News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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From the day I sold my home in Kirkland over 16 years ago, in preparation for moving to Sisters, most areas of my life have fallen nicely into place. I was lulled into a false sense of maintaining this charmed life. All was smooth sailing — until one morning last October when a simple dog-walking jaunt resulted in a fairly serious fall, amazingly resulting in only a broken nose. My nose quickly healed, the bruising subsided, and life went on as usual, for two months... Full story
A hail and windstorm ravaged indiscriminately throughout Central Oregon recently. Gardens and farms tended with love, faith and fortitude were in shambles. Other people and places were untouched — maybe a little rain and whipping winds, but nothing that a hammer or a rake couldn’t fix. No trauma, just inconvenience. Why were some spared and other not? Was a score being kept, leaving swaths of punishment, hardship, and adversity? During these times, challenges and trials continue to mount. Is that by design? Or by v... Full story
“Well Bill, we’ll just trust the Lord” When I was 12 years old, my father, who was a building contractor, fell 20 feet off a scaffold and broke both his legs and one arm. When I, (with my mother and siblings), arrived at the hospital, my first concern was if my dad was going to live. Once that was assured, my fear turned to how we would survive, as my dad was our only source of income at that time. I said to him, “Dad, what are we going to do now?” “Well Bill, we’ll just trust the Lord,” was his reply. I’d heard that before f... Full story
A Facebook item spotted by my wife, Kathi, noted the posting person’s most useless purchase of the year: “my 2020 planner.” The collapse of the travel industry in the wake of the novel coronavirus has definitely limited our adventures and unique wildlife experiences. One that we managed to squeeze in last year, however, was visiting penguin colonies in the Falkland Islands. Our first-ever wild penguin sighting happened to be a single, swimming specimen in New Zealand. Just... Full story
The Xerces Society, one of the leading world-wide insect conservation organizations, put on a four-hour Bumble Bee Atlas webinar a couple of weeks back. Right in the middle of it, the presenter, Professor Rich Hatfield, paused in his recitation on bumble bees and placed an illustration of the Asian giant wasp on the screen, saying: “This is not one of our local bumble bees, it is the “murder wasp” that’s hit the headlines recently. The reason I put this in my program is beca... Full story
“Teacher Scout! Come look! I found something!” a 5-year-old student called out to me. I put aside my lesson plans and went to see what had captured him so completely. “It’s a spider!” Sure enough, the young naturalist was placing his hands gently on the ground so the spider could crawl onboard. For some reason, this particular student never demonstrated the patience and fortitude to listen to anything I had to say about leaf shapes, ungulate tracks, or which berries were ined... Full story
The technique we call quilting crossed many borders and played a part in ancient history. From the beginning, quilts have told human stories, reflected religious and philosophical beliefs, and revealed what people wore, either out of necessity or as adornment. Stitched into layered linen with cotton stuffing inserted to raise sections of the design, faces of those who lived thousands of years ago look beyond the edges of quilts into a future they’d find hard to believe. R... Full story
Rumor has it that during Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) Sisters establishments sell more wine than they sell beer during Sisters Rodeo. What could be even better than a cool glass of wine on a warm July day? Possibly a frosty fruity wine cooler. Wine coolers have been bottled and sold by commercial distributors since the early 1980s. The term “wine cooler” was originally a description of a drink that a bartender would make by combining wine and various other ingredients to make a refreshing summer beverage. Think Sangria o... Full story
To provide free admission to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, SOQS organizers depend on business sponsors, quilt sales, donations and their membership, Friends of the Show. SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd says the membership is like being an Oregon Public Broadcasting supporter: “It’s a way for people to feel more deeply involved in supporting the show.” Membership levels offer a richer connection with SOQS and ways to support the annual quilt show and participating busin... Full story
Since 2007, quilters who participate in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show have turned their talents to helping others. The Wish Upon A Card Fundraiser & Fabric Challenge started as a partnership with the St. Charles Foundation/Wendy’s Wish (Wendy’s Wish disbanded in 2015). The Wish Upon A Card Program continued, with proceeds supporting the SOQS Scholarship Program benefiting Sisters High School students. Quilters from all over the United States and instructors of Qui... Full story
Quilting has been integral to Diane Tolzman’s daily life for the past 20 years. In 2014 when her 9-year-old grandson, Devin, showed an interest in learning the art of her craft, she was glad to serve as a model of inspiration for the future generation quilters. “I was always quilting when my son, his wife and their kids moved up here to Sisters six years ago,” Tolzman explained. “Devin was 9 at the time and spent time watching me quilt and then decided he wanted to make hi... Full story
Entrepreneur Jean Wells Keenan has been an innovator in the quilting world for over four decades. Creating a business out of her passion, Keenan then took her talents as a teacher, artist, author, and quilt shop proprietor to another level. It all began modestly in 1975, when Keenan, proprietor of the Stitchin’ Post, and her friend Kathy Howell, another business owner nearby, decided to host a small summer fair in July and hang a few quilts outside near her shop. During that t... Full story
What do words like whimsical, abstract, bright, playful, and unexpected all have in common? For Tonye Belinda Phillips it’s how she describes her motivation and design for this year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) raffle quilt. Phillips realized a long time ago that yielding to constraints about making everything match doesn’t work for her. She’s proven over her quilting career that her instincts are correct. The raffle quilt, “My Kind of Town,” has a joyful musicality... Full story
Jean Wells knows a thing or two about starting, running, and nurturing a business. She opened Stitchin’ Post in 1975 and grew the quilting shop into a robust commercial success with a stellar reputation and national recognition. That same know-how fostered the birth and longevity of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) as an event, and eventually a well-managed nonprofit organization. For many, quilting conjures up images of peaceful blocks of time creating quilts, s... Full story
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), the world’s largest outdoor quilt show in the world will be reinvented into a virtual experience in light of the COVID-19 restrictions. There will also be fiber arts on display in the Clearwater Gallery honoring Jean Wells Keenan’s work as the Featured Gallery Artist for the 45th SOQS anniversary. Clearwater Gallery in Sisters showcases a brilliant display of regional and local artists whose works represent a variety of artistic mediums. Loc... Full story
The City will soon have the services of an AmeriCorps intern for 11 months, starting in September. The person filling the position will be part of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) federal program administered through the University of Oregon. According to City Manager Cory Misley, who served as a RARE intern while in school, they will be interviewing possible candidates to find the person who best fits the areas in which they will be working —... Full story
You’ve got your dog protected from fleas and ticks for the summer so now it’s time to take him on a camping trip with your family. However, there’s a whole heap more in Central Oregon that can harm Rover besides fleas and ticks. Your furry friend may love to run through the creek and lap up water, but there is danger: the tiny intestinal protozoa giardia is found in nearly all streams, rivers, ponds and lakes in Central Oregon. A dog can acquire giardia by ingesting an infec... Full story
Visitors returning to the High Desert Museum after its three-month closure will meet a new mammal in the Museum’s care — an approximately 12-month-old, female gray fox. The as-of-yet unnamed fox arrived at the Museum shortly before the facility’s closure to the public. She was found severely malnourished and with a seriously injured hip as a pup in southwestern Oregon. She was brought to Bend after surgery to remove part of her femur. The fox also was wearing a col... Full story
The High Desert Museum’s signature fundraiser, High Desert Rendezvous, returns on Saturday, August 29, at 6:30 p.m. The lively evening this year will take place in the virtual world. This marks the 31st year of the High Desert Rendezvous, making it one of the longest-running fundraisers in Central Oregon. The online event will include special programming, auction items and a raffle, and it will be free to all to attend. “The High Desert Rendezvous is one of the Museum’s most celebratory events of the year,” said Museum... Full story
Local Sisters’ business T&M?Hauling started quite by accident when co-owner Thys (rhymes with peace) Kuitert was attending a residents meeting in Tollgate early this year. He clearly heard the need for pine needle removal services for both homes and common areas. Having recently relocated to Sisters from the valley, Thys wasn’t looking to start a new business, but his history as general manager for Junk King started the wheels turning. For those who are unfamiliar, app... Full story
There’s nothing more American than a backyard barbecue. Memorial Day weekend typically marks the start of summer when grilling in the backyard is a great way to cook during the warm season. It’s a time to break out the apron and tongs, fire up the gas or charcoal and listen to the sweet sizzle of a steak and corn on the cob. Barbecue, according to research done by The Smithsonian, began during the Colonial Era in Virginia. Colonists observed Native Americans smoking and dry... Full story
Some weeks ago, a friend invited me to check out a statement his company had posted online. It began “Black Lives Matter” and went on to say earnest things about race. He and his business partner are White men with a successful enterprise near Portland. The statement looked out of place amid photos of agricultural items and posts about weather conditions. I felt curious and nonplussed. I’ve met friends and customers of the two owners, people of various races and ethni... Full story
The City of Sisters supports creating a community as safe and prosperous as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The science shows that use of face coverings significantly reduces the spread of the virus, especially in indoor environments. Governor Brown’s order to wear face coverings in public indoor spaces is an attempt to keep Oregon open. If we cannot diligently exercise social distancing, hand washing, and wear face coverings, while public health officials continue to expand testing and contact tracing, we may move b... Full story
This summer, Deschutes County’s Department of Solid Waste is hosting special one-day collection events in La Pine, Redmond and Sisters where residents can drop off household hazardous waste for free. “This is a great chance for people to get rid of their household hazardous waste, which can be difficult to dispose of in a safe way,” said Timm Schimke, Deschutes County’s Director of Solid Waste. “Events like these help people dispose of hazardous items correctly and helps keep them out of the of landfill.” At each event, resi... Full story
On the Deschutes National Forest there are approximately 700 known caves, which are often abused by forest users, including vandalism, lighting fires, playing music, excavating and removing geologic and archaeologic resources, installing permanent anchors or bolts for climbing, leaving human and domestic animal body waste, and disturbing bats and other wildlife. The Deschutes National Forest is seeking public comment on a proposed Cave Management Forest Order that would prohibit specific activities in and around caves where... Full story
