הקשר HaKesher
TBT's Newsletter: The Connection
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Come be a part of our growing Reform synagogue.
All are welcome!
Temple Beth Tikvah is pleased to welcome our newest members:
Lauralei & Eric Garrity
Elizabeth Collings & Gerry Thomas
Cathy & Michael Wynschenk
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October Calendar of Events
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Events and Activities
The following Events are held via Zoom:
November 6 - 6:00 pm - Pop Up Shabbat
November 11 - 4:00 pm - Board Meeting
November 14 - 7:00 pm - Havdallah with a Maven
November 15 - 10:15 am- Tikkun Olam Group
November 20 Shabbat:
5:45 pm - Tot Shabbat
6:00 pm - Proneg (an Oneg before Shabbat)
6:20 pm - Erev Shabbat
6:45 pm - Meaningful Conversations
CHEVRUTA
Chevruta, Sundays 9:00 - 10:00 am - 11/8, 11/15, 11/22
HAMSA: "FIVE CONGREGATIONS" COURSE
Entering Jewish Prayer, Thursdays 6:00-7:00 pm - 11/5, 11/12, 11/19
ON THE HORIZON
December 10 - First Night of Chanukah- Drive Through Menorah Lighting at the Old Mill
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President's Message
Sheila Luber
Last month, I thanked Rabbi Johanna and numerous temple members who lent their time and talents to create this year’s incredible High Holy Days services and events. Now I want to thank our members who donated to our HHD Tzedakah Projects in support of our ongoing Social Action programs. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
In the midst of a pandemic you practiced Tikkun Olam and helped to heal the world. Together you contributed $1,568 to The Giving Plate, a local food bank, and $2,013 to REACH, which delivers assistance and outreach to the local homeless community. Chase Frankl wrote a compelling call to action on behalf of REACH and your response was overwhelming. With the TBT Board voting to match the amount raised for this worthy organization, we are donating $4,026 to REACH.
Our thanks go to those who made HHD contributions to TBT and honored loved ones in the Yizkor booklet. Your donations will be put to good use helping TBT continue to enhance our programming and upgrade our technology.
We are thrilled that through the High Holy Days to the end of September, Rabbi Johanna’s wonderful, family-friendly video -- Apples and Honey for a Sweet Year -- drew nearly 150 views, and her Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre video services received well over 100 views each.
We also received substantially higher traffic on our website with many more visitors wandering around our pages. Compared to our usual daily average of 15 to 20 visitors, we recorded nearly 1500 views on our “virtual-high-holy-days services” page.
So if anyone wonders whether we are open during this pandemic, our answer is that we never closed and we are thriving. Like many other organizations, faith-based and otherwise, we have pivoted to online, virtual connections. We have held a few outdoor gatherings, including Tashlich, with more than 50 temple members safely distancing in 15-minute windows over the course of an hour. We continue to use an abundance of caution, adhering to CDC guidelines and state mandates. Afterall, seventy-five percent of our congregation is 65 years and older, a vulnerable population for COVID-19 and we wish to take no chances.
With winter upon us, now is not the time to relax given the number of positive cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations on the rise to a new high across the country. Instead, let’s make a conscious effort to be smart and stay strong. If small gatherings are in the cards with people you know and trust, be honest with yourself and with them about other interactions before you gather. Be sure to physically distance, wash your hands, and don’t let your mask down. In your spare time, be sure to call, email, facetime and text family, friends and acquaintances. You’ll feel better for it and so will they.
Get out of your house, and dress warmly.
If you have a question, gripe, or insight, please call me. I’m happy to listen and learn.
B'virkat Shalom,
Sheila
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Divrei Tikvah
From Rabbi Johanna Hershenson
...And just like that, October and Cheshvan have passed and November and the Hebrew month of Kislev are upon us. November gifts us with Thanksgiving and Kislev, the holiday of Chanukah. Food and more food.
In the narrative of the Torah we will move from Abraham and Sarah giving birth to Isaac in their senior years (the ultimate “oops” baby) to the rivalry between Isaac and Rebekah’s sons, Jacob and Esau, and finally to Joseph leading the ancient Hebrews into Egypt during years of famine in Canaan.
The rhythm of the Jewish year, in and of itself, lends meaning to our lived experience.
- From the hope of bringing in Rosh Hashanah and the seriousness with which we embrace a clean slate on Yom Kippur, to the harvest holiday of Sukkot linked to finishing and beginning, again, our reading of the Torah.
- From creation of the universe we inhabit, to the do-over in Noah’s time, to Abraham understanding one must leave certain things behind if one is to move forward and father a new nation.
- From our most base jealousies and rivalries (Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers) to forgiveness and collaboration and mutual responsibility, one for the other (Joseph and his brothers reconcile and carry out their father’s wishes).
We welcome in the new year with a self-accounting and we refine and reset our intentions. The narrative of the annual Torah reading cycle likens our own inner work to the moment of creation and its aftermath, the evolution of the human species and the Jewish people.
The microcosm and the macrocosm reflect parallel cycles of an ever unfolding transformation of the individual, distinct communities, and humanity...all at once, noticeably and beyond our sensory and imaginative perception.
Writing a week before Election Day, I am confident only that some will be super excited while some will be grieved. Many, in between will be wondering what it all means.
Whenever we face paradigmatic shifts in awareness or priorities we experience both eagerness and resistance. Rivalries and jealousies. Reconciliations and new alignments. Reasons to reach out to our neighbors - to double down on our outrage, or to make peace.
As thoughtful as I have tried to be during this year in which pandemic and wildfire, and triggering political rhetoric, I have made mistakes. With the best of intentions, I have insulted and offended. For any alienation I cause any of our members or neighbors, I am sorry.
As November unfolds, Chanukah waits at early December’s door. The historic context of Chanukah very much mimics our own ethos and challenges in the western world today. How does one participate in a greater whole while celebrating and identifying in a particular religious, ethnic, or cultural community? Am I a Jewish American or an American Jew? What would be the difference? How does my Jewish identity manifest publicly versus privately? What other intersections of identity impact how I am feeling these days? My age? My marital status? My pronouns?
May this year be one of thoughtful introspection.
B'virkat Shalom
Johanna
~~ Rabbi Hershenson's office hours are by appointment. If you would like to set up an appointment, please contact her by email at: johannahershenson@gmail.com, or by phone at 541-213-9880.
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Musician
Joanna (Jo) Booser
This is the last in a series of bi-monthly spotlights on our musicians. Eileen Katz, Newsletter Ed.
Did you know that Jo Booser, violinist, flutist and shofar blower extraordinaire, had a career with the National Park Service and with the U.S Forest Service, and shared her musical talents in the parks and forests while working as a naturalist, park ranger, and silviculturist? More later…
Jo grew up near Hershey, PA. Her parents, two sisters, and two brothers all played instruments, and loved to sing. Jo describes fun family car trips as they joyously sang in 4 part harmony during their travels. Jo’s Dad had a beautiful tenor voice, and his singing gigs helped pay his way through Law School.
In second grade, Jo chose to play the violin through a free program offered by her school, and was lucky enough to be taught by the concertmaster of the Harrisburg Symphony. By the third grade, Jo was playing in the high school orchestra! In the fifth grade, Jo started playing her sister’s flute. She feels so grateful that the free lessons on violin, flute and piccolo, as well as French horn and mellophonium, continued through high school, where she participated in district, regional and state orchestras, bands, and choruses. As a junior in high school, she was accepted into the School Orchestra of America and spent her summer traveling in Europe with the group.
Jo majored in biology (pre-med) at Swarthmore College. During a summer job studying hummingbirds at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Jo realized how much she enjoyed working outdoors, changed career plans, and received her Master’s Degree in Forestry at Duke University.
On graduation, Jo joined the National Park Service and worked as a naturalist, ranger and researcher in national parks throughout the US. In Yellowstone, Jo recorded the sounds of birds and other animals and incorporated them into her evening talks and slide shows. Ranger Jo also led hikes and popular sing-alongs with her guitar around blazing campfires.
After several years studying wading birds in the Everglades and completing a special assignment with the National Audubon Society in the Florida Keys, Jo accepted a job in 1980 as forester with Deschutes National Forest in Bend, sight unseen.
During her U.S. Forest Service career, Jo went on some interesting special assignments in DC, Pakistan, Hawaii and the South Pacific, and worked on Mount Hood, Bridger Teton, Ochoco and Deschutes National Forests. In addition to her regular job duties, Jo played fiddle and musical saw with a band called “Riders in the Dirt.” The band was made up of 4 USFS women, all horseback riders who spent some time “in the dirt.” In 2005, the band was chosen to play at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Forest Service. The band also played gigs throughout the United States.
Jo has played for many years with Big John and the Rednecks (now called John Grant and the Western Revue), with LeRoy and the Sidekicks, and with Sugar Mountain, and also collaborates on musical events and recordings with many other musicians.
Jo met Julie Geveshausen while playing music in the early 90’s, and they have been playing together ever since for spiritual gatherings, parties, weddings, funerals, and other rites of passage. Julie was playing piano for TBT services 10 years ago when Lauren Olander, the music director, asked Julie if she knew anyone who might be able to blow the shofar for the High Holy Days. Julie said “I bet Jo Booser could do it.” Jo agreed to the challenge and learned the shofar calls from YouTube!
Jo’s shofar was bequeathed to her from TBT’s former rabbi, Glenn Ettman who had been bringing the shofar with him from Los Angeles for TBT’s High Holy Days. The shofar was made by the father of a classmate of Rabbi Ettman, and is made from the horn of a male Oryx, an African animal with spiral horns.
Jo remembers the High Holidays shofar flash mob on the bridge in the Old Mill District with Rabbi Ettman. He called the calls, and Jo blew the shofar up and down the river. Rabbi Johanna has continued the tradition of shofar calls next to the river.
In October of 2017, after playing music for TBT for 7 years and after studying Hebrew and Judaism for a year with 7 other TBT members, Jo completed her Bat Mitzvah. She highly recommends learning Hebrew as part of a B’nai Mitzvah group.
Jo enjoys traveling, often with her violin, flute or harmonica, since “you never know when an opportunity will present itself to jam with the locals.” Jo and Julie are currently taking a COCC continuing education course called Beginning Russian Language and Culture. These fun zoom classes are taught by fellow TBT musician, professor Janet Gesme.
Jo is enjoying her 10th year with TBT, and appreciates the heartfelt music and the opportunity to collaborate with Rabbi Johanna, Eileen Heaton, Janet Gesme, Julie Geveshausen and the rest of the friendly TBT community.
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Friday, November 6
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Drake Park, 777 NW Riverside Blvd, Bend
Join your TBT friends for an outdoor, in-person pop-up Shabbat at Drake Park on Friday, November 6. Our Pop-Up “Sunset” Shabbat will start at 4:30 PM, just around sunset. Bring your own picnic dinner and chairs or blankets for sitting. Arrive early to find parking and keep an eye out for Rabbi Johanna or the TBT sign to guide you to the group.
Health safety measures will be in place. Please wear a mask and physical distance. Temperature checks will be administered before you join the rest of the group. Hand sanitizer will also be available on-site. Please do not share food with anyone outside your household.
If you feel comfortable enough to join us, we hope to see you there! If, however, you do not feel safe to attend in-person, we will livestream the event on Zoom.
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Chevruta: Mishnas and Gemaras
Sundays at 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
November 8 - December 27
Zoom
The current Adult Ed topic, Meet the First Generation of Rabbis, will end after Sunday, November 1 as we transition into a new area of study. Starting Sunday, November 8, Rabbi Johanna Hershenson will lead our Chevruta exploration of the Talmud, including Mishnas and Gemaras.
What is a Chevruta? Chevruta (pronounced chev-roo-ta) is a group of adults committed to lifelong Jewish learning together over time, a group of adults cultivating camaraderie and friendship through discourse.
TBT's Chevruta will start at the very beginning of the Talmud with Trachtate Berachot 2a: When does one recite the Shema? Once we feel comfortable working through the style of the literature, we will skip around the Talmud to explore passages that address questions our Chevruta participants raise.
Let's study Talmud together!
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Hamsa Adult Education
Come Learn with Us!
Laurelei Garrity
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During the summer, Rabbi Johanna was invited into a conversation among five colleagues serving URJ synagogues on the Pacific Coast. Ultimately, the conversation led to this: If we are all using Zoom, why don’t we partner up and offer more rabbinic insights and knowledge to all our members?
The final outcome is Hamsa: Five Congregations Learning Together. TBT members are welcome to participate in any and all Hamsa programs. Find the perfect course for you!
In addition to Beginning and Biblical Hebrew courses, which are now closed for registration, Hamsa is also offering monthly mini-courses on various subjects.
As soon as we receive further details from the Hamsa organizers about the mini-courses below, we will share with you in the TBT weekly Happenings. If you are interested in registering, email Rabbi Johanna Hershenson at johannahershenson@gmail.com.
November: Entering Jewish Prayer with Rabbi Dean Shapiro
Thursdays at 6:00 PM (November 5, 12, 19)
Zoom
December: Mussar for Trying Times with Rabbi Leah Lewis
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM (December 1, 8, 15)
Zoom
January: Jewish Environmentalism with Rabbi Devorah Marcus
Wednesdays at 7:00 PM (January 13, 20, 27)
Zoom
March: The 4 Questions to Ask God with Rabbi Zach Shapiro
Tuesdays at 1:00 PM (March 2, 9, 16, 23)
Zoom
April: Jews in American Music with Rabbi Rebeccah Yussman
Tuesdays at 7:30 PM (April 13, 20, 27)
Zoom
For more updates on adult education, keep an eye on the weekly Happenings.
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TBT Board Notes
Next Board Meeting: November 11, 4:00 to 6:00 pm.
Due to COVID-19, all board meetings are being held via Zoom. If you would like to attend, contact Lauralei Garrity at lauralei.garrity@gmail.com.
If you would like to read minutes of previous board meetings, you can request a copy from Board Secretary, Terry Hoogstede tahoogstede@bendcable.com.
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Social Action
Secret Santa
Beverly Adler
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Now, more than ever Assistance League needs our help with their Secret Santa program where individuals purchase 1-2 items on a senior citizen’s “Wish List.” This year they have 350 (nearly 100 more) nursing home residents who have only folks like us to bring some holiday joy into their lives.
With most businesses offering online ordering, you only need to let your fingers do the shopping! Please consider taking 2 names if possible. Assistance League requests that all shopping be done by early December.
I will email you or deliver information sheets to you. You obtain 1-2 gifts and put them in a holiday gift bag along with the info sheet. I can happily pick them up if you cannot get them to me. Contact Beverly Adler if you can help at fiberartist@bendcable.com or 541-264-0234.
It is great fun providing a little happiness to someone in great need! We serve nursing homes throughout Deschutes County.
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Adult Education
Havdallah With a Maven
Sacred Sites of Ancient Egypt
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Saturday November 14,
7:00 pm via Zoom Presented by:
Architect and Egypt Scholar Lawrence Schechter
For three weeks last October, TBT members Lawrence & Lorraine Schechter and a dozen friends toured Egypt’s Nile Valley from Cairo in the north to near the Sudan border in the south.
Lawrence has now produced and directed a four-chapter documentary the second of which will
be the topic of this Havdallah With A Maven. The video lasts 31 minutes, after which we will
have plenty of time for a lively Q&A session and discussion.
This second chapter focuses on the New Kingdom, beginning around 1,600 BCE, lasting around
500 years, geographically centered on Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes. The visit includes
massive temples and statues, brightly-colored subterranean tombs, and a dawn hot air balloon
trip over the Nile’s west bank, across the river from Luxor, where we skim over the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens at sunrise.
The remaining two chapters, which we will present in future seasons’ Havdallahs, will explore the Nile River and Aswan and Nubia, including the famous temples rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nassar at Abu Simbel, just a few miles north of Egypt’s southern border with Sudan. Additionally we will explore Alexandria on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in the north, including a visit to its splendid modern library, built and located in the spirit of the legendary ancient library of Alexandria.
Keep an eye on the weekly Happenings for Zoom information.
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Education Report
Melissa Wikler
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Our Sunday religious school and weekly Hebrew school program are in full swing for the year! Our students and educators have shown patience and perseverance in navigating the virtual learning environment.
I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this learning community and I am inspired by the families, students, educators, and our local community members for all that they bring to the program. We all look forward to the growth in our students that is to come this year and eagerly anticipate the day where we will be together in the school building again! Always know that you can reach out to me if you need anything. Email me at missiewik@icloud.com.
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Third Sunday of each month at 10:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Zoom
There is still room in Temple Beth Tikvah's Tikkun Olam-- A Do-the-Work Group! We will next meet on Sunday, November 15.
The Tikkun Olam group offers TBT members a space to learn more about race, ethnicity, gender, and identity, guided by the values and teachings of Jewish wisdom. As we repair the world, each in our own way, the Tikkun Olam group empowers us through education, practice, and communal support.
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Under the guidance of Board member Jillian Frankl, Chase Frankl and Jonah Henneberg, representing Central Oregon Jewish Youth, are working with Stacey Witte of REACH to prepare bags with food, toiletries, first aid and survival supplies to those in need.
The group used TBT members' High Holy Day donations to purchase the items.
Dollars that remain unused will be donated directly to REACH.
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December Newsletter Deadline: November 24th
This newsletter is emailed to both members and non-members each month. If you have something you want to include in the newsletter, please e-mail it to Eileen Katz: eileentam@aol.com by the 24th of each month for the following month's publication. As always, you will continue to receive "e-minders" before important events take place.
Shalom,
Eileen
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Menorah Lighting At The Old Mill
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First Night of Chanukah
Thursday, December 10
The annual lighting of the menorah at the Old Mill will take on a new look this year. There will be a safe, drive in (stay in or near your car) outdoor Menorah Lighting Celebration.
Save the date and details to come soon.
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Temple Beth Tikvah gratefully acknowledges the following contributions:
- Phyllis & Jerry Greenbach In Memory of Murray Gurvitz
- Terry Reynolds To Gary Reynolds Memorial Fund In Memory of Gary Reynolds
- Chuck & Marilyn Shattuck In Memory of Richard Shattuck
Donations listed above were made to the Temple's general fund unless otherwise specified.
You may honor the lives and achievements of friends and relatives via a tribute with a donation to TBT. You can do this online by clicking here, or by sending a check and the name and address of the person being honored to TBT at P.O. Box 7472, Bend, OR, 97708.
Donations may be designated to a specific fund, including:
- General Fund
- Gary Reynolds Memorial Fund
- Youth Education Fund
- Music Fund
- TBT's Goodwill Fund
- Social Action/Tzedakah Fund
- or the Corrie Grudin Memorial Fund
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Temple Beth Tikvah
P.O Box 7472
Bend, OR 97708
541-388-8826
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Your secure online donation to
Temple Beth Tikvah
is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your generosity.
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Celebrations in November honor the following:
Birthdays:
- Steven Draheim November 2
- Barbara Seipp November 2
- Paul Frankl November 4
- Terry Hoogstede November 7
- Lee Shapiro-London November 8
- Michael Freundlich November 10
- Hannah Goldstein November 10
- Mya Frankl November 12
- Vida Halpern November 12
- George Brant November 13
- Liz Levinson November 13
- Shirley Hudson November 17
- Andrea Casey November 18
- Heather Lazarus Molnar November 18
- Jillian Frankl November 20
- Isaac Brickner November 28
- Rachel Uri November 30
Anniversaries:
- Lauralei & Eric Garrity November 4
- Charlene & Steve Dimond November 7
- Robert & Natalie Huberman November 14
- Pati & Danny Boyd November 20
- Gene & Linnea Epstein November 20
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President:
Sheila Luber
Past President:
Ann Rosenfield
Vice President
Kerrie Zurovsky
Secretary:
Terry Hoogstede
Treasurer:
Mark Schindel
Members-at-Large:
Lester Dober
Jillian Frankl
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Budget & Finance
Chuck Shattuck
Membership
Terry Reynolds
Program Oversight
Kathy Schindel
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Adult Learning
Mel Siegel
Bikur Cholim
Suzanne Schlosberg
Evie Lerner
Linda Brant
Calendar Keeper
Kathy Schindel
Chevra Kadisha
Ralph Uri
Communications & PR
Kathy Schindel
Sheila Luber
Music
Julie Geveshausen
Newsletter
Eileen Katz
Onegs
Jan Freeman-Bauer
Program Coordinator
Lauralei Garrity
Religious Education
Melissa Wikler
Social Action
TBD
Venue Logistics
Mark Schindel
Webmaster
Jeanne Freeman
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Your secure online donation to
Temple Beth Tikvah
is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your generosity.
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About Temple Beth Tikvah
For Jewish families, retirees and singles at every level of faith in Central Oregon, Temple Beth Tikvah provides a comforting embrace for the soul of your DNA. We are a dynamic Reform Jewish congregation with friendly, giving, active people drawn to Bend and Central Oregon because of the active lifestyle we find here.
We come together in different ways, inspired and informed by our common thread of Jewishness. Whether you were born Jewish, love someone who is Jewish or choose to be Jewish. Practice Judaism a little, a lot or not at all. TBT can serve as the heart of your vibrant, connected life.
We can be your primary source of friendship, purpose, spiritual and intellectual pursuit. Or a side note adding flavor and dimension how and when you want. Whichever you choose, TBT offers an inclusive, communal foundation on which to build your relationships, experiences and practice. From social activities to social action, worship to study, participation to leadership. It's your choice, in this community of yours.
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PO Box 7472
Bend, OR 97708
(541) 388-8826
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