News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
After months of speculation on where the budget ax will fall on the Sisters School District, Superintendent Elaine Drakulich laid out a budget at the opening budget committee meeting last Wednesday night that calls for $1,688,500 in cuts. A large portion of the shortfall will be made up through federal stimulus money ($155,000) and by not replacing some seven teachers and three other employees who are departing the district at the end of this year ($906,600). The budget... Full story
Senator Chris Telfer, Representative Gene Whisnant and Treasurer Ben Westlund got an earful from Sisters Country residents on Friday during a "meet and greet" session, hosted by the City of Sisters and the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. Some 25 people turned out to pepper the government representatives with questions and opinions at a reception held at the Chamber Visitors Center. Issues ranged from the Metolius River to renewable energy to the economy, but the most... Full story
Russell Daniel Willeford was convicted last week of animal abuse and criminal mischief in the shooting of a horse from Camp Tamarack. The 27-year-old man faces up to five years in prison. He will be sentenced June 9. A jury acquitted Willeford on another abuse charge, a charge of neglect and a charge of first degree theft. Willeford was found guilty of shooting the horse in the head and leaving it to die in the Cache Mountain area west of Sisters last October. Staff at Camp Tamarack, where he had worked as a wrangler, had... Full story
"I find more damages every time I come out here," Maret Pajutee, Forest Service ecologist, said looking at the illegally cut and gunshot trees and other signs of vandalism along Whychus Creek. "It's a sign that a few people around Sisters either don't know, or don't care about how important it is to practice good stewardship," said Fred Perl, USFS Law Enforcement Officer (LEO), pointing to a pile of trash left behind by visitors to Whychus Creek. "I think it's some kind of... Full story
Sisters Schools Superintendent Elaine Drakulich presented a budget on Wednesday night that calls for $1,688,500 in cuts. Those cuts -forced by reduced state revenue and declining enrollment -mean some significant sacrifices in the district. The media managers (librarians) in each of the three schools are slated to lose their positions to save the district $152,500 in salaries and benefits. Teachers, administrators and other staff members are going to be asked to bear the cost of making up $168,600 through reductions or... Full story
The beleaguered Sisters Park & Recreation District desperately needs a jolt of fresh energy, new ideas and strong leadership. Fortunately, there are several Sisters community members willing to step up as directors of the district and chart a new course as the organization weathers tough financial times. Andrew Gorayeb, who is running unopposed, brings passion and vision to the board, along with business experience that will serve the district well. Mike Morgan, who has been a significant financial contributor to the... Full story
Fifty to 80 members of Sisters Rodeo Association are tackling construction improvements at the rodeo grounds, every Saturday and during the week, in preparation for the 69th annual Sisters Rodeo. "We are having phenomenal work parties," said rodeo President Glenn Miller, who promised the membership last fall that this would be a "light workload year." Rodeo membership has learned to respond to these messages from their president with humor. Under this light work load, the peri... Full story
In honor of Oregon's 150th Birthday, several community organizations will hold a Sisters Country clean up day on Saturday, May 16. This day will be known as the official "Take Care of Sisters Day" as proclaimed by Mayor Lon Kellstrom at the April 23 city council meeting. Several area clubs and organizations will coordinate projects and volunteers for the community clean-up. Organizations and their projects include: The Deschutes Land Trust - Metolius Preserve spring clean-up; Evelyn Brush - clean the green; Sisters Area... Full story
Ten Friends, a local nonprofit that aids the people of Nepal, will host its Spring Celebration on Sunday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Aspen Hall in Bend. Ten Friends supports projects in Nepal, helping children with clean water, school support, orphanage supplies, stretchers and teacher training. Ten Friends assists rural villages with safe water, composting toilets, books for libraries, and education of their teachers. The tickets are less expensive than last year at $15. The event promises food, live music and beverages, along... Full story
To the Editor: I am running for Position 2 on the Sisters School Board and would appreciate your vote. I am passionately committed to high-quality public education and believe my professional human resources background, in-depth knowledge of our schools and my experience at the state level will bring new skills to the board. My many volunteer efforts in Sisters schools make me a well-informed, strong choice. Locally, I have: Served on district budget committees/recent budget reduction committee; actively worked to pass local... Full story
In a blur of spinning wheels and spandex, the newly hatched Sisters Cycling team soars onto the local bike racing scene with vision and style. Proudly clad in their bright racing uniforms, members detailed the scope and intent of the club. Joel and Shawna Palanuk are the pioneers and founders of the fledgling race team, certain to make its mark on the trails and roads of Oregon. The idea to form a team in Sisters came to them on New Years Day 2009. "Now that our boys are a... Full story
The Wally Ciochetti Invitational at Cottage Grove Friday, May 8 served as the final tune-up before this week's two-day Sky-Em District Championships set for Thursday, May 14 and Saturday, May 16 at Junction City High School. The Ciochetti meet attracted 13 4A schools along with two 5A schools, in what many coaches called a great preparation for the state meet. Indeed, a number of the top-ranked 4A athletes were on hand, providing a terrific challenge for the Outlaws. Coming of... Full story
A Yakima, Washington based developer is considering creation of a senior independent assisted-living facility and community center in Sisters. Mark Adolf, of Pinnacle Alliance Group, will host a public town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m. at Sisters Fire Hall to discuss plans for the facility and to solicit public input. The meeting is sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. According to Keith Sampson, who is acting as a community liaison for the developer, the facility would be locally owned. "This... Full story
Last Christmas season, the newly formed Sisters Premiere Handbell Choir presented a bell-ringing performance at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Sisters to an enthusiastic audience. On May 16-17, they're going to do it again, in conjunction with the Sisters High Desert Choral, by presenting a program that bell director Lola Knox calls "The Three 'B's." One would expect that to be the customary Bach, Beethoven and Brahms; but in this case it will be Bach, Beethoven and... Full story
Two local English setters competed at the Beehive Cluster of dog shows in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 30-May 3. Archer, as he is locally known, and Balen, his young nephew (Balen's mother is Archer's sister), both won at the event. Their owner, Jeff Spry, also attended the event. His handler, Larry Johnson of Colorado, who has shown all of Spry's dogs, put them through their paces during the competitions. Spry wanted an English setter from the time he was seven. He grew up in... Full story
Sisters Movie House will host the premiere Oregon screening of the film "Woodpecker," by Alex Karpovsky, to be held at 8 p.m. Thursday evening, May 14. The screening will benefit the East Cascades Bird Conservancy and the second annual Woodpecker Wonderland Festival, scheduled for June 5 through 7 in Camp Sherman. In documentary film style, "Woodpecker" follows a fictitious character's quest through the Arkansas swamps in search of the possibly extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. The last confirmed sighting of this iconic... Full story
• Dawn Cooper and Theresa Slavkovsky, of Sisters Family Access Network (FAN), would like to thank the community of Sisters for their support of the Empty Bowls event, held at Sisters High School on April 29: Thank you to Mike Baynes and all his art students for throwing and glazing over one hundred bowls that were sold during the evening; to local potters Mitch Deaderick and Ken Merrill for their donation of creative ceramic bowls; to the Sisters leadership class and art class students for their help with set-up,... Full story
With the catchy program title of "Bach to Broadway," the High Desert Chorale will perform two free concerts this weekend. Led by Director Irene Liden, the Chorale is a group of about twenty Sisters area singers devoted to bringing quality musical entertainment to the people of Sisters. In addition to Bach and Broadway tunes, the program will include spirituals and what Liden refers to as "oldies but goodies." Selections include "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "Smoke Gets in your Eyes," "Camelot," "Pajama Game," "Sister Act," a... Full story
Last Thursday, Coach Kris Kristovich took four seventh-grade boys to run in a COCC open race. He thought it might be a fun 400-yard work out. He could not have known that Brandon Pollard, Evan Rickards, Jake McCallister and Landon Prescott would come in second overall behind a group of runners from the college. The college runners were wowed by the team and asked, "How old are these guys?" said Coach Kristovich. He explained that each team had to complete 24 laps, and each team could be made up of two, three or four runners.... Full story
The girls tennis team suffered a 5-3 loss to Mountain View on Thursday, May 7, in their final league match of the season. Freshman Amity Calvin (No. 1 singles) lost her first set 2-6 and then came back to win the second set 6-4. Calvin beat Hayati Wolfendia 10-8 in the tiebreaker. "Amity was very patient," said Coach Marti Dale. "She waited for Wolfendia to miss first. She played with perseverance and tenacity throughout the match and hit the ball deep." Jacquie Bryan (No. 3 singles) beat Megan Summers 6-4, 3-6, and then won... Full story
Oregon offers a dramatic diversity of ecosystems across her ever-evolving landscape. Contrasting hydrogeology and human-influenced impacts of the sprawling Willamette River and dynamic Deschutes River illuminates the essential uses of water. The Willamette, with its water originating from rainfall and surface flow is typical of the majority of Oregon's rivers. The Deschutes, on the other hand, is born in the Cascades and is dependent on winter snows that seep into the ancient... Full story
Some 44 teams from all over the Northwest - Reno, Nevada, to Washington state - gathered in Sisters Friday to Sunday, May 8-10 for the SALI tournament (Sisters Annual Lacrosse Invitational). There were easily more than 1,500 in attendance, including approximately 1,000 athletes and 500 spectators. "This is like the biggest lacrosse thing in Oregon by far," Assistant Coach Andrew Gorayeb said. "It's a referee training opportunity state-wide, where the refs are peer evaluated.... Full story
Sisters remains a "distressed community" by the standards of the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department (OECDD.) Sisters earned that dubious distinction last year. This year, the community can take cold comfort in knowing that Sisters shares the label with the rest of Deschutes County. Back in March 2008 Sisters was labeled a "severely distressed community" by OECDD. Michael W. Anderson, economic analyst with the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department, based in Portland, explained, "the agency uses bot... Full story
Last weekend, the Deschutes Land Trust hosted a nature program at the organization's Metolius Preserve. Billed as an "ectotherm walk," naturalist and writer Jim Anderson and herpetologist Al St. John quickly turned the program into a multi-discipline nature walk. Together, the pair spent two very educational hours sharing the preserve's natural history with a group of Land Trust guests. Ectotherms are what we refer to as cold-blooded animals: in short, any animal that is... Full story
Maybe it's the name; but, the last time I hiked Misery Ridge, I couldn't get anyone to go with me! It wasn't all that miserable, but people who like flat trails may be less than enthralled with some of the very steep pitches that cross over the backbone of Smith Rock. Many people mistakenly refer to the state park north of Redmond as "Smith Rocks," but sometime in the past it was arbitrarily decided that Smith would get credit for only one rock - the really big one. John... Full story
