News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
The Outlaws fell 43-42 in a tight contest at Cottage Grove on Tuesday, January 17, but three days later turned it around and edged out Sutherlin 33-32 in overtime. On Tuesday, Sisters faced last year's Sky-Em champions, the Cottage Grove Lions, who returned four starters, all dynamic guards that can drive and shoot the ball. The Outlaws started off well and jumped to a 16-6 start in the first quarter. Sadly, untimely turnovers let the Lions back in, and at the half the... Full story
Snow. More snow ... multiple layers of snow. Thawing, refreezing, and then ... more snow. The current snow situation in the mountains is a textbook example of avalanche-prone conditions, and backcountry travelers need to be aware and take appropriate precautions. This season's mammoth snowfall has already resulted in avalanches that blocked Highway 20 west of Santiam Pass. Sadly, an avalanche also claimed the life of a Seattle woman, an experienced backcountry skier, at Crysta... Full story
Sunday afternoon a musical event took place in the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration that was truly remarkable. Ten-year-old Nicolas Oncken, violinist, and his accompanist, Stephanie King, played together in a recital that audience members thought worthy of Carnegie Hall. Thanks to the friendship that exists between Nicolas's mom, Akiko, and Sharlene Weed of Sisters Habitat for Humanity, the idea for Habitat to sponsor the recital became reality with the proceeds going... Full story
During the Christmas/New Year holiday season, I took it upon myself to listen in on the electronic Christmas Bird Count (CBC) that's carried on the Internet's Oregon Birds On Line (OBOL). I got onto it to become more aware of what birds have been spotted in Oregon, where and by whom. Birds like the rare Siberian red-flanked bluetail - a distant relative of our American robin - that turned up in Lewiston, Idaho. Birders from all over the U.S. are converged on Hell's Gate State Park to add this little charmer to their Life List... Full story
Gary Farnsworth, of the Oregon Department of Transportation Region 4, has announced that the contract negotiations with Knife River have been successfully concluded for construction of the roundabout at Highway 20 and Barclay Drive. Farnsworth said that ODOT is very pleased to be working with Knife River, the same company that did the Cascade Avenue reconstruction. All of the land acquisitions have been completed and the way is clear for construction to begin in February. If... Full story
Sisters School District officials are trying to make up class time lost to snow closures this winter without reducing spring break period or extending the school year in June. Superintendent Curt Scholl has met with representatives of the certified and classified unions to discuss the situation. Everyone agrees that mitigating lost time without affecting the major vacations is desirable, he said. "We have spots on our calendar which are staff work days and students aren't there," Scholl said. One day was made up last Friday,... Full story
Incoming City Councilors and City department heads put two afternoons of training under their belts last week - a first here in Sisters. The training, organized by City Manager Rick Allen, was designed to prepare councilors for the job they have been elected to do. Hearing from a variety of trainers, public officials, and the City attorney, participants learned about conflicts of interest and ethics, roles and responsibilities in the land-use decision-making process, legal... Full story
To the Editor: Correction - Last week I provided information that was not accurate. While much of Deschutes County has a code live/snow load of 25 pounds per square foot, this was not true for all areas of the county - including Sisters. Snow loads, in fact, are site-specific and based on location and elevation. It is best to talk with your city or county building department for code information. That said, code requirements change over time, and if it is possible to locate original construction documents, it is likely they... Full story
On Wednesday, January 25, Martin Sexton will bring his soulful singing, brilliant guitar playing and well-crafted songs to Sisters in the kick-off of the 2017 Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series. Syracuse, New York, native Sexton got his start singing in the streets and subways of Boston in the early 1990s. Still fiercely independent and headlining venues from the Fillmore to Carnegie Hall, he has influenced a generation of contemporary artists. Sexton's incendiary... Full story
Beginning February 6, Cascades East Transit (CET) will institute a new Community Connector bus route #29 between Sisters and Bend, and will make some modifications to the schedule for the Redmond-Sisters route #28. CET signs will identify each stop. The single morning run to Bend will leave Hawthorne Station in Bend at 6:40 a.m., arriving at its first Sisters stop on the north side of Main Avenue at the crosswalk between Locust and Cedar streets at 7:08 a.m. The next stop is o... Full story
When the doors open at 6 p.m. at the Sisters Cold Weather Shelter, two volunteers greet the guests warmly and make them welcome. After almost a month of the shelter being open, guests and volunteers are becoming a supportive "family." During their first visit to the shelter, guests are asked to fill out a general information sheet, which is kept on file. Subsequently, each time guests come to the shelter they only need to sign in on the current evening's roster. The... Full story
Many of us watched with interest the recent - and remarkably anti-climactic - extradition of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. He has, naturally, pleaded not guilty. As this news broke, I received no fewer than a dozen messages and emails from my former partners in narcotics enforcement celebrating, to one degree or another, "Shorty's" arrival in New York. But we shouldn't celebrate too much. The reality is that Chapo's arrest... Full story
"I believe all children have stories to tell and all children need an adult to listen," said Circle of Friends mentor and board member, Jan Martin. If you would like to be one of those listeners, Circle of Friends will be conducting mentor training on Saturday, January 28. To become a mentor one must apply, have an interview, and agree to an extensive background check, including fingerprinting, driving record, social media, and personal references. Kelly Davis Martin, M.P.H. a... Full story
