Artists featured at this month’s Artists Gallery reception are inspired by nature Page 10
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SROA News ................... 4 Calendar ..................... 13 SHARC News ............... 22
Public Safety ............... 27 Classified .................... 38 Editorial ..................... 39
In order to perform routine maintenance, SHARC’s indoor pool will close May 6-18 Page 22
S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
APRIL • 2018
VOLUME XLIV • NUMBER 4
SROA Natural Resources Director Patti Gentiluomo inspects trees marked for removal this spring.
Arbor Day honors Sunriver as Tree City USA By Susan Berger, Sunriver Scene SROA NEWS – For the 38th year, Sunriver has been honored as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to urban forest management. Sunriver is the oldest Tree City USA community east of the Cascades, and one of 61 in the state. Regionally, other tree cities include Bend, Redmond, Metolius, Madras and Sisters. Sunriver remains one of the only unincorporated communities to receive Tree City status. “Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community first hand,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Additionally, recognition brings residents together and creates a sense of community pride, whether it’s through volunteer engagement or public education.” There are four requirements that must be met to be considered as a Tree City: have a tree board or department, a treecare ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance. Trees provide multiple benefits to a community when properly planted and maintained. They help improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.
Body armor worn by police officers can be uncomfortable to wear but it’s a small price to pay for personal safety. Although vests worn “outside the uniform” have become the standard in today’s police regalia – Sunriver Police officers have always worn their body armor under their uniform – which can create a sweat-inducing sauna on a warm, summer day. Sunriver officers recently made a request to the Sunriver Service District
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SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLIV • NUMBER 4 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
SROA Public Works crews start their monthly LFR pickups for owners in April.
Ladder Fuel Reduction work in Sunriver: what to expect in 2018 By Susan Berger, Sunriver Scene SROA NEWS – Wildfire season is just around the corner. With winter quickly fading, the SROA Natural Resources Department is finishing up field work in preparation to go to bid for the 2018 ladder fuels reduction (LFR) and tree thinning project on Sunriver commons.
Ladder fuels is the accumulation of combustible materials that link the ground to the tree canopy and includes vegetation, live and dead limbs and tree seedlings. Thinning of larger trees reduces competition between trees to promote forest health as well as slowing the spread of fire, should it reach the
tree canopy. LFR and tree thinning are essential tools for mechanical removal of vegetation in a wildland urban interface community such as Sunriver. Native to the northwest, lodgepole pine grows quickly and unless trees are thinned by wildfire or human intervention can create dense thickets of trees. Its thin bark also makes it more vulnerable to disease and bugs. The thicker bark of a mature ponderosa pine helps protect it from almost anything — including wildfire. “We are slowly converting our forest back to the ponderosa pine landscape it once was,” said Patti Gentiluomo, director of the Sunriver Owners Association Natural Resources Department. SROA created and adopted a Ladder Fuels Reduction Plan of rules and guidelines for reducing wildfire risks on private property and within the T T,
Sunriver Police experiment with ‘external’ vests
Sunriver Officers Kasey Hughes, left, and Mike Womer, wear external vest carriers over their police uniform.
PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213