News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 9 of 9
The Oregon Department of Transportation closed the McKenzie Pass on Friday, October 18. This is the earliest closing of the pass since 1925 when records were first kept. ODOT said the 12 inches of snowfall expected for Friday night would create conditions hazardous for both highway maintenance crews and the public. "Plows used to maintain modern highways cannot fit onto one side of the narrow McKenzie Highway and the sharp, blind corners greatly increase chances of collision between plows and highway users in heavy snow condi... Full story
Any way you add up the money, the City of Sisters is coming up short. And the problem may be that the city is simply providing better service than it can afford. After weeks of crunching numbers and estimating resources, the Sisters Budget Committee figures the city is facing a budget shortfall this year of about $86,897. By eliminating pay increases, payroll reserves and deferring capital improvements, the city thinks that figure can be knocked down to about $60,097. The... Full story
To the Editor: We want to thank the 173 registered voters within Sisters who signed the petition to place Measure 9-40 on the ballot. This measure, if passed, will allow every voter in our town to voice his individual preference on any land annexation. Currently, the five members of the city council have that exclusive privilege of deciding for the rest of us, rarely if ever canvassing for our opinions. The two of us have each served a couple of times on both Sisters' governmental bodies. We know that expanding the city... Full story
End of day. We look forward to it as we make our way through work and studies and all the in-between things that occupy us. Families reunite, gathering from the four winds, leaving personal spheres to rejoin the nucleus, the hub. If there is a best and worst time of day, I think it is the hour just before dinner, that hour of exquisite irony wherein our needs to meet and restore one another often collide with the reality of fatigue and low blood sugar. Often the members of our little teams are coming in with their landing... Full story
Sisters resident Steve Blake braved snow and bone-chilling water last week to rescue some 150 fish left high and dry in an irrigation diversion canal. The fish rescue operation is an annual tradition for Blake. As soon as the Squaw Creek Irrigation District closes the gates that divert water from the creek into the canal that runs to Cloverdale, Blake dons waders and grabs a net to catch the fish left stranded in the swiftly diminishing waters of the canal. Blake returns the... Full story
Winter hit higher elevations last week, making for hazardous driving conditions. As much as a foot-and-a-half of snow fell on the Santiam Pass by Saturday night, October 19, compounding danger on the already treacherous stretch of the Santiam Highway from Sisters to the Santiam Junction, one of the 10 deadliest roadways in the state. With the onset of snowy weather, state police and the Oregon Department of Transportation began enforcing winter driving regulations. Senior Trooper Mike Decker of the Oregon State Police... Full story
Smoldering burn piles in the Sisters area have drawn the attention of the Sisters/Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District. "We are going to start citing people," said RFPD Chief Don Mouser. "They are burning trash and other stuff and they let (the fires) go all night and stink up the neighborhood." Mouser said his department had received a number of complaints about the fires, especially from people with lung ailments such as asthma during periods of little wind and temperature inversion, which are common at this time of... Full story
Chilly weather prompted Philip Yates to fire up his wood stove on Sunday, which caused a flue fire at about 10:15 p.m., badly damaging his home at 155 Maple Street in Sisters. According to Sisters Fire Chief Don Mouser, the blaze and suppression efforts destroyed portions of the roof, structural rafters, joists, the ceiling and carpet in the living room and one bedroom. Mouser had no estimate of what the damage would cost to repair. Mouser said the most likely cause of the blaze was a build up of creosote in the stove. He... Full story
Five members of a soccer team from the Roseburg area were injured early Saturday, October 19, when the van they were riding in skidded on an icy road and rolled over. The accident occurred at about 12:30 a.m. on Highway 20 two and a half miles east of Sisters. Police reports indicated that Ronald Bruce Myers, was driving eastbound when he lost control of the van and skidded off onto the north shoulder of the road. The van rolled and came to rest on its roof. The passengers were transported by Sisters Ambulance to St. Charles... Full story
