News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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The weather is warming up in Central Oregon and you're anxious to get on the road again to visit friends up north in Washington or family in Idaho. And it wouldn't be the same without your furry friend in the car with you. Most dogs love a car ride. The feel of the wind through their fur, new smells blowing around the inside of the car, and the chance to bark at all the other dogs at the rest stops, are all part of the appeal. Keeping Rover entertained on a road trip isn't... Full story
Planting trees each Arbor Day is a Sisters tradition. This year, three classes of kindergarteners planted chokecherry trees in front of Sisters Elementary School (SES). The National Arbor Day Foundation awards and recognizes communities who work to improve urban forestry. "We got the Growth Award again from Tree City USA. They have pretty high standards that you have to meet," said public works project coordinator, Nichole Abbenhuis. "They look into a lot different things,... Full story
Sisters Science Club board member Bunny Thompson has been promoting worm composting for years in all of the Sisters schools by providing worm bins, lectures and hands-on participation with the students in the classrooms. Worms are best-friends to the environment. They create the perfect soil for gardens and yards, and composting reduces the amount of the garbage that is sent to dumps and landfills. "Red wigglers are great worms for composting; they eat their weight in kitchen... Full story
Sisters Athletic Club Manager Cindy Tintle knows that folks well into their 90s can benefit from regular exercise. "At Sisters Athletic Club we currently have three members over the age of 90," Tintle says. "And we are extremely honored to have them as members and are proud of their accomplishments over the years. They have chosen a healthy and active lifestyle by committing to regular exercise." Exercise helps keep aging bodies healthy by increasing blood flow to the brain,... Full story
When Sisters resident Susan Prince began hearing about oil spills in the pristine rainforests of the Ecuadorian Amazon, she decided to investigate for herself. And on March 8, 2016, International Women's Day, Prince took action by joining 300 indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon in a historic march in defense of the Amazon against oil drilling. "I had first gone on a month-long trip to Ecuador over four years ago with a friend," she recalled. "Global exchange... Full story
For eons, men and women have pondered the question: Do animals have souls? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one of the definitions of "soul" is: The ability of a person to feel kindness and sympathy for others. And: A person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature. Any dog or cat pet parent will tell you that animals have a sixth sense when it comes to understanding human emotional needs. For instance, when you are feeling down, an animal can often act as a better confidant than another human. Animals possess a... Full story
Easter came early for seniors at Sisters Community Church on Tuesday, March 22; they celebrated with a bonnet-decorating contest. For the previous couple of weeks, local seniors had been busy decorating straw hats with flowers, ribbon, cotton balls, foam shapes and other spring décor for the annual Easter bonnet contest sponsored by Central Oregon Council on Aging (COCOA). And that included Sisters Senior Council President Sharon Ling, who coordinates the fun and... Full story
You toss and turn and finally get to sleep, when suddenly a pain in your big toe wakes you up. Your 10-pound tabby attacks your foot and then jumps on your chest, purring all the while. And if you're like most pet parents, you end up giving in to Kitty's nighttime shenanigans by giving her attention. Giving in to her will create a never-ending cycle of not getting a good night's sleep. Cats are crepuscular, meaning they are active at dawn and dusk. Cats in the wild hunt... Full story
A pet is a constant loving friend, and facing his or her loss can be devastating. Pets bring so much love, support, and companionship into our lives, and many people have experienced the joy that comes with having a pet. Sadly there also comes a time when they have to face the heartbreak of losing their cherished furry friend. Whether you had to euthanize your pet or lost your dog in an unexpected manner, the grieving process will be different for everyone. Grieving is a personal, individual experience. Some people find the... Full story
Buddy is a tiny 18-month-old Yorkshire terrier. He may weigh only three pounds, but has a natural ability for being an emotional support dog for Sisters Middle School fifth-grader Ryan Benson. Benson was born with a congenital heart defect, and at the age of seven weeks, he underwent heart surgery. He was doing very well after the surgery and just had to follow up with minor surgeries to clean out scar tissue. Then last year Benson became afflicted with fatigue and would feel... Full story
A decade ago, Benji Nagel was a student learning to play music through Sisters Folk Festival's Ameicana Project. Now the student has become the teacher, providing guitar instruction for students K-7 at Black Butte School (BBS) in Camp Sherman. It's a complete, unbroken circle of music in Sisters Country. "I instruct all of the kids in Black Butte School Tuesday and Thursday afternoons," Nagel said. "I rotate my classes for the 17 students, K through 8th grade. It's usually... Full story
Special-needs cats seem to seek out Sisters resident Robyn Holdman, president of Citizens4Community. Holdman and her husband, John, have been pet parents to three special-needs cats since 1990. Two years ago, Holdman and her husband found an emaciated male cat lying on their property on Harrington Loop in Sisters just days before a big snowstorm that dumped over three feet in February 2014. "I had a hunch that this was not a stray cat, as it was too beautiful to be on its... Full story
World Spay Day began in 1995 as Spay Day USA, a project of the Doris Day Animal League. The event was renamed World Spay Day and is now an annual campaign of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Humane Society International and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. On the last Tuesday of every February, World Spay Day shines a spotlight on the power of affordable, accessible spay/neuter to save the lives of pets, community feral and stray cats, and... Full story
The Sisters High School commons buzzed with excitement on Saturday for the fifth annual Sisters Science Fair. Students from all three Sisters schools showed off their educational experiments, displays, and demonstrations. Hundreds of folks expressed interest by watching or getting involved through hands-on challenges. The fair was sponsored by the Sisters Science Club and free to all. "The Science of Nature" was this year's theme and was evident throughout the fair with studen... Full story
Love is in the air as Valentine's Day draws near. Restaurants are gearing up for a packed house, flower companies are preparing for the busiest day of the year, and folks everywhere are pulling out all the stops to plan the perfect night for their Valentine. For some it's a joyous day to celebrate the love between two people. But for others, it is a sad or mournful day, spent wishing for what they once had or for what they have not yet found. It can be downright depressing.... Full story
With various studies documenting the positive effects pets can have on human health, it's no surprise that therapy animals have regular visits at children's hospitals and retirement communities around the nation. And while dogs might be the first therapy animals to come to mind, an increasing number of therapy cats have been making a difference helping people cope. While the stereotypical aloofness might at first seem to prevent cats from becoming therapy animals, those... Full story
Imagine driving into a snowstorm late at night on a highway in a rural area with no cell service. Then after you pull your vehicle over in a wooded area to put chains on your tires, you notice something on the side of the road that does not belong - something so inappropriate it's surreal. A few weeks before Christmas, Sisters resident Peggy Frye was driving back from Portland and had just passed the Detroit Lake area when the weather took a turn for the worse and it started t... Full story
Jodi Schneider McNamee has fond memories of her first family dog - a black standard poodle named Suzie. It was the late 1950s, and Jodi was growing up in the rural countryside of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. She and Suzie rambled through their backyard into a forest of red oaks, maples and dogwood. A path led to a small pond where Suzie helped Jodi forage for pollywogs and salamanders. Her dog, the deep woods, and the world all seemed vast to Jodi. "I was one with nature... Full story
Your friend's 5-month-old puppy is adorable and getting really big. But every time you visit them you end up with chew marks and spittle on your hands, arms and clothing. How do you tell your friend that it's just not that cute anymore? It's normal behavior for puppies to spend a great deal of time playing, chewing and investigating objects with their mouths. And when puppies play with people, they often nip, chew and mouth on people's hands, limbs and clothing. This kind of... Full story
When folks think about adding a cat to their lives, they seem to automatically think "kitten." And why not? A kitten is irresistible with her baby face and silly antics, a little fluffball who'll play all day with you and steal your heart. Kittens are adorable, curious, playful and full of energy. However, they can also be a lot of work, and exasperating at times, demanding lots of supervision to keep them out of trouble. And with a kitten, you really don't know what kind of... Full story
Last April, when retired airline captain Gary Joseph of Sisters was told he might never walk again following surgery to remove lymphoma cancer, he defied the odds. But when Joseph's cat Baby recently passed away from cancer, his resistance crumpled. "Baby passed away five weeks ago, and it was the most devastating thing that happened to me. We were partners; she was always there for me. And for most of her life we lived alone together on my 42-foot sailboat in the San Juan... Full story
You turn your back for a few seconds, leaving four pieces of chicken sitting on a platter on top of the kitchen counter. Moments later, one piece of chicken has vanished, and your dog is close by licking his chops. Has this scenario happened in your house? Counter surfing is when your dog jumps up onto the kitchen counter and takes food. Smaller, more agile dogs may jump up with all four paws on the counter, while other dogs just prop their front paws on the counter-tops to... Full story
Santa's making a list. And he's checking it twice. He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Sisters Dance Academy's Winter Dance Recital brought "Naughty or Nice" to a new level at Sisters High School auditorium on Saturday. "Our show this year is themed Naughty or Nice, and the dancers are either going to be on Santa's naughty list or nice list, and your job as an audience - especially the kids - is to help me figure out which of our dancers is going to be on the nice list... Full story
Heather Buring, hair designer and owner of the new Aspire Beauty Salon in Sisters, has always been committed to bringing top-quality services to her clients. Before settling in Sisters almost five years ago, Buring lived in Redmond. She graduated from Phagans School of Hair Design in Bend in 2005, and for 10 years she has been specializing in creating trendy hairstyles that let each client look and feel their best. "Ever since middle school, my dream was to become a hair... Full story
So many folks are fixated on training dogs that they forget about their feline friend - or figure that their cat just is too independent to train. Most people believe that cats can't be trained because they don't seem responsive to the many methods used to train dogs. But cats do respond to training! In fact one of the first scientific studies highlighting the importance of reinforcement in animal behavior was done with cats. The first step to training Kitty is to understand h... Full story
