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In this Issue of C.O. Local BUZZ…

🤔Local Trivia

🌄Bend, OR Weather

🌨️🏔️Santiam Pass Forecast

📅 Lots and LOTS of Events

❄️Snowflake Boutique -November 1st

🎶John Reischman and the Jaybirds @ The Belfry - 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?

🎦Edgar and Myrtle Thompson: The ghosts of the Tower Theatre in Bend - CO Daily

📰Bend and County Make a Deal regarding Juniper Ridge

❄️Mount Bachelor Snow Prep

⛽Costco Gas Prices Impact

📰Redmond grad named ambassador for Military Women's Memorial

🎦Sheriff Nelson says public message not election interference; Vander Kamp, community react

📰Regional News

🚧 Road Closures & Construction

🚧Deschutes County Road Department plans to close Cascade Lakes Highway, Paulina Lake Road for the winter on Nov. 19

🔥⛑️Fire & Rescue News

💥Driver cited after car hits side of First Interstate Bank branch on Century Drive in Bend

🚨Crime News

📰 Community News

🫴Humane Society of the Ochocos at 145% capacity for dogs, asking for volunteers

 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 🚀

What is unique about Crater Lake, Oregon’s only National Park?

A) It is the largest lake by surface area in the United States
B) It was formed by a volcanic eruption that created the deepest lake in the U.S.
C) It has the highest waterfall in Oregon
D) It is the oldest National Park in the United States

👉Find the Answer in Tomorrow’s Newsletter👉

Good Morning from Bend Airport

BEND

Santiam Pass Forecast

Today

Snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 34. Southwest wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 10 to 16 inches possible.

Tonight

Rain, possibly mixed with snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Snow level 4800 feet. Low around 32. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Friday

Rain, possibly mixed with snow showers. Snow level 4900 feet rising to 5600 feet in the afternoon. High near 36. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Friday Night

Rain, possibly mixed with snow showers, becoming all snow after 11pm. Snow level 5400 feet lowering to 4800 feet after midnight . Low around 32. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Events Sponsored By

Enjoy Bend Life Real Estate

What’s Up Central Oregon 

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

John Reischman and the Jaybirds

@ The Belfry

November 1st

7:00 PM

Living legend of the mandolin, John Reischman, brings an intimate evening of acoustic music to The Belfry with his band, The Jaybirds. Local old-time group Danger Gently opens.

About John Reischman:

Grammy Award-winning musician John Reischman has been a foundational mandolinist, composer, bandleader, and musical educator in bluegrass and North American roots and folk music since emerging from the vibrant “new acoustic” bluegrass music scene of the Bay Area in the 1980s. A member of the groundbreaking Tony Rice Unit, Reischman’s mastery of bluegrass, old-time, swing, and multiple Latin American musical styles, coupled with an Old Master’s sense of tone, taste, and musicality, has brought him a global reputation as one of the finest mandolinists of his era.

Opener Danger Gently

Coming up - Save the Date

November 16th

November 16th

Got an upcoming event you want us to FEATURE?

Click here to let us know about your upcoming Event!

Bend and County Make a Deal regarding Juniper Ridge

Bend, OR -- The Bend City Council unanimously approved a joint resolution Tuesday to create a Temporary Safe Stay Area for people camping in Juniper Ridge. Deschutes County Commissioners approved their portion last week. The two jurisdictions will share the cost of providing sanitation services and case management, to help campers move into safer housing. The site will likely close at the end of 2026, when federal funding for the project runs out.

Mount Bachelor Snow Prep

Bend, OR -- Mount Bachelor has seen five inches of snow over the last few days and the resort is now making more. Director of Mountain Operations Dustin Smith is optimistic about the long-range forecast, but says there’s still a long way to go before Bachelor can open. Smith says the goal is to open the season the day after Thanksgiving. He admits moving that date up is not off the table. 

Costco Gas Prices Impact

Bend, OR -- Gas prices continue to fall and Bend drivers are again seeing the biggest declines. The local average for a gallon of regular is down nine cents this week, to 3.43; that's after a nine-cent drop last week. Triple-A's Marie Dodds says it's all due to Bend's new Costco gas station on the north end of town. She says it's not unusual for a new discount station to start a bit of a price war, but it usually settles down after a few weeks. 

Current Costco gas prices:

Redmond grad named ambassador for Military Women's Memorial

A Redmond High graduate and former member of the National Guard was recently named an ambassador to the Military Women’s Memorial near Washington, D.C.

Amy Horton graduated from Redmond High in 1990 as Amy Anderson. She went on to attend Central Oregon Community College, Oregon State University and eventually earned a law degree from Willamette University.

Horton served nine years as journalist in the 115th Public Affairs Detachment of the Oregon Army National Guard. Her father Christopher Anderson, who passed away in 2013, was a longtime master gunner and first sergeant to the 3-116th Cavalry in Redmond.

Horton practiced law in San Francisco for several years before moving to Maryland and then to Virginia. She is currently a department head at Virginia Peninsula Community College, where she has taught classes since 2007.

“Though I may no longer wear the uniform, I’m really humbled to have the opportunity to continue to serve in this way and would very much like to reach current and former servicewomen who are OSU grads or current students, to help them connect with MWM and have their records and stories of service preserved and celebrated,” Horton said.

She said Oregon has one of the lower registrations of female servicemembers as compared to other states, and she’d like to see that change.

Anyone who has questions about the military or the Military Women’s Memorial can reach out to Horton at [email protected] or call (757) 561-0465.

As winter storm moves in, ODOT fully closing McKenzie Pass Highway for the season on Friday

Incoming winter weather has ODOT crews closing the east side of McKenzie Pass, Oregon Highway 242, this coming Friday, Nov. 1. The gates on the west side of the pass were closed last Friday. This will mark the beginning of the full seasonal closure.

McKenzie Pass is a secondary, scenic highway. Weather, costs and logistics make it impractical to maintain for travel year-round. In the winter, we focus our staff and resources on main highways to keep them plowed, open and safe. 

When the highway is closed, it is closed to all users and is not maintained. Travelers going past locked gates and closure signs are doing so at their own risk. There are no services or cell coverage in this area. 

Every year, McKenzie Pass opens and closes with the seasons. Dates vary depending on road and weather conditions. 

McKenzie Pass became a seasonal scenic highway in 1962 with the completion of the Clear Lake-Belknap Springs section of Oregon 126. Even during its time as the main route between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon, the narrow, twisting roadway and high elevation (5,325 feet) made the highway too difficult to maintain and keep clear during the winter months.

Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint to be closed for a day for staff training

 Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint will be closed for a park staff training event all day on Wednesday, Nov. 6. 

Safety barricades will be placed at the park entrance road from Highway 126. The public is asked to please respect the closure and not to go past the barricades. 

For questions, please contact Dani Padilla at 541-415-8130.

Deschutes County Road Department plans to close Cascade Lakes Highway, Paulina Lake Road for the winter on Nov. 19

The Deschutes County Road Department announced this week that it plans to close the Cascade Lakes Highway and Paulina Lake Road for the winter season on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at about 8 a.m.

The high-elevation forest highways are closed annually in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to provide for winter recreation opportunities.

Deschutes County provides maintenance on these highways through an easement agreement with the Forest Service.

"It is not uncommon for roadside snow accumulation to exceed five to 10 feet at the road summit," the county announcement said. "Continual snow/ice maintenance of these road segments is cost-prohibitive."

The Road Department said it will aim to remove snow and open both Cascade Lakes Highway and Paulina Lake Road prior to Memorial Day each year.

Driver cited after car hits side of First Interstate Bank branch on Century Drive in Bend

Bend, OR - On Wednesday afternoon, a car hit the side of the First Interstate Bank branch on Century Drive in southwest Bend.

No one was hurt, but police a driver was cited for careless driving after mistaking the brake for the gas.

Damage is still being assessed, but First Interstate says it's glad no one was hurt and the crash won't impact their operations.

Humane Society of the Ochocos at 145% capacity for dogs, asking for volunteers

The Humane Society of the Ochocos urgently needs volunteers and fosters for its dogs. The shelter is currently at 145% capacity, doubling and even tripling up dogs in some kennels.

“The biggest concern is keeping them safe and healthy and clean,” said Jessica Williams, shelter manager. “We have lots of volunteers that come in and they take our dogs out and they walk, get them on trails, car rides and help us learn more about them.”

The goal, of course, is for the dogs to be permanently adopted. In the meantime, the shelter hopes to reduce the congestion through fosters like Renee Carver.

“Anybody that can foster should try to take some of the burden off,” Carver said. “It’s really rewarding. Especially since you get to see animals start out, usually sick or malnourished, and then you get to see them really come to life.”

HSO says temporary dog care allows the shelter to perform other vital operations like ensuring the adoptable animal is good with kids and other pets. Volunteers also help increase visibility.

“If they got an 'Adopt Me' vest on, people see that and may be interested or know someone that is," Williams said. "Networking and getting faces out there helps a lot.”

Due to the overpopulation, HSO is not accepting any new dogs until further notice.

To contact the shelter, click here.

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