Mule deer fawns are springing up all around Sunriver. Here’s what you ‘shouldn’t’ do if you find one Page 8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SROA News.................... 4 Nature Center................ 8 Calendar...................... 13
Public Safety................ 27 Classified..................... 38 Editorial...................... 39
NO FIREWORKS
S U N R I V E R
IN SUNRIVER
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
JULY • 2020
VOLUME XLVI • NUMBER 7
By Gerhard Beenen, Telecommunications Task Force Over the past few months, many of us have learned the importance of high-speed internet connectivity to our homes. Video links to our place of employment/education and video chats with family members, along with online shopping, have been a lifeline during times of “stay home, save lives.” With respect to telecommunications, Sunriver is like many communities but also unique in several ways. Like other communities in Central Oregon, most homes in Sunriver are served by a cable television/internet service provider (CATV/ISP) operator, that being BendBroadband. Over 85% of Sunriver homes are BendBroadband subscribers. Like most CATV network operators, BendBroadband provides three critical services to Sunriver: cable television, telephone and high-speed Internet access using a hybrid fiber-optic coaxial (HFC) network. HFC networks were designed back in the 1990s to provide these services when the major use of the internet was only for email and web browsing. Times are different now. Unlike other communities, Sunriver has a population that can fluctuate from 1,000 to 15,000 at different times of the year. During times when Sunriver is packed with owners, guests and tourists, an HFC network can become stressed to the point where internet communication speeds slow to a crawl. Newer network technologies, such as “Fiber-To-The-Home” (FTTH), are available and capable of meeting the short-term and long-term needs of a premier community like Sunriver. Recognizing the importance of telecommunications to the vitality of Sunriver, the SROA Board has put in place a Telecommunications Task Turn to Task Force, page 3
Nesting success for lovebirds Gus and Grace By Amanda Accamando, Nature Center Manager Grace and Gus have done it again. Sunriver’s beloved resident trumpeter swan couple has successfully nested this year and three new cygnets (baby swans) are now thriving on Lake Aspen. The trumpeter swan pair was spotted mating in early May and began nesting soon after. However, it took a little extra time to establish a nest site thanks to rowdy geese also jockeying for space during the breeding season. After restarting on multiple nests at different locations, Grace and Gus finally settled on reestablishing last year’s nest location at the base of a towering ponderosa Pine, on the island in the middle of Lake Aspen. Trumpeter swans typically lay all their eggs before incubating, ensuring that the cygnets will hatch within a 24-hour period, about 30 to 37 days later. Five eggs were confirmed in the nest a few weeks after nesting, the most eggs that Grace has produced in one clutch since arriving at Lake Aspen. Two cygnets hatched on Saturday, June 3, and a third followed the next day. Unfortunately, the remaining two eggs turned out to be non-viable and did not hatch. By Monday, the entire family was out on the lake for the cygnets’ first swim.
PHOTO COURTESY GEORGE D. LEPP
Gus, Grace and their three cygnets take a first swim on Lake Aspen.
Sunriver’s trumpeter swans are a key part of a project to restore this species to Oregon after nearly being hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. Working closely with Minnesota-based The Trumpeter Swan Society and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory cares for the adult swans year-round.
Each spring, the previous year’s cygnets are released at Summer Lake Wildlife Area with the hope that they will one day help establish a breeding population of swans in Oregon once again. Since 2015, nine of Grace’s cygnets have been banded and translocated to eastern Oregon, with this year’s cygnets soon to follow.
CET launches free transit service between La Pine and Sunriver Live in La Pine but work in Sunriver or vice versa? Need to run to the St. Charles clinic in La Pine? Ditch your car and take advantage of the free shuttle that now runs between La Pine and Sunriver. Cascades East Transit (CET) has officially launched Route 31 – an employeefocused summer transit service between La Pine and Sunriver. The service is operating daily through Sept. 7 with free stops located at 4th and Huntington Road, St. Charles Family Clinic and Wickiup Junction in La Pine and at Sunriver Resort (at the Bike Barn). The Route 31 La Pine to Sunriver service is a Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) project
that is being implemented to fill existing transportation gaps and provide greater access to jobs and other essential services. “The new La Pine to Sunriver summer transit service will connect La Pine and Sunriver residents to employment opportunities, health care needs and other essential services,” said Deschutes
County Commissioner Patti Adair. “This vital transportation link between La Pine and Sunriver will help foster economic development and job growth in southern Deschutes County.” The new bus line was the result of lobbying by all of the Deschutes County Commissioners – who saw a need for a specific transportation service between La Pine and Sunriver and realized this was an ideal project to receive additional state funding through the 2017 Transportation Bill. The La Pine and Sunriver Area Chambers of Commerce, the City of La Pine, community partners and residents conTurn to Transit, page 3 SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLVI • NUMBER 7 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
Task force researching telecommunications improvements
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