News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 78
The Oregon Court of Appeals last week dealt a blow to Central Electric Cooperative's (CEC) plans to upgrade its power lines feeding into the Sisters community. The court upheld an earlier opinion from the Land Use Board of Appeals that CEC is not acting under a "lawful requirement" to improve its power lines, which run across land owned by the Cyrus family of Sisters. CEC is itself proposing the improvement; it is not being demanded by a government authority. "No authority, lawfully or otherwise, has called on CEC to make... Full story
David Jacobs-Strain. photo provided David Jacobs-Strain has no problem dazzling audiences and critics alike with his fluid and passionate acoustic guitar chops. They've earned him notice by Guitar One Magazine as one of "Ten Guitarists on the Brink of Greatness." And the devotion of such a young man -- still in college at Stanford University -- to a venerable folk form like acoustic country blues has subjected him to worn out, double-edged accolades like "child blues prodigy." What David Jacobs-Strain has shown on his new CD... Full story
Chase Kleint is off to Cooperstown. photo by Jim Cornelius Chase Kleint of Sisters would like to make the Big Leagues someday. Whatever the future holds, the 12-year-old centerfielder can say he made it to the baseball Hall of Fame. Kleint has been selected as a member of an Oregon club team that will compete this fall in the Cooperstown Dreamspark National Invitational tournament of Champions in Cooperstown, New York, home of baseball's Hall of Fame. Selection to the Portland-based Metro Baseball Academy team is a signal... Full story
Kerani Mitchell and her students. photo provided Kerani Mitchell had always wanted to travel to India, the land of her birth. This summer, after graduating from Sisters High School, the 18-year-old Sisters woman fulfilled that wish, spending four weeks teaching English in a government (public) school in the town of Rajgarh, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in the north-central highlands. "I taught English in the primary school -- first- through fifth-graders, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.," Mitchell said. The... Full story
Cathi Wright with "Luna" (formerly "Sweetie Pie"). photo by Jim Cornelius "Sweetie Pie," the great horned owl rehabilitated by Gary Landers of Sisters and donated to the Oregon Zoo, is doing well in her new surroundings. The owl is out of quarantine and is gradually growing accustomed to living with the other birds featured in the zoo's educational exhibits. Handlers are working with the owl to prepare her to become an "education bird," replacing the beloved "Hooter," another great horned owl who died of a heart attack last... Full story
Agnes Warren dishes up marionberry cobbler at the fair. photo by Jim Cornelius Though thunder clouds loomed overhead, nothing could dampen the spirits of the hundreds of local folks and visitors who turned out for the ninth annual Country Fair at Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration. A large cadre of volunteers was highly visible in red aprons -- taking food orders, turning plump hot dogs on the grill, dishing up marionberry cobbler and keeping events running smoothly. Roger Gabrielson handled sound reinforcement... Full story
Sisters students continued to beat statewide scores on Oregon State Assessment tests in reading and math this year. Test scores were released last week. Considerably more Sisters students in third, fifth, eighth and 10th grade meet or exceed state standards than the statewide average and fewer students fall short of the bar (see scores on below). Sisters School District curriculum director Lora Nordquist told the school board Monday night that more complete analysis of students' performance will be available in October. She... Full story
Frank Duyshart is fighting to save his son, who remains in a coma at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend after a horrific head-on collision on Highway 20 between Sisters and Bend on Monday, June 28. Jonathan Duyshart, 21, driving a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, crossed the center line into the westbound lane and struck an oncoming 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer, killing all three occupants and leaving Duyshart in critical condition. According to Frank Duyshart, his son suffered "a shearing injury to the brain." Doctors at St. Charles... Full story
A Sisters firefighter mops up on a structure fire. photo provided Sisters firefighters got a handle on a house fire northeast of Sisters on Tuesday, July 27, before it got out of hand and spread to the surrounding woods and homes. According to Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District officials, the fire was started by a smouldering cigarette. The blaze burned the deck off the home at 68929 Bay Place, east of the Sisters Airport. The flames scorched the siding of the house and heat broke windows, but the fire did... Full story
Buzzy Castognay (right) with outgoing administrator Dan Cole. photo by Jim Cornelius Some 111 students at Sonrise Christian School will attend classes at the private Sisters K-7 academy under the guidance of a new administrator. Buzzy Castognay of Phoenix, Arizona is taking the reins from Dan Cole, who has led the fast-growing school for the past three years. Cole is taking a position with a new school developing a campus in Bakersfield, California. Castognay learned of the Sonrise position through mutual friends of his... Full story
The algae-related health advisory at Suttle Lake that had kept vacationers out of the water -- and away from campsites and the lakeside resort -- has been lifted. Swimmers and boaters were back in the water over the weekend, according to Tammy Patterson at The Lodge at Suttle Lake. "It's been beautiful over the weekend," she said. "The water's clear and swimmers and everybody are in the water." Kris Martinson of the Sisters Ranger District confirmed that the health advisory had been lifted because "the level of algae in the l... Full story
Grading has been completed on Sisters' new ball field complex. Little League parents and volunteers hope to get the fields seeded with grass soon. photo by Jim Cornelius Little League parents and volunteers are working at a furious pace to get the fields seeded during the peak summer growing season. Robinson & Owen Construction of Sisters completed grading of the four-field complex last week, according to league vice president Brian Witt. "They're donating all their heavy equipment and doing all the grading work for free,"... Full story
Skaters are trying to get off the streets and sidewalks. photo by Jim Cornelius Sisters business owners don't want them using their porches and railings for stunts. Pedestrians -- and local sheriff's deputies -- don't want them on the sidewalks. In recent weeks, young Sisters skaterboarders have begun hunting for an alternative to riding on the streets and sidewalks where they are not welcome. "We're really hoping to get a skate park here so that people don't yell at us on the sidewalks and store owners don't yell at us,"... Full story
Deb and Tom Hainisch with Spiriano Khunguni. photo by Jim Cornelius When Tom and Deb Hainisch decided to get married at Black Butte Ranch, they knew they would have to include a special friend. The couple met in Malawi, Africa, where Tom, a Peace Corps volunteer, worked closely with Spiriano Khunguni, a local assistant to the Ministry of Health. Deb was a teacher and the trio became fast friends. "Khunguni was good to us," Tom said. "He taught us a lot about the culture and introduced us to a lot of people," Tom said.... Full story
Those who dream of one day seeing steelhead and perhaps even Chinook salmon in Squaw Creek as it runs through Sisters will mark Tuesday, July 13, as an historic day. Some 22 parties including Portland General Electric (PGE), the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the U.S. Forest Service, Sisters Ranger District, were to sign a landmark Pelton-Round Butte Dam relicensing agreement on Tuesday that will make it possible to restore historic fish runs in Squaw Creek and other tributaries of the Deschutes River. The dam... Full story
Sisters developer Shane Lundgren and a group of investors called Dutch Pacific have purchased approximately 40 acres of industrial land at the north end of Sisters. The parcel includes land formerly owned by Multnomah Publishers. Multnomah had intended to develop a "campus" on the property. The development group also purchased Conklin's Guest House. The purchase price for the former Multnomah property was $2,235,000 and the approximately four-acre Conklin's Guest House parcel sold for just over $1 million, according to Steve... Full story
Teachers in Sisters schools will get a 2 percent pay hike next year under a new contract ratified by the school board Monday night. The pay boost will, however, be largely nullified if the board cuts five days off the end of next school year as it is authorized to do by the contract. The board has previously acknowledged that next year's budget is based on the assumption that those days will be cut in the face of tight state funding. The contract also calls for the district to cover $708.75 of teachers' insurance premiums.... Full story
The local option tax levy that has kept Sisters schools operating since voters approved it in November 2000 will run out at the end of the next school year. The more than $700,000 provided by the local tax of 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation is a vital part of the school district budget. So the question becomes, when to ask voters for a renewal. The board has three options: next November, March or May. Board member Jeff Smith urged his colleagues Monday night to weigh the decision carefully. In November, the... Full story
Sisters native Lee Ingham has worked as an engineer for the oil producer Aramco in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade. And, despite recent terrorist attacks on western oil workers and the beheading of American arms industry consultant Paul Johnson, Ingham will stay in the country. Ingham acknowledged in an interview with The Nugget that many westerners with whom he has worked are leaving -- "moreso than ever before." But there's more involved than fear of al Qaeda terrorism and U.S. government advisories to get out of Saudi... Full story
Shoppers inspect the wares at the Sisters Summer Faire. photo by Jim Cornelius Sisters was bustling with activity during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The newly-minted Sisters Summer Faire drew large crowds both Saturday and Sunday, promoting Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce event organizers to rate the first-time two-day event a success. The craft fair replaced the traditional one-day Village Green Saturday Market that had become a Sisters tradition during the summer months. According to Jeri Buckmann, events... Full story
Ted Thonstad will become Sisters' new school superintendent this summer. "The Sisters School District has unanimously agreed to hire Ted Thonstad as our superintendent," School Board Vice Chairman Bill Reed said on Monday, June 28. Thonstad is currently serving as superintendent of schools in Condon. According to Reed, Thonstad will transition from his duties there to Sisters over the summer, being in the Sisters district part-time in July and coming on board full-time sometime in August. "We do not have a signed contract at... Full story
Gary Landers hands "Sweetie Pie" over to Cathi Wright of the Oregon Zoo. photo by Jim Cornelius The great horned owl was feeding on road kill on Century Drive when the passing car struck the bird, breaking it's wing, tearing the iris of the right eye and giving the owl a concussion. Picked up by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, the bird found a temporary home at the only facility licensed to rehabilitate birds of prey in Central Oregon -- Gary Landers' facility in Sisters. On Friday, June 25, the owl, now... Full story
The hike is magnificent -- the views of the Three Sisters are spectacular, the wildflowers are beautiful, the breeze off the lake is soothing. Pleasantly tired, you come off the trail with your boots crunching on the gravel of the trailhead parking area. Then you see it -- the glint of shattered glass where your driver's-side window used to be. Your car has been ransacked; the stereo and CDs are gone; the coat you decided not to take with you is missing. Worst of all, your purse with your credit cards and cash has been... Full story
Ben Coffield unveiled the sign honoring his father. photo by Jim Cornelius Tom Coffield spent much of Friday afternoon, June 25, guiding tours of the recently-opened SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) facility near Sisters High School. Then, in an emotionally charged ceremony, the SOAR executive director found out that his name will be on the recreation building -- in honor of his service to the organization, which is approaching its 10th annniversary in Sisters. Coffield's son Ben and current SOAR... Full story
After an extensive series of interviews on Friday and Saturday, June 18-19, the Sisters School Board has narrowed the field in its search for a new superintendent of schools. On Friday, June 25, the Sisters School District will host a public reception at Sisters Middle School in the Lecture/Drama Room from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to provide the community with an opportunity to meet the finalists. Community members will have an opportunity to visit with the candidates and ask questions in an informal setting. Light refreshments will... Full story
