News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 28
Although the three newly elected city councilors will not be sworn in until January, each has already begun to prepare for the task at hand. Newcomers McKibben Womack and Catherine Childress are getting orientation classes from City Manager Eileen Stein, and attending briefings and ride-alongs with city staff covering the key issues, major projects and challenges facing the city. Brad Boyd has been a council member and mayor, so his orientation will be much more focused on the current challenges and opportunities that have... Full story
With Old Glory proudly adorning flagpoles and lampposts in downtown Sisters, the annual Veterans Day Breakfast and Celebration assembly at Sisters High School on Thursday was met with teary eyes and warm smiles of brotherhood. Sisters Country veterans joined friends and family for a full breakfast served up by the Sisters High School leadership group prior to the program. Sporting an American flag tie, Principal Joe Hosang, himself a Marine veteran, greeted and welcomed... Full story
Sisters voters spoke loud and clear on one issue in particular on November 6: They want to bring the Sisters Airport property into the city limits. The Sisters City Charter requires voter approval prior to any annexation. That approval came with 85 percent of the vote. The airport hangar is owned by Sisters Airport Property LLC; the runway is owned by Sisters Runway, Inc. Both properties are managed by Julie and Benny Benson, whose ENERGYneering Solutions, Inc. (ESI) is... Full story
More than 70 members and guests of the Sisters Kiwanis Club gathered at Aspen Lakes on Saturday, November 3, to commemorate 35 years of service in the Sisters community. Bob Grooney, Sisters Kiwanis life member and past-president, was the Master of Ceremonies. Grooney delighted the crowd by recounting memories of the club's history, and hosted a round of "fines," which are a tradition during the weekly club meetings. November 28, 2012 will mark the 35th Anniversary of the Kiwa... Full story
To the Editor: After reading two articles in this week's Nugget ("Council debates city's economic role" and "Slick's Que Co. closing Sisters location"), I believe we have a wonderful opportunity to score a quick win for Sisters. Full disclosure: I moved here in July. I don't understand the different roles and responsibilities of the various commerce/economic development organizations. I have yet to eat at Slick's. Back to that "quick win" I mentioned: I think the folks in charge of bringing business to Sisters, the new... Full story
When band teacher Lia Morgan arrived in Sisters in August, she had only eight students registered for high school band. But that didn't stop this third-year teacher from showing her enthusiasm. She set out to build the program and enlist more kids. With a "nothing-to-lose" attitude, she switched the concert band to zero period at 7 a.m., hoping that students with class conflicts during the day would enroll. On the first day, 19 kids showed up. Currently, enrollment is at 25... Full story
Winter is a busy season for the crews that work the Sisters district for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). They keep the roads de-iced, and when the snow falls they work the plows to keep the highway clear. This winter, they'll be operating out of a new facility on Highway 126 just east of Sisters. The agency is in the final stages of a $3.3 million project, building a 10,000-square-foot four-bay maintenance shed and a 7,500-square-foot storage building. The... Full story
I just wrapped up what I believe counted as my 30th year of coaching high school cross-country. Now I have time to think about my own running again before heading into another season of track coaching in late February. Despite a commitment to myself to run at least every other day during cross-country, the realities of my slow pace and the demands of keeping track of 45-50 runners caused me to continually compromise by riding my mountain bike during practice. In the week since the season ended, I have run four times with my w... Full story
Every Tuesday afternoon, from 4 to 5 p.m., Room 318 of Sisters Elementary School bustles with students learning about - and experimenting with - various areas of science, engineering, physics and natural history. It's the Sisters Science Club (SSC) Discovery Lab. When Bob Collins of Sisters and his science buddies started thinking about forming a science club in Sisters Country, the idea took off like a rocket to the moon. In the short time the club has been operating, they ha... Full story
Students in the Sisters High School jazz choir class were pretty excited when they found out they had $2,000 to order tuxedos and floor-length dresses for their performances. "It's nice to know that Sisters holds the arts in high regard and we're able to be professional-looking when we perform," freshman Alena Nore said recently during a 7 a.m. class. The money is part of a $5,000 anonymous donation that came to the Sisters Schools Foundation specifically for the high school... Full story
Families of Vast church met on Sunday, November 11, and instead of a traditional church service, packed and filled over 500 shoeboxes with school supplies, toys, hygiene items and clothing, that will be sent and distributed to children all over the world. For many children, this will be their first Christmas gift ever. Operation Christmas Child is one of the many ministries of the Samaritan's Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that has been... Full story
The Outlaws were defeated 2-1 in a hard-fought, physical battle against the Ontario Tigers in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs held in Sisters on Tuesday, November 6, bringing their playoff run to an abrupt end. Jake McAllister scored Sisters' one and only goal at the 18-minute mark of the first half on an assist from Evan Rickards. Jake corralled the ball and went one-on-one with the Tiger goalie and booted it in for the score. The Outlaws held on to the 1-0 lead until Ontario scored with two minutes left in... Full story
Outlaws junior standout Jake McAllister earned top league honors as the Sky-Em Player of the Year for boys' soccer for a second year in a row. It was a unanimous decision from all the coaches in the league. McAllister, who played at midfield for the Outlaws, was also a first-team all-league pick, and led the team with 18 goals and five assists. "Jake was by far the best player in the league and likely the best player in the state," said Coach Rob Jensen. "He does a great job o... Full story
From the NFL to youth sports, the past couple of years have seen a rapidly growing awareness of the dangers of concussions. Professional teams and youth sports programs alike are taking steps to reduce concussions and mitigate their potential longterm impact on players' lives. In Sisters, the effort is already paying off. The Center Foundation certified athletic trainer John Barresse (known as JB) reported some promising results to the Sisters School Board Wednesday: Last year, Outlaws fall sports reported 15 concussions, 13... Full story
The girls soccer team suffered a 2-0 loss at Molalla on Tuesday, November 6, in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Sisters came out strong in the first half with seven shots on goal compared to Molalla, who only had two. Unfortunately, none of the Outlaws' shots reached the back of the net and the teams entered the half tied 0-0. Molalla scored at the 57th minute to go up 1-0. The Indians executed on a one-on-one situation and slid the ball into the net for the goal. A free kick was given outside of the Outlaws'... Full story
John Downs has been named Sisters High School's (SHS) new head wrestling coach and is hard at work planning for the season ahead. Downs has a big list of accomplishments under his belt. He took fourth in league his senior year at Neah-Kah-Nie High School and went on to place fourth at the AAU Regional Wrestling Championships. He was also a Pacific Northwest Freestyle Champion, which qualified him to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic trials. Downs started his coaching caree... Full story
The Outlaws volleyball team finished fourth at the 4A Class A Volleyball Tournament held Friday and Saturday, November 9 and 10, and brought their standout season to an end. Sisters faced the Astoria Fisherman on Friday night and lost in a brutal five-set match with scores of 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19 and 13-15. The Outlaws started off a bit nervous and had to work through some early tournament jitters. Coach Miki McFadden told The Nugget that the Outlaws struggled in the... Full story
• Seasons Café and Wine Shop will be extending their summer hours and will still be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. • Bend Financial Group, a Central Oregon financial services firm since 2007, has been renamed Strassman & Hanna Wealth Management. The firm has many Sisters Country clients. The firm's principals, John Strassman & Kevin Hanna, made the change to better reflect their personal focus on clients as well as the geographical diversity of the clients they serve. "We wanted our... Full story
When Rebecca French opened Bald Eagle Music Education Station (BEMES) in January of 2011 she had a clear vision in mind: Keep it affordable for those who can pay, and make it available to those who can't. Local business owners Jennifer and TR McCrystal knew that model would be hard to sustain, especially in a down economy. So they jumped in and helped. Jennifer McCrystal and French share a common bond in their love of music and a desire to make it available for everyone. "I... Full story
As Sisters Country sees its first snowfall of the winter, the memories of longtime residents roll back 20 years to one of the snowiest winters on record. The first snowflakes began to fall in early December 1992 and persisted until March 1993. "That was the year we all desperately wanted snow; there hadn't been much for a couple of years," said Annette Ehrenstrom, owner of High Desert Hair Co. "I remember sitting with a friend watching the first snowflakes come down in early December," recalled Ehrenstrom. "I had hoped it... Full story
• Marc Peck, a 2009 Sisters High School graduate, joined the Army right after graduation. He spent a year deployed in Afghanistan. He is now a medic in the Army and just re-upped for three more years. Marc is stationed in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and will be going to Fort Carson, Colorado in 2013. • Nolan Peck, a 2012 Sisters High School graduate, joined the Marines and graduated from boot camp and infantry training in October of this year. Nolan will be in... Full story
As the season's first snowfall carpeted Sisters this weekend, setting the scene for some pre-holiday shopping, one nice sleigh-stop was the Country Holiday Bazaar inside the home of Trudy Kalac. "This is my first year doing something like this and it's been so fun," she said, directing a shopper around the corner to the hot cider in her kitchen. "I have so many friends who make things and are so creative and we thought of doing a more intimate Christmas crafts show here at my... Full story
"I love what I do; it's not just a job to me." So says John Price, the new chef at Brand 33 Restaurant at Aspen Lakes. Price's passion for his work is evident. His eyes light up and he breaks into a big grin when he talks about adding new Italian dishes to the menu or using beef produced by the Cyrus family's own ranching operation. "For a guy coming from where I'm from, being somewhere where they provide their own protein is mind-blowing to me," he said. Where he's from is... Full story
The other day I was cutting lodgepole firewood up near Skyliner's (don't bother taking the time looking in the Sisters District wood-cutting area; its all gone). I was about to put the undercut in an old, dry, bug-killed lodgepole, when a snazzy spider came scampering out from under the bark and ran between my legs, and sure enough, one of my kid helpers, standing well away in the safety zone, spotted it. I have always given specific instructions to all who are with me cutting... Full story
Alice was born in Crown Point, Indiana, and thereby became one of the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) and a Dame of the Magna Carte. A graduate of Purdue University, Alice was bright and possessed an extremely sharp wit. One of her greatest assets was her ability to listen, and after meeting someone she could tell you all about that person's life, their likes or dislikes and what person was currently the love of that person's life. She loved to "get all the... Full story
