News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Resolutions are coming. Many of you reading this are rolling your eyes, ready to turn the page. Stick with it! There’s an important lesson everyone ought to consider: A resolution by nature sets you up to fail — and there are many ways around this. Social expectations: Most of the time a resolution is based on what a person thinks they’re expected to do, not what they want to do. Anyone ever vowed to give up carbs then realized they actually really love bananas? This makes for a resentment of the resolution, and the... Full story
Dear Property Guy: What is happening in Central Oregon? I have lived here all my life and have been renting a long time. It’s basically impossible to find a rental. Did I miss something? — Bend Local Dear Local: It’s not your imagination. You are right now experiencing the reality of some pretty big social shifts. People are leaving big cities for places like Bend. Other cool cities like Boise, Laramie, and South Jordan are experiencing the same thing. The result is locals getting pushed out by new arrivals, rising pric... Full story
Our friend Winifred Amanda St. John passed peacefully in her sleep in her home in Sisters, on the morning of December 5. Her husband of 40 years, Jeff Omodt, and her two beloved greyhounds were at her side. It was a quiet conclusion to a five-year struggle with a degenerative brain disease. In addition to Jeff, Winnie is survived by two sisters, Valerie Durbin of Davis, California, and Pamela Zurer, of Silver Spring, Maryland. Winnie grew up in Berkeley, California, and receiv... Full story
Jeanne Ellen (Tiedje) Easterling was born on January 5, 1932, in Tucson, Arizona, to William David Tiedje and Lucile Margaret (Ewer) Tiedje. Her family moved to Creswell, Oregon, in 1943, where she attended Creswell schools. She was an excellent student — serving in many leadership roles — and graduated in 1949. In 1955 she married Paul Topf and had two children. In 1967, she married Jerry Easterling and they had a daughter. Together she and Jerry moved to Grand... Full story
Williamson’s Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) are generally found in the mountains of the western U.S. where they prefer forests of older coniferous trees. Sapsuckers are a specialized group of woodpeckers that do not actually suck sap. After pecking neat rows in trees to cause sugary sap to flow, sappys lick it up with tongues tipped with stiff hairs. This also brings insects, which are gleaned by hummingbirds and warblers. The radically different plumages between the male... Full story
The Sisters Arts Association (SAA) is holding its annual member meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, January 26 at 10 a.m.... Full story
Imagine my surprise when I got a text and an email within minutes of each other Wednesday night from St. Charles Health System (SCHS) telling me to schedule the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination for the next day. I was so sure that it was a scam or malware that I reported it to hospital security. I mean it looked real, but why, pray tell, would I be in line for the vaccination at this point in time? I keep reading of the disastrous roll out in every state including ours. Of upwards... Full story
Across the country, small, striped brown birds with flashy hints of yellow are swarming bird feeders. These delightful birds are pine siskins. Since October of 2020, the tiny finches have streamed south by the thousands in a record-breaking migration event. In one sighting, birders counted a cloud of over 5,000 in October in Cape May, New Jersey. The pine siskins are not alone; evening grosbeaks, common redpoll, Cassin’s finch, red crossbill, and even red-breasted nuthatch have abandoned the north because the cone crop is l... Full story
What do we say to our kids in the wake of the events of January 6, 2021? I ask this question knowing many of us feel what we witnessed was unbelievable, incomprehensible, and inexcusable. No matter our political affiliation, there are lessons to be learned by us adults and our kids. This is a teachable moment of which I implore every parent, with children old enough to understand what happened, to take advantage. What are these lessons? • Preparedness. Without more information, none of us know why the Capitol Police... Full story
Of all the New Years during the past nearly three-quarters of a century I’ve lived, I don’t remember a year I’ve greeted with so much hope in my heart. We’ve said goodbye to a very difficult year and our hearts are filled with hope that 2021 will be much better. Our Scotties don’t see any difference. They had all the food they love, their daily walks, and warm beds. Life has been the same for them. Maybe it is because they accept life as it comes without the fear we humans often carry. A few years ago I lived through a... Full story
For Central Oregon guitarist-singer-songwriter and orthopedic surgeon Michael “Doc” Ryan, it’s American Roots music, pure and simple. Ryan has a passion for playing that “alternative country” sound — the wide-ranging genre that includes bluegrass, folk, and traditional country, sometimes mixed up with blues, rock, and jazz. Ryan, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica, set up a livestream event and recording session with the DiRT Trio Band at The Belfry in Sisters i... Full story
As we welcome 2021, it is important to remember the simple things to be thankful for in life. Even one of the essential components of both our physical health and economic livelihood can sometimes be overlooked. The City is responsible for the planning, financing, construction, and maintenance of the water system that provides some of the best municipal drinking water anywhere. Everything from homes, schools, businesses, and firefighting require clean, reliable, and adequate water pressure and volume constantly at the tap. We... Full story
David Poole wrote: I would like to thank Three Sisters Backcountry, and especially their employee, Johan. On December 19, 2020, I was out in the Three Creeks area with my son, who was scouting for his late-season elk tag. We ended up on a backroad and got stuck in the snow. We were unable to get free and broke our tire chains in the process. Johan with Three Sisters Backcountry came to our aid and gave us a ride out to some friends who were waiting for us. It was very kind of Johan to come get us as he took time away from... Full story
Citizens4Community (C4C) has received a $5,000 grant from the St. Charles Health System, helping the nonprofit organization to better connect with their Latino neighbors in Sisters Country. Grant funds are being used to pay for Spanish translation services in both digital platforms and in print, including the written translation of the newly launched community website, Sisters Country Community Connects, an online communication and resource hub. Verbal interpretation will also... Full story
Three positions on the Sisters School District board of directors will be up for election on the May 18 ballot. Positions 1, 2, and 5 will be elected for four-year terms. Position 1 is currently held by Board Chair Jay Wilkins; Position 2 by David Thorsett; and Position 3 by Edie Jones. The district notes that to be eligible, a candidate must live in the school district, not be an officer or employee of the district, and be a qualified voter in the district. The candidate should participate in school activities, be active in... Full story
When the world went into lockdown in mid-March 2020, people — when they did venture out of their homes — could be seen wearing masks of various kinds. The masks caught the eye of Sisters artist Paul Alan Bennett. “My eye was drawn to the variety of masks, and in as much as they were awkward, there was both a strangeness and a sense of humor about them,” he said. After much careful thought, Paul, a painter and a printmaker, decided to create portraits of people wea... Full story
It is a cardinal rule of firearms safety: Never point a gun at anything you do not wish to destroy. Once you pull the trigger — by accident or with intent — you can never call the bullet back. For far too long, politicians, pundits, and public have been brandishing weaponized rhetoric of insurrection, revolution, and civil war. On January 6 in our nation’s capital, a trigger was tripped. The shot will echo through American politics for a long time to come. The p... Full story
I write in response to Mr. Damerell’s Letter to the Editor of January 6. Instead of referring to the homeless as vagrants and criminals, how about stepping up and lending a helping hand to the less fortunate? I do, and have been greatly rewarded in peace of mind and spirit, not to mention friendship. Doug Williams I was disturbed, though not surprised, to learn that after a visit to our St. Charles Clinic here in Sisters, vaccinations for seniors are projected to be available late spring, early summer! This is not okay! L... Full story
The SHE Project, 52 pieces of art for sale, returns this month to the art wall at Good Day Café in Sisters to raise funds for Saving Grace, a Central Oregon organization that provides services for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. Each of the artworks is designed along a theme of empowering women, with a theme or title that begins with the word “She.” For instance, “She knows her greatest power is her own inner tranquility.” Or, “She flies with her own w... Full story
The holidays are behind us. There’s fresh snow on Mt. Jefferson. A white beret rests on Black Butte’s peak. The American flag snaps towards the west. Another storm on its way. Clear skies, bluest overhead, fade into pale grays. Memories from the last two weeks blow in on the breeze… reminders of hard-won time spent with loved ones. We are a pod. We have been tested. We have been careful. But is it enough? A virus lives among us. It always has. It’s spread around. Hiding and waiting for an opportunity to strike. A rou... Full story
After more than a decade of false starts, broadband internet service is coming to Camp Sherman via Sureline Broadband in Madras. Local realtor and Camp Sherman native Shane Lundgren has been heading up a group of Camp Sherman residents since 2009 to secure internet access for the community. According to Lundgren, the original impetus was the government’s “No Child Left Behind” program in 2009-10, to bring internet learning opportunities to students at the Black Butte Schoo... Full story
When Mayor Chuck Ryan took office, the City was just beginning to pull out of a very unsettled time for City government. In a fairly short period of time, the City had had three city managers, and hit a low point in citizen interest and involvement on City commissions and boards. As Ryan retires from his mayoral duties this week, the City is running smoothly under City Manager Cory Misley, has a highly qualified staff that keeps the City humming, and boards and commissions peo... Full story
All students in the Sisters School District are scheduled to return to some level of in-person learning by February 1, according to a communication sent out January 6 by superintendent Curt Scholl. Sisters Elementary School has been operating with in-person instruction under what is referred to as the “hybrid model” since early in the school year. Students attend Monday through Thursday full-time and work from home on Fridays. The middle school and high school have been conducting school under Comprehensive Distance Lea... Full story
