News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 14 of 14
The Sisters School Board balked at asking voters for a $24 million high school during an intense, three-hour workshop with architects and staff on March 1. Several board members indicated that they are opposed to asking voters for more than the $22 million in bond funding that voters turned down in November. "I don't think we pass a bond if we are asking for $23... $24... $28 million," board member Glen Lasken told architects. "It's not going to happen." Steve Keeton, another... Full story
Mark Diener of Sisters died Friday, March 9, in a single-vehicle accident on Remuda Road west of Sisters. Sisters firefighters responded to a report of a car fire at 10:23 a.m. and found a two-door passenger vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The victim's body was found in the driver's seat. The victim's brother, Richard Diener, confirmed his identity, which had not been officially released. An autopsy is to be conducted on Monday. Richard Diener told The Nugget he believes a... Full story
Steven Michael Gage, faced with 45 years behind bars for sexually abusing teenage girls under his care, attempted suicide in jail on Sunday, March 11, according to Deschutes County Jail reports. Deputies responded to a report of a medical emergency in the jail at 6:17 a.m. They found Gage breathing but unconscious after he had apparently tried to hang himself with strips torn from one of his blankets. Deputies and Emergency Medical Technicians transported Gage to St. Charles Medical Center, where he was treated in the... Full story
Squaw Creek Irrigation District violated a 1940 contract when it shut off water to the Keith Cyrus farm in 1998 for non-payment of assessments, according to Judge Stephen Tiktin in a decision signed on February 27. The judge said that SCID had no right to charge assessments for water, and that the Cyruses maintained an ownership interest in the ditch. "It is unfortunate that the district has exposed themselves to $250,000 in legal fees (including fees charged to both SCID and the Cyrus family) when they had no basis in fact o... Full story
Plans to fix the notorious "Y" intersection of Highways 20 and 242 are on hold, probably for several years. The Oregon Department of Transportation wants to make certain any project would be compatible with a couplet. ODOT identified the "Y" intersection as a safety project and $112,000 had been "programmed" to fix the intersection, according to ODOT planner Stephanie Popp. The project was supposed to be built this summer. But proposed solutions exceeded available funds and re... Full story
A sheriff's office speed monitoring car tells the tale... Speeds are supposed to be low in Sisters -- 20 or 25 miles per hour inside the city. Drivers often don't pay attention to those limits. "People know, but they're either lazy or distracted," said Sergeant Rich Shawver of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. Shawver said many drivers who are stopped for speeding violations didn't see the speed signs, didn't take into account where they were driving -- and didn't see... Full story
Students from Pat Cook's School of Dance will perform in the Sisters Act. Comb back your hair, roll up those tee shirt sleeves, and dust off your poodle skirts for the eighth annual community talent show, "Sisters Act Hops Into the '50s," to be held Saturday, March 10, at 7 p.m., at Sisters High School. Pat Cook's School of Dance students will perform several '50s dances with students ranging from age seven through adult. A group of Sisters teachers will perform a '50s dance, and yet another teachers' group will harmonize to... Full story
"Blood is definitely flowing around the gym," said junior Joel Meyer, as his peers sat with tubes in their arms. Meyer is part of the student leadership team that hosted the Red Cross Blood drive at the high school last week. The gymnasium had been temporarily converted into a medical unit with every station occupied by blood donors. "Our goal is to raise 55 pints of blood," said Meyer, "so we tried to recruit about 80 people." "We've had 77 sign up so far," added Brittany Burnside, another student organizer of the event,... Full story
Weitech, Inc. of Sisters laid off 11 production employees last week. According to company president Todd Weitzman, most of those laid off were recent hires, brought on board as the company was "ramping up" to roll out large quantities of its electronic pest control devices late last year. "We had more capacity than we needed," Weitzman told The Nugget. "We could not support all the people we had in production." The layoff was the first in the history of the 12-year-old... Full story
It's too early to make predictions about how the boys' and girls' track teams will fare this season, but head coach Bob Johnson is pleased with the work in progress so far. The teams have been practicing for more than three weeks now. "We have only been on the track about three times because of the weather, so most of our workouts have been in the gym," Johnson said last week. "The kids are working hard as a team and the attitude has been excellent." The girls' team claimed the district title last year over Cascade by a... Full story
State police need a new mission The Oregon State Police constitute a very costly agency that is in desperate need of reform. But it is politically powerful, so change is unlikely. Recently, we learned that despite past promises to the Oregon Legislature, OSP has received higher budgets and not put one more trooper on the road. Even a line-item budget entry approving additional troopers was ignored by the agency, which failed to comply with a legislative directive signed into law by the governor. Instead, top OSP brass use... Full story
Reed Brothers Coldwell Banker Realty was awarded Business of the Year by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce honored Lorri Craig as Sisters' Citizen of the Year at the organization's annual awards and installation dinner at Eagle Crest Resort on Thursday, March 8. Craig is a past-president and founding member of the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS). In introducing Craig, Bill Willitts (last year's honoree) praised Craig as a... Full story
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: Jim Anderson wrote... Full story
- A driver smashed up his car on a pair of deer. The deer didn't fare well either. - Someone ruined the lock on a Sisters business by pouring glue into it. The same business has been hit like this more than once. - A man was found sleeping in his car in a parking lot in the early morning hours. A deputy roused him to make sure he was all right. He was, except for having an outstanding warrant. The deputy contacted the man again and arrested him. - Two Sisters High students were arrested for possession of less than one ounce... Full story
