News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Dissecting Page 2 Page 2 of The Nugget gets a lot of attention - as it should. It's the spot where Sisters comes to share its opinions, its grievances, and its appreciation. A fellow journalist who works in public radio said that she appreciated The Nugget's Letters to the Editor. "They're spicy!" she said. Sometimes, for sure. Our preference is to run every letter we get, and mostly that works out. I really want all the voices in the community to be heard. Sometimes people...
Last week's fire of a fully loaded fuel tanker truck headed for the Space Age station in Sisters was brought under control by the quick actions of the driver, neighbors, Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District and a specially equipped fire engine stationed at Redmond airport. The tanker truck was carrying 11,200 gallons of diesel and regular unleaded gas in its two tanks. Each tank has three cells to separate fuel types. Only one cell was breached when a passenger car drove... Full story
Dinzel passed away on July 31 where she lived in Sisters, at the age of 103. She was born on April 23, 1920 in Bristol, Oklahoma. She was the last survivor of seven brothers and sisters and daughter to Wiley and Minnie Neal. She was known by her father as Din Doodle and by her brothers as Dink. We called her Nana. The matriarch of our family is survived by her daughters Deanna Sabbato of Springfield, Oregon and Diane Mulnix of Rancho Cucamonga, California. She is also... Full story
Richard E. John was born in San Diego, California in 1937. He passed away on July 30. He served and enrolled into the Air Force in 1957. He served for almost four years. He is survived by his wife, Sung Choi, two kids, daughter Julie and son Richard Jr. from a previous marriage. He had successful business in the cell phone industry in the Seattle area and got bought out by AT&T, which meant he had to move out of the state, and moved to Sisters in 1995. He joined the Deschutes... Full story
David Snow, 87, of Sisters, died at his home on Friday, July 21, surrounded by those closest to him. Dave, a longtime resident of Sisters, was the youngest son to Walter and Alice Snow of Stowe, Vermont. Dave was born on April 8, 1936, in Moscow, Vermont and moved with his family to Stowe in 1938 where he was raised with his four siblings on the family farm. After graduating high school in 1954, Dave worked for his father on the farm and at Mount Mansfield as a handyman. A... Full story
Sam Ethan Simone, age 32, died October 3, 2022. Sam is survived by his parents, Glenn and Paula Simone, his brother Joshua Simone, and sister Miranda Brooks. Sam was always such a loving and caring soul and those close to him will always remember his wonderful smile. Sam loved creating and crafting anything he found and, upon his death, was found with his wire and pliers in his pocket. Sam graduated from Sisters High School, was involved in Camp Fire USA, had a brief stint... Full story
William "Bill" Duff, 92, of Sisters passed away peacefully at home. Bill was born in Oak Harbor, Ohio to George & Marian Duff. After graduating High School, Bill attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio, achieving an art degree. After college, Bill joined the Army and was stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1956, Bill moved out to Southern California and was employed by McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company of Long Beach for more than 30 years. He married Janice... Full story
I have been interested in the White House cocaine imbroglio, mostly because it marks the closing of an interesting historical loop. To be sure, this probably isn’t the first time a bag of yayo has ended up in the West Wing, and it’s doubtful it will be the last, but in the age of suspicious white powders it is certainly the most public. In 1971 Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs. As a veteran of that war, with the scars to prove it, I can say with utter certainty that we... Full story
A contractor grinding metal in cheat grass on Mountain View Road on Thursday, August 3, sparked a brush fire. Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District crews were dispatched to the fire at 11:27 a.m. and arrived to find approximately one-acre of grass and juniper on fire near a cabin under construction. The cabin was not damaged. The fire was contained at 3.8 acres. Oregon Department of Forestry Regulated Use Closures are in place to help prevent these types of fires, the... Full story
For decades, Sisters author Greg Walker has been on a quest to track down the story of a martial arts and U.S. special operations icon. Mike Echanis (1950-1978), gravely wounded in Vietnam, rehabilitated himself through a massive effort of will, became a master of multiple martial arts, and in the mid-1970s trained America's elite warriors in hand-to-hand combatives, including DELTA Force and SEAL Team 2. He was killed while working as a CIA operative in Nicaragua in September... Full story
• Sisters artist Jill Haney Neal has made the cover of Pink Magazine for the third time. In announcing their cover artist for the month of August, Pink wrote: "Ladies, raise your wine glasses in salute to Jill Haney Neal, our August-issue cover artist, whose whimsical, bodacious babes have graced a variety of artworks including paintings, wine labels, coffee mugs, and Pink's October 2016 and June 2020 magazine covers: Welcome back, Jill!" Jill believes women were created in G... Full story
On Saturday, August 5, members of Sisters VFW Post 8138, American Legion Post 86, and Sisters Band of Brothers assembled with several veteran family members to honor 13 Sisters veterans who have passed in the last year (May 2022-May 2023). Their names were permanently placed on the Village Green Memorial Rock. Those honored for their service in war and peace were: Rodney (Rocky) Doane Davis, U.S. Navy; Robert (Bob) Ernest Grooney, USMC; Alfred Theodore (Ted) Goodwin, U.S.... Full story
The City of Sisters is trying to keep up with advances in technology in order to preserve Sisters' night skies. Last Thursday, the Sisters City Planning Commission discussed updating the City's current dark-skies standards and outdoor lighting ordinance in a work session at City Hall. Updating the dark-sky standards is one of the City Council's 2023-24 goals. According to the project packet: "The purpose of the update is that the existing ordinance - which was last updated in... Full story
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) is warning citizens of a recurring warrant scam hitting the area. The DCSO said it had taken numerous reports from a community member who was contacted by a subject who identified themselves as a member of Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and asked for money to clear up a warrant issued after missing jury duty. The citizen was also told they could clear up the warrant by paying the bail with prepaid gift cards. Law enforcement has recognized the subjects involved in these sca... Full story
World War II is often hailed as “The Good War,” fought by “The Greatest Generation.” That characterization is accurate. The massive mobilization to defeat Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan was morally justified as few conflicts in human history have ever been. Those regimes were evil and had to be crushed and wiped from the slate of history. The men and women who made the Herculean effort — and then crafted a post-war order of remarkable durability and stability... Full story
For much of Sunday, July 30, the entirety of Sisters, Black Butte, and a good portion of Redmond were without Internet as a result of a fire that occurred when a passenger vehicle hit a gas tank truck headed toward Sisters. Power was out for some four to six hours, depending on location. The burning truck was parked immediately under the high-tension electrical lines, the main feed from the Redmond power distribution station to Sisters. Flames burned through the power and... Full story
This is a new, regular feature The Nugget will run periodically. If you have a favorite hike or trail, send it along in about 500 words to [email protected] using the following format, including a photo. Trail Oregon's beautiful outdoors awaits, and one gem among the state's natural wonders is the trail from Scott Lake to Tenas Lake via the Benson Lake Trail. Here's everything you need to know to enjoy this marvelous hike. Why go? With a perfect balance of challenge and... Full story
The Sisters Community Garden received some good news last week. The organization was asked earlier in the year to find a new place for its 50 members to garden. The Sisters Community Garden has occupied land adjacent to Sisters Eagle Airport since 2012. This spring, the Benson family, who own the airport, notified the board of directors that expansion plans include utilizing the garden area. Now the Benson family has offered the nonprofit organization another year to garden at its current location. “This unexpected gift is q... Full story
Julie Tadlock loves lifting weights. She acknowledges that she has an intense personality, and weightlifting helps her channel that intensity. "I'm able to take my intensity to the barbell," she told The Nugget. The Sisters woman took it to the barbell in exceptional fashion last month at the U.S. Powerlifting Association (USPA) national championships in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tadlock, competing in the 50-54-year-old category and the 115-pound weight class, notched four... Full story
Tragedy struck the Sisters Country firefighting community on August 1, 2013. John Hammack, a legendary logger and rodeo cowboy from Sisters, was preparing to fell a lightning-struck 64-inch Douglas fir tree on a lightning-sparked fire north of Highway 242 in the Mt. Washington Wilderness near Dugout Lake. A Forest Service report recounts that "at approximately 0911 hours, after several actions to prepare for a safe felling environment and just as John was returning to the base... Full story
This proposed “cold weather shelter” at 192 W. Barclay Dr. is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and will become a magnet for vagrancy to our small town — “build it and they will come; enable it, fund it, and it will grow.” Here in Sisters, we do not have large indigenous need, and we are not prepared for the increased influx. There had been no transparency nor meaningful public input until a group called private meetings at the fire house community center on August 1. The City has hidden behind a new state law to jam through thi... Full story
There was a heated meeting at the Sisters Fire Hall Community Room on Tuesday, August 1, concerning plans to establish an emergency homeless shelter on Barclay Drive in Sisters. The State of Oregon is responsible for a lot of the heat in that room. The shelter is poised to be established under legislation designed to get around local land use planning and public input. HB2006, passed in May of 2021, requires local governments to allow siting of qualifying emergency shelters... Full story
An international story detailing Chinese funding in American public schools raised eyebrows in the Sisters community last week. The Daily Mail, a British daily tabloid, ran a story on July 30 reporting that “China is funding America’s public schools to the tune of $17 million dollars, it has been revealed, with Republicans now probing the disturbing donations. “The report by Parents Defending Education states that the close coordination between the Chinese Communist Party... Full story
Matt Hilgers has taken over the role of athletic director for Sisters High School following Gary Thorson's tenure of five-and-a-half years. Hilgers moved to Sisters in 2021 after a number of years working at Taft Middle School and High School in Lincoln City. He spent the past two years teaching social studies at Sisters Middle School and coaching the varsity baseball team. His wife, Brittney, teaches language arts at Sisters High School. The couple has two children, ages 5... Full story
In the last 10 days dozens of flyers have been posted along Cascade, Hood, and Main asking readers to oppose the establishment of a planned emergency shelter in an industrial area on West Barclay Drive. Some of the flyers were tacked up with the permission of business owners and others were placed without their approval, or on public property. No person or organization is taking responsibility for the flyers, and as quickly as they go up some citizens are removing them in... Full story
