News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 1025
The East Portal in Sisters is one big step closer to being in City hands. The Sisters City Council and its Urban Renewal Agency (URA) approved a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) last week. The 14.61-acre property is located at 460 West US 20, the eastern terminus of Highway 242, the McKenzie Highway. The parcel of land is bordered by Highway 20 to the northeast, West Hood Avenue to the west, and Highway 242 to the south. All those streets a... Full story
A large parcel of exclusive farm use (EFU) land may be rezoned to allow for rural residential development, which would allow one dwelling per 10 acres. The land, located in the Lower Bridge valley west of Terrebonne between Lower Bridge Way and Highway 126, is 710 acres made up of nine tax parcels, which means the possibility of 70 homes being built on acreage surrounded by farms and ranches, federal land, and a small rural subdivision. The request for the rezone is being... Full story
For a town that is only two square miles in area, without a single signal, traffic seems to be one of the biggest topics of concern, especially during the summer tourist season. Perhaps one of the main reasons traffic seems to be at top of mind for residents is that the main street through town, Cascade Avenue, is a state highway that carries freight trucks and passenger cars from the west side of the state, over Santiam Pass, and through Sisters. Our town is a gateway to and... Full story
- The Sisters City Council approved the awarding of a public improvement contract to Knife River Corporation -Northwest in an amount not to exceed $304,986.60 for the 2022 pavement maintenance project. Due to their level of pavement degradation and age, the following streets will receive a 1.5-inch overlay: West Main Avenue from North Locust Street to North Pine Street, Pine Meadow Street, South Rope Street, East Timber Pine Drive, West Jefferson Avenue, and South Birch... Full story
With over 60 people filling the Sisters Fire Hall community room, the U.S. Forest Service Sisters Ranger District Open House on Monday, April 11 was loaded with relevant information on all the Forest Service activities and projects already undertaken and those planned for the coming year. Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid said the purpose of the first in-person open house in two years was to inform the public about proposed projects and get feedback from the attendees. Reid... Full story
Central Oregon native Jacob Smith has assumed the duties of Code Compliance Officer (CCO) for the City of Sisters. This is a new staff position. Smith comes to his job in Sisters after working for the City of Redmond for 15 years, 13 of those as the code compliance officer, which was a new position in Redmond when he started. He built the program from the ground up, which is what he will be doing in Sisters. During his time in Redmond, Smith reported there were 15,000 code... Full story
Living in or near the forest, Sisters residents are (or should be) tuned into the possibility of fire. Now we have another natural phenomenon of which to be aware: drought. We are entering into our third summer of drought in Central Oregon with forecasts for this year to be worse than the two previous years. When there is only 50 percent of our normal snowpack in the mountains, 25-50 percent of normal precipitation so far this year, and plenty of dry fuels around the area, the... Full story
The summer I graduated from college, 1966, I was a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding in Portland. We met as freshmen in high school, having many classes together and turning out our freshman spring for the high school tennis team as doubles partners. Karen was the better player, but together we were a pretty powerful duo, making it to the state tournament our junior year. But I digress, just like when the two of us are together talking. As Karen’s attendants helped her... Full story
The installation of an eight-foot-wide multi-use path along the west side of North Pine Street, from West Main Avenue all the way north to the City limits, is currently underway. The project is being done by Odyssey Contracting LLC with a price tag of $170,247.50. A projected completion date is June 30. The project is funded by a $100,000 grant from Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and money from systems development charges (SDCs). This project is part of the 2021... Full story
Growth is a six-letter, one-syllable word that can conjure up a multitude of ideas, scenarios, fears, options, and consequences. Growth and its many impacts can give rise to differing opinions and create tension and division in a town like Sisters. On Thursday, May 12, Citizens4Community and The Nugget Newspaper are cosponsoring a town hall dealing with “Keeping Sisters, Sisters” while dealing with rapid growth and development. Rather than taking diametrically opposed pos... Full story
Sisters is probably going to be in the high or extreme risk category for wildfire according to the Statewide Map of Wildfire Risk, which will be completed by June 30, 2022, and available to the public. Sisters Fire Chief Roger Johnson said that risk level would be due to the city’s small geographic footprint and its proximity to the Deschutes National Forest on three sides. The risk assessment map is only one of a number of programs and tools being brought online statewide b... Full story
The public raised a unified voice against the sale of 400 acres of Department of State Lands (DSL) land on Cline Buttes to the developer of the proposed Thornburgh destination resort. DSL staff heard testimony at their virtual public hearing on March 10. With more than 200 attendees via Zoom, there was only time allotted to take questions and testimony from about 55 attendees, all of whom spoke against the sale for a variety of reasons. Two weeks ago, Central Oregon LandWatch... Full story
Residents in Camp Sherman have the opportunity to indicate their interest in obtaining fiber optic broadband. Connectivity currently is poor, unreliable, or nonexistent. If residents submit a non-binding letter of interest now, before planning begins on the system, the plan can be designed right to their homes or businesses and their hookup cost will be covered by grants secured for installation of the system. Residents who choose to wait and hook up after the system is in... Full story
- A preferred candidate has been identified for the new City position of Compliance Officer and an offer for employment extended. If the offer is accepted, the person should be on the job by April. - The second City Council meeting in March will be held on Wednesday, March 30 with a workshop at 5:30 p.m. and the Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Council meetings are normally the second and fourth Wednesday but because the fourth Wednesday in March is during spring vacation, the... Full story
The Cyrus family of Cloverdale has a rich seven-generation history in Oregon, much of it part of the local fabric of Sisters Country. That’s the topic of Three Sisters Historical Society’s (TSHS) first Fireside Story Evening of 2022. The Tuesday, March 22 event starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. to allow time for socializing and perusing books for sale from the museum. The evening will be hosted by the Cyrus family at Brand 33 at Aspen Lakes, 16900 Aspen Lakes Dr.... Full story
If all goes according to plan, the instream and bank restoration work on Whychus Creek, where it runs between Creekside Park and Creekside Campground — from the Locust Street bridge to the Highway 20 bridge — should take place in August 2022. This according to Mathias Perle, restoration program manager for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, in his report to the City Parks Advisory Board, who held their March 2 meeting at the creek. The strategic plan for... Full story
What creates a greater sense of awe and wonder than standing outside and gazing up into the crystal-clear dark night sky over Sisters? Stars twinkling, constellations readily visible, satellites passing overhead. Sisters is on the precipice of losing that amazing night sky to growing light pollution. In a presentation to the City Council on February 23, members of Sisters High School Astronomy Club presented data highlighting the increase in light pollution of Sisters’ dark s... Full story
Matthew Martin is the newest member to join the City of Sisters staff. He is principal planner in the Community Development Department. Martin said that one of the biggest draws and a deciding factor for accepting his new position was the current staff at City Hall. “The team at City Hall that serves Sisters is a good bunch. They are dedicated, passionate public servants. They have been very welcoming and supportive of me,” Martin said. Being a contributing member of a col... Full story
Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS) is an invaluable local program that offers free transportation for all Sisters Country residents, to Sisters, Bend, and Redmond for all non-emergency medical appointments: physicians, dental, vision, physical therapy, hearing, lab work, testing, and vaccinations. STARS and COVID-19 came on the scene within months of each other, and yet STARS volunteers were able to provide 146 rides in under a year’s time in 2020 with hefty p... Full story
Over the past two years, during this time of forced seclusion due to the pandemic, I have felt deep in my soul the need for face-to-face human connection: smiles, handshakes, hugs and kisses, and meaningful conversation. This has been an empty, unsatisfying time, and my psyche has reacted in surprising ways. If I had to describe my feelings, I would say I have been languishing. I promised the editor I would write an “Of a Certain Age... Full story
•?Drivers will have to slow down in Sisters. Council adopted Ordinance No. 518 at their February 8 meeting, which sets a designated speed of 20 miles per hour on local streets in residential districts. Currently, the majority of streets within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) have posted speed limits of 25 mph. The downtown commercial district has lower speeds of 20 mph set by state statute. Adoption of this ordinance establishes a 20 mph speed limit in residential... Full story
In a recent interview regarding destination management, Council President Nancy Connolly addressed several adjacent topics. •?How might a destination management organization (DMO) be paid for? “In the ’80s, the state legislature established a state lodging tax, the Transient Lodging Tax (TLT). ‘Heads in beds’ pay a nightly tax which goes to the city or county where the lodging occurred. There are restrictions on how the funds are spent on tourism and/or used for the gen... Full story
The population in the city of Sisters by 2041 is predicted to reach 5,300, according to the Portland State University Population Research Center. Compared to the actual 2020 population of 3,064, that is an increase of 1,026 residents just within the city limits. With the average size household at 2.28 people, 1,100 more housing units of all kinds, in addition to those already in the pipeline, would be needed to meet the housing demands of 2,236 more people, according to... Full story
Sisters is moving toward a holistic approach to tourism, considering the benefits for the visitors balanced with the quality of life for the residents. The City Council and City staff are investigating a fairly recent development in the tourism industry known as destination management. Destination management involves coordinating tourist activities across multiple agencies, businesses, and organizations to manage visitor impacts on the area while improving livability for the... Full story
Braxton Holly has lived on his 10-acre parcel of land off Holmes Road over 25 years. When he moved from the valley to Sisters, it was 10 acres of scrub, trees, rocks, and no surface water. The surrounding properties are all five- and 10-acre parcels, each requiring a well to provide running water. Back behind his property there is an old dry lakebed, indicating that at some point in time, the area contained a surface water source, but no more. One of the challenging... Full story
