News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
To the Editor: I am writing in response to the stories in The Bulletin, on Monday, January 28 and The Nugget, on Wednesday, January 30 regarding the new "Upscale Development" slated for the old Chevron gas station site. I find it interesting that Peter Storton feels that we need to be more Aspen- and Vail-like to keep our visitors happy. My marketing research comes from family and friends that visit me from all over the country. My guests don't ask for the closest Starbucks or Prada store; however, they love to shop, browse... Full story
Multiple snowslides closed Highway 20 west of Sisters for more than 30 hours last Thursday and Friday. After reopening shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, the same stretch of highway was again shut down on Saturday afternoon. In both instances the highway reopened on a "conditional" opening basis. All vehicles were required to roll using chains, even those with studs and/or four-wheel-drive. Thursday's pre-dawn slides blanketed an approximate three-quarters of a mile stretch of... Full story
Judging from recent letters to the editor, there still seems to be plenty of persistent and even harmful misinformation circulating about the Peterson Ridge Trail system. We would all be taking a huge step in the right direction if we could just agree on the facts. Some continue to believe that the trail is a recent creation and that horses were summarily kicked off the trail after "special interests" with money to spend managed to turn the Forest Service to their way of thinking. The trail in fact was created in 1989, 19... Full story
Sending a son or daughter off to life in the military puts a parent in a conflicting emotional quandary of pride and fear, especially during a war when "active duty" truly is a time of action. Your correspondent's son is a sergeant in an Army unit, and he doesn't want his name or where he is stationed printed - for security reasons. That's scary. When he is deployed twice a year, his parents don't know what day he'll go, where he is or when he'll be back. Fear lurks at the edge of our minds. But we know that other military pa... Full story
The Sisters middle and high school jazz bands participated in the 2008 Oregon Jazz Festival, hosted in Eugene by the University of Oregon and Lane Community College. Participating students shared in performance workshops as part of their school bands. Students also attended performances by outstanding college bands, as well as various clinics and concerts presented by jazz educators and professionals from throughout the country. The event this year hosted more than 30 middle and high school bands, including the seven members... Full story
Tanya Harding's fifth grade class at Sisters Middle School was treated to a pizza party earlier this month because of the efforts of one of its clan: Chance Gragert. Chance entered an essay contest sponsored by orthodontist Dr. Scot Burgess, writing the winning entry. Gragert's award was a pizza party for his whole class at the middle school. "I really haven't even read the essay. I am looking forward to reading it," said first-year teacher Harding. Well she might be, since... Full story
School sports usually pit the physically strong and agile against one another, and Sisters has proven formidable on many a court and field. But some Outlaws competitors choose a checked board for their arena. The chess team of Sisters is having great success, pitting one strong and agile mind against others in the classic and ancient game of strategy. The chess club finds its home in the middle school where some of the finer young minds of Sisters are taught to think beyond... Full story
It laid in woodworker Brent McGregor's wonderul treasure trove of wood for over 15 years, a four-foot-thick, six-foot-long piece of 300-year-old ponderosa pine snag. There wasn't anything significant about it; it didn't stand out among the bigger, more intriguing pieces of dead wood stacked all over McGregor's place. There was not even a woodpecker hole for birds to nest in. Then one day, Paul Bennett, co-chair of the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) Art Committee, had... Full story
The spate of avalanches (snowslides) that have closed Highway 20 several times in the last several weeks are a perfect example of the winter hazards that are a deadly threat to skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers in our area. Avalanches occur only on slopes steeper than about 25 degrees, and they most often occur on slopes between about 35 and 45 degrees. Learning to recognize avalanche terrain is the first step in keeping yourself safe in the back country. The steepness of a slope, its orientation (the direction it... Full story
Tickets are available for the next two concerts in the Sisters Folk Festival's 2008 Winter Concert Series. David Lindley will perform on February 10 and Tracy Grammer on March 2. Both performances are at FivePine Lodge and Conference Center in Sisters. On February 10 multi-instrumentalist David Lindley will perform music that redefines the word "eclectic." Lindley, well known for his many years as the featured accompanist with Jackson Browne and leader of his own band El Rayo-X, has long championed the concept of world... Full story
The Sisters High School Nordic Team's first true high school competition of the new year brought mixed results at the Skadi Cup held Saturday, January 26, at the Teacup Nordic ski area near Mt. Hood Meadows. Skiers battled sticky snow conditions and constant snowfall on the classic 5-kilometer course, which impacted times adversely. Nonetheless, junior Molly Blust placed third (24:15) to lead the girls team to fifth place among the eight complete teams. Summit dominated the... Full story
The Outlaws continued their undefeated run in league play with a 75-31 win over La Pine at home on Friday, February 1. Sisters jumped out early and by the end of the first period held a 16-11 lead over the visiting Hawks. The Outlaws held La Pine to just eight points in the second quarter to push to a 41-19 advantage. Sisters scored 35 points in the second half and held the Hawks to 12. Unselfish play and a total team effort led to the Outlaws victory. Ten different players... Full story
A special benefit dinner and auction is slated for Sisters High School Commons this Saturday night, February 9. The event will raise funds for Sisters Middle School seventh and eighth graders who are going on an eight-day trip to New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. this summer. Auction previewing starts at 5 p.m., with the silent auction at 6 p.m. A spaghetti dinner is planned for 7 p.m., with the live auction following. Blazer tickets, Duck tickets, a Breedlove guitar and an Aspen Lakes golf and dinner package are a... Full story
Ten equestrians from Sisters area training barns made a splash in the Area VII eventing region this year. The year-end awards dinner held in January revealed three champions, four reserve champions, two third- and one fourth-place getters. An administrative glitch prevented another rider from claiming her fifth-place award. Area VII consists of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, which translates to a lot of traveling for serious competitors. Riders compete at an average of six to eight events during a season that... Full story
Nashville singer, songwriter, percussionist and guitarist Christopher Williams gave Sisters High School Americana Project students some tips about fine tuning their songwriting abilities last week. He also worked with students at the elementary and middle schools. Williams, who opened last Sunday's first concert of the 2008 Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series, extended his stay in Sisters especially to work with the students. Helping the students was old hat for... Full story
For one morning earlier this month, the lecture room at Sisters Middle School was transformed into a lively festival celebrating the culture of the countries in Africa. Under the direction of teachers Kristi Taylor and Deirdre Kanzig, the sixth grade class shared displays, artifacts, music and food to culminate the study of the African continent's history, culture and geography. Using the storyline method, students each took on an African character that they developed during... Full story
Sisters middle and high school students who are taking French I were last week given the opportunity to look beyond their classroom to chat with other French speakers. French teacher Susanna Harrison staged last Wednesday's event as an art auction (vente aux enchères) at her Gallery of Modern Art (Galerie d'Art Moderne). Local folks who speak French attended the auction as clients. To prepare for the event, each French student crafted a collage depicting the parts of the human body and clothing. According to Harrison,... Full story
The Sisters airport area is becoming a magnet for entrepreneurs. It is not a new phenomenon but a slowly developing trend that has attracted people who are willing to think outside the box when creating businesses. David Crosier is the owner of Mountain EDM, a specialty machine shop that has found its home at the Sisters airport. Mountain EDM produces trucs, a slightly more elegant French word for thingies, framzits or whatchamacallits. Most of his work disappears into the... Full story
Every year at the end of January, a sizeable contingent of folks from Sisters hits the snow-blown highways headed for a little city in the middle of the high desert of Nevada. They gladly make the 10-hour drive to Elko, Nevada, for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which just finished its 24th annual event January 26-February 2. The Gathering, commonly known simply as "Elko," features the finest poets and musicians of a thriving subculture of Western art in a week-long... Full story
• A Sisters area man was taken to the hospital after a Sisters woman found him lying in the snow wearing only pajamas and socks. The man pushed the woman when she tried to see if he was okay. The woman's husband then tackled the man and restrained him until police arrived. The man was extremely intoxicated and it appeared he was on some other kind of drug. The man had reportedly jumped out of the window of his residence and ran down the road. EMTs responded to take him for medical care. The woman knows the man and... Full story
Lucia E. Warren-Powers died January 21. She was 77. She was a part-time resident of Sisters since 2000, moving here full time in 2007 from Portland. Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Merle P. and Gertrude E. Warren, she grew up in Reedsport where she was an excellent student. She played three instruments, drew and painted. She was a cheerleader and a rodeo queen. She was always the queen to the family. She retired from U.S. Bank, Portland, as an assistant vice-president... Full story
