News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
The Lady Outlaws shut out Stayton 5-0 at home on Thursday, September 16, to kick off their league season. Sisters prepared well for their matchup against the Eagles, who in the past have always been a quarterfinal playoff team. Sisters started their scoring spree 10 minutes into the contest. The ball was distributed wide to Emma Lutz, who beat her defender and crossed the ball on the ground to Anya Shockley, who let the ball go through her legs to Hollie Lewis, who... Full story
Charlotte Kiffe Milam died on September 11, in Bellevue, Washington, at the age of 94. Charlotte was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 14, 1926, to Gerald Anthony and Rhoda Alvira (née Walin) Kiffe. She leaves behind two daughters, Debbie (Jim) Berkley and Dru (Jess) Winkle; five grandchildren, Peter Berkley, Mary (Karson) Shadley, John Helton, Becky (Patrick) Clark, and David Helton; and eight great-grandachildren, Kaylin Ryan, Timothy Ryan, Elliot Berkley,... Full story
Big Sky City Lights became a band based on the circumstances of the world last year. Susan O’Dea and Nick Spear had spent time working with Alpine Theater Company in Montana together and Spear directed O’Dea in her first show, so they had a musical connection early on in their careers. When the pandemic upended the live music world, they renewed that connection — virtually. “Nick and I had been friends for many years doing theater together and I reached out asking if he... Full story
Former Green Beret Magnus Johnson, who founded Mission 22 in 2013, has a theory about factors likely contributing to the high rate of suicide among veterans: “When the demand to serve is removed, we must reevaluate who and what we were and are. When meaningful, mutually appreciated service is lost from our lives, our sense of personal worth is, too… The actual cause of suicide is not participating in combat alone. It is its lack of meaning to our civilian c... Full story
Alessandra Wentworth is a senior at Sisters High School. She’s got big plans for her future with one common denominator: horses. She caught the horse-bug after attending a riding camp when she was nine. Now she’s sure she wants horses in her life forever. “I want to be an equine veterinarian, so I’m surrounded by horses all the time,” she laughed while grooming her horse Kilkenny I.Q. She boards her horse and takes jumping lessons from her longtime trainer, Cindy Shonka at JGW... Full story
Anti-vaxxers, a nebulous confederation that cannot easily be quantified nor qualified, use as one of their arguments adverse vaccine reactions as reported on VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Reaction Reporting System). The VAERS database is run by two federal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Any person, lay or professional, can report an adverse event that occurs after a vaccination, and anyone can view the... Full story
I’m guessing a good number of folk in Sisters know the name Ken Ruettgers. Some will recall he played for the Green Bay Packers. Others will remember him as a coach for the Outlaws. It’s possible a few have taken his course at COCC. He holds a doctorate degree in sociology, which may be at the heart of his activism. “As a sociologist I look for patterns,” Ruettgers said, when I spent more than an hour with him curious about the fuss some would say he has caused by taking... Full story
A partnership between Sisters Farmers Market, Seed to Table Oregon, and the Roundhouse Foundation is putting fresh food on the table for folks wanting to improve access to healthy sources of nutrition. Market Manager Caroline Hager says a grant from The Roundhouse Foundation funded efforts to launch the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the Market this season. A federal nutrition assistance program, SNAP provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals... Full story
The City of Sisters is accepting applications for volunteers for its boards and committees. The City has several opportunities that allow community members to fill an integral role in City government by advising the Sisters City Council on important issues. Community participation on City of Sisters boards and committees serves two essential purposes: Board members are directly involved in their local government and can positively impact their community’s future; and the City Council receives timely input and information r... Full story
Beginning Thursday, the Deschutes National Forest will be adding large logs and downed trees into the Metolius River to restore fish habitat. The work is part of an ongoing project that began in 2008 to restore large wood to the river to improve fish habitat. Nearly 1,000 trees have been placed in the river since that time. Monitoring of the previous placement of the large wood shows chinook salmon densities increasing in project sites by 300 percent. Using heavy equipment, approximately 80 large logs and downed trees will... Full story
The Lady Outlaws earned championship honors at the annual Sisters Invitational Tournament held on Saturday, September 18. Sisters hosted the 16-team tournament, which included eight of the top-10 ranked teams in the state at the 4A level. Sisters didn’t drop a set the entire tournament. They finished pool play 6-0 with wins over Madras, Siuslaw, and Cottage Grove, and were ranked first for the afternoon bracket. All five of the Oregon West teams made it to the Gold Bracket, i... Full story
Bill and Cathy Harwood wrote: Sisters proud… My wife and I sponsored an Air Force Reunion in Sisters September 9-12. We are a group of mainly Vietnam-era vets, all who worked reconnaissance cameras on SR-71, U-2, and RF-4C aircraft. We meet every two years. Previous years our reunions have been held in major cities. This year we wanted to show them the beautiful city and people of Sisters (after being canceled last year due to COVID). Coming from 10 different states, they were not disappointed. We want to thank the... Full story
Sisters Arts Association’s Fourth Friday Artwalk on Sept. 24 kicks off a whole weekend of Art in Sisters Country. After browsing through galleries on Friday, art lovers can hit the road on Saturday and Sunday to meet artists in their home studios, during the Fifth Annual Artist Studio Tour. Twenty-five studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 35 artists who display and meet visitors face-to-face (albeit with masks on!). Three galleries swing into the Artist Studio T... Full story
Fall weather has arrived — which means that conditions can change quickly. A pair of hikers near Sisters got caught unprepared for conditions over the weekend and required help from Deschutes County Search and Rescue. On Saturday, September 18, at about 10:30 a.m., Deschutes County Dispatch Search and Rescue was advised of two hikers needing assistance at Camp Lake near Pole Creek Trailhead outside of Sisters. Deschutes County 911 had received a report from Garmin GPS emergency response that they had received an... Full story
The Outlaws shut out La?Pine 7-0 on Monday, September 13, but on Thursday their 3-0 winning streak came to an end with a 0-5 road loss at Stayton. In Monday’s matchup against the Hawks, junior Tate Kaczmarek quickly put the Outlaws on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal at the two-minute mark. Coach Jeff Husmann said, “We’d seen La Pine play in our home preseason jamboree and knew they had a few skilled players. One thing we’ve worked at is making sure, regardless of our opponent, is that we establish the tone early i... Full story
Sisters was clobbered by the Vikings at the new Caldera High School on Friday, September 17, and in the end suffered a devastating 0-50 loss. Caldera, the No. 2 ranked team in the state, was just too much for the young Sisters team to handle. At the close of the first quarter the Outlaws trailed 0-22 and by the half they were down 0-43. With the help of a running clock, the Vikings only scored seven points in the final two quarters. The Outlaws did threaten to score, but time... Full story
The second race of the season shone light on the progress being made by the Outlaws cross-country team. The runners produced a solid performance at the Northwest Classic held Saturday, September 18, at Lane Community College. But the season is young and further improvement is certainly expected in the weeks ahead, according to the team’s coaches. The boys varsity team, which included two freshmen running their five-kilometer debuts, placed fourth overall in a field of 17 t... Full story
Alesha Faris, licensed massage therapist (LMT) has had a passion for helping people since she was a young girl, and she’s turned that passion into her own practice. Faris was born and raised in Sisters, being a resident since 1995. Faris became officially licensed to practice massage in 2014 after realizing she could make her lifelong passion a profession. “I studied all areas of massage — Swedish, Thai, pregnancy massage — particularly therapeutic massage, and sta... Full story
This week and part of next week, seven people who traveled to Sisters from three different states will be making a difference for current and future homeowners in the Sisters Habitat for Humanity home-ownership program. The construction volunteers are part of the RV-Care-A-Vanners program through Habitat for Humanity International. The program started back up this past June after being put on hold because of COVID-19 restrictions. The group will be working at two new homes in... Full story
After 19 years of helping 63 families on their journey to home-ownership, Marie Clasen has hung up her hardhat as Sisters Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer and family services manager. She wrapped up her tenure surrounded by coworkers, volunteers, Habitat families, and her friends and family at a retirement party featuring David Jacobs-Strain and his band. The party was planned by Clasen herself, and it’s no surprise as she was the go-to gal to coordinate home dedications, gro... Full story
We humans tend to remember the past as better; from “bigger fish” to life having been a glowing state of bliss, regardless of what actually happened. A recent Letter to the Editor identifies the “better” past starting with an 1828 (!) definition of education promoting a religiously based, loving thy neighbor, up to a 1950/60s “Leave It to Beaver” world that we should now turn to as a guide in order not to focus on skin color. I beg your pardon? Let me get this straight. Now that we are actually seeing how our people of color... Full story
School is back in session To the Editor: I want to thank everyone for a successful first week of the 2021-22 school year. It is great to start the year with all of our students in class for in-person learning. Thank you for following the physical distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing protocols that have been put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. Again, our schools are an ecosystem consisting of a wide range of people from our community. Although I know that we all would prefer not to wear masks, the safety of the... Full story
It’s time for theatrics around masks in schools to stop. Twice, school board meetings have been derailed by people protesting mask mandates. Protest in itself isn’t the issue. The right to dissent and to demonstrate are fundamental to the American ethos. Demonstrators turned out for weeks in 2020, lining Cascade Avenue to express their views on race in America. Those demonstrators emphatically made their feelings known — but they didn’t block traffic on the highway. What happened at the August 4 and September 8 schoo... Full story
If you think you and your friends are disappointed that this year’s 11th Annual Fresh Hop Festival has been canceled, imagine being a brewer. Imagine being the organizer, Three Creeks Brewing Co. Beer drinkers and event goers take for granted the months of work that goes into planning and promoting such an event. Fresh hop beers from over 20 Oregon craft brewers were on slate alongside music bands, food carts, and other vendors. Then there’s the loss of the estimated $10... Full story
Depending on weather conditions, the Deschutes National Forest will apply herbicides to invasive plants in an area adjacent to the Metolius River and the Metolius River Trail in late September. The treatments will occur September 27-30, 2021, along the Metolius River Trail (trail 4020 on the west side and trail 4018, east side). The Sisters Ranger District will use Roundup Custom and Polaris to treat invasive non-native ribbongrass, reed canarygrass, perennial peavine, and yellow flag iris on about one acre of the Metolius... Full story
