News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 31
The unraveling of the AllPrep/EDChoices/Early College Academy charter school program in Oregon accelerated last week as the Oregon Department of Education issued a letter detailing concerns about the charter schools' handling of tuition to community colleges. The Sisters School District received the letter on Friday. It stated that "we (ODE) have received additional information indicating that some of the charter schools have engaged in a pattern of operational practices regarding their relationship with Oregon community... Full story
Sisters Ranger District is getting ready to begin its spring burn program. The program consists of conducting numerous controlled underburns aimed at reducing hazardous fuels (mostly brush and woody debris) that can contribute to high-intensity wildland fires. The burning also is designed for restoration of natural fire regimes. Burning is expected to begin as soon as weather conditions become favorable. Ongoing fuel reduction treatments consist of small tree thinning, mechanical mowing of decadent shrubs, handpiling and... Full story
Looking over piles of household garbage in the forest, Gary Gottormsen, retired high school teacher and Sisters Trails Alliance volunteer, and Karly Hedrick, Sisters Volunteer Bank coordinator with the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, were dismayed. "You'd think people would have more respect for our national forests," Gottormsen said, looking over the trash for some sign of who may have dumped it. "If I could find out who did this, I'd sure give it back to them." There are d... Full story
There may be no more thankless job in Sisters than being on the Sisters School Board. Members have volunteered to spend hours and hours trying to steer the school district through the shoals of charter school controversies, the search for a new superintendent, and perhaps the worst financial crisis the district has faced in the past two decades. Of late, board members have taken some heat for terminating charter schools in the district, sacrificing state funding in the face... Full story
The City of Sisters will refund utility deposits to people with a consistent record of timely payment. It's a move designed to help people in difficult economic times. The City of Sisters Municipal Code requires a customer to establish credit upon connection to city utility services. Currently the city holds residential and commercial deposits for approximately 1,200 customers in an amount totaling $141,000. The deposits range from $5 to $200 depending on the start-service date. The current code requires that these deposits... Full story
Leaders of the Sisters School District have identified some $500,000 in potential cuts in an effort to make up a $670,000 deficit next year. A special school board meeting was held Wednesday in which Sisters' three school principals presented proposals cutting approximately $100,000 from each of their school budgets. The savings came from cutting staff hours, rearranging schedules, eliminating supplies and reducing some programs. Principal Bob Macauley plans to save $40,000 by replacing two retiring teachers with teachers at... Full story
The rehabilitation of the Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) continues apace. The organization is gradually regaining its financial health and is renewing and strengthening its relationships with other community organizations. The district announced last week that Anne Heath will be the district's business manager. According to board member Mike Morgan, Heath, who was already working for the district, stood out among some 15 résumés considered by the board.... Full story
To the Editor: I find it interesting how quick non-Sisters residents are to get angry over the gas tax. Does Mr. Kane own property in the city limits and help pay for the roads like the taxpayers of Sisters do? Unlike most Oregon cities, most of the residents who use the town live in the outskirts. Over 10,000 people live in the Sisters School District, but only 1,700 residents live in town and pay City of Sisters property taxes. If those in the vicinity want to raise their property taxes to help pay for the city roads and... Full story
Zander Albertson is 2010's Mr. SHS. The pageant was held Monday, March 13, at the Sisters High School auditorium, drawing a full house. The event is a major fundraiser for the St. Charles Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). To kick off the show, the boys performed a traditional waltz with their escorts in costumes of Prince Charming, Aladdin, and 12 other princes. Then, in a more modern style, they riled up the audience with hip-shaking moves as they shimmied... Full story
• Taylor Eagan of Sisters won a basketball hoop from Ray's Food Place in the March Madness Basketball Contest. • Central Oregon Community College student David Green of Sisters won the Stihl Timbersports Western Collegiate Challenge title for the second consecutive year last Friday. Lumberjacks and jills representing 11 western colleges and universities converged on Fort Collins for the 71st annual Association of Western Forestry Clubs conclave. The... Full story
The Outlaws track and field teams burst into the season with two meets last week and showed they are ready to compete with anyone. After a warmup meet at Mountain View on Tuesday in which the Outlaws looked to be in excellent early season form, the teams traveled to Cottage Grove for a three-way Sky-Em meet that also included perennial power Marist. Using good balance through all events, both the boys' and girls' teams dispatched the Lions and the Spartans quite handily. On... Full story
BendFilm will screen its "Reel Indies" at Sisters Movie House on Sunday, March 28, at 1 p.m. Film lovers can catch this month's selection, "The Best of BendFilm Shorts." "Reel Indies is a new monthly series that gives BendFilm an opportunity to showcase the top independent films that have been screened at the BendFilm Festival throughout the years. Further, this allows us to offer year-round independent film programming in Central Oregon," said Bob Lane, BendFilm board president. Most monthly screenings are on Mondays at... Full story
Sisters High School's equestrian team is cantering through the season, with the first district meet already out of the way. Sisters riders ended up in third place in the large team (over 14 members) division, trailing Redmond and Mt. View. The team has 15 members, with eight returning upperclassmen and sophomores and six freshmen. The range of experience varies widely, which is one of the attractions of equestrian team. Experienced members help novices, and everyone is... Full story
The boys tennis team defeated the White Buffaloes at Madras on March 17. Three of the four singles' teams notched wins and two of the four doubles' teams won their matches. Ben Fullhart (No. 1 singles) defeated Joe Garcia 6-1, 6-4. Sean Tosello (No. 2 singles) beat Ryan Hutchins 6-2 in the first set and then fell 8-9 in the second. Tosello fought back and took the third set 6-2. "Sean started quickly, only to find himself in a dogfight tie-break in the second set," said Coach Garth Tosello. "After dropping the tie-break 8-9,... Full story
Mother Nature smiled on sprawling Alder Creek Ranch for the first official weekend of spring, providing ideal conditions at the inaugural 4-H Sportsmen's Pentathlon on March 20-21. The two-day event was a fundraiser for the 4-H Club of Deschutes County and is the first of its kind anywhere in Oregon. The pentathlon headed up a series of events benefitting the program including a Saturday night banquet/auction at Brand 33 restaurant and Sunday golf tournament at Aspen Lakes... Full story
Cloverdale Road will be partially closed for a little longer than expected this month. The project to replace an existing bridge over an irrigation ditch between Jordan Road and Highway 126 hit a snag last week when two culverts were damaged while road crews poured in a sand-slurry cement mix. "For some reason, two of those culverts buckled on us," said Deschutes County road department engineer George Kolb. A crew was digging out the culverts on Monday, and new culverts were expected to arrive by Wednesday. The project was... Full story
Most 3-year-old girls' only worries are watching "Wow Wow Wubzy," riding their tricycles, and playing with Barbie dolls. Holly Davis has a completely different world. Holly Davis has lymphoblastic leukemia. She was diagnosed on June 9, 2009, when she was only two. Holly has been through several phases of treatment for her illness and is receiving chemotherapy until August of 2011. Her parents, Chad and Darcy Davis, drive Holly to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland... Full story
The Outlaws' baseball team recorded three wins after their 19-11 loss at Madras on Tuesday, March 16. Sisters bounced back with a 10-9 win over Mountain View on Wednesday and then won both their games at the John Day Tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20. Sisters' pitchers had trouble throwing strikes and walked 16 batters in their game against Madras on Tuesday, but Hodges noted that the bright spot in the game was that the Outlaws hit the ball well. Hayden... Full story
Sisters Christian Academy is charting a course into the future, seeking a stronger technology component to its education, and more secure financial footing. The academy hosted a community meeting last Thursday to seek community input toward a strategic vision for the highly rated Christian school. "What we were striving for was some ideas from the community and from parents on what we could do to create a substantial financial base," said school board member Peter Storton. The school has a budget of approximately $300,000,... Full story
The Sisters High School softball teams are off to a quick start, recording sweeps of 5A opponents Madras, Mountain View and Bend high schools. The varsity went 3-0 and the junior was 2-0 during the opening week of play. "Both squads did a lot of things right," said varsity coach Tom Mauldin. "We came out with bats swinging in each game, getting off to comfortable early leads." The locals led Madras 9-2, before winning 10-6. They led both Mountain View and Bend 8-0 before winni... Full story
Sisters High School junior Joseph Schlatter has been accepted to attend a three-week pre-college summer academy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. To earn money for his endeavor, Schlatter, a certified swimming instructor, will teach spring swimming lessons at Sisters Athletic Club. "It is a privilege to be accepted to this prestigious program," Schlatter said. "I am very glad to have the opportunity to experience a highly regarded university." Schlatter has... Full story
"When you come onto this landscape, you have a feeling that anything is possible," Caldera Executive Director Tricia Snell said. The setting was a presentation marking the culmination of one month's work from the March artists in residence at Caldera, the arts center at Blue Lake, west of Sisters. "You clear away some of the static in your life and focus on something that is much more creative and much more hopeful." March's group of artists consisted of a... Full story
The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has announced a partnership with Kiwanis of Sisters to raise money for both organizations. A portion of the proceeds from the annual quilt show raffle quilt will be donated to Kiwanis to help with their community service projects. "Katie McClure, a recipient of the good will of the Kiwanis organization, came to me with an appeal to help raise money for Kiwanis," Quilt Show Executive Director Ann Richardson said. "She realized that they do so much good in the community, and she just wanted to... Full story
Last Friday morning was Condor Day for Rob Jensen's sixth grade biology class and other classes at Sisters Middle School. David Moen, condor biologist for the Oregon Zoo, presented a special educational program to more than 60 enthusiastic students that lasted most of the morning. Moen outlined the trouble the condors faced in the '60s when there were only 22 of them left in a tiny area of southern California. Prior to the coming of pioneers to western America, condors ranged all the way from Mexico to the southern limits of... Full story
On Monday, March 1, our beloved Bronson Burdick Jr, age 63, passed away at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital, Clackamas, Oregon, after complications due to a lung infection and heart failure. Born December 27, 1946, in Redmond, Oregon, he grew up in Camp Sherman before settling in the Portland area. Bronson attended Camp Sherman Elementary/Middle School and Sisters High School. After graduation from high school, Bronson enrolled at Oregon State University and graduated with a... Full story
