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Shooting wrapped at midnight on Wednesday in front of Prineville’s Pine Theater for the low budget independent film Man Maid. The comedy, starring Sara Rue and up-and-coming actor Phillip Vaden, shot several scenes in Prineville and Redmond. “I really, truly love this country up here, so it’s nice to spend time here,” said first time film director Chris Lusvardi. The director’s wife, Brandy, was born in Portland and grew up in Gladstone. She still has family in Oregon. The 22-day shoot began July 1. Lusvardi said the location was chosen when Mike Mason of Fluid Images in Sisters found the New Redmond Hotel. “It fit the script,” said Lusvardi. Prineville locations included Riggs Road, Lamonta Road, Carey Foster Road, Second and Beaver Streets in front of the old Crooked River Lanes, and the old Pine Theater, said Prineville Police Sergeant Ray Cuellar, who helped secure the shoot. “We are loving this area, said producer Jeanine Rohn. “We drove through one time and saw so much stuff to shoot.” Vaden, who plays man maid Vincent Van Metcalf, agreed. “We’re using really great locations in Prineville, Redmond and Bend,” he said. “They have all got this honest, untouched quality about them.” Along with having family in the area, Lusvardi also likes the people here, saying it’s easy to do business in Oregon. “We’ve really enjoyed our stay,” he said. “The Prineville Police Department was incredibly helpful. They did a really good job with balance – helping us while keeping the town’s best…

Local artist Alice Barr, in addition to five other members of the Ochoco Valley Railroad, are working hard to get the local train display ready for fair With the unique history of Prineville’s railroad and its municipal operation, there are a handful of avid train enthusiasts who have kept the local and state railroad history alive. This small group meets every Sunday afternoon to work on a massive train display that represents the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway (SP and S) in 1965, when the logging industry in Oregon was in full swing. The local display demonstrates this railway as it was in Central Oregon during this frame of time, including the associated freight depots. The SP and S Railway has a rich and long history, but in times past was often referred to as “the Northwest’s own railroad.” The group, known as the Ochoco Valley Railroad club, was initially the brainchild of the manager, Brad Peterson. “I have had a passion for trains since I was a kid,” said Peterson. The club now consists of members Bill Purinton, Jim VanVoorhes, Bill Kindley, Dave Toupal, and Brad eterson. The club currently meets in a building across from the Carey Foster Hall at the Crook County Fairgrounds. Most recently, the Ochoco Valley Railroad club also recruited an artist-in-residence, Alice Barr. The club was looking for an artist to paint the backdrops behind the train displays, and she volunteered to paint the murals with her own time and supplies. Barr commented that…

Along with the young children’s and teen reading program, the Crook County Library added an adult aspect this summer The summer reading program is in full swing at the Crook County Library, and there are four weeks of exciting and engaging programs left for children, teens, and adults to participate in. The Oregon State Library points out that there is a significant loss of learning during the summer when young people are not in school. Summer reading programs provide activities that encourage readers to stay active in reading throughout the summer, while having fun at the same time. “The whole point of it is to encourage kids to read during the summertime,” said Jane Ahern, Youth Services Librarian for the Crook County Library. She went on to say that there are two parts to the summer reading program. “One part is all the activities that we do and the programs that we put on. The other part is really more about the kids reading at home and keeping their skills sharp.” The theme for this year is “Dream Big, Read.” Ahern said that there is a different theme for each summer reading program. The library kicked off their event June 16, with juggler Charlie Brown in the library park. Other activities that took place in June included a presentation by High Desert Museum with bats and owls, storytimes with Tammy Bronson, campfire songs with Anita Hoffman and her drama students as well as campfire songs with Elaine McDaniel, and a…

After passing their initial July 4 deadline, the Mehrabis have decided to continue the horseshoe fundraiser and have added a Kickstarter campaign Four months ago, the Pine Theater launched a fundraiser to help pay for two digital movie projectors or face closing its doors. At the time, they set a deadline of July 4 to raise the necessary money. That deadline has come and gone, but theater owners Ali and Oniko Mehrabi are not pulling the plug on the fundraiser just yet. “As long as my agent can keep getting me movies, we will play them,” Oniko Mehrabi said. Like other movie theaters nationwide, Pine Theater must convert its film projects to digital because the movie studios are phasing out the production of film. The projectors will cost them $80,000. The Walk of Fame Horseshoe Campaign, which sells $400 engraved horseshoes for placement in the sidewalk outside the theater door, had raised $52,000 of that money as of Friday, July 5. The Mehrabis intend to keep selling the horseshoes as long as people are willing to buy them and the theater doors are still open. If the fundraiser fails to raise enough money in time, the Mehrabis will refund each purchase. These days, tracking down film prints has become increasingly difficult. “In March, they were still producing enough prints on the big ones, the heavy-hitter movies,” Oniko recalls. Now, they struggle to find the hit movies on film, and when they do, it can cost them extra to show them….

This past weekend, my husband Dan and his classmates held their 40-year class reunion. The reason that I mention this is because at the Saturday night dinner at Meadow Lakes Restaurant, Melody Gibson asked that everyone donate what they could, so that the class of 1973 could go down in history and get their class on Prineville’s Walk of Fame in front of the Pine Theater. She was able to encourage them by saying, “We all remember the Pine Theater.” By some of the laughter and giggles in the room, I am pretty sure that many in attendance had their first kiss in the balcony while they were supposed to be watching a movie. The deadline to help raise money for the theater to make upgrades in order to go digital is Wednesday, July 31. The class of 1973 donated enough money to purchase two horseshoes. If you would like to and are able to donate to this cause, you can contact Oniko and Ali Mehrabi at the Pine Theater at 541-416-1014 or visit their website at www.pinetheater.com • This week’s entertainment for the Crook County Foundation’s Picnic in the Park will be Todd Haaby, flamenco guitar. Todd will perform on Wednesday, July 31, at Pioneer Park from 6 to 8 p.m. • The Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center Business After Hours will be held at the Chamber of Commerce at 785 N.W. Third St., on Thursday, Aug. 1, from 5:50 to 7:30 p.m., featuring Countryfied at…

It’s official. Pine Theater is going digital. Theater owners Oniko and Ali Mehrabi recently learned that Bank of the Cascades will refinance their existing business debt and extend them a line of credit to cover the remaining cost of purchasing digital movie projectors. On Wednesday, the Mehrabis announced the news via their Pine Theater Facebook page. “Thank you, Bank of the Cascades!” Oniko gushed. In March, the Mehrabis mounted an ambitious campaign to raise $80,000 to purchase two digital movie projectors. The decision came following news that Hollywood studios were phasing out film movies in favor of digital. They elected to sell 240 engraved horseshoes at $400 apiece that they would place in the sidewalk outside their theater doors. They initially set a July 4 deadline on the fundraiser, but extended it when horseshoe sales came up nearly $30,000 short. Fearing they would fall short of their goal and have to close their doors, the theater owners started pursuing a loan to bridge the remaining gap. At first, they didn’t have much success. “The problem was all of our ratios didn’t work out,” Oniko explained. “So, they (Bank of the Cascades) said to just keep putting along and we’ll see what happens.” As the Mehrabis continued to sell horseshoes, the gap diminished to a point where the bank was willing to work with them. As of Wednesday, they had sold 170 for a total of $68,000. Consequently, in their Facebook announcement, the Mehrabis stressed that the bank approval came “only…