Sunriver owner Rich Fellers, and his mount Flexible, have been honored as the U.S. Equestrian of the Year and Horse of the Year
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Nature Center................ 8 Love Wine Inc.............. 10 Calendar...................... 13 Women’s Club.............. 17
SROA News.................. 22 Public Safety................ 30 Classified..................... 37 Commentary................ 38
Mt. Bachelor is hosting free, ranger-led ski and snowshoe tours during spring break.
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A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
volume xxxix • Number 3
Lava Lands path project delayed until spring 2014
Get down and dirty during inaugural Mudslinger fun run
Sunriver will host the Sunriver Mudslinger, a 1.5-mile mud run on Sunday, March 24. The course consists of a half-mile run, a scramble over and under obstacles and multiple mud pits to run, crawl and jump through. The objective is to get dirty and have fun doing it. The event is open to individuals, families and teams. Creative costumes are encouraged and spectators are welcome. The Mudslinger starts and finishes in a meadow near the Sunriver Marina and HOLA! restaurant. The event will not be timed in order to keep the focus on fun. Depending on the number of registered participants, the event may be started in waves to ensure all participants have plenty of time to complete the course. Registration costs $20 for adults (ages 12 and over), and $12 for children (ages 4-11) through 5 p.m. March 23. The first 100 people to register will receive a Mudslinger sport towel courtesy of Alpine Entertainment, one of the event sponsors. All participants will receive one drink voucher for an ageappropriate beverage at the end of the race, dog tags for completing the race, access to changing tents, and a fire hose
slinger website puts it this way: “There is a good chance that whatever you are wearing will never be the same again!” Contestants are strongly encouraged to bring a towel to dry off and an extra set of clothes to change into after the event. Costumes can contribute an additional twist to the event with the caveat that they not impair vision, prevent a contestant from breathing normally or present a tripping or snagging hazard.
The Deschutes National Forest has delayed a decision, probably until 2014, whether to construct a 6-mile long paved pathway that would connect Sunriver to the Lava Lands Visitor Center. The path would serve non-motorized visitors including bicyclists and pedestrians and would be engineered to permit use by mobility devices. The paved path would be designed to allow for emergency vehicle access. Where feasible, the trail would be located in areas that have already experienced disturbance. Winter use would not be encouraged, snow plowing and/or grooming would not occur along or provide access to this path. “We are kicking it back for a number of reasons,” said Marv Lang in a Feb. 4 email to Scott Hall, a Sunriver resident who is monitoring the project. The National Environmental Policy Act “process has gone slower than we wanted and it appears there is a possibility of appeal, which will put a ‘clean’ decision back to late spring/early summer given the time it takes. Once back this far it is difficult for the Oregon
Turn to Mudslinger, page 3
Turn to Path, page 4
courtesy scott smeltzer
What better way to kick-off spring break than getting filthy with the family during the Sunriver Mudslinger Fun Run on March 24.
rinse off courtesy of the Sunriver Fire Department. Online registration is available March 1-23 at www.sunrivermudslinger.com. Race packet pick up (and in-person registration) will be at The Village at Sunriver Ice Rink Saturday, March 23, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or the morning of the race 9:30-10:30 a.m. near the Sunriver Marina. Race day registration fees are $25 for adults and $17 for children. Contestants are encouraged to bring multiple layers of old clothes they don’t mind getting dirty. The Sunriver Mud-
march • 2013
Mavericks receives general use status
Brooke Snavely photo
Youngsters can dive for eggs to redeem for prizes during spring break activities taking place at SHARC. See page 23 for details.
SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XXXIX • NUMBER 3 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
By Brooke Snavely The Mavericks fitness club on Sunriver’s north end is open to the public after being granted variances to operate as a general use facility. Anyone can walk in, pay a $15 gate fee and use the club’s fitness facilities, indoor basketball court, climbing wall and indoor pool. There continues to be an additional $20 fee to ride the Flowrider, a perpetual wave machine on which people surf and boogie board. Mavericks had been a limited use facility since the phase one fitness component opened in November 2005. Phase two – the indoor lap pool, the
Flowrider and the children’s wading pool – opened in November 2007. Both phases were available exclusively to dues paying members and guests staying in homes managed by property management companies that participate in the Sunriver Vacations group. “We built the facility to meet general use requirements but I requested a limited use variance so we could put in the Flowrider,” said Jerry Cunningham, Mavericks general manager. Installing the Flowrider reduced some deck spaces around the indoor pool to four feet from the general use requireTurn to Mavericks, page 3 PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213