News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 1025
Mother Nature was not cooperating last Friday morning on the Locust Street sewer line relocation project. She sent much-needed rain to our parched area, but it added significantly to the water in Whychus Creek being redirected through a five-foot-wide culvert under the Locust Street bridge. Early Friday morning a monitoring station above Sisters recorded a rate of flow in Whychus Creek of 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) and later in the morning it had increased to 55 cfs. A... Full story
Sisters Middle School Principal Tim Roth believes that “when you walk into a building, the walls speak to you about what the people who work there (staff and students) believe and stand for.” Upon entering the middle school commons, the message is simple, yet impactful. There, 20-feet up on the wall, to the right of the stage, is a 10-foot-high by 28-foot-long painted canvas mural emblazoned with the words, “You are loved.” This summer, middle school art teacher Judy Fuentes... Full story
The city government is not supporting the local Cold Weather Shelter’s effort to purchase a house in Sisters. The Sisters City Council will not send a letter of support regarding the Cold Weather Shelter’s request to Deschutes County for $1 million to purchase a building on Tall Fir Court. A letter from City Manager Cory Misley to the Cold Weather Shelter board last week outlined several reasons why “at this time, the City will not provide a letter of support for this speci... Full story
If the Sisters Cold Weather Shelter receives the $1 million they are requesting from Deschutes County as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) distribution, they would use most of it to purchase an existing building at 192 E. Tall Fir Ct. to provide a more sustainable winter shelter. In time, it could evolve into a year-round resource center for Sisters’ houseless population. The 3,400-square-foot house has been on the market for a year and is priced at $795,000. The s... Full story
Sisters Habitat for Humanity executive director Sharlene Weed requested a letter of support from the Sisters City Council for Habitat’s application to Deschutes County for $1.5 million in American Rescue Plans Act (ARPA) funds to purchase 10-15 residential lots in the Sisters Woodlands development which will be located on the middle parcel of the former U.S. Forest property at the west end of town. Weed has been in successful negotiation with Woodlands architect Kevin E... Full story
•?Sisters City Council received good news from City Finance Manager Joe O’Neill at last week’s meeting. The City received $308,677.15 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the first of two tranches or installments. The second, equal amount will be awarded in a year, bringing the total awarded to $617,000. One of the eligible uses for these funds is for investment in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The City will use part of the $308,000 to cover the ove... Full story
A little housekeeping in Sisters’ codes will provide some extra protection for Sisters’ most prized trees. On recommendations from the Urban Forestry Board and the Planning Commission, Sisters City Council unanimously voted to approve amendments to ordinances of the Sisters development code and municipal code pertaining to urban forestry and protections for heritage trees. Sections in the development code having to do with the Urban Forestry Board and public trees were upd... Full story
There is a current public service announcement being shown on TV, sponsored by the nonprofit program Home Share Oregon whose mission is “to prevent housing instability, foreclosure, and homelessness through home sharing.” Services include rental listing service, roommate matching, secure message and background screens, and lease generator and rent-payment processing. For a single, older man or woman, or a couple, with a more than big enough house, house sharing could pro... Full story
•At their August 11 meeting, City Council voted to approve the Law Enforcement Strategic Plan for the Deschutes County Sheriff’s office in the City of Sisters. City Manager Cory Misley worked with Lt. Chad Davis and Capt. Paul Garrison to formulate the plan, which centers around three main goals – community engagement, crime prevention, and relationships with Sisters Country partner agencies. The agreement will be in force through June 30, 2025. The annual total f... Full story
The City of Sisters may soon be looking for a new city manager. Cory Misley is a finalist for the city manager position in Hood River, a town of 8,313 residents with a city staff of about 70. When hired for the position in Sisters, Misley agreed to stay for at least three years in light of the rash of personnel changes at the City before he was hired. He has reached the three-year mark and has been looking for a new position closer to Portland. While living through the COVID-1... Full story
Employees of Crestline Construction who were checking equipment on Sunday, July 11, at Rimrock Ranch on Wilt Road were in the right place at the right time. While making sure the heavy equipment would be ready to go Monday morning at 5 a.m., the men noticed the early plume of smoke from what became the Grandview Fire, which eventually burned 6,032 acres, coming frighteningly close to Gayle Baker’s Rimrock Ranch, a Deschutes Land Trust (DLT) property. After alerting a... Full story
The newly created City position of assistant planner has been filled with the hiring of Emelia “Emme” Shoup, who assumes her duties next week. Shoup just completed her 1,700-hour stint as an intern at the City through the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program, an AmeriCorps program administered through the University of Oregon. The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental con... Full story
As the founding president and volunteer administrator for five and a half years of Citizens4Community (C4C), Robyn Holdman has been integral to efforts to make Sisters a more connected community. Her work earned her recognition from the Sisters Vision Implementation Team as a “Connected Community Champion.” Under her leadership, C4C grew from an idea into an organization with stable funding, playing significant roles in creating a more connected and collaborative Sisters Cou... Full story
If you’re looking to find Molly Baumann, the newest member of the board at Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), outdoors might be the best place to start — at Hoodoo during the winter and outside in the woods or on the water the rest of the year. Baumann is a native Oregonian, having grown up in Portland. She graduated in Recreation Management from the University of Montana and worked for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks for seven years, with her last position the... Full story
“Should Deschutes County Commissioners be nonpartisan and be selected in nonpartisan elections?” That is a question that could go to local voters, if proponents can get sufficient signatures to place the question on a ballot. Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang attended last week’s Sisters Kiwanis meeting to explain his support for Citizens’ Initiative 2021-01-1. According to the County Clerk’s voter statistics, the number of nonaffiliated voters registered in Deschutes... Full story
The year-long process of crafting an updated Comprehensive Plan for the City is in the home stretch, according to Community Development Director Scott Woodford. Over the next month, City staff will take the final draft prepared by the consultants hired to conduct the update process, and will create the narratives, adding photos and resources that will put the goals and policies into a cohesive document. Woodford indicated he has been pleased with the process, which included... Full story
Circle of Friends (COF) is helping to create a Connected Sisters. That earned the volunteer-based nonprofit here in Sisters “Community Champion” recognition from the City’s Vision Implementation Team. Since 2011, COF has been offering critical services to at-risk children and teens in Sisters Country through long-term mentorships with committed volunteers. These mentorships are designed to help end the cycle of poverty experienced by youth and families by providing oppor... Full story
The residents living up Wilt Road and in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates were particularly impacted by the Grandview Fire that broke out on Sunday, July 11 — and they witnessed the extraordinary work performed to safeguard the community. The residents of Squaw Creek Canyon Estates were so thankful for the efforts put forward by the firefighting personnel, that they ran an ad in this week’s Nugget thanking them. There was such an outpouring of support that, after the cost o... Full story
For a week, the sky over Sisters has been crisscrossed by helicopters towing buckets of water and tanker planes carrying fire retardant to slow the Grandview Fire and keep it from spreading through Squaw Creek Canyon Estates and vicinity and into Sisters. All the efforts by 55 fire companies and seven agencies, amounting to 822 personnel at the peak of the fire, were successful in stopping the blaze at 6,032 acres, as of July 19. Not one structure or life was lost. The spirit... Full story
As of Monday afternoon, July 19, all evacuation notices around the Grandview Fire have been dropped by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team that is managing the fire. The decision was made after consultation with fire managers and cooperating agencies. The public is reminded to please refrain from unnecessary travel through the areas in and around the fir... Full story
Containment of the Grandview Fire continues to increase, now at 43 percent. The fire is mapped at 6,032 acres; the slight increase in the acreage is due to more accurate mapping and not growth of the fire. Because fire crews have been able to maintain the fire footprint while protecting homes and nearby communities, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Incident Management Team began demobilizing Saturday. Those resources will be able to return to their home agencies and get r... Full story
Today the Deschutes and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices adjusted evacuation levels around the Grandview Fire, in coordination with fire managers. To ensure public safety and prevent conflicts between citizens and fire operations, please refrain from travel through evacuation areas as fire equipment and personnel are moving through the area. Wilt Road is only open to local and fire traffic from Buffalo Road north. FS 6360 (Alder Springs Road) is also closed at Holmes R... Full story
The 822 fire personnel working the Grandview Fire 9 miles NE of Sisters have been able to hold the blaze at 5,971 acres. As of 10 p.m., Thursday, July 15, 20 percent of the perimeter was contained, up from the previous day’s 14 percent. The cause of the blaze is still unknown. The fuels involved in the fire are mostly scattered open stands of pine among juniper trees, sage brush, and grass. There is heavy creekside fuel in the Whychus drainage area to the southeast, which has... Full story
Firefighters successfully stopped three spot fires that jumped lines of the Grandview Fire during the Red Flag Warning yesterday. As temperatures cooled and the humidity increased last night, firefighters strengthened the containment lines by beginning to cool the hot areas just inside the perimeter. The great work by last night’s crews will enable today’s crews to hold the perimeter of the fire. The Grandview Fire is estimated to be 5,971 acres and is 14% contained. Six Ore... Full story
Sisters history came to life on the lawn of the Sisters History Museum on Sunday, July 11, when the Three Sisters Historical Society hosted its first annual Founders Day Picnic. The picnic was celebrating the original platting, on July 10, 1901, of the six blocks that comprised early Sisters (See related story). Picnic-goers were treated to free hot dogs, potato salad, frozen ice cream treats, and iced tea and lemonade. Citizens4Community provided the funding for purchasing... Full story
