News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
A Sisters High School student is in custody in connection with the killing of a man in Drake Park on Friday, April 16. Bend Police detectives and Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies took 17-year-old senior Steven Withrow into custody without incident at the high school. The school was briefly under lock-down as the arrest was made. According to Bend Police Department reports, Curtis Dean Kizer, 42, and a friend, both of whom were homeless, were on a path in Drake Park on Friday night. They were approached by three young men,... Full story
Dave Roth of Christmas Valley secures a reaper to his flatbed pickup truck. photo by Lynn Woodward The carriage and plow were loaded up on Sunday evening, ready to depart from the annual Small Farmer's Journal Auction Sale and Swap meet. Anyone roaming around the Sisters Rodeo grounds as darkness fell would never know that over the weekend the grounds were so teeming with people that some had to be turned away. The parking lot was filled to capacity on Saturday afternoon. Bidding on farm implements and equipment carried on... Full story
Click here for PDF version of map. Deschutes National Forest officials authorized entry into areas the B&B Complex and Link Fires burned last summer on the Sisters Ranger District starting Saturday, April 17. Visitors may enter burned areas on foot or horseback. They may also drive on many roads on the east side of the fires, including the entire length of Forest Service Road 12. Open roads will be posted with orange dots on signs at intersections, but off-road travel remains prohibited. Forest officials instituted closure... Full story
Earl Armbruster, Rob Kurtz and Steve Summerfield, off to a Ducks game. Going to college football was a favorite pursuit of these avid fans. photo provided Rob Kurtz was the kind of teacher who changed lives, the kind of teacher students remember long after they have left his classroom and moved on. The impact that Rob Kurtz had on students in Sisters was evident by the number of former students who packed the Sisters High School auditorium on Tuesday, April 13, to remember the 54-year-old teacher who died the previous Monday... Full story
The geese at Black Butte Ranch are beautiful, but they leave a mess. An experimental program may control their population -- and clean up the grass. photo by Tom Chace They're beautiful, soaring overhead in pairs or in a "V" formation, with their distinctive call. Or, floating on one of our many lakes and ponds. But to golfers and hikers trekking around those ponds, their droppings can be messy. Central Oregon's Canada Geese are no longer migratory as in years past. They inhabit the region in growing numbers creating major... Full story
As Sisters educators struggle to serve each student with shrinking resources, some parents are concerned that the district's best and brightest are getting short shrift. Oregon schools identify students as "Talented and Gifted" (TAG) starting as early as kindergarten, based mainly on performance on tests. Those students are supposed to get enhanced programs to keep them challenged and to allow them to pursue interests on a more intensive level. There are currently 126 TAG students in the Sisters School District, evenly... Full story
Teaching bright, talented or "gifted" students might seem like an easy task. They're quick studies, they read well, many come from homes where communication and education are highly valued. But it's not as simple as it seems. "Talented and Gifted" (TAG) students need challenges. Without plenty of stimulation for their often restless minds and spirits, they can tune out of school. Instead of doing well on their own, some may drift -- never achieving their potential or even getting themselves into trouble. Debbie Newport, who... Full story
Intense emotions charged the air Monday night, April 19, as Deschutes County Sheriff Les Stiles campaigned for a tax increase for his department at a town hall meeting in Sisters. In the middle of the meeting, Sheriff Stiles asked which of the six deputies in the room received letters indicating they will be laid off if the sheriff's levy does not pass in May. Four deputies raised their hands. Mark Eggert, a deputy for the Sisters Sheriff's department, who has a wife, a house mortgage, and three kids between ages eight and... Full story
Amanda Sarles (standing) and Sarah Douglass check out the new piano. photo by Jim Mitchell Luck, coincidence, miles of driving and hard work by a handful of Sisters High School staff and students paid off this month in the donation of a new baby grand piano to the school. Last summer Brad Tisdel, director of the Americana Project at Sisters High School, was doing a music gig at Black Butte Ranch. A break reunited Tisdel with pianist Michael Allan Harrison and his partner, singer Julianne Johnson, who had been performing at a... Full story
A grand jury handed up a murder indictment on 17-year-old Steven Withrow on Thursday, April 22. The 17-year-old Sisters High School student was indicted for murder, first degree manslaughter, assault and first degree robbery in connection with the killing of 42-year-old Curtis Dean Kizer in Drake Park a week earlier. According to prosecutor Candy Geis, the "felony murder" charge is leveled when a death results from another felony crime -- in this case the alleged first degree... 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: Why do we need a... Full story
- City Council Meeting 7 p.m., 2nd and 4th Thursday each month, Sisters City Hall. 549-6022. - School Board Meeting 7 p.m., 2nd Monday each month, middle school lecture/drama room. 549-8521. - Black Butte School District Board of Directors meets 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., Black Butte School. 595-6203. - Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD meets for drill every Monday, 7 p.m. Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St. 549-0771. - Sisters Kiwanis Club meets every Thursday, 7:30 a.m., Sisters Fire Hall. 549-1223. - Sisters Habitat for... Full story
Shasta Hyland, Brandi Palmer, Katherine Duarte and Claire Mutchler joined Kathy Mattea to perform "Rose," the title song of Mattea's latest CD. photo by Tim O'Neal Blending styles and musical genres into a uniquely personal and stirring performance, Kathy Mattea and her band earned a thunderous ovation from the sold-out Sisters Starry Nights concert crowd on Sunday evening, April 18. Mattea has expanded upon the chart-topping country music success she enjoyed in the 1980s and '90s to explore folk and Celtic styles that add... Full story
