Jackalope Grill Cooking Classes: February = Great Grains, March = Soups, Stews, Braising

There are still a couple of spots left in Chef Tim's cooking class this Monday! -hoc
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EVENT DATES:
Monday, February 2, 6:00 pm
Monday, March 2, 6:00 pm

Jackalope Grill Cooking Classes: February = Great Grains, March = Soups, Stews, Braising

(Bend, OR) Join The Jackalope Grill's Chef Timothy Garling for upcoming cooking classes, this Monday, February 2 and Monday, March 2. These evenings are filled with great food, wine and cooking tips and secrets. The February class covers “Great Grains,” including risotto, barley risotto, quinoa, farro and amaranth. In March, “Soups, Stews & Braising” is the topic. Cooking classes include wine and hors d’oeuvres, demonstration and hands-on preparation in the kitchen, handouts with recipes and techniques and sampling of menu dishes paired with wine and/or beer.

Class starts at 6:00 pm at The Jackalope Grill and space is limited (these classes sell out quickly). Cost is $50. For reservations, call The Jackalope Grill at 541-318-8435. For location and info, go to www.JackalopeGrill.com .

1/30: Tumalo Langlauf Club's Nordic Groomer Fundraiser

(Bend, OR) If you enjoy skiing the nicely groomed classic and skating cross-country trails at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, then put this on your calendar for Friday. Bring the whole family and tell your friends . . . or we all may soon be breaking our own nordic trails, because the TLC grooming machine is on its last leg (see below). -hoc
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Meissner Trail Groomer Fundraiser

The Tumalo Langlauf Club (TLC) is hosting this fundraising party to purchase a new groomer to maintain these X-Country trails.**

Everyone is invited to this festive party complete with excellente Mexican food from the Taco Stand and live music by the Sweet Harlots. This is a family event for all who enjoy skiing and winter recreating at Virginia Meissner. Come socialize and bring the kids! It’ll be a fabulous gathering!

Where: Aspen Hall (Shevlin Park)
When: This Friday January 30th at 5:30pm
Food: The Taco Stand will be hosting a burrito bar extravaganza.
Entertainment: Live Music by the Sweet Harlots. For band info, go to: www.laurelbrauns.com
Cost: $10 adults $5 Kids under 12. Price includes food and entertainment.
Contact: Erin at 350-3790 for more info (or to help with the event).

** Without a new groomer, there will be no more groomed trails at Virginia Meissner…. Alas, our current groomer is on very expensive life support. For every dollar spent grooming, $2 is spent on maintenance. We need to end resuscitation on this antique and get a new groomer.

1/24 Local Designers Trunk Show at Habit

This just in from Heather Beeson-Straw, designer and owner of Nashelle Jewelry. -hoc
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Hi,
Nashelle will be featured at the Habit Trunk Show this weekend.
I have attached the postcard with the address and time. [click image to enlarge] We will have amazing amounts of jewelry all at prices that are too good to pass up — our 'Red Hot' sale bin at $10 and other amazing prices range from $15-$60! This trunk show of course is one sale you do not want to miss! I look forward to seeing you there!
xoxo!

Heather Beeson
Designer & Owner
nashelle.com
61511 American Lane
Unit # 5
Bend, OR 97702

Steens Mountain Wind Power Development: Comments Due 1/16 to Harney County Planning Commission

Now more than ever we need to develop clean, green, efficient sources of energy. And wind power is certainly one attractive alternative to fossil fuels. But this particular proposal is flawed on many levels (see message from ONDA below). Please comment to the Harney County Planning Commission by 5:00pm on January 16th, 2009. -hoc
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Steens Mountain is threatened by wind power development
Columbia Energy Partners (CEP) has submitted applications for two sites—East Ridge Wind and West Ridge Wind—that could install over 130 wind turbines on the north flank of Steens Mountain near the Kiger Gorge Overlook and the North Loop Road.

The developer already holds a county permit for up to 69 turbines on a third, adjacent site on Mann Lake. The development has been divided into multiple parts to try to avoid rigorous review by the State's Energy Facility Siting Council and the developer has done virtually no analysis to date of the development's potential impacts to wildlife.

Comments are due to Harney County Planning Commission by 5:00pm on January 16th, 2009. Visit the Harney County Planning Commission website for more information on the proposed wind project and to read comments.

Comment Now

Points to consider:

• The application does not consider the transmission infrastructure necessary to connect Harney Electric Cooperative and Bonneville Power Administration systems which would cross Steens Mountain and the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.
• CEP has avoided the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council and Oregon Department of Fish Wildlife guidelines by arbitrarily "splitting" their 300 MW project into three sites.
• The developer has only provided a few months of biological information. Far less that the two years of pre-construction data voluntarily agreed to by the wind development community and called for by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.
• This area on Steens Mountain provides important habitat for Greater sage grouse which are currently a candidate being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
• 40-50% of the cost of these projects ($100-$125 of tax equity value for each project according to information supplied by Columbia Energy Partners) will come from tax credits covered by public funds and therefore the public should be fully engaged in this process.

Visit ONDA’s website for more information and to see the visual impact the wind farms would have on the Steens.

ONDA: Comment on OHV use in John Day Management Plan

The Oregon Natural Desert Association is encouraging people to chime in and let the BLM know how they would like to see the John Day Basin managed (see below). Public comment is your best opportunity to make your wishes known - don't spectate, participate! -hoc
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PLEASE COMMENT NOW

Tell the BLM to prioritize primitive recreation activities that don't spoil the land, like hiking, hunting, horseback riding and fishing.

There are only 24 days left to comment on the BLM's draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the entire John Day Basin.

As the second longest undammed river in the Continental United States, the John Day River is one of the best remaining habitats for wild anadromous runs of salmon and steelhead. The area also provides ample opportunity for recreation, such as fishing, rafting, hiking, hunting and horseback riding.

Please tell the BLM that Off-highway vehicle use in the John Day Basin is a major concern, as it contributes to riparian vegetation damage, bank erosion, soil compaction, water pollution, and other negative ecological impacts.

Let the BLM know that you are opposed to implementation of Alternative 3 in the draft RMP, which would designate two "no-limits" OHV zones adjacent to Sutton Mountain WSA and Rudio Mountain proposed WSA.

The Resource Management Plan should eliminate OHV use from the following lands:

• Any lands that have been identified as having wilderness qualities and all adjacent public lands.
• All ONDA citizen-inventoried public lands deemed to have wilderness character.
• All designated WSAs and Wilderness areas.
• Tell the BLM why the John Day Basin is important to you and that improved management of OHV travel is crucial to protecting native deserts.

For more information on the John Day RMP CLICK HERE
To comment about OHV use in the John Day Basin CLICK HERE

2008 International Humanitarian Project of the Year: Vima Lupwa Homes' Water Well

At the end of 2008, Vima Lupwa Homes' founder Malerie Pratt's brother Tyler helped oversee completion of a water well that will provide fresh water for chickens, garden and the children who live in the home under the loving care of co-founder Violet Membe.

Despite many challenges and setbacks, Tyler was able to get the new water system up and running before he returned to the U.S. Following is an excerpt from a journal entry Tyler sent to Malerie before departing.

"I climb our tower to open our supply line and we run along the trenches. No leaks to chicken coop, none to garden, and none to washing station. Violet and the kids watch quietly not seeming to understand what all of the fuss is about until I turn on the first tap and water flows at Vima Lupwa Homes for the first time since its founding, when after plumbing the house and connecting to the municipal water main they discovered no water flowed this far out on the network of clogged and broken water pipes.

"Upon opening the first tap I did not expect the procession which was to follow. The whole household erupted in cries of celebration and jubilance as we ran around our various stations to which before water had been laboriously lifted from a well down the block and hauled here in buckets by the crew of children. Now we have a high flow next to the watering can in the chicken coop, one stationed in the middle of the garden, and one in the shade of the matambula tree next to the washing station. They are so celebrating at their outside taps that they seem to forget we have plumbed it to the house as well. I usher them into the house where water is flowing into the kitchen sink through our first broken tap, a small fix compared to what we’ve been through so far on this project.

"A water fight erupts and a line of anxious kids chug water directly from the tap, splashing it all around on those standing by. We funnel in towards the bathrooms to find the thirsty reservoirs of murky and stinking toilets being filled with water, and a good flow through our showerhead under which they all decide to shower in their clothes, singing, jumping, and chanting all the while “no more dirty, no more dirty...” A dog pile proceeds on top of Violet in the hallway and a troop of dripping wet smiling kids stumble outside to catch the last rays of sunset as it dips below the savanna."

To read the full story, go to LupwaHomes.org.

-hoc

Jan. '09: First Friday - Randy Redfield @ BICA

Randy Redfield - Tonight at BICA

Enjoy wine and appetizers while viewing new pieces from artist, Randy Redfield.
Tonight from 5-8 pm.

Randy Redfield is a native of Portland, Oregon currently residing in Sisters. He paints contemporary art inspired by the vast nature that includes the High Desert, lush forests, and wild rivers. www.randyredfield.com

BICA Gallery
2748 NW Crossing Drive Ste. 130
Bend OR 97701
541.788.4623
bicagallery.com