News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
Erin Borla sees good news when she looks at the transient room-tax collections for the first six months of 2013. The executive director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce sees a steady and significant increase over the past three or four years - an indication that more people are coming to Sisters overall and especially in the months outside the traditionally busy months of high summer. Transient room-taxes are a city tax collected on a per-room basis by all the lodging... Full story
Sisters Habitat for Humanity honored their many volunteers with a barbecue at Village Green Park on Wednesday, August 14. Since 1991, the dedicated efforts of Habitat volunteers have helped 50 families achieve their goal of home ownership. Volunteers serve as board and committee members, work at the Habitat Thrift Store and ReStore, and hammer nails on construction sites. At the barbecue, the newest homeowner, Randy Smith, sang a song of "thank-you" to the crowd of nearly... Full story
Sara Marcus was chosen as Miss Rodeo Oregon 2014 on Saturday, August 17, at the Clackamas County Fair and Rodeo in Canby, Oregon. The 21-year-old Sisters High School graduate was the 2012 Sisters Rodeo Queen. This year, she is on the rodeo circuit as Miss NPRA (Northwest Professional Rodeo Association) and previously served as Spray Rodeo Queen. The dedicated, hard-working woman began her quest to become Sisters Rodeo Queen when she was a Pee Wee Rodeo princess in 2007. She co... Full story
The proposed paved bike trail project has become a burr under the saddle of some folks in Sisters Country. Trail proponents believe they have a good project that will benefit the community. They feel they have done their due diligence in reaching out to the community for input, including moving the path from Tollgate to Black Butte Ranch farther away from Tollgate residences at the urging of homeowners. Yet critics think that public outreach was selective, sketchy and designed to elicit a desired answer. A lot of them are dow... Full story
To the Editor: After reading Ms. Miller's commentary (The Nugget, August 14, page 21), I noticed she left out a couple of big facts concerning Crossroads. Fact #1: A final decision memo dated and signed by Kristie Miller on 9/10/12, the first paragraph starts out: "After careful review of the proposed action, the environmental effects of the proposed action and the consideration of public comments, I have decided to approve the construction of a 1.1 mile PAVED multi-use path from the community of Crossroads to the Sisters... Full story
Local families with children getting ready for school need assistance through the annual "Tools for School" school supplies drive hosted by Sisters' Les Schwab Taylor Tire Center. Community members can drop off school supplies during regular business hours and help students in need begin the school year well-equipped for a successful year. The drive is off to a slow start. Sisters FAN distributes school supplies to over 100 students in need each year. For many local children the Tools for School drive provides their only... Full story
Beginning on Wednesday, September 11, one of the rooms at Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) will be designated as a gathering place for SAGE -Senior Activities, Gatherings and Enrichment. Every Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m. seniors will be able to come together to socialize, craft, play games, make new friends, plan outings and create the future of SPRD's senior programming. It will be a place for seniors, run by seniors. From humble beginnings in the mid-'90s, SPRD has g... Full story
Six students from Outlaw Martial Arts Taekwondo School in Sisters competed last month in the 2013 USA Taekwondo National Championships in Chicago, Illinios. Under the guidence and coaching of their teacher and founder of Outlaw Martial Arts, Master Marty Kaczmarek, the group traveled to Chicago last month for the week-long competition. The martial artists, Sherri Hermens, Tate Kaczmarek, Brendan Sickau, Kim Manley, Nick Manley, Julie Stotts and Anessa Stotts trained for... Full story
Most folks would think of Doug McIntosh's primary responsibility with the City of Sisters Public Works Department as a dirty job. They'd also have to acknowledge that there are few jobs more important. He's the city's municipal wastewater plant operator. "I oversee and monitor the flows," he says. That means making sure the pipes are clean and open and that the pumping station is operating properly. It also means making sure that the spray irrigation of effluent stays within... Full story
Birders are wondering what an arctic tern is doing in Sisters Country, the last possible place to find one. But it's true, there is an Arctic Tern in Sisters - and Vern Goodsell, Sisters airplane-builder, is restoring it. This tern is made of aluminum, wood, steel tubing and fabric. An old flying pal from over in Forest Grove called Vern just recently and asked if he would take on a rebuilding project of the Arctic Tern that's been stored over there for a number of years. In h... Full story
Whychus Creek got a kind of health check-up last weekend. Saturday was the day for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council's annual invertebrate sampling in Whychus Creek. Twenty-two volunteers from throughout Central Oregon met with Xerces Society aquatic biologists Celeste Mazzacano, Michelle Blackburn and UDWC research coordinator, Lauren Mork, to learn the techniques and art of collecting specimens from the somewhat turbid creek. Last spring, as the winter snows began to... Full story
Anyone who is still thinking about buying an all-event pass to the Sisters Folk Festival may want to act now. According to festival officials, the event, scheduled for Friday-Sunday, September 6-8, is approaching a sell-out for the second year in a row. "We expanded the number and running time of our venues this year and we're selling more tickets," said festival Board Chair Jim Cornelius. "But we've already sold more tickets than we did last year, and they're going fast." All-event passes are $115; children five and under... Full story
Local singer-songwriter Travis Ehrenstrom will release his new album, "Remain A Mystery," in record stores and on iTunes on August 24. Digital copies are available for download on Ehrenstrom's website, while audiophiles will celebrate a late-September release on vinyl. Crowd-source funded through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, Remain A Mystery was co-produced by Ehrenstrom and Keith Banning and recorded at Banning's Lonely Grange Studios in Sisters. "It's an... Full story
There was plenty of action and adventure last Wednesday in Camp Polk Meadow as Karen Parker and Ginny Elliot guided and encouraged seven kids, three moms, one granddad and a photographer on an exploration of insect and bird life in the meadow. Throughout the morning, intense focus was followed by cheers of delight as grasshoppers, a praying mantis, and even a little snake were discovered, collected and released. Thanks to the restoration and preservation work of the Deschutes... Full story
The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce is working closely with merchants in downtown Sisters to develop the Sisters Historical Passport Program. This program will encourage visitors and locals to stroll through Sisters and enjoy featured pieces of the community's history. "We want to encourage merchants to sign on with the program for the one-time fee of $100," says chamber Executive Director Erin Borla. "This purchase will allow the business owner to select a part of Sisters history that coordinates with their business. This... Full story
Representatives of Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) and the City of Sisters were to conduct a second round of interviews this week of candidates for the position of Sisters Economic Development Manager. The position will be under the auspices of EDCO, with the city committing $30,000 to fund the position. The manager will work out of Sisters City Hall. A first round of interviews did not produce a successful candidate, City Manager Andrew Gorayeb told the city... Full story
As the new Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank nears completion, a new event is being launched to help stock it up. The first Sisters fundraising Mayor's Ball is set for Saturday, September 21. Many cities have a mayor's ball benefiting local charities. Sisters Mayor Brad Boyd and event organizer Karen Kassy hit upon the idea after seeing an advertisement for a mayor's ball in McMinnville. Both Boyd and Kassy emphasized that this is not an exclusive event -quite the opposite. Admission... Full story
On hot summer days east of the Cascades, it's easy to forget that, just over the passes, there are cool green forests and countless lakes and ponds. My hiking buddy has a golden retriever's predilection for jumping into bodies of water; so I tend to look for possible swimming holes on the map when planning hikes. In this case, I really don't know how many lakes and ponds there are in the Scott Lakes Basin west of McKenzie Pass; but, at the very least, there are several dozen.... Full story
Blake Lowrey and Ashley Burry-Trice are pleased to announce their marriage. Ashley is the daughter of Pamela Burry of Sisters and Leon Trice of Portland, Oregon. She received a Masters of Science from the University of Montana, and is now currently employed with the Deschutes Land Trust. Blake is the son of Debbie and Packet Lowrey of Denver, Colorado. He is currently completing a Masters of Science in Systems Ecology from the University of Montana. The wedding was August... Full story
