News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 1032
The City of Sisters Planning Commission decision to deny the application for a major renovation of the Space Age Fuel station at the corner of Highway 20 and Pine Street will stand. “No appeal of the Planning Commission denial of the Space Age service station (file nos. SP22-02/MCU 22.01) proposal was filed prior to the end of the 14-day appeal period which ended August 3, 2023. Therefore, the Planning Commission decision is final,” according to Matthew Martin, City principal... Full story
Work has begun on the Sunset Meadows development by Woodhill Homes located between Felicity Lane and Highway 242. Trees are being removed to make way for street construction. The entire 12.92 acres was approved as three parcels, one for the single-family homes and townhouses, one for apartments, and a third one on the southeast corner of the property bounded by West Hood Avenue and Highway 242, which will be an open space with trees. During their January 19 hearing on the... Full story
Eighty-two-year-old Glenda Warren has been a resident of Sisters for 20 years. For much of that time, she has walked to her regular destinations, like BiMart, her hairdresser, and the Habitat Thrift Store. Warren’s daily routines began to shift back in 2021. She started watching more television and walking less. During COVID, she cut back on walking due to reduced energy, which she attributed to her age. Cleaning the house became a difficult chore, partially due to her a... Full story
With a unanimous vote at their July 13 public hearing, all seven members of the Sisters Planning Commission agreed to deny the Space Age application to redevelop their gas station at 411 W. Cascade Ave. The commissioners agreed with City staff, who had recommended denial of the application based on the incompatibility of the proposed station with the surrounding businesses and neighborhoods. They cited the size of the convenience store at 3,500 square feet, and the size and... Full story
Two buzz words increasingly used when talking about present-day farming and ranching operations are "agritourism" and "regenerative agriculture." Both are departures from traditional farming practices. By diversifying their operations to offer opportunities for the public to experience what goes on at a working ranch or farm, farmers and ranchers can create additional income. Agritourism allows people to connect with the products, practices, and places that produce our food,... Full story
An afternoon spent listening to Kathie Olson talk about her life as a quilter was filled with fun stories, amazing creativity, and great humor expressed when considering her long dedication to the art and craft of quilting. Olson said her sewing machine died years ago and she just never replaced it. For all the years since the machine's demise, Olson has hand-stitched every bit of every quilt to create professional pieces that are a feast for the eyes. Studying her quilts,... Full story
When people find out that, after seven years, I am no longer going to be writing about what’s going on at City Hall, they ask what I’m going to do with my time. Retire? Find other work? Although my assigned beat has been City-related, I do write articles having to do with other topics. And now I will have time to do more of what I love: interviewing people for feature stories, and researching topics to learn more in order to write an in-depth article. I should also be abl... Full story
The residents of Sisters Country provided generous support for the recently completed Hospice House at Partners In Care, contributing $134,310 to build and furnish the Three Sisters patient care suite. In addition, The Roundhouse Foundation funded the large foyer and gathering space complete with a fireplace. The state-of-the-art facility is one of only three inpatient hospice facilities in the state of Oregon and the only one east of the Cascades. The new 12-suite facility,... Full story
The Sisters Garden Club has created a new event for this year’s Quilt Show week. On Thursday, July 6, they are holding a Garden Party from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the home of one of their members at 364 E. Wapato Loop in Buck Run. Visitors can enjoy the garden, view handcrafted wares by several local artists, and enjoy lemonade and cookies. The Garden Club will be selling a garden journal created by member Karen Thrower for $15. The artists selling their goods include Rustic G... Full story
Are you looking for a fun getaway not too far from Sisters? I recently had the opportunity for a quick visit to Hood River that was relaxing, entertaining, and educational. My cousin was visiting from Southern California, and I planned a getaway we would both enjoy. She and I grew up together and spent hours riding horses and spending the night together. We left Sisters at noon on a Wednesday to drive up Highway 26 to Highway 35, which circles the south and east side of Mount... Full story
Kellen Klein, the new interim executive director of Citizens4Community (C4C), describes himself as a "network weaver" who has known from a young age that he wanted to do "purpose-driven work." Klein, one of three new board members for C4C, was asked to become the interim executive director when Josie Newport announced her intention to step down from her director position. Her last day was June 9, after working with Klein to make a smooth transition. C4C is a 501(c)(3)... Full story
City staff has recommended denial of the application for the owner of the Space Age gas station to rebuild the current facility. The recommendation is based on one development standard: compatibility. A much-anticipated Planning Commission public hearing was held on the application on Thursday, June 15. There was no final decision — the hearing was continued to next month. Based on the information in the record as of June 1, staff concluded the proposal has not satisfied t... Full story
Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 8, 3 to 6 p.m., to gather at Beacham's Clock Company located at 300 W. Hood Ave. to celebrate Ed and Kathi Beacham's 45 years as one of the finest clock shops in the country - and to welcome the Recksiek family of Utah as they assume ownership of the business. Visiting Beacham's is a feast for the senses. Every hour and half-hour there are chimes, bongs, bells, and tweets as the clocks do their job of announcing the passage of time. On... Full story
The application for redevelopment of the Space Age service station at 411 W. Cascade Ave. is finally complete and the process for consideration of approval will move forward, according to Sisters City Planning Department. On Thursday, June 1, 4 p.m., at City Hall, the Planning Commission will be briefed on the application by City staff. The intent is for this workshop to provide preparation for the public hearing that will occur on the request. That hearing is scheduled for... Full story
In honor of Memorial Day on May 29, there is a new, very large American flag flying atop the flagpole in front of WaFd Bank (formerly Washington Federal) at 610 N. Arrowleaf Trail. The flag, which measures a generous 10-by-16-feet, was gifted to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #8138 by a gentleman who had purchased it years ago to fly at the opening of a project he had constructed. It had been folded up in his garage for years, and when he was preparing to move... Full story
Do you know what to do in case of an emergency in Sisters? How can you prepare ahead of time for an emergency? At last week's forum "Emergencies in Sisters: Be Prepared," sponsored by Citizens4Community (C4C), residents had the opportunity to listen to and ask questions of six agency representatives and one citizen, all of whom deal with emergencies on a regular basis. Sisters resident Jack McGowan, who sits on the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire District Board of Directors,... Full story
The Sisters Elementary School paved playground was a beehive of activity last Friday morning, as four classes of first-graders - about 80 students - worked with their Sisters Middle School seventh grade mentors to construct-a bird house/nesting box. The project came about when middle school math and STEAM teacher Jeff Schiedler mentioned a bird house building project his seventh-graders were undertaking to Sisters Elementary School first-grade teacher Erika Valikonia. The... Full story
Now that the isolation of COVID-19 is over, the Sisters Garden Club is undertaking several new projects. After a club field trip to the Harmony Farm Sanctuary for animals last November, the club decided to provide volunteers to engage in some gardening activities around the Sanctuary. "Seeing the rescued animals, many of us knew we wanted to get involved in volunteering to help with some projects that needed to be done," said Ruth Palmer, communications coordinator for the... Full story
Utilizing past usage data and future population forecasts, Anderson Perry and Associates created models that informed the City’s new water and wastewater master plans, which were both recommended for approval to the City Council by the Public Works Advisory Board. They evaluated the condition, performance, and available capacity of the four existing City wells, the reservoir, infrastructure, the equipment located at the City treatment plant and the city-wide sewer lines and l... Full story
Everyone who participates in the National Forest Cleanup Event scheduled for Saturday, May 20, 9 a.m.-noon, is invited to return to Village Green Park for a complementary picnic lunch. The community cleanup event is hosted by Sisters Country Leadership Initiative (CLI). Registration for the event can be made by email to [email protected]. Be sure to provide the number of people in your group to ensure enough lunches are ordered. Participants will meet at Village Green... Full story
During a review of their recent retreat, the Sisters Planning Commission explored the need for more time to conduct discussions regarding the many topics and projects they are expected to address and recommend to the City Council. Commissioner Tom Ries began the discussion. “Sooner or later we are going to have to make code changes to address the growth and design standards, so we don’t have just big-boxes built,” he said. “I’m even talking about fire mitigation. There are... Full story
Local youth have an opportunity to give back to their community while working outdoors in local forests - and earning school credit and scholarship opportunities. The deadline to apply to participate in the Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (COYCC) on the Sisters Ranger District is May 1. The application is located online at www.heartoforegon.org. A variety of conservation work on public lands will be done, including fire fuel reduction, trail maintenance, invasive speci... Full story
The theme of National Volunteer Week, April 16-24, is "Volunteering Weaves Us Together." Nowhere is that truer than among the Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS) volunteers who provide free rides to nonemergency medical appointments for their neighbors in the Sisters School District. By offering to support their neighbors, volunteers add to the strength and vibrancy of Sisters. Mark Reed and his wife, Vicki Bugbee-Reed, first volunteered to be drivers in the early... Full story
Why is the former U.S. Forest Service East Portal called the East Portal when it is located on the west side of Sisters? That location between Highway 20, Cascade Avenue, and Highway 242 is on the east end of Highway 242 and the starting/ending point for the scenic McKenzie Pass Highway, thus it is called the East Portal. Planning for development of a multi-modal transportation hub at the portal, which began in July 2022, is moving ahead. At their April 12 workshop, Sisters... Full story
It was a gray day in February 2004, and it started to rain as I was meandering around town during a visit to Sisters to look for a house. I ducked under cover in front of Leavitt’s front door (now Dixie’s). The owner — and a true cowboy — John Leavitt, came out, introduced himself, and asked if I needed anything. I told him I was moving to Sisters and needed to find a house. He welcomed me to Sisters, we briefly talked, and he wished me luck in my search. It was a brief b... Full story
