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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🌄Bend, OR Weather

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

🥳💃🍻River’s Place Celebrates 6 Years with Bluegrass and Community Cheer! Tues 10.29.24

❄️Snowflake Boutique -November 1st

📅Save The Date Section

🍲Think Wild Hosting a Wild Chili Cook-Off -November 16th

 💓🧘‍♀️Meditation & Educational Event -November 16th

🎉New Event Calendar! Central Oregon Local Live!

📰Local News - What’s a Happening?

📰OHA Approves St. Charles Health System’s Acquisition of The Center – With Conditions

📰Redmond Fire & Rescue to Reopen Outdoor Burning October 28th

⛲🛝Little Fawn Park opens in SE Bend

🏞️Smith Rock's Upcoming improvements Including Welcome Center Shared at Information Session

📰Regional News

⚕️Doctors at 2 Providence medical centers in Portland vote to authorize what could be Oregon’s first doctors strike

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🛣️Street Preservation Work Wraps Up for 2024 and Winter Preparation Begins

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

🚨Crime News

🚨Sexual Predator on the Run

📰 Community News

🛻Culver man enters lifted Ford F-250 into major aftermarket car show in Las Vegas

 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 Fun N Games in Central Oregon has LAUNCHED 🚀

BEND

Santiam Pass Forecast

Today

A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. West southwest wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tonight

Snow showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 34. West wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tuesday

Snow showers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 32. West wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tuesday Night

A 40 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. South southwest wind 3 to 8 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. 

Events Sponsored By

Enjoy Bend Life Real Estate

What’s Up Central Oregon 

October 29th

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

River’s Place Celebrates 6 Years with Bluegrass and Community Cheer!

River’s Place is turning six, and you’re invited to join the celebration! For six years, this beloved Bend Tap House has brought together local flavors, community, and fun, becoming a go-to spot for great food, drinks, and live entertainment. To mark the occasion, Skillethead will be taking the stage, filling the air with lively bluegrass tunes that are sure to get everyone up and moving.

Whether you're a regular or it's your first time, this anniversary bash is the perfect moment to experience the River’s Place spirit. Grab some friends, dig into your favorite eats, and toast to many more years of good times ahead. 

Snowflake Boutique

Friday, November 1st from 1 to 8 pm

Saturday, November 2nd from 9am to 5 pm

Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center
Redmond, OR 97756

Note:  We have moved to the

South Sister Building 
$4.00 Door Charge part of which goes to Charitable Organizations

Coming up - Save the Date

November 16th

Think Wild, Bend’s nonprofit wildlife center, is excited to announce the Get Wild Chili Cook-Off, a delicious, family-friendly fundraising event.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 16, 2024, and join us at Aspen Hall in Shevlin Park from 4-8pm for an evening of delicious chili, live music, raffles and more!

Event highlights will include the Chili Cook-Off Contest, in which attendees will sample and vote for their favorite chili, soups, and side dishes across five exciting categories:

1. Best All Around

2. Wildest Chili

3. Best Vegan/Vegetarian Chili

4. Soup-er Soups (best soup or stew)

5. Best Chili Side Dish (cornbread, tasty toppings, etc)

In addition to delicious chili, guests can enjoy wine, seltzer, cider, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase. The event will feature live music, raffle prizes, and exclusive footage from Think Wild’s beaver monitoring trail cameras at Shevlin Park.

This event is made possible by the generous support of Bend Park and Recreation Department for sponsoring the venue, and by Van Henion Brewing, Sunriver Brewing Co., and Bend Cider Co. for providing beverages.

For more information, to purchase tickets, or to sign up as a contestant, please visit thinkwildco.org/chili-cookoff.

About Think Wild:
Think Wild is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Bend, Oregon. Our mission is to inspire the High Desert community to care for and protect native wildlife through education, conservation, rescue, and rehabilitation. We provide veterinary treatment and care at the wildlife hospital, staffed by expert wildlife rehabilitation staff, animal husbandry volunteers, and our staff veterinarian. Wildlife conflicts or injuries can be reported to our Wildlife Hotline at 541-241-8680, which is monitored seven days a week from 8am-4pm.

thinkwildco.org • Instagram • Facebook

November 16th

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OHA Approves St. Charles Health System’s Acquisition of The Center – With Conditions

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has approved St. Charles Health System’s acquisition of The Center, an orthopedic and neurosurgery provider, with specific conditions aimed at controlling costs and maintaining patient access and quality standards.

- Conditions: For 10 years, St. Charles cannot add new facility fees for outpatient services currently provided by The Center without such fees. Additionally, OHA set requirements to maintain access, allowing providers to choose patient care settings freely and preserve relationships with other hospitals.

- Quality and Equity Gains: The merger could enhance regional care quality, as St. Charles exceeds The Center in some patient care metrics. The acquisition may also increase charity care for low-income patients.

- Appeal Plans: St. Charles plans to appeal specific conditions, citing restrictions on orthopedic service delivery over a lengthy 10-year term as a primary concern.

OHA’s Health Care Market Oversight Program, initiated by Oregon lawmakers in 2022, aims to regulate health care mergers like this and the upcoming Legacy Health-OHSU deal.

Redmond Fire & Rescue to Reopen Outdoor Burning October 28th

October 25, 2024, Redmond, OR- At 8am on October 28th, Redmond Fire & Rescue will reopen outdoor burning. With the recent rains and decrease in high temperatures, the risk for fire spread has decreased to safe levels. Redmond Fire & Rescue would like to remind anyone who is conducting outdoor burning of the regulations for the areas served by Redmond Fire & Rescue:

NO DEBRIS BURNING INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF REDMOND AT ANY TIME

Open debris burning inside the city limits of Redmond is prohibited per Redmond Fire & Rescue Ordinance #5. Failure to comply can result in a citation and fines.

Campfires, warming fires, and cooking fires, in approved fire rings or appliances, are allowed year-round when the regulations below are followed. These fires are allowed within city limits and no permit is required.

All types of fires may be banned in peak fire conditions.

A burn permit is required for open burning. A burn permit is not required when using a burn barrel, however you must still check the burn line to determine if burning is allowed. Burn permits will be available via a new app coming soon. In the meantime, please visit Before You Burn to obtain a permit.

General Requirements

• Each day, before you begin your outdoor burning, you must call the outdoor burning number at 541-504-5035 and utilize the burn permit online system to determine if burning is allowed. A permit is required.

• You are completely responsible, criminally and personally, including any suppression costs, for any fire you start. These regulations do NOT relieve responsibility for conducting a safe and attended burn.

• All fires shall be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished. Fires should be cold to the touch to be considered completely out.

• A minimum of one portable fire extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating or other approved on-site fire-extinguishing equipment such as a shovel and dirt, garden hose, or water truck, shall be available for immediate utilization.

• Open burning shall be prohibited when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. The fire code official is authorized to order the extinguishment of any fire which creates or adds to a hazardous situation.

• All fires shall have a minimum of 10 feet around the fire clear of combustibles.

• An adult must be in attendance at all times.

To Report an Illegal Burn

Call the non-emergency dispatch line at 541-693-6911 to report an illegal burn. Or to report individuals who are burning items not approved by DEQ, please call DEQ at 541-388-6146.

Residential Outdoor Burning of Yard Debris (only permitted outside the Redmond city limits with a valid permit)

Provisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreading to any structure*. To apply for a permit, download the Burn Permit app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

1. Fires in approved containers shall not be less than 15 feet from any structure.

2. The minimum required distance from a structure shall be 25 feet where the pile size is 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height.

3. The minimum required distance from a structure shall be 50 feet where the pile size is greater than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height.

4. Burn piles need to be sized so fires will be completely out by the required time indicated on the burn information line.

5. Burn barrels shall be at least 15 feet from any structure.

6. Absolutely no debris burning after dark.

Little Fawn Park opens in SE Bend

Bend Park and Recreation District has opened its newest park, Little Fawn Park in southeast Bend.

The 3.5-acre park is located at 61012 Parrell Road, south of the Murphy Road roundabout in southeast Bend.

The park has a picnic shelter, half basketball court, swings, a slide and a shaded lawn. There are also preserved natural areas, trails and paths.

Smith Rock's Upcoming improvements Including Welcome Center Shared at Information Session

Smith Rock State Park is slated to break ground on a new welcome center, restroom, trail connections and improved day-use parking in late 2025 or early 2026.

The public is invited to learn more at an online information session 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22. Advance registration is required to attend the information meeting.

Last year, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department updated Smith Rock State Park’s master plan, a guiding document for future improvements. The current work represents the highest priorities for enhancing visitor experience, managing congestion and improving accessibility.

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

The work at Smith Rock was made possible by GO Bond funds approved by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 and a Land and Water Conservation grant from the National Park Service.

The work includes (depending on final bids and funding):

A welcome center.

Improvements to the day-use parking.

Adding one to two trail connections.

Adding a new restroom.

Staff will work on the design development, planning, coordination and permitting through spring 2025 with the final design and project bidding slated for fall 2025. Park staff hope to break ground in late 2025 or early 2026 on the year-long project.

During construction, the day-use parking area may be substantially reduced. The park will know more about the impacts to visitors as construction gets closer.

The park will keep visitors and the community informed about the project and visitor impacts on the park webpage and GO Bond page.

Doctors at 2 Providence medical centers in Portland vote to authorize what could be Oregon’s first doctors strike

Portland, OR - Doctors and other health care workers at two Providence medical centers in Portland voted to authorize a strike Wednesday in what could be Oregon's first-ever doctors strike. 

Members voted to authorize their bargaining teams to call for a strike if necessary at Providence Women's Clinic and Providence St. Vincent Hospital. A potential strike would include doctors, physician associates, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and clinic nurses.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) said its members want competitive wages and benefits, more time with patients and safer staffing levels. Negotiations at the women's clinic have been underway since November 2023 and negotiations at Providence St. Vincent started in January 2024.

In a statement, Providence called the strike authorization "the latest example of union leaders putting power before patients."

"Make no mistake – union leaders’ ultimate goal is not to get contracts for members, but to engineer an eight-hospital strike that includes hospitalists at Providence St. Vincent and Providence outpatient women's clinics – which would, in effect, throw health care for thousands of patients into uncertainty," Providence said in its statement.

If a strike is called, ONA said that Providence would be given enough notice to allow time to "cease admissions and transfer patients or to reach a fair agreement and avert a work stoppage."

Providence stated that this is an "unrealistic and irresponsible" idea. 

If a strike is called, it would be the first doctors strike in Oregon history. In June, ONA led the largest nurses strike in the state's history when over 3,000 nurses from six Providence hospitals walked off the job in a three-day strike. 

Since then, the bargaining units have met with a federal mediator, though ONA said that Providence "continues to come up short" on safer staffing levels and competitive pay and benefits. 

Jeremiah Wright, a nurse practitioner at St. Vincent, said it took a long time for the doctors and other hospitalists there to reach the point where they felt comfortable with a strike. He said doctors' first priority is "do no harm," but they have struggled to provide care because of understaffing.

"Realizing that it is beholden on the corporations and the health-care systems to ensure that we are providing the best health care for our patients," Wright told Oregon News Service. "If it comes to a point where a strike is necessary for us to achieve that, then it's up to Providence to make sure that the hospital's staffed when we're on strike."

Christina Malango is a clinic nurse with Providence Women's Clinic. Negotiations at her clinic began in November 2023, and there have been 36 bargaining sessions so far. She described nurses as "burnt out" and the clinic as short-staffed since the pandemic. She added that Providence hasn't moved on the issues most important to her and her coworkers.

"Work-life balance, competitive wages and benefits, health benefits, retirement that rewards loyalty and ensures the dignity of people as they move into retirement," she said. "Those are areas [where] we have been really stuck."

Malango said many nurses don't feel like they're being listened to - and so, a strike authorization felt like a necessary step.

"As someone who is at the bargaining table myself," she said, "I feel like the strike authorization is another tool to convey the seriousness and the unity among our union members."

Street Preservation Work Wraps Up for 2024 and Winter Preparation Begins

The City of Bend’s 2024 Street Preservation Program has wrapped up after City street crews and contractors improved 59 lane miles (about 6%) of Bend’s approximately 936 lane miles of roads for about $4.7 million. With the City’s ‘keep good roads good’ philosophy, work focused on using the right treatment at the right time to provide the most cost-effective way to maintain public roads. Final striping and painting will be taking place over the next week. Street preservation this season included:

• Paving contract with Knife River Corporation - Northwest (16 lane miles) – Old asphalt is ground out and replaced on the existing roadway. Paving occurred on some busy streets including Division Street, Butler Market Road, Reed Market Road, Bear Creek Road, NW 12^th Street.

• Slurry seal contract with Doolittle Construction, LLC (22 lane miles) – A treatment for low-volume residential streets.

• Chip seal contract with One Way Trigger, LLC (21 lane miles) – An asphalt emulsion and rock are applied to streets.

“This work helps extend the life of our roads that are vital to our community. We thank everyone for their patience this construction season,” said Streets & Operations Project Manager Paul Neiswonger.

As seasons shift, the Transportation and Mobility Department is getting ready for winter operations and is asking everyone to do their part to prepare for winter. Learn what to expect during the winter in Bend at bendoregon.gov/winter.

The City’s resources are set for the average winter, but the occasional extreme storms can be challenging. The City has 18 snow plow operators per shift and 30 pieces of equipment.  The equipment ranges from light-duty pickups to medium-duty dump trucks to heavy-duty (two motor graders) with snowplows.

The City prioritizes plowing and sanding on the highest-use streets that accommodate the most drivers, major employment areas, schools and transit routes. The City’s winter street priority map at bendoregon.gov/snow illustrates which routes get plowed first. Crews prioritize plowing main arterials as “Priority One” for emergency vehicle access and the traveling public, also focusing on routes to the Hospital, transit routes, employment centers, government facilities, and schools (if class is in session).  “Priority Two” streets are typically main collector streets connecting to the arterials and include business centers, medical facilities, safe routes to school, transit routes, connecting neighborhoods, etc.  Residential streets are typically done last and may be supported with contracted crews. With 165 lane miles of main arterials, 80 lane miles of collectors and 691 lane miles of local residential streets, crews cannot plow and sand all roads at the same time and must follow this prioritized plan.

Sexual Predator on the Run

A man with ties to southern Oregon is wanted for traveling to meet a child he met online, and was last seen in North Idaho on Tuesday and maybe somewhere in the northwest states, the Jackson Co. Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

According to authorities, 42-year-old Christian Bert Fischer avoided being captured on Tuesday in the Coeur D’Alene, Idaho area where he fled to, after failing to appear for his second day of trial in Florida.

Authorities said he is facing charges in Florida for traveling to meet a minor after using a computer to lure a child.

Allegedly, he fled Florida and first went to California, then to the Portland area in Oregon, and finally to Idaho, where he was spotted carving pumpkins in Athol, Idaho with an unknown family. In June and July, he was also in Ashland, Lake of the Woods, and Wolf Creek.

Christian Bert Fischer:

• A white man with blond hair and blue eyes.

• He is about 5-foot, 10-inches tall and 200 pounds.

• He is known to dress like a woman.

• Allegedly has been using false names, likely paying with cash and has had associates pay for some expenses.

Anyone with information on where he might be is asked to contact the local U.S. Marshals’ office at (541) 776-4277, the USMS Communication Center at 1-800-336-0102, or submit tips online at usmarshals.gov/tips.

Culver man enters lifted Ford F-250 into major aftermarket car show in Las Vegas

A hobby may just turn into a career for a Culver man who specializes in modifying trucks.

Luke Middleton was invited to show his Ford F-250 at a major aftermarket car show next week in Las Vegas.

With the new lift, wheels and tires, he said this is the biggest project he’s taken on so far. Modifications included custom painting of all the black plastic pieces on the vehicle to match the rest of the truck and adding a 10-inch Wicked Suspensions lift kit.

Middleton is hoping to use the spotlight as an opportunity to make some money.

"Kind of figured that would maybe be a start on getting my foot in the door for other people wanting me to build a rig for them. Right now, I’m a general contractor and doing remodels," Middleton said.

Middleton has two sponsors for the event.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association show runs Nov. 5-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Middleton said the show is so huge, it's impossible to see everything in the four days of the show.

Just Sayin’ 😎

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