News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
Folks in Sisters will reach for the stars this weekend as the community marks National Astronomy Day. The Sisters Astronomy Club, along with the Sisters School District, Sisters Science Club, and Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), is inviting the community of Sisters to the Sisters High School commons for this special event Friday evening, April 27, and Saturday, April 28 , from 1 to 5 p.m. Kicking off the event on Friday evening at 7 p.m., David Ingram, chairman of Dark Skies Northwest (the regional chapter of the... Full story
It takes a lot of water to brew beer - and that means a lot of water flowing through a municipal wastewater system. Three Creeks Brewing Co. is planning to expand its brewing capacity for the retail market, and to do that in Sisters, they need a break on sewer rates. The Sisters City Council is set to vote on Thursday on a proposal to grant Three Creeks Brewing Co. a permanent 30 percent reduction in sewer rates, with an annual cap of $10,000. The reduced rates would... Full story
The "water feature" at Little Bridge on the Peterson Ridge Trail has been successfully piped, and water should be flowing again in the next month according to Sisters' director of public works, Paul Bertagna. Piping of the 3.8-mile Uncle John ditch south of Sisters by the Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID) is almost complete. It promises to bring pressurized water service to the five landowners on the ditch, including the City of Sisters. The 22 percent of the ditch... Full story
To the Editor: The lack of logic in Jim Anderson's letter to the editor last week is astounding! A factoid repeated once again, is still a factoid. Now, let me get this straight. His letter claims deer come near our houses and eat our apples, gardens and lawns ... because they are attracted there by deer feeders. Huh? Come on Jim, deer come to eat the things they like to eat! With or without deer feeders. The farm I grew up on had many, many deer. And not a deer feeder for miles! And why didn't Mr Anderson mention the... Full story
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at Cliff Clemens Park on Larch Street and conclude that it is a children's park, not a dog park, yet people bring their dogs to the park and allow them to run wild. Judging from the amount of dog poop that abounds, these irresponsible pet owners also don't find it necessary to pick up after their pets, even though young children are running about and rolling around in the grass. Eeeew! So far I haven't heard of a child... Full story
Sisters is fixing to roll up its sleeves and do a major spring cleaning at all three Sisters schools. Celebrate Sisters Schools Day on Saturday, May 19, will be a massive volunteer effort to spruce up the schools with projects ranging from painting, landscaping and putting up new tennis nets at Sisters Elementary School (SES) to litter removal and wood chip distribution on the landscaping at Sisters Middle School (SMS) and Sisters High School (SHS). "The projects at SES are many and require approximately 150 volunteers and... Full story
The Sisters Science Club (SSC) has touched the Sisters community in many ways since its inception a year ago. Recently, the club helped send a group of Sisters High School students for a three-day visit to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in Seattle, Washington. SHS biology teacher Rima Givot, along with retired biology teacher Barb Schulz of Black Butte Ranch, and Scott Buchanan, SHS social studies teacher, traveled to FHCRC with nine SHS freshman and... Full story
The Hispanic Coalition of Sisters will be holding its annual Cinco de Mayo fundraising event on Thursday, May 3, at the FivePine Conference Center from 6 to 9 p.m. Since it is being held on May 3, the event is being billed as The Tres de Mayo Fiesta. This is a gala affair, complete with fine Mexican cuisine prepared by local Hispanic women, entertainment including music and dancing, and a silent auction with some amazing gifts including a week stay at an elegant bay-view... Full story
Sisters High School varsity swimmers were recently honored by the OSAA for their academic achievements during the 2011-12 swim season. Every year, Dairy Farmers of Oregon award the top 10 teams in each sport and classification pins to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the classroom. The boys swim team, with Tyler Baldessari, Ian Baldessari, Tyler Berg, Shawn Horton, Brennan Miller, Jake Miller, Canyon O'Neal and Davidson Small earned first-place honors with a combined GPA of 3.75. Central, Philomath and Riverdale tied... Full story
Shane Groth pitched a no-hitter on the road against Sweet Home in the Outlaws' 6-0 shutout against the Huskies on Friday, April 20. Groth struck out 10 batters and had no walks for his second game in a row. Of the 80 pitches thrown, 60 were strikes. "Shane was just incredible," stated Coach Steve Hodges. "He had great command of his slider and had an overpowering fastball. We had a radar gun on him, and his pitches were between 81 and 83 mph, and he had one thrown at 86 mph.... Full story
Weekend temperatures in the 70s mean spring is finally arriving in Sisters Country. That makes it a good time to look back on the winter that was. In December, no precipitation was recorded in Sisters Country until the last four days of the month, when two inches of water made its way into the rain gauge. But freezing levels were very high during this time, so except for the highest elevations, rain fell in the mountains too. December temperatures averaged about normal, but because skies were mostly sunny maximum temperatures... Full story
The boys golf team finished fifth out of eight teams at the Bend Invitational Tournament held at the Bend Golf and Country Club on Monday, April 16. Rain greeted the teams as they started their round, but players finished under sunny and slightly windy conditions. Bend High took top honors at the tourney with a team score of 326, and Summit was just two strokes back at 328. Redmond took third at 329, Crook County was fourth (349) and Sisters finished at 353. Remaining scores were: The Dalles Wahtonka (355), Hermiston (356)... Full story
Gary Bowne is back in the director's chair and back on the stage playing music. That's a profound step for the Sisters drama and Americana Project teacher, who was nearly killed in an accident on Highway 242 near Sisters High School last October. While he's not ready to return to the classroom just yet, he's working twice a week with students at Bend Theatre for Young People, directing "Murder at the Banquet," a detective spoof featuring thespians in grades 4-7. He also came to rehearsals to support Sisters students working... Full story
Mother Nature did plenty of favors for those in Sisters last weekend, blessing us with blue skies and warm afternoons. In celebration of Earth Day, a group of Sisters High School biology students gave back to Mother Nature too, planting about 400 trees near Whychus Creek. The students volunteered as part of the National Forest Foundation's (NFF) and U.S. Forest Service's Tale of Two Rivers conservation campaign to restore the Metolius River and Whychus Creek. "We really... Full story
In a preview of what promises to be a larger debate when Sisters school budgeting begins in earnest in May, a vocal group of about 40 parents, bus drivers, coaches and administrators met at Sisters High School on Monday, April 16, to share ideas in a school board listening session on one of the major costs in co-curricular sports: Transportation. Many of those that spoke fit into multiple categories, such as the coach that was also a parent and a retired bus driver. Many of the bus drivers spoke as professional drivers and al... Full story
While growing up in Utah, 9-year-old Barrett Ford and his friend watched their older brothers run high school cross-country. They looked up to their brothers and thought they should follow in their footsteps. More recently, however, Ford's feet have taken him on his own unique path. On April 16, Ford completed the famous Boston Marathon in a time of 3 hours, 55 minutes. It fulfilled a dream he's had since watching Boston's legendary runner, Bill Rodgers, in the '70s. Even... Full story
The popular Alder Springs Trail north of Sisters has a very different look this year. Last September, a 1,600-acre wildfire burned its way through the heart of the Crooked River National Grassland, leaving a significantly changed landscape in its wake. Trailside fire damage is most obvious along the stretch of trail that descends into Whychus Canyon north of the trailhead. Much of the hillside along that portion of the trail is thoroughly burned. Looking across and beyond the... Full story
The girls lacrosse team faced three tough teams this past week, with a game against Marist on Friday, April 20, and then games against South and West Salem on Saturday. On Friday, the Outlaws lost 16-6 to Marist. At the half, Marist was on top 7-4. In the second half, the sun proved to be a big problem for Sisters' goalie Nikki Olson. "Nikki was facing the setting sun, and Marist scored four goals on fouls that Nikki couldn't see," said Coach Michele Hammer. The Spartans took... Full story
City Manager Eileen Stein will be staying in Sisters. Stein was one of two finalists for the position of director of the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) in Eugene. Interviews were held last week. In an email to members of the city council sent late Friday evening, Stein said that, "After yesterday's round of interviews for the LCOG executive director, I was informed the LCOG board decided to offer the job to the other candidate. I'm told the board struggled with the decision, that it was pleased to have two strong... Full story
Part-time Sisters resident Vicki Idema creates one-of-a kind fabric pieces that explore the ancient Japanese art forms of shibori, and katazome, as well as creative techniques in marbling. The designs are as challenging to create as they are to pronounce. Many require hours of cutting, dying, and curing in order to achieve the end result. Her work is currently on display at Sisters Movie House. "Each art form is very time- consuming, but the results can be amazing," Idema... Full story
Tucked back in a quiet corner of Barclay Square in downtown Sisters is Southwest Treasures, a new Native American jewelry and art emporium. Inside, customers and guests are treated to a bright wealth of authentic turquoise and silver rings, belt buckles and necklaces, traditional Hopi and Navajo kachina dolls, handcrafted beadwork, shelves of Southwestern pottery and intricate sand paintings. Owners Katie and Chuck Devore have lived in Central Oregon for 13 years and... Full story
The boys lacrosse team tallied three blowout wins last week. Sisters traveled to Redmond on Tuesday, April 17, and walked away with a 13-0 shutout. Three days later the Outlaws recorded a 16-3 victory over Mt. View at home, and on Saturday took down West Salem 15-1 at home. On Tuesday, Sisters matched up against a young but determined Redmond team that played hard for all four quarters but just did not have the experience to compete against the Outlaws. Beau Fitzke scored... Full story
The first of a series of spring-blooming events is unfolding now along the upper reaches of the Peterson Ridge Trail (PRT), with flowering manzanita everywhere. Apart from the conspicuous beauty, the trail is in near-perfect condition with pretty much uninterrupted firm damp soil throughout the 25-mile system, and is getting heavy use from local cyclists and runners, and ever more from Bend, Redmond, and beyond. Central Oregon Magazine's winter edition listed the PRT as runner... Full story
Sisters Library is going to the dogs ... dog paintings that is. Big, audacious, colorful dogs. Sandy Melchiori and Cathy Warner share a passion for painting, dogs in particular. An exhibit of their large-format paintings in oil and acrylic will be displayed throughout May in the library community room. First inspired by homeless dogs in Mexico, Sandy was moved to capture their kind but tough character in paint. And, with three labs at home, she had a ready supply of models.... Full story
The once defunct and worn-out Whychus Creek has come to life again in recent years as an outdoor classroom. Last Wednesday, a bus-load of students from Cascades Academy of Central Oregon returned to Camp Polk Meadow to see what the Deschutes Land Trust has done to return the creek to its ancestral route - and what happened to all the hundreds of trees and shrubs they planted over two years ago. The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council (UDWC) guided students from Cascades Academy... Full story
