News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
Funded by a voter-approved $10.7 million bond, augmented by a $4 million state grant, the Sisters School District is moving into the second phase of an extensive set of projects to improve facilities at all three schools. With a new track in place in time to enable the Outlaws to host home meets for the first time in a couple of years, projects now are moving into security and safety enhancements, mostly at Sisters Elementary School and Sisters High School. Project Manager... Full story
Four finalists have been selected from a field of 42 applicants to interview for the position of Sisters City Manager. The announcement of the four finalists was made on Monday, May 1. Brant Kucera is the current city manager of Cannon Beach, Oregon, where he has served since November 2014. Kucera has 17 years of upper-level city management experience, including as borough manager of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, and City Manager of Gladstone, Michigan. He holds a Masters of... Full story
Voters will vote on three positions for the five-member Sisters School Board in the May 16 election. Incumbent Amanda Clark and school bond oversight committee member Jay Wilkins are running unopposed. Position 2 is a contest between Nicki Gregg and David Wentworth. Gregg is a parent, teacher and budget committee member; Wentworth is a parent of a Sisters Middle School student co-founder of a renewable energy business. Gregg asserts that, "It is important to have someone on... Full story
Ethan Hosang is becoming well-known around Sisters as he is frequently spotted by residents out running the roads and trails around town. Saturday morning the eighth-grader took to the streets of Sisters along withover 70 other half-marathoners in the Sisters 'Better Half' Marathon and pulled off the unexpected: He won the race! And it wasn't as though he ran a lackluster time in a non-competitive race. Hosang crossed the line in 1:20:21, a time for 13.1 miles that most... Full story
When the Cyrus family set out to build a quality 18-hole golf course just east of Sisters back in the mid-1990s, they weren't just "thinking outside the box." "We didn't know where the box was," Matt Cyrus recalled. From an unconventional approach to designing and building a course to filling bunkers with picturesque red cinders instead of typical white sand, the Cyrus family did things their own way. And it worked. This month marks the 20th anniversary of Aspen Lakes Golf... Full story
• All four current members of the Urban Forestry Board were reappointed by the City Council to fill two- and three-year terms. Dave Moyer, Marcus Peck, Pat Burke and Gerry Bertagna will continue as board members. There is one vacancy still to be filled. The board meets the second Monday of the month at 3 p.m. at City Hall. If interested in filling that vacancy, contact Nicole Abbenhuis at the City, 541-323-5220. • Council approved a new ordinance (474),... Full story
Wielding trowels and a few "big-people" shovels, excited kindergartners celebrated Arbor Day by planting trees at Village Green Park last Friday morning. The day dawned with blue skies and sunshine, allowing the eager gardeners to walk from Sisters Elementary School to the park, where they were greeted by Sisters Mayor Chuck Ryan, Community Assistance Forester Katie Lompa of the Oregon Department of Forestry, and employees of the City Public Works Department. Mayor Ryan read... Full story
Sisters hosted 11 teams at the Sisters Rotary Invitational Saturday, April 29. They flexed some muscle on the way to shining performances and the third school record in the past week. The Outlaws won a combined 13 events among the boys and girls, but it was Julianne Meeter who put together the brightest performance of the day as she had the best javelin series of her career, including the school record toss of 120 feet 5 inches. Throwing Coach Eden Miller could not have been h... Full story
City Councilor Richard Esterman requested retraction of a story that ran in the March 29 edition of The Nugget titled "Council denies permit fee waiver." The Nugget stands by the story with the following correction: Esterman is an event promoter. As the story noted, he made a permit fee waiver request to the City Council in March, acting as a private citizen. The story stated that "In the past, and again this year, Esterman has billed his events as fundraisers for nonprofit organizations, and therefore, under the... Full story
Editor's note: City Councilor Richard Esterman requested a retraction of a story that ran on March 29. The Nugget stands by the story with a correction (see page 5). The following is a statement provided by Councilor Esterman: To the Editor: At a March City Council meeting, City Councilor Richard Esterman approached the Council as a business owner and private citizen, rather than as a councilor, to address an issue regarding public events. Specifically, Councilor Esterman requested a fee waiver for the Sisters Wild West Show... Full story
Could we, the people of Sisters, help the schools bolster their enrollment to increase their funding? The Nugget's detailed articles about enrollment and funding help us realize what's at stake. To really get involved, it would be great to know how school funding operates in the state of Oregon, what we can expect from the new federal administration, and what regulations our school district is bound by (versus decisions that the local school board has made). I would welcome an article that explained in simple terms how these... Full story
Human trafficking - defined as illegally transporting people from one country or area to another for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation - operates under the radar of most of society. Sisters School District hopes to raise awareness of the scourge of human trafficking with a presentation by Nita Belles on Wednesday, May 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sisters High School Auditorium. Belles is an author and speaker who has presented to community groups, government and faith-based groups nationwide. She detai... Full story
Residents of Sisters who historically have travelled to Bend or Redmond for manicures and pedicures now have premiere services available closer to home, with the opening of Sisters Nails & Spa located in the Three Wind Shopping Center adjacent to Bi-Mart. With the salon's official grand opening on Tuesday, April 25, customers were delighted to participate in a relaxing afternoon filled with music, wine, and great service. One customer, Kirsten Ward, said her experience was... Full story
Sisters' No. 1 doubles team was the lone victory in the Outlaws 6-1 loss to Philomath at home on Thursday, April 27. Jed Kizziar and Jacob Gurney defeated Luke Haslam and Alec Stuki 6-2, 7-5. The duo have proved they're a force to be reckoned with, and have won all but two of their dual meet competitions. The combo came about in an unexpected manner. When the season began, Coach Bim Gander had planned for Jed to play singles because of his foot speed and court coverage.... Full story
Sabrina Reifschneider has loved to run for as long as she remembers and will get the chance to run track for Corban University next fall. Reifschneider's love for track started when she was in elementary school when she would go on runs with her older sister Chelsea, who ran track. "I saw Chelsea's love and passion for track, and that was intriguing to me," said Sabrina. "So, I joined the track team in middle school and absolutely fell in love with it." Sabrina has been on... Full story
Sisters' elementary and middle school students heard former Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt speak last week. Nesbitt, brought to Sisters by a grant through the Sisters-based Roundhouse Foundation, spoke at four assemblies designed for different age groups this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Nesbitt, a published author for the last 15 years, who now lives in Spokane, Washington, travels extensively throughout the United States and even internationally discussing poetry and... Full story
Dozens of staff, customers and well-wishers dropped by the parking lot at 703 N. Larch St. last Saturday to enjoy some Three Creeks Brewing Co. pulled pork, listen to some tunes by The Anvil Blasters - and, most importantly, to welcome Mid-Oregon Credit Union (MOCU) to Sisters. The celebration marked the opening of the seventh branch of the credit union that was established back in 1957 by eight teachers and school employees in Prineville. In the ensuing decades, Mid-Oregon... Full story
Some things are so intrinsically American they have helped define the way we understand ourselves. The B-17 Flying Fortress is one of them. Though there are only about 15 of them still airworthy today, for a few years in the last century the B-17, and the men who flew them, did enough of the hardest work to cement their rightful place in our national identity. Last week I had the opportunity to fly over Central Oregon in the Aluminum Overcast, a restored B-17G now operated by... Full story
Two years ago, a Sisters resident was knocked down by a non-aggressive unleashed dog while walking her dog. Her injuries were substantial and wouldn't have happened if the dog was being supervised by a responsible pet parent/owner. Failing to control your dog is an act of negligence, even before the dog causes an injury. You are liable for your dog's actions - always. While bites and maulings are the most common form of injuries caused by dogs, there are additional accidents... Full story
Boyd Wickman, 86, of Bend, passed away April 25. He was born in Martinez, California on June 17, 1930, to Emil Ellis Wickman and Fern Belinda Hoy. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Julie Wickman-Leones. He is survived by his daughter Laura F. Wickman-Carle; brother Robert Wickman, grandchildren Kai, Wyatt and Garrett Christianson, Ian and Emily Leones; and the love of his life, Mimi Graves. Boyd graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a Master of... Full story
Doris (Smith) Bendt was born in Cassville, NY on March 25, 1924. She was 10th born of 11 children and grew up living on a farm and attending school in a one-room school house. She felt so blessed all of her life for her beautiful upbringing in a rural setting with support and love from a large family. In March of 1945 she met the love of her life, Harry Bendt. They were married in June of the same year, moved to Chicago where Harry was discharged from the U.S. Army and... Full story
Master quilter Jackie Erickson of Sisters created 36 unique "victory" quilts as a fundraiser for Victory Junction, a camp that enriches the lives of kids with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. The camp is sprawled across 84 acres of lush rolling hills in Randleman, North Carolina. Once the children pass through the gates, the boundaries and limitations they live with daily disappear, and they can concentrate on having fun. Erickson began making her quilts for ca... Full story
For the rockhounds among us, Nature's Bling on South Elm Street (across the street from U.S. Bank) is a place to meet others of a similar ilk. It's also a great place for those who like to let someone else find the stones, preferring to run their hands through already polished rock, likewise searching for that perfect specimen. The store has rocks and gemstones from around the world for sale and on display, with owners who have knowledge and passion for the Earth's treasures.... Full story
