News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Students at Sisters High School honored area veterans last Thursday in a moving school-wide assembly. Veterans were treated to a warm breakfast and had the opportunity to visit, share stories, and not a few laughs. The veterans in attendance spanned the spectrum of our nation's conflicts, from World War II-including a Pearl Harbor survivor-to a young Marine private who had graduated boot camp only a few days prior. After gathering for a group portrait, the veterans filed into... Full story
After a contentious campaign that saw allegations of cronyism, workplace harassment and retaliation from the challenger - and counter-accusations of policy violations - newly elected Sheriff Shane Nelson is looking forward to his first full term as Deschutes County Sheriff. "I am very happy, and thankful to my family, teammates, and the citizens of Deschutes County, who had confidence in me," Nelson told The Nugget. "We have a great team, great people, and we are proud to... Full story
"I'm glad to be out here, this is my favorite part of the program; a chance to give back to the community," Cadet Jason McCabe, 17, of Damascus, Oregon said as he dug up another shovelful of rock from an illegal dam on Indian Ford Creek. The program of which McCabe is a part is the Oregon National Guard Youth Challenge Program (ONGYCP). The Oregon National Guard Youth Challenge Program is an alternative residential high school, where cadets (students) live on-site just east... Full story
• On Wednesday, November 16, 6 p.m. at FivePine Lodge, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel will host a public meeting to share with the community the work that the DeschutesSafe team is doing and to provide a forum for residents to share their thoughts on safety and crime prevention. The initial results from the DeschutesSafe public safety survey will be revealed during the meeting. • The Sisters Planning Commission will meet on Thursday,... Full story
To the Editor: We have been blessed by a community that honors and remembers America's veterans. And yesterday, we were doubly blessed by one young man from the high school who took it upon himself to show respect, honor and love to veterans in the community. Yesterday, I answered the door to find an impressive young person who desired to do something, all on his own, for veterans. He stated that Coach (Steve) Hodges had told him a veteran lived here and he came to bring us a pie. He said he had every kind of pie and we... Full story
This election cycle has deeply divided our country. I find this truly disturbing and completely counterproductive. There are serious divisions not only between the two major parties, but within them as well. Half the country is elated with giving Washington a candidate perceived as a change agent. The other half is in disbelief, shock and pain. Many people of color and religions outside of white Anglo-Saxons and Christianity are afraid; our economy sputters; our bridges and roads crumble; our challenges - physically and emoti... Full story
It's a good time for proponents of vocational education at Sisters High School (SHS). Earlier this fall, The Roundhouse Foundation announced it will give $250,000 over five years to fund programs ranging from welding to diesel mechanics and computer-aided design and technology. Last week, Oregon voters approved by a wide margin a ballot measure that will inject an estimated $300 million into the state's public high schools, for dropout prevention along with career and college... Full story
A monitoring buoy in Suttle Lake has gathered its first partial season of data on lake conditions. Volunteers recently removed the NexSens CB-450 data buoy from the water to store it for the winter. It will go back into the lake once winter conditions slide into spring, so that key data can be collected to help shape how the Forest Service manages the lake toward reintroduction of sockeye salmon. The buoy is equipped with a number of sensors to gather measurements on... Full story
It was a sickening punch in the gut. Last week, one of the staff at Lakeview Millworks in Sisters told owner/operator Brad King that she couldn't get into some of her files. King investigated. "My jaw dropped as I realized that a lot of files were frozen," he told The Nugget. He found encryption that included a particular word: Thor. He contacted the company he uses for tech support and got bad news: "They said, 'Oh my gosh - you guys have gotten the Thor virus.' We were... Full story
Since November 8, millions of words have been written and spoken by those who are either elated or appalled with the election of Donald Trump as our 45th president. Never in my lifetime do I remember witnessing a presidential campaign so focused on personality flaws rather than policy. The negative campaign ads, disrespectful rhetoric, character assassinations, and unchallenged lies, created an unparalleled low in the history of American politics. There have been other nasty... Full story
Alan Von Stein is the new Sisters High School girls varsity basketball coach. He is ready to begin the 2016-2017 season. Von Stein brings years of experience to the girls basketball program. He grew up in Ohio and was a three-sport athlete. He played football, basketball, and track, but basketball was by far his favorite. However, while playing football, he tore his ACL and MCL, which ended his sports career. Von Stein started coaching 22 years ago while living in Indiana, a state which takes its basketball very seriously.... Full story
Last Saturday was a red-letter day for the deer population of Sisters Country. Right around noon, Judy Niedzwiecke, who operates Wildside Rehabilitation, Inc, in Bend (http://www.wildsiderehab.com), and her crew of volunteers arrived at Gayle Baker's Rimrock Ranch with a horse trailer half-full of rehabbed mule deer fawns to be released on the banks of Whychus Creek. This is a usual fall event for Wildside, who took over the fawn rehab responsibility from wildlife rehabber... Full story
On Wednesday, November 2, three small buses rolled up to the parking area at Riverside Campground on the Metolius. With much glee and anticipation, 45 middle schoolers and their teachers - all from Cascade Academy in Tumalo - bailed out of the buses to meet their leader of the day, Kolleen Miller, education director of the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council based in Bend. Even with the morning sun it was pretty chilly, only in the high 30s, as Miller told them what they were... Full story
What started out as a "whim" for McKenzie Lighty-Wilcox has turned into a calling and a life adventure. Born and raised in Bend, she moved to Portland in 2008. She had been interested in a career in health since she took a health occupations course in high school. She decided to attend an intensive six-month program in massage therapy in Ashland. "I kind of went on a whim," she said. Initially overwhelmed with information on the anatomy and function of the body, McKenzie gradu... Full story
Wilma was born in Dinuba, California, to William and Gertrude Loving. She had a twin brother, Jordan; and a younger brother, Duane. She lived in Monterey and Visalia, California and later in Vale, Oregon. She spent one year at Oregon State College where she became a Beaver Believer. She moved to eastern Washington in the early '50s where she met her husband Raymond. They married in Quincy, Washington, in 1954 and had four children: Shelden (1955), Curtis (1956), Raelene (1960), Shirley (1962). In 1973, the family moved to... Full story
I've done virtually everything in this life out of traditional sequence, against great counsel, or on a passionate lark. Not exactly the full contrarian, who withdraws when ordered to attack, and says yes when he means no, I still went to college. I even protested the first Gulf War by quoting Abby Hoffman at some horribly self-conscious rally of the patchouli-oil-and-granola set. On the quad. With a bull-horn. I secured a delightfully meaningless graduate degree - and a... Full story
Thanksgiving - what a wonderful holiday! We hear that more people travel for this yearly celebration to be with family and friends than any other during the year. Its traditions, wonderful food, reconnecting and bringing out the fine china. For our kids it's time to play with cousins, greet grandparents, get dressed-up, hear their parents exclaim over a beautifully cooked turkey, and feel connected to family. And - that's about it. Or, is it? Do your children really know what we're giving thanks for? At school, especially if... Full story
Sisters Country residents and visitors alike have high regard for the magnificent ponderosa pine trees that can be found around town and in the surrounding forests. Ponderosas were the mainstay of the early Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon lumber mills. Sisters used to be home to a Brooks-Scanlon company housing area for the families of lumberjacks who logged the surrounding ponderosa forests. Residents may grumble about the task of cleaning up pine needles and cones in their... Full story
Everyone knows exercise offers physical benefits. It is undisputed that exercise improves the heart, lungs, and muscles. Exercise also can effectively enhance body composition by burning extra calories, and makes changes to become more resilient to metabolic disorders. However, exercise isn't only working on these systems, and it may have more profound effects on other areas as well. As one exercises, heart rate, breath rate, and body chemistry adjust. Increased blood flow, release of chemicals, and mobilization of stored... Full story
Bestselling author John Green once remarked that novel writing is "a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it." Indeed, many of us envision writers pecking away at their keyboards while holed up alone, perhaps even teetering on the brink of madness. But some aspiring novelists in Sisters Country have lately defied that stereotype, emerging from isolation to work together in a public space, united by a common... Full story
When the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble rolls into Sisters on Thursday, they'll share their musical journey with students from across the region in a workshop with the band at 4 p.m. The event, free to students and $5 for community members, is in support of Sisters' middle- and high-school band programs. The workshop will combine music with a big dose of personal inspiration. "Our workshop is really organic," band member Gabriel Hubert told The Nugget. "We try to create some music... Full story
Sisters Elementary School students and their families got a chance to get creative at Family Art Night last Thursday. The evening, hosted by Sisters Parent Teacher Community (SPTC) and funded in part by a grant from The Roundhouse Foundation, brought well-over 200 people to the school. Fourteen different arts-and-crafts projects filled the commons and several classrooms for students to create unique items for themselves or to give as a gift this holiday season. Getting familie... Full story
