News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 494
Oregon set a record last week for acres lost from wildfire, 1.49 million or 2,200 square miles, surpassing the 2012 total of 1.2 million acres. Nationwide it has been a disastrous year for wildfire, with 5.5 million acres burned through Sunday from 30,293 fires. This is more than double the 2.7 million acres lost in 2023 but down from the losses of 2021 and 2022 when over 7 million acres burned those years. The largest single wildfire in the U.S. is the Durkee Fire in Oregon... Full story
This delightful, easy to moderate outing is occasionally confused by other nearby trails. It is not the Three Fingered Jack trail or even the Jack Lake Trail (there is no Jack Lake trail per se). At the Jack Lake trailhead you are treated to options one of which is Canyon Creek Meadows Loop part of which is on the Old Summit Trail. The loop section is just at five miles with an elevation gain of roughly 600 feet. There are branches that can turn it into a 7.6 mile or longer ex... Full story
The 27th annual Country Fair in Sisters, a community fundraiser project of Church of the Transfiguration, delighted hundreds of attendees Saturday in near perfect weather. The cool, sunny day motivated fairgoers to gobble up old-fashioned goodies ranging from jams, preserves, and jellies to cookies and pies to pulled pork and chili. "And, of course, their amazing Marionberry cobbler," said Mary Gillespie from Cloverdale, a regular fair-goer. She comes primarily for the books,... Full story
The back of an intensely warm July seems to have been broken -and hay, alfalfa and orchard grass growers in Sisters Country are breathing a sigh of relief. While their water supply has been reduced to 70 percent as of August 12, that's an improvement over last year. Given the spate of hot weeks it was a surprise to Jim Williams, Water and Hydro Manager for Three Sisters Irrigation District. The District supplies water to 185 users with 7,572 acres. Williams told The Nugget:... Full story
A series of wildlife images captured by a trail camera on a proposed downhill mountain bike trail near Sisters is remarkable in clarity. Moreover, against high odds, the same camera caught a pair of cougars, a black bear, and numerous mule deer. The camera is the property of Adam Bronstein, a local wildlife and wilderness advocate with the newly formed group Wild Ecosystems Alliance, one of a number of opponents to the Forest Service's proposed trail activities on 21 existing... Full story
Lauren DuRocher will serve as Acting District Ranger while current Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid fills a 120-day stint as Acting Modoc National Forest Supervisor. That temporary role places him in charge of four districts from an office in Alturas, California. The Modoc covers 1.6 million acres spread over three northeast California counties. Reid told the Modoc County Record, "I am excited to work with the caring and dedicated employees of the Modoc National Forest and to... Full story
If you want to restore your faith in the country, spend a little time with ag kids in Sisters. I had the pleasure, once again, in visiting with the more than 40-strong members of Cloverdale Livestock Club, the local 4-H chapter in Sisters Country. 4-H has been around for 122 years and for 76 of those, 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 y... Full story
It's easy to think of the Air Show of the Cascades as just that - an air show. But that would be selling it short. Way short. Extravaganza? Yes. Festival? Yes. Spectacle? Yes. In the good sense. Above all, it's three fun packed, adrenaline pumping days formulated for families of all sizes, and all ages and all locales near and far. Indeed, attendees will come to the August 22-24 event in Madras from a dozen states, as many as a hundred flying into the event. There will be... Full story
Many readers may be surprised to know that there is an Oregon State Park in Sisters. Sisters State Park was established in 1939. The park was named for the adjacent town of Sisters. The original 41 acres was purchased by Louis W. Hill for $1,532. After he purchased the land, Hill donated it to the State of Oregon for a park or some other public purpose. It was Hill's desire to preserve the old-growth pine forest on the property for use and enjoyment of future generations.... Full story
With the addition of at least four pups, the Metolius wolves, a pair first identified in 2021, are now six in number, possibly more. Four sets of tracks have been observed by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) wolf biologist Aaron Bott. The average litter size is five. Bott has thus far been unable to capture the new arrivals on trail cameras. The den is believed to be on private land in a mosaic of public and private property. The minimum known count of wolves in... Full story
Pickleball has been named America's fastest-growing sport for the third year in a row in the 2024 Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Topline Participation Report. The report shows participation grew 51.8 percent from 2022 to 2023. In 2023, the 65+ age group was tied for having the second highest number of participants. In 2023 alone there were over 35 million pickleball players and it was growing exponentially at a rate of 158 percent over the last three years. The r... Full story
The height of summer is a good time to take the 4.8-mile Clear Lake Loop. Why go? The scene, the wonderfully enchanting intermittent combination of topaz and turquoise water mixed with old growth conifers and ancient lava flows. When to go? Pretty much any time works but best when snow is off the trails. And in the summer, like most all Central Oregon hikes, start early in the morning to get a good parking spot and to beat the heat. What to expect? This easy-to-moderate hike... Full story
Jonathan Kelly considers himself one lucky man. The Sisters Middle School teacher just took possession of a new home in Sisters Woodlands subsidized under a workforce housing program. Without assistance from a project created by the not-for-profit Rooted Homes and backed by a consortium of foundations, Deschutes County and Business Oregon, Kelly would still be commuting from Redmond and wondering if he could sustain working in Sisters at all. Kelly cut the ceremonial ribbon... Full story
All the bulls remained inside the arena Saturday for the second annual Red Rock Bucking Bulls Futurity at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds. That's not to say the young bulls weren't determined to put anything on their back onto the ground. They came snorting and bucking and kicking and twisting, all trying out their moves for the judges. These young bucks were auditioning for a chance to move up the ladder and into the professional circuit. Sisters was stop No. 4 on a six-town,... Full story
Managers of the Deschutes National Forest are asking for public comment on a draft change in administrative rules that would allow approximately 160 miles of trails to be freed for use by Class 1 e-bikes. Currently, no e-bikes of any class are allowed in the Forest except on roads shared with other motorized vehicles. E-bikers say this is dangerous, often confronting high speed UTV and ATV users on narrow roads. Conversely, some non-e-bike users and pedestrians say that it is... Full story
Along with the rest of the state, Sisters will soon see the release of the Oregon Statewide Wildfire Hazard Map risk map (Click here to see related story.). A key takeaway is the change in name from “risk” to “hazard” map. The semantics are subtle, but significant. Risk implies impacts on insurance, whereas hazard suggests something more temporary that can be mitigated. Ben Duda heads up the Sisters Sub-Unit Office of ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry). He is also a volunteer... Full story
They came. 10,000 strong. And they came early, even before the 1,000-plus quilts had been completely hung across downtown Sisters. In part because it was 85 degrees by 8:30 a.m., and more to get a first-hand look at one of the premier quilt exhibits in the country. "We drove through on our way to McDonald's for breakfast around 7:15 and when we came back at 8:30 it was like, 'Whoa! How'd that happen?'" said an amazed Cory Archer from Redmond, playing in a golf foursome at Aspe... Full story
It's easy to think of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) as an impressive display of quilt-making, all taking place on a single day - a tourism-driven event showcasing both artists and the town. Generally overlooked is what locals call quilt week - the multiple days preceding the famed outdoor show held on the second Saturday of every July. From Monday through Friday nearly a thousand quilters take part in Quilter's Affair, sponsored by the Stitchin' Post. This is the... Full story
The music extravaganza, Big Ponderoo, was made more delicious by partnering with the Sisters Arts Association who hold an art walk on the fourth Friday of most months. The art stroll is a fixture in the Sisters culture scene, growing in popularity while showcasing local, national, and international artists. The gallery walks are becoming a regular destination event for visitors from around Oregon. Many came Friday not knowing that they would have the additional treat of live... Full story
Imagine waking up in Sisters to no power. Not from a local failure in your home or business, or a transformer in the neighborhood failing, but from a decision made miles away to shut the power to an entire community. It could well happen, depending on the severity of weather conditions, especially in wildfire season. It was just last August when a loaded gasoline tanker truck struck a main pole on Highway 126 in Cloverdale, causing a widespread power outage in Sisters. Power... Full story
Ask anybody who attended the second Big Ponderoo Music and Art Festival, or who just wandered by, and they will tell you it had success written all over it. "I've got a slogan for your Chamber of Commerce," Doyle McMaster of Hood River told The Nugget. "Small town. Big music." "No," interrupted his partner, Liz Driscoll. "Small town. Huge music." Like dozens of others The Nugget interviewed, searching particularly for those who had travelled long distances for the event, the... Full story
It often comes as a surprise to readers when they first learn that all writers for The Nugget, with the exception of our editor, are freelancers, not staff. We are paid in the customary industry way - by the story. As you might imagine, working for a weekly community newspaper isn't going to change anybody's lifestyle. I don't know all of my colleagues personally but I'd bet they have a similar attitude as mine: We'd do this work for free. It's that satisfying. And interesting... Full story
Already burdened by diminished habitat, the few remaining spotted owls around Sisters are faced with a new threat: their family relative, the barred owl. The barred owl (Strix varia) is the eastern cousin to our western spotted owl (Strix occidentalis). Like the spotted owl, the barred owl lives in forests, hunts at night, and feeds largely on small mammals. They differ in that the barred owl is more of a generalist, opportunistic predator (feeding also on crayfish, snakes,... Full story
At the same time ODOT is facing a budget crisis, drivers wonder how it is possible that so many major projects are taking place, like our new roundabout. The monies come from earlier budgets and/or other funding sources, in some cases federal dollars. Most readers seem happy and appreciative of the new roundabout, some marveling at the speed of progress and minor disruptions. The opening date for phase one was but a few days late, yet completed before the crucial start of rode... Full story
Chatter on local social media and reader contact with The Nugget recently raised the specter of the City raising the existing 3 cents per gallon municipal tax as a means to fund the installation of EV charging stations on city property. That is not the case. City Manager Jordan Wheeler was clear in his response to The Nugget’s inquiry: “The City has no plans to propose an increase to the gas tax. This is the first I’ve heard of that idea. The only informal conversations about... Full story
