News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 52
The Sisters City Council has unanimously voted to grant a three-year renewal of a vehicle forfeiture policy related to drunk driving convictions. The ordinance allows police officers to seize cars of drivers with a history of driving-related convictions, such as drivers who have been previously convicted of drunk driving (or who have gone through a diversion program in lieu of a conviction). The ordinance also applies to drivers whose license has been suspended for misdemeanor or felony crimes, as well as a host of... Full story
On May 27, Deschutes National Forest Supervisor Sally Collins signed a management plan for the Metolius Wild and Scenic River. In preparing the plan, boating was the issue that generated more comments than all other issues combined. A n impasse with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs over boating may ultimately lead to litigation to determine who owns the Metolius River. Currently, the Tribes, which claim the Metolius as its own by virtue of an 1855 treaty with the federal government, ban boating. The Forest Service... Full story
Volunteers are nailing down timetables and blueprinting the logistics to build four new classrooms at Sisters Elementary School. The people behind the effort met Wednesday, May 14, to form a leadership cadre and to assign roles in the project. Bill Willitts, the project manager, is driving the group to have building permits in place by June 15, break ground by June 30, and have the project wrapped up by September 6. Willitts will meet with potential donors, manage the project and work to find start-up money. School... Full story
Negotiators hammered out terms of a conservation easement and clinched a transfer of over 260 acres west of Sisters from Deschutes County to the Sisters School District on May 14. The district now can use the parcel west of the Sisters High School for a future school site and outdoor nature lab. Prior to signing the order officially transferring the land, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners insisted that the specifics of the easement be spelled out. The commissioners wanted assurances that adequate effort would be... Full story
Sisters Middle/High School teacher and advisor Glenda Hyde has been named Oregon Activity Advisor of the Year. "Being chosen is exciting," Hyde said, but "I view this as recognition and honor for the whole school. I couldn't do the kinds of things I was able to do this year without the support and inspiration from a really terrific staff." As an advisor, Hyde works with three clubs: the Honor Society, the Junior Honor Society and VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America). According to Hyde, she coordinates the students' e... Full story
After years of study and debate, the Sisters School Board has decided Tuesday, April 29, to put kindergarten through eighth grades on an alternative calendar for the 1997-1998 academic year. The high school will remain on a traditional calendar. The alternative calendar shortens the summer break to eight weeks from 12, but students will attend school the same number of total days as they did under the traditional school calendar. In addition to summer vacation, there will be longer, more frequent breaks. Winter break will be... Full story
Sisters' sixth, seventh and eighth graders will have a new home this fall. The school board decided Tuesday, April 29, to move the seventh and eighth graders from their present location at the middle/high school to the downtown administration campus across the street from the elementary facility. According to board chair Bill Reed, creating a middle school is "the best way to meet the emotional, social and academic needs of seventh and eighth grade students." He believes that while connected to the high school, "they have... Full story
OutlawNet, the local Internet service provider based at Sisters Middle/High School, may invest in new hardware which would enable the company to expand to include a substantial number of new customers. Leslie Bushnell, who administers OutlawNet, said the expansion would occur only if the company can c ontinue to provide the same level of service. She said that OutlawNet's below-10-to-1 customer-modem ratio is the best in Central Oregon, and the company enjoys a high level of customer satisfaction. OutlawNet began operating in... Full story
Deschutes County will give about 260 acres of land west of Sisters Middle/High School to the Sisters School District -- if the parties can agree on how and by whom the land will be managed. The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners approved the land exchange on April 23, but the deal will not be final until the commission and the school district sign a letter of understanding and record a conservation easement. Early this year the school district sought 80 acres for a future educational facility. When the district... Full story
Seven Black Butte School students swept a state-wide history competition held in Salem on Saturday, April 19. All seven placed either first or second in their categories, earning the right to comp ete in national competition at the University of Maryland beginning June 15. The competition's theme was "Tragedy and/or Triumph," and the students' objective was to show people facing and overcoming adversity in a historical context. All of the Black Butte School students focused on the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs as... Full story
Sisters parents and teachers packed the lecture/drama room at Sisters Middle High School Monday night, expecting a decision on whether the school district should adopt an "alternative calendar." The board, short two members, declined to make a decision. Board member Harold Gott is in Portland while his wife undergoes cancer treatment. Jan van den Berg was out of the country on business. But even without a decision forthcoming, the board took intensive public input on the pros and cons of a schedule which would shorten the... Full story
The Deschutes National Forest and the Columbia River Bioregion Campaign are the hottest new couple in town. The agency and the coalition of conservation activists -- at odds on some issues -- have teamed up with Sisters artist Dennis McGregor to produced a haunting poster promoting the benefits of prescription fire. CRBC is a coalition of eastside Oregon and Washington conservation groups. The Forest Service is often the target of criticism by groups like CRBC, which oppose logging in sensitive habitat areas or in quantities... Full story
Laurie Simpson brought an array of talents to bear in capturing the Sisters Rodeo Queen crown. A straight-A senior at Redmond High School, Simpson is a slim brunette whose horsemanship skills cannot be questioned. The rodeo queen competition held Saturday, April 5, featured a private interview with the panel of judges, a speech before the judges and the audience, and a demonstration of horsemanship skills. When the dust settled after the horsemanship patterns, it was far from clear which of the four competitors would take... Full story
Camp Sherman residents have saved their garbage and police services from the budget ax that loomed after passage of the Measure 47 tax roll-back. Facing a budget shortfall produced by Measure 47, Jefferson County deci ded to eliminate Camp Sherman's resident sheriff's deputy and $30,000-per-year solid waste programs. So Camp Sherman residents submitted a proposal which would allow them to retain both the transfer site and a combined police patrol-county liaison position. "We are all just shaking our heads," said Jodi Eagan,... Full story
Sisters area farmers and ranchers have been invited to participate in a new conservation program to protect natural resources in the Squaw Creek watershed. The project was introduced at a March 10 meeting in Sisters. The federal government has allocated $3.5 million dollars that will be divided between 12 areas that submitted proposals, including the Squaw Creek Watershed, which boundaries extend as far north as Indian Ford Creek, northeast as the Deschutes River, west as the Cascades and south as just past Sisters,... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District has received federal emergency funding to repair or close roughly 41 miles of flood-damaged roads north of Highway 20 in the Metolius River Basin. The goal of the closure is to reduce the harmful effects of roads on watersheds. The agency has allocated roughly $120,000 to replace a culvert with a bridge over Candle Creek. It will spend roughly $160,000 to implement the remainder of the road repairs and closures. The Candle Creek Bridge will serve multiple purposes. It will provide a stable... Full story
The land trust that owns a 60-acre meadow in Indian Ford is working with the neigboring community to create a management plan that will determine how the land is used and focus the direction of the trust's restoration activities. The meadow is home to valuable wildlife and plant habitat, water areas and wetlands. Deschutes Basin Land Trust president Brad Chalfant said, "We want this to be a showcase for natural habitats and open spaces in the Deschutes River Basin." The Indian Ford community has already participated in the... Full story
A Sisters businessman has filed a lawsuit against the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District seeking $20,500 in damages stemming from a February 1995 fire department training exercise in the Sisters Industrial Park. During the course of training, members of the department sprayed Phos-Chek fire retardant on logs belonging to Handcrafted Log Homes. Owner Ed Adams claims he was forced to close his business while the logs were tested to determine whether they would be suitable for use in residential construction. Ad... Full story
Hikers using wilderness trails in the Sisters Ranger District this summer will pay for the pleasure by purchasing a new Trail-Park permit. The regional Trail-Park permit system is a three-year experiment that the agency hopes will help finance both trail maintenance and facility and site restoration. The experiment is in response to greater usage and declining recreation budgets. According to Paul Engstrom of the Sisters Ranger District, "In the neighborhood of 20 trails in the Sisters Ranger District -- including almost all... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District is planning to underburn 1,180 acres and commercially log 1,230 acres in the Jack-Canyon area 16 miles northwest of Sisters this year, harvesting about 12.5 million board feet of timber. Spruce budworm ravaged fir trees in the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving dead and diseased trees in over 100,000 acres of the district. The Forest Service has mapped the 1.2 mile home area of two pair of spotted owls. It will log and underburn portions of these areas that provide the owls with cover from predato... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District is proposing to close roughly 41 miles of road in the Metolius Basin north of Highway 20 in order to improve wildlife habitats and repair flood damage. Roads closure is proposed seasonally in the Two Springs area between Suttle Lake and the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area to provide security for elk calving. The Forest Service also seeks to close one quarter mile of Green Ridge Road in an effort to maintain the "Wildlife Primitive Area." The area around Trout Creek Butte and Black Crater is summer... Full story
Two Sisters students will spend 10 days this winter assisting ski instructors at Hoodoo Ski Area and gaining work experience which will makes them good candidates for teaching at the area's ski school in the future. Sara Haynes and Kevin Breedlove, both juniors, were chosen for the positions through the Sisters Middle/High School "School to Work" program. According to Rick Saul of Hoodoo Ski Area, the students were chosen because "They had a good foundation as far as skiing skills, they were eager to learn and accept... Full story
Environmental activists in the Sisters country are hailing the expiration of the timber "salvage rider," though Sisters Ranger District personnel say the expiration will not affect projects in local forests. Under the rider, the Forest Service has been allowed to conduct salvage logging without being subject to many of the usual environmental restrictions and citizen challenges. The rider expires on December 31, 1996. Paul Dewey of Sisters Forest Planning Committee said the expiration of the salvage rider "can't help but be... Full story
Members of the Black Butte Ranch Fire Department spent part of their day on Sunday, December 15, going door to door in Black Butte Ranch. They received 500 pounds of food and $135 worth of donations which they gave to the Sisters Kiwanis. The Fire Department and its Volunteer Association worked together during the drive. Ryan Murphy, a student volunteer, coordinated the effort. Although this is the first time the department has organized a food drive, said Clint Burleigh, president of the Volunteer Association, "we would... Full story
The snowy start to the winter season is good news to skiers at Hoodoo Ski Area, who are finding the conditions very good. "Ski conditions are great. Last year was a drought year, and now is the time to make up for that," said Mike Obymako, vice-president and general manager of Hoodoo. "You can enjoy January or February snow conditions in mid-December." This time of year Hoodoo usually has a 36-to-42 inch snow base. Right now there is a base of somewhere between six-and-a-half to eight feet. "We certainly have a good... Full story
