Hey there! Ever wished you could stay in the loop with all the exciting local events happening in Central Oregon without the hassle of constantly searching for them? Look no further! With Central Oregon Local Live, you can receive convenient event reminders straight to your phone. Signing up is easy – just visit centraloregonlocalbuzz.com and opt-in for Event Reminders with a simple YES reply. You'll receive a curated list of current events once a week, typically on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Plus, rest assured that your privacy is our priority – we will never share your information or bombard you with unwanted messages. Stay informed and connected with Central Oregon Local Live!

In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia

🌄Bend, OR Weather

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

🐶🎭MUTTS & MASQUERADE FUNDRAISER EVENT - Brightside Animal Shelter

🎞️21ST Annual Bend Film Festival

📅Save The Date Section

🚗Classic Car Fest - River’s Place

💖🫴3rd Annual A Night to Remember - Bowties & Boots - Fundraiser

🎉New Event Calendar! Central Oregon Local Live!

📰Local News - What’s a Happening?

🔥New Fire SE side of Pine Mountain, 22 Miles SE of Bend

🐺ODFW sets wolf traps near Wickiup Reservoir to help research wolf pack

🏛️Bend Moves Ahead With Green Building Resolution

💵🔥Oregon Struggles to Recover Costs from Wildfires

❎Local Vote

😐Oregon strikes an additional 302 people from voter rolls over lack of citizenship proof

Central Oregon Fire Info

Updates of Oregon Fires

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

🚨 Crime News

🐶🐶 Eight Abandoned Puppies Rescued at Hollinshead Park, Now in Veterinary Care

🚨Body found near La Pine transfer station; DCSO says no danger to public

📰 Community News

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

📲Sponsors & Partners

😁 MEME of the Day

🌆 On going Events COMING SOON - A NEW EVENTS CALENDAR JUST FOR “Fun N Games” in Central Oregon! Stay tuned!

When was the Pilot Butte Inn in Bend, Oregon, originally built?

A) 1897
B) 1917
C) 1927
D) 1947

👉Find the Answer in Tomorrow’s Newsletter👉

BEND

SUNRIVER

Events Sponsored By

Enjoy Bend Life Real Estate

What’s Up Central Oregon 

MUTTS & MASQUERADE FUNDRAISER EVENT

Join us for an unforgettable evening at our annual fundraiser Mutts & Masquerade on

Saturday, October, 12th, from 6-10pm, at the stunning Juniper Golf Course!

Dress in your masquerade best while indulging in delicious heavy appetizers, sip on cocktails, and celebrate our animals. This year’s event promises an array of activities including casino games, live and silent auction, a photo booth, champagne wall, and a thrilling paddle raise!

As an independent non-profit organization, our critical work is fueled by our events and supporters. All funds raised at this year’s Mutts & Masquerade benefit the animals at BrightSide and help our mission of providing sheltering, placement, and preventative services to reduce animal homelessness and unnecessary euthanasia.

Don’t miss out on this extraordinary evening in support of our cause. We can’t wait to see you there!

21ST Annual Bend Film Festival

Your Annual Big Screen Binge is Back! The 21st annual Bend Film Festival is back from October 10th to 13th, promising four days packed with unparalleled entertainment. Immerse yourself in the heart of Bend's vibrant arts scene as we bring you a stellar lineup of film screenings, panels, parties, and more! With over 100 films spanning genres from breathtaking nature documentaries to innovative shorts and gripping narrative features, there's truly something for everyone. Watch one or watch them all. Join us in celebrating independent movies and their makers!

Passes on sale now, individual tickets are live Sept 20th!

Date

October 10, 2024 - October 13, 2024

Time

12:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Coming up - Save the Date

Got an upcoming event you want us to FEATURE?

Click here to let us know about your upcoming Event!

New Fire SE side of Pine Mountain, 22 Miles SE of Bend

October 7th around 4 p.m., the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center dispatched resources to the Pine Fire reported burning approximately 22 miles southeast of Bend, south of Highway 20 and south of Pine Mountain in the Kotzman Basin.

Resources from Central Oregon Fire Management Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Brothers-Hampton Rangeland Fire Protection Association and Alfalfa Fire District responded to the fire with several engines, a 10-person handcrew, two dozers and overhead resources. Firefighters on the ground were supported by aerial resources including an air attack, air tankers and a Type 1 helicopter.

Firefighters are currently engaged and will remain on scene overnight. The fire remains active on all sides. Additional resources are on order. The fire is currently estimated at 2,000 acres.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has issued the following evacuation notices:

• Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation notice:

  • Public lands on and immediately surrounding Pine Mountain including Antelope Ridge and Kotzman Basin.

  • West of Moffitt Rd. south of Hwy. 20 to Fox Butte Rd.

• Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation notice:

  • South of Hwy 20 west of Fox Butte Rd. north of the National Forest, east of Pine Mountain Rd. 

Please go to www.deschutes.org/emergency for current information and to view an interactive evacuation map.

The fire is currently burning on the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management land. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

ODFW sets wolf traps near Wickiup Reservoir to help research wolf pack

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recently put up wolf trap signs near the Wickiup Reservoir. It's all in the name of research.

"There are some wolves down there in the Upper Deschutes area," said Regional Wolf Biologist for the ODFW for the Ochoco District, Aaron Bott. "A pack that we refer to as the Upper Deschutes Wolf Pack and we've successfully had radio collars in that pack in the past, and it's time to put out a new radio collar."

Bott says the Upper Deschutes Wolf Pack fluctuates in numbers but usually consists of six or seven wolves.

The ODFW uses non-lethal leg traps to capture and then sedate the animal before putting on a tracking collar and releasing it back into the wild.

"This helps us to better understand the movements of wolves on the landscape," Bott said. "The spaces that they use, how they migrate back and forth and connect with one another as a population."

Bott says researchers try trapping wolves in the fall and spring, depending on weather conditions and recreation circumstances.

Though the traps are safe, people out with furry companions should be aware.

"Their dogs might get caught in these traps," Bott said. "They're non-injury traps. We have instructions on the sign of who they need to call if they have any concerns as well as instructions on how to safely get your animal out of the trap."

The traps, which are out for around a week, are monitored daily with devices that help notify when an animal is caught. 

"The public is interested in this species and so these kinds of efforts help us to gain a better understanding of, again, wolf species on the landscape and it's a great resource to have," Bott said.

The traps near Wickiup Reservoir have been removed, but trapping will resume when appropriate. No wolves were caught in this latest attempt.

The latest Annual Wolf Report found the Oregon population remained steady at 178 wolves, marking the first time in eight years that their numbers didn't increase. Typically, the population has grown by 6% a year. Among the 36 wolf deaths in 2023, 33 were caused by people. The state-sanctioned the killing of 16 wolves following livestock deaths and 12 were killed illegally.

Bend Moves Ahead With Green Building Resolution

Posted by Heather Roberts KBND

BEND, OR -- The Bend City Council unanimously approved a resolution committing to reducing the use of fossil fuels in new construction. Mayor Melanie Kebler says it only impacts city-owned properties, "We're already doing that commitment with our Juniper Ridge public works campus. That is fossil fuel-free, except for a couple of backup generators that might have some gas in them. It's going to be all electric, it's going to have solar panels." She tells KBND News, "We want to just really commit to anything we do going forward, and if possible, retrofit some of our other buildings, to really walking the walk on doing that green energy and avoiding fossil fuel use."

Eventually, she says, they may expand the reach of the resolution, "Just the development of policy generally, to incentivize or maybe regulate, we're not sure yet, around moving away from natural gas and other fossil fuels in Bend. How do we do that in a way that makes sense for the community and that's going to be effective? So, this is just kind of a first commitment from the city; on our own buildings, we're going to doing that. And then, we're going to be working the next year on the policy citywide."

A companion effort is also underway to look at how Bend could create a low-car district. "There's a lot of work coming our why that's from the Climate Friendly Equity Communities rules that came down from the state a couple of years ago, and just other state legislative action," says Kebler, "That's encouraging cities to develop in a more urban way, and in a way that allows people to live without a car or with very little use of a car. And that's for climate reasons, that's for health reasons and also just to help us densify and not have to sprawl out into our surrounding areas."

Oregon Struggles to Recover Costs from Wildfires

The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) responds to around 1,000 wildfires annually but struggles to recover firefighting costs from responsible parties. Since 2004, ODF spent $24M fighting 36 significant fires caused by negligence or malice, but only recovered $86K. Many people lack the funds to reimburse the state, and the cost of pursuing payments can outweigh the benefits. The agency dropped investigations in some cases due to cost, while increasing efforts to prevent human-caused fires, which account for 70-80% of incidents. Legislative funding helps cover escalating wildfire expenses.

FULL STORY HERE

Oregon strikes an additional 302 people from voter rolls over lack of citizenship proof

Oregon authorities said Monday they had removed another 302 people from the state’s voter rolls after determining they didn’t provide proof of citizenship when they were registered to vote, in the latest revelation of improper voter registrations stemming from clerical errors at the state DMV.

Monday’s announcement, in addition to the 1,259 people whose voter registrations have already been inactivated because of the issue, brings the total number of mistaken registrations to 1,561. It came the same day the DMV released a report about the errors, which were first acknowledged by authorities last month.

The mistake occurred in part because Oregon passed a law in 2019 allowing some residents who aren’t citizens to obtain driver’s licenses. And the state’s so-called “Motor Voter” law, which took effect in 2016, automatically registers most people to vote when they seek a new license or ID.

“Two weeks ago, we believed we had all of the information to project confidence that we understood and had reviewed all records at risk of error,” DMV Administrator Amy Joyce said in a statement. “We have since learned this confidence was misplaced based on new information outlined in this announcement and after-action report and for this, we are sorry. DMV will follow the Governor’s directed actions and remains committed to continuous learning, corrective action, transparency and accountability.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed the DMV to pause automatic voter registration. She also called for an independent, external audit of the state’s Motor Voter system in a joint statement with Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade.

“The first step in restoring the public’s trust in Oregon Motor Voter is a transparent review by a neutral third party operating under strict government auditing standards,” Griffin-Valade said in a statement.

Griffin-Valade said she has “full confidence” that the errors won’t impact the November election.

She has ordered her office’s elections division to immediately hire a new Motor Voter oversight position, according to the statement. And she has instructed the division to establish a documented process for performing regular data checks with the DMV and update the administrative rules governing the Motor Voter system.

Of the 302 additional cases, 178 were due to people from the U.S. territory of American Samoa being misclassified as U.S. citizens, the DMV report said. However, under federal law, people from American Samoa are U.S. nationals, not citizens, and don’t have the same right to vote. Another 123 records stemmed from the previously identified clerical error, but weren’t included in prior reviews due to to a newly identified software issue. And one case was caught by the DMV’s new quality controls.

The secretary of state’s office said it’s working to verify whether the 302 people cast ballots.

In its report, the DMV outlined the actions it has taken to fix the error, including multiple changes to the computer system into which voter information is entered, manual daily quality checks and staff training.

Of the 1,259 people previously found to be possibly ineligible, ten were found to have voted after being improperly registered, but at least five were later confirmed to have been citizens when they cast their ballots, the DMV statement said. Those who voted after being mistakenly registered represent a tiny fraction of the state’s 3 million registered voters.

Updates of Oregon Fires

Link to: Air Quality Index map

Another AQI Map

Link to: Northwest Large Fire Interactive Web Map

Eight Abandoned Puppies Rescued at Hollinshead Park, Now in Veterinary Care

Bend, OR - On Sunday, October 6, Bend Police responded to a report of abandoned puppies at Hollinshead Park. Upon arrival, officers found eight very young puppies in a box behind a garbage can. All of the puppies were alive and appeared clean and well-cared for.

Bend Police contacted the Companion Animal Medical Project (CAMP), which took the puppies to an emergency veterinary clinic. The puppies, estimated to be one to two weeks old, were bottle-fed and placed in incubators overnight. All eight puppies survived and will remain with CAMP until they are ready for adoption through its program, The Peaches Project.

Anyone with information about the puppies' abandonment is asked to contact Bend’s nonemergency dispatch at 541-693-6911. Local organizations in Central Oregon are available to assist those struggling to care for their animals.

Body found near La Pine transfer station; DCSO says no danger to public

• Central Oregon Daily News Staff

Law enforcement officials are investigating the discovery of a body near La Pine.

The body was discovered along Highway 97 just north of La Pine near the transfer station. A viewer tells Central Oregon Daily it was found Monday night.

A law enforcement official at the scene said it appears the body has been there for awhile. Due to the condition of the body, it’s unclear if it’s a male or female.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Jason Wall said the investigation is ongoing and there is no danger to the public.

Deschutes Public Library Events

Follow us on facebook