News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Friends are remembering Jan Reed for her creativity, spontaneity and love of life. Several friends shared memories in the days following the plane crash that took her life along with that of her husband of nearly 25 years, Bill Reed. “She was the funniest person I ever met,” said her longtime friend Kathie Helser. Helser met Jan before she and Bill were married, sometime around 1977 or ’78 and they “just instantly clicked and started palling around together.” Bonnie Malone ha... Full story
Sisters lost one of its most prominent and active businessmen when Bill Reed died in a plane crash in the San Juan Islands on Friday, July 1. While they acknowledged Reed’s drive and business success, his friends recalled a man who was devoted to his family and to the Sisters community and quietly generous to people who needed a hand. As a co-owner of Coldwell Banker/Reed Bros. Realty and Best Western Ponderosa Lodge and many other local properties, his presence was a large o... Full story
City of Sisters building inspectors made workers at the old middle school on the corner of Highway 20 and Locust Street stop work and put away their tools on Thursday, June 30. Then inspectors padlocked the door to the school because crews were doing new construction without a permit. After a flurry of discussions, the school district obtained a permit on Friday and was expected to resume work this week. A crew of workers, under authority from Sisters School District Facilities Manager Bob Martin, was supposedly doing demolit... Full story
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is promising logistical support for analyzing the benefits of an alternative route south of Sisters. The route would be designated a county road. The possible local “bypass” or alternative route was broached at a Sisters City Council Workshop held with ODOT officials last month. The workshop was intended to prepare council members for a decision concerning a Hood/Main Avenue couplet. City Manager Eileen Stein presented the image of a bypass drawn by council member Brad Boyd. An... Full story
Crowds strolling through Sisters last Saturday, July 2, saw the many artistic interpretations of fiber. From llamas to quilts and spinning to weaving, people at Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll got a sneak peek at this Saturday’s Quilt Show. At The Stitchin’ Post, fiber arts strollers enjoyed Betty Carlsmith’s oil paintings of quilters. As an art major, Carlsmith began painting and then tried quilting later in life. In an example or “art imitating life,” she has even pain... Full story
Jan Lau of Redmond will display her quilts as the Featured Quilter at the 30th Annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday, July 9. Strollers during last Saturday’s Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll got a sneak preview of some of those quilts. Beacham’s Clock Co. sponsored Lau during the stroll. Lau began her retirement in 2001 with the goal of making one quilt. Today she’s made over 50 quilts and her skill has grown with each one. Once she joined the Ridge Rippers guild... Full story
The latest vacancy on the Sisters School Board will be filled by appointment, probably by the end of the month. The vacancy is being created by the pending resignation of Tom Coffield, who made his intentions known at the June 27 board meeting. Coffield was elected in 2003 and has two years remaining in his term. The person chosen to succeed him will serve those last two years, with the option of running for a full four-year term at the end of that time. Coffield told his colleagues he would stay in office until the end of... Full story
Artist, illustrator, author and casting master Jason Borger comes to Camp Sherman this July to highlight the fourth Metolius River Bamboo Rod Fair, set for Saturday, July 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Borger did the magnificent “shadow casting” and fishing for actor Brad Pitt in the 1992 movie “A River Runs Through It,” by Robert Redford. The film is credited with bringing fly fishing to the masses and popularizing the sport as never before. Borger will demonstrate the casts seen on the silver screen and others techniques that will h... Full story
To the Editor: In response to John Shepherd’s letter to the editor — I do not live in Sisters, yet upon reading Mr. Shepherd’s letter I felt the need to respond to his contention that the work “Beloved” is inappropriate reading material for junior and senior high school students. I too am a parent and I understand Mr. Shepherd’s desire to decide what is proper for his son to read. Yet this is seemingly another step towards desensitizing our children to the harsh reality of the world outside of the high school environs. I... Full story
The dropout rate for Sisters High School more than doubled from 2002-03 to 2003-04. That sounds bad. But the story behind the numbers provides a different perspective. In the first place, the 2003-04 dropout rate was still only 2 percent. That’s less than half the statewide average of 4.5 percent, according to the annual report issued last month by the Oregon Department of Education. But Sisters High School Principal Bob Macauley, who was out of town when the state report was issued, last week shed further light on the s... Full story
Erik Hanson, 40, of Sahallee Country Club in Washington won the Oregon Open held at Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters last week. Hanson, a former Seattle Mariners pitcher, carded a three-day six-under-par to take home the title, ahead of a slate of professional golfers. Hosting the tournament was a boon to the local golf course, where a major construction project for a new clubhouse is currently underway. “Things went great. The weather was perfect and everyone really enjoyed the course,” said Aspen Lakes’ head golf profe... Full story
The annual Fourth of July weekend fund-raising breakfast for the Camp Sherman Community Association (CSCA) was held last Sunday, July 3. Many hundreds of breakfast eaters filled the historic Community Hall continuously over the holiday morning. The summer weather allowed the overflow to use picnic tables adjacent to the hall on the outside lawn and enjoy their hearty breakfasts. CSCA members served pancakes, ham, eggs, juice and coffee during the morning festivities. Friends, old and new, and visitors, shared stories of... Full story
Sisters residents and visitors looking to catch the latest summer flicks now have to go no further than the east edge of town. The Sisters Movie House opened its doors for business in the FivePines development near Sisters Athletic Club on Thursday, June 30. The theater served just over 200 moviegoers the first day, according to developer and owner Lisa Clausen. “It was like a fire drill the first day, but things actually went quite well,” she said. “We had a dry run the n... Full story
Hayden Homes Developers are revising their application for a housing development on the west side of Sisters under the direction of the Sisters Planning Commission. The developers will come back to the planning commission on August 18, with fewer requests for exceptions to the city’s building and zoning guidelines. Hayden Homes has drastically changed its approach in creating a planned unit development of 400 homes. The proposed development near Sisters Middle School lies in an area of the city that is zoned as a m... Full story
Wheel Fun Rentals has opened shop on the lawn at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, renting surreys, “deuce coupes” and bicycles from 9 a.m. to sunset for hour-long tours of town. Joanie Krehbiel is Wheel Fun Rentals’ Central Oregon representative. She has rentals at Black Butte Ranch and Eagle Crest and as far south as Sunriver. A former recreation manager at Sunriver Resort, Krehbiel saw establishing herself at the chamber center as an ideal oppor... Full story
A Cloverdale couple’s Measure 37 claim has been rejected by the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) after having been granted an earlier waiver by Deschutes County commissioners. That decision was announced last week by LCDC. The state ruled that E. J. and Gertrude Leason are not eligible for a waiver because they transferred ownership of the property in 1995 from their names to a corporation, Pine Ridge Ranch. The Leasons have stated that this transfer was made for estate planning purposes. The state’s rul... Full story
The annual SOAR track camp provided four days of running, jumping and throwing for about 25 kids ages 8-14 last week. The camp, directed by head high school track coach Ross Kennedy and assistant Jim Anderson, along with some high school team members, is designed to introduce young athletes to the various events of track and field in a low-key yet instructional manner. The youngsters were introduced to sprinting, hurdling, running, pole vault, long jump, and high jump during... Full story
It may be causing some frustration and short delays now, but in the future a new Lake Creek Bridge on Highway 20 west of Sisters near Suttle Lake will make it a safer ride for those traveling over the Santiam Pass. Progress on the bridge replacement near milepost 87 is ahead of schedule and on budget, according to Dan Knoll, spokesman for Region 2 office of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) in Salem. “Completion date for the bridge replacement is September 20, 2... Full story
What does a person do when he retires from a career as a host and hotel/motel manager? For a former Sisters resident, the answer to that question was an easy one: become a campground host for the summer. Lonnie Gates and his wife Vangie are enjoying the summer as campground hosts at South Shore Campground at Suttle Lake. Since early June they have been working as volunteers for Hoodoo Recreation Services, the company that has the maintenance contract for this campground and... Full story
Large crowds, good weather and a new tradition helped make Camp Sherman’s holiday weekend a festive one. A planned event — “A nearly 4th of July parade” — was called off because of the timing and necessity of filing parade permit papers with Jefferson County. Instead, a group of local Shermanites gathered for a “walk” on Saturday, July 2, afternoon starting at the Community Hall and progressing along the one-mile trail to the Camp Sherman Store. The Ponderosa-lin... Full story
Wynona May Lowe of Redmond died July 1 after a sudden illness. She was 75. A funeral will be held on Wednesday, July 6, at 11 a.m. at Highland Baptist Church in Redmond. She was born on February 2, 1930 in Alamosa, Colorado, to parents Walter and Juanita Archer. She moved to Oregon as a child and came to Sisters in 1947. She married Evan Lowe in Sisters in 1949. While primarily a homemaker, she worked many jobs, including as a cook at The Gallery Restaurant for many years and as a camp cook at Camp Hancock in the John Day... Full story
Growing up in La Grande, Oregon, Rob Clarke was a long way from the ocean. Somehow, though, he conceived a great love for the sea and a fascination with sailing. He didn’t get much closer to the big blue water when he came to Sisters as a pioneer paramedic with the Black Butte Ranch Rural Fire Protection District from 1986 to 1991. Yet the move was a big step toward where he is now — poised to sail with one companion from Newport, Oregon to Hawaii in his hand-built sailboat. C... Full story
The Sisters Folk Festival is featuring the Second Annual Deering Banjo Picking Contest presented by Angeline’s Bakery and Café on Saturday, September 10. Last year’s winner, 15-year-old Alex Truax, wowed the crowd with his fast finger-pickin’ style. Contestants will vie to be next in line to showcase their talents. Contestants will bring their banjo and a $20 entry fee to the Angeline’s Bakery and Café Stage and sign up. The winner receives a Deering Good Time Banjo and Gig Bag as well as time on the Main Stage to open the... Full story
A climber with a broken leg and a possible concussion spent a tough evening on Mt. Washington on Friday evening, July 1, as rescuers worked to air lift her off the mountain. The Oregon National Guard’s 1042nd Medical Company, responded to a request from the Office of Emergency Management and Linn County to assist in the rescue of 25-year-old Joann Ding of Hillsboro who was injured on the east face of Mt. Washington. One UH-60 Blackhawk and crew was dispatched from the Army A... Full story
Over the years, Sisters residents have become accustomed to having celebrities as neighbors or visitors to the area. Retired and active professional sports figures, musicians, politicians, and others who have been in and out of the public eye all come to Sisters for the same reasons as everyone else — the scenery, the climate and the laid-back lifestyle. Many residents have become acquainted with Karl Farr, Jr., son of one and nephew of another of the original five members o... Full story
