News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 108
A teenage girl's dad sexually abuses her and returns home from two years in prison. He lives in a county that lists registered sexual offenders on a website. Soon, the girl's neighbors and friends are discovering why her dad disappeared in the first place. That's the picture Deschutes County Adult Parole and Probation officers painted Thursday, October 23, at a Sisters City Council workshop. They told city staff and council members it would be a bad idea to list sex offender names on the county website. Councilmember Lon... Full story
The Sisters City Council approved changes to its personnel handbook, including adding a section about the effects of domestic violence in the workplace. The council took the action at its Thursday, Ocober 23, meeting. The handbook gives guidelines for employee/employer management. Councilor Judy Trego had requested the addition earlier this month. She said domestic abuse victims often lose jobs because employers grow tired of dealing with the abuser. Trego works for the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS), which works to... Full story
City representatives are responding to residents' fears that Sisters will lose its character and quality of life due to city plans to allow for higher density. City staff met in a workshop Thursday, October 23, to consider amending the Sisters Development Code to allow fewer houses per gross acre. The new Sisters sewer system has allowed for more development in and around the city limits. Planners and city officials have differing opinions on how much housing density is appropriate to accommodate Sisters' accelerating... Full story
Four deer passed across the path of a bus carrying 30 people Sunday, lightly skipping over charred stumps and burnt foliage in the forest area burned by the B&B Complex Fire. Eager eyes peered out of the windows and greeted the deer as if they were old friends. The animals, some said, are a sign of a new beginning. Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony and other Forest Service personnel gave a six-hour tour of miles of damaged forest area to Camp Sherman residents, members of Friends of the Metolius and Forest Service... Full story
Sisters residents hope to preserve the intimate feel of the current Sisters Library in a new, larger space. photo by Jim Cornelius Residents voiced their desire for a pretty library --one that matches the ambiance of Sisters -- at a meeting of the Deschutes Public Library District Board on Wednesday, October 15. Coos Bay architect Richard Turi presented plans to base the new Sisters Library on the structure of the La Pine Library, which he also designed. The architect and the board reassured the audience of about 30 people... Full story
Cameron Brown bowls with his friend Rick Silver. photo by Torri Barco Rick Silver gave a high-five to an animated young boy at Sun Mountain Fun Center. The boy jumped in the air after bowling a ball that sunk some pins. He ran at Rick exclaiming, "Look what I did!" He kept his bowling wrist even this time -- a technique his friend Rick taught him. Rick Silver, 53, is a retired owner of a barcode label business. He's lived for nine years in Tumalo on 20 acres of land in a beautiful home, with a pond, horse pastures with three... Full story
Mike Gould, radio pioneer. photo by Torri Barco Tune your dial to FM 106.7: Sisters is going to have its own radio station, probably as soon as next fall. Local residents will be able to tune in to hear the local basketball game hosted by a high school student, or an inside traffic report with secret tips to back roads on busy weekends. The nonprofit station is to be completely run by volunteers. It is intended for community education and should hold the biggest variety of grass-roots programs on the radio, said Mike Gould, w... Full story
After weeks of postponement, the Sisters City Council cast a 3-1 vote Thursday, October 9, to approve a sewer connection and reimbursement agreement with residents of Maple Street in the Buck Run Phase III subdivision. The approved measure was the least costly to the residents of a pair of options under consideration by the council. Councilor Lon Kellstrom voted against the decision because he believes it takes too much taxpayer money to benefit a minority. Councilor Deborah Kollodge was absent. All five of the property... Full story
Six Sisters citizens will help shape plans for a one-way couplet through town. The Sisters City Council named the six to the Couplet Advisory Committee on Thursday, October 9. The committee, which will be comprised of about 12 people, will work with the city and a consulting firm to refine plans to turn Hood Avenue and Main Avenue into one-way streets, creating a couplet. The city is forming the committee in response to concerns expressed by the Oregon Department of Transportation over heavy traffic back-ups on Cascade... Full story
A controversial sewer project and reimbursement plan for Buck Run Phase III residents is on hold for now. The Sisters City Council decided to delay action on the plan after considerable debate at its Thursday, October 2, meeting. The city had proposed charging five Maple Street residents an estimated $80,000 to install a sewer main on their street. The residences were not included in the original sewer plan for the City of Sisters. Council members agreed to give the property owners an extended chance to affirm their support o... Full story
If a Sisters resident wants to know the names and addresses of registered local sex offenders, he must call the state police and listen to a list of countywide names. City council members met with Becky Jackson, Deschutes County Adult Parole and Probation officer on Thursday, October 2, to discuss options to give residents easier access to such information. After considering options including listing names on the Internet, notifying newspapers, and keeping a list at city hall, the council agreed to meet with Jackson and... Full story
Facing Sisters' growing population and tourist-packed summers, City of Sisters staff began negotiations this week with Cogan Owens Cogan, a consulting team that will refine plans to change Hood and Main Avenues to one-way highways. Creating a one-way east-bound Hood Avenue and a west-bound Main Avenue should ease out-of-town traffic off of Cascade and onto Hood and Main, said City Administrator Eileen Stein. The Oregon Department of Transportation has expressed concern over heavy traffic back-ups on Cascade Avenue during busy... Full story
The City of Sisters is exploring new mail options. photo by Torri Barco The Sisters City Council is taking steps to provide free mail delivery to residents. Many are fed up with post office box fees or with long waits for counter-top general delivery. The council met with city staff and the branch postmaster in a workshop on Thursday, September 25, to discuss the option of providing home mail delivery. The issue was initially brought before the city council in May 2000 when it was determined that all 1,860 Sisters branch... Full story
Sisters is a ways away from the Deschutes River, but a controversy over access to the river came to town at the city council meeting Thursday, September 25. The president of Sun Country Tours presented a resolution before the Sisters City Council which demands the public have open access to the Lower Deschutes River. Dennis Oliphant asked the city council to join the cities of Maupin, Madras and The Dalles in signing a resolution which states, "It is hereby resolved the Bureau of Land Management shall not implement any... Full story
Sisters students are working on new computers. photo by Jim Cornelius Computers are now critical to educating students in Sisters. They must learn how to use computers -- a vital skill in a technology-driven world. And they also use computers to further their education in other fields, from history to science. Sisters High School has purchased 39 black Dell 2003 computers. Connecting microscopes were donated by Intel. The 2.4 gigahertz Pentium Four computers carry a retail value of about $1,000 each, according to Jon Renner,... Full story
When retired residents Marilyn and Jack Kinsey built their home two years ago on South Maple Street, they paid $7,500 to hook up a septic system because their lot was not part of the city's 1997 sewer construction project, which served nearby residents. Then, last month, the Kinseys received a letter from the city informing them they might have to pay more than $13,000 to help finance a sewer improvement project on South Maple between Tyee Drive and Coyote Springs Drive in the Buck Run III subdivision. "I was never told we... Full story
Keeping clean in a dirty environment... photo by Torri Barco The B&B Complex Fire is the second most expensive fire burning in the country today, costing $28 million from August 19 to date, according to fire officials. Like the fire itself, often the costs can skyrocket without warning. The money is used to fight the 90,000-plus-acre fire as well as to accommodate the approximate 2,200 firefighters and support personnel who have left homes all over the United States to make camp at the rodeo grounds. "The cost is... Full story
Working on 7,000 calories per day... photo by Torri Barco Covered in soot and dried sweat, 1,000-plus firefighters return from a 15-hour work day of fighting the B&B Complex Fire. They line up outside of two tin trailers and wait for hours to use one of 30 shower stalls in the camp. By the time they are showered and fed, they often head straight to the personal tents they carried from home and crash on a sleeping bag or small mattress. After five to seven hours of sleep, they wake up and head once again to fight the... Full story
Work is well underway at Park Place. photo by Jim Cornelius New roads are being paved this week as part of a $6.9-million project that will add 40 homes in a new Sisters subdivision called Park Place. The developer, Steve McGhehey of Redstone Construction Services in Sisters, owns the 7.4 acres of property near the Tamarack Village apartments on Larch Avenue on the north end of town. McGhehey is paving two new streets -- Black Butte Avenue and Song Bird Loop. He is also building an extension of North Fir Street. Ranging in... Full story
Three nationally acclaimed singer-songwriters inspired eager songwriters to write truth from their heart during the three days leading up to the Sisters Folk Festival. In only its second year in Sisters, the Americana Song Academy retreat totaled 25 students. Attendance cost $300 and included sleeping accommodations and food. "I learned how to write from the heart in a way that shows not just what I feel, but so it means something to the listener," said Willie Carmichael, a 46-year-old guitar player and songwriter from Bend.... Full story
The City of Sisters may need more land to accommodate its rapidly growing population. City officials met in a workshop on Thursday, August 28, to discuss which 110 acres of land outside the city limits might best be acquired for expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary. Meanwhile, residents are holding to the city's existing 1,124 acres of roomy terrain with clenched fists. The Urban Growth Boundary is currently the same as the city limits. With population growth predicted to quadruple to 4,167 in 2020 from its current 1,080,... Full story
A variety of local preschools give families choices when registering their children for the next school year. The Little Cloverdale Preschool offers a cooperative-learning environmentof interest to moms who have considered home schooling. The small classroom settings, which limit the four-year-old class to 12 kids and the 3-year-old class to 10, and the on-site parent helpers produce a learning environment with a personal and interactive edge, said Ann Kauzlarich. Kauzlarich celebrated her fifth year as the teacher at Little... Full story
The first housing in Sisters with income-based rent will open its doors to residents in mid-September. The people behind the creation of Tamarack Village Apartments, 555 N. Larch Ave., celebrated an open house including neighbors, members of the Central Oregon Regional Housing Authority (CORHA) and city and state officials on Wednesday, August 20. Amidst many accolades and sighs of relief, the theme at Wednesday's gathering was warm appreciation for the opportunity to help neighbors who might have it a little rough. "The... Full story
Fiddle students work at music camp. photo by Torri Barco The six Booher siblings taught a record number of students last week in their summer music camp. The 15th annual Booher Family Music Camp more than doubled its number of students last week, jumping to an all-time record of 125 students, up dramatically from last year's 53, Brendan Booher said. The camp, which ran August 3-9 at Sisters Community Church and cost $425 per person, drew students of all ages from Oregon, Washington, and California. The camp featured three... Full story
Providing six houses for needy families this summer, Sisters Habitat for Humanity is working at record pace to guide neighbors with shaky circumstances onto solid ground. Terri Gallegly, 42, who owns a quaint, Habitat-built, two-bedroom home on Pine Tree Lane, tells how Habitat and the Sisters community gave a needed refuge to her family. A dishonest boyfriend, a nomadic lifestyle and the careful decisions wrought by a single mother brought Terri Gallegly to Sisters for the first time at age 23 with her four-year-old daughter... Full story
