News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 518
This is a new, regular feature The Nugget will run periodically. If you have a favorite hike or trail, send it along in about 500 words to [email protected] using the following format, including a photo. Patjens Lake Loop Trail is in all its floral splendor, at least for the next week or two. The bear grass (Indian basket grass) is especially abundant standing as high as six feet. Likewise lupine, scarlet gilia, and Washington lily is in full glory. Why go? It's an easy,... Full story
"Why do they insist on calling it an air show?" Those are the words of Don Riordan of Sisters as he mused about the upcoming annual event in Madras. When The Nugget asked Riordan what he would call it instead, he stroked his chin a bit and pondered. "Gosh, not sure," he said. "Maybe extravaganza. Maybe festival. It's a heckuva lot more than airplanes," he said. And in looking at the lineup for the two-day affair, Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26 at the Madras... Full story
4-H has been around for 121 years, and for 75 of those years 4-H has thrived in Sisters Country as Cloverdale Livestock Club. 4-H is the nation's largest youth development organization, surpassing scouting. The 4-H idea is simple: Help young people and their families gain the skills needed to be proactive forces in their communities, and develop ideas for a more innovative economy. Today, 4-H serves youth in rural, urban, and suburban communities in all 50 states. 4-H-ers are... Full story
In what looks like a first-of-its-kind partnership, Sisters Woodlands, a 300-plus mixed-use community under construction in Sisters, is partnering with Sisters Habitat for Humanity to build affordable homes for low-income dwellers. There is no affordable housing requirement in the City's Development Code when permitting large-scale projects like Sisters Woodlands. Some projects, such as ClearPine, included affordable units in its master plan as a negotiated provision with the... Full story
The number of stand-up paddleboard (SUP) enthusiasts is growing nationwide at a rate faster than tennis or golf - and Sisters Country is no exception. Three million paddleboarders dot the U.S. landscape and the market for the boards and accessories is $1.5 billion out of a worldwide total of $4.3 billion. Take a drive to Three Creek Lake, Black Butte Ranch or Suttle Lake and the allure is at once obvious. Take a close look and you will see that it's intergenerational, not... Full story
The number of homes sold in Sisters Country this past June was only 24 as compared to 30 in the prior year, but prices remain high and inventory tight. Eight homes in each June period exceeded $1 million in closing price. The average price in June of 2022 reached $944,985 but the median was exactly $700,000. The median price is what professionals follow. The average sale price is calculated by adding all the sale prices for homes sold in a specific area within a specified... Full story
Moviegoers in Sisters got a delectable treat Friday when two of the most anticipated films of 2023 opened opposite each other at Sisters Movie House in what Hollywood insiders are dubbing the theatrical showdown of the year: Barbenheimer — “Barbie” — and “Oppenheimer,” which overlap in time slots. “Barbie” gets one more daily showing, so it’s possible for movie fanatics to see both anticipated blockbusters on the same day in a five-hour window. “Oppenheimer” is... Full story
The Blue Pool, properly known as Tamolitch Falls, has been the scene of three rescues this month. On July 2, an injured person was airlifted to safety. Last week three people were rescued from the highly popular summer trail just two days after the July 15 rescue of two. As the days grow warmer, the already burdened trail 50 miles to the west of Sisters brings out hundreds of hikers and, in some cases, thrill seekers. The parking lot cannot handle the traffic that often... Full story
A seemingly benign recommendation on the social media platform Next Door for the movie Sound of Freedom has ignited a storm of debate. The nationwide app is divided into neighborhoods, with Sisters being one. It is an innocuous site usually filled with notices of lost cats, recipe exchanges and recommendation requests for local services. But when a user posted: “I saw an extremely powerful movie last night in Sisters at the Movie House” the community conversation changed dra... Full story
The planned emergency shelter at 192 W. Barclay Dr. is of apparent concern to some in the community. Mayor Michael Preedin tells The Nugget that he has received a large number of calls regarding the location and use of the commercial property, a 6,000-square-foot, two-story structure. Much of the curiosity revolves around zoning and permitting. City Planning Director Scott Woodford said, “It will all be driven by HB2006. The legislation overrides any other consideration for pe... Full story
The parking lot at Ski Hoodoo looked like an outdoor camping show last weekend, as 1,000 archers from around the globe set up camp for the second leg of the Hoyt Northwest Mountain Challenge (HNWC). The first occurred June 9-11 at Tamarack in Idaho. The series ends at Stevens Pass, Washington July 28-30. All three venues are ski resorts. The NWMC started in 2012 as a single event in Idaho, and has become the premier 3D archery triple-crown event in the West. It is not your eve... Full story
If all goes to plan, Forest Road 16, which has been closed above Upper Three Creeks Sno-Park for refurbishing, will reopen July 28 - to the relief of hundreds of recreation users. The rescheduled opening is two weeks later than planned due to this year's deep snow and the degree of degradation discovered as work began. Work on the rutted and deep-pocked road is long overdue users say, as they bumped and gritted their way to popular Three Creek Lake and the Tam McArthur Rim... Full story
Ninety bulls came to Sisters Rodeo Grounds Saturday, none too happy about it. Who could blame them? It was 100 degrees. Upon arrival they were herded not onto a grassy pasture but a dirt pen. By the time they were checkerboarded to the bucking chutes, they'd worked up a head of steam. They were not about having a cowboy get on their back. Such was the scene of the inaugural Red Rock Bucking Bulls Futurity. This was not a contest of cowboys but of the bulls themselves. And... Full story
In what could be the first verdict for private plaintiffs against a utility over a wildfire, a jury in Portland found PacifiCorp negligible for a series of wildfires in 2020 and awarded more than $72 million for property damage to 17 plaintiffs. The verdict, rendered June 12, included about $67.5 million in noneconomic damages against PacifiCorp, which operates Pacific Power and is part of deep-pocketed Berkshire Hathaway Energy. PacifiCorp said it would appeal. The verdict... Full story
Notwithstanding that some 1,000 quilters were in town on Independence Day, downtown was eerily quiet. The quilters were mostly ensconced in classrooms at Sisters High School for Quilter's Affair. Most everybody else in Sisters - at least those who stayed in town for the holiday - made way to Sisters Eagle Airport for the 10th Rumble on the Runway and fly-in event. Cars were parked three quarters of a mile in every direction. About half came on foot or bike, many pushing stroll... Full story
Your odds of seeing a rattlesnake inside the city limits of Sisters are too low to calculate. Nobody seems to remember seeing one in town. Just east and north of town, it's a different story - although sightings are low, bites lower, and there is no record of death by bite in Deschutes County, although some bites have resulted in emergency care. Your dog is more at risk than you, vets say, as they are naturally prone to get off trail and flush out movement. Curiosity can kill... Full story
As the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show drew to a close Saturday, a moving ceremony took place at West Hood Avenue and South Elm Street, when three military veterans were presented with Quilts of Valor. The quilts were made by Salem Star Valor Quilters of Oregon. Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with a dream, literally a dream. Founder Catherine Roberts' son Nat was deployed in Iraq. According to Catherine, "The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on... Full story
The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show ended Saturday in brilliant sunshine with breezes so light they never caused a ripple in the hanging quilts - all 1,166 of them. They came by the busloads, literally. Exploration Tours of Rochester, Washington brought 45 as did Country Heritage Tours of Bedford, New Hampshire. Portland Modern Quilt Guild brought a smaller bus as did others with group sizes of nine to 20. Getaway Vacations from Alberta, Canada landed a luxury coach full of... Full story
Around 6 p.m. on Friday, phone texts were interrupting dinners around Sisters with an urgent plea for 25 more volunteers to hang quilts the next morning at 7 a.m. Within 30 minutes the cadre was rounded up, all first time donors of time to the event. Armed with nothing more than a desire to serve their community they met team leaders Saturday morning at the show's storage and assembly operation on Sisters Park Drive. In military-like precision, off they went with quilts,... Full story
Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) has adopted a new mission statement: "To protect and preserve the outdoor experience through the stewardship of multi-user, non- motorized trails and their adjacent wild places." It is a subtle change in wording but its intent is marked. The previous version read: "To connect a community of trail users and their natural surroundings through the stewardship of our multi-user, non-motorized trails." By the addition of "... adjacent wild places" the... Full story
Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) has turned down the water flow. Established in 1918, the District's system consists of two main canals: the Pilot Butte Canal, which runs north, through Bend, Redmond and Terrebonne; and the Central Oregon Canal, which runs east, through Bend, Alfalfa and Powell Butte. Both canals divert water from the Deschutes River providing water for about 45,000 acres within a 180,000 acre area in Central Oregon. More than 700 miles of canals... Full story
The Cold Weather Shelter, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Sisters, has won final approval of a $1.46 million grant from the recent tranche of $13.9 million provided to Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties. The funding comes from the $98 million pot enacted by Senate Bill 5019 that gives sole authority of the funds' disbursement to Gov. Kotek who has made fighting homelessness in the state her top priority. The $13.9 million emergency funding is intended to create 111 new shelter... Full story
More than 50 attended the first of what organizers say will be a continuing series of events in Sisters to grow awareness of and develop strategies to tackle the increasing devastation of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The kick-off event took place June 23 at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Community Hall with a presentation: “10 Warning Signs of Dementia” and was followed by four “Sis” talks that focused on the importance of social engagement, staying physical,... Full story
Covid’s misery went far and wide. One of many Sisters Country casualties was a local scouting group. Due to ongoing parents pleas and the determination of a core group of scouting adults, Cub Scout Pack 139 will again be active starting with the new school year. Cubs are aged 5-10, basically grades K-5, and Cub Scouts, since 2018, include girls as well as boys. “Cub Scouts is a year-round program whose mission is to develop character and ethical decision-making skills for chi... Full story
A plan intended to protect mule deer populations in Central Oregon has ended up as roadkill. At its June 26 meeting, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to withdraw the County’s mule deer inventory update project. The project had included community conversations about the potential creation of the 2023 Mule Deer Winter Range Combining Zone. In May, the Deschutes County Planning Commission had deliberated on the zone following two public hearings in April a... Full story
