News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Jim and Nancy Cowan, both OSU alums, were married on August 18, 1950. They have three children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They have been Central Oregon residents for over thirty years, spending 22 years in Sunriver and 10 years in Sisters. They raised their children in the Portland area where Jim started Anodizing Incorporated in 1964. Friends and family comment that their kind spirits, lively wit and devotion to each other are admirable, to say the... Full story
Firefighters quickly got a handle on a new fire that started approximately one mile west of the point of origin for the Rooster Rock Fire that recently burned approximately 6,000 acres south of Sisters. Unlike the Rooster Rock Fire, this 1/2-acre fire was not wind driven and firefighters, with the assistance of an air tanker and two helicopters, were able to quickly contain it. The fire was declared contained at 6:30 p.m. Monday night. The cause of the blaze was an abandoned... Full story
The Starry Summer Night party at Aspen Lakes Friday night did some serious fundraising for Sisters schools - and offered some serious fun for local folks. A warm, but not-quite-sultry evening was perfect for dancing, and the capacity crowd took full advantage of an outdoor dance floor to fully enjoy the eclectic mix of music provided by The High Street Band. From swing to rock-and-roll, blues to a little bit of disco, High Street kept the crowd dancing until they were well and... Full story
In the first decade of the 21st century, women have come into their own from corporate boardrooms to Indycar racetracks, from the state department to network news anchor chairs. Nowhere is the "arrival" of women in traditionally male roles more apparent than on the fire line in wildland fires. Women make up anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the crews that battle fires in the Sisters Country and the management teams that organize and lead those battles. That trend started in... Full story
Senator Ron Wyden got a perspective on the economic health of the Sisters Country in a meeting with a group of community leaders on Friday. The Senator met over lunch at Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill and Saloon with civic leaders in government, the arts, recreation and business. The meeting started with a thank-you from Mayor Lon Kellstrom to the Senator for his efforts in securing a $1.5 million earmark for a major transportation project - the improvement of Cascade Avenue... Full story
To the Editor: I am greatly encouraged by the aspirations of the SMART policy being developed by the district, and I appreciate The Nugget keeping us all informed of their progress ("Sisters schools aim at excellence," The Nugget, August 11, page 1). There's one aspect of this article that I hope was simply forgotten. I believe that "where the rubber meets the road" (and moves forward most effectively, to carry the metaphor) is at home. Yes, pursuing and retaining good teachers is very important. More important, however, is... Full story
Christopher McClellan and Ashley Miller came to Sisters this summer looking for ways to help children. The University of Oregon students were interns with the Portland-based nonprofit http://friendschildren.org, whose founder, Duncan Campbell, is planning to retire to the Sisters Country and was seeking outreach opportunities. "He basically asked us to dive into the community and find places where we could help," Miller said. Shawn Diez, a counselor at Sisters Elementary... Full story
A rash of rescues of lost hikers points out something many folks who venture into the Sisters Country tend to forget. Our backcountry playground is a wildnerness and should be taken seriously and treated with respect. A casual outing can turn into a crisis very quickly. Hikers get lost; they get hurt. And then search and rescue teams must turn out, risking their own lives and limbs to save them. For Central Oregon mountaineering afficianado Robert Speik, staying found in the wilderness is as easy as counting to four. The 82-y... Full story
Art was the central focus at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration's Country Fair on Saturday. From the abstract watercolor painting of the mustang Nochecita to the paint adorning the faces of children to the works of professional artists on display in the church community hall, there was an abundance of creativity in evidence. The annual fair is the church's major community outreach effort, raising on average $17,000 for local service organizations that serve the needs... Full story
Sitting on a tropical beach with a radio transmitter ten hours a day may not be everyone's idea of a dream vacation, but to Sisters ham radio enthusiast Bob Norin it's better than Club Med. The retired Intel engineer makes frequent jaunts across the globe to remote islands, establishing temporary radio outposts where other amateur operators can make contact. Ham radio, or amateur radio, is an engrossing hobby using various types of radio equipment to communicate with other... Full story
As a youth in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s, Ron Gregg knew he was destined to be a preacher. His journey took him through years of education and two other continents before he became pastor of a quaint country church in Sisters. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church is celebrating Gregg's 20th anniversary of pastoral leadership on August 29 at the Camp Sherman Community Hall. "He was our first full-time pastor," said Bob Wood, a member of the interviewing committee.... Full story
Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) awarded a $30,000 Bonneville Power Administration energy conservation incentive payment to Ray's Food Place of Sisters last Friday. The payment rewards Ray's for investing in more energy-efficient refrigeration and lighting technologies when building its new store, completed in November 2008. It reflects the portion of the project costs BPA paid as an incentive for Ray's to purchase more costly - but more energy-efficient-equipment. The... Full story
"It's a garden center; it's a gourmet market; it's a café." That's how Janet Zuelke describes Poppies on Main Avenue. The garden center came first for Zuelke, who ran a nursery for several years at another location in Sisters. She has a wide selection, including some rare and unusual plants. "I decided I wanted to do something a little more year-round," she said, explaining the decision to open a café. She contacted her daughter Shayla Breslow and her partner Brian... Full story
There's an old mountain man saying that "meat's meat." Allan and Kathryn Godsiff will tell you that that's just not so. As managers of Willows Ranch Natural Beef, the Godsiffs are producing grass-finished Red Angus cattle at the ranch off Indian Ford Road. Grass-finished beef is lower in fat content than grain-fed beef - about the same as skinless chicken or wild venison. Quality, healthy beef sold to the local market is "part of the local food movement," Kathryn Godsiff... Full story
Amy Cretsinger's sea legs are finally adjusting back to dry land after returning this summer from a six-month contract on Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Gem. Cretsinger is a kids activities director aboard the luxury liner, coordinating activities for a navy of miniature sailors with ages ranging from 2 to 17. "Working with the kids is a lot of fun," Cretsinger said. "And sometimes you get very attached and sometimes you're very happy when the parents come back to pick... Full story
You would think that in the world of science, where everything is studied down to a gnat's eyebrow, people would be as careful about common names as they are about scientific names, but it just isn't so. For example, a "dragon fly" is not a fly at all, not even close. Dragon flies have four wings, while flies have only two, and that's just a tiny part of the difference between dragon flies in the order Odonata and true flies in the order Diptera. An "inchworm" cannot be any... Full story
Joblessness in a tough economy is leading to an increasing number of homeless. Central Oregon is launching a "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness" in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties. A meeting in the Sisters area will take place on Thursday, August 26 at 11 a.m., at Sisters City Hall, 520 E. Cascade Ave. 350 communities statewide are participating in the plan, which officially started in Oregon on May 8, 2009. Some interesting statistics have come out of the project: Forty-one percent of the homeless are under age 17;... Full story
• Deputies made several DUII arrests last week, including a woman intoxicated with alcohol and prescription drugs, who crashed her car on Fryrear Road. She suffered minor injuries. • A driver took out several mailboxes on Central Street in Sun Mountain. The driver contacted owners with insurance information. • A 42-year-old woman was arrested after she hit her husband in a domestic spat. The husband was arrested on an outstanding warrant. • A driver crashed after swerving to avoid... Full story
Nina Blackmore of Sisters has died of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 20 near Black Butte Ranch on Tuesday morning, August 17. She was 18. Joshua Herrin, 19, of Bend, was killed in the wreck. First responders at about 7:25 a.m. found a 1999 Ford Escort on the north side of Highway 20 that had crashed into a large tree causing extensive damage to the vehicle. Fire personnel immediately started providing emergency medical treatment to the passengers... Full story
You've probably heard the hackneyed old tale of the answer to a confused traveler's query for directions, "You can't get there from here." Actually, it usually sounds more like, "You cain't get they-ah from hee-yah," and is most often attributed to old codgers in Maine. Moraine Lake is nothing like that; there are lots of ways to get there. Moraine Lake can be reached from Devil's Lake, the Green Lakes Trailhead, the Mirror Lake Trailhead, the Wickiup Plain Trail, and - if you... Full story
