News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
For a rural fire district, one number looms large. That's the ISO rating - the rating number by which the insurance industry measures fire risk. The amount the district's resident pay for fire insurance depends on getting the best number possible. Last weekend, the Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District faced a test that will determine whether they can hold onto their ISO 6 rating (ISO 1 being best; ISO 10 being worst). Maintaining a strong ISO rating is getting... Full story
The Cyrus family of Sisters won a round last week in the ongoing battle over their plans to convert Aspen Lakes into a destination resort. During the contentious debates in 2010 over Deschutes County's mapping of destination resorts, the county commissioners made an exception to allow the Cyrus family cluster subdivision and lands at Aspen Lakes to be mapped as a potential destination resort. Central Oregon LandWatch appealed that decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Last week, LUBA upheld the county... Full story
The massive earthquake that struck northern Japan on Friday morning, March 11 (PST) brings in to sharp focus the potential for disaster that looms on the Pacific Rim. While Oregon does not have the constant earthquake threat seen along the San Andreas Fault in California, the potential for a major plate subduction quake exists in the Pacific Northwest. Rob Witter, coastal geologist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, spoke in 2009 about the potential... Full story
The Sisters Act provided an enjoyable evening of entertainment for folks in Sisters on Saturday night. But its true purpose - benefiting the work of Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM) in Uganda - was greater than the evening's fun. That purpose was brought home in moving fashion by Betty Nakaweesi Hill, who described the impact that Good Samaritan Ministries had upon her life. Born to a family of subsistence farmers in the Masaka District of Uganda, Nakaweesi grew up poor but... Full story
From young prodigies playing Bach to George W. Bush and Barak Obama giving GPS directions, the Sisters Act revealed the talents of folks in the Sisters Country while raising funds to support education for children in Uganda. Kelly Powell returned to Sisters from his gig as the principal of Otto Petersen Elementary School in Scappoose to assume his traditional emcee duties, ably assisted by Melvin Herburger and students Zachary Lusby and Shawn Horton. The youngest performer on... Full story
To the Editor: It is remarkable to hear the cries of support for Oregon's land use laws in the case of Aspen Lakes and the proposed HB 3372. It was only two years ago that the Oregon legislature took an unprecedented action against the land use laws in the case of the Jefferson County Destination Resort mapping. Talk about eroding people's faith in their government! Most notable during this process was the overreaching influence and financial contribution from one specific senator who owns property in the nearby environs. Onc... Full story
The Sisters High School Concert Band earned highest score at the 2011 Northwest Invitational Concert Band Contest, held at Clackamas College on March 8. The group was the first of the day to perform, attending only half the event, hearing just several of the other 12 bands participating. Upon departing, the Sisters band received their performance scores and adjudication feedback. While the scores included many compliments, only one of the three judges issued marks high enough to advance to the state band contest in May.... Full story
Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts have the opportunity to see Sisters Elementary School fourth-graders' kanji and haiku art on display at the Sisters Library, along with other art by prize-winning high school and middle school students. Students from Clay Warburton's class combined two forms of Japanese art into a beautiful kanji and haiku in color and verse. Japanese characters, known as "kanji" are used to write parts of the language, such as nouns, adjective... Full story
When the going gets tough, you don't have to look very far to find women who get going. They live in town; they live in Tollgate. They shuttle kids to school and sport; they stand beside you at the deli counter. But the one place you won't find these savvy women is sitting on their hands, bemoaning the state of the economy; they're much too busy for that. Across the Sisters Country, women are gracefully rising to meet the demands of a shifting job market by retraining - or eve... Full story
If Mack Jenks knows one thing, it's how to sell baby food. As director of relationship marketing for Gerber Baby Foods, based out of Florham Park, New Jersey, Jenks led the marketing communications team responsible for directing their brand equity from a 68 percent market share to an 83 percent share from 2001 to 2007, a feat few companies in the world can claim. The startling growth was largely driven by a greater emphasis on consumer relationship marketing (CRM), a technique utilizing direct mail, Web sites and mobile marke... Full story
• Life.Love.Yoga. is expanding into a new location at 164 N. Elm St. They will be closed from Monday, March 28 through Thursday, March 31 for their move, and will re-open at their new downtown location on Friday, April 1. Their grand re-opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, April 9 at 5:30 p.m. • Slick's Que Co. will reopen for the season Thursday, March 17. Hours will be Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. 'til they're out. • R.A. (Dick) Howells Co.... Full story
The Outlaws boys tennis team returns five experienced players who will anchor the squad this season. The team feels they have what it takes to be competitive in league. Ben Fullhart, Colby Gilmore, Sam Quinn and Alex Cristiano return for their final season as Outlaws. Also back for another season is junior Luke Gnos. Fullhart is in his fourth season on the varsity team and will once again play at the No. 1 singles position. Fullhart earned a fourth-place finish at districts last year, moved on to play in the state finals and... Full story
Track season is here, with the first competition of the season set for Wednesday, March 16, and Nik Goertzen, the newly hired head track coach, can't wait. "We had more people out for pre-season conditioning than ever before, so even though it's early, many of the kids are ready to compete," he said. With a total of 54 athletes on the roster and a few more expected to turn out, the Outlaws look to be competitive with the other teams in the Sky-Em Conference. The perennially... Full story
On Tuesday night, February 23, Gayle Fettis-Gerard's dogs started barking. The next morning she found her garbage cans overturned in the front yard, with flour all over the driveway and a very large bear paw print on the outside wall of the garage. Looking at the paw print and the overturned garbage cans, she immediately thought a bear was in the neighborhood, probably looking for food after waking from its long winter sleep - and that worried her. Before doing anything else,... Full story
John Nilsen, among the most successful recording artists in the Northwest, will perform in Sisters on Friday, March 25, 7 p.m., at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. The public is invited to enjoy this evening of exceptional music with the renowned pianist. Nilsen is highly respected in the music industry and has performed with a collection of well-known musicians, including Jose Feliciano, Jesse Colin Young, Alex DeGrassi and Kenny G. He has also been a very successful... Full story
Pushing the boundaries of contemporary photography, the works of artist and instructor Natasha Bacca will be on display at the Gallery at the Lodge at Black Butte Ranch. An artist reception will be held Saturday, March 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. to celebrate the 40 pieces of art that will be on display through the end of April. Katie Williams, executive assistant to the general manager, and gallery coordinator commented, "We're very excited to have Natasha's art displayed here at... Full story
Mayor Lon Kellstrom's frustration with two local activists bubbled to the surface during an otherwise quiet and uneventful city council meeting Thursday. In the face of a threatened suit, the council voted to concede to the refund a $65 dollar fee paid by Mike Morgan for a records request. Mayor Kellstrom then indicated that he would entertain a motion that would allow the city staff and city council to completely ignore any input from two prolific e-mail activists. Public records requests would be their only option.... Full story
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Chivalrous knights and damsels in distress will attend the Sisters Christian Academy "Medieval Night" on Thursday, March 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the academy gymnasium. The entire building will be transformed into a rollicking Renaissance Faire and Medieval Town Square complete with strolling minstrels, games of chance, contests of skill and hearty snacks and food. Everyone is encouraged to come in costume and share in the historic revelry of the themed event. Booths for artisans and craftsmen will offer a... Full story
Every three weeks, the kindergarten classes at Sisters Elementary School open the classrooms to parents and other school helpers to celebrate the progress of the students. Last week at 10:30 a.m. and again at 1 p.m., parents of kindergartners spent class time with their children absorbing the fun of the 100th day of class. Some of the children had the idea this was to be the "last day of school," but both kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Kamrath and Mrs. Ritchie, lovingly... Full story
Sisters lacrosse returns nine experienced players, including Randon Beech, Connor Morgan, Brennan Layne, Beau Fitzke, Chris Smoot, Michael Williams, Sebastian Boehm, Jacob Akaka and William Saunders. Akaka and Saunders will both play attack. Akaka will lend size and strength to the position, and he has the ability to score. According to Coach Bill Rexford, Saunders is wily and coachable and is expected to improve with every game played. Fitzke, Smoot, Williams and Boehm are all back to anchor the midfield. Smoot is the... Full story
• A market clerk became suspicious of a woman who was buying large amounts of dog-related items for a dog she "found." The clerk contacted the Humane Society, which put her in touch with the owner. The owner tracked the dog-napper down and recovered his dog then contacted law enforcement. Two women are now facing Theft I charges. • The CODE Team arrested two people in a traffic stop that led to the discovery of methamphetamine. • In unrelated incidents, burglars hit a Sisters residence and a... Full story
Sisters has quite a few hardcore hikers who sometimes seem to look askance at my winter diversion from hiking to winter sports, but I like to play in the snow. While the intended tone in the book of Ecclesiastes is more somber than my use here, the words nevertheless apply, "To everything there is a season...." And this is the winter season - at least for a few more days. If you're going out into deep, soft, untracked snow on foot, there is really only one way to do it.... Full story
Howard Brutsche, my darling husband of 44-and-a-half years went home to the Lord on March 7, 2011. He passed away in Sun City, Arizona, our winter home. Howard and his wife, Anne, retired to Sisters in 1998, having lived in Stockton and Carmel Valley, California. Howard was a pharmacist in California and also a businessman. He will be greatly missed by his wife Anne; and daughters Suzanne Findlay of Clackamas, Laura Clark of Hollister, California, and Wendy Wood of Bothell,... Full story
4 and above Grade 9: Ambrose, Natalie V; Baldessari, Ian E; Biber, Jacob A; Bremer, Bailey A; Calvin, Devon W; Carlson, Haley J; Carter, Samantha A; Cash, Devon P; Clarke, Brenna L; Corrigan, Emily M; Dilley, Devin G; Dumolt, Sarah A; Ferwalt, Nolan Q; Fullhart, Paul E; Gilmore, Tyrell W; Henson, Claire A; Huni, Douglas A; Johnson, Lindsey M; Knirk, Blake S; Kornowski, Keegin W; Lopez, Yasmin; Lund, Sonja M; Noone, Shayna H; Perry, Breanna R; Petterson, Jacobie M; Reifschneider, Crystal R; Rickards, Evan P; Sanders,... Full story
The recent lawsuits filed against Three Sisters Irrigation Manager Marc Thalacker are centered around a "citizen's arrest" conducted by Thalacker in April 2010 during the McKenzie Canyon piping dispute. This case raises the questions: Is there such a thing as a citizen's arrest? Is it legal? What are the risks? In fact the concept of a citizen's arrest is embraced by many countries around the world and by all the states in the U.S. except North Carolina. While the concept remains largely the same in each state, the details... Full story
