News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 57
The tentative rural site for the location of the Mericom/Sprint PCS communications tower, scheduled for placement in Sisters, may have to be changed. At the last Sisters city council meeting on September 14, councilors reported positively on their visit to view that proposed site. Sisters City Planner Neil Thompson and the councilors agreed that a 140 -foot high trial balloon was adequately camouflaged at the heavily wooded, 160-acre Section 9 site. The acreage lately was purchased from the US Forest Service by the city and... Full story
The two candidates for the office of Deschutes County Sheriff went toe-to-toe at the Wednesday, September 23 political forum held at Sisters High School. Incumbent Sheriff Greg Brown and Bend Police Department Lt. Les Stiles wasted little time in presenting the audience of high school seniors a clear picture of their differences in experience, endorsements, and issues. Stiles portrayed Brown as a disruptive leader, pointing out two areas of strong disagreement Brown has with the District Attorney's office. Stiles said these... Full story
Teachers and administrators are packing them in at Sisters Middle School. According to figures presented at the Thursday, September 11 school board meeting, enrollment at the 6th-8th grade facility has jumped to 307 -- an increase over last year of 33 students. New middle school principal Lora Nordquist said that the growth is not leading, for the time being, to any increase in class sizes. "We have been able to keep our classes to an average of 26-30 students, about the same as last year, because we were able to shift an... Full story
The Sisters City Council wants to help the growing Multnomah Publishers find a place to stay in Sisters. The council unanimously decided at its Thursday, September 14, meeting to examine working together with Multnomah Publishers to secure a 20-acre parcel of Forest Service land for the company's private use. In a a one-hour workshop prior to the meeting, the publisher's president, Don Jacobson, unveiled a presentation detailing the company's size, demographics, and economic contributions to the local economy. Jacobson noted... Full story
Sisters voters will decide in November whether to build a new high school and provide a "local option" levy to help fund the cash-strapped school district. The Sisters School Board at its Thursday, August 31 meeting decided to place on the ballot both a 20-year, $22 million bond for a new high school and a four-year local option levy in the amount of 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. If the bond passes, the board plans to move middle school students to the current high school building and retire the aging middle... Full story
Three Sisters-Camp Sherman station firefighters left their extraction training (see related story, this page) Saturday morning, August 26, to respond to a real-time emergency: the forest fire raging in the Ochoco Mountains to the east. Sisters station Captain Gary Lovegren, responding to a call from forest officials, immediately dispatched David Wheeler, staff firefighter, student Smokey Bittler, and volunteer Mason McCoy to help fight the blaze at Ochoco National Forest. Lundgren said that Governor Kitzhaber had, following t... Full story
There was no mistaking the sound even from 100 feet away -- metal was being forcibly torn apart. But the nerve-jarring sound that filled the Sisters Industrial Park on Saturday, August 26, did not signify an accident: Captain Gary Lovegren of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD) was supervising the teaching of extraction techniques -- the safe and rapid removal of passengers trapped inside vehicles -- to firefighters, volunteers, and students from local fire departments. During the day-long, hands-on... Full story
Significant water-related damage to Sisters High School is spurring school officials to investigate a legal remedy. At its August 7 meeting, the school board, in a closed executive session, conferred with Steve Herron, Education Service District attorney, regarding possible facility-related litigation. "We are exploring all issues related to getting the building repaired and we need legal help to sort through it," School Superintendent Steve Swisher later told The Nugget. Swisher said more information was needed to pinpoint... Full story
The Sisters School Board is considering two local tax measures it is for placement on the November general election ballot. Over the past several weeks, board members personally have reached out to citizens and explained a plan which includes both a four-year local option levy and a 20-year building bond. The levy funds would be spent to bring back teachers, programs, and activities which fell victim to budget shortfalls this past school year, according to Superintendent Steve Swisher. Some funds would be used to take care... Full story
The Sisters School District and Barclay Meadows Business Park have cleared a major hurdle toward developing property for light industry on a pair of 30-acre parcels at the north edge of Sisters. The Deschutes County Commissioners unanimously agreed Wednesday, July 26, to approve two plan amendments and zone changes for the two parcels. The commissioners overrode the opinion of one of the county's land use hearing officers, attorney Karen Green. Green had recommended denial of the applications based on concerns about the impac... Full story
The 300 students, 15 teachers, and three support staff of Sisters Middle School will have a new leader this fall. Eight-year Sisters school system veteran Lora Nordquist has been chosen as the interim principal, replacing Rich Shultz. Nordquist has been a language arts instructor, as well as district curriculum coordinator, at Sisters High School. She says she is prepared for the responsibility and the important contributions she can make at the middle school. "There are lots of studies that show good principals are part of t... Full story
Low bids to construct the Sisters waste treatment facility were accepted by the five-member Sisters City Council on Monday, July 17. Several key issues, however, remain to be resolved before contracts are prepared. According to City Administrator Barbara Warren, one of the losing bidders has filed a protest over the largest phase of the project. Warren said that R&G Excavating's low bid of $3,207,500 for the construction of the treatment plant and effluent disposal system is being contested by one of the losing bidders.... Full story
Sisters resident Mike Neary hopes to preserve the livability of the community through his new post on the Sisters City Council. Neary, the 56-year old owner of Oregon Log Homes, was appointed to the city council by Sisters Mayor Steve Wilson to serve out the remaining 2-1/2 years of the departing Maggie Hughes' term. In Neary, the council appears to have gained a strong proponent of growth with strong views on other major issues, such as transportation and affordable housing. Neary said he was originally attracted to the... Full story
The Sisters City Council will change city ordinances prohibiting the use and sale of fireworks within the city limits. Mayor Steve Wilson made the case for allowing fireworks stands and displays at the council's Thursday, July 13 meeting. "So many people were setting off fireworks this past July 4," he said, "that if we enforced the (current) law, we'd have needed to use school buses to haul them to warehouses." Wilson and other councilors noted that there had been little danger of a resulting fire in the celebration two... Full story
After decades of slow and measured increase, the City of Sisters and its surrounding community are undergoing explosive growth. In fact, within the 310 square-mile school district (which includes the city of Sisters), the population has jumped from 4,900 to 9,000 in 10 years. This increase of 4,100 residents represents a growth rate for the decade of 84 percent. Growth in the city itself, up to now, has been less heated than in the surrounding area. From 1960 until 1990, the city slowly increased from approximately 600 to... Full story
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on cell phone tower regulations on Wednesday, August 9, at 5:30 p.m. The hearing will address regulations for wireless telecommunications facilities and height exceptions for radio and other towers. The meeting will be held at the commissioners' hearing room at 1130 Harriman Street in Bend.... Full story
Sisters students out performed state averages in the four categories of academic skills measured by the state annual aptitude tests last year. In reading, writing, math, and math problem solving, Sisters area elementary, middle, and high school pupils met or exceeded the state standards at a rate higher than that of their statewide peers. The standardized aptitude tests are administered at the third, fifth, eighth, and 10th grades. The results of the first three years of testing are used to measure the progress of students... Full story
Housing activists are asking the Sisters City Council to address affordable housing needs in Sisters in the wake of a report which purports to show that Sisters' housing is less affordable than in the rest of Central Oregon. City Planner Neil Thompson attended the affordable housing conference held in Redmond at which the report was released. He told the council, "Frankly, I was pretty floored by what was said (about Sisters housing)." Thompson was alluding to material collected in the several-hundred page study of regional... Full story
Drivers approaching Sisters from the east and west along McKenzie Highway, and from the north along Santiam Highway, will soon face mandated lower speed limits. In a report accepted by the Sisters City Council at its June 22 meeting, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recommended the current speed limit of 55 miles per hour (mph) on the Santiam Highway (US 20, OR 126) , as it approaches Sisters, be lowered to 45 mph. The change will occur at a point approximately 6/10s of a mile north of Cascade Avenue and extend... Full story
After several weeks in which it flirted with eliminating all high and middle school sports funding, the Sisters School Board has settled on the middle road. On June 19, the five-member board decided to sever all middle school sports support. High school sports, however, will take less of a hit: 25 percent, or $40,500 will be cut. In making the decision, the board chose to let high school program and teaching reductions take effect in language arts, media, special education, health and physical education, industrial arts, and... Full story
Sisters business owners may go along with taking parking off Cascade Avenue to improve traffic flow -- but only if 100 parking spaces are found elsewhere. Parking concerns were raised as a caution flag at a workshop of the Citizens' Advisory Committee working on Sisters' Transportation System Plan on Tuesday, May 30. Bob Grooney, who owns The Gallimaufry on Cascade Avenue, cautioned that business support for change would most likely hinge on parking. "If we lose all those Cascade (parking) spaces, we'd need 100 or so on... Full story
Sisters schools may seek a local tax levy to rescue the cash-strapped district. The 10-member Sisters School Budget Committee, at its final meeting May 22, recommended the school board place a local option levy on the November ballot. Under the proposal, the board would seek a maximum annual levy of $500,000, for up to five years. According to School Superintendent Steve Swisher, that represents about $100,000 less than the maximum allowed under current law. Swisher estimated the taxpayer investment at 80 cents per $1,000 of... Full story
The Sisters school budget committee has recommended slashing over $75,000 from sports and approximately $100,000 from educational spending. But a large group of citizens attending the committee's final meeting on Monday, May 22, urged the committee to protect teachers and classes -- and cut all sports funding. Parent Gary Cundiff spoke first, and for many. "We moved to Sisters for the high quality of education our children would receive (not for sports)," he said. His daughter Jamie, a sophomore, added, "We have a higher... Full story
A steep budget shortfall and strong parental sentiment have pushed the Sisters School Board into considering cutting all sports programs -- including the reigning state championship 3A football team program. Over 50 onlookers jammed the budget committee's final meeting last night. The overwhelming majority of those who spoke demanded that the sports budget of $164,000 be sacrificed to retain teachers and ensure smaller classes. Mike Gould, father of three children echoed the sentiments of many. "I lettered in 10 sports in... Full story
The necessity for daily trips to the Sisters post office may soon be eliminated. United States Post Office Senior Clerk Shanna Sproat told the city council Thursday night, May 11, that all 1,860 Sisters branch post office boxes are taken, leaving newly arrived residents with a minimum wait of several months for a mail box. Sproat says the consequent heavy use of general delivery has inundated the post office and "creates havoc, especially for some business customers." Councilors are considering the possible solution of home... Full story
