News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Weather played a significant role in the way the Outlaws track and field teams experienced a busy week that included competing in two high-quality invitationals in winter-like conditions. After being largely forced indoors for practice during last week’s snowfall, the team traveled over the snowy pass to the Philomath Invitational on Thursday, April 14, to go up against seven other teams, including some of the best in the 4A classification. According to coaches, many of the team fell short of their best efforts at the meet u... Full story
Sisters School District honored eight students with the first annual Avanza Award for acquisition of English language at a ceremony held Wednesday, April 6, at Sisters Elementary School. Marleen and Bruce Rognlien wanted to partner with the school district and the Latinx community outreach group to establish the award to honor students who complete a state program in English speaking and writing. Bruce Rognlien said, “I was motivated to help set up and fund the award b... Full story
The monthly meeting of the Sisters School District board of directors took place on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at Sisters Elementary School. - A reception was held for Avanza award winners, which honored second language students who had worked hard and attained a level of proficiency in English literacy comparable to native English speakers. The district created the award locally to reward the hard work the students have undertaken to become English proficient. (A full story on the program will appear in next week’s Nugget.) -... Full story
A looming winter storm warning did not deter any of the nearly 400 trail runners from taking part in the 20th annual PetersonRidge Rumble 20- and 40-mile trail race. “In fact, the weather turned out to be way better than the forecast, so finishers stuck around after the race and enjoyed good food and fellowship,” Race Director Sean Meissner told The Nugget. Meissner did concede that runners faced strong wind the last two miles of the 20-miler, coming in on the Bro... Full story
A collaboration between third-graders from Sisters Elementary School and ninth-graders from Rima Givot’s Sisters High School biology class is the first of many science-related projects designed bring together different age groups in the school district. Each of the three third-grade classes took outings to the Trout Creek Conservation area behind the high school on Friday, April 1, to meet up with Givot and her students to identify birds in the area. The collaboration was o... Full story
Sisters hosted its only high school track and field meet of the season Wednesday, March 30, a 10-team affair held in cool, windy conditions with temperatures in the low 40s, and which finished under the lights. The meet included teams from Summit, Grant Union, Culver, Pleasant Hill, Sherman County, Santiam, La Pine, Madras, and Burns. According to head coach Cailen McNair, coming out of spring break the team is still in the midst of foundational conditioning and technique... Full story
Bethanne Blann of Camp Sherman, aka “Mrs. Snowplow,” visited Sisters Elementary School on Friday, March 11, to share her book “Mr. & Mrs. Snowplow Are Back!” She explained the story behind the story, and provided insights on the writing process. All Sisters Elementary School students K-4, in two separate groups, heard Blann read her book aloud, with illustrations from the book displayed on a large screen behind her. At the outset of her talk Bethanne said she had three r... Full story
An uncommonly mild day greeted the Sisters Outlaws track and field team at Bend High School for the first meet of the season, which normally features at least one snow shower. The athletes responded with strong early season performances against the Lava Bears along with the Hawks of La Pine. Outlaws placing first in their events included Ella Bartlett in the 1500 (5:25.21), Hollie Lewis in the long jump (15 feet, 6.25 inches) and high jump (4 feet, 8 inches), Ila Reid, Gracie... Full story
Green-clad runners and walkers filled the streets in the first annual Lucky Leprechaun walk and run, held Saturday, March 12, near downtown Sisters. Race director Kelly Bither, who also put on the Ugly Sweater Run in December, felt ecstatic about the way the event turned out. “The race went great,”she said. “It was so nice to see so many smiling faces. With so much turmoil in the world today it’s good to take a morning to come together and create lasting memories with friends... Full story
After last year’s shortened season, the athletes and coaches of the Outlaws track and field team look forward to a full campaign, with a complete slate of meets and more than double the time to train. A core group of veterans mixed with a healthy crop of newcomers means that new head coach Cailen McNair and his staff will spend the first portion of the season determining the events in which individual athletes will partake. After two weeks of training, some of those q... Full story
Finances are in order, learning gaps caused by the pandemic are closing, and the elementary school grew by 18 students. Those were some of the takeaways from the Sisters School Board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 2. Board members Edie Jones, Jeff Smith, David Thorsett, and Don Hedrick were present in person, with Jenica Cogdill taking part via Zoom. The audience also participated via Zoom. •Steve Swisher, who heads the budget committee for the Sisters School District, was the lone speaker for community comments.... Full story
Following the popular Ugly Sweater Run in December, race director Kelly Bither is at it again with a race to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The Lucky Leprechaun 5k and 10k Run and Walk is scheduled for Saturday, March 12 and there is still room for a few more leprechauns, according to Bither. “As of March 5 a total of 176 people had registered,” she said. “We think that we can manage up to about 250, so it’s not too late to get involved.” The event will begin and end near Sisters Depot where post-race “shenanigan... Full story
The statewide mask mandate comes to a close March 12 and leaves the management of COVID-19 guidelines and protocols in the hands of the local school district. Sisters School District Superintendent Curt Scholl says the District is in a good position to manage the local situation moving forward. “We welcome the change because it allows us to respond to our own outbreaks in the community rather than the county as a whole,” he said. “We’ve only had about three COVID cases in the past three weeks in our schools, so our numbers... Full story
John F. Kennedy was president, The Beatles had not yet been discovered by American fans, and gasoline sold for 31 cents a gallon when Jim Anderson began his coaching career in 1960. Monday, February 28, the first official day of high school spring practice, marked the start of Anderson’s 61st season as a high school coach, as he returned to the track at Reed Stadium to mentor a new crop of pole vaulters for the Outlaws track and field team. Anderson fell in love with the p... Full story
The Nordic ski racers wound up their season on Friday and Saturday, February 25-26 at Mt. Bachelor, with the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (OISRA) State Championships, sponsored by the Oregon Nordic Ski Foundation and Central Oregon Radiology. The OISRA is the governing body for high school ski racing in Oregon for both the Nordic and alpine divisions. The alpine State meet is set for March 3-4. Schools represented at the meet in addition to the Outlaws... Full story
None of the four wrestlers representing Sisters High at the OSAA 4A State Championships made the podium, but according to coach Gary Thorson, the boys have no reason to hang their heads. Cascade High School hosted the 4A tournament as part of the OSAA’s decision to split up the meet to separate sites in order to minimize crowd sizes due to COVID-19 concerns. “Once again, like we have all year, the kids wrestled very hard, but we did not wrestle our very best, and at that level there is no room for error,” Thorson said. “We h... Full story
Clayten Heuberger brought home two medals from the OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A championships held Saturday, February 19, at Tualatin Valley Swim Center, completing a stellar season for the junior. Heuberger placed third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.86, which was 1.5 seconds faster than his seed time entering the meet. Akira Van de Groen of Catlin Gabel won the race in 53.83. In the 50-yard free, Heuberger kept pace in a very close race, setting a new personal best of... Full story
If there is such a thing as a “football family,” the Fendalls — Neil, Lynne, Taylor, Hannah, and Gracie — are it. Neil Fendall recently accepted the job as defensive coordinator and safeties coach for the Southern Oregon University Red Raiders (SOU) and is already on the job in Ashland. It is a return to the college ranks for Fendall. In speaking with The Nugget, Fendall first and foremost wanted to make clear that the rest of the family is not going anywhere. “I... Full story
Sisters will be represented by two boys and one girl at the OSAA State Swimming Championships after achieving qualifying times at the Special District 3 meet held at Sweet Home High School February 11 and 12. Special District 3 is comprised of 12 schools including Sweet Home, Junction City, Stayton, Philomath, Marist, Cascade, Salem Academy, Blanchet, North Marion, Kennedy, Pleasant Hill, and Sisters. Clayten Heuberger will race in two events at State based on his performances... Full story
Sisters qualified four wrestlers for the OSAA 4A Championships based on their places at the District 4 Tournament hosted by Sisters High School on Saturday, February 12. Teams from Ontario, La Grande, Baker/Powder Valley, Corbett, Madras, McLoughlin/Weston-McEwan, and Gladstone joined the host Outlaws for the tournament, in which the top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the state championships, which will be held Saturday, February 26 at Cascade High School in... Full story
Sisters schools will soon have an exceptional outdoor environmental education classroom in the Sisters backcountry. The Wildhaven Preserve, a 160-acre property in the Stevens Canyon area that has been cared for and protected as far back as 1970, became the responsibility of the Sisters School District following a transfer from the Nature Conservancy, which had overseen the land since 1982. Originally purchased as a private conservation area by Vivien and Gil Staender in 1970,... Full story
Sisters High School senior Daisy Patterson completed her high school wrestling career on Saturday, February 5, just short of her goal of qualifying for the state tournament for the first time. Patterson fought her way through the bracket after a second-round loss and had a shot at third place and a state qualification, but it was not meant to be. The Special District 3 Regional Tournament, held at Redmond High School, was one of four regional meets held around the state and... Full story
The Sisters School Board monthly meeting took place Wednesday, February 2, at the school district office. Community members who were not involved with the content of the meeting attended via Zoom. Edie Jones, David Thorsett, Jeff Smith, and Chair Don Hedrick were in attendance. Jenica Cogdill was absent. •?Paul Andrews of the High Desert Education Service District (HDESD) made the annual presentation regarding the services offered to Sisters School District, which include such things as administrative support, legal... Full story
Ground will not likely be broken for the new Sisters Elementary School until early spring, but Superintendent Curt Scholl confirmed that the project is moving forward as expected. “Yes, the building schedule is ambitious, but we are sticking with the plan to open in the fall of 2023 at the new site,” he said. The general plans for the K-5 building are largely complete and Scholl hopes to be able to share some drawings and designs with the public in the upcoming weeks. “We are hoping that when we get what are called the ‘50 p... Full story
Sisters High School athletes are back in the pool after the 2021 season was stymied by the pandemic. New coach Alex Bick reports that the team is building up its strength once again. In the team’s most recent five-way meet at Stayton, sophomore Ella Bartlett, who is also on the Nordic ski team, had a busy day. Bartlett notched a runner-up finish in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 5:40.14 and placed sixth in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:36.80. The team of Bartlett, Elizabeth Bates, Lizzie McCrystal, and Neya K... Full story
