News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
The Sisters housing market has not escaped the national plunge that has put the country on the verge of recession. Yet, there are also flashes of activity here that seem to defy logic, resulting in a lot of head scratching by those who are trying to make some sense of the local market. According to the statistics provided by the Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR), total sales in the Sisters residential market are down 40.46 percent from the heady days of 2005 and down 24.27 percent since last year. Sales of homes... Full story
The Santiam Pass Ski Patrol (SPSP) headquartered at Hoodoo Mountain Resort has just been rated as the "Best Large Area Ski Patrol" in the Pacific Northwest Region by the National Ski Patrol (NSP). The team is now in the running for the National Award of Best Large Area Ski Patrol in the country. The 44-strong staff of dedicated volunteers puts the Hoodoo team of patrollers into the big leagues, and they have been ranked higher for quality than all of the patrols at the biggest areas in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, many of... Full story
Clifton Clemens, one of Sisters leading citizens for decades, died Friday, January 18, just two months shy of his 102nd birthday. Simply making it to the century mark would have been enough to earn Clemens notice. But Clemens' impact on the Sisters community amounted to much more than simple longevity. "His goal was, wherever he was, to make it a better place to live," said his son David Clemens, who lives in Sisters. Clemens and his wife Dorothy moved to Sisters in 1973 and... Full story
The Sisters School District finally has some good news regarding the $1.2 million it must repay the state for a disallowed homeschool program. The Oregon State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo has agreed to withhold overpaid State School Fund dollars (SSF) over a 10-year period instead of the five-year withholding schedule previously stipulated. Assistant state superintendent Susan MacGlashan informed Sisters School District superintendent Elaine Drakulich of the state's decision by telephone on Tuesday,... Full story
To the Editor: Barry Clock (Letters to the Editor, The Nugget, January 16) seems to have missed the trails discussion in The Nugget over the last few weeks. The mountain bikers have signed some trails, not thousands of acres. Barry can ride his horse anywhere in the forest without an environmental study. Bikers have to do expensive studies to get permission to use the forest. How is this fair? If I could invent a bike that cut trails like a horse does, the bikers could build trails without permission from anyone! And once... Full story
The Sisters Folk Festival is seeking artists to donate original pieces to the seventh annual My Own Two Hands community celebration. The two-day event includes a community art stroll, chili feed and performing arts evening, as well as an art auction and party. The 2008 My Own Two Hands theme is "Reflection." Donated pieces must be submitted on or before February 28. The Community Art Stroll and Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill Benefit Chili Feed is set for Friday, April 11. All donated work will be showcased during the Friday... Full story
Black Butte School is starting the new year with two new teachers. John Kostecka is the school's new upper grade teacher, and DeeDee Cashwell is the lower grade instructor. The pair, who make up the school's main teaching staff, along with new interim superintendent Craig Nikolai, were on the job for the first time on Monday, January 14, as students returned to school after a long winter vacation. Although there will be some crossover in the classes they teach, Cashwell will... Full story
A project on the Sisters Ranger District is turning logging waste into electricity. There was a time when the "guts and feathers" of a logging operation - limbs from harvested trees, brush, and other woody debris, known as "slash" - was left behind to rot or collected into burning piles. In some instances it was chipped and spread out on the forest floor. In the late 1950s the Forest Service experimented with breaking up slash by running it through a flat bed chipper and... Full story
Sisters music fans flocked to the Sisters High School auditorium on a cold Saturday afternoon last weekend for Cascade Horizon Band's Winter Concert. Crowds were bigger than ever this year, with all but the assembly hall's front two or three rows filled to capacity. Last Saturday's concert was dedicated to Marilyn Burkholder, one of the band's original 12 members who was also the band's manager and president. Burkholder and her husband Bruce, who lived in Bend, died... Full story
The boys basketball team earned a 42-36 victory over Junction City on Tuesday, January 15, and three days later defeated Elmira at home with a final score of 63-45. The Outlaws are proving they are one of the top teams in the league. As Tuesday's game started, Junction City spread the court, and stall was the name of their game. The Tigers limited possessions and refused to run with the Outlaws. JC held the ball, ran time off the clock and then went for the lay-in. Sisters... Full story
Members of the Sisters School Board opened their meeting on Tuesday night, January 15, with the walls of their board room decorated with poster-sized thank you notes and a new member - a student representative - seated at their board table. Before the five-member board got down to the agenda business of the evening, superintendent Elaine Drakulich, on behalf of the school district, presented each board member with a commemorative plaque that reads: "Thank you for your commitment to the children of Sisters School District."... Full story
Forfeits doomed the Outlaws in their match against La Pine last week. The team had no wrestlers in five weights and fell 18-51 on Wednesday, January 16. Despite the loss there were individual bright spots. First period falls were recorded by Nick Head and Thomas Schantz. Head (135 pounds) flattened Austin Hoover at 1:11 into the match. Schantz (189 pounds), ranked ninth in the most recent state poll, needed only 29 seconds to pin Alan Boal. Coach Jeff Smith said: "Nick and Thomas were dominant in their matches. Nick was... Full story
Had he lived, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been 79 years old on January 15. This year Sisters Middle School students honored his birthday, his life and his legacy at a special assembly organized by the school's leadership class and went home with a better understanding of why each year they are excused from school the third Monday of January to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Bringing history alive was part of the assembly's goal, according to principal Kathy Miner, who foresees this first-time celebration... Full story
The Campbell Brothers will perform Sacred Steel: African-American gospel music with electric steel guitar and vocals at FivePine Lodge & Convention Center in Sisters, on Sunday evening, January 27. The performance is the first of the Sisters Folk Festival's Winter Concert Series. "This is some of the most stirring music you'll ever hear," said festival board chair Jim Cornelius. "Rock-and-roll energy and intensity with deep gospel roots. This is going to be a real experience." Pedal steel guitarist Chuck Campbell (2004... Full story
If getting organized is one of those things on the "to-do" list, La Cresa Scherrer is ready to help. The Cloverdale resident recently started Creatively Organized, a business Scherrer says is an extension of a natural talent. "I was the kid with the clean side of the bedroom," she said. She's been helping family and friends with organizational ordeals for years and has a genuine interest in helping others find balance and order in their personal spaces. Scherrer is offering a... Full story
David Z and his band, along with singer/songwriterAnastacia, will perform at the Barn at Pine Meadow Ranch on Friday, February 1, at 7 p.m. With roots that go back to the1960s, David Z's songwriting and performance style spansa musical landscape from smokey blues to sentimental jazz and raunchy rock. He'll be backed up at the house concert byJ. Patrick Lombardi on electric and slide guitar, Greg Wieland on drums and percussion and Ted Brainard on bass and mandolin. Anastacia will open the show. She has graced numerous stages... Full story
Lacrosse in Sisters is growing rapidly. What started three years ago with 12 kids has grown to a K-12th-grade program that gives over 100 boys and girls a shot at the ancient sport. High School Coach Bill Rexford said: "I am most excited about the additions at the middle school and youth level. Thanks to Andrew Gorayeb (who recently moved here from the Bay Area) we will have a seventh/eighth grade team playing every day. I also hope the girls come out in force this year. We have the gear, so we just need them to sign up.... Full story
The Outlaws defeated the Elmira Falcons 48-41 at Elmira on Friday, January 18. Sisters jumped out to a fast start for the first time all season. Outlaw defense clamped down, forced turnovers and finished in transition. Kali Ulmer scored eight points to boost Sisters to an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sisters continued to play tough defense and held Elmira to just 13 points in the first half. The Outlaws got into an offensive rhythm, executed well and were able... Full story
Longtime journalists Tom and Cat Mauldin of Sisters have purchased the Central Oregon Horse Journal (COHJ) from Kiki Dolson, publisher of The Nugget. "We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase the Horse Journal. The Nugget staff has done a terrific job with the publication, and we're excited to take it from here," said Tom Mauldin. The COHJ publishes quarterly and has been in existence since 2003 when The Nugget started the magazine to cover the Central... Full story
•Reserve a 2008 Sisters Rodeo Buckle by calling Sisters Cascade of Gifts at 549-8591. Orders must by placed by April 15. •Sisters Bakery now has Laura's delicious artisan breads available. She will be baking her bread on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. "You-Bake" breads are available. Call 549-0361 for more information. •Bad Ass Coffee Company is offering up to 50 percent off on select merchandise at 411 E. Cascade Ave. •Fullhart Solutions and Summit Solutions are moving into their new location at 704 W.... Full story
The Sisters School District will have a second charter school next fall. The new school, the Sisters Web and Early College Academy (SWECA), will bring technology-based education especially to homeschool, dropout and non-attending students in grades K-12. (See "School district considers new Web Academy," The Nugget, January 9, page 1). Members of the Sisters School Board voted unanimously to approve the school at their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 15. Approval is contingent upon the negotiation of a final contract... Full story
As the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and never would the statement be more appropriate than at Sisters Middle School last Friday. Captain David Wheeler, the local fire marshal, joined forces with middle school teachers Marti Dale and Julie Patton to provide some valuable fire safety experience for their seventh grade health class. The class covered several areas of personal safety. "We talked about fireworks safety and disaster preparedness,... Full story
"Otter Games," a magnificent rendering in walnut by Sisters artist J. Chester "Skip" Armstrong, has a new home at Sisters Library. Dolores Pritchard originally purchased the piece in 1998. When Pritchard decided it was time to leave Sisters and go into assisted living, she thought it best to leave "Otter Games" in Sisters. She donated it as a permanent art piece to the Sisters Library. "Otter Games" was born in Skip's mind, and before the imaginary otters could escape, he... Full story
"How old do you have to be to have something in the Library Art Exhibit?" 10-year-old Sedona Baer asked Cathy Ehlers, co-chair of the Friends of the Sisters Library Art Committee. "If you can walk, you can exhibit," Cathy answered, giving Sedona a big smile. "Oh, that's wonderful," she replied, smiling back at Cathy, "I have a painting at home I would like to bring in." So it was that Miss Baer and her dad brought her lovely watercolor and pencil painting, "Sunrise" to the... Full story
Clifton Clemens of Sisters died Friday, January 18. He was 101. He was born March 6, 1906, in Doone, Iowa, the oldest son of Benjamin and Katherine Clemens. He married Dorothy Bosshard in Salem in 1931. Clifton attended the Oregon School of Agriculture (now OSU) where he graduated in 1938 with a degree in Industrial Arts. He and Dorothy moved their family to Wasco, California, where he taught at Wasco Union High School for several years, eventually getting into the construction and development business. He and Dorothy moved... Full story
