News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 1025
Jackson Dumanch, the City’s new public works project coordinator, is a young man with a firm handshake, who looks you in the eye when you meet him. Before taking his new job, he worked as a utility technician for the City of Sisters Public Works Department for 2.5 years, where he was a certified playground safety inspector in addition to his many other duties. “The Public Works crew is amazing. I always felt welcome, and they helped me learn and gain so much exp... Full story
A traffic safety improvement in downtown Sisters will be in effect starting Thursday, October 20. Watch for a new four-way stop at the intersection of East Main Avenue and North Larch Street. The need for a four-way stop at the Larch-Main intersection was identified in the Sisters 2021 Traffic Safety Audit conducted by the City’s traffic engineer, including a traffic count to determine trip numbers from all four directions. Public Works Director Paul Bertagna said the i... Full story
In December 2016, at the beginning of what proved to be an especially harsh winter, an unhoused man named Ed Fones died in his car of hypothermia. Fones was employed in Sisters, but couldn’t afford to pay rent, so lived in his car. At the time of this tragedy, a dedicated group of community members was already in the process of establishing Sisters’ first cold weather Shelter, led by co-chairs Pastor Ron Gregg of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and Lois Kaping of Wes... Full story
High rental housing costs, low inventory of affordable homes, and climbing inflation conspire to keep a certain percentage of Sisters residents from having stable permanent housing, even if they have full-time employment. On Thursday evening, October 20, Citizens4Community and The Nugget Newspaper are co-sponsoring a community forum at the Sisters Fire Hall Community Room at 301 S. Elm St. and the public is invited. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the program begins at 6 p.m. Six... Full story
Hearing from three of the four candidates running for Sisters City Council at last week’s candidate forum, it is evident there is considerable agreement among them as to what the important issues are on Council’s radar. There are four candidates running for three positions: incumbents Michael Preedin and Gary Ross, and two new candidates, Sarah McDougall and Susan Cobb. The two top vote getters will serve four years, the third will serve two. Mayor Preedin was unable to par... Full story
Students from the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) visited Sisters on Friday, October 7, to meet with City staff and personnel from the Sisters School District (SSD) and Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD). They toured the school district administration building and the elementary school with Superintendent Curtis Scholl to get an initial overview of the facilities. They also walked around town to observe traffic, sidewalks, parks, paths,... Full story
Sisters residents in Precinct 30 will see a City-referred measure on their November 8 general election ballot asking if voters approve several proposed amendments to the municipal Charter. The individual proposed Charter amendments will not be listed on the ballot, but a description of them is available on the City of Sisters website (www.ci.sisters.or.us) and at City Hall. Reviewing and updating the City Charter was listed under Good Governance in the FY 2021/22 City Council... Full story
The last remnants of proposed development in Camp Sherman is slowly — and tentatively — moving forward. The Ponderosa Land and Cattle Company is the holder of 17,000 acres located north of Highway 20 and several miles east of Camp Sherman and the Metolius River. The property was purchased by the Colson family in about 2007 from Weyerhaeuser when they were divesting themselves of holdings in Central Oregon. About the same time, Dutch Pacific Resources purchased 647... Full story
After more than three years as the program manager for the City’s Public Works Department, Troy Rayburn left Sisters as of September 30 for a position as city administrator in White Salmon, Washington. Rayburn grew up in The Dalles, and has family in Hood River, so he will be returning to his home turf in the Columbia Gorge. While in college, he served as a summer intern for the city manager in The Dalles, which influenced his educational choices. He graduated from Oregon S... Full story
After 17 years of trying to build an “eco-resort” somewhere in Oregon, Camp Sherman resident Shane Lundgren and his partner Jim Kean, of Dutch Pacific Resources, are suing the state of Oregon for $30 million. They claim the state has not lived up to their agreement that the partners had pre-approved development rights to build their eco-resort elsewhere in the state, outside the Metolius Basin. The case was filed in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, which originally app... Full story
A handsome new cedar split-rail fence runs along the top of the bank adjacent to Whychus Creek in Creekside Park. Shortly, a matching fence will be installed on the other side of the creek in the Creekside Campground. The cedar fence material was provided by Hoyt’s Hardware & Building Supply. The installation is being done by a work crew of high school students from the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council’s alternative education program (see sidebar). The fences are par... Full story
Sisters residents will have the opportunity to hear from the candidates for Sisters City Council in person at the Sisters Fire Station Community Hall. The City Club of Central Oregon (CCCO) and the League of Women Voters of Deschutes County (LWVDC) have partnered to bring Deschutes County voters a series of in-person candidate forums for positions on the general election ballot. The Sisters forum on Wednesday, October 5, at 6:30 p.m., will be the first one. The purpose of the... Full story
In the next 20 years, the population within Sisters’ city limits is forecast to be double in size, from about 3,400 residents today to over 7,000 by 2042. To prepare for that projected growth, the City Council, the Planning Commission, and City staff have been working with the consulting firm of APG-MIG to develop housing and growth management strategies. Since early 2022, work has been ongoing on drafting information to support the state-required Housing Plan Update and E... Full story
Explore Sisters will provide destination management services for Sisters — their mission being to support and lead tourism promotion, development, and stewardship. A contract approved by the Sisters City Council formalized the allocation of $350,000 of transient lodging tax (TLT) funds for tourism promotion and destination management services. Each year, the City will compensate Explore Sisters with a portion of the TLTs that the City assesses pursuant to Oregon State... Full story
People new to Sisters Country, or those visiting, often come from larger urban areas. They are understandably enchanted by local wildlife, particularly our town deer. The urge to feed wildlife can be tempting, and it seems like a caring thing to do. Wildlife experts have been trying for years to get people not to feed deer and other wildlife. They don’t need food from humans to survive. Human food is not healthy for wild animals, and can make them sick. Wild animals have speci... Full story
There’s nothing like attending a 60th high school reunion to promote reflecting on my memories of the past, which are brimming with fun and laughter, satisfying achievements, and yes, some teenage heartbreak that never lasted for long. I am very fortunate to still count as some of my best friends people who shared those teenage years with me. Whenever we talk on the phone, or, more rarely, see each other in person, there has been no passage of time. We are again who we’ve alw... Full story
A new-old gallery is now gracing Hood Avenue just two doors down from its previous home. Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop is now located at 222 #C W. Hood Ave., in the same building as the new Toriizaka Art, whose owners purchased the entire building. The updated gallery space provides a visual feast from the moment you stand out in front. Large windows previewing what you’ll find inside, a snappy new exterior paint job, and green awnings and potted plants beckon passersby to c... Full story
Initial planning has begun on the proposed multi-modal transportation hub slated for the East Portal property. A concept workshop involving multiple entities was held last week to begin brainstorming what would be needed to make the site work for all those involved. Kittleson & Associates are acting as the consultants on the project. Matt Kittleson, consultant, Troy Rayburn, City of Sisters project manager, and Andrea Breault, transportation director for Central Oregon Intergo... Full story
- Lt. Chad Davis of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reports his officers have made several mental health calls, transferring people to the stabilization center in Bend for help. They have also conducted a warrant sweep, resulting in several arrests. The Sisters substation is being updated to create an additional office, shower, a briefing/interview room, and provide safety upgrades. In a response to a city councilor’s question regarding regulations for the new ele... Full story
Support has been tremendous from community members for the Cold Weather Shelter, board members reported at their meeting last week. They pointed to the volunteer monitors, mainly from the local churches, who serve meals and cover the Shelter from 5:30 to 10 p.m. There have been monetary as well as material donations. The City Council just awarded a $1,250 grant for pantry provisions. A benefit concert this summer at Sisters Community Church netted $3,600 in donations for the S... Full story
City Councilor Gary Ross bid farewell to City Manager Cory Misley at the August 24 Council meeting with his own rendition of “Happy Trails.” That meeting was Misley’s last before his departure for new employment at Portland State University in September. Throughout the evening, councilors showed their affection for Misley with good-spirited cajoling and teasing. At the end of the evening, councilors presented Misley with a handcrafted platter from Canyon Creek Pottery’s Ken Me... Full story
The name of Whychus Creek was recorded in the 1855 Pacific Railroad Reports, indicating that was its historic name. Whychus, meaning “the place we cross the water,” comes from the Sahaptin language. In those days, the creek flowed freely and ran wild. The Native Americans in the area fished its waters and followed it up into the mountains in the summer to gather berries and herbs, hunt deer, and pick pine nuts. Since that time, settlers, farmers, and the Army Corps of Engineer... Full story
Beginning Thursday, September 1, Knife River will begin mobilization for a two-week period of street repairs to take place in Sisters, while the summer weather prevails. All the projects, except for Main Avenue, will begin at 7 a.m., with streets open again to traffic at approximately 6 p.m. Main Avenue work will be done at night. Actual projects will begin September 6, the day after Labor Day. September 6-8: The first project, consisting of grinding and asphalt overlay, is... Full story
COVID-19 put many local happenings on hold for a long time, one of those being the Tuesday senior lunches sponsored by the Central Oregon Council on Aging at Sisters Community Church. Those in-person lunches have started up again, and the organizers hope to see many familiar and new faces on Tuesdays. Prior to COVID-19, they regularly had about seven tables filled for lunch, and their restart has been a little slow. The meals are appreciated by those who participate, as... Full story
The complete alternate route around downtown Sisters is closer to a reality as planning and right-of-way acquisition for the Locust/Highway 20 roundabout is ramping up. The third piece of the alternate route involves improvements to Barclay Drive, being designed by Kittleson & Associates. The project began last month, July 2022, with completion of design and bidding tasks expected by March 2023. Construction will occur between March and November 2023. The total cost for... Full story
