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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia

🌄Bend, OR Weather

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

🎡2024 Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo

🎉New Event Calendar! Central Oregon Local Live!

📰Local News - What’s a Happening?

⚠️Reminder! Wildfire hazard map Public Hearing coming up on July 31st - 2x and Aug. 1st

📰Oregon airport projects receive $17 million from feds; $3.75 million to Bend Airport as control tower project begins

🌠Multiple meteor showers will collide under dark skies this week

📰 Sisters Roundabout Opened Monday

🔥Central Oregon Businesses and Events Adapt to Wildfire Smoke and Poor Air Quality

🔥Central Oregon Fire Info

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

🚨 Crime News

 📰 Community News

Got some news or know of news for our Community News Segment - share it with C.O. Local Buzz!

 🫴💖 Local Cause Spotlight

🐶😺Changing Lives, One Paw at a Time: Humane Society of the Ochocos

😁 MEME of the Day

🌆 On going Events

📲Sponsors & Partners

The Deschutes County Fair began as which event in 1906?

A) The Redmond Agricultural Show
B) The Potato Show
C) The Central Oregon Harvest Festival
D) The Bend-Redmond Fair

👉Find the Answer in Tomorrow’s Newsletter👉

BEND

REDMOND

Events Sponsored By Enjoy Bend Life Real Estate

What’s Up Central Oregon 

2024 Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo

July 31st - August 4th

Join us at the 2024 Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo from July 31st - August 4! We've got five days of action-packed fun FREE with admission. Enjoy the Kendall Toyota FREE Summer Concert Series featuring artists like Billy Currington, Yung Gravy, Lil Kim with Bow Wow, and The Fray. Get western at the rodeo and enjoy the high-octane excitement of the demolition derby. Be sure to grab your carnival wristbands and enjoy delicious bites, shopping and more at this year's Fair & Rodeo. We will see you here!

Reminder! Wildfire hazard map Public Hearing coming up on July 31st - 2x and Aug. 1st

The Board of Forestry approved the public hearing process for the proposed rule package, Oregon Administrative Rules 629-001-0001 to 0057 and 629-044-1000 to 1041, during their June 5 meeting. The department consulted a Rulemaking Advisory Committee representing a wide variety of stakeholder interests while drafting the proposed rules.

The rules will be used by Oregon State University to address irrigated agriculture as a mitigating factor to assessing wildfire hazard in the statewide wildfire hazard map, which includes assigning one of three hazard zones to individual properties. The rules also establish the process to appeal assignment of a hazard zone or classification.

• Notice of proposed rulemaking

Comment can be made at any of the virtual public meetings below:

• July 31, 10 a.m., Zoom meeting

• July 31, 2 p.m., Zoom meeting

• Aug. 1, 6 p.m., Zoom meeting

Comments can also be sent to [email protected] until 5 p.m. on Aug. 15. Please clarify which rule your comments pertain to in your email.

Oregon airport projects receive $17 million from feds; $3.75 million to Bend Airport as control tower project begins

-- Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration is awarding $17,364,442 to the state under the Airport Improvement Program, including $3.75 million to Bend Municipal Airport for the new air traffic control tower, a project getting under way this week.

Airport Manager Tracy Williams said construction mobilization begins Wednesday for the control tower project, expected to be completed in just over a year.

"The combination of federal and state grants has this $15 million project fully funded for grant-eligible items," Williams said.

“Oregon’s airports connect communities across our state to the rest of the world—supporting local businesses, transporting goods, connecting travelers to world-class recreational opportunities, and providing essential lifelines during natural disasters,” Merkley said. “This $17 million in federal funding will modernize infrastructure at airports across Oregon, growing our economy and ensuring safety for Oregonians and visitors alike as they fly throughout our state.”

“As evidenced by the ongoing wildfires throughout Oregon, airports statewide play a key role in emergency response along with their everyday reliability for medical supplies, passenger travel and moving small business products from point A to point B,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified these airports have secured these federal funds that will enable them to achieve all those goals more safely and effectively.”

Multiple meteor showers will collide under dark skies this week

Summer meteor shower season is in full swing.

As we inch closer to the peak of the Perseid meteor shower in August, this week acts as a kind of preview to the big show, with a collision of multiple meteor showers in the night sky that will give stargazers ample opportunity to catch streaking meteors.

A total of six meteor showers will be active this week, according to the American Meteor Society, and viewing should be good: A waning crescent moon, rising later and later in the night, should mean darker skies for those in a good place to do stargazing.

Aside from the Perseids, which run from July 14 to Sept. 1 (but won’t peak until Aug. 12-13), meteor watchers will be able to see the gamma Draconids (which peaked July 28), alpha Capricornids (peaking July 31), southern delta Aquarids (July 30), Pegasids (July 10), and eta Aquarids (Aug. 6). There will also be sporadic meteors, unassociated with any specific meteor shower.

The strength of each shower varies, and many of this week’s events are on the weaker side of things, forecasted to produce only one to three meteors per hour, according to the American Meteor Society. For comparison, the Perseid meteor shower is known to produce up to 100 meteors per hour at its peak.

That makes this week’s meteor showers something of a warm-up for the main show later this summer.

Sisters Roundabout Opened Monday

SISTERS, OR -- The roundabout at Highway 20 and Locust Street in Sisters opened to all traffic Monday evening. Drivers will still see single-lane closures overnight. Between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. Tuesday, crews are finishing pavement marking operations.

Access to South Locust Street and Hood avenue is closed until September; detours are in place.

Central Oregon Businesses and Events Adapt to Wildfire Smoke and Poor Air Quality

An air quality alert is in effect for Central Oregon through Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, affecting people and businesses. The Air Quality Index (AQI) peaked above 200 in Bend, causing many to reconsider outdoor activities.

Wheel Fun Rentals, which rents multi-passenger bikes in the Old Mill District, decided to close to protect employees and customers from the unhealthy air. Owner Joanie Krehbiel explained that they monitor the AQI each morning to decide whether to open. The employees work in sheds without power, running water, or air filtration, making it challenging to operate under such conditions.

Despite some improvement in air quality, Krehbiel noted that guests occasionally still want to rent bikes even in smoky conditions. The business tries to stay open when the AQI is between 150 and 200 if staff are willing to work.

Oregon Occupational Health and Safety rules mandate employers to monitor air quality and provide respirators when AQI exceeds 101, with mask-wearing becoming mandatory over 277. The varying weather, from extreme heat to smoky days, has significantly impacted Wheel Fun Rentals this summer.

Concerts at Hayden Homes Amphitheater are subject to individual band decisions regarding cancellations due to poor air quality. Cancellations will be announced on the band's social media, and tickets will be refunded if purchased through TicketMaster or Live Nation. However, if a concert takes place and attendees choose not to go, there are no refunds.

Lone Rock Fire Update

Crazy Creek Fire & Kitty Creek Fire Update

Red Fire Update

Red Fire Quick Facts
Size: 433 acres Origin: 5 miles west of Crescent Lake Junction, Oregon County: Klamath
Start Date: July 17, 2024 Cause: Lightning Containment: 0% Total Personnel: 246

Falls Fire Update

Microwave Tower Fire Update

Court Rock Fire

Battle Mountain Complex

Link to: Air Quality Index map

Another AQI Map

Link to: Northwest Large Fire Interactive Web Map

Full OR 126 road closures near Belknap Springs starts in August

You may have seen our crews while we work on repaving a section of OR 126 that is in poor condition. This work will help preserve the road and give you a smoother ride.

Our next phase of work requires several full road closures – plan ahead and use an alternate route if you're traveling these days in August.

Upcoming full OR 126 road closures:

• Nighttime half day closures August 1 through August 8.

  • Sunday through Thursday, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

  • No closure Friday and Saturday night, August 2 and August 3.

• Full 48-hour road closure planned for August 20 through August 22.

The Humane Society of the Ochocos

Are you an animal lover looking to make a positive impact on the lives of our furry friends in need? If so, you're in luck! Let me introduce you to a wonderful non-profit organization that is doing incredible work for animals in our community - The Humane Society of the Ochocos (HSO).

Visit their website at https://www.thehso.org/ to learn more about their programs, upcoming events, and how you can get involved. Together, we can make the world a better place for animals in need.

Update Video

Quick update from HSO! Don’t mind all the craziness going on in the video, typical day in the shelter if you will lol!

Give this video a share and help us find these guys homes

Deschutes Public Library Events

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