News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 502
It all began as a mode of transportation in the Alps. It grew into a new winter sport on ski slopes when Austrian ski manufacturer, Engelbert Brenter, patented the “Sit-Ski” in 1949. He created a steerable sledge with runners, and added key components needed to transform the bike into a serious recreational sport including a suspension system, and real skis instead of runners. The sport bloomed in the 1970s, and more-or-less died of in the ’80s, as ski resorts resisted their... Full story
Anybody who has explored the forests of Sisters Country is familiar with the numbered forest road markers. What do the numbers actually mean? The only thing systematic about the Forest Service road numbering system is that there is nothing systematic, at least in the sense of consistency. Each National Forest is more or less free to employ their own numbering scheme. So if you came to Sisters from say the Southern California area and were a regular at the Angeles National... Full story
You can’t live in Sisters and not recognize the ubiquitous pale-green fire trucks used by the Forest Service. A test of how long you’ve lived in Sisters Country would be your ability to differentiate BLM (Bureau of Land Management) fire trucks, the chartreuse-colored rigs. Further upping your identification skills would include knowing to whom the white fire trucks belong. The answer: Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Of course red-fire trucks generally are associated wit... Full story
It returns. That white, powdery pleasure substance. Snow. The Sisters kind, generally light and fluffy and again in abundance at higher elevations. And not that high, actually. Last week saw the arrival of a second wave of snow, the first from early November. It only takes 8-10 inches for folks to head for the sno-parks and strap into their snowshoes. Snowshoeing is wildly popular in Oregon, and Sisters Country shoers are right in the thick of it. For lots of reasons. Thad... Full story
Tree thieves increase in numbers and are more brazen as we enter firewood season, and as a cord of wood is selling for $275 to $295 in Sisters Country. And that may or may not be split and/or delivered. It might just be rounds you pick up. As the price for propane rises, homeowners are turning to Mother Nature more frequently to heat their dwellings, or at least partially so. In Central Oregon a cord of firewood (128 cubic feet; typically a pile eight feet long by four feet wi... Full story
The price of cut Christmas trees has been rising steadily, and this year shoppers in Sisters Country should expect to pay $80 for a six- to seven-foot tree. Or for only $5 a family can gather in the woods and harvest their own tree up to 12 feet in height. That same size tree at a big-box store would run close to $150 — if you could even find one. The biggest tree The Nugget found in Redmond was nine feet for $109. Overall, cut live trees this year are up about 20... Full story
More than 700 gathered at Fir Street Park the day after Thanksgiving to celebrate the annual tree lighting, a long-standing and growing Sisters Country tradition. Following a “three, two, one” countdown led by Mayor Michael Preedin, the 65-foot tree burst into luminance with 2,500 shimmering white bulbs at 5:50 p.m. During welcoming remarks — less than three minutes by design — Preedin acknowledged the crowd size, by all accounts the largest ever. “I perso... Full story
“Macy’s has got nothing on you guys.” So said Hank Young from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, taking in his first-ever Sisters Holiday Parade. He was serious. “I mean, that’s a commercial spectacle. This is a small community with big heart. Nobody’s showing off. Everybody’s plain havin’ fun, the old-fashioned way.” Well, Macy’s it’s not, but it appeared that spectators and participants alike were having just as much fun as those New Yorkers. “And a whole lot less stress,” said Youn... Full story
About a month ago I was kibbitzing with our editor, Jim Cornelius, and telling him that I had just come off the trail – the Peterson, where I happily find myself four or five times a week. We were chatting about yet another person or persons being ticked off about one thing or another in town. There seems to be a lot of that going around these days. It had to do with growth as I recall, or the homeless issue, the two being the most current things on which to take... Full story
A pair of police K-9s have joined Black Butte Ranch’s Police Department — but perhaps not the kind that usually come to mind. Eight-year-old Brandy, a golden retriever, and Yukon, a 19-month-old Newfoundland, are not deployed to track escapees, disarm burglars, or sniff out contraband. Instead, Officer Joe Schneider, the dogs’ owner along with his wife, is accompanied on his daily rounds by the canines. They serve two purposes, Schneider tells The Nugget. First, the... Full story
If it’s Sisters, and it’s Christmas, then the High Desert Chorale is taking the stage for its annual winter concert at Sisters Community Church. This year’s performances will be December 2 at 7 p.m. and December 4 at 2:30 p.m. The church is located at 1300 McKenzie Hwy. The theme for this year’s songfest is “The Glory of Christmas.” The group of some 50 community singers will perform 10 works. They will be preceded by a bell choir known as the Twelve Tones performing... Full story
Opponents have wasted no time in predicting a vigorous and lengthy court challenge to voters’ adoption of Measure 114. By a vote of 953,061 for and 925,252 against, the controversial ballot measure enacted a law outlining a procedure to apply for a permit-to-purchase for a firearm. The measure was designed to have permits be issued by law enforcement. Proponents of the measure, led by the faith-based organization Lift Every Voice, celebrated the passage of the measure, one o... Full story
The 2020 population census is still being tabulated almost two years later in some locales, but for Sisters the numbers are in. According to the United States Census Bureau, Sisters is home to 3,064 persons living in 1,661 dwelling units (1.84 per household). There were 1,172 families or other living arrangements recorded. The census, which is conducted every 10 years, also revealed that 49.7 percent are employed in Sisters, and 57.6 percent work in Oregon. The Sisters median... Full story
Close to a thousand runners gathered in Sisters Saturday to participate in the FivePine Happy Girls Run. Runners from as far away as Minnesota and Texas took part in the two-section event. A little over 500 registered for the half-marathon (13.1 miles) and just under 500 for the 5K (3.1 miles). The 36-degree temperature at start time, abetted by a 5-to-10-mph wind, made for a frosty sendoff. The overcast skies did not dampen the mood. It seemed to be all smiles even as... Full story
At the distinct risk of offending any number of people, including around 100 or so who have plunked down $800,000, $900,000, or a million or more for mid-century modern or prairie ranch homes popping up all over Sisters, I’ll take my chances that others might also find the newest hot look incompatible with Sisters. It’s the “Bend look,” I hear more and more as I make my rounds. And Bend isn’t Sisters, some state forcefully with apparent disdain for the style of architect... Full story
There are more than 200 grave sites at Camp Polk Cemetery, five miles north and east of Sisters. Some 40 are the final resting spots of U.S. military veterans. The historic cemetery is not professionally nor civically maintained. It’s not even clear who owns it. When it starts to get overrun with weeds or debris, somebody always steps up unofficially, and freshens it up. This year the grassroots task fell to young people from YouthBuild, part of Heart of Oregon Corps, a C... Full story
There is considerable conversation and consternation about the lack of affordable housing in Sisters. This was never more evident than three weeks ago when close to 200 citizens gathered at three overlapping meetings in town. One, a Planning Commission public hearing, was somewhat vocal. Opposition was front and center toward a planned 13-acre housing development at Highway 242 known as Sunset Meadows that could have in excess of 200 dwelling units. A deputy sheriff was... Full story
There’s a real estate boom in Sisters — but it’s not residential. That’s cooled a bit. Commercial real estate, on the other hand, is on fire. Drive all over town and excavators are leveling dirt, concrete is being poured, walls are going up. What’s driving it? Speculation mostly, and with the economy in flux and many economists predicting a recession soon (some saying that we are already in it), such investments may not pay off quickly. You can’t say that developer... Full story
Jake Dailey from central Washington is a military veteran and founder and forester of U.S. Rake Force, which he describes as a mobile response team for biomass reclamation and carbon negative conservation services. “We use regenerative and permaculture strategies to restore ecosystems and individuals.” Among his services, in which he employs other veterans, especially those living with PTSD, are practices for regenerating forests to their optimum level of health with the hel... Full story
“Many of the kids who enroll in the flight science classes are curious about flying, but Max is one of the few who are passionate about it, really committed,” Sam Monte of Outlaw Aviation told The Nugget. He was describing Max Tintle, a 2019 Sisters High School graduate. Tintle completed the academic course work, and “with huge support from my parents” got enough inflight hours to earn his pilot’s license. Even at reduced rates for students in the school’s Outlaw Aviation Ac... Full story
An ad hoc citizen task group has submitted two nominations to City Council for sister city relationship. A sister city relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in differing countries. Wikipedia tell us: “The relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.” “While there are early examples of international links betwe... Full story
It takes 200 goats 21 days to clear 50 acres of vegetation. This ancient form of mowing is having a resurgence, with a powerful demonstration right here in Sisters Country. Homeowners in Cascade Meadow Ranch have hired Scott Martin to tackle weeds on a 50-acre portion of the Ranch’s 310 acres of common area. The Ranch, with 24 two-acre lot homes, is surrounded by the Deschutes National Forest, giving homeowners lots of incentive to mitigate wildfire risk. Conventional t... Full story
Readers of The Nugget have noted seemingly low flows at the headwaters of the Metolius River, one of Sisters Country’s most beloved and revered resources. The latest reading by Oregon Department of Water Resources (ODWR) shows 55 CFS (cubic feet per second). In June of 2018 that was 102 CFS, followed a year later by a 95.6 reading, and last June it registered 74. Kyle Gorman, ODWR regional manager in Bend, recalls his very first reading of the headwaters in 1991 when it l... Full story
In a formal statement October 12, Laird Superfoods (LSF-NYSE), announced that it would be closing its operations in Sisters, and outsourcing the production of its plant-based products to a co-packer, a business that manufactures and/or packages food products for clients. In some cases, the co-packer can be a competitor categorically, but not at the same price point or package size. The Nugget spoke at length with Laird CEO, Jason Veith, who was not yet able to name the... Full story
Don’t you love the smell of autumn? The dried plants and leaves with their potpourri scents wafting up as we tramp through the woods? As leaves fall and die they give off any number of gases as they expire, which fill the air with scents that trigger our nostalgia mechanisms. YouGov did a study (they have a poll for everything it seems) and learned that 31 percent of us say fall is our favorite season. Spring is still the most popular season among those over 55. N... Full story
