News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 502
With military-like precision, between 35 and 40 various and sundry trucks snaked their way up Pole Creek Road on Saturday. The convoy doglegged to FS 1513 in a cloud of dust on the rutted gravel road. Led by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the force included other agencies, like Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). They massed to set fire to 112 acres. The weather looked promising, with winds forecast to be mostly northerly at 8 mph that - if... Full story
Until last week the nationally ranked Fathom Realty was not a brand force in Sisters, or even Central Oregon. That all changed when Mark and Pam Ossinger hung out the Fathom shingle at 311 E. Cascade Ave. at the corner of Spruce in the former Antler Arts building. The building's design is distinctive with its log-style architecture, and is prominent when entering downtown from the east. The Fathom Realty logo is prominently displayed perpendicularly to the street, making the... Full story
Thursday, May 4, was Sharlene Weed’s last day as staff leader for Sisters Habitat for Humanity. Weed has been with the organization for 27 years and will be honored for her long service “not only to Habitat but for her time on City Council and her prominent role in Sisters Cold Weather Shelter,” said Joe Rambo, board president of the local affiliate of the nonprofit organization that helps families build and improve places to call home. Rambo informed the staff of Weed... Full story
Old marketing guys like me have an enduring fascination with branding. For the untrained, a logo or slogan is not a brand. Nike is a brand. It's logo is the "swoosh." It's slogan is "Just Do It." Nike is also the name of the company. Not all business names are the brand of that business. Apple is a company and a brand. Apple's iPhone is also a brand. Google is a brand. Its owner - Alphabet, Inc. - is not. People can be a brand. Think Beyoncé or Tiger Woods. You may well have... Full story
Keith and Connie Cyrus of Cloverdale and Connie Hatfield of Sisters were made permanent members of the Diamond Pioneer Registry at Oregon State University. The College of Agricultural Sciences annually honors people whose lifetime contributions to agriculture, natural resources, and the people of Oregon and/or Oregon State University have been significant. The award publicly recognizes their accomplishments as individuals who have contributed to the well-being of their... Full story
The 2023 annual Point-in-Time Survey shows the number of persons living in non-traditional housing in Sisters increased from 55 to 64. In all of the tri-county region of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties the number increased more dramatically, from 785 to 1,012. The survey is conducted annually in January by the Homeless Leadership Coalition (HLC). Coalition membership includes nonprofit homeless assistance providers, victim service providers, faith-based... Full story
Calls to 911 reporting fires are up as more and more yard debris is being burned. Callers mistakenly think a structure or wildfire is happening, when it’s just neighbors burning off leaf and needle piles or trimmings and clippings. Knowing this possibility, if the report of fire does not confirm an actual structure or vehicle, Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District (SCSFD) may send out a scout car before dispatching firefighting engines. Every spring, like a well-oiled clock, s... Full story
Claims of wolf packs 13 and 14 strong are circulating in Sisters Country. The Deschutes County Farm Bureau lit up Facebook with its post on March 24 that has garnered over 450 comments and more than 800 shares. Similar social media posts on the Next Door app are being widely shared. In boldface type the post says: "Heads up. A pack of 14 wolves has been spotted in Lower Bridge. They've already killed livestock." The Farm Bureau post has generated grainy user photos. In any... Full story
Dixie's on East Cascade Avenue turned into an art gallery of sorts on Friday, March 31, as dozens of Sisters Rodeo dignitaries and guests crowded into the store for the unveiling of the 2023 Sisters Rodeo poster. These posters have become collector's items over the years, and are eagerly awaited as the official start of rodeo season. While sipping champagne and recalling prior posters and rodeos, enthusiasts mingled with the 2023 Rodeo Queen Sadie Bateman. She's described as a... Full story
Mule deer populations, their habitat, and how to handle them is a big question in Sisters Country. The Deschutes County Community Development Department held an informational meeting last Wednesday at Sisters High School. They were pleased - and surprised - at the turnout. "Over 100," according to Department Head Peter Gutowsky, who along with two department staff and ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) Biologist Andrew Walsh made a formal presentation aided by slide... Full story
As temperatures in Sisters Country rise, folks are trying to put snow in the rearview mirror. "I'm tired of it and the cold," said Miles Horton of Sisters, as he considered putting his snowblower away for the season. Horton is a newcomer from Sacramento. Old-timers tell The Nugget that this winter is still nothing like "the old days." No matter if you love or hate the snow, it's unavoidable, living as we do in the High Desert. The last three to four years have been harsh on... Full story
In what appears as a classic case of scientific quarrel, a new study is cited by local environmentalists arguing that certain studies funded by the Forest Service contain a pattern of “falsification.” That was a word used several times by one of the study’s authors, Chad T. Hanson, PhD, of Earth Island Institute in Berkeley, California, who spoke with The Nugget at length. The Nugget asked District Ranger Ian Reid to comment on the study titled “Countering Omitted Evidenc... Full story
Bumblebee technician needed. That’s one of nearly 300 advertised jobs in Sisters. Dozens of other jobs are not advertised but are needed by nearly every business in town. Almost every store window has a “help wanted” sign. The bee technician job consists mainly of conducting field work near Santiam Pass. The work requires long days in the field, travel over uneven terrain while maintaining focus, and close attention to detail. The pay? $22/hour. Exotic jobs like this will like... Full story
Sisters Country has seen a decline in real single-family home sales this quarter as compared to last, as has the entire U.S. home market. However, the unit slowdown in Sisters is considerably less than nationally, and values are still strong. January In 2022, 32 homes sold in January with a total value of $20.57 million. The average home price was $842,156 (eight were over $1 million) and the median price, a truer gauge of the market, was $749,500. Sold homes averaged $287... Full story
In information provided to The Nugget by a local realtor, a Sisters Country landowner on Foothill Loop, three miles northeast of town, answered a phone call from the president of his homeowners association asking if it was true that he was selling his lot. He wasn’t, but it was listed as “For Sale” by a legitimate, licensed real estate broker in the Willamette Valley. It is customary in property transactions for HOAs to be called verifying the seller’s standing with respect... Full story
Bumblebee technician needed. That’s one of nearly 300 advertised jobs in Sisters. Dozens of other jobs are not advertised but are needed by nearly every business in town. Almost every store window has a “help wanted” sign. The bee technician job consists mainly of conducting field work near Santiam Pass. The work requires long days in the field, travel over uneven terrain while maintaining focus, and close attention to detail. The pay? $22/hour. Exotic jobs like this will like... Full story
Under mounting public pressure, the Planning Department is moving the application for an expansion of Sisters’ Space Age Fuel service station from a Type II to Type III procedure. Pliska Investments of Clackamas, Oregon is the owner of Space Age Fuel at 411 W. Cascade Ave., and it is their desire to dismantle the existing gas station and convenience store and rebuild it from the ground up. Under a Type II review of the application, the City’s planning team has authority to... Full story
An ad hoc assembly of activists calling themselves CATS — Community Action Team of Sisters — is becoming more vocal in its efforts to call attention to what it perceives as misguided decisions by City officials. At the March 8 regularly scheduled City Council meeting, CATS’ self-described “unofficial leader,” Mark Dickens, addressed the councilors, and began by telling them he had “unfortunate harsh words” for them. “This board has lost the trust of this commun... Full story
Sisters Country woke up to snow Friday morning that persisted off and on throughout the day, with accumulations of five to eight inches depending on location. The weather event had been forecast fairly accurately and ODOT crews were ready. The Nugget rode along with lead employee, George Ormsbee, in one of the two 465-horsepower plow rigs in the Sisters maintenance yard fleet on duty that morning. Many in Sisters do not even know of the yard’s existence two miles east of t... Full story
About six months ago Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) changed their logo and set about applying it to hundreds of trail marker signs on its 192-mile network. The decals were positioned over the existing ones, an easier chore than having to remove the originals first. Since that time vandals have systematically and steadfastly removed the new decals. In warmer weather, the removal of the new badge generally did not harm the original ones while reexposing their design. Now, in the... Full story
Avalanches kill 25-30 persons in the U.S. every year with many more injured each winter, according to the National Avalanche Center. At present the Central Oregon Cascades are at Level 3 risk (Considerable) on a 5-point scale. So far in the 2022-23 season, there are 14 recorded deaths including the one reported on page 1: seven in Colorado, three in neighboring Washington, all on February 19 at Colchuck Peak near Leavenworth, and one each in Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and... Full story
Walk anywhere in Sisters for more than three or four blocks and you are very likely to encounter spalling, the unsightly flaking on concrete sidewalks. It looks as if the surface is pitted or pocked. While it occasionally happens from putting sodium chloride (rock salt) based ice-melting products on sidewalks, its actual causes are several. They include poor quality concrete or inferior finishing, improper curing, corrosion of the underlying rebar (reinforcing bars or... Full story
“No, it is not a truck stop.” When asked by The Nugget what he’d like folks in Sisters to know about the expanded Space Age fueling station on West Cascade, that’s one of the things Jim Pliska emphasized. Pliska, along with his father, Harold, are the principal owners of the 21-station chain started in 1982 and headquartered near Portland. The Pliskas’ expansion plan has fueled vociferous opposition from some locals, led by a fledgling ad hoc group known as CATS — C... Full story
Many of us are old enough to remember the hit classic “Big Yellow Taxi” by 10-time Grammy winner, Joni Mitchell, whom Rolling Stone called “one of the greatest songwriters ever.” Two lines by the Canadian songwriter are indelibly etched in folk music. The first — “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot,” feels like a metaphor for the tension one feels when walking around town these days. Sisters Country residents are concerned about planned or proposed development... Full story
An ad hoc group called CATS (Citizens Action Team of Sisters) has formed, with the goal of helping to formulate policy for growth and development in the city. The group believes that Sisters is overwhelmed by the increase in population and building, and perhaps lacks competency to meet the growth. The new group, just getting itself organized, has no office nor governing authority nor official spokesperson. Mark Dickens is a lead organizer and speaks with conviction about the... Full story
