News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
Although it may not appear in history books years from now, the Battle of Whychus Creek has been ongoing for several generations. The battle revolves around conflicts over how much water has historically been taken out of the creek; how to restore water to the creek; home building near the creek; and destruction of riparian habitat. The river has survived several name changes, with the current name change from "Squaw Creek" to "Whychus Creek" being approved in 2006. Before settlers came to this area, Whychus Creek was a free... Full story
Food service is big business for the Sisters School District. Between 250 and 280 lunches and about 100 breakfasts are served at Sisters Elementary School each day. The middle school serves close to 225 lunches and 100 breakfasts, and the high school serves approximately 120 lunches and 80 breakfasts. Janice Comfort, Nutritional Service Coordinator, introduced the Farm to School program to Sisters schools in September. Through the program, fresh fruits and vegetables are... Full story
School officials in Sisters and across the state are holding their breath over the fate of two ballot measures that could have an enormous impact on school budgets. Oregon voters must pass judgment on Ballot Measures 41 and 48 on Tuesday, November 7. The passage of either one or both measures will impact the funding for state services, including the revenue Sisters schools receive. Ballot Measure 41 would allow Oregonians to take a deduction on their Oregon state taxes equal to that of the Federal exemptions deduction.... Full story
The City of Sisters faces several specific issues that will shape the future of the community: the fate of some 53 acres of the current U.S. Forest Service site; transportation; infrastructure; and housing. We believe that Bill Merrill, Lon Kellstrom and Dave Elliott are best-equipped to serve the city in facing those issues. Kellstrom's pragmatism and fiscal conservatism have served the city well throughout his long service on the council. Elliott brings the advantage of a... Full story
If Sisters voters want to end the kind of partisan bickering that characterizes too much of state and national government, we need to start electing candidates like Bill Smith. His nonpartisan outlook and approach are what is needed to break this state out of gridlock and return to the days when Oregon was held up as a beacon to others - as a state that works. Smith's focus on education will be valuable to Sisters, where the schools form such a vital part of the life of the community. Smith is his own man and walks that... Full story
To the Editor: Last week, you probably received a hefty Voters' Pamphlet that outlines ten state-wide measures that will appear on the ballot this election cycle. If you managed to wade through the legal text and polarized arguments for and against the various measures, you still missed discussion of the impact that two of these measures - 41 and 48 - would have on our local schools here in Sisters. The cuts we can expect from Measures 41 and 48 are almost 14 percent of the district's total budget. In rough terms, this... Full story
Sisters Elementary School teacher Leslie Waltz has started a new book club. The book club started off with a big hoot with Farley Mowat's classic, "Owls in the Family," complimented by another age-old children's classic, "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak and Bill Cosby's "One Dark and Scary Night." Waltz is assisted by Bill Mitchell, a paraprofessional teacher (who in his other life is a golf pro). Waltz and Mitchell decided to invite parents and children to... Full story
Lane Milroy, a sophomore at Sisters High School, has been selected to serve on State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo's Youth Advisory Team. This team is a group of students from all over Oregon who meet five or six times a year to discuss issues related to education and give recommendations to the superintendent. The team's first meeting of the year was held in Salem on October 20 at the Oregon Department of Education. "I am listening to the students that we serve," Castillo said. "They play an important role in... Full story
Dressed in bright yellow Senegalese costume, Hakim Muhammad and 17 Art Discovery Program and Americana Project students culminated Hakim Muhammad's week-long artist in residency program at Sisters Middle School with a rhythm-by-rhythm, call-and-response drumming presentation at Friday afternoon's school spirit assembly. Sisters Middle School participates in Caldera's Arts Partner School Program which provides arts education services to middle schools. Muhammad and four other... Full story
Justin Ellis' business card lists his occupation as "Seeker." It's a pretty good job title for a young man who spent his summer trekking across the United States on a bicycle, visiting farms to discover the state of American agriculture. He's visited 60 farms in his trek and has discovered - to no one's surprise - that farming as a way of life is under stress in America. "People... are skeptical of future prospects," he said. Farmers feel a reduction in the pride and respect... Full story
The Lady Outlaws were shut out 3-0 by the Cottage Grove Lions on Saturday, October 21 in their first loss of the year. With the loss the Outlaws dropped sole possession of the first place spot in the league and now share that spot with Marist. Coach Brian Holden said, "We lost our rhythm about 10 minutes into the game and never found it again." Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, October 17, Sisters defeated Junction City (JC) 6-1. Hattie Tehan had a hat trick in the game,... Full story
The Lady Outlaws swept La Pine 25-8, 25-18 and 25-18 on Thursday, October 19 and are currently tied with the Marist Spartans for second place in the Sky-Em League. Haylee Schaab, Kali Ulmer and Leslee Zenich each had five kills. Zenich also had three aces at the service line. Setters Katie Weber and Sam Stoneback combined for 27 assists. "We came out focused tonight," said Coach Chris Crosby. "We have really been working on our team communication on the court. We know that we have to keep talking to each other and... Full story
Black Butte Ranch (BBR) has announced the early closing of the Big Meadow Golf Course. The last day of operation was Sunday, October 22. The Big Meadow Golf Course opened late this year due to delays in the completion of the extensive remodel of the championship course. When the course was finally opened, golfers were forced to use temporary tees, as the grass on the redesigned tee boxes was not sufficiently mature to be safely used. The delays in opening and the necessity of the temporary tees were caused by the late spring... Full story
Mr. and Mrs. James Stunkel of Pleasanton, CA announce the marriage of their daughter Michelle to Andrew Carmichael, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Carmichael of Camp Sherman. Andy and Michelle were married June 9 in California and took a honeymoon trip to Mazatlan, Mexico. Andy is a 1999 graduate of Western Baptist College and is the sales manager for Work Shoe City of Portland. Michelle will graduate from Linfield's nursing program in December 2006. They make their home in... Full story
The Outlaws contest against Elmira on Friday, October 20 wasn't much of a contest at all. Though the Outlaws did not attempt to pile on the points, the game ended in a 75-20 win for Sisters. Elmira came up with a new offense to use in their match-up with the Outlaws. They threw away their running game and decided to go with a spread offense, and according to Coach Bob Macauley, created a lot of problems for the Outlaws defense in the first half. The Outlaws offense had no problems. Sisters opened the game in high fashion... Full story
Some children in Sisters can get their school meals for free or at a reduced rate. The Sisters School District is a sponsor of the Oregon Department of Education's Child Nutrition Program (CNP). Through the CNP the district participates in the Meal Benefits Program which provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free meals to district children. The program stresses the significant role that good nutrition plays in a child's emotional, physical and mental well-being. Free meals or reduced price meals are available to any... Full story
The Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is hosting an open house at the new location of the Chamber and Visitor Center at 291 E. Main Ave., the location of the old Sisters library. The open house will run from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 2. The event is open to the public and will feature live music, food and beverages. The new location of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center represents a unique community partnership, as the location is also home to the Community Action Team of... Full story
Lyn Jacobs, this year's chairman of Art at the Ranch, the annual art sale sponsored by the Black Butte Ranch Art Guild, reports that the guild has donated $3,000 from proceeds realized at this year's sale. Two thousand dollars was given to Sisters schools and a $1,000 scholarship was awarded. The annual fund- raiser, which has been held for approximately 20 years, took place the first weekend in September at Black Butte Ranch (BBR). Although the BBR Art Guild does not release the amount of money it earns from the sale, the... Full story
Record-breaking performances highlighted the Outlaws cross country team's final regular season meet at Elmira on Wednesday, October 18, and runners now look forward to district. Jena Rickards established a new school record for 5,000 meters on her way to a ninth-place finish in a blazing time of 19:40. Conditions were perfect for the meet, including dry, cool temperatures, excellent competition and a very flat, fast course. Rickards led the girls to a fourth-place finish... Full story
It's not unusual for horsemen to trailer up and head for the Sisters country for some beautiful autumn trail riding. Most folks, however, don't make the trip from Alaska. That's just what Bill and Diane Sullivan of Chugiak, Alaska did. The couple loaded up their Kentucky Mountain Horses and headed south down the Al-Can Highway, 4,700 miles to Sisters. "We had a cold, rainy summer," Diane said. "We're down here trying to chase more summer down." The weather turned the tables... Full story
In late August I had an opportunity to go over the mountains and spend three wonderful days with my friends at Lange Winery in Dundee, Oregon. I spent the time sketching and painting the vineyards and the vistas from their wonderful tasting room. Don and Wendy Lange have been generous and enthusiastic sponsors for the Sisters Folk Festival and the My Own Two Hands event for the last five years, providing us delicious wines to serve to our patrons and guests. It was so fun to b... Full story
• Deputies responded to a heroin overdose in Sisters. The victim was transported to St. Charles Medical Center. • A man was found lying in the street in a Sisters residential neighborhood. He was extremely intoxicated, didn't know how he got there nor where his vehicle was. A Black Butte Ranch officer who responded as backup took the man home. • A deputy arrested a man for hit-and-run after he ran into a fence at a Sisters business and took off. The man had no insurance, and the car wasn't his. • A... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service is making its plans and surveys for two salvage operations on a small portion of the area burned in the Black Crater Fire this past summer. No actual operations will commence for several months. The two different operations are only loosely connected. Robert Flores, Natural Resources Team Leader for the Sisters Ranger District, explained that one project is the "danger tree" removal project. This project concentrates only on areas near roads that pass through the burned areas. The project is mandated... Full story
Two development teams gathered last Thursday for the monthly Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission meeting, but they never got to make their case. The meeting was cancelled because only two of the seven commissioners showed up. Four are required for a quorum. Two public hearings were scheduled. The first was for Dutch Pacific Properties 40 acres of land for Sun Ranch Mixed Use Community. The second was for T-Mobile West Corporation to install a wireless telecommunications facility. City of Sisters Planning Director Brian... Full story
Sisters Middle School has grown from a student body of slightly more than 300 last year to approximately 450 students this year. The school is also acclimating to a whole new segment of population - fifth grade students. Factored into this equation are 12 new staff members, including the principal, eight new teachers, a new part-time special education behavioral specialist, a new school nurse and a new attendance secretary. More than one-third of the Sisters Middle School... Full story
