News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
Three months into the first school year in the new Sisters Elementary School (SES) building, its leaders are over the moon. The old grounds, they say, were "bursting at the seams." Teachers and students "felt stifled." Today, "everything is bigger and better," said Principal Joan Warburg. "Better than expected." Assistant Principal of Student Success Jana Giles is very pleased with how students and teachers have been getting into their new groove. "Teachers have been really... Full story
Outlaw Basketball (OBB), founded by former longtime Sisters High School Varsity Coach Rand Runco, and operated under Sisters Parks & Recreation District (SPRD), is now out on its own. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit is led by Justin Durham, president, and Ryan Moffat, chairman, with Coach Runco and Varsity Head Basketball Coach Chad Rush on board. "The four of us founded this new, formalized Outlaw Basketball as its own entity," said Durham. "We're excited to work with kids in the... Full story
Sisters Elementary School (SES) is becoming a Halloween haunt, not only for kids in costume, but for a cauldron of bats. The bats had called home the ponderosa pines that stood tall at McKenzie Highway and McKinney Butte Road, then the trees were cut down so the school building could go up. "They lost their part of the forest, their habitat. There must have been some big holes way up in the trees where the bats were living. Every year, they come back after they hibernate.... Full story
Mike Musco has been through it. Family circumstances in his youth forced him to drop out of college. Just as he got his footing in finance, the Great Recession sent everything sliding. Like the market, he bounced back to reach new heights. He bought and sold a business and multiple investment properties, worked eight years at Microsoft in corporate finance and business management, and became a financial advisor. "I finished my accounting bachelor's while I was working at... Full story
In Central Oregon, a quiet but life-changing movement is taking place through organ donation, particularly living kidney donation. For many, these selfless acts offer hope and the chance for extra years of life. Through the experiences of local women, we can see the profound impact of becoming a donor. A Gift from Mother – and Another from Brother Elise Michaels, a long-time resident of Bend, knows the value of organ donation deeply. Diagnosed with renal failure at 25, her fut...
Out of the shadow of the Paris Summer Olympics, locally trained Winter Olympics hopefuls are breaking out as rays of hope vying for a chance to represent Central Oregon on the world stage. At 19 years old, Bend native Elijah Pyle has made significant strides in the competitive snowboarding world. Specializing in halfpipe, Pyle's journey from local slopes to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team exemplifies our rich regional winter sports talent and culture. "I first started off...
As school and construction teams ready a new elementary school on West McKinney Butte Road, one teacher is transforming rooms in the old school building into a new school for very young children. Soul Blossom Child Care Center (Soul Blossom CCC) will be located at 611 E. Cascade Ave. Director April Farmer, a teacher from Bend, saw a need in Sisters as an opportunity to manifest her dream. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Sisters,” said Farmer. “When I was a kid, I remember my mom taking me to the quilting festival. The are... Full story
The town of Sisters, established in the late 1800s where two wagon roads met, continues to serve as a haven for cross-Cascade explorers drawn by the spirit of the Old West. Thousands of backpackers, with trail names like Forest and Sasquatch, arrive to rest and replenish as they walk through the wilderness. On a recent day, Chief Frodo, fresh from a stay at the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge, crossed the street in search of Neosporin and instant coffee for his trek along the... Full story
Nugget freelancer Jarod Gatley was on a long trail run in the Three Creeks area recently when he got a text from a family member alerting him to a report of a fire at Lower Three Creeks Sno Park. While that fire was quickly dealt with, the encounter sparked a question for him: Hikers are commonly equipped for various types of weather and terrain, hazards from avalanches to flooding, and predators from animal to human, but how should you prepare or act for wildfire?... Full story
It appears Sisters has a new annual Independence Day tradition. Sisters 4th Fest attracted an estimated 1,000-plus people to Village Green Park, adding a ton of heart to the heart of town. "It was wonderful seeing the community come together to eat, celebrate, dance, pay tribute to our veterans, and just have a good time," said Kellen Klein, executive director of Citizens4Community (C4C), which put on the festivities with Rotary Club of Sisters. "The event wholly exceeded our... Full story
A hot and dry start to July has put us under Stage 1 fire restrictions: no campfires, wood stoves, charcoal grills, or fireworks on most Central Oregon public lands. Agencies and organizations are practicing for the inevitable. The Pet Evacuation Team (PET) held a mock deployment on Saturday to teach volunteers how to help animals during disasters. The nonprofit visited Harmony Farm Sanctuary, a 10-acre shelter off Fryrear Road outside Sisters. It's home to dozens of rescued f... Full story
The first Friday of summer, on the surface, seemed standard for Sisters. Sun shined, shoppers strolled, tourists toured, and travelers traveled through, their trucks and trailers slowing to a crawl in the Cascade blockade. For hundreds of locals, though, time stood still. It had stopped two days prior, following a tragic crash on the first day of summer break for students. The sudden losses of two young lives - a boy and a girl, forever 14 - cast a pall over their families,... Full story
For years, Sisters had not offered a competitive travel baseball program - not even for their home tournament -until the Bandits home-run-trotted in on June 1 to collect some serious hardware. The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce organizes Sisters Country Tournament Baseball. "We doubled our divisions this year and did a lot more work on the fields. The Bandits worked on those fields for weeks," said Chamber Membership & Marketing Coordinator Turi Shergold. Then they knocked... Full story
Sisters' new $33.8 million elementary school is substantially completed. There's a lot of finish work yet to be done, but the Sisters School District has a scheduled move-in date of June 24, with keys handed over July 15. The project is on time and on budget, though there have been some alterations due to increased construction costs. The gym is a little smaller than originally planned, and a planned roll-up door to the outside of the library was scrapped in favor of a large... Full story
Sisters band The Smoke Drifters will kick off the summer concerts at The Barn. They'll take the stage on Saturday, June 1, at 6 p.m. for their album release party. The band's debut, "Falling from the Sky," is now available on streaming platforms. The Americana/Roots Rock group features lead singer/songwriter Jonas Tarlen, Macon Luhning on guitar and mandolin, Jonathan van Heel's lead electric guitar, Mike Boero behind the kit, and Steve Orange on bass. "Steve and I both work... Full story
Sisters Varsity Baseball's playoff run ended on Friday with a 4-1 quarterfinals loss at Pleasant Hill. Senior Brody Fischer and junior Landen Scott hit first-inning singles but the Outlaw offense floundered, unable to convert scoring chances. The Pleasant Hill Billies scored first, in the third inning, and Sisters answered in the fourth. Justin deSmet hit a grounder, reached first on an error, and brought in Fischer to tie it 1-1. Then the wheels fell off. Sisters starter... Full story
A big home win has propelled Sisters Varsity Baseball to the next round of the state playoffs. Next, the team travels to league rival Pleasant Hill. Their game is set for Friday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m. The Outlaws secured their spot in the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union 3A Baseball State Championship Quarterfinals on Wednesday, blanking South Umpqua 9-0 at home. The Round-2 matchup was a tight one at first. Sophomores Jace Owens and Sebastian Storch each singled in a run,... Full story
The Mountain Valley Conference Baseball Champion Varsity Outlaws are hosting an Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) playoff game to extend their remarkable 2024 campaign. Sisters will face South Umpqua on Wednesday, May 22, at 4:30 p.m. at Sisters High School, in Round 2 of the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union 3A Baseball State Championship. This is a single-elimination matchup: the winner makes the quarterfinals; the other goes home. The Outlaws (Mountain Valley... Full story
One of the best search and rescue teams in the nation is ready to respond within minutes - unless you're a climber stuck between a rock and a hard place in the middle of winter on the South Sister. The rock, in this case, was a band of rock amid a wall of ice - the hard place, nearly 10,000 feet up the north side of South Sister - preventing an ice climber from reaching relative safety. "He called from that spot, and I remember telling him, 'Get comfortable. You need to be... Full story
Cooper Alport's final at-bat lasted longer than any other last Friday at Reed Stadium. Adding foul tip after foul tip to a full count, Cooper stayed alive for 14 pitches. She's a fighter, but it was almost as if she didn't want to leave - the moment, the season, her team; her community. Cooper went 2-for-4 in the season finale, hitting a double and reaching second base a second time for her second hit, on an error by opponent Harrisburg. Both times, she came around to score,... Full story
Senior Night ended on a high note for the Outlaws. The Sisters Varsity Baseball team blanked Harrisburg last week for a League record of 15-3. A shutout win capped off a four-game week: Sisters beat Harrisburg 7-2 on Tuesday, May 7, defeated Taft 19-3 on Wednesday, then took down Harrisburg twice on Friday, 8-4 and 10-0. Between Friday's games, the team celebrated its seniors Austin Dean, Justin deSmet, Brody Fischer, and Tristen Madron. From the mound, Fischer gave up three... Full story
"We won! Our Sisters Softball won!" The excited exclamation came from Sisters Varsity Assistant Softball Coach Janet Cusimano immediately after the Outlaws varsity team won their first game of the season May 2 at Siuslaw. The Sisters High Softball Outlaws have been working extremely hard. It is showing. "Improving during every practice is our coaching message. At games, regardless of the score, the priority is teamwork, communication, and fun," said Head Coach Gary Barr, who... Full story
In a series of high-stakes matchups, Sisters Varsity Outlaws have won 12 of their last 13, and play four games this week, culminating in a doubleheader on Friday, May 10 — Senior Night. Led by standout performances from key players like seniors Brody Fischer and Austin Dean, the Outlaws have demonstrated resilience, propelling them to success. The team started the week with an overall record of 16-6, league record of 12-3, and OSAA Rank #5 in the 3A-4 Mountain Valley Conference. Sisters, Pleasant Hill, and La Pine are tops i... Full story
Outlaws varsity baseball, winners of seven straight, now look to keep their bats alive versus Elmira. Sisters sent La Pine home empty handed last week. The series began April 16 in La Pine, where the Outlaws defeated the Hawks 6-4. Shifting to Sisters, the Outlaws won back-to-back games 7-5 and 11-1 on Friday, capping off a three-game set of Ws against their regional rival. "The biggest thing, I think, from Friday, was we scored every single inning. It makes it tough on a... Full story
On a chilly Friday morning earlier this month, an FAA examiner grilled Timber Bionda. Four hours and one flight later, he had earned his pilot's license. Then he had to get ready for school. The 17-year-old is exceptional, to say the least. Those in his circle describe him differently: "Amazing. The coolest kid." "Very dedicated. Very methodical." "A natural in the air." Timber grew up in France. At age 11, he and his French father, American mother, and little brother set... Full story
