News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
Competing values are tangled in a dogfight over Sisters Eagle Airport. A revitalized airport is seeing increased flights and thriving business activity that spurs the local economy. But some local residents are feeling that all that activity is coming at the expense of their tranquility. In recent weeks, there has been an uptick in complaints from neighbors about the noise from planes - takeoffs and landings, and in particular the circling of a skydiving plane as it gains... Full story
On Thursday, June 16, five members of the Camp Sherman Hasty Team responded to Carl Lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area to locate a lost Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hiker. Alison Sterley of Anchorage, Alaska was located north and east of Carl Lake. Sterley told team members that her cell phone, which she was using for navigation, had died and the snow on the PCT had forced her down. Sterley used her DeLorme satellite device to contact search and rescue. Jefferson County SAR Coordinator Dave Blann said Sterley did the... Full story
City of Sisters planners and developer Hayden Homes are trying to determine the future of a portion of Hayden's housing development at the west end of town. The public hearing regarding Hayden Homes' request for a modification to their 2005 Master Plan of Village at Cold Springs was continued until Wednesday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. At their meeting last Thursday, the Sisters Planning Commission considered Hayden's request to withdraw the developed western portion... Full story
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." And over 120 talented dancers, ages 2-19, proved just that through their extraordinary performances at Sisters Dance Academy's annual spring recital on Saturday evening. The academy's choreographers, Sharri Bertanga, Tiffany Cormalis, Kayla Williams and Lonnie Liddell, organized and orchestrated 36 dance performances to a sold-out house at the Sisters High School auditorium. I... Full story
I share the concerns of increased noise from airplanes flying over Sisters expressed in Bruce Mason's Letter to the Editor of The Nugget (June 15, 2016). I read the letter the day after attending a meeting among the airport manager, city manager, and members of the board of the Indian Ford Ranch HOA. The HOA had written a letter to the airport and to the City of Sisters concerning the increase in airplane noise from takeoffs/landings and circling for hours over Sisters. The opening statements of the meeting were sobering and... Full story
To the Editor: I am also very concerned over the offensive noise pollution from the skydiving business at Eagle Airport. Each weekend and some weekdays the drone of the skydiving airplanes circling over Sisters Country mimics that of an annoying mosquito circling one's head. It doesn't matter where you are - at home, hiking a trail, biking, shopping, dining outside at a local restaurant - the noise is with you. The constant drone of the skydiving plane gaining altitude becomes difficult to ignore. When the folks of Sisters... Full story
The Mckenzie Pass on Highway 242 bridging Sisters to the Mckenzie River Recreation Area is not only a beautiful scene but a beacon for cyclists. The county typically keeps the road closed many months into spring, which means cyclists get to enjoy a closed road with a better experience and fewer nerves. On Saturday, Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) hosted a supported group ride with the intention of sharing the experience many in Sisters take advantage of all spring.... Full story
Raucous, boisterous, annoying, disagreeable are just a few terms used to describe the Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). Granted much of their behaviors can be described as loutish, and appreciating these forest birds can be challenging, however the mixed blues of their feathers are nothing but stunning and observing their creative ways is intriguing. The Steller's jay is a master mimic; crying babies, red-tail hawks, cats, dogs and other birds are just a few calls heard fro... Full story
Sisters Folk Festival will host a free summer concert series at Fir Street Park, supported in part by The Roundhouse Foundation. On Friday, July 15, award-winning songwriters Beth Wood and RJ Cowdery will perform as a co-bill to kick off the series. Beth Wood is a modern-day troubadour and believer in the power of song. Her exceptional musicianship, crafty songwriting and commanding stage presence have been winning over audiences for 18 years. Beth's music is a soulful,... Full story
Sisters Middle School students in Susie Werts' fifth-grade reading class created a Monarch Butterfly Waystation at school as a part of their "connection infection" reading integration program this spring. Werts works with her students to have them connect what they are reading to the real world. Several months ago the students read an article about what insects do in the winter. The follow-up discussion in class led to reading an article about monarch butterflies and how they... Full story
• Tickets are now on sale for the 19th annual Quilts in the Garden home and garden tour, presented by the Sisters Garden Club on Thursday, July 7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The $15 tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce office and The Gallimaufry, and provide admittance to five local gardens and several homes. Visit www.sistersgardenclub.com for information. • Three Sisters City Council positions will be open for election in November. To qualify for the... Full story
A new crop of Sisters High School graduates has set off into the future. And they've had some help determining what their path into that future might be. All juniors and seniors at Sisters High School (SHS) receive an opportunity to work with the ASPIRE (Access to Student Assistance Programs In Reach of Everyone) program. The program, managed by Rick Kroytz, a half-time grant-funded contractor, and two volunteers - Diane Russell and Phyllis Smith - has been an extension of the Sisters High School counseling department for... Full story
In conjunction with the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, some of the quilts made and donated by local quilters for the third edition of the Men Behind the Quilts calendar are currently on display in the main room of the Sisters Library. Hanging from the large wooden beams are quilts of every description, with the month of the calendar noted in the lower right-hand corner. These quilts are used to carefully cover most of each of 12 Sisters men who contribute their time and effort... Full story
Jon Hosler and Norman Garrett have been working together for years in the culinary world. Now they are together again in a new Italian restaurant in Sisters, called "R Spot." "We saw a need for Italian food in Sisters," Hosler said. "With all the options, there was no Italian." The name is indicative of what Hosler, Garrett and front-of-house manager Jennifer Martell are shooting for with R Spot - a sense of community and neighborhood. It's R Spot as in "our spot" -... Full story
Bob Quick should be dead. Instead, he's on his bicycle, rolling across America. Last week, he and his traveling companion, Troy Easton - a paramedic who helped saved his life - climbed over Santiam Pass and down to Sisters Fire Hall. Not bad for a man with the lower third of his heart dead. According to his web site, Quick has advanced stages of coronary artery disease, a hereditary heart problem that - combined with a less-than-healthy lifestyle - caused him to have a... Full story
"Mother Nature cooperated," said Brett Hudson of the 19th annual Outlaw Open. The last of the 100 golfers who turned out for the fundraising golf tournament at Aspen Lakes was off the course before the skies opened up in a deluge. The team of Lawrence, Green, Green and Pope took championship honors. The prestige of victory is always sweet, but the mission of the Outlaw Open is something different: raising funds for athletic programs at Sisters High School. This year's tally... Full story
An inspiring event happened last week in Bend, as the state's most seasoned athletes arrived for the Oregon Senior Games. The senior games provide a testament to longevity the athletes possess for an active life. It's a showcase of refusing to succumb to the preconceptions of aging. It's a group of people who don't allow small setbacks or natural declines to stop them from enjoying the game; a pure showcase of sportsmanship. An aging body begins show signs of wear and tear. Aches, pains, and loss of muscle mass. Decreased per... Full story
Quite often, I am asked to recommend a hike that can be enjoyed by small children or people with limited mobility. So, occasionally, I like to feature a hike that is hardly a hike at all. Let's call it an "outing in the woods." The Jack Creek Trail is probably the premier local hike in that category. It offers a short, flat, obstruction-free trail in a park-like setting, with a truly remarkable natural phenomenon as a destination objective. I have even seen families with... Full story
Ray Allen Powers died on June 16 at Anna's Home in Sisters after a six-year struggle with Parkinson's and Lewy Body Disease. Ray was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to Josephine and Ralph Powers. The family moved to Medford, Oregon, when he was 11 years old. He attended Griffin Creek Grade School. Ray graduated from Eagle Point High School in 1958, after having served in the Naval Reserve since 1956. His active duty began in 1958. He was discharged from the Navy in 1960. Ray began... Full story
Know this: a great deal of the life of this man is a mystery even to his family. No child or wife or relation knows his story beyond the part they played themselves and what stories they can remember. It's not that he was closed about what he had lived and done, simply that it's too much for anyone to know, too strange to know whether to take seriously and now lost to the world. In the days, weeks, months and years to come, his family will try to untangle and piece together... Full story
Working with golden eagles over these past 50-plus years has been - and continues to be - an adventure, most times glorious, and other times shocking. Eagles are and always will be a high point of my naturalist experiences, as they have been long before I rolled into Oregon on my Harley in 1951. Back in the mid-'50s I discovered the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service had a gang of trappers who were using a lethal poison known as 1080 to kill predators. It was also killing... Full story
Sisters Outdoor Quilts Show (SOQS) announces sponsors and event details for the 41st annual Quilt Show which will take place Saturday, July 9, with events, workshops and activities during quilt week, July 3-10, 2016. "Infinite Stitches" is the theme of this year's show and the 2016 poster, created by Sisters artist Kathy Deggendorfer. The 41st annual event is presented by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Robert Kaufman Co, Inc. is a converter of quilting fabrics and textiles for... Full story
