News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 2 - 26 of 29
Over the past five years, under the leadership of Executive Director Erin Borla, the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce has significantly upped its game in reaching out to draw visitors to Sisters Country. Now, the City of Sisters is proposing to boost the chamber's efforts by kicking in a higher percentage of hotel room taxes. Under state law, municipalities are required to provide a percentage of "transient room taxes" (TRT) they collect to a "destination marketing organizatio... Full story
Following four years of slashed state school funding, last year the Sisters School District exhausted its reserves. Declining enrollment and a lack of contingency funds has left the district with what is estimated to be an $800,000 shortfall headed into the 2014-2015 school year budgeting cycle. Between light-footed budget balancing and the local option, the district has - until now - maintained smaller class sizes and a full calendar of "contact" days, setting Sisters apart from other districts in Central Oregon, and most... Full story
Cutting down trees is almost always a big deal in Sisters. Sometimes property owners have to cut trees to develop their property; sometimes trees are cut to maintain healthy stands or to remove hazards. Meanwhile, a broad cross-section of community members want to see trees preserved wherever for their aesthetic, ecological, and spiritual value. Sisters is proud of its Tree City U.S.A. designation, achieved in 2008. When politics enters in, anyone cutting trees can run into a... Full story
Sisters High School senior Keenan O'Hern wrapped up the second night of the entrepreneur class "investors' conference" at the FivePine Conference Center with a presentation on a "breathe through" pillow. He smothered the competition to take top honors and earn the "silver briefcase" stuffed with 1,000 $1 bills in the second iteration of this annual event. O'Hern narrowly defeated last year's winner Cooper Gould who took home the "silver lunchbox" with 500 $1 bills inside.... Full story
The enrollment numbers of our schools have been heading south for years now. Shortening the school week or laying off teachers is but a temporary fix. It won't be long until we end up consolidating the middle and high schools into one building, or do what we used to do prior to building the high school - bus the kids to Redmond. This will of course cause enrollment numbers to drop even faster at the middle and elementary schools. Without a change in the trends (none foreseen), the truth is that the path we are on will result... Full story
If any time is a good time to "shop local," this is it. Cascade Avenue is being torn up for a new roadbed and the streetscape will be significantly different when the project is done. Until then, downtown merchants are looking at a precipitous decline in traffic past - and through - their doors. It's not hard to help them out though. Many folks are already making a point of dining out at downtown restaurants, which appreciate their support. One woman had an idea that helps... Full story
To the Editor: I have lived in Sisters since 1989, and have had the privilege of calling this town my home ever since. Through the years here I have noticed a serious common thread: This town's disdain for change. I have seen this with the use of plastic fencing in place of wood, fast-food restaurants, sewer systems, back-in parking and now the stop light. I get it, change is new and scary and the idea that the town grows with its population puts fear in the common citizen almost as much as Quilt Show does for locals.... Full story
Standout Outlaws catcher Joey Morgan recently signed an official letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Oregon (U of O). Morgan has been hard at work at the game since he was nine years old and his dream of playing at the next level has come true. Morgan started traveling with a club team at age 12. Joey played for the Sisters Outlaws Baseball Club, which was part of the Central Oregon Baseball League (COBL) and was on the road for games most weekends. During... Full story
Travelers along Cloverdale Road and Highway 20 east of Sisters have probably noticed the construction activity at Cloverdale's Fire Station No. 2 at the junction of Cloverdale Road and Highway 20. This work is the installation of the new administrative offices of the fire district. The new building will move the Monday-Friday daily operations closer to the majority of calls for help that the district receives. The buildings will have space for volunteers to sleep at night,... Full story
The telescope, camera, and web equipment sending images of the golden eagle nesting over the Wolftree property on lower Whychus Creek is about to go back online. Leslie Lawrence now owns the home and camera site. Those who enjoyed watching the eagle family raise their youngsters from eggs to fledglings last year recall what fun it was to have the opportunity to be that up-close without causing any stress to the eagles. Now it's almost ready to be repeated - but there are... Full story
Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a single-vehicle wreck that took place Friday afternoon on a road in the Sisters Industrial Park. Captain Erik Utter told The Nugget that, since the incident is still under investigation, he cannot release many details surrounding the crash. No one was injured among the young driver and passengers. "We do believe speed was a factor in that crash," Utter said. "There was a second vehicle in some kind of conjunction with that vehicle, but it was not directly involved in the... Full story
The spirit of the Old West was alive and well for the second annual Wild West Casino Night fundraiser at Brand 33 Restaurant on Saturday evening. The event supports scholarship programs for Sisters Park & Recreation District. Kris Harwell, financial and project coordinator, handed out "funny money," playing cards, and drink tickets as folks moseyed on in dressed in Western attire. "This year we added the Wild West Charity Poker Tournament," Harwell said. "It's a $25 buy-in... Full story
Murder, mystery, and mistrust come to the Sisters High School auditorium when SPRD Community Theatre presents "Web of Murder" by Jonathan Troy. Performances are March 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. The drama, featuring Sisters High School students and Sisters community members, is directed by Lisa Fetrow. It is set in an isolated mansion owned by wheelchair-bound Minerva Osterman. Fearing imminent death, Minerva summons her two nieces to join her spinster... Full story
Sisters Country artists are invited to submit up to three pieces of their work for the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) April exhibit in connection with the 11th annual Deschutes County Library Novel Idea program. Submission day is Sunday, March 30, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Sisters Library. This year's literary selection is "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller. The novel's protagonist, Hig, lives in a post-apocalyptic world, nine years after a pandemic kills 99.7 percent of... Full story
Mixing philanthropy with his passion for flying, Bend resident Darren Pleasance sponsored four Sisters High School students to participate in the trip of a lifetime. By way of the Blue Sky Educational Foundation, the students attended the Bob Hoover Tribute February 21- 22 in Hollywood. The students were put up at the Beverly Hills Hilton, enjoyed a formal reception on the roof of the Hilton, a formal lunch at the Four Seasons the following day, and a formal dinner for 500 at... Full story
Nathan Woodworth and Jim Cornelius were awarded black belts after a grueling martial arts test last month in John Sanders' kenpo karate class. "Congratulations to Jim and Nathan! This is a real significant accomplishment," said Sanders. Sanders is a retired teacher, coach, and assistant principal from Rhode Island. He's also a second-degree black belt in kenpo karate. Sanders teaches "Nick Cerio's Kenpo," which is a hybrid of several different martial arts styles. "It's... Full story
A March 6 town hall meeting to discuss regulating formula food establishments in the downtown and highway commercial districts of Sisters has been postponed. The rescheduled meeting will be in a workshop format that will include the Sisters Planning Commission, and will take place at the Sisters City Hall, Council Chambers, 520 E. Cascade Ave. on Tuesday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. The City had been considering whether to change the definition of a "formula food establishment" to allow for Central Oregon operations with several... Full story
The only thing to compare with what I recently discovered on our property would be the notoriously foul-smelling "Skonk Works" in Al Capp's mythical, and long-extinct, cartoon world of Li'l Abner's Dogpatch. While Dogpatch, Li'l Abner, the voluptuous Daisy Mae, and the Skonk Works all died with Al Capp in 1979, a pungent, and unfortunate, reminder of Dogpatch apparently lives on. For several years, we reluctantly coexisted with what we thought was "a" skunk, resigning... Full story
You can eat all the broccoli and quinoa in the world and run 20 miles a week, but if you don't manage the stress in your life, you will never be completely healthy. Bad relationships, financial strain, screaming kids, work deadlines, sick parents, angry bosses, piles of laundry and unending errands contribute to chronic stress in our daily life. This is a major health risk, which also affects quality of life. Some stress is a natural part of life and a necessary survival mechanism. It is derived from our "fight-or-flight"... Full story
A basic understanding of the nature of hormone chemistry and resulting skin challenges at different stages of life is beneficial. It helps us as we progress from puberty to maturity, and learn how to care for our skin at each stage. Of the five major classes of steroid hormones, estrogens are possibly the most significant in the role they play in skin health. Estrogen in our body is essential for the reproduction of collagen fibers. Collagen is responsible for maintaining the elasticity of our skin and other tissues. From abo... Full story
Marty Kaczmarek, the founder of Outlaw Martial Arts, has added a new element to his program in Sisters. "I'm very excited to be affiliated with the Roy Dean Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy and teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu at my school here in Sisters," said Kaczmarek, who leads a successful Taekwondo school in Sisters. Kaczmarek is a sixth-degree taekwondo black belt, and is known as Master K to his students. "Sensei Roy Dean is very well known for his knowledge and teaching... Full story
I'm not sure where the line is between clutter and hoarding. I'm reminded of an old George Carlin monologue about "stuff." We start out in life with nothing, but then we start accumulating stuff and when we get new stuff, we don't throw out the old stuff. We put it up on shelves or in a closet until it gets filled up then we start filling up the rooms, the attic, the garage. Next we need a storage space to hold our old stuff. The only reason we buy a house is for a place to put our stuff while we go out and get more stuff. A... Full story
The boys tennis team returns 12 players this year and adds four newcomers who will add depth to the experienced veteran squad. Senior Paul Fullhart will start for the Outlaws at the No. 1 singles position. Fullhart is a third-year varsity player and last year as a junior made it to the quarterfinals at state. "Paul can hit ground strokes with any 4A high school player in Oregon," said Coach Bim Gander. "This year Paul will work on his forecourt game, and work to improve his vollies and overheads." Devon Calvin (senior)... Full story
The Sisters High School girls basketball team finished league with a 3-7 record, and overall were 7-14. Three players were named to all-league teams. Senior Jacobie Petterson was the only first-team all-league pick. Jacobie scored 96 points for the Outlaws on the season and was 76 percent from the free-throw line (26/34). She was also voted MVP by her teammates. "Jacobie being voted all-league and MVP by her teammates shows just how hard she worked in both games and in practice," said Coach Julianne Horner. "Jacobie gained... Full story
The paintings and sculptures of local artist Todd Marinovich will be on display at the Lodge Gallery at Black Butte Ranch through the end of April. An artist reception and complimentary wine-tasting will be held on Thursday, March 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. A resident of Sisters since November of 2012, Marinovich and his family have settled into their new home since leaving Southern California. "We really like it here," said Marinovich. "It's been about a year and a half since we... Full story
