February 2026 Sunriver Scene - Flipbook - Page 34
Lack of board volunteers results in demise of Sunriver Police & Fire Foundation
At a recent board meeting,
the board of directors of the
Sunriver Police & Fire Foundation voted to cease operations.
An attorney was hired to
deal with the documentation
required by federal and state
agencies to close a nonprofit
corporation. When doing this,
any monies or assets remaining
must be donated to another
nonprofit organization. The
board has tentatively identified
the Care and Share food pantry
to be the recipient.
“The issue we faced was not
our programs or sponsor support. We had excellent board
members, Ron Schmid, Dee
Henderson, Rob Foster, Jill
Stephens, Stacey DeWald and
Mary Fister. Both Police Chief
Rasic and Fire Chief Boos were
supportive. But the issue was
that we were not able to find
new board members when
their terms ended,” Foundation President Dennis Dishaw
explained.
During the three years of
operations, the foundation
held 14 events, including ‘Self
Defense for Women’ and ‘Day
at the Range.’
The Sunriver Service District
Christmas party was supported
by having Santa attend and
balloon decorations. A seminar titled “Family Dynamic
for First Responders” provided
excellent speakers dealing with
stress of the job. The founda-
tion successfully hosted Bingo
in the summer.
The final event was ‘Fraud,
Scams & the Internet.’ This
meeting was well attended, and
First Interstate Bank plans to
host future classes on the topic.
Finally, the foundation provided funds for Cpl. Elizabeth
Lawerence to attend the Police
Unity Tour in New Jersey.
“We were really pleased with
the support of our sponsors,
and their continued support
made our mission possible,”
Dishaw said.
Sponsors included the
Sunriver Resort, First American Title, High Desert Realty,
US Bank, ACE Camp Abbott,
Bennington Properties, First
Interstate Bank and Sunriver
Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I hope the readers will support these community-oriented
firms,” Dishaw said.
Prepared
small communities like ours.
Keep in mind alarms are only a
life saver if they are functioning
and if people within the house
respond appropriately.
The first rule in a home
escape plan is simply everyone
needs to be in the know and
that means everyone, even
guests residing at the house.
Likewise, practicing our response to an emergency with
young people in the household
will help to ensure that even if
adults are overcome by smoke
or other conditions, they know
the escape protocol.
Start by identifying all of the
escape routes throughout the
home, even ones you may not
usually consider, but during
a fire incident routes might
be blocked. It’s important to
evaluate every possible way to
escape if there is a fire.
Make sure rooms where people sleep have doors so they can
be closed to slow the spread of
fire or to give additional time
for escape. If your escape routes
include any second story rooms,
be sure to provide each room
with a foldable escape ladder.
If it is safe to evacuate your
pets, you need to determine
ahead of time what that will
look like. Is there a leash nearby to help you usher them out
when they are probably scared?
Identify a family meeting
place outside your home where
everyone will immediately go to
when out of the house. Make
sure it’s not right near the house
as that could be dangerous.
Good meeting places can be a
neighbor’s home, a designated
place on your street or on a
bike path.
Have a plan for anyone in the
home who may have mobility
concerns. What assistance will
they need to exit the house?
Now it is time to test the system. If it is dark and you need
to crawl or be down low in the
house (to reduce the impact
of smoke which may be less at
ground level) can you find your
way around to the exit points?
Have you confirmed that
every exit route will work in
an emergency? No “sticky”
windows or items piled in front
of doors.
Finally, the big question is
always “when do we call 9-1-1”?
The answer is straightforward,
if you have reason to believe
there is fire or an emergency call
as soon as you can. The escape
of yourself, and your family, is
paramount.
The National Fire Protection
Association has great templates
to help you construct your
evacuation plan, as well as
additional information. Check
them out at www.nfpa.org/
education-and-research/homefire-safety/escape-planning
Have a beautiful, wintery and
safe month.
–Jim Bennett is the public information officer for the Sunriver
Fire Department.
continued from page 31
in the kitchen, such as the stove
and oven, as well as portable
heaters.
Do you have an escape plan?
February is an important
month to talk about having a
family escape plan as wintertime brings increased risk for
fires in the home with the use
of fireplaces, heaters, candles
and other items that if we’re not
cautious with can cause a home
fire disaster.
There is simply no question
that fire alarms and CO2 alarms
have played a major role in
saving lives from big cities to
“We were not able to find new board
members when their terms ended.”
–Dennis Dishaw, Foundation President
www.yourparamounthome.com
Kylie@yourparamounthome.com
Kylie Akers 503.559.2075
Page 34
FEBRUARY 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
