News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
An 18-year-old Redmond man drowned Sunday evening at Scout Lake, just south of Suttle Lake. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, identified Monday as Christopher Lee Vincent, was swimming with friends toward a floating log. Vincent turned back. He appeared to struggle in the water and was heard calling for help. After a 9-1-1 call, Jefferson County Search and Rescue Hasty Team members responded to the lake, where they found the young man's body in about 12 feet of water about 100 feet off shore. Searchers... Full story
Denney Kelley has taken the reins as the new police chief at Black Butte Ranch. Carl Burnham, Jr., chair of the Ranch's police managing board, swore Kelley in Thursday morning in a small ceremony at the Ranch's administrative office. Kelley, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, comes to the Ranch from the Portland Police Bureau, where he served as a sergeant in the transit bureau, overseeing 60 personnel from 14 different agencies. It's a big change to come to Central Oregon to... Full story
Shiny chrome, proud owners and admiring onlookers filled Main Avenue last Saturday in the first annual "Glory Daze" car show in Sisters. The show was sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. Jeri Buckmann, events director, said about 100 participants registered on Saturday morning to bring the total participation to 180 cars. Beauties from yesteryear occupied several blocks on Main Avenue. Hundreds of people of all ages ogled the nostalgic reminders of America's... Full story
Governor Ted Kulongoski signed House Bill 3298, designating the Metolius River area as an Area of Critical State Concern last Wednesday at Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery on the Metolius River. This designation, and the corresponding management plan, prohibits the development of new large-scale developments, including destination resorts. The signing, which took place on the bridge to the hatchery, drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, which cheered as Kulongoski showed up in... Full story
As many of you may have heard, your city council is considering a small gasoline tax of three cents per gallon. We are not considering this lightly and have concluded, reluctantly, that this is the best course for Sisters. Allow me to explain. First, the Sisters street fund has never had a dedicated revenue source like the water and sewer funds, i.e. monthly payments from our citizens for those municipal services. Consequently, each year the council has appropriated $80,000 to $100,000 from the general fund to pay for street... Full story
To the Editor: I was dismayed to read the city council is again deciding on whether to add a 3 cent tax per gallon to our local gas stations in order to fund the street maintenance costs. This taxes only five companies in Sisters though all our other shops benefit from the local folks and the traffic that comes to/through Sisters as much or more than the gas stations do. More importantly, all the citizens of Sisters appreciate and use all our streets, wherein many tourists only stop and park on Cascade Avenue, then they may... Full story
Artist Tom Browning has won the 2009 Prix de West Purchase Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum. An oil painting of a young pioneer woman peeking out the window of a rustic cabin to watch the sunrise earned Browning the prestigious award. "The Dawn of a New Day" will be bought by the museum to be part of its permanent collection. The painting was priced at $18,500. Browning also received a $5,000 cash prize and the Prix de West medallion. The... Full story
The 30th annual Cascade Cycling Classic, a multistage professional bike race which includes Lance Armstrong as one of its past winners, sweeps through Sisters on Wednesday, July 22, during Stage 2 of the multi-day race. The CCC, sponsored by Bend Memorial Clinic, is a national/world-class event, so getting a chance to be a front- row spectator is a rare and exciting experience. The race runs July 21-26. The 79.7-mile Stage 2 will begin at Summit High School and head toward Redmond and on to Terrebonne before coming toward... Full story
"To the sky, release," Laurie Adams of ODFW told the little kids at the practice pond. Meanwhile, at the big pond, John Judy, fly fisherman, author and guide, instructed the bigger kids, those over age 20: go up the river, down the river, cast. Saturday's eighth annual Metolius River Bamboo Rod Fair was an opportunity to meet and greet the industry's rod makers, fly tyers, and booksellers. There was a table representing the local Hero Quilters, who make quilts to send to... Full story
The Infamous Stringdusters turned the grass at Black Butte Ranch blue last Friday in the first collaboration between the Ranch and the Sisters Folk Festival. The concert, which drew about 350 people out to enjoy music against a backdrop of lake and mountain, was a benefit for the Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Project and Americana Project students. Program alumni opened the show. Laura Curtis will be attending Willamette University this fall because of its strong academic... Full story
Lisa Fetrow and Carolyn Platt dash to the front of the stage at Angeline's Bakery and Café. Soon they're singing: "Piggy, piggy, oink, oink, snort!" Then they're dancing. They are improvising a bacon commercial, and their audience roars with laughter. The two Sisters women are members of the Bend improvisational comedy group, Triage. (Improv comedy is the art of making up scenes based on audience suggestions.) The group performed at Angeline's this month and is slated... Full story
Amid the din of clanking dishes and silverware, a unique sound can be heard at SOJI Noodle & Rice in Sisters - the ping and pong of table tennis. Table tennis, better known as pingpong, is an immensely popular Asian sport that has long been a favorite in the West, and now it has its own venue right here in Sisters. Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. are now set aside as open play time at the Asian restaurant. Owner Jay Bower has invited players of all skill levels to visit the rest... Full story
If you can't keep your horse at home, the next best thing is a boarding arrangement where your equine partner gets consistent care in intimate, settled surroundings. Paul and Alison Weston, of Weston Equine Services, LLC, aim to provide just such a setting at their newly opened boarding facility. Located at the corner of Highway 126 and Holmes Road, the Weston's describe their place as "a nice, quaint boarding facility that is conveniently located." The property has undergone... Full story
• The family of Stephen Connolly, who was severely injured in an ATV wreck last month, wrote: The Sisters community continues to amaze us. This weekend, Randon Beech, Hayden Wester, Kaity Douglass and Ben Fullhart sold raffle tickets for original, framed Quilt Show 2009 artwork by Dan Rickards. They surprised us with a visit to the hospital and presented us with a very generous gift. We can't tell you all how touched we are! Fr. Logan stopped by and shared with us an another amazing story of the generosity of the... Full story
Each summer for the past four years, Sisters teacher Clay Warburton has been helping local youth get in touch with their inner artist. His "Creative Genius" art camp at Sisters Elementary School brought together 45 kids - third graders to eighth graders - to make traditional Japanese Koi-Nobori kites. "They're used today to celebrate National Kids Day," Warburton noted. Numerous parent volunteers helped the kids put together the kites, which are made of Tyvek, a tough... Full story
The Sisters/Redmond Junior Little League All-Star softball team will carry a 20-3 record into the state tournament on Saturday. The team, managed by Rusty Bellew and coached by Tom Rowe, will open play Saturday at 1 p.m. against Forest Grove's all-star contingent. The tournament will be played at the softball complex at 50th and Steele Streets in Portland. A victory puts them on the field again at 6 p.m. on July 26. The championship game will be held July 29. And what do the... Full story
Sisters schools will get a bigger and better dose of instruction in history, thanks to a pair of recently awarded federal grants. A $1 million grant awarded to the High Desert Educational Service District will provide professional development resources for teachers from elementary school through high school to improve their ability to create effective lesson plans and to differentiate instruction for all the students in their classrooms. Sisters High School teacher Bill Rexford will be the grant director. The first year of... Full story
July 15 marked the release of the sixth installment of the wildly popular Harry Potter film franchise. Twelve years ago, the novel "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was released in Great Brittan. Since then, the novel has spawned six sequels, a huge fan-base, and a film series that is a treat for the mind, the eyes - and the box office. Sisters Movie House was one of the hundreds of theaters worldwide to show the new film "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." Sisters, like any city, found itself under the spell... Full story
Umbrellas and easels sprouted in strange places along the banks of Whychus Creek last weekend as Sisters hosted the first Whychus "Paint-Out." The outdoor art competition attracted 30 Plein Air artists from across Oregon to capture their vision of a wild river that few people know. Artists had only four hours to hike, paint, frame their piece, and return it to Sisters Art Works for judging. "Plein Air" comes from the French expression "En plein air" which is commonly... Full story
11 Sisters High School Graduate, Thomas Schantz, has been awarded a full-ride Marine ROTC Scholarship. Schantz, a dedicated student, state tournament wrestler and Associated Student Government leader, is eager to enter what he calls, "a very different world." "I've been dreaming of military service since I was in sixth grade," he said. "It's such an honor to be selected into the program." Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a college-based officer-commissioning... Full story
• Deputies are investigating a series of burglaries and attempted break-ins that occurred Sunday night across Sisters and the industrial park. • Deputies are also investigating multiple thefts from vehicles over the past week. • A 62-year-old man was arrested for drunk driving and resisting arrest. His blood-alcohol content was .32 percent. No, that's not a typo. And he was walking and talking. • A deputy responded to Village Green Park where a man was reportedly running about in nothing but a... Full story
The dog days of summer may mean 90 degrees in the shade outside, but inside at Sisters Art Works, it's just dogs and more dogs. From dog dishes, sculpture, paintings and trays, The Dog Show is staged to honor man's best friend and to support Sisters Furry Friends program, which donates food and spay/neuter certificates to pets in need. The pet food program for the Sisters area began in 1993, in conjunction with Sisters Kiwanis Food Share program. Donated proceeds from The Dog... Full story
Stephen Connolly, 17, passed away peacefully on July 20. Stephen was born on May 27, 1992, in Portland Oregon. Stephen loved the camaraderie of his Sisters High School Outlaws teammates and the challenges of his favorite sports: lacrosse and football. In fact, he was ready for just about any outdoor adventure or sport such as snowboarding, mountain biking and camping. He loved sitting around the campfire with family and friends. Stephen will be remembered for his mischievous smile, great sense of humor and his love of... Full story
The Sisters Park & Recreation District has funds available for children who would like to participate in summer recreation programs and need assistance with registration fees. In this economy, many families do not have the money to enroll their children in summer recreation, sports, and enrichment programs, and SPRD has received some generous donations and grants to help all families in the Sisters area. The City of Sisters has recently made a $4,000 grant for youth scholarships. Scholarship grants have also been given by... Full story
Stephen Connolly of Sisters died Monday, July 20, as a result of injuries sustained in an ATV wreck on the evening of June 16. Connolly and a friend were riding on a gravel area of Pine Street north of Sisters when Connolly hit a puddle and was thrown from his four-wheeler. He sustained serious injuries and did not regain consciousness. Connolly succumbed to severe brain injury at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. The Connolly family continues to be grateful for the support they have received from the Sisters community. An... Full story
