News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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This dangerous intersection will soon be changed. Drivers heading toward Suttle Lake this summer should factor in some extra time, because road construction projects will cause delays. The work on a new access road to Suttle Lake Resort and Cinder Beach is expected to have long lasting benefits to road safety and driving conditions in the area. "The work is scheduled during the summer to protect water quality in Lake Creek, Suttle Lake and the Metolius River and to protect spawning fish and bald eagles," said Maret Pajutee,... Full story
Trees in the Village Green Park are not so healthy. Sisters' parks are in fair shape, although some trees are suffering from mistletoe and needle blight. That was the conclusion of an urban forestry study conducted by Sisters High School students in the IEE (Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition) program. Matt Harp, Jeff Boswell, Pat McFarland, Josh Kelleher, and Michael Forcum presented their study to the Sisters City Council on Thursday, June 13. Trees in Creekside... Full story
Work will go forward on the next phase of construction for the new Sisters High School -- but not without considerable wrangling over the bids. Only one contractor -- Kirby Nagelhout Construction -- bid on four of the five elements of the second bid package. Nagelhout is also the project's Construction Manager/General Contractor. Doug Miller Construction landed the contract for site utilities for $330,000 plus bond costs. Miller's bid was just over half the bid placed by... Full story
Left to right: Anna Weiss, Sara Marcus, Trish Erickson and Jeff McDonald, manger of Ray's. Junior Girl Scout Troop 823 has spent the last six months saving, cutting and counting Campbell's Soup labels for Sisters Elementary School. This year, with the help of Ray's Food Place and the Sisters community, more than 16,000 labels were collected. Campbell's labels can be used to order new school supplies. This year the girls ordered electric pencil sharpeners for the classrooms. "While this may not have been the most exciting... Full story
SOAR Taekwondo will host the sixth annual Sisters Open Karate Championships on Saturday, June 22. The event will begin at 10 a.m. in the Sisters Elementary School gym. The event has grown each year and this time 100 competitors from various martial art styles will compete in point fighting, weapons and forms divisions. This is not a full contact event and, according to SOAR Taekwondo Director Tim Davis, the tournament is mostly geared towards the kids from karate schools throughout Oregon. However, adults will be featured in... Full story
The city of Sisters and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District will flush fire hydrants throughout Sisters in the coming days. Several two-man crews will start at the south end of Sisters and work their way north, finishing in the Sisters Industrial Park, the Pines and the Threewind Shopping Center. The crews will open and run each hydrant for three to five minutes. This exercise flushes the city water system while providing an opportunity for fire fighters to test the function and reliability of each... Full story
This week's Preschool Parade program, "Mother Goose," takes place on Thursday, June 20, at 10:30 a.m. Each Preschool Parade session features stories, finger rhymes, lap jogs, tickles and movement skills appropriate for children ages three through six years old. Parents or caregivers are required to attend the program with the child and encouraged to participate in all the activities. "Thursday Thrills" is a weekly program for ages six to 11, lasting 45 minutes. "Webs 'n' Wiggles," takes place on Thursday, June 20, at 2 p.m.... Full story
Sisters students provided an important link in a proposed Sisters trails system through a study of routes from local subdivisions to Sisters High School. The students in the IEE (Interactive Environmental Expedition) at the high school surveyed fellow students on trail usage, inventoried existing trails and analyzed possible improvements. Their work will be shared with the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS), which has been trying to develop a community-wide trail network.... Full story
Alan Dale is back home in Camp Sherman with his buddy Darla. Sixteen-year old Alan Dale had an exciting tour of four African countries during March and April. The Camp Sherman resident and Sisters High School junior visited Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. He went with two cousins, an aunt, uncle and two grandparents. "I was impressed with the lovely flowers and diverse animals we saw along our journey," said Alan. Part of this is preserved in the 20 rolls of film that he shot along the way. "There were lots of... Full story
The Sisters Rodeo has earned a prominent spot in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rankings. According to rodeo president Glenn Miller, the Sisters rodeo ranked Number 52 out of 680 PRCA rodeos in the United States based on total prize money. Sisters offered $124,436 last year. The Sisters Rodeo is the fourth largest in Oregon, behind the Pendleton Roundup, the St. Paul Rodeo and the Hermiston Rodeo. "That's why we're the 'Biggest Little Show in the World,'" Miller said.... Full story
Luke Ward described Peace Corps work in Paraguay. Luke Ward presented his slides and remembrances of three years as a Peace Corps beekeeper volunteer in Paraguay at last Monday's annual Friends of the Library dinner at Sisters Community Church hall. Ward and other Peace Corps members were asked to teach beekeeping skills to the local population. Ward trained for three months in agriculture, economics -- and beekeeping -- for the job. Ward displayed graphic color slides of working with the bees, finding and handling the... Full story
Surgical Instrument Services & Savings (SISS) is moving from the Sisters Industrial Park into larger facilities in Redmond. The move annoyed the Sisters City Council because the company had requested and received council support for an Oregon Business Development Fund loan of $100,000 -- based on the company's expressed intention to stay in Sisters. "This was not a process of hoodwinking or betraying anyone," company president Ken Stevenson told The Nugget. In a letter to... Full story
Bikers hit the road unhindered by cars. The McKenzie Pass on Highway 242 is open to bikers, hikers and walkers from Sisters to the summit at Dee Wright Observatory. At noon on June 24 the pass from Sisters to the observatory will be open to vehicle traffic. The west end of the McKenzie Pass is not expected to be open to traffic until mid-July due to snow accummulation and road work. The pass has bare pavement and ODOT crews will trim brush along the roadway, remove rocks, repair signs, and remove dead trees before opening to... Full story
Businesses that dump their cardboard in the 30 green Dumpsters scattered around Sisters will now have to pay $15 per month for the privilege. The Sisters City Council imposed a cardboard recycling container fee at their Thursday, June 13, meeting. "It's been a free service and to offset some of the losses, we've set upon ... a cardboard recycling fee," said public works director Gary Frazee. The city picks up cardboard from the Dumpsters and trucks it to Knott Landfill for sale. Frazee said the fee would not make the... Full story
Jerry Kollodge demonstrates the simple magic of the Compound Fishing Rod. Jerry Kollodge and his wife, Deb, were fishing for sturgeon seven years ago when Jerry was struck by the age-old inspired frustration of the born inventor: There's got to be a better way. The boat was full of fishermen wrestling with long rods, getting in each others way and, in Kollodge's estimation, using a lot more energy managing their fishing rod than in landing their fish. That experience led... Full story
Dan and Julia Rickards and family. The 2002 Art Stroll will mark the grand opening of the Clearwater Gallery, Sisters' newest addition in a growing fine arts market. Dan and Julia Rickards, proprietors of Clearwater, have operated out of their home for the past 11 years, where Dan's studio and the frame shop remain. The couple, who have lived in the Sisters area for eight years, made the move to open a gallery in order to bring a more consistent work schedule to their family. "For years we have done most of our business... Full story
Porsches on the road, by Suzi Sheward. Sisters artist Suzi Sheward has completed the second in a series of posters she is painting for Monte Shelton's Northwest Classic Road Rally. The rally wil take place August 8-11 from Portland to Eugene and around the Willamette Valley. This current poster features a 1962 Porsche Speedster, one of three usually competing in the event. The rally is composed of sports cars produced before 1969 and is limited to 90 cars. The drivers are given detailed instructions 15 minutes before each... Full story
Drs. Sharon Sharpnack and Susan Connor have turned over their business to Dr. Carl Berg. After 24 years of serving the community, Dr. Sharon Sharpnack and Dr. Susan Conner of Sisters Veterinary Clinic are entering semi-retirement. In a uniquely convivial move, they will continue to see some patients while turning over day-to-day management to a new owner -- Dr. Carl Berg. Doctors Sharpnack and Conner were the first identical twins to graduate from veterinary school in the United States. "We always wanted to be... Full story
Marcia Rietmann and Bear Brown spoke at a picnic at St. Edward's Catholic Church honoring Father Thomas Faucher. Parishioners at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Sisters invited friends from the community to share in a bittersweet farewell picnic for Father Thomas Faucher on Sunday, June 16. Faucher will offer one final Mass on Sunday, June 23, before departing for new duties in Idaho. Faucher has been "on loan" from the Diocese of Boise for six years; now the loan has finally been called in. Celebrants enjoyed the... Full story
The community Action Team of Sisters (CATS) Board of Directors voted unanimously last week to oppose the proposed Steens Mountain Squaw Creek land swap that would place 690 acres of land near Sisters in private ownership in exchange for 1,240 acres of in-holding in the Steens Mountain area. David Blair, administrative assistant to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D. OR) offered a presentation on the proposal at a board meeting of the Community Action Team of Sisters CATS board members were provided with a map of the submitted... 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: I was very... Full story
The first time, the boy showed up at a neighbor's house -- after opening a gate and letting several horses loose. One horse suffered an injured leg. As deputies were responding to the report of a found child, they received word that the mother had called to report the boy missing. The tearful mother said she had been watching TV with the boy when he went outside to get the dog. She started looking frantically for him after he did not come back. Deputies told the woman to always call 9-1-1 first. The woman got to put that... Full story
A booming thunderstorm that rolled swiftly across the Sisters country Thursday night, June 13, left behind a half-dozen lightning fires. "We've got six small lightning fires this morning," reported Lorri Heath, Fire Management Officer for the Sisters Ranger District, on Friday. One fire, dubbed the Street Creek Fire, gained some ground, growing to about 45 acres and requiring an aggressive attack. The fire burned southwest of Lake Billy Chinook in ponderosa pine stands... Full story
Fun and laughter were the order of the day along the fairways at Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters on Friday, June 14 during the fifth annual Aspen Lakes Outlaw Open. The Sisters High School Outlaws football program netted $18,000 from the 120 golfers and their 120 guests. "The whole event is geared toward having fun," said Coach Bob Macauley, event organizer. "Golfing is really secondary to the whole event. When the golfing is over the fun really starts." After 18 holes of golf the players and dinner guests gathered in a... Full story