News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 155
David Jacobs-Strain, roots and blues songwriter and fierce slide guitar player is returning to the Sisters stage for the Sisters Folk Festival’s event Close to Home concert event on August 1. The show is sold out, but there is a waitlist for limited, physically-distanced seating. David Jacobs-Strain first played at the Sisters Folk Festival almost 20 years ago, as a young up-and-coming musician. He has since been playing shows around Oregon, Sisters included, as well as a... Full story
As with many musicians these days, Sisters singer-songwriter Beth Wood is having to learn to adapt to a profoundly changed world. “Myself and a lot of other artists are learning how to adapt to the reality that is now,” she said. Wood said it has been an interesting process for her, learning to live-stream concerts. “It is a poor substitute but it’s something at least and I’ve been surprised how fun it actually ends up being after I play one,” she said. Wood is trying to f... Full story
Beth Wood, musician, poet and singer-songwriter, has been considered a Sisters local after many years of hosting the Sunday community celebration at the Sisters Folk Festival. She first hosted the celebration at the Village Green tent in 2011, which was the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “It was a wonderful, moving and rewarding experience — it was a bit out of my comfort zone but I loved it and the feeling in that tent on Sunday morning of the festival weekend,” she... Full story
Callie Cattell is a 28-year-old Central Oregon-raised woman whose passion in life is fishing and being out on the water. That passion has been recognized by CBS reality show “Tough As Nails,” which Cattell is featured on this season. Cattell, originally from Bend and now living in Sisters, has been fishing commercially since she was 15 years old. Her first paying job was working on her father’s commercial fishing boat in Bristol Bay, Alaska. “Fishing has been a part of my fami... Full story
Sarah Woods is opening her new business, Roam Natural Skincare, in Sisters. Woods, born and raised in Eugene, vacationed with her family to Sisters and fell in love with the area. “It was always a ritual for my family to come over and vacation and we love the area,” said Woods. Woods, her husband and two kids made the move in November to Central Oregon, currently living in Bend. Woods began her career as an esthetician while she was in college at the University of Oregon in Eu... Full story
Staff at Sisters Folk Festival are in the beginning stages of planning to offer some small-scale music events during the summer. Due to the constraints of COVID-19 regulations, Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) cannot move forward with the 2020 festival. The staff and board of directors of Sisters Folk Festival announced at the end of May the difficult decision to postpone the 24th annual festival — originally scheduled to take place September 11-13 — to September 10-12,... Full story
More than 50 people gathered on the corner of Locust and Highway 20 last Saturday in a demonstration advocating for racial justice. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota, hundreds of protests and demonstrations have been happening across the world. In Sisters, a group of locals decided it was time to show their support in their town. Katie (who requested that her last name not be published due to professional security c... Full story
This is the second of a two-part series profiling Sisters High School (SHS) graduates who have seen their college experience disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kendra Kemp, SHS Class of 2015, recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Marina del Ray, California, majoring in dance. Her passion and major lie in one of the fields most affected by COVID-19: the performing arts. “This profession is going to look a lot different after this and I am looking ahead and pre... Full story
Sisters High School graduates who are now well into their college careers are feeling the effects of COVID-19. Universities are closed, job interviews are conducted over zoom meetings, sporting events are canceled, and happy hours with friends are held through a screen during this time of social isolation. A few Sisters High School graduates spoke with The Nugget about how they are coping with their school year being altered and what they are doing to keep busy and maintain a... Full story
On a clear spring day in Sisters last Thursday, the Sisters High School chemistry classes instructed by Rima Givot launched two stratospheric balloons from Sisters Eagle Airport, loaded with students’ experiments. This is the fourth year of launching the weather balloons with students. Students learn about weather patterns, atmospheric pressure, temperature change, and UV level change, while analyzing the effect on certain materials during flight. This project is made possible... Full story
Al Lehto is the recipient of the inaugural student writing prize from the Waterston Desert Writing Prize competition. The winning piece, titled “The Badlands,” reflects Lehto’s passion for storytelling and experiences in the high desert of Central Oregon. Lehto (preferred pronouns: they, their, them) is a graduating senior from Redmond Proficiency Academy and will be attending the University of Oregon in the fall to study early education. Lehto chose to study early educa... Full story
Jaimee Simundson, Sisters High School graduate, class of 2015, is applying her passion for nature and plants to her career and business. Simundson is a certified clinical herbalist with her own self-named business, Jaimee Simundson: Herbalist. Simundson recently started up her own business speaking to clients virtually. “I treat the consultation as a sort of interview and get to know the patient and their health history,” said Simundson. She then creates a customized for... Full story
Sisters High School 2017 graduate Zidane Galant-LaPorte recently received the Newman Civic Fellowship for her work at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where she is currently a junior. As stated by the honorees site: “The honors are given by Whitman College as part of its membership of Campus Compact, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping colleges educate students for civic and social responsibility.” The fellowship is a state and national honor. From the fel... Full story
Jinny Reed has been working fire for 32 years. She has been with the Sisters Ranger District for 19 of those years working in wildfire prevention, education and suppression. After a career spanning most of her adult life after high school, Reed hung up her uniform and retired as of February 29. Reed’s primary role as assistant fire management officer for Sisters has to do with prescribed burns and fire prevention and education. “My passion is to get the best information abo... Full story
Fan-favorite Dustbowl Revival will be returning to the Sisters stage on Friday, February 21 as the second installment of the Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series. Dustbowl Revival has always been about pushing the boundaries of what American roots music can be. In many ways, they could have continued creating joyful, booty-shaking songs and cut-to-heart folk-rock ballads that lift up their transcendent live shows — and mining new energetic material from the place w... Full story
Nine Sisters Camp-Sherman firefighters will be participating in the annual Leukemia and Lymphoma Society stair climb in Seattle on March 7. More than 2,000 firefighters from around the world participate in climbing the Columbia Tower located in downtown Seattle. The stair climb is in its 29th year, and this will be the sixth year in a row Sisters firefighters will be participating. Travis Bootes, participant and EMT firefighter, spoke with The Nugget on the climb and why they... Full story
Sisters singer and songwriter Rhonda Funk has been signed to the Pure Music record label for a two-year deal effective January 1. Funk, who moved from Sisters to Nashville in 2018, has been awaiting a deal for many years during her musical journey. Pure Music’s managing partner, John L. Heithaus, met Funk at a singing-in-the-round event in Nashville. Earlier in the year, Funk had been touring around the South. During her travels she was involved in a car accident, putting a... Full story
Megan Ellsworth has been singing and playing guitar since she was a little girl running around the woods of Camp Sherman. Ellsworth, a Sisters High School graduate, class of 2016, is entering her last semester of college at the University of Colorado in Denver. Ellsworth is double-majoring in songwriting and music business. Her majors are working together to further her career in the music business as a self-made singer-songwriter and performer. Ellsworth knew she wanted to... Full story
American-Chicano band Las Cafeteras has taken the music scene by storm with infectious live performances and music that spans many borders and genres. Las Cafeteras will be returning to Sisters on Wednesday, January 15 in the first installment of the Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series. Born and raised east of the Los Angeles River, Las Cafeteras are mixing roots music and telling modern-day stories. Using traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto,... Full story
Sisters IEE (Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition) has been a shaping influence on many Sisters High School graduates. For most, it enhances their understanding and appreciation of the world they live in. For some, it has created a life path. For Hogan Hernandez, now a student at University of Oregon, an IEE student in her junior year and IEE intern in her senior year, the experience helped to shape who she is and her hobbies, as well as leading to her summer job.... Full story
And it has shaped the lives of many an Outlaw (see related story, page 17). Boyd Keyser, then-principal of SHS, believed in integrative programming and assigned three teachers to create an interdisciplinary class. Those teachers are still teachers in the classes today: Glen Herron, Rand Runco, and Samra Spear. Rand Runco created co-op PE classes, integrating outdoor recreation. Samra Spear taught English and literature; Glen Herron taught geology and science. Rob Phelps brough... Full story
Sustainability at events is a rising issue within the United States because of the high volume of people concentrated in one area, each one producing waste and plastic at a high volume in a short amount of time. The Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) started in 1995 with 12 artists and 200 attendees. It has grown to a festival with over 50 artists and around 4,000 attendees every year. This year, the organization implemented a sustainability program headed by Operations Manager Dave... Full story
Seattle-based musician Tekla Waterfield will be performing her original songs Monday, December 2, at 6 p.m., at The Open Door Restaurant and Wine Bar. Waterfield is originally from Alaska and grew up surrounded by music. Her mother used to play folk festivals around Alaska. From a young age, Waterfield was getting on stage with her mother and sister to perform harmonies and sing. In the 1990s, her family moved to California, near Sacramento, where Waterfield discovered many ot... Full story
Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD EMT firefighters Pat Burke and Damon Frutos just returned from an exchange program with Hampshire County Fire and Rescue in southern England. Hampshire County is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. This urban landscape and area were new for Burke and Frutos because they were both trained and work in rural environments. Burke, engineer medic with SCSRFPD, went on the exchange for the experience and to learn more about rescue and firef... Full story
Authors from the local community got their moment in the spotlight in the inaugural Sisters Festival of Books this past weekend. Local authors kicked off the weekend with a reception at FivePine Lodge on Friday evening. Twelve local authors brought themselves — and their diverse books —to the kickoff event. Sisters-based author Julia Huni, author of the “Space Janitor” series, spoke about how her book series started originally as a set of science fiction short stor... Full story
