Welcome to our new column Love Wine Inc., which celebrates the joy of wine and helping others find their inner wine enthusiast
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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................ 39
Dr. Wendy Meredith cautions dog owners about dangerous parasites that can be transmitted to your family canine.
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S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
october • 2012
volume xxxVIII • Number 10
SHARC, a season of learning By Bill Peck, SROA General Manager We said that 2012 would be a learning year for Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center (SHARC) operations, budget forecasting and attendance. While I believe we can say unequivocally that our first summer of operation was a huge success in terms of the overall positive response, we learned a lot about SHARC’s strengths and weaknesses. To help us learn, we have tracked all comments and suggestions received from owners and visitors in addition to staff observations. The following summarizes what we learned since SHARC opened in April. Statistics 228,360 visitors to SHARC as of Sept. 5, 2012: • 72 percent were overnight visitors (vacationers staying in a rented home or lodging unit) • 23 percent were owner related (owners, extended family, guest passes and owner guests) • 5 percent were paid admittance at the gate • 1,131 was the June average daily attendance • 2,731 was the July average daily attendance • 2,728 was the August average daily attendance • June had 4 days with more than 2,000 visitors (2,423 on June 16 was the biggest day) • July had 9 days with more than 3,000 visitors (3,715 on July 6 was the biggest day) • August had 10 days with more than 3,000 visitors (3,515 on Aug. 6 was the biggest day) 20,674 visitors to the North Pool as of Sept. 5, 2012: • 78 percent were overnight visitors • 17 percent were owner related • 5 percent were paid admittance at the gate Turn to SHARC, page 3 SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XXXVIII • NUMBER 10 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
Owners comments sought on master plan for amenities
Brooke snavely photo
A lone tube floats along the lazy river and through rising steam during a cool morning at SHARC. Warm pool water mixed with cold air temps created the effect.
Wildlife passages under Highway 97 to receive first test as fall migrations begin By Brooke Snavely Question: Why did the deer cross under Highway 97? Answer: Because that’s the way the state made them go. Two wildlife underpasses were constructed as part of the Highway 97 Lava Butte to South Century Drive project. The underpasses, eight miles of fence and six electrified cattle guards designed to restore migration routes while keeping animals out of harm’s way, will get their first test during this fall’s deer and elk migration. The migration typically occurs in October and November. “The fence will be a huge surprise because they’ve never seen it before,” said Simon Wray, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife conservation biologist for the high desert region. “They’ll go north or south along the fence until encountering an underpass. So far the deer seem pretty accepting and we anticipate
By Susan Berger and Brooke Snavely If you attended the SROA annual meeting in August, you got a sneak peek at the Sunriver Infrastructure & Amenities Master Plan (IAMP). Created by MacKay & Sposito, land development consultants with offices in Bend, the IAMP is a conceptual plan that combined years of owner surveys and input as well as the 2009 JT Atkins Amenities Plan. Additional research was conducted along with stakeholder interviews in developing the new Sunriver Infrastructure & Amenities Master Plan. The IAMP represents the third leg of Sunriver’s “stool” as it has often been referred to. Each leg of the stool represents a component to ensure Sunriver remains a “premier residential and resort Turn to Amenities, page 12
Music Festival considers economic impact study
increased use through time.” The deer fence is eight feet high, constructed of woven wire with reinforcement along the ground to discourage animals from pushing or digging underneath it. Colored black to blend with the surrounding vegetation and located about 50 feet off the highway, the fence is barely visible to passing motorists. What can be seen are solar powered
It is time for the arts community to start demonstrating its value. Doing so will put artistic organizations in a position of partnering with for-profit companies in mutual efforts to improve communities. George Hanson, artistic director and conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival, made such comments to the Bend and Sunriver Rotary clubs on the eve of this summer’s festival. When he hired on with the festival in Oct. 2011, Hanson said he saw “enormous potential” for Sunriver. Now he’s championing the idea of having an economic impact study of the Sunriver Music Festival to prove its value. “In the past, businesses viewed their philanthropic activities as giving to non-profits worthy of support. That’s
Turn to Underpasses, page 20
Turn to Study, page 7
A game cam captures a doe after she uses a Highway 97 underpass.
PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213