News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
Firefighters continue to mop up hot spots. photo by Lynn Woodward Firefighters are mopping up inside fire lines and beginning to repair some of the damage done to the landscape in battling the B&B Fire west of Sisters. The 90,824-acre fire is 86 percent contained (88 percent contained east of the Cascades), according to fire officials. The east flank of the fire facing Camp Sherman appears to be secure. Crews have been working hard to extend their mop-up operations up to 300 yards inside the fire perimeter. Firefighters have... Full story
The fire-related closure of Highway 20 from August 19 to August 31 choked off the main artery of Sisters commerce. Businesses from lodging to dining to retail felt the pinch. Now, some of those businesses are exploring a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program to help them absorb the blow of losing almost two weeks of peak summer traffic. According to Ric Nowak, Executive Director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, 23 Sisters businesses are applying for... Full story
Chicago 6 set toes to tappin' at the Sisters Jazz Festival. photo by Elise Gourguechon The Sisters Jazz Festival held in Sisters last weekend continued to expand its artistic palette to include many other types of music than the traditional jazz for which it originally became known. During the course of 12 events over 13 years, the festival has slowly been modified to include swing, blues and zydeco as well as Dixieland. This year, Lily Wilde and her 14 piece "Jumpin' Jubilee Orchestra" from Portland put on a special show Sat... Full story
When retired residents Marilyn and Jack Kinsey built their home two years ago on South Maple Street, they paid $7,500 to hook up a septic system because their lot was not part of the city's 1997 sewer construction project, which served nearby residents. Then, last month, the Kinseys received a letter from the city informing them they might have to pay more than $13,000 to help finance a sewer improvement project on South Maple between Tyee Drive and Coyote Springs Drive in the Buck Run III subdivision. "I was never told we... Full story
Bob Mowers (center-left), Ron Gregg and Paul Janssen prepare to place sod at one of two new Habitat houses in Sisters. Dawn Roberts, owner, looks over the fence from her new house. photo by Tom Chace Members of the Lutheran Church from all over Central Oregon converged on Sisters on Saturday, September 13, to help finish two Habitat for Humanity houses. They landscaped the two houses on Tamarack Road near Sisters Elementary School and also went across town and put in a sod lawn at another Habitat house on St. Helens Avenue... Full story
The musicians put the Sisters Jazz Festival crowds on the dance floor, but it's local volunters who roll out that dance floor -- and more besides. "Without our corps of volunteers we could not put on this show," said Jim Smith, director of the 2003 festival held last weekend. One hundred percent of those involved in the Jazz Festival, including the director, are volunteers. They are site managers, door checkers, greeters, ticket and badge sellers, shuttle bus drivers, band services people and the 30 or so at the Musicians... Full story
As promised, McKinney Butte Road was ready for traffic on the first day of school, Monday, September 15, but the school buses probably won't drive on it until next Monday. "We will have to check out the new road before making a decision as to whether our school buses will use McKinney Butte or not," said Angie Gardinier, transportation supervisor for the Sisters School District. "For the first week of school we will not use that road. Later, I will personally take a bus and check it out for turns and signs and safety," she... Full story
Pat Bliss takes it to 140 miles per hour. photo provided Sisters drywall contractor Jim Helm lives a second life on the weekends. He follows his passion for sprint car racing, traveling with his crew and the car he owns to races in four western states and British Columbia. The team, with driver Pat Bliss of West Linn at the wheel, is currently in first place in the Northwest Sprint Car Racing Association series. Although Helm has owned sprint cars for around 10 years, this is his first year racing on pavement tracks. Sprint... Full story
The Outlaws kept the White Buffaloes bottled up in a 30-14 victory. photo by Eric Dolson A large and enthusiastic crowd cheered as the Sisters Outlaws football team crushed the Madras White Buffaloes 30-14 on Friday evening, September 12. The Outlaws began their assault from the get-go, stopping Madras' initial possession. With Sisters in control, the ball was handed to Jawan Davis on a reverse that ended 83 yards later in the end zone for six. Madras fought back and, with four minutes left in the first quarter, took a 7-6... Full story
Sisters Oil Company is remodeling the service station in downtown Sisters. photo by Tom Chace The corner of Fir Street and Cascade Avenue, downtown Sisters, is just about the center of town. The Sisters Oil Company has occupied a third of this prime downtown real estate, just up the block from Sisters City Hall. Now that corner is getting a facelift. For the past few weeks, the shed used as an office and cigarette sales store in the back of the gas station property has been taken apart and put back together again. It is, or... Full story
Becky Johnson (center) listens to question from the audience as Jean Nave and Dennis Tooley assist. photo by Conrad Weiler Ninety-year-old Becky Johnson kept her audience rapt for nearly two hours at last week's Historical Society/Friends of Black Butte Ranch meeting, reliving her experiences living on 160 acres located near the Head of the Metolius. Johnson covered political, environmental and family history for her audience with pictures, newspaper articles and a sharp memory. Commenting on the one-acre plus scenic... Full story
Keeping clean in a dirty environment... photo by Torri Barco The B&B Complex Fire is the second most expensive fire burning in the country today, costing $28 million from August 19 to date, according to fire officials. Like the fire itself, often the costs can skyrocket without warning. The money is used to fight the 90,000-plus-acre fire as well as to accommodate the approximate 2,200 firefighters and support personnel who have left homes all over the United States to make camp at the rodeo grounds. "The cost is... Full story
Members of the Sisters contingent at Cycle Oregon. photo courtesy of John Rahm A "tribe" of riders from Sisters made it through the hundreds of miles of Cycle Oregon September 6-13, trekking through the Wallowas of Eastern Oregon. The 26 riders who hit the road under the auspices of Sisters Athletic Club represented the largest club contingent on the ride. They made their presence known for another reason as well: While Cycle Oregon is a heavily male-dominated event, the Siste... Full story
Working on 7,000 calories per day... photo by Torri Barco Covered in soot and dried sweat, 1,000-plus firefighters return from a 15-hour work day of fighting the B&B Complex Fire. They line up outside of two tin trailers and wait for hours to use one of 30 shower stalls in the camp. By the time they are showered and fed, they often head straight to the personal tents they carried from home and crash on a sleeping bag or small mattress. After five to seven hours of sleep, they wake up and head once again to fight the... Full story
(L.-R.) Bill Archuleta from Brookings; Lester Hall, Grants Pass; Barbara Detzel, Redmond; Mark Kelso, Grants Pass; and Oliver Trussel from Bend. photo by Tom Chace They sleep on cots. They pay their own way. They drive from all over the state to help those in need. These volunteers are part of the Disaster Relief program of the American Red Cross. Many think of Red Cross workers rolling bandages or nursing the wounded during wartime. They still do that but now they do much more. Lester Hall drove to Sisters from Grants Pass... Full story
As the Sisters community dedicated its new high school last week, seven-tenths of a mile down the Old McKenzie Highway (Highway 242) toward town, Middle School Principal Lora Nordquist was busily preparing for the opening of her own "new" school, the remodeled former high school. And she was as happy as if the building were brand new. "We were so crowded at the other site (the old middle school on Cascade Avenue in the middle of town)," she said. "We were in five buildings there, you know. Here we are all under one roof. The... Full story
Work is well underway at Park Place. photo by Jim Cornelius New roads are being paved this week as part of a $6.9-million project that will add 40 homes in a new Sisters subdivision called Park Place. The developer, Steve McGhehey of Redstone Construction Services in Sisters, owns the 7.4 acres of property near the Tamarack Village apartments on Larch Avenue on the north end of town. McGhehey is paving two new streets -- Black Butte Avenue and Song Bird Loop. He is also building an extension of North Fir Street. Ranging in... Full story
Gator Beat entertained at the school dedication. photo by Jim Cornelius More than 200 people, from babies to grandparents, helped Sisters school officials dedicate the community's new high school on a mild Thursday afternoon, September 11. After the half-hour ceremony on the school's front plaza, many accepted Superintendent Lynn Baker's invitation to tour the building. What they saw was a handsome structure with state-of-the-art equipment. It is half again as large as the building it replaces, containing 152,000 square feet... Full story
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: Last week the... Full story
- City Council Meeting 7 p.m., 2nd and 4th Thursday each month, Sisters City Hall. 549-6022. - School Board Meeting 7 p.m., 2nd Monday each month, middle school lecture/drama room. 549-8521. - Black Butte School District Board of Directors meets 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., Black Butte School. 595-6203. - Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month, 8 to 9 a.m. at Sisters Fire Hall, 549-0251. - Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD meets for drill every Monday, 7 p.m. Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St.... Full story
- Deputies and Black Butte Ranch Police arrested a 44-year-old man for fourth degree assault, recklessly endangering another and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The arrests were made in connection with a family dispute. - A woman reported that someone stole her Yamaha quad runner out of her pick-up. A chainsaw also went missing. - A woman was bitten by dogs while riding her bike in a Sisters neighborhood. - Someone pulled up highway signs along Camp Polk Road and dumped them near the sewage treatment plant.... Full story
Sisters residents may soon be able to check out a book and drop off a ballot or pay their water bill with one stop. The Deschutes Public Library District is considering building a new Sisters Library where Sisters Middle School now stands. The City of Sisters may build a new City Hall in the same area. "The (school) district is very interested in selling a portion of the middle school property to both the city and the library," said Sisters School Board Chairman Glen Lasken. T... Full story
