A chorus of one: In praise of Mike’s Tire & Auto Center Scene opinion policy
commentary Terry Dahlquist, Sunriver I have had the pleasure of having Mike of Mike’s Tire & Auto Center in the Sunriver Business Park work on my Suburban from time to time. One time the engine light came on and I thought: Look out. Here comes a big bill, something is wrong with the motor. Mike asked when I last filled up with gas. Last week I replied. He simply tightened my gas cap, said it could take a day or two but that should fix it, and it did, with no cost to me. Mike could have taken the car in the shop, run several tests, told me he repaired something and given me a bill for hundreds of dollars, but he didn’t; he made no money from me that day. I have told the story
Solarium
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A special thank you goes out to Ryan Smith at Alpine Entertainment for helping us get our silent auction out into the public and the village owners who matched us again this year up to $1,000. The village also donated space for the Sunriver Care and Share to store their collected toys and food before distribution. And to every business that donated an item for our silent auction, you are all amazing!
many times. Recently my truck’s heater wasn’t working. Once again I thought the worst – here comes a major, expensive auto repair bill. I limped by for months until one morning I stopped at Mike’s. I ran in declaring I needed a thermostat and asking when the service could get done. Mike immediately came out, popped the hood and began an inspection. He quickly spotted that the anti-freeze was low and explained to me how that can effect the heating system. He filled the reservoir and checked for leaks. After paying for the anti-freeze, he sent me on my way with my truck and heater working just fine. He could have taken my truck in, re-
The volunteers who helped us the day of our event were Kesslea Christensen, Damian Swanson, Keith Christensen, Canda and Tim Kastel, Mary Felder and Lisa Bilbro.
Thanks Service District
Karen Newcomb, Deschutes River Recreation Homesites I truly want to thank the Sunriver Service District Managing Board for their courageous decision to withdraw the Conditional Use Permit for CU11-24. The whole community is grateful for your decision.
placed the thermostat, given me a bill for hundreds of dollars and I would have been fine. But no. Again, Mike being the honest businessperson he is, fixed the problem quickly and inexpensively. I have recently seen many stories about dishonest auto mechanics. Some may exist in Central Oregon and Sunriver, but they are not named Mike’s Tire & Auto Center. Simply said, he is an honest businessman offering honest service at a fair price. You have a choice and locals should support this business. I know I do and will. Now if Mike could only repair all those turn signals that must be broken in Sunriver. It would sure make driving through the traffic circles a lot easier.
We hope you will be able to go forward with the training tower at a different location. I am certain Chief Hatch is disappointed, but I also hope he understands the feelings and the fears of the DRRH community. Personally, I feel I can finally get back to work (my real work), and last night was the first full night’s sleep I’ve had in several weeks without nightmares of what could possibly happen to my neighborhood. Some raw emotions were displayed during the county hearing, at the joint SSD/De-
schutes County meeting and up until the decision. I know relief is being felt by all as a result of the decision. Some real good has come from this whole process. I now have a huge database of DRRH residents, and discovered they will all join together when they see a problem in our community. Again, many thanks, not only for your decision, but also for your volunteer work for the Sunriver community. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
To support a free and open exchange of information and ideas, the Sunriver Scene welcomes letters to the editor up to 250 words, and Chorus of One submissions up to 450 words, on topics of relevance to Sunriver. All letters are subject to editing for brevity, grammar, clarity, civility and legal concerns. Opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the Sunriver Owners Association. Letters to the editor must be signed and include contact information which we may use to verify authorship or clarify questions. Letters will run as space allows. Letters of a personal nature or attacks on individuals will not be published. Letters perceived as advertising for a company, product or a candidate will not be published.
How to submit:
E-mail: brookes@srowners.org. Write the letter in the body of the e-mail, or attach it as a Word document. Mail: Typewritten letters can be mailed to Sunriver Scene, P.O. Box 3278, Sunriver, OR 97707. Deadline: The 15th of the month (ie: Oct. 15 for November issue). We accept one letter per person per month.
From the editor’s desk: Life is like a white elephant gift exchange By Brooke Snavely
With apologies to Forrest Gump who said, “Life is like a box of chocolates…” I’m beginning to think life is a bit like a white elephant gift exchange. The thought occurred to me at this year’s Sunriver Owners Association employee holiday luncheon as my colleagues were stealing white elephant gifts back and forth until they hit the two-steal limit. This was accompanied by veiled threats, peals of laughter and theatrically enhanced expressions of glee and disappointment. Doby Fugate, our seasonal forestry technician, seemed to channel Captain Jack Sparrow when, after unwrapping a container of peanut butter pretzels, he informed us in a menacing
tone “I don’t take kindly to people stealing my stuff.” This, of course, made the pretzels an instant target of white elephant pirates. Charanne Graham, SROA’s receptionist and administrative assistant, opened a battery operated desktop water fountain. According to the box it said it would sooth the nerves of all who came near it. Charanne proclaimed it the perfect addition to her busy front reception desk. Charanne emitted a heart wrenching “ooohhh” when her prize was snatched away. But after the party the wouldbe thief gave her the fountain back. And after all the angst, the darn thing didn’t work! Talk about anti-zen. Last I heard she was on a quest to take it back to the store and have it replaced. Picking carefully through the unopened gifts, SROA General Manager Bill Peck cited the old myth that good things come in small packages and proceeded to open a box containing a bright red Slinky.
SUNRIVER SCENE • JANUARY 2012
Without missing a beat, Bill began running the Slinky back and forth, hand to hand, demonstrating for all the joy of the over 60-year-old toy. He demonstrated the Slinky for the remainder of the party but got no takers. Keri Brooks, SROA’s former South Pool manager and new SHARC aquatics specialist, earned the dubious distinction of the one who had the most gifts stolen. Every gift she opened was filched, perhaps as a result of Keri’s prankster personality. She pokes fun at everyone, and this was the perfect opportunity to get back at her. I give credit to Keri for taking the grief as well as she gives it. I hope you have an intelligent prankster the likes of Keri in your social circle. Her kind keeps life interesting. Someone opened a classic white elephant gift – fartless chili mix. (Is there really such a thing?) Amazingly, this got stolen twice, but it was near the end of the exchange when unopened gifts were running
short and we were forced to choose between the known and unknown. Announcing to your guests that you are serving fartless chili could be a conversation starter. Leigh Anne Dennis, our departing recreation director, unwrapped a set of dogshaped ceramic salt and pepper shakers. The one remotely interested party, upon seeing that the dogs were a representation of larger breeds and not dachshunds, promptly resumed her search for other worthy items. I felt good about the wine bottle opener I put in the gift exchange. It elicited a few ooohs and aaahs during its unveiling and ended up with Leslie Knight, human resources director, who said she had only a Swiss Army knife at home. The notion of Leslie, the champion of workplace safety, popping corks at home with a Swiss Army knife impressed me. The one gift I had my eye on, a Panther Martin spinning lure and a worm
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threader, was poached twice before my turn even came up, so I pinched a bicycle lock and tool pouch that might come in handy. Wouldn’t you know that Brenda Peck, the general manager’s wife, stole them. She then had the audacity to announce that the lock and tool pouch would look good on the bike hanging from the garage ceiling that she never rides. I really would have found a use for the lock. I ended up with a handmade wooden puzzle depicting a forest goddess with a staff. It even has some faux diamonds on it for bling. If nothing else, it will make an interesting stocking-stuffer for my video game drenched 10-year-old son. I can’t wait to see his expression as he attempts to understand what it is. And then, I hope to see him take the plunge and try assembling it. He’s good at puzzles. And that, in my white elephant addled brain, is called rolling with the punches of what life throws our way. Page 39