News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
5 p.m. Tuesday - As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 1, Crossroads and Edgington Road residents will be allowed to return to their homes, fire officials announced. Proof of residency will be required by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. Approximately 475 residents were evacuated on Thursday, July 27 when winds pushed the Black Crater Fire closer to the communities. The Black Crater fire near Sisters is currently 9,200 acres. "This is still an active fire," said Sisters District Ranger, Bill Anthony. "Since snags in this area pr... Full story
The brownish plume of smoke drifting over Sisters the past few days has taken its toll on some scheduled events and local businesses. Saturday's Sprint Distance Triathlon, sponsored by Sisters Athletic Club, was canceled. Approximately 30 local athletes had planned to participate. The triathlon was to begin with a short swim in the Athletic Club pool, followed by a six-mile cycle climb up Three Creeks Road where participants turn around and ride back down; the event was to... Full story
2:30 a.m. Tuesday - Residents of Crossroads and the Edgington Road area may be returning home on Tuesday afternoon. Black Crater Fire Incident Commander Mike Quesinberry told a smaller-than-usual crowd at Sisters High School that he planned to tour the fire at lunch time, but that "all indications are that you folks will be back in your homes this afternoon." Quesinberry said that the fire remained the top priority in the nation Tuesday morning. The task force of engines from around the state brought to the Sisters area to p... Full story
The Black Crater Fire rallied the community spirit of Sisters - and the rest of Central Oregon. As the flames and smoke rolled closer and closer to Sisters, more and more people began to prepare for the eventual evacuation of their homes. At the same time, residents safe from the advancing fire and those who felt they could help were also gearing up. The first to open its doors was the Sisters School District. Without delay, school officials put out the welcome mats at the middle and high schools and cooperated with the agenc... Full story
If wildland firefighting is a young man's game, nobody told Bill Selby. The 71-year-old firefighter fought his first blaze in Washington in 1958. Last week, he was an operations section chief on the northern rim of the Black Crater Fire, leading the burnout operation that let fire crews get a handle on the raging blaze. What is a 71-year-old retired guy doing hiking over tough terrain, sucking up smoke and working all night long? "I like it," he said. "Keeps me in shape. The... Full story
The Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts is a reality. The school will open its doors to 30 Sisters students in kindergarten through sixth grade for the 2007-08 academic year. Charter schools operate as public schools under Oregon law and receive public funding. The Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts, a legal entity in its own right, will function as part of the Sisters School District. The Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts will offer a core curriculum, as required by... Full story
Smoke has not dimmed the enthusiasm or great tunes emanating from the 18th annual Booher Family Music Camp. Next door to the middle school fire camp, at Sisters Community Church, 250 students, guests and top-notch musicians are gathered this week to hone their musical skills. Students have come from across the United States and even France to practice fiddle, guitar, piano and bass. Their full days of classes culminate with a public performance this Friday. "We gear the whole... Full story
Editor's note: Like all in the Sisters community, the staff of The Nugget thanks the firefighters who have battled the Black Crater Fire and the fire crews and law enforcement personnel who have been protecting our homes (Three of our staff members were evacuated). We have received many kind comments thanking us for our coverage. We appreciate the kudos and the suggestions; it is very gratifying to all of us that our Web site has proven a useful service to people in the community and to those across the nation who love... Full story
A lack of firefighting resources dogged the effort to fight the Black Crater Fire, but that effort was aided by the weather. Though some nasty winds played a large roll in the blow-up that forced evacuations of Crossroads and Edgington Road on Thursday, July 27, the weather overall was more cooperative than might be expected at the end of July. Temperatures in Sisters dropped into the 70s (and the 30s overnight) on Sunday and Monday and humidity rose, allowing firefighters two days in which to consolidate gains made in an... Full story
Each year more than 850 women are booked into the Deschutes County Jail. Many of them leave without even their basic needs met. "If they are arrested barefoot, they are released barefoot," said Sundance Shoes owner Terry Cheatham. For six years, Sundance Shoes owners Terry and John Cheatham have been helping women walk out of jail and start a new life. This year, Sundance, located in Town Square, is making its biggest donation of 160 pairs of new shoes to Bridge to Hope... Full story
Business might have been off in Sisters last weekend due to the Black Crater Fire (see story, page 1), but the old show business adage that "the show must go on" played out at Aspen Lakes Golf Course. Aspen Lakes Golf Course did not cancel its free golf clinic and Sunset Serenade on Sunday evening. "Every time we have a Sunset Serenade event, we give an hour free golf clinic," said Grant Cyrus, Aspen Lakes General Manager. On Sunday, head golf professional Derek Johnson and as... Full story
Local artists and volunteers gathered behind Sisters Art Works at 204 W. Adams Ave. early Friday morning, July 28, to lay sod for a new venue for the Sisters Folk Festival. The new site will provide a venue to host outdoor shows and concerts for the festival and other organizations throughout the year. The new space will consist of a covered stage and a grassy area for people to bring lawn chairs and blankets when attending performances. Erin Deggendorfer, Executive Director... Full story
Danny Baldwin's hard work on the ice has paid off. The Sisters teen is now in Norway on a select team representing his country in competition with Norway's best young ice hockey players. Baldwin and his teammates will play six games including one in the Olympic Ice Cavern Arena in Gjovik which was the site of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics ice hockey games in 1994. As a goalie, it takes Baldwin about 15 minutes to dress in all the protective gear required to fend off... Full story
Mrs. Elfrieda "Frieda" C. Harris of Sisters died on July 28, 2006 at the age of 85. Frieda was born on December 5, 1920 in Alva, Oklahoma to parents Ford R. and Laura G. (Allen) Farris. She graduated from Goldfield High School and married Donald F. Harris on November 12, 1942 in Tonapah, Nevada. Frieda moved to Bend in 1951 and to Sisters in 2004. She was a homemaker and member of the First Baptist Church of Bend since 1953. She loved gardening, knitting, crocheting and... Full story
Dawn Davi Roberts died July 28. She was the loving mother of daughter Hailey Roberts and son Trevor Roberts. Other survivors include brother Houston McCoy of Menard, Texas and sisters Susie Bernst of Plano, Texas and Leslie McCoy of Clinton, Mississippi. She was owner and operator of Belladawna Hair & Nail Salon. Her firiends and family stated that, "She was a friend to everyone. Being from Texas, where everything is big, her heart was bigger than the whole state. She will be deeply missed but always in our hearts." A... Full story
Sisters Kiwanis Club members recently donated $3,300 to community projects. In addition to previous donations this year, the club has provided a total of $28,500 to local groups and organizations. The club approved the following donations: • $1,000 to the Think Again ParentS (TAPS) program to help pay for ads and Town Hall Meeting to reduce the use of alcohol and drugs by underage youth. • $350 to the Sisters High School softball program for signs for the new softball field. • $450 to SOAR for signs for a new... Full story
The Belle is a new store in Sisters with old-fashioned appeal - yet there is an international company behind it. The store, which holds its grand opening this weekend, touts its "cosmetics and fancy goods." The Classified Cosmetics it sells were developed by a couple with Sisters connections. Yolanda and Rodger Halston created a one-of-a-kind spray on foundation for post-surgery patients. However, the aerosol can which works like an expensive airbrushing machine quickly... Full story
The High Desert Classic horse show concluded its second week on July 30 at the J Bar J Youth Ranch in Bend. Sisters is well represented at athletic events in Central Oregon, and the High Desert Classic is no exception. Sisters riders showed in several rings from pony jumpers to level three jumpers, and in equitation and medal classes. Emily Christen and Megan Foster, both nine years old, competed in the pony jumpers and the low and beginner jumpers. In the latter classes, the... Full story
While hundreds of firefighters were on the line in the forest trying to contain the Black Crater Fire, dozens more were stationed in Crossroads, along Edgington Road and in Tollgate waiting to battle the blaze if it stormed into residential neighborhoods and threatened homes. After Crossroads and Edgington Road were evacuated, four task forces including fire engines from departments across Oregon scrambled to meet the threat. Firefighters came from Lebanon, Hillsboro, the... Full story
The Sisters Folk Festival Board of Directors is announcing an extension on the Early Bird rate of $60 for All Events Badges through August 7. Day tickets will be available on August 1 as announced. "We know travel costs are high and there are quite a few opportunities for great music out there" says Executive Director Erin Deggendorfer. The festival features Old School Freight Train, Ruthie Foster, Chris Smither, Darrell Scott, Adrienne Young and Little Sadie, Kate Power and Steve Einhorn. Also on the festival schedule are... Full story
"Kora," a large, fluid abstract in oil by Joellyn Loehr of Sisters took first place in Expressions West 2006, Coos Art Museum's annual competition for painters in 13 western states. Ed Musante, a San Francisco based artist, served as curator and juror for the competition. "What I looked for in reviewing the 542 submissions were works that were well conceived, well designed, but most important, ones that communicated with the viewer," he said. "I believe the 72 works I selected were the best of the submissions. My selection... Full story
• Local law enforcement participated in the smooth evacuations of local residents in the face of the Black Crater Fire - and continued to handle other police matters. • A farmer's cows got out through a fence that had been knocked down by deer and wandered onto a neighbor's property in an open range area. The neighbor refused to return the cows, arguing that he was within his rights to retain them as compensation for crop damage. After wrangling over the matter with a deputy and a brand inspector, the neighbor retur... Full story
SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) still has room in several fall sports programs for kids. The following middle school sports are being offered: • Sixth grade girls volleyball - $90. • Seventh and eighth grade volleyball - $80. • Sixth and eighth grade Cross Country - $80. • Sixth grade tackle football - $90. • Seventh and eighth grade tackle football - $80. Practices will begin Wednesday, August 30, with games beginning in mid-September. The season will run through October.... Full story
Professor Atsumu Ohmura received the surprise of his life in 1985. Ohmura, the leader of the Global Climate Research Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, was documenting levels of sunlight striking the Earth's surface when he made the astonishing discovery that the amount of solar radiation had declined by more than 10 percent in three decades. This discovery went against all scientific thinking. By the mid-80s there was irrefutable evidence that our planet was getting hotter, so the idea of reduced solar... Full story
Tollgate resident Teresa Mahnken, caught up in the excitement of the Black Crater Fire, had an experience that seemed like a scene from 1944. "I heard it coming," she said, "and when I looked up there was this huge airplane right over my head, all four engines thundering…It was like something from World War II." What was flying over Teresa's head was a Douglas DC-7B, an aircraft actually built after the war, in the 1950s. It was designed as an airliner, but now the craft is u... Full story
