News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
The Central Oregon Shootout has become a traditional way to ring in the spring season in Sisters Country. This year, its 364 participants experienced just about everything a Sisters Country spring has to offer - except snow: A little bit of wind, a little bit of rain, a little bit of sunshine and temperatures that hovered just between brisk and chilly. And they enjoyed 54 holes of fine golf at the three participating golf facilities: Aspen Lakes, Black Butte Ranch's Big... Full story
Early Sunday morning, a moving crew hauled a 2,400-square-foot structure from Cloverdale Road up Highway 20 to the Sisters Rodeo Grounds. The Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District donated the now-surplus fire station structure to the Sisters Rodeo Association, which will use the building for storage for the time being, according to Rodeo Association President Glenn Miller. This re-purposing of the building will save the Cloverdale Fire District the cost of demolition and... Full story
Ballots will start appearing this week in Sisters mailboxes, as the school district's proposed $10.7 million bond measure goes before voters. The general obligation bonds would cost taxpayers approximately 41 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation - or about $123 per year for a home assessed at $300,000. Funds would be allocated for installation of security systems; safety and ADA improvements; facility and site improvements including HVAC renovations and parking lot repairs; athletic facilities improvements; and refinancing... Full story
To the Editor: Voters' pamphlets are often used as fire starters on these cold Central Oregon spring mornings. Not this time, not in my house. Curious, I immediately flipped through to find the arguments against the upcoming school bond measure. There were none. BUT, there were several pages in favor of the bond. My favorite snippits: "...$10.25 per month"(assessed $300k); and "Our community supports our kids and our kids support our community." - J. Bachtold I married into a third-generation Aylor family from our tiny... Full story
On May 17, the Sisters School District is proposing a general obligation bond for major maintenance and facility upgrades, Measure 9-108. The intent of a bond is to free up dollars for use in the classroom immediately, take care of "100,000-mile" repairs, and upgrade facilities that are no longer in working order. As a preface, it needs to be emphasized that bonds are an integral and normal part of the funding of our schools in tandem with local option levies and fixed tax rates. Since 1990, fixed tax rates for schools have... Full story
It's spring- the Cascades still have plenty of snow for summer, trees are blossoming in Sisters, and the 47-voice Sisters High Desert Chorale's Spring Concert is scheduled at Sisters Community Church, Friday April, 29, at 7 p.m., and again Sunday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m., same venue. The chorale will present a wonderful variety of tunes from gospel, contemporary, spirituals, musical theater and classical origins. The Sisters Children's Choir - with 10 sweet voices singing, giggling and being kids - will perform after... Full story
Please, please, take a minute and think about what resolutions defining a particular standard of civil discourse - like the one passed at Sisters City Hall earlier this month - are really all about. Perhaps you believe these kinds of groupthink, stress-card and safety-space resolutions are exactly what the world needs. I hereby acknowledge your point of view, but I am now terrified of you, in the Thoreau hiding out at Walden Pond sense of terrified. I get it, there... Full story
There they were, set out in the parking lot to tempt me on that warm spring day. Green leaves, brightly colored blooms, sturdy little starts of lettuce and squash, all waving at me in the April sunlight, begging me to take them home and plant them. I know better. There is still snow on the top of Black Butte - the local indicator that it's too early to begin gardening in earnest, unless you have a greenhouse. As I inspected the trays of premature annuals from the valley,... Full story
The Civil War is coming to Central Oregon - and it has nothing to do with Ducks vs. Beavers. The Northwest Civil War Council will present a full Civil War reenactment and "living history" at House on Metolius, Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22. More than 300 Civil War reenactors presenting living conditions and circumstances of 1863 portray battles, camps and daily civilian life. Reenactors speak in the manner and use the etiquette of the mid-19th century, and many work in first-person at the event. The public is invited to... Full story
Fourteen years ago, Shannon Pollard discovered an unused greenhouse at Sisters Elementary School. She used that greenhouse to start an elementary school garden club that had 55 members in the first year. The club hosted a Garden Club Faire each spring and used proceeds to build a larger greenhouse for the kids. Last year the club, led by Pollard, boasted nearly 120 kids - which is roughly 25 percent of the student body at the elementary school. The original greenhouse... Full story
Sisters students brought home the "Best Design" award - middle-school level - from the Oregon Games Project Challenge (OGPC) last weekend. Six students from Sisters Middle School and one from Sisters Elementary School worked since November to develop their own video game to showcase at the 9th annual Challenge, held in Keiser on Saturday, April 23. The OGPC is the only statewide game-programming competition in Oregon. This platform uses video-game development as a means of eng... Full story
There's a hidden gem in Camp Sherman that's under consideration for development into an educational site. The proposal is causing some consternation among neighboring property owners. The site in question is the old Metolius Fish Hatchery, 15 acres near Spring Creek owned by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). A proposal to develop a youth fishing and salmon acclimation pond has been in the works for many months. A public meeting was held on April 18 at the Camp Sherman Community Hall to present the latest... Full story
Sisters Science Club board member Bunny Thompson has been promoting worm composting for years in all of the Sisters schools by providing worm bins, lectures and hands-on participation with the students in the classrooms. Worms are best-friends to the environment. They create the perfect soil for gardens and yards, and composting reduces the amount of the garbage that is sent to dumps and landfills. "Red wigglers are great worms for composting; they eat their weight in kitchen... Full story
No writer of the 20th century looms larger than Ernest Hemingway. That is, in part, because he crafted a larger-than-life persona: Hard drinker, big- game hunter, fisherman, traveler, war journalist. Even in his own lifetime, the persona overshadowed his writing. Today, most people know at least vaguely who "Papa" was, but few have actually read him. That's a shame, for Hemingway truly revolutionized literature, with his stripped-down, virile, sharply observed prose. The "stripped-down" aspect is often over-emphasized, for... Full story
Sean Watkins of "Nickel Creek" will perform in Sisters at The Belfry on Tuesday, May 17. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m. Tickets: $15 in advance at http://seanwatkinsbelfry.bpt.me or $20 at the door. Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sean Watkins has long been known for his work as one-third of the Grammy Award-winning Nickel Creek and, more recently, for helming, with sister Sara, the itinerant, genre-hopping Watkins Family Hour ensemble. But in the last year he has more assertively - and... Full story
Ryan Cook pitched a no-hitter to lead the Outlaws to their 11-1 victory over Sweet Home at home on Friday, April 22. Three days earlier, Sisters lost 4-3 at Cottage Grove. In Friday's game against Sweet Home, the Outlaws scored 11 runs on eight hits and had three errors in the game. Sweet Home got one run off zero hits, and had three errors. Ryan Funk got the Outlaws on the scoreboard in the first inning with a two-RBI double to left center. The hit scored Alec Gannon and... Full story
Dwight A. Smith, born April 3, 1942, passed away Tuesday, April 19, 2016, due to complications from pneumonia at Portland's Legacy Emanuel Hospital. He was the youngest of four children born to Loren and Pearl Prose Smith in a farmhouse in Virden, Illinois. After high school, he graduated from Southern Illinois University, spent two years in the Army and then attended graduate school at Colorado State in Fort Collins. Dwight met his wife, Pat, at SIU and they married in Evergr... Full story
Ray Bowlin passed peacefully from life at the age of 75. He was born in Southgate, California, to parents Charles Chester Bowlin and Betty Louise Bowlin. He grew up in Southern California and went to school in Long Beach. Ray came to Sisters in 1978 and started a wrecker business, which he ran until 2008 when he retired at the age of 68. Ray ran the wrecker business for many years with the help of Mary Chamberlain. Ray loved to hunt and fish in the Sisters area, and loved his... Full story
Teddy Roy Napier died suddenly April 21 at his home in Sisters. Ted was born in Livermore, California, in 1944. He moved with his family to Eugene in 1948, where he grew up with his two siblings. After high school Ted was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in 1966. Ted was very proud of being a Marine, and served his country with honors. In his 13-month active-duty service in Vietnam he distinguished himself and rose to the rank of corporal, making many lifelong frien... Full story
Carl Franklin Judd went home into the arms of his Heavenly Father, after living a life with his eyes always on Him. Carl was born in Portland, to Yvonne and John Franklin Judd. He graduated from Salem Academy, and served as a medic in the Army during the Korean War. He retired from Moore Business Forms after over 40 years, before moving to Sisters to be near family. Carl is survived by his wife, Dorothy (Hartman) Judd of 42 years, and preceded in death by his first wife,... Full story
When conflicting interests arise in forest management, Forest Ecologist Maret Pajutee says that win-win solutions are still possible. Pajutee, whose 25-year Forest Service career is in its final days, spoke to a keenly receptive audience last week as part of the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) speakers series. She dubbed her talk "Tale of Two Rivers - The Sequel - Keeping the 'Wild' in Wild and Scenic," building on earlier references to restoration efforts on the Metolius River... Full story
The boys tennis team started their week with a 4-3 win over Estacada at home at Black Butte Ranch on Tuesday, April 19. Two days later, the Outlaws fell hard to Philomath. Last week, the boys squad had their matches canceled and because of that were able to put in a week of good, hard practice, which helped produce their win over Estacada. In their match against the Rangers, Sisters' No. 1 and No. 2 singles players and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles players posted wins for the... Full story
The Sisters High School track and field teams finished up the Sky-Em league schedule and also got a taste of big-meet competition in two meets last week. At Sweet Home for the second time this season Wednesday, April 20, the Outlaws once again used the three-way meet to test new events and prepare for the more important meets coming in May. Bright spots from the meet, in many cases, came from the Outlaws pushing one another to good marks, according to Head Coach Jeff Larson.... Full story
