News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 518
As it seeks to add workforce housing to its primary mission of affordable housing, Sisters Habitat for Humanity is eagerly awaiting a decision from the State of Oregon for its grant application. Beginning in 2017 Oregon launched its statewide housing plan in response to the critical shortage of affordable homes, especially for lower income earners. The same plan included efforts to ease homelessness. (OHCS) Oregon Housing and Community Services was formed and, over the years... Full story
In a sure sign of spring, "Construction Ahead" signs are popping up around Sisters Country. One that is likely pleasing to area residents is the improvement project to the popular and historic Highway 242, where thousands of tourists in vehicles and on bicycles wind their way every summer. A favorite highway of motorcyclists and touring cars, Highway 242 is still in the middle of its annual winter closure from about 12 miles west of Sisters to a few miles east of Highway 126... Full story
Amy Guthrie's Sunshine Club, consisting of 17 Sisters Elementary School fifth-graders, were on hand at The Lodge in Sisters last Wednesday evening as part of their regular holiday visits. They brought handmade St. Patrick's Day-themed cards and crafts just as they did on Valentine's Day last month. At Thanksgiving, Guthrie delivered a giant poster with greetings from the Club, and at the Christmas break, the Club students joined with C4C (Citizens For Community) at The Lodge... Full story
Over the past several months the Sisters District of the Deschutes National Forest has seen its head count grow from 80 to 114. It’s part of a larger national effort for the agency which has a workforce of over 31,000 managing 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, more than the entire stare of Texas. In 2022, Chief Randy Moore called on the Forest Service to build its workforce for the future: “Forest Service hiring had not kept pace with attrition, and we nee... Full story
Public Works Director Paul Bertagna will be happy when spring arrives. Nearly all of Sisters was under a blanket of snow for 10 weeks. Bertagna and his crews have found themselves at all hours of days and nights tackling the beast. The City has plowed through $42,800 of its $50,000 snow-removal budget with a good four to six weeks left of possible accumulation. Four of Bertagna’s staff are trained to handle the job. He occasionally has to jump in himself when the snow comes h... Full story
What a difference a few weeks make. Ski Hoodoo waited until January to open for lack of snow. Now they are sitting atop 80 inches plus, with more coming in. At the nearby Sno Parks, and Three Creek Sno Park closer to town, the snowmobiles are revved up and gliding over deep snow terrain. The Three Creek snow-measuring station reported 40-inch snowpack on Saturday - 88 percent of normal, a big gain from just a few weeks ago. The late-season snow is a delight of snowmobilers,... Full story
What does the Sisters Ranger District do when the ground is buried under five to 10 feet of snow, or the roads are closed? They do much of the same work they do any other time of the year. Only the means of conveyance changes. Last week The Nugget accompanied Jim Beaupre, recreation team lead, and Skyler Ogden, recreation management specialist, in making a safety and compliance inspection around the Three Creek Lake area. We met at the Sno Park, checked our gear, and took... Full story
A comparison of homes sold in Sisters Country the last two months compared to 2023, shows change in the direction of the market. In January median and average prices came into near parity at the same time the price per square foot demonstrated more affordability overall. In January of 2022, 10 homes sold for a total value of $9.9 million. However that included a jumbo sale of $4 million, which if stripped out made for a monthly low not seen in over 10 years. In January, 2024... Full story
By now you will have received your first electric bill of the year, the one with the 5–7 percent rate increase announced by CEC (Central Electric Cooperative) at the end of last year. That was a hefty bump which CEC attributes to higher costs from its source — Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) — and “surging” inflation of equipment and supplies used to deliver power. Since 2019, CEC has seen the cost of a power pole rise by 35 percent, overhead power cables by 45 percen... Full story
Long Hollow Ranch sits on 12,000 acres across two counties. Its main entrance is on Holmes Road in the heart of Sisters Country. The most visible part of the operation is its wedding and event venue but behind the bucolic setting are cows. Hundreds of them. The ranch also sits on an AKWA (Area of Known Wolf Activity). Long Hollow is claiming the loss of seven cows to wolves beginning in February of 2023 with the most recent loss last year between May and July when two calves... Full story
The annual July 4th fly-in, car show, and drag-racing event at Sisters Eagle Airport, known as Rumble On The Runway, is in danger of disappearing from the Sisters event scene, a victim of its own success. Airport co-owner, Julie Benson, told The Nugget "that the cost to insure the one-day event has risen by 500 percent and there are simply not enough of us to staff the event. We need many more volunteers." In 2021 the event attracted about 1,500 people. That grew to around... Full story
Sisters School District #6 canceled school last Thursday and Friday due to weather, the first back to back closures since "snowmageddon" - the crushing snow event in 2016-2017. Even with a brutal forecast or National Weather Service warning or advisory, the decision is not made the night before. School Superintendent, Curt Scholl, said, "We must wait to make the call because sometimes the big storms that are expected don't show up. "I've seen forecasts for a day for between fo... Full story
A local resident recently raised concerns about drone traffic over private property - and what the law allows. She told The Nugget that she has "repeatedly seen drones (daytime and nighttime) over our property and in the area even directly over our home which is on 68 acres. It is very unsettling. We have reported to Deschutes County Sheriff, but there is clearly nothing they can do...and it may not even be illegal." She's not alone in raising this issue. The skies over... Full story
The Sisters Library re-opened last week after a month-long closure following extensive water damage from a broken pipe. The children’s area and the community meeting rooms remain out of commission as damage was more extensive than first assessed. It was originally thought that the building would be reopened in two weeks. “Fortunately no books were lost and the children’s area books were on rolling shelving so we were able to move them into the main section for the time being... Full story
Readers often ask The Nugget either how to get something done at City Hall or simply register a thought about various and sundry things. We usually suggest taking issues directly to City of Sisters staff. Sisters is still a town where school, fire, police, and city officials are very accessible. There are no gatekeepers and no special code or status is needed to make contact. In our experience you will most likely be met with accessibility and transparency. Recently, for... Full story
Recently the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced its findings for gray wolves in the Western United States, and its launch of a national "path to support a long term and durable approach to the conservation of gray wolves, to include a process to develop - for the first time - a National Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for gray wolves in the lower 48 states." The announcement does not make any changes to the legal status of gray wolves in the... Full story
Deschutes County declared a state of emergency February 7 over the growing fentanyl crisis in Central Oregon that is following the statewide trend of lethal drug overdoses and associated crime. The declaration issued by the county board of commissioners, following a vote in favor by commissioners Board Chair Patti Adair, and Tony DeBone, provides no money nor redirects any resources. Commissioner Phil Chang abstained, claiming the declaration doesn't give the county any... Full story
Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent in much of the Christian world, fall on the same day this year. Valentine’s Day is always February 14 regardless of the day and Ash Wednesday, the official start of the Lenten season, is always on a Wednesday but the date is cyclical and can vary by as much as a month. Ash Wednesday is always immediately preceded by Shrove Tuesday. The name Shrove comes from the old middle English word ‘Shriven’ meaning to go to confess... Full story
Within weeks Tesla will have seven of its Superchargers operational at Three Wind Shopping Center on North Arrowleaf Trail at the north end of the parking lot. Incorporating its Magic Dock connectivity, drivers will be able to charge not only Teslas but any EV with a CCS plug (nearly all EVs made after 2019). Tesla already has two mapped chargers in Sisters, which are obscure from passing traffic. One is at FivePine Lodge, open for public use, and the second, according to its... Full story
It all began in 1911 as a schoolhouse followed by a stint as the Hitchcock family residence and later to be occupied by the Barclay family. The old white house just north of East Barclay Drive on the west side of Camp Polk Road has had a history of ups and downs. Its last life came to be in the 1980s when Frank and Marie Conklin turned it into a quaint bed-and-breakfast. It was described then in travel guides as "Country elegance in a serene pastoral setting. Perfect spot for... Full story
In testimony to Congress last week - described as chilling - FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China's hackers are targeting American critical infrastructure, including water treatment plants, pipelines and the power grid, to be able to "wreak havoc" in the U.S. if Beijing ever decides to do so. Testifying before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Wray also warned that there has been too little public attention on the threat that he says China's... Full story
It's been a rough couple of weeks with the snow, rain on snow, and icing cycles that have befallen Sisters Country folk needing to get about. Getting to work, school, the grocery store, or gas station isn't an option for most. Nor is walking the dog. Lt. Chad Davis who heads the Sisters Sheriff's Office told The Nugget that he's been surprised by the few numbers of slip and fall accidents his team has encountered given the persistent conditions. But many have fallen without... Full story
While every drop off water and every inch of snow is critical for our summer needs, recent snows and rain have barely budged the critical SWE (snow water equivalent) readings at the Three Creeks Meadow station which Saturday stood at 46%. On Saturday, the readings were low. Sitting at 5,690 feet, the observed snowpack was 18 inches, down three inches in the preceding 24 hours, as unseasonably warm La Niña weather returned. Temperatures rose to the high 50s over the weekend.... Full story
Traffic-calming devices will be installed on West McKinney Butte Road between North Trinity Way and the new Sisters Elementary School. Cities employ a number of barriers to reduce speed: speed bumps; speed humps (a wider, smoother contour, lower-profile bump); and speed tables. Speed humps are parabolic vertical traffic calming devices intended to slow traffic speeds on low-volume, low-speed roads. Speed humps are three to four inches high and 12 to 14 feet wide, with a ramp... Full story
Drivers leaving and entering Sisters Friday afternoon at the east gateway were momentarily stunned to see some 200 feet of art removed from the fence at the Sisters Elementary School. The fence stands in the way of the new Locust Street roundabout scheduled to start construction this spring. There was no way the community was going to just allow the art to be dismantled with no future. Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) in keeping with their long standing commitment to Sisters... Full story
