News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 205 - 229 of 371
Sisters is a long way from Rochester, Minnesota, but for a group of a dozen women who all grew up there, the quilt show closed the gap. The women, hosted by Sisters resident Martha Lussenhop, are the daughters of physicians who practiced at the Mayo Clinic from the 1940s through the 1970s. Their neighborhood was known as Pill Hill, located near the Mayo Clinic, and the women have been playing together since they were children. They all graduated in 1962 from the only high scho... Full story
Ann Richardson, executive director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, gets around town in the week prior to the show. One of her many stops over the Fourth of July weekend was at Sisters Coffee Company on Sunday evening. Richardson introduced a presentation that is close to her heart: the Quilts of El Shaddai. El Shaddai is an orphanage for survivors of Rwanda's genocide, located in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. A unique quilting project has created a way for the boys of the... Full story
Inventions spring from necessity, but they also come because the inventor just wants to have fun. That's the case with the "HangRider" designed by Nick Cristiano, whose company, AlloyLogic, is based just outside of Sisters. After three-and-a-half years, quite a lot of money and much fiddling, Cristiano's trademarked prototype is road-ready. Whether the road is ready for it is another question. In a matter of minutes in downtown Sisters, the HangRider drew a crowd of admirers... Full story
Robin Ryan, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Featured Quilter, admits she is not usually at a loss for words. But when Ann Richardson, executive director of the Quilt Show, called to tell her she had been chosen as the featured quilter, Ryan was speechless. "She had to say, 'well, do you want to do it or not,'" Ryan said. Fortunately for Quilt Show attendees, Ryan, who lives in Bend, said an enthusiastic "yes." An accomplished and professional longarm quilter, Ryan finishes... Full story
Sisters is gaining a reputation for fiber art that goes beyond quilts, and the annual Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll is proof. Now in its fifth year, the stroll on Saturday, July 5, was the kickoff to Quilt Week and gave locals and tourists a chance to enjoy rubbing shoulders with the artists - without the literal rubbing of shoulders that happens on Quilt Show day. "We wanted to expand activities and give people an opportunity to go into sponsoring businesses without the... Full story
There's a new opportunity to honor Sisters' hometown soldiers and it's located at Bank of the Cascades on Main Avenue. Branch manager Joy Caswell and her staff have erected a board that sits near the end of the tellers' desks and it has pictures and contact information of active duty soldiers with ties to Sisters. The pictures with yellow ribbons are of soldiers now serving on foreign soil. Those who are at their home duty stations have red, white and blue ribbons. "It's... Full story
Cassidy Keeton, a 2008 Sisters High School graduate, is on his way to the National High School Rodeo Finals. Keeton, a bareback rider, scored a 71 at the State Finals Rodeo in Klamath Falls last weekend to win the short round in that competition. He finished third in the year-end results. The top four year-end finishers in every event, from all 50 states, will converge on Farmington, New Mexico, July 20-28 for the National Finals. Keeton has just two years of high school... Full story
In the words of the Garth Brooks song, "It's bulls and blood, it's dust and mud, it's the roar of a Sunday crowd... and they call the thing rodeo." Sisters had all that, except the mud, last weekend at the 68th annual Sisters Rodeo. A sterling lineup of contestants worked hard and entertained sellout crowds under perfect blue skies and calm evenings. The contestants weren't the only hard workers. The bucking horses, roping calves and steers, and bulls were in great shape and... Full story
Rodeo contestants have a nomadic outlook as they cover great distances in their quest for the prize money. It's not surprising that the rest of the rodeo team - the bull fighters, stock contractors and announcers - share that same gypsy spirit. Some of them make it a family affair, spending the summer season in an RV, traveling a circuit chosen months ahead of time. Wayne Brooks, horseback announcer for the Sisters Rodeo, does just that. The Brooks family, Wayne; wife Melanie;... Full story
When Rowdy Barry the artist paints a picture of a rodeo bull about to fling a downed rider into the air, he's not imagining the action. That's because Rowdy Barry the bullfighter has stared into those glaring eyes and felt the spray of bull slobber across his face. Barry was in Sisters last weekend, welcomed as both bullfighter and artist. His art graced the 2008 Sisters Rodeo poster, and he took his place in the arena during the rodeo, protecting the bull riders and taking... Full story
A barking dog next door or down the street is a neighborhood sound most folks can do without. Those who have to contend with a neighbor who refuses to acknowledge that the family pet is a nuisance barker might wonder what recourse they have apart from earplugs. It is a situation that can strain people to the breaking point, ruining neighborly relations and putting the dog at risk. "Behind every barking dog is no one asking it to be quiet," said Cathy Warner, owner of Central Bark in Sisters, a doggy day-care and boarding... Full story
People interested in the 'alpaca lifestyle' will get an opportunity to see some action at the Crescent Moon Ranch Shearing Festival. The event is slated for Saturday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ranch on Lower Bridge Way. Alpacas of all ages will be on display, the Boutique doors will be wide open for lovers of alpaca fashion garments, and a tri-tip barbeque runs from noon to 2 p.m. Visitors are invited to explore the ranch and ask questions. The main draw of the... Full story
The Oregon High School Equestrian Teams season wound up at the State meet, held May 15-18 at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center. Sisters was well represented, with riders placing in 11 events. Courtney Acarregui brought home the gold medal in Dressage in her first year of OHSET dressage competition. The Canadian Flags team of Leslee Zenich, Christina Holler, Michael Hopp and Taryn Gates captured a silver medal. The state meet masses around 700 riders, some of them bringing multiple horses. There are eight OHSET... Full story
A large crowd gathered at the Village Green Park on Monday to honor fallen service men and women in a Memorial Day remembrance service. Sisters' new Veterans Memorial and flagpole were officially dedicated during the service. Attendees were greeted and given small flags by the Military Parents of Sisters. The flags were to be placed in the garden alongside the Village Green gazebo at the conclusion of the service. The Crook County NJROTC presented the colors, the National Anthem was sung and Ed Beacham gave the invocation.... Full story
Sisters High School art students did their school proud at the Central Oregon High School Art Competition last April 22. Fourteen students displayed artwork in the competition held at Madras High School. Not only did the students display their work, they brought home most of the top prizes, including the Judges Choice Award (Kelcy Blann, Mixed Media), and Students Choice Award (Lily Hicks, Drawing - Pencil). Each student could enter two pieces of art, and Sisters had entries i... Full story
"Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance." That poignant quote from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Web site sums up the reason for holding Memorial Day remembrance services. That the sacrifice is appreciated in Sisters is evidenced by the increasing numbers of people attending the 16th annual service, held in the Village Green Park. Last year's attendance topped 200. Phil Gale, VFW Post 8138 and American Legion Post 86 Commander, expects at least that many to attend this year. The service will be at 11 a.m., on Monday,... Full story
It used to be that a school field trip meant packing up a peanut butter sandwich and a can of pop and traveling somewhere on a bus for a day of either fun or education. Sometimes both were included. These days, students have opportunities to travel to far-flung and exotic places for their field trips. The journey may involve several means of travel, long delays, culture shock and lost baggage. All in the name of education. The eighth graders at Sisters Christian Academy recent... Full story
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion have been around for a long time in the Sisters area. These days, with veterans emerging from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, both the VFW (Post 8138) and the American Legion (Post 86) have been taking on new members and increasing service to existing ones. The mission of VFW is "to honor the dead by helping the living," and the American Legion vision encompasses "The Four Pillars of Service: A strong national security; taking care of veterans; mentoring youth;... Full story
The St. Edward's Garden Tea, held on Saturday at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church, wasn't just for ladies. There were a few men in attendance, and a host of fellows served the food and kept the teapots hot. Upwards of 100 people filled tables that were individually decorated with flowers, tea sets and fine china. The food - fruit cups and Devonshire scones - was presented with a flourish by the nattily attired servers. The annual tea, in its eighth year, raises money for a variety of projects around the church. The main... Full story
The 2008 Sisters Starry Nights Benefit Concert Series wound up on Saturday evening with a performance by three-time Grammy winner, Keb' Mo'. The contemporary blues artist played a set that ranged from true blues to lighter ballads and a few folk tunes. He was joined onstage by five singers from the Sisters Middle School choir. Vickie Thatch, Felicia Zandonatti, Noel Chen, Beth Eckstine and Ciara Affatati added local flavor to the Joni Mitchell classic "Big Yellow Taxi." Keb' Mo' admitted, "I never do this song live, but hey,... Full story
Brooklyn Haken, 11, likes to do things a lot of other people cannot do. Things like backbends on a four-inch wide piece of wood, handstands on a set of uneven parallel bars and launching into a couple of back handsprings on the floor. Haken is a gymnast and competes in floor exercise, vault, balance beam and uneven bars. A broken foot early in the season sidelined her for several weeks, but she came back into competition and recently brought home several trophies and medals... Full story
Jeff Minke, a 2006 Sisters High School graduate, is creating a new normal for his life. He lives with Crohn's Disease, an incurable inflammatory disease affecting the intestines and colon. Since being diagnosed in 2002, Jeff has had multiple surgeries resulting in the loss of portions of his intestines. Undaunted, he set off for university last fall, majoring in business at Linfield College in McMinnville. In February, however, Jeff ended up in the hospital yet again and... Full story
Sisters resident Anne Geser is one of two people suing SilverLite Trailers of Springfield for $37,000. The suit says that a horse was able to kick its way out of a defective trailer, falling into Portland rush-hour traffic and breaking both front legs. (See The Nugget, September 12, 2006.) Geser is the owner of the three-horse SilverLite trailer, which she no longer uses. On the morning of September 8, 2006, Geser's trailer was being used to transport three horses to a horse show in Washington. According to the complaint... Full story
Mimi Ausland, 11, has a heart for a cause and a head for entrepreneurial thinking. Her cause is feeding the dogs at the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSOC) shelter. Her thought: creating a Web site where visitors answer a dog trivia question. Each time the question is answered, 10 pieces of dog kibble are redirected into those pooch's food bowls. At the end of each month, Mimi takes a tally and delivers the kibble to the shelter. As of April 20, over 115,000 pieces of kibble from www.freekibble.com had been earmarked.... Full story
The wind howled, snowflakes flew intermittently, but the hardy folks who attended the Small Farmers Journal Horsedrawn Auction & Swap Meet last weekend walked around the Sisters Rodeo grounds with smiling faces. Many of these folks face the weather daily as they work their farms and ranches and welcomed a chance to make some pleasant conversation in the midst of their discomfort. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event, and SFJ publisher Lynn Miller was cautiously... Full story
