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Black Butte Ranch Police and Fire Departments are joining forces this summer!

I want to thank the ranch owners who have sent me an email or stopped by my office over the last couple of months. I value these conversations and leave each one with a clearer vision of serving Black Butte Ranch. Two of my top organizational priorities are PROXIMITY, being together with the community, and ACCESS, making it easy to communicate with BBR PD Officers and staff. Proximity is achieved through rigorous patrols of the ranch. Our preferred method of patrolling is on a bicycle, weather permitting of course. This allows officers to respond to calls for service in a timely manner. The bike better allows officers to stop and talk to community members, educating people on the ranch rules or handing out stickers and badges to the kids. You will see us often on Highway 20 in our patrol vehicles. Our goal is to slow down drivers as they approach the access points of Black Butte Ranch. Over the last 12 months, BBR PD has issued 831 warnings and citations both on and off the ranch. Traffic safety will continue to be important, so I expect this number to be higher over the next 12 months. Access to the officers at Black Butte Ranch is the top priority of our Police Department. My desire is for you to know the officers and staff by their first name and are comfortable talking/calling/texting any one of them. Here are a few ways to access the staff at Black Butte Ranch PD. OFFICER OF THE DAY (OOD) Phone Number: BBR PD has an officer on duty 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Call (541) 668-4058 to talk directly to the on-duty officer. This is a unique service we provide. In most agencies across the country, you must call a dispatch center first. At Black Butte, you can talk to the OOD directly with no delay. Please program this into your phone, (541) 668-4058. This number is for non-emergency calls only. 911: In the event of an emergency, please call 911 first. When in doubt, call 911. This will get you in contact with a professional call taker/dispatcher, who can route officers to the emergency and give officers important information while they are driving with lights and sirens to the call. BBR ALERTS: Text 888777 and type in BBRALERTS to opt into a messaging program from Deschutes County 911. BBRALERTS will push out information regarding emergencies in our area, focused primarily on wildfire information. Please opt into this important communication resource. Please tell everyone who is coming onto the ranch to text 888777 and type in BBRALERTS. The PD is lucky to have an amazing Administrative Manager, Jessica is critically important to the Police Department. She can be reached at 541-595-2191. Her email is jessica@blackbuttepolice.org. My work cell number is (541) 948 7984. My email address is chiefvanmeter@blackbuttepolice.org . Call, text, or email anytime day or night. I may have my phone off, however, I check my email several times a day, every day. BBR APP: Black Butte Ranch developed a BBR App. The app is very awesome. On behalf of the corporation, please download this App from Google Play or Apple App Store. It has an Emergency Tab that will be updated in the event of an emergency, and much more. These are but a few ways you can have proximity and access to the men and women of your Police Department…always at your service. HOW TO INSTALL THE BBR APP With your smartphone, open your camera (or QR Code Reader) and snap the appropriate QR code below. Follow instructions to install the app. Once installed on your smartphone, tap the BBR icon and follow the prompts to your handy guide to the Ranch. V/R Jason Van Meter, Chief of Police

As we approach the busy season for the Ranch, I have a lofty goal of NO injury crashes on the Ranch this summer. To help achieve our goal you will see some new police employees on the Ranch. We hired our first-ever Community Service Officer or CSO for short. Our CSO is not a sworn officer however will be riding around the Ranch educating owners and guests as to the rules and regulations of the Ranch. Our first-ever CSO is Daisy Patterson. Daisy is a Senior at Sisters High School where she had a great 4-year career on the Wrestling team and the Softball team. She will be a great asset to the community, educating guests about various safety items. We also have a new volunteer, Bethanne Blann from Camp Sherman. She will be working at the Police Department helping with various educational programs we are planning throughout the summer. We are excited to have her around the Ranch. Some law and rule reminders: DUII: All BBR sworn officers will be going through DUII refresher training this month. If we stop a person who is impaired that person will be taken to the Deschutes County Jail for processing. Please call for a ride or plan for a ride. BBR PD will investigate where that person was drinking and fine the server for serving a visibly intoxicated person. PEDESTRIANS and BICYCLISTS: Bikes and Pedestrians on the bike path. Vehicles on the roadway. Drive with due regard to each other, yield, or stop when in doubt. Road bikes, stay on the bike path if you desire to ride on the Ranch. Bikes on the bike path, stop for stop signs. If you violate a rule or law and are contacted by Police, we are carrying out the desire of the dozens of emails I get from Ranch owners to better enforce these laws. (Pro-tip: Profanity toward an officer is a poor way of accepting responsibility for a violation, we have body cameras and I hope in the future to post videos of violator behavior on our new website so you can see our side of the contact). SKATEBOARDS (ONE WHEEL ELECTRIC INCLUDED): Not allowed on the Ranch, not even on the bike path. No Skateboarding on the Ranch. Sisters High School has an amazing skate park, like a professional-grade trick park. Drop off the kids at the Skatepark and eat some delicious food downtown. LEASH RULE: Dogs are required to be on a leash while visiting the Ranch. We will be handing out cool dog bandanas and with permission featuring the K9 on our website. BBR PD loves all pets so if you want one for your cat or other pet, we are into featuring those pets as well. WOMEN’S SELF-DEFENSE: May 3rd at 5:30 PM. Call Jessica for details and to save a spot. (541) 595 2191. My goal is to have the safest summer on record, I am really looking forward to the warm weather and increased activity on the ranch. Please send me an email with any questions or concerns, chiefvanmeter@blackbuttepolice.org V/R Jason Van Meter, Chief of Police