News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
Blues music lovers gathered this Fourth of July holiday at the Central Oregon Blues Festival in Sisters. The three-day event at Creekside City Park began the evening of July 3 and ended late at night on July 5. While the main action was at the park, blues aficionados took the music to the midnight hour at Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill and Saloon each night. The steady crowds were a mix of locals and visitors. People came from Pocatello, Idaho, after finding the festival Web site... Full story
Christine Jones will serve this year as chair of the Sisters School Board. Jones was named to the post in a unanimous vote during the board's July 1 meeting. She takes the post at a critical time for the district, as stagnant enrollment and a softening economy pinch budgets and Sisters voters decide whether to support a renewal of a "local option" tax to support the schools (see related story, page 22). Ensuring the passage of the local option tax, which provides a vital $1... Full story
As dozens of volunteers wrap downtown Sisters in quilts for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday, July 12, organizers will be preparing for a major transportation operation. Cascade Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic between Pine and Larch streets from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., turning the downtown corridor into a pedestrian mall. Flaggers will divert through-traffic around Sisters on Barclay Drive through the Sisters Industrial Park. Eastbound through-traffic will be sent... Full story
Ann Richardson, executive director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, gets around town in the week prior to the show. One of her many stops over the Fourth of July weekend was at Sisters Coffee Company on Sunday evening. Richardson introduced a presentation that is close to her heart: the Quilts of El Shaddai. El Shaddai is an orphanage for survivors of Rwanda's genocide, located in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. A unique quilting project has created a way for the boys of the... Full story
To the Editor: Kathryn Godsiff's letter concerning the two abandoned cats in a box and her own experience with her daughter-in-law's unwanted cats bears a desperate note for education. Godsiff suggests "guilt-free" euthanasia. The example set by euthanizing healthy animals is an insensitive product of a throw-away society. Euthanizing healthy pets does result in insensitivity and emotional distress in anyone with a normal, healthy conscience. A veterinarian's profession (similar to a medical doctor's oath) is a dedication to... Full story
BEND (AP) - Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, 48-year-old Kent Couch flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho. Couch, who owns Sisters Market as well as a gas station in Bend, created a sensation in the tiny farming community of Cambridge, Idaho, where he touched down safely in a pasture and was soon greeted by dozens of people who gave him drinks of water, local plumber Mark Hetz said. "My wife works at the City... Full story
For book-lovers, the day of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is every bit as greatly anticipated as the day is for quilters. It is the day of the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) Book Sale. Starting Friday evening at 5 p.m., all members of FOSL can browse the thousands of books donated by Sisters area residents, guests and friends. Then on Saturday, the general public is invited to pick what they want from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The income from the annual book sale, the continuou... Full story
Inventions spring from necessity, but they also come because the inventor just wants to have fun. That's the case with the "HangRider" designed by Nick Cristiano, whose company, AlloyLogic, is based just outside of Sisters. After three-and-a-half years, quite a lot of money and much fiddling, Cristiano's trademarked prototype is road-ready. Whether the road is ready for it is another question. In a matter of minutes in downtown Sisters, the HangRider drew a crowd of admirers... Full story
"The fools. They could have had jade." An old folk tale claims that Montezuma said that referring to the Spanish invaders of Aztec Mexico in the 1500s. Supposedly, the Spanish held Aztec leader Montezuma captive and demanded piles of gold as high as his armpit in ransom. It's a great story and one that illustrates the value placed on jade in the Aztec culture, according to Mike Burkleo, one of 35 presenters at the 12th "Sisters Roundup of Gems" last weekend at Sisters Elementa... Full story
If there were worries about high gas prices keeping people home over the holiday weekend, they were allayed by attendance at the Sisters Summer Faire last Saturday and Sunday. Crowds were on par with previous years, according to Jeri Buckmann, coordinator of the event. The Faire is sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. Buckmann has guided the event since 2000. She said all of the vendors she talked to "did really well." Buckmann said there were 95 booths,... Full story
Folks living on the south side of Sisters will soon have a chance to weigh in on the location of cluster mail boxes designed to provide easy access to mail when the Sisters Post Office moves to a new location. The U.S. Postal Service is expected to break ground on a new facility on Larch Street well north of Cascade Avenue later this month. The Sisters City Council agreed in a workshop Thursday morning that city planners should send out a mailing to those living near the 18... Full story
Cha-Cha is a new girl in town, and she knows how to draw attention. Stylishly adorned in the latest beach fashions, Cha-Cha holds court outside Siesta Suntan on Main Avenue She willingly poses for photos, and has been known to send little boys scampering to find their mothers. Cha-Cha is a mannequin, but not your average department store plaster dummy. Siesta Suntan manager Kathy Wolfe said the perfectly proportioned body seemed just right to show off some of the flirty fashio... Full story
Three auto racers from Sisters had a good first day in Seattle on July 4 at the Pacific Northwest Historics. Curt Kallberg, Eric Dolson and Jerry Taylor all had impressive runs in the race Friday afternoon. But the day was also marked with an unfortunate accident. Steve MacDonald of Seattle lost control of his 1969 Corvette at the end of the main straight during qualifying, and wadded it into a mangle of bent steel and shattered fiberglass. MacDonald was taken to the hospital... Full story
• An 18-year-old woman was arrested for fourth-degree assault and coercion after a domestic dispute with her boyfriend. • A citizen found a lost child, who was reunited with the parent. • A man was upset that an ODOT worker allegedly cussed at his 13-year-old son over some items left in a roadway. A deputy referred the man back to ODOT to make a complaint. • Someone damaged a stretch of textured sidewalk along Cascade Avenue. Some $500 in damage was done. Skateboarders are the suspected culprits.... Full story
Robin Ryan, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Featured Quilter, admits she is not usually at a loss for words. But when Ann Richardson, executive director of the Quilt Show, called to tell her she had been chosen as the featured quilter, Ryan was speechless. "She had to say, 'well, do you want to do it or not,'" Ryan said. Fortunately for Quilt Show attendees, Ryan, who lives in Bend, said an enthusiastic "yes." An accomplished and professional longarm quilter, Ryan finishes... Full story
The developers of the Lundgren Mill property at the northwest end of Sisters are seeking more time to make a final payment to the Sisters School District. The district sold the property to 3 Sisters Partners LLC in June 2005 for $3.3 million. A final payment of $700,000 is due in September. There is an interest rate of 3.3 percent on the unpaid balance. 3 Sisters Partners has asked the district to relax a 10 percent penalty that would come due if payment is not made on time.... Full story
John Robert Bolton died July 2, 2008 after a long battle with diabetes and kidney disease. He was born on May 7, 1934 in Los Angeles, California to Robert E. and Mary (Kopta) Bolton. As a youngster he grew up in El Segundo, California where he graduated from high school and became an eagle scout. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and his MBA from Stanford. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army reserves. He married Leslie Doyle in San Francisco in 1961. John held several executive positions in the... Full story
Larry Wayne Griffin was born in Vallejo, California on May 25, 1939. He married his wife, Ruth, on September 3, 1961 in Carson City, Nevada. The family moved to Redmond in 1971. He had a career in cement masonry and was also a butcher. He loved fishing and hunting. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; two sons, Gary Griffin and Robert Griffin; and one grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Leslie. Deschutes Memorial Chapel & Gardens is in charge of arrangements. No services will be held. Contributions... Full story
The Camp Sherman Store celebrated its birthday along with the nation's last weekend. The excitement of the 90th anniversary began at 10 a.m. on July 5 and the evening ended about 12 hours later. The morning's exhibitors included something for everyone. Silver Moon Brewing of Bend owner Tyler Reichert gave out sample after sample of his brews which are sold at the Camp Sherman Store. The brats and burgers were on the barbie out on the lawn. Chicken burgers, hamburgers, beans, potato salad and green salad were served by the... Full story
There wasn't much suspense involved in the Sisters School Board's decision to seek a local option tax on the November 2008 General Election ballot. No one involved with Sisters schools think the district can do without it. The board agreed at their July 1 meeting to go to voters next November. While local option was originally conceived as a modest infusion of cash to assist the district in purchasing books and educational materials, over the past eight years the district has... Full story
Sisters is gaining a reputation for fiber art that goes beyond quilts, and the annual Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll is proof. Now in its fifth year, the stroll on Saturday, July 5, was the kickoff to Quilt Week and gave locals and tourists a chance to enjoy rubbing shoulders with the artists - without the literal rubbing of shoulders that happens on Quilt Show day. "We wanted to expand activities and give people an opportunity to go into sponsoring businesses without the... Full story
Camp Sherman will host its own quilt show this week. The Pine Needlers of Camp Sherman will have 60 quilts of varying sizes on display at the Camp Sherman Community Hall on Friday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Be sure to look up: several of the quilts will be draped over the rail on the upper level of the hall. Admission is a $2 donation and children are always free. Lunch items and desserts will be on sale, presented by a group of husbands who call themselves the Pine... Full story
Oregon Volleyball Academy's 17-and-under team finished 14th in the nation at the 25th Annual Volleyball Festival held in Reno, Nevada, last week. It was the best finish a Bend-based club has accomplished at this distinguished tournament. The volleyball festival, held June 28-July 3, is one of the largest annual amateur sporting events in the world, with a history of drawing some of the best teams in the nation. Over 10,000 participants, and more than 100 college scouts attended the event. The festival is a test of endurance... Full story
