News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 24 of 24
The issue of affordable housing is nothing new in Sisters. In early 2008 the Sisters City Council provided direction to have the Sisters Housing Plan developed by an outside contractor. The City's concerns back in 2008 were identical to the ones still being discussed in 2015. The Sisters Housing Plan, adopted in January 2010, contained a needs analysis, inventory of existing affordable housing, and six specific housing strategies to be implemented. It was a complete action... Full story
With the successful completion of the Cascade Avenue improvement project under their belts, the City of Sisters and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) are currently in the process of crafting a Cooperative Improvement Agreement for the intersection of State Highway 20 with Barclay Drive and McKinney Butte Road. At the August 20 City Council workshop, Gary Farnsworth of ODOT presented the latest - and hopefully final - draft of the intergovernmental agreement (IGA).... Full story
Log trucks once rolled through Sisters in great numbers. Not anymore. From the paucity of log rigs, one might think the U.S. Forest Service was out of business - but they're not. One of the factors that makes our forest valuable -aside from providing wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities - is the diversity of life one can find among all those magnificent trees. The evidence of all that diversity came to light recently with a call to The Nugget from a concerned... Full story
After two winters in a row of warm and extremely dry weather here in the Pacific Northwest, many residents have more than a passing interest in the forecast for the upcoming 2015-16 season. They want to know if a more normal winter is in the offing that might alleviate worsening drought conditions and put some snow in the mountains. According to a growing number of meteorologists and climatologists the answer is probably no. There is mounting evidence that a strong El... Full story
To the Editor: Teflon Andrew & his complicit Nugget. Interesting use of the straw man argument so prevalent with the Obama Administration - all my unnamed, silent supporters agree. According to Miriam Webster's online dictionary "litigious" is defined as: " too ready or eager to sue someone or something in a court of law; tending or likely to engage in lawsuits." In that Mr. Gorayeb's conduct is presently the subject of at least one present litigation and further that he has also lawyered up over his egregious conduct with... Full story
After attending all the Community Assets Committee meetings this past year because I was interested in observing the process, I can say I was pleasantly surprised at how well organized it was. Everybody participated cooperatively, there was no dissension, no politics, no ego trips, and they accomplished their goal of vetting the top three projects voted on by the people who attended a previous town-hall meeting. Next they offered a follow-up town-hall meeting to explain the results and present a survey, to get more public inp... Full story
After last year's dynamic ALS Ice Bucket Challenge throughout the nation and world, the ALS Association has decided to make this an annual August event. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church is planning to repeat the Ice Bucket Challenge on August 30, starting at 11 a.m. The church raised over $1,200 last summer, when two ice bucket volunteers morphed into 15 candidates in less than a week. Aubrey McCauley, Portland-based ALS director, will talk about the disease in lieu of re... Full story
Sisters Habitat for Humanity board members expressed gratitude to all their volunteers who have helped make home ownership possible for working families in Sisters, at their annual Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue at Village Green Park last week. Ninety-plus volunteers showed up to enjoy the fun, food, and hugs. Toni Landis, board president, introduced the board members, and thanked them and all the volunteers in the Thrift Store, in the ReStore, and on the homebuilding sites... Full story
Sisters Library welcomed the class of 2028 to "Get Ready for Kindergarten" on Friday morning. Community Librarian Paige Bentley-Flannery gave the children a taste of what kindergarten will be like with lots of fun, interactive learning activities beginning with a lively song and acting out different ways to get to school - walk, bike, skip, run, take a bus - all with the spirit of "Kindergarten, Hooray!" Flannery read to them from popular children's books and encouraged the... Full story
Seven Sisters Habitat for Humanity and Family Access Network families recently participated in the fifth annual Creation Vacation Camp at Suttle Lake United Methodist Camp. Campers enjoyed delicious and nutritious food and an individual family cabin on the beautiful grounds of the camp. Special activities were planned for all age levels. The children's ages ranged from eight months to 17 years. The Creation Vacation Camp ministry was initiated by the United Methodist Church... Full story
The girls soccer team will enter the 2015 season with eight very experienced, top-notch senior players. They are adding six players who will lend depth to the squad. Michaela Miller, Hannah Ceciliani, Marissa Young, Nina Horner, Anna Ortega, Olivia Stewart, Tayla Schneider and Hannah Tenneson are all back for their final year. Miller returns at center-midfield and will control the middle of the field, direct the point of attack, and distribute the ball to the places where it will do the most damage to their opponents.... Full story
When Sisters resident Jeanie Ogden was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a year ago, she was stunned. Breast cancer didn't even run in her family. According to www.breastcancer.org, there are about 190,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 60,000 cases of non-invasive breast cancer this year in American women. Just being a woman is the biggest risk-factor for developing breast cancer. "Everything happened very quickly. After my annual mammogram, I was told that my... Full story
Parents who want an engaging educational experience for their preschool-aged children have a new option in Sisters. Becky Mallon is opening Mountain Montessori at 104 E. Adams Ave. in Sisters, part of the former site of A Joyful Noise. The school has openings for children ages 3 through 6. As is common in the Montessori model, the mixed-age school provides lots of opportunities for hands-on, active learning in different, well-designed areas of the school. "We don't all sit... Full story
A contingent of firefighters from the United Kingdom are in Sisters to study wildfire firefighting organization, infrastructure and tactics. Five firefighters from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service arrived here last Friday and participated in emergency calls on Saturday. Three of them rolled out with a Sisters task force to provide structure protection on the still-raging wildfire near John Day. Station Manager David Hodge (roughly equivalent to a Battalion Chief in American Parlance) explained why the British firefighters are... Full story
Patricia A. Risley, Patti to her friends and family, passed away Monday, August 17, 2015. She was born in Portland, Oregon, December 20, 1951 to Priscilla and Victor Risley, Jr. Patti resided at Black Butte Ranch. Patti's strength and perseverance stemmed from her Oregon pioneering roots. Patti was one of three owners of American Wood Dryers Inc. in Clackamas, Oregon, where she was the president of operations for over 20 years. Patti volunteered in a second-grade classroom at... Full story
Patrick K. McKnight of Sisters was born December 10, 1946 to Robert and Barbara McKnight in Oakherst, California. Patrick was a longtime resident of the Sisters community. He died on August 14, 2015 at home with family.... Full story
The Outlaws boys soccer team returns 11 veteran players to the squad this season. The Outlaws will be a big threat in conference play. They have five straight titles under their belts and hope to repeat again this year. Seniors Colton Manhalter, Jadon Bachtold, Tristan Kascmarek and Jayden Pallister return for their final year and will lend experience and leadership to the team. Manhalter returns for his fourth year on the varsity squad. He is a two-time first-team all-league midfielder and will play at that position again... Full story
On Saturday, August 22, seven members of the Camp Sherman Hasty Team along with Black Butte Ranch Police and Sisters Ranger District personnel responded to Scout Lake on a missing child call. A 7-year-old boy walked away from his camp at about 8:30 a.m. He was located at Suttle Lake at 9:30 a.m. sitting in a fishing boat that was tied to the beach. Jefferson County SAR Coordinator Dave Blann said more than 35 campers and friends of the family were out looking for the young... Full story
The Outlaws volleyball team returns eight players on the varsity squad and looks to be a very strong contender for the league title. First-year varsity Coach Jason Myhre is excited about his players, the upcoming season, and the camaraderie and cohesiveness the team is building. Three seniors return for their final season, and all will be big contributors this year. Allie Spear was a powerful hitter for the Outlaws last year and returns with an even stronger swing. Spear will play outside hitter and as a defensive... Full story
The arrival of late summer and early fall brings with it the opportunity to view with the unaided eye a galaxy that lies beyond our own Milky Way. The great Andromeda Galaxy, so named because it resides in the constellation of Andromeda, is a large spiral galaxy situated only 2.5 million light-years away. It is also referred to as M31, the 31st entry in Charles Messier's catalog of non-stellar objects. Under extremely dark skies, some sharp-eyed observers have reported seeing... Full story
Corduroy, a 26-year-old cat, born on August 1, 1989, has spent most of his life roaming the countryside of Sisters. On Thursday, August 13, he was declared the oldest living cat in the world by Guinness World Records. Sisters Country offers plenty of space for a cat to roam - and so does the 160-acre ranch where Corduroy and his pet parent Ashley Reed Okura grew up. Okura was 6 years old when she and her 5-year-old brother, Ryan Reed, picked out kittens from a litter. She name... Full story
Finding out that your furry family member has cancer is very scary and confusing. Cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs, and it's all the more heartbreaking because we have little or no insight into the cause. The National Canine Cancer Foundation estimates that one in three dogs will develop cancer. And according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 50 percent of dogs over the age of 10 will die of cancer. Cancer is a class of diseases in which cells grow uncontrollably, invade surrounding tissue and can sp... Full story
The Pine Mountain Posse reenactment players were back for their third year at Sisters Wild West Show, performing skits and shootouts around a Western town façade at a new location just outside of Sisters. The Bend/Sisters Garden RV Resort offered up lush gardens, lawns and a lake. The new venue had friendly atmosphere, but the cowboys and gunslingers from yesteryear quickly showed folks that the Wild West - at least the one of the imagination - was anything but... Full story
Our climate is changing. It always has and it always will. Earth doesn't exist in a static environment. Beyond the fact that the sun heats the earth unevenly, both daily and seasonally, it also goes through cycles of approximately 11 years when it shines slightly brighter, then dimmer. Increased volcanic activity is also known to alter the global climate, the Crater Lake eruption being a local example. Finally, over periods of thousands to millions of years, the tilt of the... Full story
