News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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In the topsy-turvy world of COVID-19, athletes at all levels, including Sisters High School, have been faced with canceled, postponed, and shortened seasons. Activity resumed in mid-September for a few of the traditional spring sports under strict guidelines for a five week “mini-season.” According to SHS Athletic Director Gary Thorson, track and field, tennis, boys lacrosse and girls softball are taking advantage of the opportunity to train and, in some cases, compete. The... Full story
For the first time since mid-March students in kindergarten through third grade will return to Sisters Elementary School (SES) for in-class instruction, thanks to a consistent drop in COVID-19 cases in Deschutes County. The statistical metric of fewer than 30 cases per 100,000 has held for over three consecutive weeks, allowing the return of the youngest members of the Sisters School District to move from “Comprehensive Distance Learning” to “Hybrid Learning.” (Cases did jum... Full story
Sisters residents new and old may be unaware of the Trout Creek Conservation Area (TCCA), a special parcel of land adjacent to Tollgate and Sisters High School, which is owned and overseen by Sisters School District in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the Deschutes Land Trust. The TCCA encompasses 160 acres of juniper and pine forest directly behind the athletic fields at Sisters High School (SHS), a conservation easement that was formally established in 2003. The... Full story
Outlaws athletes are going to be able to get in some modified sports activities this fall. In the topsy-turvy world of COVID-19, guidelines and rules are ever-changing. High-school athletics have been subject to constant flux since March. When schools first shut down last spring, hope remained that they would reopen before the end of the year and spring sports would be allowed to complete a truncated season. That dream didn’t pan out and high school athletes were left to fend for themselves when it came to staying active. Sum... Full story
• Sisters Education Association (union) President Michele Hammer thanked the school board and Superintendent Curt Scholl for working cooperatively with the teaching staff on solving issues related to working conditions during COVID-19. Hammer also expressed how much the teaching staff looks forward to being back, doing in-person instruction. • Teachers are largely working from the school buildings this year during the distance-learning phase as opposed to from home as they did last spring. • Beginning fund... Full story
A decline in COVID-19 cases in Oregon may mean good news for reopening Sisters schools. The Oregon Health Authority reported an update to the media on Thursday, August 27 regarding the latest metrics related to the reopening of schools in Oregon. OHA Director Patrick Allen led the teleconference with input offered also by Dr. Dean Sidelinger, an Oregon State Health Officer. Much of the news indicated that cases of COVID-19 are slowing in most of the state, including in Deschutes County. The measurement most important to... Full story
How does a 2018 graduate of Sisters High School manage to have an upcoming meeting scheduled with a member of the British Parliament? The answer to that is easy for those who know Alana Lukens, who seems to have a knack for immersing herself in issues that she finds important. Lukens, who will be starting her third and final year at the Warrington campus at the University of Chester in the United Kingdom, is remembered not only as the lead in two musicals while at Sisters... Full story
Preschool offerings in Sisters Country have changed and expanded for the 2020-21 school year, giving parents more options than ever at a time of heightened need. Preschool will be offered at Sisters Elementary, Wellhouse Church, and through Sisters Parks & Recreation District (SPRD). Thanks to the award of a state-funded Preschool Promise grant Sisters Elementary School will be operating a program independently this year. For the past number of years, SPRD operated preschool at the elementary site in cooperation with the... Full story
When Susan Parker moved to Sisters from the Bay Area with her husband Brian Farrow eight years ago, after a 37-year career working as a vice president and buyer for Macy’s, she wanted to stay active in a meaningful way and become part of the small-town community. A friend at Black Butte Ranch mentioned the ASPIRE program at Sisters High School, which provides mentors to support students in navigating their post high school plans. Parker felt an immediate sense of excitement t... Full story
School administrators are managing what seems to be daily updates as to how the 2020-21 school year will operate in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The August 12 Sisters School District board meeting, conducted via Zoom, took place a day after the Oregon Department of Education released its latest update of guidance for schools, which, as was expected, did not change the fact that Sisters School District will be starting the year under the Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) model. Superintendent Curt Scholl... Full story
The OSAA (Oregon Scholastic Activities Association) announced a big change to the 2020-21 high school sports seasons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision came following an executive session on Wednesday, August 5. In essence there will be three seven-week competitive seasons within a truncated 6-1/2-month time period between December and June. The OSAA actually defined four “seasons” under the plan: “Season One” from August 31-January 3 will be considered a time that high school students could be allowed... Full story
I don’t watch much on television when it comes to sports — or anything else for that matter, — but the Summer Olympics usually keeps me riveted to the screen. Especially when it comes to the track and field and the marathon. The Tokyo Olympics were originally scheduled to start last week, but the pandemic has postponed the Games until 2021. Given the way the pandemic is going, and the toll it has taken on the health, economies, and stamina of the world, I wonder i... Full story
In a letter shared with school district staff and families dated July 30, Superintendent Curtiss Scholl announced that school will be conducted under Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) model for the first six weeks of the 2020-21 school year, based on health metrics in Deschutes County. Scholl’s announcement came just two days after Governor Kate Brown’s press conference which outlined the latest state and county health guidelines that are required to allow in-person education. School districts throughout the state hav... Full story
As the state of Oregon continues to struggle with how to safely open schools in the fall in the midst of an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Oregon Sports and Activities Association (OSAA) presented its first round of recommendations and guidelines for the high school sports seasons for 2020-21. In a hopeful move, the OSAA’s initial guidelines say that fall sports of cross country, volleyball and soccer will begin official practice at the original start date of August 17 — but contests will be delayed until September 2... Full story
The Sisters School Board voted unanimously to keep Jay Wilkins as chair and Don Hedrick as vice-chair for another year at the monthly meeting held at Sisters Middle School Wednesday, July 8 — the first “in-person” meeting conducted since the pandemic shutdown began in March. After recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, one board member quipped. “That sounded a lot better than when we did that on Zoom and we were all speaking at different speeds.” Designated as an organi... Full story
My running career started on a bicycle. On June 1, 1972, at the end of my sixth grade year in school, my mother drove me from our home in Sublimity, Oregon to Salem where Scott’s Cyclery did business on South Commercial Street. I had visited Scott’s a few weeks earlier to order the bike of my dreams: a 10-speed Schwinn Varsity. Even though I had to settle for my second choice in color — lemon yellow — I am not sure I had ever been more excited about a purchase. The bike was a birthday present from my parents, but... Full story
Shirleen Cundiff rolled into Sisters in 1998 with her two daughters, Jamie and Kelly, the day before school started, fulfilling a dream she and her husband, Gary, had kept for many years of residing in Central Oregon. The dream became reality when Gary was offered a managerial job at J and J Carpets in Bend. “We researched schools in the area and Sisters quickly rose to the top of our list,” she said. Sisters, with around 800 residents within the city limits at the time, was... Full story
Oregon Department of Education (ODE) Chief Colt Gill led a digital press conference on Wednesday, June 10 outlining “Ready Schools, Safe Learners,” a plan developed by the Oregon Health Authority, ODE, and Governor Kate Brown, which includes the preliminary guidance for school re-opening in the fall of 2020. Governor Kate Brown has also created a Healthy School Reopening Council that will contribute guidance over the weeks ahead. After shutting down in mid-March and relying on distance learning for the remainder of the sch... Full story
The leadership class at Sisters Middle School (SMS) wanted to make a difference in the community, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, and came up with a way to do so while underscoring a message of strength and togetherness. Led by teacher Jeff Schiedler, the class decided to design and market “Sisters Strong” T-shirts as a symbol of unity in tough times. SMS student Jack Turpen got busy working on a design. He took a hard look at the Outlaw horse logo for ideas.... Full story
Donning a black cowboy hat, Sisters High School principal Joe Hosang welcomed the crowd celebrating the class of 2020 at the rodeo grounds Friday, June 12 saying, “We’re doing this rodeo style!” With the COVID-19 pandemic altering normal life throughout the world, commencement planners including Lynne Fendall, Jillian Frankl and Melanie Petterson got to work weeks ago to find a way to honor the class of 2020, culminating with a drive-in ceremony on the east side of the rodeo... Full story
Sisters schools are wrapping up a very challenging school year and the school board is digging into what the budget will look like for next year, given the economic disruption of COVID-19. Steve Swisher, the chair of the school district budget committee spoke during the public comment portion of last week’s Zoom school board meeting to highlight some of the “what-ifs” regarding funding from the state next year. The committee approved a budget, but Swisher made clear that adjustments by the school board may become neces... Full story
In an outpouring of support for the class of 2020, staff members from all three Sisters schools lined the roadway and bus turnaround at Sisters High School cheering, ringing bells and waving signs as the seniors drove through to pick up graduation gowns and other materials on Friday, May 29. “It was one small way we could show our love for the seniors,” said SHS Principal Joe Hosang. High school teachers and support staff handed out packets that included graduation caps and... Full story
Sisters GRO (Graduate Resource Organization), the local non-profit that manages dozens of scholarships for graduates of Sisters High School, has announced the addition of numerous new awards for the class of 2020 and beyond. Behind the efforts of Susan Parker and other members of the GRO board of directors, an additional 11 awards will be available for this year’s senior class. Board members worked together to identify business groups, organizations, and individuals, who looked like natural and viable supporters of new a... Full story
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy said, “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” Reading is foundational for education and under the current coronavirus shutdown that has compelled “Distance Learning” for students, getting books into the hands of young people may be more important than ever. Parents have expressed concern about their students falling behind. Warburg sees the reading programs as a way to mitigate that conc... Full story
For Karen Hensley, co-founder of Sisters Graduate Resource Organization (GRO), the desire to create opportunities for others had its roots in being part of a big family growing up in a small town in the Willamette Valley. “When you are one of 10 kids, you learn about giving and receiving and the need to be unselfish, so I have always had a heart to help others,” she said. Her motivation to build up a scholarship program for students in Sisters also stems from und... Full story
