News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
Sisters School District officials have devised a way to make up for snow closure days without affecting the two-week spring break vacation or extending the school year in June. The Sisters School Board voted unanimously last Wednesday to reclaim Presidents Day, February 20, as a class day as well as March 3, June 1, June 15 and June 16. The District earlier decided to hold classes on January 20. Those six makeup days, plus one day originally built into the schedule, account for all seven of the closure days so far this... Full story
The latest enrollment figures show Sisters School District continuing to add students - although not yet reaching the projected level for this time of the school year. "We tend to shrink as the school year goes on, but this year we have grown," Superintendent Curtiss Scholl said. "It's a positive trend." He spoke last Wednesday during the monthly Sisters School Board meeting, where enrollment details were released. Total enrollment stood at 1,090 as of January 30. That's 19 students below the projection but up 14 from a... Full story
Having a tranquil creek running through Sisters comes with a price tag - the possibility of local flooding when the weather conditions combine in just the wrong way, making it a whole lot less tranquil. Large amounts of snow, rain, and quickly rising temperatures can spell disaster. On Friday evening, February 10, 5:30 to 7 p.m., in the Sisters High School lecture/drama room, there will be a community meeting regarding potential flooding in our town. The Greater Sisters Area... Full story
To the Editor: I am writing in regard to an item published in last week's "City Snapshot." Readers were encouraged to look at a list of FAQs concerning the February 8 hearing on the airport's request for an upgrade in status as an appendix "M" category Airport of State Concern. That list of FAQs was recently posted on the ODA website in response to some of the questions community members have been asking for months. Unfortunately, several responses raise additional questions or are at odds with information the airport and... Full story
Sisters resident and independent recording artist Rhonda Funk headed to Las Vegas last weekend for an open casting call for NBC's hit music show "The Voice." Funk, who suffered a mini-stroke last fall which led to the discovery of a brain aneurysm that required surgery, said before leaving, "It's a long road to make the live shows on The Voice. And, I'm a little hung up on the fact that they probably are not looking for a 46-year-old grandmother! But, then I pause and think... Full story
Five members of the jazz band from Sisters Middle School and Sisters High School received awards January 28 during the Oregon Jazz Festival at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance in Eugene. Recipients of Outstanding Musicianship Awards were Lydia Bartlett, freshman, alto sax; Oscar Rhett, seventh grade, bass; Simon Rhett, eighth grade, tenor sax; Max Springer, eighth grade, trumpet; and Jack Ogan, eighth grade, trombone/tuba. "I wasn't surprised by how good they sounded because I know how far they have come... Full story
Sisters resident Pat Bowe is no stranger to sacrifice. Raised in Beaverton, Oregon, Bowe volunteered for the U.S. Army as a young man, and served two tours in Vietnam with an infantry reconnaissance platoon, as part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In Vietnam, Bowe was severely wounded twice, received a Bronze Star with a combat V device for valor, and ultimately returned to Oregon where he served 33 years in law enforcement. Soft-spoken, and admirably humble, Bowe recently sat... Full story
The Lady Outlaws snapped their losing streak with a 29-22 win at Sweet Home on Friday, February 3. Sisters has struggled the last several games getting the ball to fall through the hoop, but that all turned around for them on Friday night. Sisters shut out the Huskies in the first quarter of play, and put up 10 points of their own to hold a 10-0 lead to close out the period. The Outlaws defensive transition was strong throughout the quarter and four different players, Amanda... Full story
The Outlaws beat the Huskies 43-38 on the road at Sweet Home on Friday, February 3. Although the Huskies don't have a lot of tallies in the win column, they played hard and gave the Outlaws a run for their money in their best performance of the season. Sisters went down early at the start of the first quarter, but stormed back with outstanding offensive execution and beat the Huskies by seven in the first quarter, 16-9. The Huskies outscored the Outlaws nine to six in the... Full story
Last week I was given the opportunity to step into the future. Those opportunities don't come around very often, and so with a magazine assignment in my hip pocket, I jumped at the invitation to attend - and bring a friend - to the Bushmaster Users Conference at the Big Sandy Range in Arizona. The Bushmaster Users Conference - in only its second year - is an opportunity for several defense industry giants to display their latest and greatest weapons upgrades, munitions, target... Full story
"Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim Gun - and they have not..." - Hilaire Belloc • • • • • On October 25, 1893, a huge impi of the Matabele Nation attacked a small British South Africa Company paramilitary force in what would become Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Under the auspices of British tycoon and imperialist Cecil Rhodes, settlers had moved across southern Africa's Limpopo River into Mashonaland in 1890. Relations with the Matabele, a powerful... Full story
The Outlaws performed great in their 49-30 win over the Elmira Falcons at home on Thursday, February 2. Sisters won nine of the 14 matches, and five of the wins were pins. The evening began with three exhibition matches, which included freshman Vickie Hooks (145 pounds). Elmira brought an experienced female senior grappler, who pinned Hook with 10 seconds left in the first round. In the second match, Sal Gibney (170 pounds) lost by a pin in the second round, and in the final... Full story
A national championship sporting event took place Saturday in Bend - and for other than a few diehard fans and faithful volunteers, it went largely unnoticed. Bend hosted the USA Track and Field (USATF) national cross-country championships for the second year in a row at River's Edge Golf Club. The meet crowns the national champions and is the qualifying event for the world cross-country championships scheduled for March in Kampala, Uganda. I can't blame people for not... Full story
After several months of construction by Griffin Construction of Prineville, the volunteers with Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District have moved their equipment into their new fire station building over the last few weeks. Construction costs came in under budget, leaving additional funds for station furnishings and equipment. The station is slated to be staffed with a quick-response/command vehicle, an engine, two brush trucks and two water tenders. The building contains... Full story
My first real venture into volunteering, other than projects with my grade school or my Camp Fire Girls group, was as a "candy-striper" at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland when I was 13 years old. I loved taking the library cart around to patients' rooms to offer books and magazines for them to borrow. My curiosity about the medical world and meeting all kinds of people were partially what motivated me. The biggest source of motivation, however, was the wonderful warm... Full story
Sisters High School student Laura Waltosz received a $150 scholarship from Outlaws Photography for designing and painting this year's SHS yearbook cover. The yearbook staff approached Waltosz, a senior art student, early in the year to design a cover for the yearbook that captures SHS and the beauty that surrounds us. Waltosz has been in ceramics classes and advanced art classes since her freshman year. Laura plans to attend community college and pursue ceramics as a career.... Full story
Dorro Sokol was a fine lady, especially when it came to making Ice Worm Cocktails. Really! Way back in the early 1990s, Dorro and a few other stalwart Sisters Country residents enrolled in Carol Moorehead's Sisters Campus COCC Continuing Education class I was teaching on the Bard of the North, Robert Service. Oh, what a grand time we had sharing his poetry with one another and learning about his life. We thrilled when he took his small river boat and explored the upper... Full story
You adopted her as a tiny kitten and now she's eight months old. She's an indoor cat and it's gotten nice outside. The windows are open so fresh air circulates around your home. Kitty loves to curl up on her window perch in the sunshine taking in all the glorious aromas of the great outdoors. But lately she's been lurking by the front door just waiting for the perfect escape. Everybody has a touch of cabin fever, and, after all, living inside isn't an entirely natural... Full story
Sisters High School health students staged a health fair for seventh- and eighth-graders on February 2 and 3 at the high school. Students from Heather Johnson's Health 2 class, EMS, and Sports Medicine classes put together various booths for students to check out. There were 23 booths covering subjects including: taking vital signs; stress reduction; mental health; nutrition; drug and alcohol information; rescue moves; wilderness survival; and more. The fair was attended by... Full story
Chris and Pam Wavrin are marking their 10th anniversary as the owners of one of Sisters' landmark restaurants - The Depot Café. Chris and his brother Bill launched the venture, purchasing the then-Depot Deli. "My brother and I basically did this together," Chris recalled. "He had a chef background. He rolled out for other interests shortly after purchase." That left Chris and Pam, recently moved from California, to operate the business. They largely stuck with what... Full story
After 88 elegant years as a wife, mother, and friend to many, Eleanor Simonsen passed on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at Hospice House in Bend. Born April 1, 1928, in Passaic, New Jersey, to William Severus and Marie (Besemer) Kievit of Clifton, New Jersey. After an early career in New York City as a legal secretary she eventually settled in northern New Jersey to start a family after marrying Warren "Cy" Simonsen. Over the years, the family resided in Connecticut, Utah, and Mai... Full story
