News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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As the seasons turn to fall and winter in Sisters Country, we head indoors. But that doesn't mean we have to leave beautiful greenery behind. The newly opened Inscape Plant Co. gives folks in Sisters myriad ways to bring natural beauty indoors with them. Filling your home space with indoor plants has many benefits. "I think it adds an element of beauty and design," says Danielle Durham, proprietress of Inscape Plant Co. "And there's a lot of health benefits in terms of air... Full story
Last week, Sisters marked Veterans Day observances, Americans’ annual opportunity to honor those who have served the country in our armed forces. Sisters students met with veterans and celebrated their service in assemblies (see “Roundabout Sisters,” page 3). Bend hosted its always-impressive Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 11. What Americans know as Veterans Day grew out of solemn observations of Armistice Day, marking the moment when the guns fell silent on the W... Full story
There is a unanimous consensus on the Sisters City Council that the City needs to plan for expansion of its urban growth boundary (UGB) — though where and how much remains to be determined. All five councilors concurred in a work session on November 8 that Sisters Community Development Director Scott Woodford should move ahead with a request for proposal to bring in a consultant to nail down the details of a possible UGB expansion. All agreed that such planning is prudent, a... Full story
Central Oregon is a dream destination for people from around the world. Paradoxically, the region is also full of people who love to travel. Maybe the spirit of adventure is what brought them here in the first place - and it continues to burn brightly. When we think of "adventure travel" we tend to imagine zip-lining across mountain canyons, or trekking into deserts and rainforests in some remote part of the globe. And if climbing mountains, rafting streams, and trekking in re...
It's the classic entrepreneurial scenario: a man with a certain set of skills sees a need and sets about filling it. It was all Ginger's doing. Ginger was John Acree's English Bulldog. She went through a lot of dog beds. "Ginger was just so hard on them," Acree recalled. He knew that there had to be a way to make dog beds durable enough to stand up to Ginger. "I started tinkering with them and taking the bed apart," he said. Acree had a background well-suited to improving an...
When Sanoma Blakeley and her horse Goober crossed the finish line in the grueling Tevis Cup Ride endurance race in 2019, she fulfilled a dream she'd held since childhood. Recounting the dramatic tale of that exceptional victory has opened up other trails and other adventures to the Terrebonne equestrienne. Blakeley was 18 years old when she won the 100-mile Western States Trail Ride endurance race that starts in Tahoe and climbs over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to end in...
Nugget Special Publications Leith Easterling is the longest-serving member of The Nugget team, with more than three decades in a variety of roles at the newspaper. Currently, she handles bookkeeping, designs ads, and platoons with Jess Draper on layout of the newspaper. She is the project manager and designer of the annual Sisters Oregon Guide. Forty thousand copies of what we call SOG go out across the region to act as a guide for tourists, long-term visitors and prospective...
The word avanza in Spanish means to move forward, progress, or to advance. The Sisters School District celebrated that forward progress at the monthly school board meeting on Wednesday, November 1, honoring Olivia Trotter and Mariana Luna for their demonstration of high levels of proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The students are also successful in their core content classes. Trotter and Luna each received a certificate and a $100 gift... Full story
The Sisters Outlaws Mountain Bike Team pedaled to a fourth-place finish in State competition this fall - an outstanding result considering that the team has only five high school riders. Coach Jon Fogarty has been building the program since its inaugural season in 2022, when they didn't field enough high school riders to represent their school. They started with 10 total - four middle school and six high school riders. One dropped out, but that still left enough to represent... Full story
A brand-new Sisters Ranger Station will begin to rise from the forest floor at the west end of Sisters, starting with groundbreaking on the headquarters site this month. The new building is expected to be completed in 2025. The building contract was awarded in September. This new Ranger Station will replace the current one that was built in 1962, rising on the same parcel of land. The new building will be designed for a 21st century workforce that requires increased... Full story
The City of Sisters is starting to tackle the key issue facing Sisters over the coming decades: How will the city accommodate significant expected growth? Population projections from Portland State University say that the population inside the city limits will hit 7,108 in 2043 - more than double the current population of 3,475. Sisters currently does not have room to accommodate that kind of population. Sisters Community Development Director Scott Woodford, the State of... Full story
Five young drivers from Sisters High School ran through a driving course set up by Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) personnel in the high school parking lot on Friday, October 27. Under the supervision of deputies, they sped through a lane of cones, then braked, getting a feel for just how long it takes to bring a vehicle to a stop. Deputies went over fundamentals of winter driving. They also worked on backing skills. "Backing is the number-one situation where we... Full story
Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District was built by volunteers - people who stepped up to fill needs from fighting fires to building fire stations. The Fire District is honoring those who helped make the Fire District what it is today with a permanent plaque honoring long-time volunteer service. The plaque, mounted at the entrance to the Fire Hall at 302 S. Elm St., was unveiled in a ceremony on Friday afternoon, October 27. The inaugural honorees are Tom Haynes, Chuck Newport, Ri... Full story
As a Realtor for Avenir Realty, Stephen Saunders is committed to giving his clients outstanding concierge service in their real estate transactions. He's even more passionate about working with those clients to enhance the well-being of Sisters through an innovative community giveback program. The program came out of Saunders' brainstorming, "how can we work together to solve our problems (in a way) that doesn't depend on a tax base? I can start it with my business, one... Full story
"I found an invertebrate!" a sixth-grade girl cried out, bringing her net dipper to the lake-shore at Camp Tamarack, west of Sisters near Suttle Lake. She dropped her find into an ice cube tray where specimens from the water were collected. Meanwhile, on the ridge above the camp, other students were gathering pine cones and observing their state of decomposition, learning how forest materials live, die, and cycle back into the soil. This was Outdoor School (ODS) 2023, the... Full story
Construction of a new roundabout at Locust Street and Highway 20 is still set to get underway in March 2024, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Central Oregon Region Manager Bob Townsend told the Sisters City Council in a workshop on Wednesday, October 11. ODOT's $5 million in state transportation improvement funds - which will combine with $1.425 million from the City of Sisters, and $1 million from Deschutes County - are secure, despite ODOT's current funding crisis... Full story
The explosion of intense violence in Israel is a savage spasm in a long-standing frontier conflict. It is often said that “they’ve been fighting each other there for thousands of years,” but that’s not really an accurate depiction of the conflict between Jews and Palestinian Arabs in the land that is now the state of Israel. The current conflict has its roots in the 19th century, in the Zionist movement, which sought to establish a Jewish homeland in a Middle East then un... Full story
Across the nation, there is rising concern about the negative impacts of loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness and isolation affect older people whose connections to community have withered, and young people who struggle to find their place in the world. Studies have shown that working-age men in particular have a difficult time forming friendships. Some have observed that habits fallen into during COVID-19 lockdowns have persisted, making it harder for people to engage... Full story
The Sisters City Council affirmed a commitment to preserving Sisters’ dark skies during their workshop on Wednesday, October 11. City of Sisters planning staff is working on a revised dark skies ordinance, and sought input from the Council on some key courses of action. A draft ordinance is expected to come before the City Council for approval soon. Councilors agreed that public lighting — street lights and lights on public buildings — should not be exempt in the ordin... Full story
Only the lonely Know the way I feel tonight Only the lonely Know this feeling ain’t right — Roy Orbison Loneliness is a melancholy theme in generations of songs. It’s not just a trope, though — it’s a serious matter. If the Surgeon General of the United States is right, it’s a major health threat: “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling — it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depr... Full story
Spencer McCullough is on a mission to visit every national park in the Lower 48 on one continuous bicycle trip. According to the stats he posts on his website (https://onelongtrip.bike) he's visited 19 out of 51 parks, traveling 7,856 miles - with seven flat tires along the way. McCullough stopped in Sisters on Tuesday, October 3, on his way to Crater Lake National Park. He has a couple or purposes in mind with his trip. One is personal: He wants to see the bounty of the... Full story
Sisters has a hidden gem for those who like to test their skills on two wheels. Bike Park 242 is located just off the McKenzie Highway (242) adjacent to the Sisters Park & Recreation Coffield Center, at the west end of the Sisters High School parking lot. Not a lot of folks know it's there. That will change this weekend, as volunteers who have sunk hours of work and a substantial chunk of grant money into reviving and improving the park will host a grand opening. Riders are... Full story
A friend of mine wore a T-shirt the other day exhorting us to "Keep Calm and Circus On." It struck me as an apt slogan for the times, for surely we are living in a circus - though perhaps not the kind my friend adores. Our republic is careening in a clown car toward a presidential election rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden that a substantial plurality of Americans - or a clear majority depending on how you look at the data - don't want. A recent NBC poll shows Biden... Full story
A substantial contingent of residents turned out on a drippy Friday afternoon, September 29, to mark the renaming of their neighborhood. The subdivision off of Wilt Road north of Sisters formerly known as Squaw Creek Canyon Estates is now officially Whychus Canyon Estates. The neighbors unveiled an updated and restored neighborhood sign in an informal observance on Friday. The change lines the neighborhood up with the name of the canyon and creek it overlooks. Squaw Creek was... Full story
Sisters Middle School (SMS) is modifying its Outdoor School program, which runs October 16-18 at Camp Tamarack west of Sisters. In response to a variety of parent concerns, the school is offering an option for students to attend only during the day rather than staying overnight, and the opportunity for parent volunteers to stay overnight at the camp, according to SMS Principal Tim Roth. Last year, the Outdoor School experience became a focus of controversy when the Culver Scho... Full story
