News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 502
Richard’s Produce, more popularly known as Sisters Farmstand, and C&C Nursery are reopening after reaching an agreement with the current owners of Space Age Fuel on West Cascade Avenue and the prospective purchaser. Space Age was engaged in a lengthy and contentious planning application as it sought to modernize the aging store and increase the number of fuel pumps. The application was denied by the City after citizens strongly objected to the expansion. Following denial of t... Full story
Sisters will take on the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease in a conference in May. A McGinty Conference — usually hosted in much larger communities — will be held at Sisters Community Church on Monday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The events, including the principal one in Portland, are Oregon’s leading research and education events highlighting Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and honors Dr. Dean McGinty, a Portland geriatrician, an early advocate... Full story
Looking at the horizon one sees plenty of the white stuff on the Three Sisters, and Black Butte is showing a pretty white blanket. Ski Hoodoo and Bachelor are having excellent spring skiing. Typically by mid-April the ski resorts are icy in the morning and "mashed potatoes" by noon, frustrating skiers and boarders seeking to extend the season. Not so this year. Afternoon temps have remained cool under a good deal of cloud cover. On Saturday, Hoodoo was sitting on 72 inches of... Full story
The primary election is May 21 and ballots will be mailed May 1. There are only two races. One for County Commissioner Position #2, and the other for Deschutes County Sheriff. Both are four-year terms. There are eight measures on the ballot, none affecting Sisters nor which Sisters voters can vote. This is the first commissioner election since voters approved a measure to make such races non-partisan. Thus the top two vote getters will appear on the November ballot. Phil... Full story
After conferring with its attorneys and insurance advisor, Sisters Eagle Airport has decided against continuing its annual July 4th event known as Rumble on the Runway. As The Nugget reported earlier this month, the very popular event has grown in size to the point where risk leaves the airport vulnerable. Last week, Rotary Club of Sisters, Citizens4Community (C4C) and Explore Sisters met in an emergency setting to discuss alternatives for an Independence Day family event of... Full story
As it seeks to add workforce housing to its primary mission of affordable housing, Sisters Habitat for Humanity is eagerly awaiting a decision from the State of Oregon for its grant application. Beginning in 2017 Oregon launched its statewide housing plan in response to the critical shortage of affordable homes, especially for lower income earners. The same plan included efforts to ease homelessness. (OHCS) Oregon Housing and Community Services was formed and, over the years... Full story
On March 14, Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) Executive Director Scott Penzarella announced his resignation. “I’ve made the difficult decision to leave the Sisters Trails Alliance to refocus my efforts on my own businesses,” he stated. Penzarella is an owner of Left Coast Lodge, an 11-unit motel in Sisters, and, according to his Linkedin page he serves as managing partner of The Golden Gate Market in Sausalito, California. He joined STA in June of 2022 and in his short tenur... Full story
It often comes as a surprise to Sisters Country folk when out hiking deep inside the Deschutes National Forest and they come across fences or other indicators that they are now upon private lands. "How does anybody have a ranch smack dab in the middle of the forest?" Clay and Maureen Whittier asked as they came upon Skyline Forest. They were snowshoeing near Three Creek Butte via Snow Creek Road when they faced a pair of signs: "NOTICE Entering Private Property" and "PLEASE... Full story
On a cold December 21, Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputy Jerad Bearson of the Sisters Station found himself on the Cold Springs Road cutoff near Highway 20 in search of a distressed dog. A citizen called it in describing the dog as looking like a black Labrador retriever, pregnant or having recently birthed. Bearson quickly found the dog, sitting up, guarded. When he approached, the dog became agitated and tried to bite him. Another deputy responded to Bearson's efforts and th... Full story
In a sure sign of spring, "Construction Ahead" signs are popping up around Sisters Country. One that is likely pleasing to area residents is the improvement project to the popular and historic Highway 242, where thousands of tourists in vehicles and on bicycles wind their way every summer. A favorite highway of motorcyclists and touring cars, Highway 242 is still in the middle of its annual winter closure from about 12 miles west of Sisters to a few miles east of Highway 126... Full story
Amy Guthrie's Sunshine Club, consisting of 17 Sisters Elementary School fifth-graders, were on hand at The Lodge in Sisters last Wednesday evening as part of their regular holiday visits. They brought handmade St. Patrick's Day-themed cards and crafts just as they did on Valentine's Day last month. At Thanksgiving, Guthrie delivered a giant poster with greetings from the Club, and at the Christmas break, the Club students joined with C4C (Citizens For Community) at The Lodge... Full story
A group of businesses, mostly but not exclusively centered downtown, has launched a new Sisters Business Association (SBA). The group, some two dozen in number, was the inspiration of Shaunette White, owner of High Desert Chocolates at the corner of Cascade and Pine. She serves as SBA’s first president. Josh Smith of Paper Place is Vice President, and Eryn Ross at Sisters Depot is CFO. Leslie Cutler (Homestar), Casey Boyd (Rescued Living), Sheree Vance (Sisters Apothecary), S... Full story
Over the past several months the Sisters District of the Deschutes National Forest has seen its head count grow from 80 to 114. It’s part of a larger national effort for the agency which has a workforce of over 31,000 managing 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, more than the entire stare of Texas. In 2022, Chief Randy Moore called on the Forest Service to build its workforce for the future: “Forest Service hiring had not kept pace with attrition, and we nee... Full story
Public Works Director Paul Bertagna will be happy when spring arrives. Nearly all of Sisters was under a blanket of snow for 10 weeks. Bertagna and his crews have found themselves at all hours of days and nights tackling the beast. The City has plowed through $42,800 of its $50,000 snow-removal budget with a good four to six weeks left of possible accumulation. Four of Bertagna’s staff are trained to handle the job. He occasionally has to jump in himself when the snow comes h... Full story
What a difference a few weeks make. Ski Hoodoo waited until January to open for lack of snow. Now they are sitting atop 80 inches plus, with more coming in. At the nearby Sno Parks, and Three Creek Sno Park closer to town, the snowmobiles are revved up and gliding over deep snow terrain. The Three Creek snow-measuring station reported 40-inch snowpack on Saturday - 88 percent of normal, a big gain from just a few weeks ago. The late-season snow is a delight of snowmobilers,... Full story
What does the Sisters Ranger District do when the ground is buried under five to 10 feet of snow, or the roads are closed? They do much of the same work they do any other time of the year. Only the means of conveyance changes. Last week The Nugget accompanied Jim Beaupre, recreation team lead, and Skyler Ogden, recreation management specialist, in making a safety and compliance inspection around the Three Creek Lake area. We met at the Sno Park, checked our gear, and took... Full story
A comparison of homes sold in Sisters Country the last two months compared to 2023, shows change in the direction of the market. In January median and average prices came into near parity at the same time the price per square foot demonstrated more affordability overall. In January of 2022, 10 homes sold for a total value of $9.9 million. However that included a jumbo sale of $4 million, which if stripped out made for a monthly low not seen in over 10 years. In January, 2024... Full story
By now you will have received your first electric bill of the year, the one with the 5–7 percent rate increase announced by CEC (Central Electric Cooperative) at the end of last year. That was a hefty bump which CEC attributes to higher costs from its source — Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) — and “surging” inflation of equipment and supplies used to deliver power. Since 2019, CEC has seen the cost of a power pole rise by 35 percent, overhead power cables by 45 percen... Full story
Long Hollow Ranch sits on 12,000 acres across two counties. Its main entrance is on Holmes Road in the heart of Sisters Country. The most visible part of the operation is its wedding and event venue but behind the bucolic setting are cows. Hundreds of them. The ranch also sits on an AKWA (Area of Known Wolf Activity). Long Hollow is claiming the loss of seven cows to wolves beginning in February of 2023 with the most recent loss last year between May and July when two calves... Full story
The annual July 4th fly-in, car show, and drag-racing event at Sisters Eagle Airport, known as Rumble On The Runway, is in danger of disappearing from the Sisters event scene, a victim of its own success. Airport co-owner, Julie Benson, told The Nugget "that the cost to insure the one-day event has risen by 500 percent and there are simply not enough of us to staff the event. We need many more volunteers." In 2021 the event attracted about 1,500 people. That grew to around... Full story
Sisters School District #6 canceled school last Thursday and Friday due to weather, the first back to back closures since "snowmageddon" - the crushing snow event in 2016-2017. Even with a brutal forecast or National Weather Service warning or advisory, the decision is not made the night before. School Superintendent, Curt Scholl, said, "We must wait to make the call because sometimes the big storms that are expected don't show up. "I've seen forecasts for a day for between fo... Full story
A local resident recently raised concerns about drone traffic over private property - and what the law allows. She told The Nugget that she has "repeatedly seen drones (daytime and nighttime) over our property and in the area even directly over our home which is on 68 acres. It is very unsettling. We have reported to Deschutes County Sheriff, but there is clearly nothing they can do...and it may not even be illegal." She's not alone in raising this issue. The skies over... Full story
Readers often ask The Nugget either how to get something done at City Hall or simply register a thought about various and sundry things. We usually suggest taking issues directly to City of Sisters staff. Sisters is still a town where school, fire, police, and city officials are very accessible. There are no gatekeepers and no special code or status is needed to make contact. In our experience you will most likely be met with accessibility and transparency. Recently, for... Full story
Recently the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced its findings for gray wolves in the Western United States, and its launch of a national "path to support a long term and durable approach to the conservation of gray wolves, to include a process to develop - for the first time - a National Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for gray wolves in the lower 48 states." The announcement does not make any changes to the legal status of gray wolves in the... Full story
Deschutes County declared a state of emergency February 7 over the growing fentanyl crisis in Central Oregon that is following the statewide trend of lethal drug overdoses and associated crime. The declaration issued by the county board of commissioners, following a vote in favor by commissioners Board Chair Patti Adair, and Tony DeBone, provides no money nor redirects any resources. Commissioner Phil Chang abstained, claiming the declaration doesn't give the county any... Full story
