News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
Vote Yes on Measure 35 Placing a $500,000 cap on non-economic damage awards in medical liability cases is a step toward controlling spiraling medical costs. Oregon, like the rest of the nation, faces a growing crisis in health care; costs continue to increase, access to critical services is diminished and affordable coverage is harder to come by for both businesses and individuals. Measure 35 will not solve all of these problems. It does, however, hold out some hope of reining in liability insurance costs. At the same time,... Full story
A work crew diverted the creek to punch a waterline across the creekbed. photo by Jim Mitchell Developer Bruce Forbes, assisted by Gary Tewalt and crew, completed the difficult task of "tunneling" a water line under Squaw Creek on Friday afternoon, October 8. The project was closely observed, with city officials and local residents lining both banks of the stream. The project had begun two weeks prior (The Nugget, September 9, 2004), then stopped when it became obvious that the amount of soil to be moved would exceed the... Full story
Detectives from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office discovered the apparent suicide of a Sisters man on Sunday, October 10. Friends identified the man as Donald Sailer Sullivan, widely known in Sisters as "Sully." According to sheriff's office reports, deputies received a cell phone call from the Sisters resident at about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, instructing them to respond to a house in town. There, the caller allegedly said, they would find directions to a suicide that would occur within five miles of the city. The caller... Full story
Changes are afoot at the ranger station. photo by Jim Cornelius Forest Service officials are thinking about changing their Sisters headquarters at the Pine Street location the agency has occupied since the 1950s. At an October 7 Sisters City Council workshop, Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony outlined details of the just-released "Preliminary Analysis of Development Alternatives for the Sisters Administrative Site." A team headed by Jerry Carlson, Regional Facilities Engineer, had been asked to develop a 50-year... Full story
Flu shots will be very hard to come by in Sisters this season. Hundreds of Sisters area residents waited in long lines at Ray's Food Place on Sunday, October 10, at a flu shot clinic, hoping to get their shots while there were some available. Due to contamination of some 50 percent of the vaccine doses supplied to health practitioners in the U.S., flu shots are in short supply across the nation. High Lakes Health Care in Sisters has no vaccines at all, according to nurse Sue Humiston. She urged high-risk patients to seek a... Full story
Visitors to the Sisters Harvest Faire stop by a vendor's booth where the specialty was cooking sauces. Patrons of the fair found a wide variety of wares to entice them. photo by Jim Cornelius The Sisters Harvest Faire defied the fickle fall weather, providing a weekend full of unique shopping under brilliant blue skies, with newly snow-capped mountains for a backdrop. The 23rd annual Sisters Harvest Faire featured more than 200 fine arts and crafts booths set up on a closed Hood Avenue on October 9 and 10. Vendors displayed t... Full story
Sisters High School Principal Bob Macauley took some heat last week from parents upset because the school dropped a ninth grade honors English class. Students were moved into a standard English class with a commitment to receive enrichment opportunities and "differentiated" teaching appropriate for their rate and level of learning. The move stood in apparent contradiction to an earlier statement by Macauley that the school had, despite budget cuts, added advanced-placement English classes and kept all the honors programs.... Full story
Sisters' downtown core was busy, but the cash registers didn't always ring. photo by Susan Springer Sisters business owners give this past summer season a mixed report card. Some noticed an increase in business compared with the summer of 2003 when forest fires kept visitors away. Yet all hope to see more local traffic in their businesses. Events brought many tourists to town, but that didn't necessarily translate into brisk trade. Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cheryl Rhea said, "We already have a... Full story
Annie Painter leads students. photo by Jim Mitchell There was no school in Sisters last Friday -- except for teachers. Almost 150 art teachers came to Sisters High School to learn from other teachers at the 2004 Oregon Art Education Association (OAEA) Fall Conference, "Art in the Pines." They came from all over the state. Sisters High School art teacher Mike Baynes started last summer with members of OAEA to organize the in-service program. About a dozen vendors displayed their wares in the commons area of the school. The... Full story
Community members talked of making Sisters more viable for artists. photo by Jim Mitchell For two days last week the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS) office was filled with artists, business owners, and politicians. The attraction was the first Sisters Arts Forum, an exploration of thoughts and ideas aimed at cultivating local economic development through the arts. Facilitator Vicki Dugger from Oregon Downtown Development Association led the discussions. The opening session with Sisters arts-based business owners discu... Full story
Squaw Creek, soon to become ..... Creek. photo by Jim Mitchell Squaw Creek has disappeared. Well, almost. Actually, in name only. As of the end of this year, the word "squaw" will be prohibited on any Oregon public property. On June 27, 2001, Oregon Senate Bill 488 declared, "A public body may not use the term 'squaw' in the name of a public property." However, Section 2 of the bill allows a public body that is currently using the term "squaw" in the name of a public property to do so until January 2, 2005. As the deadline... Full story
Jerry Taylor with his vintage racing Camaro. photo by Becky Coffield From his long and prosperous career with Les Schwab, to his involvement with Kiwanis and vintage car racing, Jerry Taylor runs on high octane, with more than enough vibrancy and enthusiasm to share with others. This Sisters resident deeply appreciates the opportunities that have come his way in his life and in turn he contributes to the community so that others may have similar opportunities. Born in Arkansas, Taylor moved to Hood River Valley when he was... Full story
Patricia Diane Gillespie, 52, of Sisters died late Tuesday evening after the vehicle she was operating left Highway 22 near milepost 72 and went down an embankment before coming to rest in the Santiam River. According to Oregon State Police reports, Gillespie was driving a 1999 Subaru Legacy station wagon eastbound on Highway 22 when it left the south side of the roadway at approximately 11:06 p.m. The vehicle went down an embankment about 60 feet and rolled over several logs, OSP reported. It came to rest on its wheels in... Full story
Detectives from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office have recovered a sculpture of a bronze bald eagle that was stolen from the Ghiglieri Gallery in Sisters last July. Detectives arrested Jeffrey Holland, 46, of Sisters, in connection with the theft. According to sheriff's office reports, deputies received word that the sculpture, valued at $70,000, was located in a storage unit rented by Holland at Storage Station of Sisters on N. Larch Street in the Sisters Industrial Park. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service will conduct a 66-acre controlled burn near Sisters on Friday, October 15. According to a U.S.F.S. spokesperson, the controlled burn will be conducted just east of the Crossroads subdivision on both sides of Highway 242. Weather permitting, the fire was to be ignited at noon. Flaggers will be in place to conduct traffic if smoke impacts the highway. The burn is being conducted to reduce wildfire fuels.... Full story
A memorial for Patricia "Trish" Gillespie has been set for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19, at Sisters Community Church. Gillespie was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 22 between Salem and Sisters on Tuesday night, October 12. For more information on services call 548-4406.... 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: Sometime ago, an... 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-Camp Sherman RFPD meets for drill every Monday, 7 p.m. Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St. 549-0771. - Sisters Kiwanis Club meets every Thursday, 7:30 a.m., Sisters Fire Hall. 549-1223. - Sisters Habitat for... Full story
The local option campaign has generated questions regarding the levy, the uses of the dollars produced, and school funding. Why do we need the local option--I thought the State funded education? The local option allows the district to preserve programs -- music, art, drama, and co-curricular activities -- that other districts have eliminated because of reductions in state funding. It pays for additional teachers, which keeps class sizes smaller than they would be without these teachers. It funds textbooks, technology, and ins... Full story
Vote No on Measure 36 Oregon National Guardsmen are dying in a deadly war, the state's economy still sputters, schools are broke and roads and bridges are falling appart. Yet the right wing managed to make a major electoral issue out of ... gay marriage. This is a non-issue with a simple solution. Government should get out of the marriage business. Churches should have the right to decide who shall "marry." Government should limit itself to recognizing civil unions between couples that would allow for benefits, rights to... Full story
- A deputy responded to a minor injury crash near the entrance to Squaw Creek Canyon Estates. - A resident reported possible poachers using spotlights to seek out deer in a nearby field. - A Sisters-area resident corralled 10 horses that escaped from a local ranch. - A woman tossed out $4,000 in cash along with bags of clothing and toys. - A woman persists in feeding her neighbor's horse, though she's been told by police to stop. - There were a couple of reports of possible gasoline theft. Prices are going up. Black Butte... Full story
