Chinook Bend Resort

November 16, 2006

                                                       Written by John Telban

The first 100 Days  WOW… How quick the time has past. We have accomplished a great deal in the first 100 days, and have numerous other projects to complete. Before I get into what we have accomplished and what we need to work on, I would like to take a minute and express my sincere gratitude to the Chinook Bend Staff.

Mac and Joann McDaniel have worked with me from the beginning, Mac keeps the resort afloat and takes great pride in seeing projects through, this is a big task and he is definitely the right man for the job.  Joann, along with Cousin Donny McDaniel completely gutted and repainted the lower bait shop and store. On a limited budget, they put together a perfect convenience store for members. They both worked tirelessly to have this project done for the season, and again, their pride in what they set out to accomplish shows every time you walk into the store.

Donny McDaniel has discovered lawn mowing, day in and day out, you will see him on a tractor, lawn mower or bush-hog grooming the grounds. And of course when he is not doing the grass cutting, he will be ready to assist you in setting up your rig or greeting you upon arrival.

Vic Kane “poppa bear” will most likely be the first person you will meet upon arriving at the resort, sitting on his log chair out front; he greets you with a smile and most likely a story. I would like to thank him for his tremendous dedication to Chinook Bend Resort.

Cousin Bill, what can I say about him, computer wizard, project manager, crises intervention, Wi-Fi fixer, mother-father of all employees. I think I have finally met my match with Cousin Billy, he can stay up and working for 20 hour intervals, do bank deposits, answer telephones, calm irate customers and give directions all at the same time, my hero. He is extremely dedicated to this resort and I cannot tell you how valuable he has become to this operation.

Bob Collin also known as “Kyburz Bob” relating to the small mountain town of Kyburz where he lives when not at Chinook Bend, is a retired policeman from Placerville Cal. Bob has been a major supporter of Chinook Bend since we purchased the resort in May. You will always see Bob on a tractor or cutting wood, moving dumpsters, working on plumbing or electrical or behind the stove during the Sunday morning pancake breakfast. A man of many talents, always smiling and appearing to never have a bad day, he is also are hero around the resort. His only fault, he goes to bed at 8:00 P.M.. I guess this is because he has to get up at the crack of dawn to bottle feed his six babies. Our nursery of calves. Just as a side note, Bob trained the calves to come running when he rings a bell. If you get a chance, its worth watching at dinner time.   

Some new faces you will see around the resort. Martine’ who was previously a policeman in Mexico, has many talents, he welds, has a background in electrical and plumbing, fence builds, auto mechanic, small engine repair and so many other talents. On several occasions, Martine’ has went out of his way to assist members, from changing a flat tire to jumping dead batteries, he is always ready and willing to help.

 BUSINESS NEWS

NEW BILLING ADDRESS: Nat and I have taken over the book-keeping portion of the member dues. This was a cost cutting business decision. The savings will allow us to have personal over-site of the member’s information which we did not have before and we can now personally monitor billing. JPW Company no longer represents Chinook Bend Resort. Please make a note that the new address for corresponding with us for your billing questions:

  Chinook Bend Resort

1190 School Street

Folsom Ca. 95630

 Telephone number (541) 996-2032

Or my personal cell (916) 768-1626

BUSINESS UPDATE:

 Chinook Bend Resort is doing very well financially, and revenues generated are being put back into the property at a staggering rate.  So many repairs were needed to the electrical, water, septic, plumbing and drainage systems. Most of the major repairs have been completed, and several other main projects will be completed when the resort slows down this winter

 CITY WATER SYSTEM Completed within the first 30 days of new ownership. A new waterline extending from the front of the Big Red Barn to the holding tanks located in the storage building in the park was hooked up to Lower Siletz Water Company. We have a constant 60 PSI which keeps two large holding tanks full at all times. You have not worked hard until you have dug and placed ˝ mile of waterline in a ditch and then covered it back. “It sure is different from writing speeding tickets”

 ELECTRICAL UPGRADES. The electrical system in Chinook Bend Resort at the very least is old. Between flood and age, it has taken its toll on the system. We have been working with a local electrical contractor to upgrade the system. To fully bring it up to a top rate system which would include some 50 amp camp site spots, we will have to take the resort off line for about one week, so here is one of our winter projects. When we had the heat wave a few months back, vacationers flocked to the coast to get cool. After arriving at the resort, several tried to run their electrical air conditioners, this caused the system to become overloaded and it failed. So as a reminder, so we don’t have to deal with a power outage or fire, please don’t run your air conditioners, freezers, washers and dryers or any other large electrical appliance. The system we currently are using will not handle it.  

SEPTIC SYSTEMS. We have three as I recently discovered. All are working great and were recently serviced. It is our intention to apply for a permit to add one additional septic system to the property. This would accommodate the remodel of the old farm house into a B&B for members or their guests.

PLUMBING SYSTEM. A lot of the plumbing in the resort has been replaced. Everyday it seems we experience a plumbing problem, but Mac, Bob and Martine’ are right on it. We have replaced numerous water valves in camp sites, added new water valves throughout the park for tent campers, and upgraded all the water lines coming into the water tank holding area. This will be an on-going project for quite a while.     

ENTRANCE ROAD We have widened the entrance road to the resort. After running the new waterline down the side of the road, it just made sense to widen the road to allow two motor-coaches to pass. We have brought in truck loads of gravel to smooth out the roadway surface. Dan from D.K. Rock and Gravel Company has become a great supporter of Chinook Bend. Besides gravel, he is bringing in truck loads of fill dirt to address erosion issues along the roadway. (As a side note, if you are local and need road work, concrete or rock, call Dan at Dan Kauffman Excavating: 541-994-8584, he will treat you right)

DRAINAGE SYSTEM well, let’s start with the two beaver ponds that have been a constant nuisance to Mac. It’s like the movie Caddy Shack, Mac knocks them down and the beaver come back and rebuild them just as fast. The beaver pond that is on the west side of the Big Red Barn (you can’t see it unless your our lost in the bushes) creates immediate flooding on the entrance road if not controlled. We don’t want to harm them, so I guess we will fight the fight. There are three water control flapper valves on the property. All three are in need of repair. What the water control flapper valves are suppose to do is stop river water from coming back onto the property during high tide. But they are not working. We have consulted with some experts on these water control flapper valves and it appears they can be re-welded and placed back on the drainage tiles and work properly. This project has just begun and hopefully will be completed before next season.      

 OTHER PROJECTS UNDERWAY

DOCKS. The dock project has been completed. We have completely rebuilt dock #2, complete with a new two-station stainless steel fish cleaning station. Docks #1, #3 and #4 have been repaired, complete with new foam. Dock #4 (previously used as a fishing dock) was rebuilt and a portion that had washed away in the floods was replaced. A second cleaning station for members only was added. We replaced the wooden boat launch ramp with a concrete ramp. The reason was simple, erosion was about to take the three trees on the river bank, and the existing wooden dock was falling apart. The concrete ramp now serves two purposes and seems to be working fine. Hopefully this will solve some of our on-going dock issues.

DRY CABIN Our first dry cabin in completed. The wooden structure will be situated on the river on the east side of the property. The builder assures me his design will be very unique and fit the theme of the resort. The cabin will have a microwave, heater and electrical service. The cabin will give members or their guests a rustic-wild feeling when camping. It will be great experience for children.

ENTRANCE STATION. We recently purchased and set up an entrance station. This building will be utilized as a security station to control access onto the property.

SECURITY GATE. We are currently accepting bids on a new entrance gate. The gate will keep our guests safe during the night and control access t o the resort.

PORTABLE TOILETS. We added two portable toilets to the campground for the remote tent campers. We signed a contract with a local business which will come out on a weekly basis and service the units. We placed them away from the main park for obvious reasons, but they will be a nice addition as it will relieve some of the pressure off of our main restrooms.  

FARM LAND. Lincoln County has advised me that if we wanted to do some type of agriculture on the 50 acre parcel on the east side of the property, they would provide a $5000. Tax break for the 2007 fiscal year. I have been in contact with a local farmer who is interested in harvesting the property for hey. He also has made an offer of running some of his milk cows on the property. Some other options are Christmas trees, Alder trees, Cottonwood trees, sheep, and of course more Lamas. Let me know if you have any ideas on how we can take advantage of this tax exemption.

COMPUTER SYSTEM. We continue to try and upgrade our new computer system. We are working the bugs out and trying to set it up where you can make your reservation over the internet. Currently we are not able to take them over the internet, but hopefully in the near future.

 WI-FI SERVICE. Free Wi-Fi service is available in the Big Red Barn and in the park on a limited basis. We are working on this system and hopefully will be able to expand the usage to a wider area.

CELL PHONE TOWER. We are exploring the possibility of adding an antenna to the top of the silo to enhance cell phone reception. We have also sent a letter to some of the local cell phone companies to see if they are interested in placing a tower on the property which would also service the community. I will keep you posted on the progress of this project.

ICE STORAGE/MACHINE. We have acquired an ice machine and two ice freezers. The freezers are located at the bait shop and at the main store. We are now capable of filling up ice chests upon request. Hopefully this will be a convenience for members, especially during salmon season.

KAYAK AND FISHING BOAT RENTALS. We purchased four 16’ fishing boats and motors. These are available to members who want to cruise the river either fishing or just site seeing. We also have available four Kayaks, two single people, and two double person for use on the river. In the spring of 2007, we will have available bicycles for trail riding. We are also looking for gulf carts for member use.

NEW ITEMS New Chinook Bend T-shirts, golf shirts and sweat shirts are available at the Chinook Bend Store. Come in and see some of the new designs.

Several antiques are for sale in the Big Red Barn. One of the new items that we recently acquired is a 1940’s nickel slot machine. It works and is full of nickels.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

 All of the members who helped us through our first months of business. Without the support of you, I don’t know how we would have made it. Many of you have become friends. I am looking forward to the 2007 season.

 FLOOD REPORT.

 On November 6^th, The Oregon’s Office of Emergency Service contacted us and advised us to evacuate the property due to recent storms. We moved everything off of the lower portion of the property and the flood waters came.. WOW, it’s been six days now and we are still flooded out. I have never seen this much water in one place. You can literally launch a boat at the Big Red Barn. The only thing we could not get out of the park was “Rowdy”, the Ford pick-up. Of all the times we could not get it started. Our six new additions to the resort are the calves, and they would not come in out of the rain. We have attempted two rescues by boat, but they are stuck on high ground next to the river. They are in good health; they just won’t get into the boat..

As we are open year round now, we had approximately 10 members camping when the floods arrived. All but one stayed and they have been having Siletz River flood parties every night in the Big Red Barn. In all seriousness, the members that stayed have been a tremendous help during this very stressful time.

If you are curious, the water peaked at about 26’ feet. That put about 4’ feet of water in the restrooms and about 15’feet over the entire campground and gulf course. If you want to see some of the pictures, log onto the Chinook Bend website as I have posted several pictures. You can view them by going to the front page and clicking on “2006 flood”.

Sorry it took me so long to get this letter out, and I will work to improve on the communication aspect of the resort. So long for now and I will see most of you this next spring.

  Sincerely.. John Telban