News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
After many weeks of wrestling with cutting $600,000 from the school budget, interim superintendent Dennis Dempsey is scheduled to deliver his final budget recommendation to the Sisters School Board on Wednesday, June 2. The district's budget committee also chartered at their May 19 meeting to include a proposal for an additional $150,000 of cuts in staff (see "School budget committee to consider deeper cuts, The Nugget, May 26, page 1). At that May 19 meeting Dempsey said, "With all the cuts made last year, and the cuts... Full story
The celebration of Sisters High School Students Class of 2010 proved to be a memorable evening as students, parents, families and community members gathered last week to celebrate the successes of the approximate 135 students who will graduate on June 4. Despite hard economic times, the community of Sisters showed its generosity, distributing for the sixth year in a row over $100,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors. Six more scholarships were awarded this year compared... Full story
States and societies throughout history "send their best, brightest, youngest and poorest into harm's way to defend their way of life." So said Brigadier General Jim Cunningham (U.S. Air Force, Ret.) in the keynote speech at Sisters' annual Memorial Day observances at the Village Green Park on Monday. "We expect the soldier, the sailor, the airman, the Marine and the Coast Guardsman to step forward and sacrifice," Cunningham said. And the best way to honor that sacrifice, to... Full story
To the Editor: Last Wednesday evening, Sisters High School recognized all the graduating seniors of 2010. Over 77 local scholarships were awarded to some very grateful recipients. I was honored with two scholarships: One from the Sisters Kiwanis and one from the Sisters Rodeo Association. I would like to thank all the local citizens and businesses who give so generously to all of these scholarships. We, the students of Sisters High School, appreciate each and every scholarship offered. Trish Erickson Class of 2010... Full story
Emma Gerhart has only one complaint: "I'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other," she quipped to family and friends who gathered in Sisters last week to mark her 105th birthday. That cunning wit, along with personal fortitude, appears to have contributed to Gerhart's remarkable longevity. Or perhaps credit should go to her avant-garde lifestyle; she has been a vegetarian since the age of 30, supplementing with vitamins and minerals decades before it was fashionable.... Full story
The Sisters Kiwanis Club may be the largest in the Pacific Northwest, and it is certainly one of the most active. From scholarship programs to its vital community food bank, the service club contributes mightily to the Sisters community. For years, the club has staged its Buckaroo Breakfast on the Sunday of rodeo weekend, providing a hearty traditional breakfast to rodeo fans. It's a fundraiser for the club, but according to Kiwanian Michael Robillard, it's a lot more important than that: it's a chance for Kiwanians to get to... Full story
Sisters fifth graders exchanged their cozy classrooms last week for a chilly wind-whipped laboratory along Whychus Creek. Each fifth grade class spent a day along the creek in Wolftree's outdoor education preserve in the meadows along Camp Polk Road. The private outdoor education organization uses the area to provide hands-on experiences for students from across Central Oregon. Last Friday, a group led by Wolftree program manager Ashley Burry-Trice worked on a section of... Full story
Images of the native flora and fauna of Costa Rica will be on display at the Depot Café over the next two months in a show by Sisters photographer Lynn Woodward. Proceeds from the sale of prints from the show will go toward rebuilding the community of Yorkin, Costa Rica, severely damaged by flooding in 2008. The images were taken mostly from around the remote village community, which continues to be a special find for travelers, where they find gentle hospitality,... Full story
The High Desert Harp Society and the Cascade Community School of Music will present two of the most accomplished traditional harpists in the world, Grainne Hambly and William Jackson, in concert at Sisters Art Works, Wednesday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. Grainne Hambly, from County Mayo, Ireland, is a graduate of Queen's University, Belfast. She is an internationally recognized exponent of the Irish harp, and is in great demand as a performer and teacher, both in Ireland and abroad. She has attracted glowing praise for her live... Full story
Huge piles of pine needles, small tree branches and other yard debris line the streets of Tollgate awaiting pickup. The debris removal is free, which gives incentive to homewoners to make their lots more defensible from fire - and to reduce yard burning. Tollgate business manager Betty Fadely has championed writing grants and securing funds for continued work in the Sisters subdivision. "Our latest sweat-equity grant from Deschutes County Project Wildfire helps us reduce fuels... Full story
In spite of a lackluster snow year, so far there is no early access to high country trails. In fact, cool temperatures and May precipitation have actually added to the snowpack at higher elevations. The mid-April snow line had retreated to an elevation of about 4,000 feet. Now, in early June, snow cover is reported to still be as low as 4,800 feet. In areas of heavy shade or northern exposure, it may be even lower. Conversely, ground may already be exposed higher up in the... Full story
The Outlaws girls team, behind state champion long jumper Annie Mutchler, finished just 1.5 points from a trophy, placing fifth as a team at the OSAA 4A Track and Field Championships held at Hayward Field in Eugene, May 28 and 29. Philomath ran away with the team trophy, racking up 87.5 points. Rounding out the top six were Marist (59), Sweet Home (48), North Bend (46.5), Sisters (45) and Siuslaw (44). Mutchler won in dramatic fashion on Friday afternoon. Leading after the fir... Full story
Banks High School hit the long ball and took advantage of five Sisters High School errors to eliminate the Outlaws, 10-4, during state 4A quarterfinal softball action played at SHS on May 28. The loss ended the Outlaws' best season in school history at 22-6. Banks advances to the semifinals and will play Henley June 1. The Braves defeated the Hornets earlier in the season, 7-1. "Not the way we wanted it to end, but five errors created a lot of issues that are hard to... Full story
• Blazin' Saddles has donated a Patchwork Cruiser bike to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for a special raffle this year. The bike will be on display at Common Threads through June 25; tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Common Threads, Stitchin' Post or on the Quilt Show Web site at http://www.sisters outdoorquiltshow.org/events.htm#rafflebike. After June 25, look for the bike at various Quilt Show activities and events. Drawing is July 10, Quilt Show day, at 4 p.m. Winner need not be present.... Full story
Sisters High School softball second baseman Brooklyn Walker has accepted a scholarship offer to become a Northwest Christian University (NCU) Beacon. "This is very exciting," said Brooklyn, a senior who also ran cross country for the Outlaws earlier in the school year. "I liked the team and the atmosphere of the school. I'm very pleased with my decision." Walker, who was recruited by several other schools (including the U.S. Coast Guard Academy), said the recruiting process... Full story
The Outlaws were errorless on defense for the second game in a row but just couldn't get the offense going in their state playoff game against Siuslaw on Wednesday, May 26. Sisters lost 9-4, bringing their season to a close. Siuslaw scored nine runs off four hits in the first inning and took the wind out of the Outlaws' sails from the start. The Vikings came out ready and hit the ball when they had runners on base. Sisters scored one run in the first inning. Chase Kleint got... Full story
• A man was jailed on second-degree assault charges after an altercation with his roommate. It seems that they fought over the arrested party's drunken state. Later that night, the intoxicated man started beating on his roommate with an ax handle as the roommate slept. • A man complained about barking and roaming dogs. Their owners in turn complained about the man throwing rocks and shooting BBs at their dogs. A deputy told the man to stop doing that. • A deputy cut loose a deer that got... Full story
Parker Bennett, senior at Sisters High School, has been awarded the Peg Bermel Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) Annual Scholarship. "The FOSL Scholarship Selection Committee had a difficult time choosing just one award winner from a field of 20 student applicants," Norma Funai, Chair of the FOSL Scholarship Selection Committee said. Grantees of the Bermel scholarship are awarded $1,000 for two years to attend the college of their choice. Bennett plans to attend Willamette University next fall. The criteria for selection... Full story
It is said that "success" is doing what you want to do, doing it the best you can, and getting paid for it. In Sisters High School biology teacher Rima Givot's case one could add, "if it helps young people to think, all the better." Givot is at home teaching biology in her classroom, and she excels while conducting studies with her students in the field. The posters mounted near her classroom are but an example of how she wakes up the brains of her students. In this case, she... Full story
I celebrated my 50th birthday May 17 with an early morning run out through the woods behind Tollgate. The deluge from the thunderstorm the previous night had left the forest with that fresh sagey, pine fragrance so familiar to our area. I had just finished the book "Born to Run," which is a great account of ultra-runners from America interacting with the nearly mythical Tarahumara Indian runners from the Copper Canyon area of Mexico, so I was practicing running lighter (though not barefoot or in homemade sandals), which is ha... Full story
This is the time of year when most birds are in a big hurry. The males are setting up territories for their lady-friends when they arrive for the nesting season, and heaven help another male that gets in the way! Robins are notorious about this business of territorial battles. Time after time, I receive phone calls from Sisters' area residents who have a male robin bashing himself to pieces against a large living room window. All he's usually doing is fighting himself. In the... Full story
• Judah Slavkovsky has graduated from Harvard Medical School. Slavkovsky is the son of Theresa and Rick Slavkovsky of Sisters and grew up in the first Sisters Habitat for Humanity home in Sisters. Judah has long recognized Habitat's role in his success. "When I was 10 my family moved into this new house and I remember planting apple trees in the front yard with both of my sisters. We left behind a house where in the winter time ice would build up on the insides of the windows and where mold would grow on the walls,... Full story
The first Sisters Stampede Mountain Bike Race galloped out of the chute at Lazy Z meadow east of the FivePine Campus on Sunday. More than 368 racers in 25 categories from all over the state turned out to experience Sisters Country hospitality and ride the newly expanded trails of Peterson Ridge in a highly successful inaugural race. In full cowboy attire with Colt six-shooter, Bill McKinney and his quarter horse Skip led the first group of pro riders out onto the race course,... Full story
