News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 24 of 24
Sisters has experienced an exceptional business week following Christmas according to many local businesses. Booming business has not only been tourist related, but locals are taking advantage of community resources as well. Hotel rooms are filled; in the tradition of the season there has been no room at the inn. Karen Elliott of Sisters Inn & RV Park said that it has been difficult to keep up. She attributed the high volume of traffic in part to local events. "Luckily SOAR... Full story
Three community input sessions to discuss qualities and qualifications that staff, administrators and the public wish the new superintendent to possess are scheduled for Thursday, January 4, at 9 a.m., 3:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. Each meeting will be one hour in length and will be held at the school district's administration building located at 525 E. Cascade Ave. Betsy Miller-Jones, Leadership Services Associate Director for the Oregon School Board Association, the consultant who the Sisters School District's Board of Directors... Full story
To the Editor: Recycling makes a whole lot of sense. Reuse of paper, cardboard and plastic means less waste of natural resources such as trees and oil. Without recycling, we must find more landfills and risk the possibility of more pollution of our ground water. I might suggest a curbside recycle program whereby newspapers, cardboard, glass and aluminum are picked up weekly as a part of regular trash collection. It may cost more to do this, but we have little choice if we want the right things to happen for our environment.... Full story
The Sisters Folk Festival is offering a New Year's treat for the community. The internationally acclaimed BeauSoleil will present the second performance of the festival's Winter Concert Series. The renowned Cajun band will perform on Saturday, January 6, at 7 p.m. in the Sisters High School auditorium. Brad Tisdel, founder of the Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Project, said, "We feel very honored to present them." BeauSoleil, which means "beautiful sun" in French, is featured on the soundtracks of the films "The Big Easy"... Full story
Sisters Outlaws football players Cory McCaffrey and Jeff Sampson are Oregon's 4A Players of the Year. McCaffrey was selected the Offensive Player of the Year last week, and Sampson was named Defensive Player of the Year. Coach Bob Macauley praised the extraordinary abilities of both his players. Macauley told The Nugget that not only does McCaffrey have great ability but he is also a great competitor. "Every snap is a new season for Cory," said Macauley. "He plays with great heart and emotion and besides that he's a great... Full story
Youth participating in Central Oregon's Heart of Oregon Corps program have been helping the Sisters School District manage 160 acres the district acquired in a land swap with the U.S. Forest Service and Deschutes County. The property, a conservation area situated west of the Sisters High School campus, is known as the Trout Creek Conservation easement. The Deschutes Basin Land Trust (DBLT) holds the conservation easement on the parcel. Heart of Oregon has been providing fuels... Full story
A labor of love takes many shapes. For Sisters resident Grace Williamston, it is the form of a book written to chronicle the great loves she shared with two fine men. Originally begun as a memoir for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, "Love at Both Ends of The Rainbow" became a healing tool for Grace. For many years she'd kept the truth about the early years of her first marriage to herself and writing about it allowed her to look at those times more objectively. Grace... Full story
A unique coalition of businesses, agencies and environmentalists is working to restore forests in the area near Black Butte Ranch. Foresters will thin out dense stands of young trees that have grown in due to historic fire suppression and logging. The project will reduce the overall fuel load in the forests west of Sisters and restore natural ecological function. Crews will also cut young trees in old growth and medium-aged ponderosa pine stands in order to reduce fire threat... Full story
Sisters Middle School Principal Kathy Miner is committed to developing the gifts and talents of all students at her school. Miner is in the process of expanding the concept of the school's Talented and Gifted Program (TAG) to encompass any student who is ready to explore new challenges. Miner's goal of providing enrichment options to all students correlates to the middle school's mission of "providing high levels of learning and meaningful experiences for all students." According to Miner, 15 percent of Sisters Middle School... Full story
The Sisters Library's Second Annual Art Exhibit, sponsored by the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL), is planned to open on January 19 and run to March 1. Last year's exhibit was a way to celebrate the opening of the new Sisters Library and to showcase the many artists that live and work in the Sisters area. Over 90 local artists - everyone from painters to quilters - displayed their work at the library's grand opening in January 2006. The library exhibit will again... Full story
The Outlaws Alpine Ski Racers of Sisters High School begin the new race season this week on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. According to Head Coach Todd Williver the race roster has expanded to include 19 racers, up 25 percent from last year. Returning from last year's team are girls' team cornerstones Liz Dale, Annie Hancock and Jenna Sneva, supplemented by Bethany Bachman, Nicole Veloso and newcomer Natalie Wiegand. The boys' team is anchored by Michael Cristiano, Nick Anthony and Dominick DeLeone with strong support by... Full story
• A man reported that while visiting a friend, the friend attacked him. The victim only suffered a scrape and said he didn't want to pursue charges - he just wanted the incident documented, including the fact that he didn't fight back. • There was a non-injury crash at the intersection of Camp Polk Road and Indian Ford Road. • Must be that time of year: Deputies arrested a 42-year-old Sisters woman, a 49-year-old Sisters woman and a 26-year-old Sisters man for DUI in separate incidents. • Someone stole a... Full story
The Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID) has proven that conservation is a virtue that can also be profitable. The conservation efforts expended by the TSID are already making a significant difference in Sisters. When director Marc Thalacker inherited the leadership of the TSID, it was bleeding water. Approximately 55 percent of the irrigation water was being lost through seepage and evaporation. In addition, the methods of irrigation that were being used were inefficient... Full story
Before the end of 2007, Sisters will have a new recycling center in the Sisters Industrial Park. The City of Sisters opened bids last month on the center, which will be located on a 25,000-square-foot vacant lot owned by the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District. GJ Miller Construction was the low bidder at $416,416, according to Public Works Director Gary Frazee. The new facility will include four walk-in recycling bays. According to Frazee, the topography of th... Full story
Top teams from around the state, including Junction City, North Marion and 3A defending state champion Burns, gathered in Sisters for the Annual Holiday Tournament which was held Wednesday through Friday, December 27-29. Burns finished at the top to take first place honors. North Marion was runner up and La Pine placed third. Sisters kicked off the tournament on Wednesday, December 27, against the La Pine Hawks. Sisters was up by five with six minutes to go in the game and... Full story
• Misty Grimm, Family Home Specialist and Lisa Broadwater, Horse Property Specialist, with RE/MAX Town & Country Realty have been granted the designation, GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute) by the Oregon Association of Realtors. To receive the GRI designation, students must complete three week-long courses and pass an exam at the end of each session. • Show your support for our local youth by purchasing an eagle at the following Sisters locations: McDonald's, Bank of the Cascades or SOAR. Every dollar donated will he... Full story
With the dark and cold winter evening settling in on Camp Sherman, stories of African safaris warmed the heart and soul on Thursday night. Rich Clayton, a part-time Camp Sherman resident, hosted an informal gathering to talk about the logistics of going on a safari and the social implications. Clayton brought a professional hunter from Africa to embroider his tales. Clayton is a somewhat familiar face in the area, although he lives in Camp Sherman only part of the year. He is... Full story
Eight teams competed in the Annual Sisters' Holiday Tournament held Wednesday through Friday, December 27-29 at Sisters High School. Sisters lost 56-68 in the championship game against Junction City in their final game on Friday, December 29. Junction City won the tournament, and Sisters was runner up. North Marion took third place. Sisters defeated the Burns Highlanders 82-56 in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday, December 27. The Outlaws jumped out to an early... Full story
A young Salem woman died Friday afternoon when she lost control of her car and crashed nearly head-on with a commercial truck on Highway 20 about three miles east of the Santiam Junction. The victim is identified as Kara Marie Copeland, age 20, from southeast Salem. According to Oregon State Police, on December 29 at approximately 12:40 p.m., the 2001 Toyota Corolla driven by Copeland was westbound on Highway 20 near milepost 78 negotiating a slight right hand curve on an ice/snow covered road when she lost control. The car... Full story
It could have been a lot worse. If the fire started by a candle left burning overnight at The Gallimaufry had got into more fuel it could have created a conflagration that might have swept through three businesses and threatened an entire city block. Its that kind of scenario that keeps fire professionals up at night. To prepare for the possibility of a major urban fire - a possibility that grows with the city - the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD)... Full story
Sisters' active Planning Department now has another resource since a new assistant planner recently joined the office. The department has been short-handed although residential and commercial development is booming. "We did twice as many land use permits this year (2006) than last year (2005)," said City of Sisters Planning Director Brian Rankin. Assistant planner Laura Turner is processing building permits, working on code enforcement and is on the front line answering... Full story
The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce welcomes three new members to the Board of Directors. Newly-elected board members are Lisa Clausen, Darren Layne and Kathryn Ralstin-Leavitt. There are a total of 12 directors on the chamber board. Four board members per year are elected to three-year terms. Current board member Barbara Turner was re-elected. Those elected will fill board positions being vacated by Catherine Black, Gary Miller and Peter Storton. Board members were selected by a vote of the general membership. There were a... Full story
The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce welcomes three new members to the Board of Directors. Newly-elected board members are Lisa Clausen, Darren Layne and Kathryn Ralstin-Leavitt. There are a total of 12 directors on the chamber board. Four board members per year are elected to three-year terms. Current board member Barbara Turner was re-elected. Those elected will fill board positions being vacated by Catherine Black, Gary Miller and Peter Storton. Board members were selected by a vote of the general membership. There were a... Full story
This may seem like a strange season to be going on a "snipe hunt," but during last week's Sisters Audubon/ECBC Christmas Bird Count, it fit; a sure-as-you're-born Wilson Snipe popped up. Yours truly and more than 30 other birders teamed up a little before dawn at the Papandrea's Pizza parking area on Saturday morning, December 23, for a full day of birding. After about a half hour of milling around hand-shaking and meeting each other with happy greetings, we were given our... Full story
