News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
The recent firing of part-time, probationary Sisters High School biology teacher Kris Helphinstine has split the Sisters community. Helphinstine was called on the carpet for supplementing "Biology B" textbook curriculum with two PowerPoint presentations: one was about Eugenics; the other about the general theory of evolution. He additionally distributed supplementary materials that discussed natural selection from the Web site www.AnswersinGenesis.org (see sidebar). Some district residents feel the board acted in the best... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District has the green light to sell a portion of its property along Pine Street in Sisters. That's a big step for the local district but a small step in the long road toward determining what will ultimately be built on the property. On March 20, Deschutes National Forest Supervisor Leslie Weldon signed a decision notice and "Finding of No Significant Impact" to sell National Forest lands and use the proceeds to build a new ranger station in Sisters,... Full story
Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Chief Tay Robertson has a great solution for the high cost of housing. He wants to give a house away. Robertson is willing to give the home that carries a great deal of Sisters history to anyone who is willing to preserve the structure. The home needs to be moved to make room for the expansion of the Sisters Fire Station. There is a slight catch. The house needs to be moved from its present location next to the fire station, and the new owner will be responsible for all costs of the move and the cost... Full story
The firing of Kris Helphinstine has made Sisters a battleground in a nationwide culture war over evolution, creationism and its variant, "Intelligent Design." That's not the school board's fight, and it's not why Helphinstine was fired. Helphinstine, a brand-new teacher, introduced materials from a highly dubious source that proclaims its creationist agenda proudly. Those materials strayed from science into discussions of the eugenics movement and Nazi Germany. Such topics... Full story
To the Editor: I was disappointed to read that Kris Helphinstine was fired for allegedly deviating from the school's evolution curriculum. I wasn't in that biology class and do not know for certain whether Mr. Helphinstine stepped out of bounds or not. However, I firmly believe that students deserve to be given information about the origin of life from all points of view and after critically examining the evidence decide for themselves what is true. Students should know that macro-evolution is not concrete fact and that... Full story
Eric Dolson's opinion piece "The dilemma of the lost tomb" raised some interesting issues. The response of some Christian leaders, study of scripture and how to determine accurate sources of information are some of the issues he raised in his piece. The topic of "the lost tomb" has already caused much ink to be spilled, hands to be wrung and anger to be vented among academics and scholars as well as those in the general public. The question arises: what is really taking place here, with all this attention and energy focused... Full story
ReStore - Sisters Habitat for Humanity's new furniture and do-it-yourself store - will be opening its doors on Friday, April 13. The new store will be located in the old Sisters City Hall building at the corner of Main Avenue and Fir Street. "Habitat has signed an agreement with the city to use the old City Hall for a furniture and construction materials store," said Sisters Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Sharlene Weed. Lenora Fitzgerald, Sisters Habitat for Humanity... Full story
Braving the unseasonably cold evening, a small group of Sisters residents gathered at Barclay Park last Tuesday night, March 20, as a remembrance of the United States invasion of Iraq four years ago. They gathered in solidarity to appeal for peace. Event organizer and local songwriter Katie Cavanaugh told The Nugget, "March 19 is the four year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It's a day ahead in Iraq, so the 20th is actually the day when Iraq was attacked. We felt that... Full story
Despite missing about half the team to spring break, the Outlaws track squads held their own at a five-way meet hosted by Crook County on Tuesday, March 20. Team scores were not kept for the meet. Benton Urquhart and Eli Callan came up with the only individual first place finishes for the Outlaws' boys, but a slew of athletes, many of them freshman and sophomores, placed in the top three. Urquhart overcame a very cold wind in winning the 1,500 meters (time not available) and the 3,000 (10:21.2). Callan was the class of the... Full story
Lovers of the fiber arts whose inner wool gatherers are ar4h bnm longing for expression have an outlet in Sisters at Baabaabara's Wild and Wooly. The store, located on South Oak Street, stocks: hand-spun fiber from sheep, alpaca and angora rabbit; mohair, silk and cotton; rovings (fiber ready to spin); and a variety of knitted and felted goods. Consignment sales are offered, as long as the products are produced from hand-spun fiber. Owners Pam Moss and Barbara Peters chose... Full story
Many Sisters residents who build sustainable housing say that the biggest challenge is not the construction but the government's inability to adapt to modern changes in energy conservation techniques. On one hand the government encourages energy conservation through the use of tax credits and other incentive mechanisms, while on the other hand it lays penalties and a minefield of regulations in the path of the builder. Significant energy savings are available to any who wish... Full story
Earlier this month, 12-year-old Julia Van der Laan of Camp Sherman attended the prestigious Explorers Club dinner at New York City's Waldorf Astoria. This was the annual dinner held by the 103-year-old club and featured "The Importance of Polar Places" as its topic. This gave Van der Laan, a seventh grader at Sisters Middle School, a rare opportunity during spring break to hear firsthand talks by leading scientific explorers. The dinner was hosted by Dan Rather, longtime CBS... Full story
Amid lengthly and sometimes spirited discussions on Saturday evening, March 24, the committee charged with finding a new school superintendent for Sisters narrowed the field to three final candidates. "It has been a very positive process with a high level of commitment by both the board and the search committee members who stayed with it all the way through the first round of interviews, and the result is an excellent group of finalists," said Betsy Miller-Jones, the Oregon School Boards Association consultant who was hired... Full story
Wildfire season is fast approaching, and foresters are busy lighting controlled burns to reduce fire fuel. While smoke from controlled burns can be unpleasant, fire officials say it is also clear that fire can effectively reduce brush and woody debris that can feed the major wildland fires that have become common near Sisters in recent years. Since 2002, human and lightning caused fires have scorched tens of thousands of acres on federal and state-protected lands in the Sisters area. The Sisters Ranger District is hosting a... Full story
Glaze Meadow Golf Course at Black Butte Ranch (BBR) is opening for the season this week. The course is said to be in top shape and ready to play - barring a not-unheard-of spring snow storm. The Glaze Meadow course will be holding normal operations. "Of course there will be some frost delays, but we are setting up normal tee times. They are currently mowing greens every day and have cleaned up the course. There had been a lot of branches, pine cones and that sort of thing from the strong winds over the winter. But everything... Full story
Susie Zeitner must have wondered if her world was ending in 2004 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, out of that painful experience, beauty has been born, as well as a very successful creative business. "In 2004 I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, and I am proud to say that I am fully recovered. This did slow down our moving here full-time as my husband has a good job with Comcast and fabulous insurance," said Zeitner. Although a part-time resident... Full story
Tamara and Taylor Andresen love to work. It's a good thing, too, because the 19-year-old twins have taken on one of the hardest jobs there is - launching themselves into the restaurant business. They will host the grand opening of their new T&T Pizzeria and Italian Deli on Sunday, April 1. The newly minted entrepreneurs aren't walking into their new endeavor blind. They worked at Figaro's pizza parlor that occupied the same building on Hood Avenue for three years. "We started... Full story
This film about a San Francisco Bay area serial killer is a lightly fictionalized version of the true, unsolved crime, where the killer taunts police with his cryptic letters and messages over a period of about 10 years. The plot is based on Robert Graysmith's book of the same name. Unlike most serial killer stories, this one places the focus on the search rather than the killer and on the lives and careers of the individuals who become obsessed with the case. These obsessions conspire to destroy many lives. The directing of... Full story
Attorney Robert J. Moon of Baker City has filed a motion in Deschutes County Circuit Court to obtain the money Shane Hall's mother Sue Hall used to bail her son out of jail when he was arrested for molesting his daughter's 13-year-old babysitter. Hall, formerly "pastor" of Christ's Church of New Beginnings in Sisters, was convicted of that crime last month and sentenced to 18 years in prison. According to the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office, the motion was filed on behalf of Sue Hall and the money is intended to... Full story
Every spring firefighters respond to a series of escaped debris burns across Central Oregon where residents believe they had their burn piles dead out - but didn't. "This winter has provided much needed moisture; however, residents still need to be careful when they burn," said Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Dave Wheeler. In 2006 Central Oregon wildland firefighters responded to over 22 escaped debris burns, Wheeler reported. The Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD has responded to four escaped debris... Full story
• Pixie Dust Cottage is celebrating it's Grand Opening on Saturday, March 31, at 10 a.m. with an old-fashioned ribbon cutting ceremony. The children's boutique is a vision of the owner Sue Thornton and located next to Clearwater Gallery in the blue cottage at 371 W. Cascade. She will be carrying vintage baby items, apparel, toys, books and candy for the little ones. Kids are welcome and will enjoy the bubble machine Sue has brought in for the event. • The second new business in Sisters this weekend with a... Full story
Sisters worst kept secret was exposed last Friday with the opening of the new El Caporal restaurant. Without fanfare and purposely avoiding an announcement of the opening date, Sisters newest restaurant still opened to a capacity crowd with waits of as long as 25 minutes to get a table. "We didn't want anyone to know when we were going to open, so we didn't tell anyone. We are surprised so many came. We wanted to have a chance to open with fewer people so that we could have... Full story
Ruth (Huntington) Hewitt died on Sunday, March 18, 2007 in McMinnville at the age of 94 years. She was born November 25, 1912 in Drain to parents Perit and Helen (Garceau) Huntington. Ruth moved to Sisters in 1914 and grew up on a farm (parents helped settle the area). She was third of five children. Helen graduated from Redmond High School in 1930. She attended Teacher's College (Normal School) in Monmouth and taught right out of college for a year in Yamhill. She taught school in Cline Falls (just west of Redmond) in a... Full story
Like Christians who faced Roman lions for their faith and were eaten, Kris Helphinstine, the (almost) Sisters High School biology teacher, apparently walked into the lion's den as well - but in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is one thing to stand on the street corner or go house-to-house preaching your faith. It is another situation entirely attempting to use the public school system to do it, when the laws of the land - even though our national motto is "In God We Trust" - clearly prohibit it. Christians who faced... Full story
The clock keeps ticking down to the potential loss of $1.2 million in state funds for the Sisters School District. On October 16, 2006 state superintendent of public instruction Susan Castillo ordered that $1,208,286.15 be withheld from the Sisters School District as a result of overpayments the state previously made to the district for a disallowed homeschool program. Castillo based her decision on a audit of the homeschool program that was conducted by the Oregon Secretary of State. The district opperated the program at Son... Full story
