News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 280
To provide free admission to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, SOQS organizers depend on business sponsors, quilt sales, donations and their membership, Friends of the Show. SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd says the membership is like being an Oregon Public Broadcasting supporter: “It’s a way for people to feel more deeply involved in supporting the show.” Membership levels offer a richer connection with SOQS and ways to support the annual quilt show and participating busin... Full story
What do words like whimsical, abstract, bright, playful, and unexpected all have in common? For Tonye Belinda Phillips it’s how she describes her motivation and design for this year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) raffle quilt. Phillips realized a long time ago that yielding to constraints about making everything match doesn’t work for her. She’s proven over her quilting career that her instincts are correct. The raffle quilt, “My Kind of Town,” has a joyful musicality... Full story
Jean Wells knows a thing or two about starting, running, and nurturing a business. She opened Stitchin’ Post in 1975 and grew the quilting shop into a robust commercial success with a stellar reputation and national recognition. That same know-how fostered the birth and longevity of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) as an event, and eventually a well-managed nonprofit organization. For many, quilting conjures up images of peaceful blocks of time creating quilts, s... Full story
What does it take to change your life and improve your health? Classmates in Sisters are finding answers as they seek ways to avoid Type 2 diabetes. Most of the adult students either have pre-diabetes or are teetering on the edge of a diagnosis. It’s Kylie Loving’s job to guide students who either have pre-diabetes or are concerned about getting the potentially debilitating disease. A collaboration with Prevent Diabetes Central Oregon, the Sisters program began in January with a dozen participants. Together they’re navig... Full story
Happy childhood memories at Black Butte Ranch (BBR) often include youngsters riding their bikes to the BBR store for an ice cream cone, tasty snack, or a refreshing drink. Pedaling with friends along meandering bike trails with curious grass-munching horses and cattle watching them pass, made the adventure even more exciting. But the general store was showing its age, with 50 years of being loved and visited taking its toll. Plans to reconfigure the building and location have... Full story
There’s a lot of change happening at the Sisters Farmer’s Market. Some is in response to COVID-19 and safety measures for participants. For the first time, Seed to Table will be running the market and has hired the first paid market manager. In keeping with Seed to Table’s mission, there will be expanded outreach and access to locally-sourced, fresh products.... Full story
Being alive for 100 years is a milestone most people would like to experience, but probably won’t. Imagine the changes and lessons learned in that time. Dinzel Zemko doesn’t have to: she turned 100 on April 23. She’s seen her share of hardships and challenges, but she learned long ago to keep the faith, stay positive and let go of things you can’t change. Celebrating her 100th birthday didn’t go as planned. Her family made the painful decision to cancel her long-awai... Full story
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, people are discovering ways to deal with fear and uncertainty. It’s an eerie feeling pushing a grocery cart, with the faint smell of disinfectant, down aisles with empty shelves while masked shoppers try to keep their distance. Many are wondering about food shortages, especially fresh produce. Relying solely on over-burdened grocers and their heroic staff to provide supplies might not be enough. During World War I and World War II, ... Full story
Sitting at our dining room table with two happy but confused pups looking at us lovingly, I’m feeling grateful for having a home and family to help move through these strange times. Like so many folks, business is waning and opportunities for freelance work is disappearing faster than toilet paper at Costco. I have my work-music playing: instrumental folk with gentle guitar played by artists like Brooks Williams and Adam Rafferty. The calming cords soothe my nerves as I listen and watch news revealing the escalation of the co... Full story
Gary was heading south for his monthly visit to his mother in Sacramento. When Gary leaves, I’m alone. He’s my best friend and protector. We’ve lived in the same house for 25 years. In our first decade, he left for weeks at a time to fly C-141 transport planes for the Air Force. He was the flight engineer and flight examiner for large, four-engine cargo transport jets. I worried about him and prayed for his safe return. I also worried about myself. I was OK during the day, but at night, I lived in a horror movie. Scenes of be... Full story
Practitioners of qigong massage say that applying the technique can help mitigate the effects of autism. On August 29, from 6 to 7 p.m., the Sisters Public Library will host a presentation by Rosimery Bergeron, MS, CRC, LPC, on this mode of autism treatment. Bergeron reports that 15 studies on the technique have shown that young children with autism who receive a 15-minute daily massage from their parents over a 5-month period have experienced a decrease in the severity of... Full story
I was honored to be a workshop presenter at The Healing Trauma Conference last month. The event was created to provide resources and access to new modalities for healing past traumas and learning new techniques to achieve resiliency. Co-founders Cheryl Mills and Susanne Frilot worked for 9 months putting it together, and when it finally breathed its first breath, it proved to be a labor of love that took on a beautiful life of its own. Participants listened to a panel of six experts discussing the main effects of trauma: ment... Full story
Waterston Desert Writing Prize-winner Nathaniel Brodie of Portland was honored last week for his writing on deserts. Yet he still finds it hard to articulate just what deserts mean to him. “The desert means a series of thing you can’t put into words. It’s a series of childlike colors, images, emotions and smells that well up out of the wide open sky,” he told The Nugget. “The sound of a canyon wren pulls forth feelings and memories. Staring up at a billion stars while lyi... Full story
Nathaniel Brodie’s interest and research into the deserts of the Southwest has brought to light the existence of large felines more commonly found in tropical jungles. His winning submission to the Waterston Desert Writing Contest tells the story of the Sky Islands, a region often neglected in Western literature. He’s quick to point out that his book, entitled “Borderlands,” is still in the discovery process. But excerpts and ideas from the book were enough to win him the $2,... Full story
On April 9, 40 second-graders from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs traveled on a school bus to Sisters. They disembarked on ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute tribe, which is now the home of Seed to Table Farm. The farm was started by Sisters High School graduate Audrey Tehan. Along with staff and fervent volunteers, she’s built a bustling farm on an acre-and-a-half. It’s become fertile ground for growing local produce, teaching students about healthy eating and... Full story
February 25 of last year was a night the Jaschke family will never forget. They woke to their home in Panoramic View Estates east of Sisters engulfed in flames and were lucky to get out alive. After firefighters battled the fire in sub-freezing temperatures, it was clear their determination and heroism couldn’t save the home or its contents. That was the worst night of the family’s lives — but it was soon followed by some of the best memories they could ever ima... Full story
When Sisters Folk Festival staff chose the theme for My Own Two Hands, their intention was to be inclusive and invite everyone in Sisters Country to join them for the festivities. “We All Belong” has inspired contributing artists like poster artist Carly Garzon Vargas to create art that reflects that message. The choice of Las Cafeteras to headline the free concert Friday night, May 10, at The Belfry is a way to continue the celebration and intention for inclusion. Las Caf... Full story
The Sisters Farmers Market is rolling out a fresh, new look and format. There will be activities for all ages and a new logo. Instead of Fridays, it will run from June to September on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fir Street Park. New offerings include a showcase with activities like crafts, cooking demonstrations and talent shows. Last year, the market was struggling with erratic vendor numbers late in the season. This year Rachel Kelleher, market manager, hired T. Lee... Full story
If you research Sisters resident Melody Carlson online, it’s quickly clear she’s a prolific published author. In fact, after writing over 250 books, she and her husband stopped counting. To date, she’s sold over 7.5 million books — and the number is still climbing. She was inspired to write over 20 years ago, after reading a book by Irish novelist Maeve Binchy. The popular writer’s well-crafted descriptions and beloved characters allowed Carlson to escape into the pag... Full story
Our home has a thick chain that hangs about 20 feet from our roof to the ground. Nothing fancy; it funnels water into a rocky planting area. The bulbs I planted there years ago thrive from the soaking rain or spring thaw. After the big snowfall at the end of February it was encased in crystalline ice. It glowed in the morning sun, then melted slow teardrops as the day warmed up. At first only a thin ice layer covered it. Colder temperatures froze the water before it reached... Full story
Lie back and relax. Feel gentle hands massage pressure points in your tired feet, tight shoulders and neck. A heated bed, soft music and soothing scenes on the walls all contribute to an hour of worry-free pampering in the heart of Sisters. And that's just the beginning. Central Oregon-raised Tammy Patterson has the gift of healing touch. She's turned that talent into a career that focuses on relaxation, vitality and regaining optimum health. Her business, Graceful Touch... Full story
I'm going to a doctor who's helping me overcome physical impediments. The main challenge has been feeling uncomfortable when I walk. Since I was young, I've felt awkward when I walked or ran. I didn't know why and didn't realize it wasn't normal to feel that way. Sometimes people were cruel about it. Our farrier told me during my teenage years that I walked like a Swedish milker. I had no idea what he was talking about and had to ask him what he meant. "They're the women who carry two large pales of milk hung from a wooden... Full story
I finished the first draft of my book, via National Novel Writing Month's (NaNoWritMo) support and encouragement. It's an on-line community of writers who all try to write a novel in a month. The goal is a 50,000-word work - or 1,700 words per day. After typing my last word; first I just felt happy and proud that I actually did it. I love their website's header: "November 1-30 - The World Needs Your Novel." I did 50,010 words in one month. I averaged 1,667 words per day. In reality, I didn't write on a few of the days, so I h... Full story
Dorothy Holmes Mohler knows firsthand that tough times can be good teachers. She's learned how to overcome challenges and find the gifts - no matter what. Twenty years ago she had a hemorrhage on the left side of her brain that forced her to become a right-brained person. Coming back was slow going and she soon realized she wasn't the same person she was before. "I was a paralegal. After the hemorrhage and recovery I had the ability to create. I saw things differently. I becam... Full story
By the time Molly Elwood graduated from Sisters High School in 2000, she'd spent her high school years working at OutlawNet and doing an internship at The Nugget. That experience set the stage for her pursuit of an education and eventual career in writing. After graduation, she went to Linfield College and eventually chose a major. She considered teaching elementary school or choir. But then she realized what she enjoyed the most were her English and creative writing classes.... Full story
