u/KaviinBend

For those of you waiting for an update: Scroll and Peel had the time of their short lives touring City Hall and meeting the Mayor last week!

In addition to chairing the council chambers, they even checked out the permitting station, and made sure everyone was being quiet. After all that excitement, they needed a little rest in the grass.

Thanks u/Melanie_Kebler for being the coolest Mayor.
u/Sufficient-Papaya47 for the trust.
And u/bearjew666 for naming them.

Their adventures will no doubt continue.

Thanks u/Sufficient-Papaya47!

Now I just need a name for it. Maybe a series where I document their travels around Bend?

While being in town pretty far from it?

Since others are shooting their shot, I figured I‘d too.

This was from a few months ago. I was with a friend hiking the Shevlin Loop. We were huffing what I thought was a Ponderosa pine, when we heard a “Jeffrey?” ring through the air. We then saw you, and looking straight at me, you repeated the refrain. I thought you were confusing me for someone else (though I can’t say I’ve ever been called that before), before you started explaining the difference between Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines. We exchanged names (Sam?) and you shared your environmental background and that you counted trees (GIS mapping consulting for the forest service)? The whole exchange last 3 mins. You resumed your run in the other direction, before I realized that I’d have loved to continue the conversation.

If you see this and would like to go for a run admiring some Jeffreys, please reach out.

Since this came up in another post, I thought I'd post another update to my posts from 2 years and 5 years ago.

Source: Wildfire Smoke Trends and the Air Quality Index Data from 2000-2025 (DEQ)

"Between 2000 and 2012, Bend had six USG days caused by wildfire smoke. Between 2013 and 2025, Bend experienced 100 days ≥ USG, including 31 unhealthy days, 10 very unhealthy days, and eight hazardous days. Of those, 96 days ≥ USG occurred from 2017 to 2025. In 2025, Bend recorded only two Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) days."

The month on the poster is wrong, it should be July.

Energize Bend interns have put together this awesome free event. Come join!

https://luma.com/0zv4x7jj

I just had a nice paddleboarding date at Devils Lake, which involved me dropping my Raspberry TopoChico, ensconced in a light blue dirty half HydroFlask can cooler. As we drifted away from it, we appreciated how it floated, until the thin can unfortunately slowly but surely floated out of it onto the crisp wavy waters, as we watched the cooler take a slow tumble to the bottom of the fairly clear lake. We rushed to it, and I jumped in, but alas the icy cold waters had claimed it. A few rounds of searching later we left defeated without the cooler (though successfully with the can).

If it was any other can cooler, I may not post this, but this one was a souvenir from the dirty half race a few years ago and I gave my brother a similar one, so there’s some personal significance. I‘ll keep an eye out when I go back there this summer, but in case any of you do (or hear from someone that they did!) – I’d love to be reunited for it and also know it didn’t end up littering the floor. $22.22 reward for it.

I’ve had a lot of luck on here, with pretty random things, so would love to add to the list!

Photo 1: not mine, but found online (has dirty half silver engraving on the other side). the silicone “lid” was on the top.

Photo 2: approximate location where it fell, it’s a large area but most likely near the center of it

Thanks y’all!

Hey all,

A friend reached out with this request below since they're directly impacted by this change. I don't know much about this, but I wanted to share it with all of you to raise some awareness. If you feel similarly, you can reach out to the decision makers and funders below. Please share with others who might be impacted.

They don't have enough karma to post in the Bend subreddit, but may be able to chime in in the comments.

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For those who don't know much about the Little Kits closure by OSU-Cascades, basically, after over $4 million in funding OSU is closing their childcare center after less than a year.

Here's two articles with more information:
Bend Bulletin: Bend parents ‘devastated’ over impending closure of OSU-Cascades daycare
CO Daily: Bend parents feeling blindsided as OSU-Cascades ends Little Kits daycare

I have an advocacy request. I have created a template letter below that I sent and I think it would help for them to hear from more people.

OSU Administrators

christine.pollard@osucascades.edu
laurie.hill@osucascades.edu

Commissioners

ComissionersPatti.Adair@deschutes.org

Phil.Chang@deschutes.org

Tony.DeBone@deschutes.org

Federal Elected Officials

senator_wyden@wyden.senate.gov

Senator_Merkley@merkley.senate.gov

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Dear OSU Administrators/Commissioners/Elected Officials,

Thank you so much for the generous funding you provided that made Little Kits possible.  I am so grateful to have been part of this program.  I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the abrupt planned closure of the OSU Cascades Little Kits Early Education Center.

Little Kits is a high-quality childcare center that has become an essential resource for local families, staff, and students. The center provides safe, nurturing, developmentally rich care that allows parents to work, attend school, and contribute to the community while knowing their children are thriving.

OSU Cascades and community partners invested over 4 million dollars in public funding into creating this facility and recruiting exceptional educators to build the program from the ground up. The center has been open for less than a year and has never been given the opportunity to operate at full capacity due to staffing limitations connected to OSU hiring freeze, out of reach tuition pricing and a complete lack of marketing and is now being closed due to low enrollment and ongoing operational costs before even having the time needed for a program like this to succeed. 

The sudden decision to close the center threatens more than 70 childcare slots in a region already facing a severe childcare shortage. It also risks losing highly qualified educators and abandoning commitments made to families, staff, students, and the broader Central Oregon community regarding affordable childcare, training early education educators and providing high quality care.

Also of concern is the lack of transparency and fair biding process to a new operator on a tax payer funded facility. And a decision that was clearly made and perhaps finalized prior to the announcement to families and staff that the facility would be leased to a fully federally funded headstart program that fundamentally changes the intention of the facility. It will no longer provide daycare hours, serve the faculty, staff, students and community, no longer offer toddler and infant spots, no longer accept Baby Promise and ERDC, the facility will certainly close for a minimum of 45 days, the program will fully shut down and the families and staff will have no opportunity to remain with the facility.

In March of 2025 OSU stated, "[the OSU childcare center] basically has sustained over the last five years", and "the timing felt right for growth", and "we didn't want to build a center that we wouldn't be able to staff."

My ask is that an urgent solution is explored that keeps Little Kits open until September 2027 while giving OSU time to look into alternative models and funding, ideally with the goal of stabilizing Little Kits for the next 5 years.  

In any case I'm asking that the closure be halted and a solution be found that allows continuity of care, retention of current staff and families, ERDC status, Baby Promise Provider Pathway, transparency of process, and ensures quality care standards.

Thank you for your time, leadership, and support for Central Oregon families and children.

Sincerely,
[Name]