News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 513
It's an ongoing blight, and it's a challenge to forest managers to remove abandoned vehicles in the national forest. There are no reliable numbers of discarded vehicles, but estimates continuously place the total in the many thousands. In the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest the number runs between 30 and 40 per year, mostly RVs, the kinds towed by a car or truck and ranging in size from 15 to 35 feet in length. However, cars and motorcycles also... Full story
Reporting on the success of Sisters Folk Festival is a familiar tune. There are barely enough superlatives to describe the sold-out three-day event just concluded. SFF Presents Board Chair Leanne Summers summarized it this way: "We've got something special in this community. The 2024 Sisters Folk Festival exemplifies that extraordinary, hard-to-define gift. In a time when it is easy to dwell on differences, Sisters Folk Festival artists, audiences, and volunteers reminded me o... Full story
From prehistoric times when the earliest archers hunted for meat, to Greek and medieval times when archers fought wars, to today when archery is a worldwide passion, the lure of archery is almost irresistible. Central Oregon is prime ground for 3D archery, a fast-growing sport. 3D archery targets are in the shape of animals, birds, or even dinosaurs. The targets are often quite whimsical. Like field archery, 3D archery is set out on a course of 24 targets in similar settings....
RC piloting in Central Oregon is reaching new heights. RC airplanes in simplest terms are model planes that a pilot controls by radio signals. The RC stands for radio control. Alternatively, you might see the term remote control. Technically speaking, radio control is the correct term, but remote control is widely used, and it is not incorrect. Model planes have been around for nearly 100 years, and all forms of model planes and other aircraft fall under the hobby name of...
It was Saturday when The Nugget last visited Josh Smith, co-owner of The Paper Place on South Elm Street. Smith is one of five candidates for Sisters city council. He has never sought nor held public office. His store was crowded with shoppers. "This is the busiest day we've had all summer," Smith said, smiling broadly. "More than the Rodeo. More than the Quilt Show." Indeed, the town was packed with visitors taking in the Glory Daze Car Show Click here to see related story.... Full story
Conditions were all that could be hoped for when the annual Sisters Artist Studio Tour opened its doors Saturday for a two-day stint. Perfect weather, hundreds of leftover visitors on hand from the Glory Daze Car Show (Click here to see related story.), and an impressive lineup of ceramicists, painters, and sculptors - 18 in all, spread over 12 venues. And even as a steady mass wound its way from one studio or gallery to the next, several gallery operators and artists reported... Full story
If you found a parking spot in Sisters Saturday, consider yourself among the lucky. Between the 1,000-plus who marveled at a collection of 95 pristine cars and trucks - some nearly 100 years old - and The Artist Studio Tour, town was wall-to-wall with happy visitors. And if three blocks of automotive artistry weren't enough for car buffs and their tag-alongs, no fewer than 52 vintage Packards rolled into Sisters, an overnight stop on their 1,100-mile road trip through a dozen... Full story
The developer SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat for Humanity are collaborating on six future cottage homes in Sisters Woodlands, via a subdivision and cottage development extension on former Lot 175, becoming Lots 175-180. SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat have been working together for the last two years culminating in the current construction of four cottages for Habitat. SWD has provided Sisters Habitat with significantly discounted lots, as well as constructed foundations,... Full story
Pedestrians and close- by tenants say the intersection of South Pine Street and West Hood Avenue is regularly the scene of near misses. Though only two recorded accidents in five years have occurred, locals in the adjacent area, and nearly all businesses, have warned that it was only a matter of time until there would be serious injury. The present arrangement - a two-way stop - regulates east and westbound traffic on Hood Avenue. The issue has been brought to the attention... Full story
As summer turns to autumn a new set of risks arises for Sisters Country recreationalists. This is elk rutting time, for example, and the males - bulls - weighing up to 700 pounds can be dangerously aggressive. The elk rut, starting mid-September, is a wild time of year, both for the elk and for onlookers. From a safe vantage point, say 100 or more yards, you can watch the bull attracting, herding, and fighting for his harem. He uses a high-pitch bugle sound to attract cows... Full story
Tumalo Falls Loop Trail appears on just about everybody's top five list of trails within an hour of Sisters. If you've been, you'll likely agree. If you haven't then you should make it a priority. It truly is a gem and one of the most-photographed hikes in all of Oregon. At seven miles, it's not a walk in the park. Neither is it grinding despite its 1,200-foot elevation gain. The ascent is gradual and spaced over 3.5 miles. The sheer beauty of the thick forest and cascading... Full story
While some store owners are reporting record August and year-to-date sales, others may be struggling. "We think as many as five or six stores will not make it past January," said Shaunette White, owner of High Desert Chocolates on West Cascade Avenue. White is also president of the newly formed Sisters Business Association which have 39 members, about half of whom are retail shopkeepers. White thinks those in stress do not get enough local support. By contrast, Sisters Meat... Full story
Oregon is one of the hottest states in the country and it’s not the weather. COVID-19 has made a comeback of sorts, particularly in the western states. Since late April COVID-19 has seen a surge in Oregon, mostly from omicron variants, according to Dr. Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunization at the Oregon Health Authority. People testing positive for COVID climbed from a rate of 3.1 percent in April to over 18 percent during the last week o... Full story
With only the South Locust Street branch to go, motorists can now get a clear picture, both of what the finished roundabout will look like, and how to navigate it. Access from Cedar Street is also now clear in how it will work. None too soon for Sisters Pumphouse and Country Store, the Union 76 station, and High Camp Taphouse, two businesses who "have taken a beating" owners say. Drivers are confused with how to enter the businesses which have easy-to-miss temporary access. Ci... Full story
Despite mixed-to-negative reports of commercial development across the country and Oregon, Sisters developers and entrepreneurs appear to have a differing take. According to Goldman Sachs, some $1.2 trillion of commercial mortgages are scheduled to mature this year and next. That's almost a quarter of all outstanding commercial mortgages, and the highest recorded level dating back to 2008. The biggest single holder are banks, many local and regional, with a 40 percent share.... Full story
Even if you don't recognize her person or her name you will undoubtedly recognize Robin Bentz's work: She's the "lady who keeps Sisters beautiful." That's what we heard repeatedly as we asked about town. Indeed, Bentz is the tireless City's Public Works Department worker who almost single-handedly deals with city-owned landscaping. A lot of it is within five city parks, among the many, many acres of land that needs to be weeded, planted, pruned, irrigated, and fed. Bentz will...
Adrian and Buddy Blair work at Sno Cap. They live in the Deschutes National Forest. Upon first reading you might think that the two are entry-level line workers. To the contrary, Adrian is the manager and Buddy is... well you name it, and Buddy does it. Preps, cleans, fixes, stores, and helps keep the wheels turning. Sno Cap is not a fast-food restaurant. Everything is cooked or served to order, from scratch. Most everybody in Sisters has at one time or another dined at Sno...
There’s Minnesota nice. And Wisconsin nice. And Canada nice. Maybe some others, probably mostly in the Midwest. I don’t recall Oregon nice. Nor California nice. And then there’s Sisters nice. You know the kind of nice I’m talking about. It mostly just happens, right? It happens so routinely that we don’t need to put it into words. Like many of you, I ride my bike around town. And, much to the chagrin of my adult children, an electric scooter. Not one of those three-whe... Full story
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
The Highway 20 corridor between Sisters and Suttle Lake is a diverse landscape dotted with vast stands of ponderosa pines, leafy aspens, horse camps, a butte, bucolic meadows, and wildlife. Anywhere from 350 to 600 mule deer and elk are killed annually along the stretch from collisions with vehicles. That's about 90 for every mile of the corridor we learned from Cidney Bowman, wildlife passage coordinator for Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In discussing the issue... 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
