News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
The U.S. Forest Service has a long history in the city of Sisters. And it looks like that history could be even longer due to some changes in Forest Service plans for its proposed new administrative site. The total 67 acres owned by the Forest Service on either side of State Highway 20 at the northwest end of town has been the subject of years of speculation, dreaming, and concern about what would happen to the property when the Forest Service announced it was selling the... Full story
The Sisters High School Jazz Band brought home first-place honors from the Jazz Band State Finals held at Mt. Hood Community College on May 18. Band Director Tyler Cranor recognizes a significant accomplishment for the young musicians. “That is the first state title since 2003 and the first since we were a 4A school,” he said. Bands at the festival are judged by a three-judge panel on musicality, quality of sound and stage presence. The band played three pieces: a shuffle tun... Full story
A late-afternoon lightning storm that moved through Sisters Country on Tuesday, May 28, struck and damaged three structures and surrounding trees. The first incident was reported at 2:54 p.m. when a homeowner on Peterson Burn Road reported a smoke odor in the main house on her property. A second structure on the property, an Airbnb that was occupied by renters at the time, also reported a direct strike to their structure, that reportedly knocked everything off the walls.... Full story
To the Editor: The letter written by Elizabeth Burns last week is so disturbing that I just have to comment on it. It’s so wrong in so many ways. I’m a lifelong educator, as well — which I’m embarrassed to say after reading her letter. Her statement automatically pinning the blame on people because of their sex, color and age, is disgusting. “Like so much in this country old white men ....” So to follow her logic, young non-white women are automatically not ever at fault? What about older women then? What about non... Full story
Sisters Folk Festival is celebrating the 2019 Americana Project release along with the completion of 40 hand-made guitars and ukuleles through the Americana Luthier Program. On Wednesday, June 12, students of the Sisters Americana Project, led by Rick Johnson, will be releasing their 16th full-length record, “There and Back,” with songs written and recorded by students of Sisters High School. The concert is at 6:30 p.m. at The Belfry in Sisters. In the Americana Project, the educational outreach program of Sisters Folk Fes... Full story
Over the past decade, the Crest the Cascades ride on the old McKenzie Pass has become one of Sisters’ signature events. The ride events kick off on Friday, June 14 with a pre-ride registration and party sponsored by Blazin Saddles Cycle-N-Style. Riders can come by Blazin Saddles to pick up their ride packet and enjoy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. The Saturday, June 15 ride starts and ends at Village Green Park in the heart of Sisters. The route offers a 30-mile ride to the... Full story
Diane Prescott wears a variety of different hats for the Sisters Rodeo Association — and a cowboy hat is just one of them. One of her major volunteer efforts is in creating about 450 welcome bags for Rodeo contestants. Prescott and a crew of willing hands gather swag from around the community — “anything useful for the cowboys” — and assemble it for presentation. Prescott also paints, works on the landscaping, assists in selecting and distributing the Sis... Full story
Five and a half years ago, upon hearing that six horses out of the Ochoco herd near Big Summit Prairie had been shot, Carol Statton grabbed her camera and took a ride that would change her life. She and her husband, Randy, headed out toward Walton Lake, not knowing where or what she’d find. After several hours, they “came upon what I thought was a mare and a foal,” she said. “I spent so much time just watching them; at one point, I started walking backwards toward my car, st... Full story
Way back a thousand years ago, when I came off the desert to try once again — reluctantly — to reconcile myself to the vagaries of human civilization, I committed a cardinal sin: I sold my saddle. In the world of buckaroos this is a subject so taboo — like sitting in a baseball dugout and suddenly starting a conversation about The Yips — it is better off left alone. But this is, after all, rodeo week, and some stories still have happy endings. I sold... Full story
Life can be redirected in a split second. For Catherine Cowles, a horseback riding injury sent her on a road trip to find a quiet, peaceful place to recover. When the journey of exploration led to Sisters, she knew she had found the perfect spot. What she didn’t know at the time was that it would also birth her life as a published romance novelist. Being a lifelong voracious reader, it almost seemed natural that this new chapter in a new place would lead to a new career t... Full story
Five years ago this month, Brandon Pollard, then a senior at Sisters High School, stood atop the podium at Hayward Field, crowned the state champion in the 800 meters. Two hours earlier, he had engaged in an epic battle in the 1,500 meters, where he finished a very close second in 3:58.83, that left him so spent he was not certain at all about even making it to the starting line for the 800. He regrouped and won the title, going away in 1:57.69 Such is the courage, tenacity,... Full story
Last Friday I met up with my riding buddy and true Vaquero horseman Jeff Gates at another friend’s ranch off of Dusty Loop Road in Tumalo. I had recently purchased an old Hamley saddle that my legendary cowboy/logger friend Steve Bennett used at his family ranch in French Glen, Oregon. Jeff brought his two horses, Concho and Slick. We switched a couple straps around, adjusted the stirrups, added an additional pad, and my new-old saddle fit Slick perfectly. I had ridden this ta... Full story
Golfers at the Outlaw Open, June 1, enjoyed great weather, delicious food, and fun times, according to organizer and Head Football Coach Neil Fendall. Nearly 90 golfers took part in the event, which included 18 holes of golf, a catered dinner, as well as raffles and other contests within the day, netting approximately $15,000 for the football program. Team members were on hand to help check in clubs, load carts, sell raffle tickets and bus tables. The volleyball team staged a... Full story
The nonprofit education farm Seed to Table is thrilled to join the Sisters Farmers Market on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fir Street Park. The farm’s booth offers the community crisp salad mix, sweet carrots, deep red beets, rainbow radishes, and beautiful plant starts. Despite the cold long spring, the bounty is plentiful. This will be Seed to Table’s first year at the Sisters Farmers Market. The farm is excited to further our reach and help provide communities with fre... Full story
A fine mist of dust, electric-yellow, descends upon Sisters Country this time of year. It lands on decks, cars, and roads. It shudders onto the forest floor and sifts into people’s hair. It’s ponderosa pine pollen, the trees’ way of saying, “Hey, baby, let’s make saplings together.” The pollen bursts from the prominent male pollen cones to be seen on branch tips this time of year. It’s dispersed at random by the wind. Each grain contains air sacs to help it remain airbor... Full story
One day a few years back, I staked out my favorite table in the bustling coffeehouse. It was an antique school desk, wobbly and funky, resting near the great stone hearth. I was new to Sisters. I’d visited many times, but now I actually lived here. We camped in a little trailer in Deschutes National Forest. Then we bounced around furnished homes, from Black Butte Ranch to Pine Meadow Village. Sisters Coffee, with its brews and breakfasts and friendly strangers, felt more l... Full story
The only golden eagle cam operating in the U.S., located just north of Sisters, has been transmitting some pretty exciting footage over the last few weeks. Viewers have been witnessing what appears to be a very cruel event in the life and times of golden eagles: the starvation of one of the young. Last Thursday, May 30, the younger and weaker of the two eaglets fell out of its cliff nest to the banks of Whychus Creek below. The “good news” for those who have been worried abo... Full story
This year marks Sisters Dance Academy’s 10th anniversary and Lonnie Liddell, owner and artistic director, couldn’t be more excited and humbled by how the studio has grown over the years. Liddell began teaching dance over 12 years ago after moving her family to Sisters. When Liddell and her family first moved to Sisters in 2006 there was a small studio in town called “Dancerfly” run by Sundi McClain. Liddell’s oldest daughter, Makenna, was 5 years old at the time and Lonnie re... Full story
With the arrival of summer just around the corner, it is not unreasonable to expect warmer temperatures and clearer skies to make viewing a parade of upcoming celestial events a pleasant one. True, we get a late start for evening observing because of Daylight Saving Time, but that’s not likely to change until enough people decide to do away with the unnecessary ritual. The Summer Solstice does indeed arrive later this month — on June 21 at 8:54 a.m. PDT to be exact. O... Full story
Beth Eckert’s photo collages, hanging in the Sisters Library Computer Room this month, are happy combinations remade of photographs she took years ago. They portray her favorite things, and trace her life’s journey from New York and Vermont to Oregon. Going back to the 1970s, Beth made her living by restoring hundreds of antique quilts all over the country. There was, and still is, great value in the work only a skilled hand can do. But the hand sewing took its carpal-tunnel t... Full story
An 18-year-old man was airlifted to the hospital in the wake of an incident at Black Butte Ranch on Sunday, June 2. Black Butte Ranch Fire Department, Black Butte Police Department, and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded at about 2:19 p.m. to a report of a drowning at Phalarope Lake located on Black Butte Ranch. When medics and officers arrived, it was found that three witnesses to the event had gone into the lake and brought the victim to shore. Medics immediately began CPR, and when stabilized the v... Full story
“Mick” (Michael Wayne Henderson-Hunter) of Sisters passed away May 21, 2019. Mick deeply loved his family and friends, which will forever be his legacy. Mick was dedicated to enriching his community through heartfelt care and concern for each person he served. His capacity for compassion was innate and endless; he dedicated his life to bringing joy to others through his infectious laugh, warm smile and loving embrace — best hugs ever! If there ever was an individual who... Full story
Friends and family of Tom Terril were deeply saddened at his sudden death on Sunday, May 19. He was born in Bend on November 24, 1924, to parents Clarence Thomas Terril and Laura (Rand) Terril. As a boy, Tommy delivered The Saturday Evening Post with his red wagon. He attended Reid and Allen schools in Bend. The family moved to Salem, where he attended Parrish Junior High School. He graduated from Salem High School in 1943. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1943 to... Full story
Ted Creason, age 70, passed away at his home on Wednesday, May 29. He was born in Fort Hill, Oregon, the son of William Creason and Lyda Hagebush. He served in the National Guard from 1957 to 1962. While in high school, Ted was in the cast of the Walt Disney movie “Comanche,” which was filmed in Central Oregon. His small but memorable role was as a rider in the cavalry. After high school graduation in Woodburn, he moved to Salem. Soon after graduation, he married “Wi... Full story
At a special meeting of the Sisters City Council last week, councilors gave the green light to Hayden Homes to develop their 195-plus-unit housing development, McKenzie Meadow Village, located off McKinney Butte Road next to the high school. Four of the five councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 496, with a number of conditions. Mayor Chuck Ryan was not in attendance. He had previously recused himself from any hearings or discussions regarding MMV because of... Full story
