

CPA Brandie McNamee was asked about the Greater Idaho Movement and shifting Oregon’s border, and said, "I would support the concept, but it’s going to be incredibly difficult to move the border. Talk about state [legislature], your taxes, I mean there’s so much more to it than just drawing a new line."

Candidates also discussed economic development throughout the county. Truck driver George “Wes” Curtiss suggested the rural economy would benefit if the area stopped growing, "Do we really want to make Madras a Bend? Do we want to make Madras a Redmond? I kind of like it here. I kind of like my property taxes. The property values are cheaper here because there’s less population. If we get another four, five or 10,000, then it’s just going to cost more." While retiree Shawn Stanfill believes the key to rural economic development lies with Congress, "We need people to lobby, go back to Washington to lobby and speak on behalf of our farmers, who are the endangered species."

When asked about managing growth, former School Superintendent and business owner Rick Molitor says he supports affordable housing projects, "Those houses, those people, those new jobs will bring additional resources and taxes for us."

This is a non-partisan race, so if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on May 21st, then the top two advance to the November election.

Meet Missy

This fun little girl weighs approximately 30 lbs and is under two years old.

She is an expert at playing with her foster brother and sister but can also chill and have down time with them. This super smart girl is house trained. and crate trained. She is currently working on sit stays and leash work with her foster family.

Missy would love to become your lap dog. Missy is being fostered in LaPine, Oregon. Adoption fee is $400. If you are interested in Missy please email us at [email protected] or find our application online at http://herduneededahome.com/hunah-dog-adoption.../.