News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 371
The lone rider jogging his mustang into Sisters late Saturday afternoon, March 4, wasn’t a misplaced buckaroo looking to fit in with Sisters’ Western theme. Chris Buller, a pastor and youth worker from Madras, was a man on a mission. He’d just completed a 70-mile sponsored ride from Warm Springs, done to raise funds for a trip that he and the youth he works with are planning for March. The ride, made in relay fashion on six horses, raised some travel money so kids invol... Full story
Sisters isn’t the only place we’ve been where wild turkeys prowl. We lived on farms in New Zealand for 18 years, where turkeys have no predators but man (and not many people want to eat a wild turkey). They were introduced decades ago, joining a long list of non-native species now present in New Zealand. They’ve earned a reputation with farmers as pests. They consume and contaminate the green pastures that make New Zealand so distinctive. Their summer diet consists large... Full story
Almost 40 hardy souls gathered in the afternoon chill on Sunday, December 11, to dedicate two Habitat for Humanity homes. Robin Tawney and her daughter Mikaela, and Doug Kaufman are happily settling into their homes on Washington Street. “Welcome to my home. Those are the most awesome words I’ve said in the last two years,” said Tawney. Though her hands shook, her voice was strong as she thanked the many volunteers who shared the journey along the road to Habitat home ownershi... Full story
Asian mounted archery is a tradition steeped in the image of warriors thundering across the steppes. Leaving carnage in their wake, the warriors rode their tough and nimble ponies to the next conquest, arrows flying and swords flashing. These days, the tradition of mounted archery is kept alive through competition. Holm Neumann, 67, and Jett Cowan, 17, both of Sisters, traveled to South Korea in October to take part in an international event. Neumann has been a student of moun... Full story
The selection of a family for a Habitat for Humanity home is just the start of a process that can take nearly two years to complete. Conventional home ownership has a family moved in, unpacked and rearranging the landscaping in the time it takes a Habitat family to build enough “sweat equity” to break ground on their homesite. After that, there are months of working with the volunteers who are building the home and contributing more sweat equity into the house — in many cases holding together a job and family all the while... Full story
The Sisters Rodeo has a new queen. Sarah Noce, 19, of Tumalo was crowned by outgoing queen Miska Asman on Sunday, September 25, at the Sisters Rodeo Arena. The event realized a dream of her childhood. “Since I was little, I’ve always looked up to the rodeo queens and have wanted to be one,” she said. Noce took a proactive approach to her first rodeo queen contest, finding selection committee chair John Leavitt in his store, Leavitt’s Western Wear, in Sisters and getting all the details straight from him. Contestants filled... Full story
Two years ago, Sisters teen Jennifer Friend was ready to throw in the towel (or the saddle pad) on her equestrian career. A particularly frustrating Deschutes County 4-H fair and a horse that just wouldn’t cooperate made the effort more trouble than fun. Trying to get Jennifer out of her funk, her mother Karen Friend took her to a lesson with Karen O’Neal, then at Catalyst Farms. O’Neal specializes in jumping and dressage and Jennifer was daunted by the prospect of the jumps... Full story
Sisters Habitat for Humanity has been active in the community since 1991, providing safe haven and encouragement for many families in sore need of both. Working with families who are unable to qualify for conventional mortgages, Habitat for Humanity requires approved families to provide 500 minimum hours of “sweat equity” toward their homes. This equity takes the form of hands-on labor on their homes and community service. Two hundred of the hours are completed even before ground is broken on the homesite. An ongoing cha... Full story
The Meyer family and friends planted a poignant reminder of a beloved son, brother and friend as the Joel Meyer Memorial Living Garden took shape. The garden was planted on Saturday, September 10, adjacent to Tony and Mary Allison Meyer’s XPress Printing on Hood Avenue, in honor of their 21-year-old son Joel, who was killed in an accident at Lake Shasta last Memorial Day weekend. Surrounding the XPress Printing building, and including a few feet of land donated by Les S... Full story
When Olympic snowboarder and summertime Sisters resident Chris Klug heard that skateboarders were getting bad press in his hometown, he knew it was time to speak up. As soon as he returned from a training camp in Chile he contacted SOAR officials to arrange a meeting to lend his support to a skateboard park. “(Skateboarding) is how I got into snowboarding and I’m still passionate about it,” he said. His early skateboarding days were spent on a makeshift skate park set up on... Full story
Susan Neumann of Sisters is a patient woman. It has taken 2-1/2 years, but at last she can gaze upon her small herd of Mangalarga Marchador horses. The horses arrived in mid-August from Brazil and now graze peacefully in a pasture at trainer Clint Surplus’ Terrebonne property. Neumann and her husband Holm visited Brazil in March 2003, taking Surplus along to help them choose six horses. The Neumanns had been exposed to the Marchador breed on previous visits and were smitten w... Full story
Thousands of acres of forest land between Sisters and Bend are up for grabs — and the Deschutes Basin Land Trust is trying to make sure it falls within its grasp. If the land trust is successful in acquiring a massive block of land south and east of Sisters, it will create a “community forest,” a concept new to the western United States — and never before done on a scale such as the Land Trust is proposing. At stake is a 33,000-acre block of land known as either the Bull Springs Tree Farm or Skyline Forest. It is part of... Full story
Sisters historically has been well represented at the Deschutes County 4-H horse fair, and this year was no exception. Three Sisters girls, Jennifer Friend, Rachel Pilliod and Annie Hancock, participated in the senior division (ages 15-18) and all will be representing their county at the Oregon State Fair. Friend showed two horses this year: Travis took her through the performance classes and Brick propelled her around the games courses. On Travis, Friend collected senior reserve champion dressage, all-around reserve grand... Full story
Lovers of old-time fiddle music can add to their collections with the release this week of The Fiddlesticks’ first CD. Easily recognized tunes such as “Swallow-Tail Jig,” “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” and “Turkey in the Straw,” as well as a couple of gospel numbers, all get The Fiddlesticks treatment in this foot-stomping assortment of 16 tunes. The band members, all 11 of them, are members of the Kalebaugh and Simpson families of Lower Bridge. They also run the Simpson elk and hay r... Full story
When events hurtle a person headlong into the long, dark tunnel of grief, there isn’t always the support, time or space to learn how to cast a light into the darkness. For 40 Central Oregon youths, Camp Sunrise offers a place to nurture that light and allow it to brighten with time. The camp, an annual affair, is sponsored by Hospice of Redmond-Sisters, in collaboration with Hospice of Bend-La Pine and Pioneer Memorial Hospice. This year, the camp was held the weekend of June 10-12 and took place at the Methodist Camp at S... Full story
The Stroll Through Summer, a 5,000- or 10,000-steps-per-day walking program sponsored by Sisters Athletic Club, is about to hit the streets, stairwells, forest roads and trails of Sisters. Beginning on June 29, participants can discover just how healthy their pedestrian habits are. Or aren’t. Using a pedometer, an inexpensive device which attaches to the waistband, participants can track the number of steps they take through the course of a day. The goal for each day is 10,000 steps — approximately five miles. If walking fiv... Full story
Heavy rain dampened more than the ground at the Small Farmer’s Journal Auction and Swap Meet, held on April 22-24. Though the atmosphere was good natured, the numbers of bidders and browsers declined with the rain. Those who attended were relieved to find more tent space available, though it quickly filled up with those escaping the downpour. Umbrellas quickly sold out in the bookstore area, and the sales office staff had a ready supply of rags to wipe up drips falling from an assortment of raingear and hats. Saturday’s sal... Full story
The showroom at the Small Farmers Journal (SJF) building on Barclay Avenue is filling up with horsedrawn carts, carriages and coaches in preparation for the 27th Annual Horsedrawn Auction and Swap Meet, to be held at the Sisters Rodeo Grounds April 22-24. The crown jewel (so far) is an exquisitely detailed, brand new replica of an Abbot & Downing style Concord coach. Abbot & Downing was a premier builder of coaches in Concord, Massachusetts. The coach they named “Concord” was... Full story
The Cabin has garnered national attention. photo by Kathryn Godsiff Tucked away in a quiet corner of Tollgate is a delightful vacation rental log home, The Cabin, which has found its way to national recognition via the magazine Country Comfort. Owners Bob and Vicki Webber said that serendipity made the magazine feature possible; one of their guests is a real estate agent who deals in the luxury home market. One day an editor from Country Comfort called to see if she had any leads on interesting homes for the magazine, which f... Full story
The Fiddlesticks are a family affair, combining the talents of the Kalebaugh and Simpson families of Sisters. photo by Kathyrn Godsiff When Tobin Kalebaugh, 12, began fiddle lessons in January of 2000 and his sisters Becky, 16, and Rachel, 15, began plunking away at piano lessons, little did they dream that a short couple of years later they would be part of a fiddle band playing old-time fiddle, gospel and Celtic-influenced music. The Kalebaugh siblings, along with little brother Tyler, six, and parents Travis and Heidi... Full story
Sisters Middle School students display their "caring cards." The students have adopted a new "Sparrow" who needs lots of long-term help. photo by Barbara Haynes Sisters Middle School Sparrow Club members got a start on their year's activities during interim week earlier this month. The 19 members met their "Sparrow," Samuel Shepardson, age four, of Sisters, and made a start on their community service projects. Club advisor Barbara Haynes said the club members were very excited to have a local child become their Sparrow. Throu... Full story
Summer rains are great for the forests, but not so great for hay growers. Rain does affect the quality of hay, but not as greatly as many people believe. photo by Kathryn Godsiff Last week's rain brought sighs of relief to many people in Central Oregon as temperatures dropped -- along with the fire danger. Haymakers, on the other hand, were either sighing with frustration or rejoicing that they hadn't cut that field that was just about ready. Those with hay down stand to lose value in the price paid for rained-on hay.... Full story
Kim Meeder of Tumalo, founder of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch and author of "Hope Rising," has been named a regional and national recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service. Of 276 nominees in the Northwest region, four were selected to be regional recipients and one, Meeder, was chosen to travel to Washington D.C. for a formal presentation at the national level. Meeder and her husband Troy are in the capital this week to receive the award and participate in a Senate reception along with 75 other winners chosen from... Full story
Dave Roth of Christmas Valley secures a reaper to his flatbed pickup truck. photo by Lynn Woodward The carriage and plow were loaded up on Sunday evening, ready to depart from the annual Small Farmer's Journal Auction Sale and Swap meet. Anyone roaming around the Sisters Rodeo grounds as darkness fell would never know that over the weekend the grounds were so teeming with people that some had to be turned away. The parking lot was filled to capacity on Saturday afternoon. Bidding on farm implements and equipment carried on... Full story
Sarah McWhorter on Justin, a five-year-old Appaloosa mustang. photo by Kathryn Godsiff Wild horse enthusiasts, potential adopters and the curious converged on Catalyst Farms Equestrian Center last weekend for a free Wild Horse Gentling Clinic and Adoption. The event, which drew around 50 people from both sides of the Cascades, was sponsored by the Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition, with the venue donated by Catalyst Farms. Cooperating with the Ochoco National Forest and Prineville and Lakeview Bureau of Land Management,... Full story
