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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Shelter needs permanent facility Three Rivers Humane Society (TRHS), a small ani- mal shelter in rural Jefferson County, has launched an ambitious capital campaign aimed at funding construc- tion of a permanent shelter facility. The shelter has set a $400,000 target for the cam- paign, dubbed “Raise the Woof!” Though located just out- side of Madras on Southeast McTaggart Road, TRHS is significantly engaged with the Sisters community. Sisters residents volunteer there, and several animals have been adopted locally out of the shelter. The Raise the Woof! cam- paign will fund construction of a permanent, heated and cooled, 6,000-square-foot shelter building on the Three Rivers Humane Society site. Since obtaining the con- tract to operate Jefferson County Kennels, TRHS has overseen the care of 718 ani- mals and found homes for them all over the Northwest and Canada. Despite the shelter’s suc- cess, and the ongoing efforts of countless volunteers, the shelter’s outdoor kennels remain woefully inadequate to protect its dogs from the cold Central Oregon winters. In this winter season, Madras has seen temperatures drop to -23 degrees on several occa- sions. Last summer, the high temperatures were often 100 degrees or higher. On especially cold days, the shelter has been forced to photo pRoviDeD three rivers Humane Society is raising funds to improve its shelter facilities near madras. seek out volunteers to tempo- rarily “foster” dogs that oth- erwise would have remained in outdoor kennels, protected only by small dog houses with heated kennel mats. “With only 10 indoor kennels in our current facil- ity, the majority of our dogs are housed in outdoor ken- nels,” said TRHS Executive Director Steve Drynan, who runs the shelter along with his wife, Jerilee. “We need to put a permanent roof over these dogs’ heads so they never have to worry about being terribly cold in the winter or over-heated in the summer again. We know this won’t happen overnight but we are committed to this proj- ect being accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. We will construct a build- ing we can afford to operate and maintain, while provid- ing the quality care our dogs deserve.” TRHS is a 501(c)(3) non- profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. Monetary donations can be earmarked for the build- ing campaign and made through their website, mail, or at Three Rivers Humane Society. Donations of labor and/or building materials are appreciated as well. For more information, visit www.threerivershs.org or call 541-475-6889. DROP-IN PUBLIC YOGA CLASSES 7 DAYS A WEEK! 164 N. Elm St., Sisters 541.390.5678 | www.lifeloveyoga.com 11 Citizens asked to weigh in on natural hazards Folks in Sisters Country are being asked to help iden- tify the major natural hazards facing the community. Deschutes County, in partnership with the cities of Bend, La Pine, Redmond and Sisters, is currently engaged in the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) update. This plan update is being supported by the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience (OPDR) at the University of Oregon. The existing plan was updated in 2010 and is due for update in May of this year. This update will also include city-specific adden- dums for each of the cities in Deschutes County, includ- ing Sisters, which is new for 2015. The NHMP is a docu- ment submitted to and approved by Oregon Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This document helps commu- nities identify risks and associated mitigation strate- gies. An approved NHMP is required to receive federal pre-disaster mitigation funds to address known natural hazards in the community. Ultimately, the document aids communities in achiev- ing higher levels of disaster resilience. An important compo- nent of this process is pub- lic engagement regarding risk and community resil- ience. The NHMP Steering Committee in collaboration with OPDR has developed a survey. The county asks that citizens and property owners take a few minutes to com- plete the survey, which will assist planners in develop- ing mitigation strategies and gauge community knowl- edge of risks in Deschutes County. The survey can be found at www.sheriff.deschutes. org (Quick Links); www. deschutes.org (Media R e l e a s e s ) ; h t t p : / / w w w. ci.bend.or.us (Latest News).