News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 37
An old abandoned dump site was discovered at the proposed Hayden Homes subdivision just north of Sisters Middle School. In addition to logging cables, logging camp trash such as syrup containers and old bottles, scrap metal, tires, cans, and things that would be generated by a railroad or trucking operation, about 50 barrels were discovered in two locations, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. There does not appear to be any dangerous material or... Full story
After nearly two years on the market, the “Multnomah Building” owned by the City of Sisters has sold for $500,000. This sale comes at a time when City Manager Eileen Stein is configuring the city’s budget to finance the new city hall. The proceeds of the Multnomah Building sale, approximately $460,000, according to Stein, will be used to fund part of the construction of the city’s new facility. The building was the former home of Multnomah Publishers, who have moved to a fa... Full story
Sisters voters turned down a request for a local option tax levy from SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) by a wide margin in the May 17 election. Some 1,342 voters said “no” to the proposed 35 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation property tax levy while 939 voted in favor. The ratio of defeat was 57 percent to 40 percent. “It was crushing,” said SOAR board member Bonnie Malone. “It was quite shocking.” Postmortems are always tricky and neither Mal... Full story
Thirty years ago, a home economics teacher opened a fabric store in a tiny mill town with an uncertain future. “I was naïve. I knew sewing and I knew merchandising,” Jean Wells said. Today, Wells runs the thriving Stitchin’ Post, which is the oldest business in Sisters owned by the same person. Wells is responsible for starting the biggest event in Sisters — the world-renowned Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. She’s published several quilting books, taught classes all over the c... Full story
Long-time Sisters residents will hardly recognize the newly-opened Sisters Market. The venerable Sisters institution located at the corner of Cascade Avenue and Elm Street has a new owner, a new look and a whole new approach to filling the wants and needs of the local Sisters community. Kent Couch purchased the market with ambitious plans. A Redmond resident, Couch has 20 years of experience managing Safeway and Thriftway stores and owns a Stop-and-Go convenience store in... Full story
Brainstorm NW magazine gave local golf courses high marks in its 2005 Oregon Summer of Golf issue. Courses were selected in three separate categories and included private and public facilities. A group of golf professionals were queried and came up with the results. Aspen Lakes ranked No. 20 in the Top 20 — Best Overall Golf Experience. In the Top 20 Values —The Best Value For Your Money category, Aspen Lakes Golf Course was No. 5 and Eagle Crest, Upper Ridge Course, placed 14th. In addition to the ratings by the pros, Bra... Full story
• The Elder Sister is re-opening for its 10th year on Thursday, May 26. A grand opening will be held from 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. Desserts and coffee will be available. The Elder Sisters is at 202 N. Fir St. • The adjacent Sisters Antiques and Sundries (223 E. Hood Ave.) is having a grand opening at the same time. • Rexford Holly Stationers is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, May 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Town Square at 161 E. Cascade Ave. • The Grand Palace Hotel will host a grand opening on Friday, June 3, from 4... Full story
Last week’s election will produce two new members for the five-member Sisters School Board. And one of them would like to see future elections of this kind done in a different way. In a post-election interview, Mike Gould, who was unopposed in seeking Position 1, now occupied by Eric Dolson, said: “I’m disappointed in the way the election turned out only from the standpoint that in a district where community involvement is so prevalent…it was disappointing to see two of the three school board positions be unconte... Full story
Two injured hikers caught in an avalanche on the southeast side of the North Sister were rescued late in the afternoon on Sunday, May 22, according to Lt. Michael Johnston of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. Nancy Miller, 40, and James A. Ellers, 39, both of Portland, were seriously injured during an avalanche on Thayer Glacier started by their crossing the glacier, Johnston said. Both Miller and Ellers were transported to the Sisters airport shortly after 6 p.m. by a Blackhawk helicopter from the 727th Oregon N... Full story
Local songwriters will showcase their original songs “in the round” during a performance at GFP Enterprises conference hall in Sisters on Saturday, June 4. The concert will feature Sisters Folk Festival Songwriting Contest winner Dennis McGregor, two-time contest finalists Brad Tisdel and Katie Cavanaugh, Brent Alan, Anastasia Scott, Joe Leonardi and Jim Cornelius. Proceeds from the requested $10 donation made at the door will benefit the Sisters Folk Festival. “There’s a lot of songwriting talent in this communi... Full story
For the past nine years for Alyssa Boley and the past eight for Kimberly Wilson, virtually every single Monday night of the school year has been spent in Bend practicing with the award-winning Youth Choir of Central Oregon. The pair performed in their final concert together on Sunday, May 22, at the Tower Theatre in Bend and were honored along with five other graduates for their contributions and dedication to the choir by director Beth Basham. Wilson remembers Boley... Full story
Jenny Boswell achieved her dream in winning both hurdles races at the OSAA 3A Track and Field Championships, capturing state titles in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. The meet was held in Eugene May 20-21 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. In the 100-meter hurdles, the tighter of the two races, Boswell exploded off the start and never let up, winning in a new state meet record time of 15.01 seconds. Angela Rear of Junction City was over a half second behind... Full story
The Big Meadow Golf Course at Black Butte Ranch has gone through a radical evolution. Over the winter, fairways sprouted treacherous new traps and old traps changed shape and depth. The natural course of fairways bends in subtle new directions. According to Jeff Fought, Director of Golf at Black Butte Ranch, the course opened 35 years ago, in 1970. The changes are an extension of the original vision of course designer Robert Muir Graves. “In 35 years the (golf) equipment h... Full story
Three Outlaw golfers earned all-league awards including Scott Barton, Scott Little and Richard Aime. Scott Barton was selected first team all-league. Barton averaged 71.2 out of the 10 league matches played and was under par six times. Scott was also the tournament medalist in eight of the 10 matches and earned individual medalist honors at the Central Oregon Classic. “Scott had as good a spring as any golfer I’ve ever had,” said Coach Jeff Barton. Scott Little earned second team all-league honors. According to Coach Barto... Full story
If the Legislature comes through with as much money as now expected, Sisters schools will have a no-cuts budget for 2005-06. It will be able to add five instructional days to the calendar, days that were cut this year because of budget restrictions. And it will add one English teacher to relieve a little of the classroom overcrowding at the high school. Superintendent Ted Thonstad gave the 10-member school budget committee that overview at its first meeting on the 2005-06 budget Monday night. The committee consists of the... Full story
A committee of parents and school staff members that reviewed Sisters Schools’ program for Talented and Gifted (TAG) children over the past four months has issued “five prioritized recommendations for improvement.” No. 1 on the list is: “Improve parent communications and promote two-way dialogue.” The other suggestions are: 2. Clustering TAG students and training teachers to lead their classes. 3. Getting more time and staffing for TAG. 4. Adding more elective classes. 5. Conducting ongoing evaluation of the program.... Full story
The third and final eighth-grade retreat of the 2004-05 school year took place in Camp Sherman on Friday, May 20, as the class of 2009 wrapped up the three-part series with some final group challenges and a bit of community service. A fall retreat took place at the Methodist Church camp at Suttle Lake and the winter outing was at Hoodoo Mountain Resort. The objectives of the retreats, according to principal Lora Nordquist, include building teamwork, instilling responsibility,... Full story
Two towering blue spruce trees that loomed over the east entrance to the old Sisters School District building at the corner of Locust Street and Cascade Avenue are gone. According to district facilities manager, Bob Martin, the trees had to be removed because “both the architect and the landscaper, Mike Burke, told us they were undermining the sidewalks and footings” of the building. The site is to be refurbished and used as an administrative site for the school district, par... Full story
To the Editor: I recently received an email from my son, Sgt. Jason Newton, who is in Baghdad as a member of the 3rd Infantry. He hasn’t been there very long... just a few weeks. Up until this time he has watched the conflict from a distance; watched his comrades get shipped out one by one. He’s not one of those “gung-ho-shoot-’em-up” type of people who think there is glory in combat. Rather, he believes with his whole heart and soul in the fight for freedom and equality for all peoples, for all nations. He is a loving, compa... Full story
The current proposal to amend additional market regulations in Sisters should be rejected for many reasons. First and foremost, when we petition the government to limit access to a free economy, we are then also surrendering political power. The notion that Sisters will suffer from a sense of placelessness/facelessness and that large corporations will clench “the invisible hand of the free-market” into an invisible fist for dominating the marketplace is a fallacy pressure groups often use for seeking something through gov... Full story
Man, since he first walked out the swamps of Africa — or if you prefer was driven out of the garden of Eden — has been dependent on the Earth’s natural resources for home, food and fiber. Some people are responsible for their actions when harvesting such resources. Others? Well, history speaks for itself, especially when it comes to fashion… During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, egrets such as the one pictured above, were hunted almost to extinction for only one reason:... Full story
Here are some movies you can use to prod your family into a sense of historical consciousness, maybe even awareness, perhaps saving them from the fate of this week’s film heroes. Each of the men in The Remains of the Day, The English Patient, and Hotel Rwanda excels at his job and ignores what is happening around him until he has to face the consequences of his blindness. The Remains of the Day, a film version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Booker Prize novel, was made by one of the world’s most respected directors, James Ivory, with... Full story
Ruth Irvin Hartley Kenna, 92, died May 5, in Portland. A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 25, at Redmond’s Community Presbyterian Church, 529 NW 19th Street, Redmond, with a reception to follow in the fellowship hall. Mrs. Kenna was born in Redmond August 5, 1912, to Chad and Nell Irvin. She grew up in the craftsman bungalow style home designed and built by her father. The home at 417 NW 7th Street is part of Redmond’s Heritage Wal... Full story
Thomas P. Molloy, 83 years of age, died on May 18. He is survived by his beloved wife, Lillian R. Molloy and loving son Tom J. Molloy. A funeral will be held at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church at a later date. Arrangements are pending; a notice will be published in The Nugget.... Full story
Cloudy skies and the threat of rain did not keep 150 children and their parents from enjoying a children’s safety expo held Saturday at the Village Green Park in Sisters. Those attending learned safety tips, played games, won prizes and enjoyed free hot dogs and soft drinks. At the Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD) exhibit, children donned bright yellow rain jackets and helmets to test their skill in aiming water hoses to push balloons across a water tank. In a... Full story
