News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
City Councilor Sharlene Weed pressed City Manager Eileen Stein for answers regarding the controversial hiring process for Sisters' economic development manager last Thursday evening during the regular Sisters City Council meeting. She didn't get any. And she's not the only one pressing for answers. Weed has been pressing the city council for several months over what she considers the lack of transparency with the hiring of Sisters' new Economic Development Manager Mac Hay. Widely reported, the entire hiring process - position... Full story
A generous offer by the Sisters Kiwanis Club inadvertently touched off a simmering conflict over how the City of Sisters costs out its public works projects. At their Thursday, October 28 pre-meeting workshop, the city council considered an offer by the Kiwanis Club to provide $22,469 in playground equipment for Cliff Clemens Park at the north end of town. There was unanimous appreciation for the offer, but the question of installing the equipment picked a scab off a chronic sore spot. Sisters Public Works Director Brad... Full story
Like many people, Doug Hull, 43, dreams of doing some traveling in his retirement. But his dream doesn't involve a cruise ship, a swimsuit or golf cleats. Instead, Hull would prefer to be en route to an impoverished nation, carrying a suitcase packed with work boots, a toolbelt and malaria pills. And he'd like to see you go, too. Hull, a Sisters area general contractor, just returned from Haiti where he helped construct footings and a foundation for a new building in the... Full story
To the Editor: The financial challenges that face our community generate fear. With fear comes blame With blame comes divide. Divide supports our minds in the invention of more fear. Leadership is a process of having the right people, in the right place, focused on the right things. With good leadership Sisters will continue to be "best in class." Ultimately voters decide what courageous citizens will volunteer their time and energy to a council seat. Whatever names make up our new council, they won't achieve success without... Full story
Economic vitality or real estate development? It is not a one-or-the-other choice. We can have both. Let's start at the beginning of Mike Morgan's op-ed of October 6 (Morgan's assertions in italics): The current council advances real estate development without understanding that economic development must occur first. Actually, reasonably priced housing comes first. Without an ample supply of reasonably priced housing, industrial business will not locate to a community. There must be a significant demand before lenders will... Full story
A community art project proposed to celebrate the heritage of Whychus Creek has run into a snag at City Hall, due to ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) requirements. The project grew out of a Ford Family Foundation leadership program. Participants settled upon a community project that will depict the history of Whychus Creek and efforts to restore steelhead runs to the watershed. The art installation would run along the bridge over Whychus Creek at Creekside City Park. It... Full story
Sisters High School graduate Cady Mae Hunt has spent the last three years proving herself wrong - and loving every moment of it. "I didn't think I was the kind of student that fit the criteria to be able to do college. I believed you had to come from a family with a strong educational and socio-economic background, and that just wasn't my life," said Hunt. Hunt was orphaned at the age of 12. When her grandparents, Lee and Delores Capp, gave her a home they gave her lots... Full story
When imagining a painter working on a project, the vision most people have would include a plethora of paint blobs at the ready on a palette and an easel holding up the blank canvas. Until recently, such a scene in the Sisters High School art department wasn't possible. Instead, most students made do with their paper or canvas laying flat on a table. With only a few easels in the department, all in need of retirement, students were having a hard time letting their creative... Full story
Sisters High School will welcome veterans, family members and friends at the 12th annual Veterans Day ceremonies on Wednesday, November 10. The first ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. and the evening ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Pat Bowe is the guest of honor. Bowe was born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon, and graduated from Beaverton High School in 1963. In 1965 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served two tours in Vietnam as a combat jumper. He was awarded one Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. In 1995 he returned... Full story
With memorable performances still fresh in people's minds, the Sisters Folk Festival has announced ticket prices for 2011. Beginning this month they're offering a $75 all events pass for next year's festival, held September 9-11. "We had so many people excited about returning, we decided to offer the holiday pass earlier this year," said Events Director Katy Yoder. "We want to give people ample time to buy their passes and book hotel rooms for next year." The "holiday pass" will be available through December 31; on January 1,... Full story
The Lady Outlaws rolled over Stayton in regional volleyball play on Saturday, October 30, and will advance to the first round of the state playoffs. Sisters swept the visiting Eagles with final scores of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-14 to win the match. Kaity Douglass set the pace at the service line in game one. Douglass tallied seven straight serves to give the Outlaws a quick 7-0 lead. Chelsea Reifschneider put down a powerful spike for a point and then earned a point on a... Full story
The Sky-Em district cross country meet included celebrations and tears for the Sisters Outlaws. The Outlaws girls team qualified as runners-up, and Taylor Steele won the boys individual title, but the boys team lost its bid to make the trip to state at the meet held Thursday, October 28 at Lane Community College (LCC) in Eugene. The girls team qualified for the second year in a row and for the seventh time in the past decade, where they have placed as high as second twice.... Full story
The Outlaws football team put forth a tremendous effort and had a chance at the end, but just were not able to pull off a victory over Sweet Home (SH) at Reed Stadium on Friday night. Sisters lost 27-20 to the Huskies in a very exciting high school football game. Sweet Home, a big, physical team, controlled the game the entire first half. Coach Bob Macauley said that the Outlaws' defense was lethargic, especially in the second quarter, and the offense didn't get going until th... Full story
The boys soccer team routed the Elmira Hawks in a 7-0 shutout at Elmira to wrap up league and claim the Sky-Em championship title. Scotty Bowen's hat trick and two goals from Tim Hernandez led Sisters in their scoring effort. Bowen scored the first goal of the contest off a cross from Evan Rickards at the two- minute mark. Just over two minutes later, Jake McAllister beat the defenders and scored inside the post for the score. In the eighth minute, Bowen recorded his second goal of the night. Bowen broke down two defenders... Full story
The Lady Outlaws were crowned the Sky-Em champions when they capped their undefeated season with a 9-0 shutout over Elmira at home on Wednesday, October 27. Sisters steamrolled over the visiting Hawks in a game that was held at Reed Stadium under the lights. More than 200 enthusiastic fans cheered and celebrated as the Outlaws culminated league play with a decisive victory. Sisters got off to a slow start, but after the first goal finally went in the Lady Outlaws were... Full story
Spirited ghouls and ghosts found their way to the annual Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD's "Halloween at the Fire Hall" bash on Sunday evening, continuing a popular Sisters tradition for its 15th year. Weary from long blocks of candy accumulation, trick-or-treaters stopped by the fire station for a night of games, holiday snacks and prizes while showing off their All Hallow's Eve disguises with friends and family. Lovely witches passed out glow sticks and bracelets to each child... Full story
Using the tropical Pacific Ocean as her cauldron, Mother Nature appears to be brewing a particularly strong La Niña for this coming winter. As a result, the Pacific Northwest may be directly in the crosshairs of some very active weather. This was the unanimous opinion of four weather prognosticators who spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland on October 16. It was the annual winter-weather meeting, put on by the Oregon... Full story
The inaugural Sisters High School Key Club Harvest Ramble drew 67 runners and walkers on Saturday. "It went really, really well," said Key Club advisor Michele Hammer. "It was great to see so many from the community out to support it, because it was a really nasty day." Runners covered a 5k course, while walkers strode out for 3 kilometers. The event started and ended at Sisters Village Green and participants enjoyed a post-run barbecue. The event raised just under $1,000.... Full story
The invitation on the Web site was a challenge: "So, do you think you've got what it takes, chump?" What it takes to enter a 12-hour endurance race in a $500 car. What it takes to last. What it takes to do well. Jeff and Jerry Taylor from Sisters, with help from a few friends, wanted to answer that question. So they did. And they did have what it takes. Team Firechicken took sixth out of more than 70 cars entered in the Chump Car World Series race, held in Portland over... Full story
Guests foregoing the Oregon Ducks game or the World Series for Ken Scholes' book talk last Saturday at Paulina Springs Books were treated to a musical performance by the affable sci-fi/fantasy author. Scholes, an award-winning speculative fiction writer from St. Helens, Oregon, entertained a small group with guitar and rack harmonica prior to his reading, belting out a soulful rendition of "Who'll Stop the Rain" and a slow cover of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline." "I don't usually have a guitar but I thought, why not give... Full story
Wendy Holzman, Sharlene Weed and David Asson appear to have secured seats on the Sisters City Council in the November 2 election. Reports from the Deschutes County Clerk's Office show a total of 1,358 votes cast. Holzman received 295 votes; Weed 269 and Asson 256. The top two vote-getters will serve four-year terms while the Asson serves two years. Jacki Shepardson secured 216 votes while Jerry Bogart received 168 and Virginia Lindsey received 150. There were 145 "undervotes", which means that the voter left one or more of... Full story
Last week, Sisters firefighters put out a fire in a garage in Sage Woods, north of town. According to Fire Marshal Dave Wheeler, the fire was caused by improper disposal of ashes from a wood stove. The homeowner cleaned ashes out of his wood stove, put them in a paper bag and placed the bag up against the wall of the garage. The ashes were hot enough to set the bag ablaze and start a small fire in the garage wall. The advent of cold weather raises the risk of fire. Wheeler advises Sisters residents to be very careful with... Full story
