News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 31
Jeremy Michael Reznick and Justin Eugene Ladd of Sisters will face trial on sex abuse charges on April 25. A third Sisters man, Jonathan Taylor White, has already pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree sex abuse, according to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. White, who was 19 at the time of the offense, faces mandatory sentences of 75 months in prison on each count under Measure 11 sentencing guidelines. According to the DA’s office, the judge could make the sentences concurrent. Reznick and Ladd wil... Full story
Eight bidders threw their hats into the ring for the construction of a new Sisters City Hall. Kirby Nagelhout Construction of Bend was the lowest conforming bidder at $1.367 million, according to City Manager Eileen Stein. The city council is expected to vote on acceptance of the bid at its Thursday, March 23, meeting. Nagelhout’s bid came in just under the city’s estimate of $1.389 million. “It’s right on target,” Stein said. Stein said the city will finalize plans to issue a... Full story
Sisters school administrators and board members breathed easier last week after receiving a 14-page report on what was wrong with the way statewide math tests were given to third graders. The findings were not as bad as many feared. Nancy Brown, a retired state mediator who was hired to investigate the problem, concluded: “…the third grade teachers who administered the OSA math test and allowed the students to use the ‘Everyday Mathematics Student Reference Book’ did not intentionally violate the rules regarding what materia... Full story
An independent investigation of teachers’ practices in administering state standardized tests at Sisters Elementary School has cleared the teachers of any deliberate wrongdoing (see story, page 1). The past several weeks since the matter came under scrutiny have been tough ones for the teachers involved. Honest, honorable and dedicated people have felt their integrity called into question. Some feel they have let their colleagues down by calling into question Sisters E... Full story
To the Editor: I am a native Oregonian, it will always be my real home. On a recent trip to a family home in Black Butte Ranch, a newspaper article caught my attention and so I did some background checking to see if I understood the problem. Sadly, my first take was correct. During testing “teachers” (who should receive a medal) may have offered assistance to Johnny or Suzy? The crime — “Mrs. Smith, I don’t remember how to do long division.” “Here Johnny is a sample of how you do long division.” Not, “here is the answer, or... Full story
Nicholas Patterson will face trial on charges that he set a fire that gutted the McDonald’s building that was under construction in Sisters last July. The McDonald’s and Mainline Station convenience store were rebuilt. Patterson reportedly requested a speedy trial last week after having been in jail for almost eight months. A trial date has been set for May 2 and the trial is scheduled to last for five days. Patterson has retained a new attorney, Tom Howes of Bend. Patterson has been charged with six counts of Arson I and... Full story
Fire Chief Ed Sherrell and his personnel can take a deep breath now: residents approved a five-year fire protection tax option by a write-in ballot last week. “That levy will replace a current levy of 38.5 cents that had one more year to run,” Sherrell said. Some 82 percent of those voting approved a new rate of 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Most important is the fact that the 192 residents who voted represented 62 percent of registered voters in the district. That more than met the “double majority” require... Full story
For three decades his name, face and voice were familiar to television viewers on two networks. Barry Serafin was a news correspondent with ABC News for over 20 years and with CBS News for 10 years. A year and a half ago, he retired to Sisters. Serafin covered many events, including Watergate, three presidential campaigns, the United States invasion of Grenada, the Falkland Islands War, the Iran hostage crisis and sniper shootings in Washington, D.C. He won two Emmy Awards,... Full story
Salmon may soon swim in the waters of Whychus Creek (formerly Squaw Creek). Closing out Central Oregon Community College’s winter Lunch and Learn program, Scott McCaulou outlined plans to reintroduce salmon to the Sisters waterway. McCaulou, a researcher for the Deschutes River Conservancy, spoke at the Sisters Library and described several events that will take place over the next five years. “Steelhead and Chinook fry will be planted in the creek during 2007,” he said.... Full story
A woman died Saturday evening, March 18, when the vehicle she was a passenger in crashed head-on with a sport utility vehicle while trying to negotiate a curve on Highway 20 near the Hoodoo Junction. Four others were injured. According to Oregon State Police, at approximately 8:10 p.m., a 1998 Chevrolet Prism passenger car driven by Pengcheng Wu, 33, from Corvallis, was westbound on Highway 20 near milepost 79 attempting to negotiate a downhill right hand curve when it crossed the centerline and crashed head-on with an... Full story
Meeting the author of some of your favorite books is a rare opportunity. About 100 local students got that chance when award-winning author Ben Mikaelsen spent 90 minutes at Sisters Middle School last week. The event was sponsored by the Deschutes County Library. Mikaelsen, whose titles include “Petey,” “Touching Spirit Bear,” and “Tree Girl,” has won numerous awards for his books including the International Reading Association Award and the Northwest Readers’ Choice Award.... Full story
• SisterScapes will be offering a full nursery this spring and the first plants to arrive are the Rock Daphne. Those with a green thumb are invited to stop at the headquarters on Highway 20 east of town to see the changes, or call 549-9691. • Kate Aspen Studios is hosting three trunk shows in March and April featuring beads from Arizona, India and Africa. Call 549-6950 for more information. • Ink Cartridge Rechargers is a new business in town dedicated to saving customers money by recharging inkjet printer cartridges with... Full story
The Oregon Supreme Court’s decision that Measure 37 was not unconstitutional quietly became law on Monday, March 13, when it was officially recorded in Salem. Measure 37 is the 2004 voter-approved law requiring state, county and city governments to either pay property owners for lost value caused by past land use rule changes or to waive the land use requirements. That Supreme Court decision overturned a lower court’s ruling that the law was unconstitutional. With Measure 37 approved as law, governments involved in the law... Full story
Jerry Werner has done everything from art for Disney to creating his own dining room set. And he has more ideas than he can probably ever use, but that isn’t stopping him from trying. Tune in to Oregon Art Beat on the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting on Thursday, March 23, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 26, at 6 p.m. to see a feature on this multi-talented Sisters-area artist. Werner’s most visible work is a public mural at Barclay Park in downtown Sisters. The broadcast also features a visit with Alice Wanke Ste... Full story
The continuation of winter weather didn’t keep the Sisters girls and boys track teams from showing some spark at the Mountain View Icebreaker held Thursday, March 16, in Bend. Amid cold wind, rain, sleet and snow the Outlaws had a number of athletes close to personal bests and one near-school record. Kelsey Neilson cleared 4-feet-10-inches to tie the school high jump record and considering the conditions, the record is likely to fall soon. Other top performances included a s... Full story
When Brian Rankin became the new planning director for the City of Sisters earlier this year, he took over at a pivotal time in the city’s growth. Rankin is familiar with the issues facing Sisters having worked with the department for five years before taking the leadership position. Rankin was involved in creating the Sisters Area Comprehensive Plan which is designed to guide the future development of the greater Sisters area. Rankin began working on the Comprehensive Plan i... Full story
A mediation session last week failed to resolve the dispute between Sisters School District and parent John Shepherd. School Superintendent Ted Thonstad said he and Shepherd “had a good conversation” during the two-hour meeting with mediator John Gapp, but didn’t achieve any resolution of their differences. Shepherd has filed suit in the small claims division of Deschutes County Circuit Court asking the school district to pay $2,928 for the tuition his son Jonathan will be charged as a full-time student at Central Orego... Full story
Sophomores Camille Pederson and Sam Stoneback led the Outlaws to a double-header softball victory over Culver at home on Saturday, March 18. Sisters defeated Culver 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second. Pederson hit a three-run homer in both games to give the Outlaws all the offense they needed. Stoneback pitched both games in their entirety. In the first game of the day Culver took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Sisters’ offense kicked into gear in the fourth. Becky Bremer and Stoneback started the inning with s... Full story
Georgia Gallagher, a long-time Sisters resident and the 1944 Sisters Rodeo queen, has been named Grand Marshal for the 2006 Sisters Rodeo parade. In the role, she will ride in a carriage at the head of the June 10 parade and also be introduced at rodeo performances that weekend. Gallagher has been involved with the Sisters Rodeo from the beginning. Her father, Ellis Edgington, was one of the organizers of the rodeo in 1940. She often rode horseback in the parades with her... Full story
The Sisters High School boys varsity baseball team was soundly defeated 21-3 in just five innings by Summit on Friday, March 17. The first pre-season game of the year was a rough one for the Outlaws and coach Kevin Bigby faced the challenge of having only nine varsity players and 10 JV players on the roster. The top of the first inning looked promising for Sisters. Jeff Fitter led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. With two outs Hayden Mayea hit the ball all the way to the fence and the Outla... Full story
John Sarsfield Berry, a 13-year resident of Sisters, passed away peacefully Tuesday, March 14, at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. He was 78. Born on May 17, 1927 in Miami, Florida, he was raised in Hartford and Manchester, Connecticut. Known to friends and family as “Jack,” he served in the United States Navy in 1946 on the USS Iowa as a radio operator. He was part of a contingent of Americans called into service to relieve servicemen returning home from World War II. He... Full story
Jack Eugene Ulstad Sr. of Bend died March 13 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 77. A memorial service was held last Saturday at the chapel at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. Mr. Ulstad was born April 5, 1928 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Morris Ulstad and Elnora (Smith) Shriner. He married Donna Miller on March 12, 1949 in Mason City, Iowa. Mr. Ulstad worked as the president of ATCO in San Jose, California. He retired in 1985. He was a member of Kiwanis, Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the Academy of Model Aeronautics. He e... Full story
Lacey Pierce Brown passed away on March 6, 2006 It was the night of March 5. There was a strong wind blowing that evening. The night before, the mother and daughter had held hands in the air and talked of flying. As hard as it was for the mother, it was giving the daughter permission to continue the next phase of her journey. The wind continued to blow well into the night. As the wind diminished into the early hours of Monday morning, there came the brother riding the wind. He extended his hand for Lacey, and she grabbed it... Full story
More new homes can now be constructed near Sisters Elementary School. The River View Estates subdivision got the green light at last Thursday’s Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission meeting. The 2.25-acre site backs up to the school playground and Highway 20 and extends beyond the Timber Creek subdivision. At the monthly planning meeting in February, commissioners voted against the 13-home subdivision because they were concerned about the possibility of flooding from nearby Whychus Creek. Flooding was still the main issue d... Full story
• Deputies responded to reports of a man behaving very strangely in Sisters. The man was extremely drunk. His mother took him home. • A driver hit an elk and had his windshield completely knocked out. • Son brings home new girlfriend. Son and new girlfriend leave and several items are found missing. Dad calls the sheriff’s office. Son denies any involvement. • A digital camera was reported stolen from a purse at Sisters High School. • Deputies are providing extra patrol in a forested subdivision area where motorcycle... Full story
