News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Willy Porter displays his prowess in guitar. photo by Lynn Woodward By all standards this year's Sisters Folk Festival was a success. The weather held up (only a few raindrops), the performers were spectacular, the spectators were appreciative, the organizers were organized. Not much was heard about the couplet or McDonald's. People were too busy shuttling between the venues of the Folk Festival. The focus was on music. The first performer on Friday, September 10, Chuck Pyle, got the audience in the mood with his mellow,... Full story
Alastair Moock, songwriter. photo by Jim Mitchell After being challenged by 149 other songwriters, then going head-to-head with four other finalists, Alastair Moock emerged as the winner of the Sisters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest on Saturday, September 11. Moock, from Boston, Masachusetts, won out over some tough competition with a wide range of experience. He received a $700 cash prize for his efforts. The other finalists were Jim Faddis (Nine Mile Falls, Washington), Elisa Korenne (Brooklyn, New York), Claudia... Full story
Volunteers sort donated Columbia Sportswear clothing. photo by Jim Mitchell Early Saturday morning a line starting forming outside Sisters Elementary School. They were not waiting for one of the Folk Festival acts. They were waiting for winter clothing. The third annual giveaway of Columbia Sportswear outerwear and footwear was about to begin. Within 40 minutes, over 250 people, including 20 under the age of five, had received a free jacket and/or boots to help them through the winter. This year's giveaway began last fall... Full story
Benji Nagel, left, works with mentor Chuck Pyle. photo by Jim Mitchell In its third year, the Americana Song Academy is a hands-on school for aspiring song writers. This year Steve Seskin, Eliza Gilkyson, and Chuck Pyle, instructed the program. Held at Cascadia Ranch outside Sisters, the "camp" has grown from 12 to 35 students. Classroom instruction and individual mentoring were combined with free time in which to write and sing new songs. According to Festival Artistic Director Brad Tisdel, "It's a really empowering... Full story
Couplet plans call for relieving Cascade Avenue. The couplet question is not if; it is how. This statement quieted initial resistance to a one-way couplet in Sisters at the second public hearing, held at Sisters Elementary School on Tuesday, August 31. According to Eileen Stein, City Manager, the Oregon Highway Plan calls for specific steps to consider regarding major highway improvements. All initial steps must be exhausted before the next level of priority can be addressed, i.e., a couplet must be thoroughly investigated be... Full story
Sharlene Weed. photo by Jim Mitchell No time was wasted at the Thursday, August 26, Sisters City Council meeting to seat Sharlene Weed as the latest city councilor. In fact, by the time City Attorney, Steve Bryant, finished the swearing-in, Weed's nameplate was in position and she had taken her seat on the dais. Weed was selected unanimously by the Sisters City Council to fill the vacancy left by Deb Kollodge's resignation. Judy Trego had previously been elected to Kollodge's position as Council President. Weed's service to t... Full story
A staged "arrest" that will be used for TAP anti-drinking ads. photo by Jim Mitchell Sisters teens drink. Yet many parents prefer to think that the problems associated with teens and alcohol won't affect their kid. A community activist group wants to get parents to think again about that assumption. The group calls itself TAP: for "Think Again Parents." Formerly known as the Community Assets Coalition Committee, the group looked for a more descriptive and dynamic name with an easily recognized acronym. Al Boyette, committee... Full story
Juniper strides out near the McKenzie Summit. photo by Jim Mitchell Today is the projected date for Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers "Nacho" and "Pepper" to arrive at the Canadian border after 2,650 miles on foot from Mexico (see profile in The Nugget, August 4, page 4). Kathleen Hurly ("Juniper"), from Bellingham, Washington, isn't trying to match their pace. Juniper started from Mexico on April 25, the same day as Pepper. She just hit Sisters last week. Juniper said, "Those two guys, they are fast hikers. They really go."... Full story
Traffic in downtown Sisters -- both vehicle and pedestrian -- remains a controversial issue for residents and business owners. They will weigh in on the subject at a public workshop. photo by Jim Cornelius Sisters area residents will have another chance to weigh in on a proposed one-way couplet on Tuesday, August 31, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Sisters Elementary School. Over the last several months, City of Sisters staff and consultants along with a local Couplet Advisory Committee and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT),... Full story
Sisters just lost 941 people -- in the year 2025. A challenge before the Deschutes County Commissioners has prompted Sisters to revise its method of population forecasting, dropping the projected population from 4,688 to 3,747 for the year 2025. Oregon statutes require Deschutes County to establish and maintain a population forecast for the county as well as to coordinate the forecast with local governments within its boundaries. In 1998 the City of Sisters participated with the cities of Bend and Redmond and Deschutes... Full story
Jeff Taylor is ready to accept donations of school supplies for Sisters kids. photo by Jim Mitchell Sisters' Les Schwab Taylor Tire Center has an empty truck-bed tool box. It needs to be filled with supplies for school-age children, grades K-12. Sisters Family Access Network (FAN) is overseeing the collection of supplies for needy youth in our community. Especially needed are college ruled notebook paper and spiral notebooks. Other requested supplies include pencils, glue sticks, Kleenex, waterless hand sanitizer and more.... Full story
Cutting a wider roadway... and holding up traffic. photo by Jim Mitchell Drivers on Camp Polk Road can expect delays for the next two months. Deschutes County road crews started a widening project, complete with flaggers, on Monday morning, August 9. The project began at Wilt Road and will extend to East Cascade Avenue in Sisters. According to county engineer George Kolb, county maintenance crews will widen the roadway to a full 32 feet -- an 11-foot automobile lane and a five-foot bike lane in each direction. Upon... Full story
Sisters Rotary Club would like to enhance this piece of ground. photo by Jim Mitchell The Sisters Rotary Club has requested permission from the Sisters City Council to construct and maintain a small park at the west end of town at the reconstructed Highway 20/242 intersection. A small triangle of non-highway was left at the intersection. In addition to the "Welcome to Sisters" sign, Rotary envisions including "lighting, landscaping with shrubbery and an automatic sprinkler system, a couple of benches with pavers and two... Full story
The Hearth Building at Caldera. photo by Jim Mitchell Last weekend was a busy one at Caldera, a 90-acre artist retreat on Blue Lake. Saturday marked the "graduation" of the first DISCOVERY class of the season. About 40 at-risk middle-school students from Portland and Central Oregon were exposed to experiences in the arts and the outdoors. A non-profit organization, Caldera was put together by Portland advertising executive Dan Wieden. There is no charge to the campers. All of the costs are paid through charitable donations. C... Full story
Jim Hanson tunes a piano. photo by Jim Mitchell Taylor Del Guidice doesn't have to look far to find a place to practice on the piano. Last week the third piano of the Sisters Jazz Festival Keys for Kids program was delivered to the eighth grader's home. This was the first upright piano to become available through the program via Jim Hanson, who refurbishes, tunes and delivers them. The previous two pianos, both baby grands, went to Sisters High School and SOAR. Although the original intent of the Keys for Kids program was to... Full story
Kit Stafford with art camp student. photo by Jim Mitchell The Caldera Arts Discovery class is an arts program at Sisters Middle School with a focus on the arts, the environment, and creative problem solving. The class offers support to the Caldera Discovery program conducted during the summer at Blue Lake. Taught by Kit Stafford, the class has served up to 60 students each of the last three years. The program has been well received by students and the school administration with improvements in student attendance, academics an... Full story
Full Timers President Bud Dabney presents a food bank donation to Sisters Kiwanis President Glenn Keeran. photo by Jim Mitchell Last weekend, 47 full-time motorhome owners from around the country set up in Sisters' Mountain Shadow RV Park prior to visiting the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA ) International Convention in Redmond on August 16-19. The convention will draw more than 5,000 of the luxury travel coaches to the Deschutes Country Fair and Expo Center. This is down from 8,000 in the past. According to Bob Smith,... Full story
Cal Allen, left, and Ed Fitzjarrell take their swings during the qualifying round. photo by Jim Mitchell Five years ago Bill Duehren asked the Kiwanis Club of Sisters to support a $1 Million Hole-In-One contest. He wanted the proceeds to be dedicated to construction of new Little League baseball fields in Sisters. The membership approved the idea for a five-year run and Duehren added another chairmanship to his already busy Kiwanis schedule. He was also chairman of the annual golf tournament, the club's largest fund-raiser... Full story
Nacho and Pepper pause on the trail. photo by Jim Mitchell For many, Sisters is a slow spot in an otherwise speedy drive. For two young men last week Sisters was a slow, and welcome, spot in a speedy walk. The men, who call themselves Nacho and Pepper, started north on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Campo, Mexico, on April 25 and April 22, respectively. Averaging 30 to 35 miles per day, they joined up in southern California after about 600 miles and have been hiking companions since. Their goal is to reach Canada by Augus... Full story
Sisters can still hear the rumbling sound of hot rods and classic cars. photo by Jim Mitchell Bright sunshine and heat mirages shimmered over more than 100 classic cars as hotrod owners showed off their projects at the Mountain Shadow RV Park last weekend. It was the 15th annual High Desert Rod & Custom Car Classic. And there were some real classics on display, many from an era when today's senior citizens were teenagers with the same cars. Nearly 150 cars were on display Saturday afternoon, July 24, in front of the Comfort... Full story
The future site of Cliff Clemens Park. photo by Jim Mitchell The Sisters City Council last week named Sisters' youngest city park after one of its senior citizens. "Cliff Clemens Park" is located on Larch Street on the south side of Tamarack Village. The Kiwanis Club of Sisters proposed the name and has expressed an interest in participating in the future development of the park. Cliff Clemens, 98, was the founding president of that club in 1978 and is one of only three charter members still living. Clemens resides at Bend... Full story
After multiple workshops searching for the optimum housing density for Sisters, the city council has agreed to a density of three to eight dwellings per acre for Single Family zoning and nine to 14 dwellings per acre for Multiple Family zoning. The workshops were led by Brian Rankin, Interim Planning Director, and included discussions and spreadsheet presentations exploring the effect of different densities relating to the current and future land needs based on population projections. The city must still amend it's... Full story
Hundreds of cyclists roamed the highways and backroads around Sisters during the first-ever “Cycle Oregon: Weekend Ride." The riders covered hundreds of miles in triple-digit heat. photo by Jim Mitchell Most riders agreed that the first "Cycle Oregon: Weekend Ride" based in Sisters last weekend was a positive experience. But all agreed it was "hot, hot, hot." The official Redmond high of 100 degrees was two degrees below the record for the date. Unofficially the highest temperature any riders recorded was 111 degrees... Full story
The proposed FivePine development will run along Highway 20 from Sisters Athletic Club to the Lazy Z Ranch. The Sisters Planning Commission reviewed project plans last week. photo by Jim Mitchell A major new development is on the drawing board for the east end of Sisters. The FivePine Master Plan calls for the construction of two restaurants, a theater, office buildings, a lodge and cabins, a sports complex, and a conference center on property next to the recently completed Sisters Athletic Club. Last week, developer Bill... Full story
The mission of theater owner Lisa Clausen is to make the Sisters Movie House the cultural center of the community. To be completed by spring 2005, the planned theater, according to Clausen, "will feature quality food, quality experience, and quality environment." Located toward the eastern edge of the proposed new FivePine development (see story, page 1), the theater will include four screens and a maximum occupancy of 300. Two screens, each seating 100 viewers, will play first-run feature movies. Another will show... Full story
