News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
Happy childhood memories at Black Butte Ranch (BBR) often include youngsters riding their bikes to the BBR store for an ice cream cone, tasty snack, or a refreshing drink. Pedaling with friends along meandering bike trails with curious grass-munching horses and cattle watching them pass, made the adventure even more exciting. But the general store was showing its age, with 50 years of being loved and visited taking its toll. Plans to reconfigure the building and location have... Full story
“I learned to draw as soon as I could hold a pencil,” Len Babb The Nugget last year. “My father taught me how to paint a horse when I was about six or seven.” Len Babb’s life as a Western artist and buckaroo will be turned into a documentary film — at the hands of a crew of Sisters artists. Sisters writer Craig Rullman conceived of the project, which carries the working title, “Running Iron: The Len Babb Story.” Rullman will write and direct; Sam Pyke of Hill Shadow P... Full story
The Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and the Crooked River National Grassland will extend free personal-use firewood cutting through September 30. The same procedures announced at the beginning of May remain in effect. Firewood cutters can forego the normal requirement to obtain a permit from a Forest Service office or vendor. This interim change to the firewood permitting process is an effort to maximize social distancing measures. After September 30, the Forest Service plans to return to the regular process of issuing... Full story
Tuesday, May 26, started the gradual reopening of Deschutes County Libraries. Books that were checked out months ago, can now be returned. The return process is a little different for each branch. Some of the library locations are able to have the book bins in an area to allow library patrons to pull in and hand the books to a library employee or toss them in the bin. People don’t have to exit their cars at all. The Sisters Library was unable to arrange the drop-off in that f... Full story
Campgrounds remained closed over Memorial Day weekend, due to COVID-19 restrictions. But that didn’t mean campers stayed home — they simply came to Sisters and set up camp dispersed out across the national forest. And that raised concerns from local residents about trash left in the woods, trees cut down, and campfires left smoldering. Dispersed camping is allowed in the forest, and it occurs every year. But Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid acknowledged that the o... Full story
Sitting around a campfire is one of the special times we all enjoy, but campfires are also a major cause of wildfires. May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and the Pacific Northwest Coordination Group urges campers to follow these basic outdoor safety tips: • Know before you go: Before going camping, always contact the forest district, agency or landowner first to learn if there are any current campfire restrictions where you plan to recreate. • Have water and fire tools on site: Bring a shovel and a bucket of water to... Full story
Despite disruptions associated with the coronavirus pandemic, Sisters remains on course to have a dedicated force of one lieutenant and three deputies through its new contract with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. Consistency of staffing was a critical component of the agreement — as close an approximation to having its own police force as Sisters can realistically afford to come. Sisters City Manager Cory Misley told The Nugget that Sgt. William Bailey, who s... Full story
The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District (SCSFD) has announced the promotion of Rachel Ulm to the position of resident volunteer lieutenant. Lt. Ulm will take over the senior position within the resident volunteer program on June 15, when out-going Lt. Rachelle Beiler completes the four-year resident volunteer program. Lt. Ulm came to SCSFD in June of 2019 to begin her experience as a resident volunteer firefighter. Prior to coming to Sisters, Lt. Ulm served as a volunteer... Full story
As the arrival of summer is just around the corner, it is not unreasonable to expect warmer weather to be a more frequent visitor to Central Oregon. Accompanying the more comfortable temperatures are changes in our night sky. So, while you’re enjoying a slice of early season watermelon way past your bedtime, don’t forget to go outside and look up — for you might see something amazing. Constellation families are groups of constellations that are either located in the sam... Full story
The countdown to the opening day of the Sisters Farmers Market is on. This Sunday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., market vendors, volunteers, and Seed to Table staff will provide local abundance. Under new management and increased safety regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors can expect a slightly different experience from years past. What isn’t changing, though, is the opportunity to shop a bounty of local goods, support our hard-working farmers and producers, a... Full story
The City has extended its emergency declaration until June 24, by way of administrative order. The emergency declaration enables the City to adopt temporary policies swiftly and be eligible for potential reimbursement of COVID-19-related expenses. Administrative orders have been used to implement several temporary policies and have that power vested through the emergency declaration. The City is working on items within its control to end the emergency declaration status as soon as possible. In order to do that, all temporary... Full story
The City of Sisters has parted ways with Community Development Director Patrick Davenport, bringing to an end his five-year tenure in the Sisters planning department. The community development department will continue to process land use applications and permits with Nicole Mardell, senior planner undertaking the burden of the work with support from Cory Misley and City legal counsel. Misley told The Nugget that he hopes to have a job offering out in a couple of weeks, but he does not expect a new community development... Full story
Three positions on the Sisters City Council are up for election on November 3. The terms of City Councilors Andrea Blum, Chuck Ryan, and Richard Esterman will expire on December 31, 2020. All three are eligible to apply for re-election. The first day to file for a City Council position is Wednesday, June 3. To be eligible a candidate must be registered to vote in Oregon and must have been a resident of the City of Sisters for 12 months preceding the election. Election materials can be found on the City website at... Full story
This is the second of a two-part series profiling Sisters High School (SHS) graduates who have seen their college experience disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kendra Kemp, SHS Class of 2015, recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Marina del Ray, California, majoring in dance. Her passion and major lie in one of the fields most affected by COVID-19: the performing arts. “This profession is going to look a lot different after this and I am looking ahead and pre... Full story
In last year’s Sisters Country Vision project, one of the most important elements identified that residents care about is maintaining the livability of Sisters Country as the population increases. Currently, a group of neighbors think they have found a way to encourage creating, maintaining, and deepening the sense of community that makes Sisters such a special place — growth or not. While we’ve all been sequestered in our homes due to COVID-19, these community bui... Full story
Thank you very much for your letter to the editor published in the May 20 edition of The Nugget. I sincerely hope that all intelligent and caring people in Sisters will read, digest and remember it. Perhaps The Nugget will even consider reprinting it closer to the Sisters City Council candidate filing date, and/or the election date, to remind potential candidates and voters. It appears that you have a mistaken understanding of both the Oregon and United States Constitutions, as well as the legal definition of perjury. As... Full story
To the Editor: As a member of and volunteer with the Sisters Rodeo for 14 years, my most special memory is this: A few years ago I was acting as an usher during an afternoon performance and just after our entertainer, John Payne the One Armed Bandit, finished his act and left the arena a woman came running up to me and with the most urgency said she had to speak to him. As we were near the main entrance into the arena I tried to explain that there was no public access but she continued to implore me for help. She looked down... Full story
Here at the office of The Nugget — your hometown newspaper — we consider ourselves among the fortunate ones. The press, like it or not, are deemed essential in times of crisis, so we get to work through this global pandemic. So most of our work these days centers around this crisis, and the pain and disruption that it is causing. All of us have seen friends and loved ones lose jobs over the past two months. One in four Americans have been forced out of their jobs. That’s pretty depressing for the out-of-work, w... Full story
In an outpouring of support for the class of 2020, staff members from all three Sisters schools lined the roadway and bus turnaround at Sisters High School cheering, ringing bells and waving signs as the seniors drove through to pick up graduation gowns and other materials on Friday, May 29. “It was one small way we could show our love for the seniors,” said SHS Principal Joe Hosang. High school teachers and support staff handed out packets that included graduation caps and... Full story
Many of Sisters’ trademark events are not happening this summer — but there is still plenty left to celebrate, including the “made in Sisters” class of 2020. The local nonprofit Citizens4Community and other volunteers are hoping all of Sisters will unite behind a new project that affirms the City’s small town atmosphere while honoring hometown high school seniors. The SHS Class of 2020 Street Banner & Keepsake project has been in the works for about a month, and the ban... Full story
Restaurants, bars, breweries, tasting rooms, and distilleries were all given the go-ahead to open under Oregon’s Phase I plan for recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown. After May 15, for the first time in two months, restaurants fired up their grills and employees put on their masks, allowing people to dine in and sit outside while following Phase 1 guidelines. The Open Door at Clearwater Gallery located on Hood Avenue opened their doors on the Friday that kicked off Memorial D... Full story
