News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 280
Maggie Bidasolo always operates at maximum capacity. Knowing how to manage her interests, energy level, and academics was imperative at an early age. A Sisters High School graduate who was partially homeschooled, she credits her father and being an athlete with teaching her how to master time management. Bidasolo family took an unorthodox approach to her education. “When I went to high school it was a hybrid situation. I wanted to be a high-end athlete and be involved in g... Full story
Seed to Table, a Sisters agricultural and education nonprofit, is opening sign-ups January 20 for this season’s produce shares. The early sign-up offers a longer availability of fresh veggies, sliding-scale payment options, and SNAP/EBT payment options. Seed to Table’s produce share is based on a model called community supported agriculture or CSA. This concept was created in the 1960s by Booker T. Whatley, a Black horticulturist, agricultural professor, and advocate for farming practices that help sustain and rebuild the... Full story
Julia Rahm got her start in Sisters. Her love of theater and singing took root from programs she sought out in Sisters and Bend. She is now a vocal artist, voice teacher, composer, and poet. She received her bachelor’s degree in theater, music, and the French language at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and her master’s in voice performance from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She also studied for one year at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. A Sisters High Sch... Full story
Fernando Aleu is living a fascinating, richly diverse life. A vibrant, handsome man of 92, he has stories, and now a book, that reflect his sense of style, education, and experiences spanning the globe. He’s a retired neurologist — businessman and patriarch. His charming personality is magnetic, drawing in friends and admirers as effectively as an alluring fragrance. He’s also proud to call himself a Sisters resident. Growing up in Spain, prior to and during World War... Full story
Black Butte Ranch (BBR) is bidding adieu to its original lodge, built over 50 years ago. After several renovations it was clear it was time to start over and create a space and experience only possible by removing the original structure. The decision wasn’t an easy one. For those who grew up coming to the Ranch or who call it home, imagining the drive in without the iconic building is hard to comprehend. The family dinners, morning coffees and weddings enjoyed in and around t... Full story
Kevin Marquardt has harnessed his love of climbing cliffs and boulders into a thriving business. But they way he makes a living has him firmly on solid ground. He officially started Dirtbag Conversions in May of last year. The name may be Dirtbag but the van conversions he’s turning out are anything but disorganized or unkempt. In fact, seeing how he transforms the interior of his customer’s vehicles is quite amazing. Getting to a place where his thriving business is boo... Full story
Nancy Schupp lives quietly at home with her dog, Gizmo. In her late 70s, she’s been a caterer and a dental technician. Both jobs kept her busy, working seven days a week. Sometimes she grabbed fast food when she was tired, but always gave her catering clients the best quality foods she could afford. Now she realizes that she should have treated herself as thoughtfully — and she hopes her missteps can be lessons to save others from the pain she’s suffered from diabetes. I... Full story
Alessandra Wentworth is a senior at Sisters High School. She’s got big plans for her future with one common denominator: horses. She caught the horse-bug after attending a riding camp when she was nine. Now she’s sure she wants horses in her life forever. “I want to be an equine veterinarian, so I’m surrounded by horses all the time,” she laughed while grooming her horse Kilkenny I.Q. She boards her horse and takes jumping lessons from her longtime trainer, Cindy Shonka at JGW... Full story
Waves of record-high temperatures, combined with low rainfall and dwindling snowmelt needed to replenish aquafers and river systems, are affecting Sisters Country. Farmers and ranchers have known for years that the area is in trouble. How it’s affecting them varies based on how they get their water and what kind of agricultural practices they have in place. Efforts focus on maximizing available water while minimizing losses through water-saving practices. According to the Nati... Full story
The Lodge at Black Butte Ranch (BBR) has been the cornerstone and heart of the Ranch for the past 50 years. Looking out of the tall, west-facing windows, the view is an ever-unfolding panorama across wraparound lawns to Phalarope Lake, then on to pastures and meadows bustling with activity. Framing it all in Central Oregon perfection is the Cascade Range, majestic, protective, and always changing. The vista will remain, but after careful consideration and input from BBR... Full story
Artists Mel Archer and Terri Dill-Simpson share a love for the Santiam Canyon and the people attempting to rebuild their lives after the devastating, deadly September fires last year. Their current art show is focused on helping raise and renew awareness of the on-going needs of the canyon community. Archer and Dill-Simpson are donating 50 percent of the proceeds from two art pieces inspired by the Santiam Canyon and now on display in the Cindy and Duncan Campbell Gallery to... Full story
How did Sisters become the community it is today? For those who’ve lived here for many years, the answer often goes back to volunteers, businesses, and nonprofit organizations who’ve invested sweat, dollars, and time. For Debbie Newport, it’s important for those new to Sisters to understand what it took to make Sisters special. Newport typifies the character, commitment, and courage needed to create a community always striving to be better and reach youth in need. Her dedic... Full story
Nick Anthony was inspired by teachers and experiences he had growing up in Sisters. Now living near the shores of Lake Michigan, he’s taken what he learned in school and work into his career in a research lab in the biomedical engineering department at Northwestern University. Working for one of the country’s leading private research and teaching universities, Anthony is working with people and research that are sometimes even hard for him to grasp. “We have a lot of scien... Full story
A favorite quote by author Arundhati Roy sums up Mandee Seeley’s work advocating for people experiencing houselessness in Sisters Country: “There’s really no such thing as the voiceless. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” Seeley is a woman with grit and passion, who’s been a housing advocate in Sisters since 2016. That’s the year her family of four moved to Oregon and became houseless themselves. Her family, including two young children, h... Full story
When Fran Willis joined the Seed to Table board of directors, she also joined Sisters Farmers Market Manager Caroline Hager’s efforts to make the market the best it could be. Willis suggested adding art to reflect the community’s bounty of talented visual artists. Last weekend, that idea took shape, enhancing the event that’s become a local favorite with homegrown music, produce, and products. Willis asked local artist Paul Alan Bennett for some ideas for art at Fir Stree... Full story
Leotie Richards loves learning new techniques and integrating them into fabric art. Before retiring and moving to Sisters she spent 20 years designing graphics and textiles for retail stores. Always up for a challenge, she began exploring new ways to work with fabrics, including art quilting. Richards combined her appreciation for people she considers American folk heroes with her interest in botany and history to create 12 portrait quilts for a special exhibit that debuted... Full story
Kelsey (Newport) Harpham’s childhood in Sisters fostered a love of the outdoors, travel, and an appreciation for the waterways throughout Central Oregon. She’s coalesced her education in the Sisters schools and college into a career that has taken her throughout Asia. She and her husband, Nathan, lived in Hanoi, Viet Nam, where she has been involved in water resources management planning, climate adaption policy, disaster risk reduction, and infrastructure resilience pro... Full story
Becca Rose is a traveler, poet, author, editor, student, and a 2011 graduate of Sisters High School. Her love for Sisters is deeply held. Within that appreciation, she also found a need for interrogation and understanding. Her evolving perspective came into focus after putting distance between her and Central Oregon. But whether she ventures north, south, east, or west, Sisters is a compass bearing with a strong pull on her heart. Rose reflects on her childhood in Sisters... Full story
Jennifer Beech has been designing spaces since she was a youngster. She’s always had an eye for styling, from entire homes to a room or bookshelf needing a new look that balances practicality with personal style. Her ability to find perfect pieces throughout Central Oregon that are affordable and unique has her customers enjoying their homes even more. “I love hearing about our customers’ spaces, and the new homes they’re building or buying. They’re so motivated and eager to... Full story
Thinking back on the endless weeding I did last summer, I see a connection to a book I just finished, “Four Hundred Souls.” It explores the history of African Americans from 1619 to 2019. It was edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. Time periods are divided into five-year segments, with various authors presenting historical documents and stories that illuminate American history as it relates to systemic racism. Now I see a connection between racism and cheatgrass. I’m... Full story
Sisters High School graduate Alyssa Adler is living a life full of beauty and adventure. A day at work for Adler takes her on ocean voyages and deep beneath the frigid waters of Antarctica. She’s a polar diver, underwater educator, National Geographic Explorer, and is in her first year of a Ph.D. program at Duke University. She also describes herself as a professional fun-haver. “People forget it’s important to have fun. That’s a goal I try to keep at the forefront of my life... Full story
Over the decades, Naomi Rowe has known hardship and many blessings. Growing up in Central Oregon, her family sometimes struggled. In 1952, when Rowe was 14, her family moved to Sisters. “There were times I couldn’t participate in school activities because the money wasn’t there,” she recalled. “When we had basketball games at Sisters High School, we had a trampoline and a bunch of us performed during halftime. But I couldn’t join the Glee Club because we didn’t have the money.... Full story
It was getting bad. When I walked by the doorway of my home office, I looked the other way. After years of shoving papers into drawers and filling the closet with wayward objects, I was stuck. Old photographs, unhung artwork, writing samples, tax and medical records were all jumbled together. The room doubles as a place for guests to stay. Usually, the imminent arrival of a houseguest got me tidying up so there was a place to hang a few clothes, put luggage on a chair and have a spot on the desk for a book, cup of water, and... Full story
Creativity can sustain people through pain and challenging times. It also provides nourishment in ways never imagined. The pandemic inspired Sisters artist and educator Kit Stafford to create her way through the experience. She used her gifts and love of textiles and found objects to share stories about the “flight patterns” of loss, renewal, and reflection. A show entitled “Landings” hangs along the western wall at Stitchin’ Post. It was scheduled for last April, but was p... Full story
MJ Schulte graduated from Sisters High School 10 years ago. Now she’s a teacher at Rosland Elementary School in La Pine. Her passion for teaching and helping young people fuels her efforts to impact their lives in a positive way. She knows having supportive and understanding adults in a young person’s life can help them through all kinds of hardship. “A large reason why I’m where I am today is because I grew up in Sisters,” she told The Nugget. “From becoming a teacher, th... Full story
