News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
An overflow crowd of friends, family and colleagues gathered at Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration last Friday to honor Sisters Habitat for Humanity founder Hort Hammond. Hammond, 83, is suffering from terminal lung cancer. The celebration gave area residents the opportunity to acknowledge and thank Hammond for his community service. Hammond organized Sisters Habitat for Humanity in 1989 and it became an affiliate of the international organization in 1991.... Full story
Jeremy Shane Hall was arraigned in Deschutes County Circuit Court on Monday, February 6, on five counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of unlawful sexual penetration in the second degree. All counts involve a single minor victim, according to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. The arraignment came after a grand jury handed up an indictment against the Sisters pastor on the listed charges. Hall has stepped down from the pulpit at Christ’s Church of New... Full story
In 1976, a group of Sisters businessmen and women agreed that Sisters needed a chamber of commerce. The city was growing fast, spurred by its 1880s Western building theme. Sisters needed an organization to attract tourists to the area. Mike Reed of Coldwell Banker Reed Bros. Realty was elected the first chamber president. “It was just sort of a coffee klatch,” Reed said. “We met in the back room of The Gallery and we were mainly interested in developing advertising for Sisters... Full story
To the Editor: Hort and I want to thank all of you for one of the most meaningful afternoons of our lives (see story, page 1). It truly was a celebration and made us feel very humble and overwhelmed. We talked with Habitat friends whom we haven’t seen in years. The town of Sisters truly has wonderful, supportive citizens. Our Habitat Thrift Shop has been a unique addition to our Sisters Habitat organization. The shop has paid a large share of our building costs and provides a way for homeowners to gain sweat equity hours t... Full story
Eleven students from Heather Johnson’s high school Emergency Care class put their four weeks of extensive survival coursework into practice at Tumalo Mountain (across from Mount Bachelor off of Dutchman’s Flat) on Thursday, February 2. The group practiced their snowshoeing skills, built snow shelters and had some avalanche training. Students, along with Johnson, her husband Brandon and Vice Principal Mark Stewart, started their snowshoe trek at the Sno-Park and headed abo... Full story
Between salvaging timber from burned lands around Sisters and preparing to move its headquarteters, the Sisters Ranger District will be a busy place in 2006. According to District Ranger Bill Anthony, the Sisters district is well on its way to wrapping up timber sales from the 2003 B&B Complex Fire. “The B&B salvage was sold as three separate sales,” Anthony said. “The Little Sale is 100 percent done. All salvage timber has been removed, but there is still work closing out t... Full story
Ray’s Food Place in Sisters distributed $9,686.50 to community organizations last year through its corporate Community Rewards program. According to store manager Jeff McDonald, 15 organizations tap into the program. Members turn in shopping receipts from Ray’s to group organizers, who in turn hand them in to Ray’s management. The store pays back one percent on those receipts as a donation to the program. The benefit to the corporation is obvious: It encourages benef... Full story
Winter can give any Central Oregon resident a case of cabin fever — even a chimpanzee. The chimpanzees at Chimps, Inc., a sanctuary in Bend, have to spend most of their winter indoors and they get bored. Enter Sisters Middle School students working on special projects with Carol Packard. “One of the projects we do is showing concern for animals,” Packard said. Over the past couple of weeks, the students have created enrichment toys for the chimps. They are boxes conta... Full story
Ten Sisters youths took the Central Oregon chess world by surprise last Saturday, February 4, finishing second in their first-ever entry into a chess tournament. The Sisters players competed in the Oregon Scholastic Regional Chess Tournament at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bend. Trinity’s club took first place, followed by Sisters and Elk Meadow. Sisters player Mick Larson qualified to participate in a statewide tournament. The other participants were: Chance O’Neal Jacob Hea... Full story
• A family requested the sheriff’s office’s help in locating a missing man. Raul Serrano Cervantes traveled from Coos County to Bend for work last Saturday but never turned up at the job, nor has he contacted his wife. The family is asking that anyone with information call 549-2302 or 541-404-1096; 541-297-1039; 541-888-5962, ext. 371. • The fire department responded to an alarm at a residence. The firefighters found no sign of a fire, but there were signs of someone having been in the house. Deputies investigated and det... Full story
The Sisters Organization for Activities & Recreation (SOAR) needs additional Foundation Board members who are ready to raise money. “I need people who are positive, upbeat and can move mountains,” said SOAR Foundation Chair Kim Leese. The main goal of the Foundation Board is to raise $40,000 to contribute to SOAR’s annual operating budget of $600,000. SOAR gets the rest of its budget from the tax base, fees and grants. SOAR also has a District Board that focuses more on operations and vision. “We’re still strugglin... Full story
The statewide school advocacy group Stand for Children threw itself into reverse last week and decided not to proceed with a November general election ballot measure. Its leaders said it wanted to avoid jeopardizing more than a dozen local school bond issues that will be on the same ballot. The proposal for which the organization was expected to campaign would have allowed schools to collect impact fees (systems development charges) on new construction. The money would be used to help pay for school additions and new school... Full story
Kody Johns (103 pounds) was the only bright spot in the Outlaws’ wrestling match against Sweet Home on Thursday, February 2. Johns was the only Sisters wrestler to win his match in Sisters’ 78-3 loss against the Huskies. Johns won 6-0 by decision over Chris Farris, who is ranked number 12 in the state. “Kody completely controlled him the entire match,” said Cosby. “Kody has defeated everyone he’s wrestled so far in the Capital Conference and I think he’s got a great chance... Full story
The Outlaws suffered a 46-29 basketball loss to the Cascade Cougars at home on Tuesday, January 31. Coach Rand Runco said, “Cascade is one of the top athletic teams in the state and when they get a lead it’s hard to catch up. The key was for us to get the lead. We needed to hits shots early in the game and unfortunately, we didn’t hit our shots at all during the game.” The Outlaws went 12-for-49 from the field for a very low 25 percent and shot only one-for-15 from the thr... Full story
The Lady Outlaws basketball team made history at Sisters High School on Tuesday, January 31, when they took down the Cascade Cougars 39-34 for the first time since the inception of the Capital Conference. Sisters started out with all cylinders firing to take an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. “We played extremely well,” said Coach Bill Blevins. “Our full court press was very effective and caused a lot of turnovers.” The Outlaws struggled in the second quarter and we... Full story
Advocates for connecting Sisters with a network of trails are making some changes to their Sisters Community Trails Plan, adopted in 2003. “The trails plan objectives and basic plan are still valid,” said committee chair Jeff Sims. “However, experience over the past two years has resulted in some tentative recommendations for minor changes from the committee.” A high priority has been placed on creating a Peterson Ridge Trail loop, providing a more attractive trail experience for local biking events. Committee members agreed... Full story
Sisters High School student Justin Veloso was accepted on the spot at his live audition for the Berklee College of Music in Boston. The drummer’s audition was held in December at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. For the audition Veloso played the song “West Coast Blues,” with band director Jody Henderson and Henderson’s son, Jared. Veloso was also asked to sight-read music and play a number of different styles of music. Veloso said, “At the end of the audition... Full story
Jim Sternberg, 86, has been a fixture in Camp Sherman for over 20 years. He is one of the last of the “grumpy old men,” the 10 old-timers who sat on the benches outside the Camp Sherman Store, drinking coffee and swapping yarns. “People would come up to us and ask if they could take our picture,” said Jim at his home. “Only Vic Johnson and myself are left from that group. In winter, there’s a pot of coffee inside the post office for us. It was originally for the ‘old men’ but... Full story
Colonies of feral cats run rampant in the Sisters area and throughout Deschutes County. Veterinarian Dr. Byron Maas of the Bend Spay & Neuter Project is urging Sisters area residents who are feeding feral cats to trap the felines and bring them into Bend to be sterilized. “This is the breeding season for cats, so we’ve got a real push to get feral cats in here,” Dr. Maas said. According to Dr. Maas, the sterilization program will help stabilize out-of-control popul... Full story
With a civil suit against Bend Metro Park and Recreation District behind her, the head of SOAR looks forward to a year filled with fun activities for kids and families. “I’m very committed to this organization,” said Carrie Ward, Executive Director of Sisters Organization for Activities & Recreation (SOAR). The result of the tumultuous legal battle is not expected to affect her work in Sisters. In January, Ward lost a suit against Bend Metro Park and Recreation Distr... Full story
Dozens of antique hounds and bargain seekers stood in the cold and snow at Conklin’s Guest House on Saturday, February 4, hoping to go home with a treasure. The venerable Sisters bed-and-breakfast is now part of the Dutch Pacific development at the north end of Sisters, slated to become a restaurant. All the fixtures and decor of the business were tagged for an estate sale — appliances, deck furniture, paintings, glassware, silver and more. Shane and Wendela Lundgren worked ti... Full story
Bob Grooney has been honored by the Sisters Kiwanis Club for his many years of serving the community. He was given the “Everyday Hero” award last Thursday, February 2, at the club meeting. Grooney was one of the founders of the local Kiwanis and served as president and in many other positions in the club. He recently retired from the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce after 26 years of service on the board of directors. Kiwanian Chuck Kuzminski noted that Grooney has con... Full story
After having last week’s race canceled at Mt. Hood due to heavy snowfall, the Sisters High School Nordic ski team faced near whiteout conditions at Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, February 4, which forced race officials to modify the race plan. Rather than conducting a pursuit race, which includes two phases, officials decided to simplify and run just one mass-start five-kilometer classic race. “The wind was unbelievable, so to keep everyone out there a couple of more hours to fin... Full story
Kyle Rickards was crowned Mr. SHS (Sisters High School) on Saturday, February 4. Ten young men were involved in the annual competition: Scott Barton, Sam Pyke, Andy Burke, Jeff Fitter, Blake Poynor, Guy Mount, Justin Lefor, Dominick DeLeone, Harry Womack and Kyle Rickards. The boys and their escorts collectively raised over $5,800 before the night of the pageant. With the proceeds from the door, the event brought in a grand total of more than $8,550, all of which will go to... Full story
Faced with scarcity of land and skyrocketing prices, Sisters Habitat for Humanity is seeking a waiver of fees from the Sisters City Council for its future projects. The fee waiver would save the organization about $10,000 per home constructed. Habitat’s average cost per house is $80,000, according to Habitat Director Sharlene Weed. Fees include things like permits, but the main cost is in Systems Development Charges required of all developers to pay for impacts on water systems, sewers and streets. Right now, the o... Full story
