News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 3925
My favorite newspaper? I reckon I've put out about 1,500 editions of The Nugget over the past three decades - and the August 28 edition has to be one of my favorite issues ever. Mostly that's down to the element that makes Sisters a cool place to live and do business: people. This edition holds our quarterly feature section, Neighbors - this one with a Labor Day theme of "Neighbors at Work." It's a privilege and a pleasure to highlight people not because they did something...
When it comes to law enforcement priorities and policies, there is not a lot that separates the two candidates for Deschutes County Sheriff. But Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp are sharply divided over culture and morale within the agency. The candidates participated in a League of Women Voters-sponsored forum in Bend on Monday, September 23, where they fielded questions submitted earlier by the public on issues ranging from homelessness to guns to the con... Full story
The world of the 21st century is driven by high technology. It pervades almost every aspect of our lives, from shopping and banking, to communication, to operating our cars and appliances. From cell phones and social media apps to work computers, we spend an increasingly large part of each day interacting with a screen. Sometimes it feels like technology runs us, instead of us running technology. And that leaves many people craving simpler, more grounded life-ways. Those...
When Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp squared off to run for Deschutes County Sheriff after Shane Nelson announced his retirement, my initial reaction was that voters would have a choice between two capable men with different but impressive backgrounds and skillsets, either of whom are well-positioned to lead their agency into a demanding future. Vander Kamp has done stellar work as the leader of field operations for the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement... Full story
Rosie Horton remembers being "petrified" on her first day working at Common Threads back in 1988. She realized that working in the clothing store founded by Cathi Howells in 1985 was going to be a lot more than simply showing up and acting as a retail clerk. It was a professional job, with high expectations for product knowledge and customer service. But Horton rose to the occasion - so completely that she would become the manager of the store, then its owner, and guide it... Full story
October 19, 1987, was the worst day of Greg Donaldson's professional life. On that day, known to history as Black Monday, the stock market suddenly cratered, in a one-day plunge that pulled down the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 22.6 percent, and wiped out $1.71 trillion in wealth. Donaldson was sure that it had wiped out his small investment firm, too. That's not what happened. In fact, the week following Black Monday marked a sea change in Donaldson's understanding of his... Full story
Cathy Covell has always had the urge to travel. Covell is a physical therapist who specializes in myofascial release. She travels the country with her horses and her dogs, filling in at clinics that need an extra pair of hands or some vacation relief. This summer, she landed for a while in Sisters, at Green Ridge Physical Therapy. A native of Indiana, Covell first encountered Sisters while working a stint at a practice in Eugene. She headed over the mountains and set herself... Full story
As we mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, a new congressional report on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan strikes an especially ominous note. The 9/11 attacks by al Qaeda had their origin in the safe-haven of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Twenty-plus years on, after a vast expenditure of blood and treasure, the Taliban controls Afghanistan again, and that troubled land once again offers safe haven to... Full story
The intensity level of the race for Deschutes County Sheriff ratcheted up last week, as candidate Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp filed a tort claim notice — notice of a potential lawsuit — against the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office administration, alleging ongoing targeting, harassment, and election interference. Sgt. Vander Kamp, who serves on the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE), is running against Captain William Bailey, the candidate endorsed by retiring Sheri... Full story
Sisters' new elementary school is ready to take on students for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The $33.8 million project, funded by bonds approved by voters in 2021, came in on time and on budget, despite increases in construction and materials costs. Students were to walk through its doors for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 3. "We've got a few things left to do," said Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl. "We're behind on landscaping." The playing field st... Full story
When Emily Halnon's mother died of a rare uterine cancer at the age of 66, Emily knew she wanted to do "something monumental" to pay tribute to her mother's adventurous and courageous spirit - and to process her own grief. Halnon - an accomplished ultra-runner (extreme long distance) - was determined to try to break the record for the fastest known time by a woman on the Pacific Crest Trail's 460 miles across Oregon. That journey - and the journey through grief - are... Full story
History offers little comfort to those who approach it honestly, seeking to truly understand what happened and why. When history deeply informs the course of contemporary events, it is often weaponized to promote a moral case for one side or another in a conflict. But then it’s not really history — it’s mere fodder for propaganda. Such is the case in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and such is the case in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both conflicts have deep roots... Full story
Jeri Fouts and her son Ryan Burbank were on the 24th floor of the Westin Downtown Hotel in Dallas, Texas, last Friday, August 23, waiting for an elevator to take them down to a birthday dinner with a family friend. They waited. And waited. "We almost considered walking down because we were going to miss the dinner," Jeri recalled. Finally, an elevator pinged, and a door opened onto an express elevator filled with football players from the Los Angeles Chargers. Jeri and Ryan st... Full story
Ann Ford knows a thing or two about senior living establishments. She managed three of them, including a memory care facility in Bend. Now she's a resident at Sisters Senior Living (formerly known as The Lodge in Sisters) - and she chose the place for one reason in particular: Alea Schliep. Alea is the life enrichment coordinator at the senior living home on Larch Street at the north end of Sisters. "I'm the one who basically creates the fun," she said. And creating that fun...
Anita Gail Jones loves book festivals. "It's fun to meet readers," she said. "People who go to book festivals love books, so you're really with your people when you go to book festivals." Jones is among the roster of authors who will offer readings and discussion at the Sisters Festival of Books September 13-15. Jones is the author of "The Peach Seed," recently long-listed for the Crook's Corner Book Prize. The novel is set in Albany, Georgia, where an under-recognized... Full story
Sheriff Shane Nelson announced last week that Captain Paul Garrison had been named Undersheriff in the midst of an election that pits two current Deschutes County Sheriff's Office personnel against each other. In a message posted to Facebook, Sheriff Nelson said, "The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office has two internal candidates for the Office of Sheriff, Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp. Like many political matters, this dynamic can be divisive for our... Full story
For the second time in the space of a week, a wreck closed a major highway into Sisters from the east. A three-car pile-up on Highway 126, at the intersection with Camp Polk Road near Aspen Lakes, blocked traffic for a time in the late afternoon of Friday, August 23. Cloverdale Fire District personnel responded, along with an ambulance crew from Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District. According to Captain Travis Bootes of the Cloverdale District, one woman was transported to the... Full story
"A perfect day for my birthday!" Gerry Jimerson proclaimed on Saturday, August 17, as she stood next to Sam, who had just taken her on a nine-mile trail ride out of Sisters Cow Camp. A day in the saddle and an afternoon relaxing with friends at Sisters Cow Camp is as fitting a celebration of a 91st birthday as it is possible to have for a woman who has spent her life in the saddle - and decades maintaining trails and camps in Sisters Country. Jimerson has taken the lead on... Full story
Art lovers across Central Oregon are preparing for a feast of top-tier art in a wide range of media as Art in the High Desert returns to Bend August 23-25. The show will run Friday evening through Sunday afternoon at Riverbend Park across from the Old Mill District. The venue marks a return to Bend after 2023's show ran in Redmond, a development welcomed by both organizers and patrons. "Bend is where we've been for so many years, it seemed like the right place," said board... Full story
Jacob deSmet started painting houses and refinishing decks during college at George Fox University, where he was pursuing a degree in business management. He enjoyed the work, and when he had finished school, he decided to combine his educational background with the work he'd found a knack for, and he launched his own painting company. He joined his family in a move to Sisters, and brought Peak Performance Painting with him. "I do interior and exterior painting and I also do d...
My 5.11 Tactical Rush72 2.0 pack — a fabulous piece of gear, BTW — proudly bears a morale patch that proclaims “ I Cannot Live Without Books.” Truer words never rode on nylon and velcro. The forthcoming Sisters Festival of Books (see story) got me thinking about my relationship with books. Reading made me who I am. I’m sitting at my desk at The Nugget banging out this string of words on a keyboard because some time around 12 or 13 years old I read things that made me say to... Full story
When Marilyn and I pulled into Sisters in October of 1993, one of the first things I did was stop in at Paulina Springs Books. There, I picked up a book titled “Legends of the Fall” by Jim Harrison. It’s a collection of three novellas: the title story, about three brothers entwined in tragedy in Montana in the years around World War I; “Revenge,” a tale of love and betrayal in Mexico, and “The Man Who Gave Up His Name,” the story of a man who upends his life in search of his... Full story
The music of Led Zeppelin will thunder and roar across downtown Sisters on Saturday night as Hardtails Bar & Grill hosts Valhalla, a tribute to one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music. Vocalist Larry Smith told The Nugget, "We have the privilege and honor to do probably the best band that ever existed." Recreating the potent sound of Led Zeppelin is no easy task. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham each brought unique elements to... Full story
John Grant and Jim Cunningham have walked in each others' tracks over 50 years of service. The two men were squadron mates in special air operations during the Vietnam War. Both went on to careers as pilots for United Airlines, and both continued to serve in the military - Cunningham in the Oregon Air National Guard, Grant with the U.S. Air Force Reserves. "He went into the Reserves, I went to the Guard - that's the only difference as far as our service went," Cunningham told... Full story
Last Thursday, I got a message from a man who had submitted a letter to the editor a couple of weeks ago. He was disappointed that we ran a letter in response to his that — in a negatively personal way — dismissed his substantive argument essentially as “drinking the Koolaide,” referring to the 1979 mass suicide of the Jonestown cult in Guyana. That kind of hyperbole has become so common that we get desensitized to it. It’s over the top — and not much of a contribution to an a... Full story
