The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

To the Editor:

As I just finished reading the commentary “Goodnight Molly” by Tom Donahue (The Nugget, April 3, page 8), I knew I had to write this little note. It touched me so, because I knew Molly slightly as Tom and Molly are my neighbors. You never saw one without the other (except for a few times Molly decided to come over and visit me, or the time Tom was relaxing on his lawn chair by the creek, and I saw Molly decide she would go and check things out, I hollered to Tom, “Molly’s taking a hike.” Tom had fallen asleep. She didn’t get very far).

Having been a vet tech in California, I could see Molly having more and more trouble going on their morning walks, then one day Tom was walking alone. He came by and said yes, Molly had left him.

I had tears reading Tom’s tribute to Molly, having had a wonderful Sheltie dog named Boy that took care of 200 head of sheep on our ranch in California and losing him to a drunk driver, I can fully understand how Tom feels on losing not only a pet but a friend. I’ll miss seeing Molly and Tom going for their walk every morning.

God bless you, pretty Molly, for all the joy you brought to Tom; and to you, Tom, for all the love and care you gave your girl. I’ll miss seeing you together.

Sylvia Cara

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To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the April 3 edition of The Nugget article titled, “Cold Weather Shelter organizers address concerns.”

The article states “records provided by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, total crimes reported in Sisters for 2018 numbered over 300. Homeless or transient people accounted for five to seven of those crimes.”

Of the over 300 crimes committed in Sisters, how many are unsolved? I contacted the Sheriff’s office but crime statistics for Sisters are apparently unavailable. Using FBI national crime statistics, the national average for clearing burglary is 13 percent, for theft 22 percent and for violent crime 46 percent. Using a generous clearance rate of 50 percent for total crime in Sisters, that leaves a minimum of 150 unsolved crimes. How many of the over 150 unsolved crimes were committed by homeless or transient suspects?

Why are Sisters crime numbers so high? 300 crimes in 2018 for Sisters is a crime rate of 147 per 1,000 residents. Bend is 26 per 1,000 residents, Redmond is 34 per 1,000 residents and Portland is 101 per 1,000 residents.

Crime. A Rand Corporation study in Vancouver, Canada focused solely on property crime, determined that winter homeless shelters cause a 56 percent increase in property crime. In another study, 62 percent of homeless interviewed admitted to engaging in criminal activity. In another study, 69 percent of single homeless interviewed admitted to being homeless because of substance abuse and addiction. In a recent documentary by Seattle’s KOMO news titled, “Seattle Is Dying,” homeless on the street admit the reason for being homeless is from substance abuse and addiction.

Quality-of-life incidents that negatively impact the community are not reflected in crime statistics.

One recent incident of several involving homeless individuals was posted in the Community Watch of Sisters forum on Facebook: Two backpacks were found under bleachers in the little league baseball field during a cleanup.

The backpacks had alcohol and marijuana inside.

Two known homeless men apparently owned the backpacks and confronted the woman who found them.

When the woman told the two men the Sheriff was contacted to take possession of the backpacks, one man became angry and aggressive.

The angry man, later described as dangerous by a Sheriff’s deputy, committed a lewd gesture in front of the children present.

Law enforcement staffing for Sisters is currently one deputy. As the number of homeless using the shelter grows, statistically, so will crime. Sisters spends just under $600,000 a year for one deputy which includes Sheriff resources. How much will it cost Sisters taxpayers to add more deputies and to use more Sheriff resources?

JK Wells

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To the Editor:

My husband and I moved to Sisters in June of 2017. We currently live in the Village at Cold Springs on Williamson Avenue.

We have been aware of the new development going in just east of us and the construction and upheaval to Trinity Street.

Also we have been impacted with the new development to the east of us.

We have a very uneven road, Trinity, which I hate to drive on several times a day.

Hayden needed to tear up the street to attach the city for all electrical lines.

They did this just before the big storm, so we have places that were dug up, but no dirt. Now we have some dirt and gravel but are still uneven, there are 12 of them.

I have noticed the new development has a road ending on Williamson, so I have to assume that once finished it will continue onto Williamson, onto our very narrow street, only 24 feet wide.

We have both been to the Planning Commission’s meetings about the new proposed Hayden Home to the west of us. We understand that the project will go forward. WE in the Village at Cold Springs have only been asking that our PRIVATE STREETS will be left alone. As has already been proven, these streets are only 24 feet wide, because the code at that time allowed it. Now the code seems to be changing to suit the demands of the city.

At the first meeting a woman asked the commissioners if any of the commissioners lived on the west side of town, NO hands went up. She then asked who lived on the east side of town and ALL hands went up. I think that shows how much understanding the Planning Commission has for our neighborhood. What our neighbors were trying to say is that the streets are VERY narrow with only enough room to park on one side of the street. There are only sidewalks on one side. How come when this neighborhood was created the code was adjusted to meet the new smaller street? Now it seems that since the city wants to use these streets, the code is being changed.

We understand that the city wants to use our streets. But aren’t we part of the city, don’t our views count? This is a private community, our roads are private, taxes have been paid and repairs have been paid by our HOA! Why are we being ignored?

Cece Montgomery

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To the Editor:

My husband and I got back from a brief winter getaway this past Friday, and on Sunday I finally found the time to sit down and read the March 27 issue of The Nugget.

I was particularly interested in all related articles to the plight of Village at Cold Springs with Hayden Homes. After having read them, I was saddened for the residence of VCS, particularly those who live on Hill and Williamson, and righteously indignant that our City Planning Commission (excluding Jack Nagel) has seemingly disregarded those residents in favor of Hayden.

Having wider streets merge into a more narrow, privately owned and maintained street, is a complete travesty! I, too, wonder if anyone on the City planning and/or council have been to the west side of our town recently to see what is clearly becoming “Haydenville” and not in an aesthetically pleasing way.

I keep hearing about the need for more housing in Sisters, particularly affordable, but do we have to sacrifice the safety of our residents and disregard the beauty of the town to accomplish this?

Saddened and disgruntled.

Kay Payne

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To the Editor:

I have to credit Mr. Mackey for being persistent. He persists in writing letters full of adjectives, not argument, complaints without corroboration all in support of his hero, Trump. His latest is printed immediately after a letter from his former neighbor expressing surprise at his tone. I am not surprised. His letters are not attempts to convince but political expressions serving as a personal catharsis. His anger is palpable and the projection is obvious.

But I wasn’t aware that Mr. Mackey had been provided access to the Mueller report. Oh wait, he hasn’t seen it because his Republican friends are now desperately trying to keep it from the public. What he has done is purposefully mischaracterize the AG Barr’s four-page summary of the summaries from Mueller. Mackey writes: “…Robert Mueller concluded unequivocally, ‘The investigation did not establish….’” Ah, no.

Trump’s hand-picked AG Barr wrote “[T]he investigation did not establish ….” Note the brackets. Barr when attempting to quote the Mueller report Barr has yet to release, had to disclose that he had cut off the first part of the Mueller sentence. I wonder why Barr did that? Maybe it contained language that substantially qualified the quoted portion.

I am confident now that Mr. Mackey has been shown his error, he will join me and millions of other Americans who demand the release of the full Mueller report.

Naah, that would just burst his bubble.

Michael Wells

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To the Editor:

The March 27 “Wolves in the classroom” article by Jim Anderson was an inspiring breath to read as it highlighted our young students’ open-mindedness and passion for understanding, especially in dealing with the long controversial subject such as wolves.

I am deeply impressed by the depth of research, diversity of material and professional resources that Susie Werts brought into her classes’ study. She provided the foundation for inquiry that should be applied to any subject and hopefully will be continued by her students as they advance their knowledge and education. It is reassuring to me to read that these young people recognize the significance and need for balance in a healthy ecosystem and that the wolf is a primary contributor “and is critical in preserving nature’s balance.”

Given our government’s current plan to delist or remove the wolf from the Endangered Species Act affecting all of the 48 contiguous states, and with the great probability that wolves will not survive without federal protection, I wonder how these students would respond. I have no doubt that if they were to become naturalists, conservation environmentalists or wildlife biologists they would be doing a better job at preserving, protecting and managing our wildlife than we currently do.

However, the sad truth is that by the time these young people can take affirmative action to protect, further study, or assist in wolf recovery and in restoring a balance, wolves may no longer exist in the lower 48 states, including in Yellowstone National Park. We should take a lesson from our youth and learn the facts about wolves and not make biased assumptions.

Meanwhile, there is something we can do right now: SaveOurWolves.org.

Wendy Jean