News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 24 of 24
A powerful and prolific storyteller through his songcraft, the Emmy-nominated, Oregon-born, and Southern California-bred, singer-songwriter-guitarist Jake Smith, aka The White Buffalo, will release his first-ever live album, “A Freight Train Through The Night,” on September 20. Smith is the son of Jeff and Ginny Smith of Sisters, and The White Buffalo has performed at festivals in Sisters on numerous occasions. Arriving on double-vinyl, in a limited, collector’s edition run, “A Freight Train Through The Night” is available... Full story
Darrell William Brownawell was born on February 21, 1933 in Bismark, North Dakota. He died on August 28, 2024 at Touchmark in Bend. Between those bookends he lived a good, eventful, and meaningful life. He was married to the love of his life, Marilyn, for 68 years. He is survived by his two sons, David and Mark, four grandchildren, Tim, Dan, Kristen, and Max, and two great-grandchildren, Ernest and Dianna. Darrell was active in Civil Rights. He would go to court to stand by... Full story
Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, Montana's current poet laureate, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. He will celebrate his new memoir - both personal and historical - at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters on Tuesday, September 10 at 5 p.m. (note the early event time). "Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home" is a testament to the power of storytelling,... Full story
With great sadness, we announce that Sandra (Sandy) Reed-Hurst of Bend passed away peacefully in her home on August 5, following a lengthy illness. Affectionately known as "Sam" by her beloved husband Bill, "Mom" and "Sam" by her four daughters, Sharie (Reed) Hurst-Peasley and husband Bruce, Kristen (Reed) Hurst-Birch, Kym Hurst, and Becky (Hurst) Sedlacek and partner John Farr. She was "Grammi" or "Grammi-Sam" to her six grandchildren; Meghan and Molly Birch, Anna, Will, and... Full story
Henriette Heiny is a woman thoroughly schooled in discipline and creativity. "She is a renaissance woman," said Karen Thomas, owner of Toriizaka Art in Sisters, where Heiny's work is on permanent display, along with being featured during the Sisters Arts Association Studio Tour. Abstract expressionism was the last thing on young Henriette Heiny's mind when she was a young teenager in Cologne, Germany, after World War II. "I remember painting copies of the Dutch masters in the... Full story
“Ghost guns,” which are 3D-printed firearms without serial numbers, are prohibited across Oregon starting last Sunday. The ban comes after a federal judge denied a legal challenge that tried to block the prohibition. In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2005 banning ghost guns. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat, pushed for years to get legislation banning ghost guns. “Unserialized guns are bad for everyone except criminals who don’t want to get caught,” she said at the time. Starting on Septem... Full story
Brad Boyd of Eurosports wrote: Thank you to the 200-plus people who showed up to help celebrate Eurosports 35th anniversary and raise $520 for Think Wild's Beaver Works Habitat Restoration. That will buy a lot of willow and cottonwood (food for the beavers). And, thank you to all the thousands of people who have supported shopping local for 35 years.... Full story
Emily Halnon will be one of the authors in attendance at a Literary Banquet Author Dinner on Saturday, September 14, hosted at Paulina Springs Books, 252 E. Hood Ave. The dinner is part of the Sisters Festival of Books. The event features a six-course chef’s dinner prepared by Jackson “Rooster” Higdon, owner of Luckey’s Woodsman in Sisters. Each course of the meal is themed around a featured author’s book and authors will rotate tables in between every course so that participants have the opportunity to chat with each feat... Full story
The federal government will move ahead with plans to kill tens of thousands of barred owls in Washington, Oregon, and California to protect threatened spotted owls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a decision on Wednesday to adopt a controversial barred owl management strategy that calls for lethal removal of the birds by shooting them with shotguns and, in some cases, capturing and euthanizing them. Barred owls are native to the eastern U.S. but began expanding... Full story
While perched on the tip of a branch the Ash-throated Flycatcher [Myiarchus cinerascens] will tweak its head from side to side in a quizzical manner as it waits for its next insect meal. They prefer drier environs and do not drink water because all is needed are the fluids from their insect diet. Small lizards, fruits, and berries are occasionally consumed. Three to seven brown- streaked white eggs are laid after a nest of grasses, twigs, and rootlets are woven together and... Full story
Oregon is one of the hottest states in the country and it’s not the weather. COVID-19 has made a comeback of sorts, particularly in the western states. Since late April COVID-19 has seen a surge in Oregon, mostly from omicron variants, according to Dr. Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunization at the Oregon Health Authority. People testing positive for COVID climbed from a rate of 3.1 percent in April to over 18 percent during the last week o... Full story
The boys soccer squad defeated the Delphian Dragons 3-1 on the road on Friday, August 30. The Dragons were the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Delphian is a private school with skilled club players, and Sisters came out ready for a tough match. Danny Benson scored Sisters first goal early in the first half to put the Outlaws on top 1-0. Coach Jeff Husmann described their second goal as the best-orchestrated goal of the night: Nick Palmer peppered the ball to freshman Alex Nieto, who received the pass... Full story
Thirty-five years after its founding in a small wooden cabin on Hood Avenue, Sisters Coffee Company is celebrating its anniversary with a brand refresh and free bags of coffee for customers who buy drinks in its cafes Friday, September 6. The new branding comes as the company shifts to new recycled packaging for its coffee beans. "It's hard to believe that it's been 35 years since our parents launched Sisters Coffee Company and made their dream of starting their own coffee roa... Full story
Aggressive action on the part of firefighters stopped a wildfire that erupted Thursday afternoon near Hoodoo Ski Area west of Sisters. The fire was 100 percent contained at two acres by early Friday morning, after firefighters hit it with an air attack and a Hotshot crew was deployed to take on the fire on the ground. According to Central Oregon Fire Information, cite cause of the blaze was lightning. Heavy thunderstorms moved up the Cascade Crest a week ago. Lightning fires can sometimes “sleep” for many days before eru... Full story
It’s a beautiful September morning in Sisters Country. The sun is out but it’s not too hot yet. The sky is brushed with a hint of smoke, nothing much compared to the last few summers. The forest is quiet, other than some loud equipment, a dog barking, and a small plane flying low. OK, not really that quiet. Compared to a city, though? The forest is heavenly. It’s a good life, in a good place. I am one of the lucky ones and I totally know it. But by late afternoon I may have fo... Full story
The Sisters Arts Association’s eighth annual Artist Studio Tour is happening on the third weekend of September. This is a self-guided driving tour, and it features 18 artists in home studios and host galleries, in and around Sisters. The Studio Tour takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 21-22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Host galleries and home studios will be open to all visitors. The tour attracts visitors from all over the Northwest. The tour is self-guided and free to all. You may arrange your visit in any o... Full story
Sisters' new elementary school is ready to take on students for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The $33.8 million project, funded by bonds approved by voters in 2021, came in on time and on budget, despite increases in construction and materials costs. Students were to walk through its doors for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 3. "We've got a few things left to do," said Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl. "We're behind on landscaping." The playing field st... Full story
When Emily Halnon's mother died of a rare uterine cancer at the age of 66, Emily knew she wanted to do "something monumental" to pay tribute to her mother's adventurous and courageous spirit - and to process her own grief. Halnon - an accomplished ultra-runner (extreme long distance) - was determined to try to break the record for the fastest known time by a woman on the Pacific Crest Trail's 460 miles across Oregon. That journey - and the journey through grief - are... Full story
History offers little comfort to those who approach it honestly, seeking to truly understand what happened and why. When history deeply informs the course of contemporary events, it is often weaponized to promote a moral case for one side or another in a conflict. But then it’s not really history — it’s mere fodder for propaganda. Such is the case in the war between Ukraine and Russia, and such is the case in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both conflicts have deep roots... Full story
Developers having a heyday To the Editor: Just received a full page glossy magazine in the mail entitled Haven. It featured million-dollar-plus homes for sale all over Oregon. Including our very own Sisters Woodlands. These developers are having a heyday at our expense, sucking our water and resources dry and destroying small communities and pricing out ordinary Oregonians. Let alone bulldozing our trees and devastating the land. If this makes you angry, please contact Governor Kotek and/or your state representative. I did.... Full story
With only the South Locust Street branch to go, motorists can now get a clear picture, both of what the finished roundabout will look like, and how to navigate it. Access from Cedar Street is also now clear in how it will work. None too soon for Sisters Pumphouse and Country Store, the Union 76 station, and High Camp Taphouse, two businesses who "have taken a beating" owners say. Drivers are confused with how to enter the businesses which have easy-to-miss temporary access. Ci... Full story
Firefighters quickly got a handle on a fire that consumed an RV and a truck at a dispersed camping site directly across Highway 20 from the entrance to the Tollgate subdivision, lying approximately 150-200 yards to the north of the road. The blaze ignited around 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 1. There was a series of small explosions as ammunition and propane tanks cooked off; the flames flared and the blaze spread into the surrounding forest. Wind conditions were calm, and... Full story
An 18-year-old woman from Klamath Falls was killed in a head-on crash on Highway 20 west of Suttle Lake on Tuesday, August 27. Oregon State Police responded at about 11 a.m. to a two vehicle crash on Highway 20, near milepost 82, in Jefferson County. According to OSP, preliminary investigation indicated an eastbound Tesla Model S, operated by Scarlett Jewell Felder, crossed into the on-coming lanes and struck a westbound Jeep Wagoneer, operated by Michel Phillipe Sabourin, age 65, of Naples, Florida, head-on. The operator of... Full story
Despite mixed-to-negative reports of commercial development across the country and Oregon, Sisters developers and entrepreneurs appear to have a differing take. According to Goldman Sachs, some $1.2 trillion of commercial mortgages are scheduled to mature this year and next. That's almost a quarter of all outstanding commercial mortgages, and the highest recorded level dating back to 2008. The biggest single holder are banks, many local and regional, with a 40 percent share.... Full story
