Mary Jane Pocket Park Tree Lighting
Friday, December 7, 2012 5:00pm-6:00pm
Corner of NW Lava Road and NW Georgia Aveune
Dress Warmly, Meet Mary Jane & Dwight
Bring any treat…share in cheer & song.
Santa Express to Collect Food, Clothing, and Toys for Needy Families
With the down turn in the economy comes more need for support of local food banks and charities, and The Salvation Army is no different. In 2010 The Salvation Army provided Christmas presents, food and clothing for 1,000 families in the Bend area. In 2011 the need has nearly doubled, with 1,800 families requesting assistance from the Salvation Army this year!
Anything and everything helps, even if its one can of food or a small toy, that donation will go a long ways to providing a good dinner on Christmas and a smile on a child’s face Christmas morning.
Bend Fire Department’s Santa Express food and clothing drive is heading into Bend Neighborhoods Monday December 3rd through Thursday December 6th. The Bend Firefighter’s Association and Bend Fire and Rescue are working with The Salvation Army to collect non-perishable food items, clothing, and toys for needy families in Bend and Central Oregon. Neighborhood residents are encouraged to listen for the fire engine and Santa, and bring donations to the street for collection. There will be many volunteers walking along with Santa the fire engines to collect the donated items. Please advise children to use caution around the moving fire engines.
The Santa Express schedule is as follows:
- Monday December 3: Morning Star, Canal View, Wishing well and Phoenix Park
- Tuesday December 4: Larkspur, Foxborough and Sun Meadow
- Wednesday December 5: Providence, areas north and south of Neff Road.
- Thursday December 6: NW Crossing, Skyliner Summit
If we don’t come through your neighborhood you can always drop off non-perishable foods, new toys or clothing starting Monday, 11/26/12 to these locations:
- Bend Fire Department fire station – boxes will be there until Friday 12/14/12
- Bend Memorial Clinics – Westside on Mt. Bachelor Dr and Eastside on Neff Rd
- Ed Wyse Beauty Supply – 1180 S Hwy 97 #B
- Goulart Chiropractic – 424 NE Franklin Ave
- Pappy’s Pizza – 20265 Fred Meyer Rd.
- Red Robin – 625 SW Powerhouse Dr
- The Salvation Army – 755 NE 2nd Street, Bend.
- Starbucks – Toys only (Westside on Century Dr., Downtown, Fred Meyers, Cascade Village Shopping Center and East side on 27th St)
- Wholesale Sports – 63492 Hunnel Rd
Thanks ahead of time from Bend Firefighters Association, Bend Fire and Rescue, and The Salvation Army for helping needy families this holiday season. If you need help from this holiday season with food or presents, please call The Salvation Army at 541-389-8888.
Join The Environmental Center for Green Drinks
Timberline Construction hosts at Desert Rain.
September Green Drinks will be hosted by Timberline Construction of Bend at one of their current construction sites – the “Desert Rain” house, which upon completion will be the greenest home in Bend.
Take advantage of this special opportunity to see the inner workings of this home which is being built to satisfy the rigorous International Living Building Challenge. The goal of the LBC is to construct buildings that are rooted in place and use resources that are on hand at the site.
Join us at Green Drinks to network, learn about other businesses and their sustainability efforts and have a green drink or two! It’s free and open to the public.
When: Tonight, September 27 from 5-7 pm
Where: Desert Rain (24 NW Shasta Pl) See map for details. The front door of Desert Rain is not visible from the street. You can park on Shasta Street and walk up a small, dirt path to the home, or you can go down the alley (accessed from Delaware). Parking will be very limited, so please consider biking, walking, or carpooling.
Green Drinks is an international concept and is THE most enjoyable way to network, learn about local businesses and their sustainability efforts, and have an eco-conscious drink or two!
To enjoy a truly green drink, bring your own cup and consider carpooling, walking, biking or transit to the event!
Help us keep this a Zero Waste event and enjoy a truly green drink, bring your own cup! Consider alternatives to driving alone such as walking, biking, car pooling and transit.
For more information or to learn more about hosting a Green Drinks event at your business, contact Swee Pea @ 541-385-6908 x11 or sweetpea@envirocenter.org.
Bend parks likely to ask for bond
The Bend Park & Recreation District Board is likely poised to ask voters in November to approve a $29 million bond for park improvements.
If the board goes forward with the bond proposal, it will be a downgrade from its initial discussions of a $31 million bond. The board discussed bond options at a work session Tuesday night and will vote on a bond proposal and recommendation at its July 3 meeting.
Don Horton, the district’s executive director, recommended the board eliminate one project — a study that would have explored ways to get rid of silt at Mirror Pond.
That study’s cost was estimated at $400,000.
Horton told the board the Mirror Pond situation is a polarizing issue, with some people thinking the pond should be dredged and others questioning the district’s involvement. As a result, the item would consume a lot of time to explain to people, he said.
“I think the community’s still struggling on what ought to be done and who should be responsible,” Horton said.
Board member Dallas Brown said leaving the Mirror Pond project off is a good idea.
“I don’t think it’s our issue exclusively and I don’t think it’s the best thing to have on the bond,” he said.
And based on low support in a poll, the bond proposal will no longer include a skate park, a project estimated at $500,000.
The district is still crunching numbers and hasn’t fine-tuned where the rest of the cuts — about $1.1 million from the original bond proposal — will come from. The proposal calls for about $11 million of property acquisitions along with another roughly $18 million in projects.
But Horton said savings will be found throughout the proposal process and costs are only estimates at this point.
Board Vice Chairman Scott Asla called the proposal a “golden opportunity,” noting it asks the community for a smaller investment than what the cost would have been five years ago.
The goal is to keep the proposal’s tax increase at less than $50 a year for the average homeowner, Horton said.
Source: The Bulletin
Secondhand Smoke feedback needed by June 29
Deschutes County Health Services invites residents and visitors to complete a brief survey about secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco use in relation to downtown areas. The County’s goal is to better understand resident and visitor tobacco and smoke-free preferences for future policy making consideration.
Because Deschutes County is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all who visit downtown areas in county cities and towns; Health Services, in conjunction with the Rede Group, has published a survey. The survey will help determine public opinion around the use of tobacco in downtown areas. Results will be final September 2012.
The survey is available for public access now through Friday, June 29. Depending on the level of public response, the survey may stay open for a longer period of time. The link to the survey is: http://survey.constantcontact.
After the survey closes, there will be a presentation to local cities, Deschutes County Commissioners and local business leadership about the results. A future notice will announce more details about how the public may access the results.
Through the survey, Deschutes County would like to ensure that smoking in not a barrier to people visiting downtown areas and stores. Smokefree policies ensure equal access to all, including people with asthma and other chronic conditions.
If you are ready to quit tobacco use today, please call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.quitnow.net/oregon/ to learn more. The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line provides free, confidential and friendly coaching to help you quit. In addition, the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line offers an online, live chat coaching service for those who would prefer to receive help online. Visit www.oregonquitline.org to register.
For more information, please contact Deschutes County Health Educator David Visiko at david.visiko@deschutes.org or (541) 322-7481.