News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 30
A year after losing the entire spring track season to the shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sisters Outlaws track and field team returned to the oval for the “Breaking the Ice” meet hosted by Crook County High School on Thursday, April 15. Head Coach Jeff Larson is approaching the season somewhat differently than normal, given how long athletes have been away from the sport, and the fact that the season is just over six weeks long. “Our goals for the season are to have fun, provide competitive opportunities for our senio... Full story
The Outlaws came out firing on all cylinders in their first game of the season, and shut out Newport 11-0 at home on Thursday, April 15. A day later they traveled to Philomath and fell short 15-11, and 5-2, in the double header. Sisters had 14 hits in their game against Newport and several players contributed big bats in the winning effort. Garrett Vohs had two hits and five RBI, Adam Harper had three hits and three RBI, Connor Linn had two hits, Hunter Sport had one hit and o... Full story
A deputy deployed a GPS tracker dart in an effort to nab a driver wanted by law enforcement. A Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DSCO) deputy spotted the wanted man’s vehicle on April 18, at approximately 11:15 a.m., while he was driving in the area of Highway 20 and South Pine Street in the City of Sisters. The deputy observed a 2004 GMC Yukon on South Pine Street. The registration for the vehicle was allegedly expired. The sheriff’s office reports that there was also history of this vehicle being associated with a subject... Full story
The Sisters Country Vision is a community-led vision project, first created with extensive community engagement in 2018, which continues to incorporate new community-led projects. At the heart of implementing this community vision is supporting and celebrating inter-community collaboration. As Sisters turns 75 this year, though we can’t have a big celebration due to COVID-19 regulations, local organizations continue to find creative ways to highlight Sisters’ unique history and enduring small-town atmosphere. In par... Full story
The Lady Outlaws kicked off their season with a 5-3 win at home over Estacada. Two days later they fell 1-7 at Cascade, and on Friday at home against Molalla they lost 1-7. In Tuesday’s match against Estacada, Sisters got wins at all four singles spots, the fourth by default. They also earned a win at No. 2 doubles. Juhree Kizziar (No. 1 singles) is a motivated, enthusiastic freshman and came out with a vengeance. Kizziar hustled to defeat Gracie Jossi 6-0, 6-4. Coach Alan V... Full story
• City Council agreed to move ahead with finalizing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) which defines the roles and responsibilities of each party regarding acquiring all of the right-of-way areas required for the future roundabout at East Cascade and Locust Street. An independent fee appraiser will prepare an appraisal of the property, which may take up to 60 days. That appraisal then goes to the ODOT review... Full story
John was born July 22, 1952 in Portland, to Anthony and Frances Pagano, and died on April 13, 2021. John attended Milwaukie High School and, after high school, joined the National Guard from 1971-1976, where he found his niche in working with electronics and computers. John married Madeline (Pinky) DiFabio on May 11, 1974, while living in Portland. Ten years later, John had the opportunity to move his family to Sisters, where he and Pinky raised their family over the next 30... Full story
William “Bill” Merrill was born in Philadelphia to William and Mary Merrill. His father was an Air Force officer, so Bill and his family moved frequently around the country – and the world – living in Louisiana, Florida, French Morocco, and Wiesbaden, Germany, where Bill graduated from high school. Friends talked Bill into attending Oregon State College. Bill pledged Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and participated on the crew team and ROTC. After graduating in 1959, he was commissioned as an officer in the US Arm... Full story
James “Jim” Gordon Fisher, 86, died April 14, 2021 in Redmond after a lengthy illness. He was born February 20, 1935 in Sac City, Iowa, the second of three children born to Ronald Gardner Fisher and Vivian Onita (Michael) Fisher. In 1941, the family moved to Oregon, living in Portland for the summer and then settling in Klamath Falls. There, he attended grade school and high school, graduating from Klamath Union High School in 1952. Beginning at the age of 16 and con... Full story
Small business relief assistance grants totaling $40,000 have been awarded by the City to 17 local businesses that have been severely impacted by the pandemic. In the FY 2020-21 budget, the City allocated up to $40,000 for that purpose. On March 10, The City Council approved Resolution 2021-03 authorizing the Grant Relief Program and designated Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce as the administrator. A grant committee was formed including Councilor Andrea Blum for the City,... Full story
According to Susannah Morgan, director of the Oregon Food Banks, “our state is in the 100-year flood of hunger.” Confirmed data from Neighborhood Impact and Feeding America show the number of our neighbors in Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook county who worry about feeding their families has increased by nearly 30 percent since the onset of the pandemic. Many were already struggling to get food on the table before the pandemic hit. The numbers have skyrocketed to nearly 40,000 families in our area who have relied on food pan... Full story
The Sisters School Board held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 7, at Sisters Middle School. Board members Edie Jones, Jeff Smith, Don Hedrick, and Jay Wilkins were in attendance. Dr. David Thorsett was absent. • Revenue showed a slight downturn due to adjustments the state made on enrollment, due to questions about total number of students in attendance. It is expected to be adjusted due to information on actual attendance being impacted by COVID-19. Scholl reported that overall enrollment stands at 1,159... Full story
Family Access Network (FAN) received an unexpected helping hand from 14-year-old filmmaker Jack Turpen to create compelling content for their virtual luncheon. Turpen, a student at Sisters Middle School, offered to use his video-production expertise after working on a shirt design for Sisters Middle School (the proceeds of which benefitted FAN). When Turpen reached out to Sisters FAN Advocate Theresa Slavkovsky to donate his services, the organization quickly took him up on his offer. With minimal direction, Turpen used his... Full story
Deschutes County is launching a pilot project, funded by a grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, to consider updates to three wildlife inventories relating to elk, mule deer, and bald/golden eagles. The inventories are produced by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This first phase of the project represents the data-collection stage only — no changes to County zoning or other regulations have been proposed. The Deschutes County Planning... Full story
The Outlaws girls tennis squad is expected to be very successful in league tennis competition. Sisters returns several talented, experienced players this year, and there are several strong new additions. The season has been cut down to six short weeks, with an average of three matches each week. At the conclusion of volleyball, seniors Sophia Silva and Ellie Rush will move right into tennis. They will only get one practice under their belts before the first match. Both girls are talented players, and will most likely play at... Full story
The Outlaws baseball team will boast an older lineup, with talent all around the field. The new players to the squad will contribute depth and see time on the field. Sisters has a 15-game schedule ahead of them and expect to compete at a high level with the goal of winning league. This year, due to high numbers, the Outlaws will be able to also have a JV team. Nine experienced, veteran players are back and include seniors Hunter Spor, Adam Harper, Connor Linn, Garrett Vohs, Dillon Tucker, Will Grace, Caesar Rodriquez, junior... Full story
The boys lacrosse team returns eight experienced players to their squad this season including seniors Connor Martin and Titan Kroytz, juniors Gaven Henry, Eli Johnson, Gavin Christian, Riley Sellers, Ricky Huffman, Wyatt Maffey, Oscar Rhett and Austin Ekern, and sophomores Adam Maddox-Castle, Mason Sellers, Gus Patton, Clayton Heuberger, Hayden Kunz, Henry Rard, Bodie Dachtler, Ryan Kissinger, and Clayton Craig. Martin is a team captain for the Outlaws and a great all-around player who leads by example and will play at both a... Full story
The Outlaws tennis players traveled to Estacada on Tuesday, April 13, and a day later hosted the Cascade Cougars. On Friday, they wrapped up their week with a match at Molalla. The Outlaws only have six players, so the younger ones are getting a lot of time on the court. Nate Weber easily won his singles match against Avery Dryden, 6-2, 6-0, in Tuesday’s match at Estacada. Dryden is newer to tennis and couldn’t handle Webers’ pace and shot-making. Nate lost two games in the first set due to just settling back into the game.... Full story
In Wednesday’s match-up, Ridgeview got on the scoreboard first, but the Outlaws responded and scored the next two goals, one by Riley Sellers and the other from Eli Johnson. At the half Sisters was on top 2-1. The Ravens came back with two scores in the third to take a 3-2 lead that held to the close of the quarter. A scoreless fourth made that the final tally.... Full story
All runners agree that doing a race virtually is no comparison to the real thing. The participants in the 19th Annual Peterson Ridge Rumble, held Sunday, April 11, couldn’t have been happier to be back on the trail after the event was derailed last year due to the pandemic. Race Director Sean Meissner said, “The Peterson Ridge Rumble was a huge success! There were a lot of COVID protocols that had to be met and all of the participants and volunteers graciously com... Full story
The City of Sisters is celebrating its 75th anniversary of incorporation this year. Over the decades, there have been many topics and issues that have created conversation, and sometimes controversy, in the community. Fortunately, the people here and now in Sisters are willing to come together for vibrant discussion, putting the bigger picture above their perspective and interests, acknowledging the challenges of balancing many factors and constraints. Most notably are those at the City who volunteer to be elected on City... Full story
The prescribed fires touched off southwest of Sisters last week are representative of the kind of work the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project is built to promote. The Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project aims to restore local forests to a healthier, more resilient condition through science-driven restoration projects. The Collaborative is comprised of a volunteer stakeholder committee of 19 community members representing land management agencies, tribal groups, the timber industry, environmental nonprofits,... Full story
I would like to convey a response to Bill Bartlett’s article in last week’s issue of The Nugget, regarding the affordable-housing crisis in Sisters, Central Oregon, and arguably the U.S. (and world) as a whole. I have read his article and I fully agree with his statements. And there are certainly plenty of well-paying jobs in Sisters, and around Central Oregon as a whole. However, we cannot deny that, at least in Central Oregon, people in very skilled professions, like a teacher or a doctor, will take a significant pay cut... Full story
Vaccine priority To the Editor: For the record, we have found no one in Sisters nor in our wide circles of friends in five major cities in Oregon who objects to teachers given vaccine priority over seniors! It is sad to know a few loud voices have lumped the rest of us into a genre of crotchety old people who think only of themselves. We want kids back in school, which means teachers have no choice, so we want them and their families to be safe. The truth is that we seniors have the option of staying safely at home with no... Full story
The challenges of online learning from school has taken a toll on many students in the Sisters School District, especially at Sisters Middle School (SMS). Sisters Middle School student Holly Davis told The Nugget that, “one of the only positive impacts online learning had on me was having less classes during the day, simply because there was a lot less stress and anxiety hanging on my shoulders, I was and felt more free, but there was definitely a lot more cons to the story than pros. “With online learning the hardest par... Full story
