News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
An explosion on the back deck of a house at 375 S. Oak Street at the intersection with W. Jefferson Avenue seriously injured three people Saturday night. Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Karjala told The Nugget that the call came in at about 6:08 p.m. According to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, an investigation revealed a homeowner in the area had built a warming fire and was not able to keep the fire burning, so they poured gasoline on the fire, which subsequently ignited and then exploded the can that the gasoline was... Full story
The main purpose of the Sisters Park & Recreation District's annual Sisters Shootout tournaments is to create exciting playing opportunities for youth basketball players from across the state. But the tournaments have another effect that folks in Sisters are happy to embrace. The tournament hosted 47 teams - and those kids come with parents and grandparents in tow. SPRD estimates from 1,00 to 1,500 people were in town for the weekend. Based on a typical calculation for... Full story
A city work crew began last Friday to remove parking improvements on a section of Main Avenue at the intersection with Locust Street, in order to comply with a court ruling in a property dispute. The property in question is a 25-foot strip of land, part of a lot owned by Dave and Sandy Marlow of Sisters. The city in 2009 widened Main Avenue, put in diagonal parking, and built sidewalk on the property. Court documents note that "at the time of the execution of the agreement, al... Full story
Homer Shaw arrived in Sisters in 1919 on a horse, following his family's horse-drawn buggy. He was five years old. On Saturday, January 19, his birthday celebration at Sisters Rodeo grounds was a living museum of the history of Sisters. Shaw graduated from Sisters High School in 1932. He had already worked on many local ranches, including the Leithauser Ranch on Camp Polk Road and the Lazy Z at the southeast end of Sisters. He became a logger with Barclay Logging, skidding log... Full story
Last Friday evening the Sisters Library saw more people coming and going than it has since its opening in January of 2006. In addition, it was probably the first time so many people coming in could be heard saying, "I wonder who will get first for photography," and the people going out saying, "Boy! Wasn't that a show! I thought the hare and the tortoise rocker was really something!" In the midst of the crushing crowd of over 200 people from throughout the Sisters community,... Full story
I would like to applaud Sisters High School ASG student leaders Miss Corrigan, Miss Saunders, their parents and leadership advisor, Michele Hammer for stepping up and offering to do the right thing by those who were affected by the recent spree of vandalism in our community. For the most part, the students who are involved in the leadership program are not the ones who would participate in this kind of activity, but will be the ones to clean up the mess. They are willing to be accountable for others' actions, so that the "sti... Full story
To the Editor: The Sisters Folk Festival encourages the community to come out to the public meeting on the proposed amphitheater project on January 29, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall to get first-hand information on the proposed project. There are a lot of rumors swirling around the project, some of which may involve the folk festival. One of those rumors is that Sisters Folk Festival plans to "move the festival" to the amphitheater. That is simply not true. The festival will continue in a similar way, located in multiple venues... Full story
Community members eager to get detailed information on a proposed amphitheater project in Sisters are encouraged to attend a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29, at City Hall. "We said when we started this (process) that it would take a couple of months to get our facts and figures together, and now is the time to be doing this," said Mayor Brad Boyd. City officials have announced a format that they hope will answer the many questions and concerns raised in the community regarding the project. In addition to... Full story
At a lightly attended Sisters Planning Commission meeting Thursday, city planner Eric Porter outlined the city's proposals to update the city development codes pertaining to "formula food" (chain and fast-food restaurants) in the highway commercial areas. The highway commercial zone encompasses the areas on the outskirts of both ends of town where Ray's and Bi-Mart are sited in the west, and the FivePine campus is to the east. The city is seeking community input on the proposed changes at a Town Hall meeting, tentatively... Full story
Circle of Friends has received a $17,500 grant from the Robert Chandler Fund, Lori and Les Cooper Fund and Fred W. Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation to increase the number of at-risk children served by trained volunteer mentors. The mission of Circle of Friends is to provide the most vulnerable children a loving, caring, nurturing, and sustained relationship with an adult role-model who teaches positive values and has attainable expectations for each child in order that... Full story
The Outlaws Nordic ski team traveled to their first away race of the season at Teacup Sno-park, near Mt. Hood. There was a large field of racers for the event this past weekend, with more than 130 competitors entering into the race. Blue skies and warm temperatures were the rule at this 5k interval-start classic race, affording both spectators and competitors favorable racing conditions. With the warm temperatures that have been persistent across much of the Pacific... Full story
The Outlaws traveled to Cascade on Friday, January 17, and matched up against the defending state champion Cougars. Sisters lost the battle in a final score of 45-38. Sisters started out well and played a great first half. The Cougars boast a very tough 6'4" post and three excellent three-point shooting guards. The Outlaws were able to contain the three-point line and limited the Cougars' posts touches in the first half. The Outlaws were up 8-7 in the first quarter, and from there through the second quarter it was a tight... Full story
In the event you're wondering how Grace the trumpeter swan is doing, don't feel alone. Rehabber Elise Wolf is wondering as well. Grace has been released back to the wild, not to Summer Lake Wildlife Management Area as planned, but in Bend with other swans on the Deschutes River below Pioneer Park. "She had to go back to the water," Wolf said. "Swans are floaters, not pedestrians, and even though she's underweight because of her injuries, her feet were beginning to show wear... Full story
Sisters swimmers traveled to Madras for the White Buffalo Classic on Saturday, January 18. The top six swimmers from prelims advancing to the finals. Madras, Bend, Summit, Mt. View, Redmond, Ridgeview, Gladstone and Sisters were all in attendance. Six of the eight schools were 5A and 6A and provided an extraordinarily high level of competition for the Outlaws. The number of swimmers on the Outlaws squad has dropped significantly due to injuries and participation in other... Full story
Grace Porraz of Sisters completed an arduous four-day running event earlier this month in an unexpected venue: Walt Disney World in Florida. Porraz participated in the Dopey Challenge, January 9-12. The race is named after one of the Seven Dwarfs, but it is no small event. It consists of a 5k run on Thursday; a 10k run on Friday; a half-marathon on Saturday; and a marathon on Sunday. The Sisters runner started down this path in 2012 when she and her sisters participated in the... Full story
Barbara Turner isn't moving anytime soon. She and her husband, John, are well settled into their Sisters Country home and have been for 34 years. It's their 32nd home in 68 years of marriage. That's a lot of moves in the formative years of a long and productive relationship. There are few career choices resulting in that sort of nomadic life, and for John and Barbara, members of the Greatest Generation, it was military service. John spent 32 years in the Army, retiring as a fu... Full story
It's a sunny spring day and you and your leashed mini-poodle are taking a leisurely stroll in the park. You're smiling and his tail is wagging. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Great Dane bounds by to say hello, he's unleashed and his human is running over to catch him. Meanwhile your pooch is shaking from fright. The relaxing walk that you two were taking is over. Does Deschutes County have a leash law? No. However, it does have an "at large" ordinance. According to Deschutes... Full story
Leo Tolstoy may have written "War and Peace" in 1869, but the evolution of war and peace can be traced back millions of years in the study of primates. Have humans always waged war? Is warring an ancient evolutionary adaptation or a relatively recent behavior - and what does that tell us about human nature? Dr. Michel Waller presented these questions plus assessments of the similarities and differences in primates and humans to gain a clearer picture of where we, as humans, came from in hopes of finding a better... Full story
Renowned quiltmaker Mary Dement Smith of Sisters has donated a quilt valued at $1,500 to the Cloverdale Volunteer Firefighters Association to help raise funds for equipment. After seeing an article in The Nugget last fall about the volunteers' raffle of a rifle at the Sisters Rodeo, and the equipment that they purchased with those funds, Smith thought that she could use this as a way to support their organization. Mary is a longtime quilter and lives in the Cloverdale Fire... Full story
A young adult female cougar was killed Friday morning after appearing on a porch at Aspen Lakes east of Sisters. U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services personnel killed the cougar. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Corey Heath told The Nugget that the cougar was "in very, very poor condition" and appeared to have been scavenging deer carcasses in the area "because it wasn't able to hunt for itself." "It was on the porch, it was emaciated and it had an... Full story
A woman who slashed the throat of a toddler during a psychotic episode is reportedly planning to live in Sisters after her medical parole. The Idaho Statesman is reporting that Rae Ann Leach, 70, will join her husband, Dave Leach, who resides in Sisters, after she is released from the Pocatello Woman's Correctional Center. That release is not expected for at least a month. Deschutes County property records show David and Rae Ann Leach as owners of a house at 17675 Mountain View Dr. in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates. According to... Full story
Sisters Folk Festival has received a $25,000 grant from the Chichester DuPont Foundation for the Americana Community Luthier Program at Sisters High School. This is the second grant given to the program by the foundation; the first totaled $20,000 and was used to make equipment facility upgrades to better serve the students. The original 2011 grant played a pivotal role in building a stronger, healthier program. "We are so grateful for the foundation's faith in this program," said Development Director Katy Yoder. "This... Full story
Hubert William Poutre (aka Bill) went to be with his Lord and Savior on January 12, 2014 at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. Bill was born in Swansea, Massachusetts on January 25, 1927, to William Poutre and Amanda Delia Contois Poutre. He served in the Navy during World War II as a machinist stationed in the Swan Island shipyards near Portland. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved all forms of hunting and fishing. While living in his home town of Warren, Rhode Island, he r... Full story
Rex Edward Jones, 39, of Sisters, Oregon passed away Saturday. He was born in Seattle, Washington to Bruce and Marjorie (Ambrogi) Jones. He was raised in Everett, Washington, until he was an adult and then he moved to Marysville, Washington. He moved to Sisters two years ago, where he currently lived. Rex served four years in the Marines after high school. Rex was a well respected, hard working machinist specializing in the lathe. He enjoyed NASCAR, crabbing, and... Full story
Donald Pierce, 56, has died at Legacy Emanuel Hospital from the injuries sustained in the explosion of a gas can being used to pour gasoline on a warming fire at a Sisters residence on Saturday evening. The Deschutes County Sheriffs Office announced Pierce's death Tuesday. The agency also stated that they have completed the investigation in this incident and determined that this was an accident and was not a criminal matter.... Full story
