News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
In a world and a generation so connected to electronics, the Great American Mail Race helps keep the art of letter-writing alive in the spirit of young people. The Great American Mail Race has students from across the country researching schools and sending out letters - like an old-fashioned pen pal. Sixth-grade language-arts students in Mrs. Becky Aylor's classes have written to over 180 different schools across the country this year alone - and some students even as far... Full story
McKenzie Meadow Village, represented by partner Mike Reed, requested an extension of their approved subdivision from the Sisters Planning Commission at their Thursday, November 19 meeting. The commission unanimously consented. The extension request was due to delays in construction because of a Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) filing by Pinnacle Alliance Group, the organization originally contracted with for construction of MMV Phase 1 - an assisted-living facility. After thre... Full story
The season of wild weather has announced itself in Sisters Country. A windstorm that featured gusts upwards of 60 miles per hour roared through town on Tuesday, November 17, felling trees and leaving a mess of debris. A tree fell across Highway 20 near Black Butte Ranch, and was hit by a semi-truck. No one was hurt, but nighttime traffic on the highway backed up while Oregon Department of Transportation crews cleared the tree. It was a near miss for Sisters educator and... Full story
To the Editor: While President Obama is pardoning two turkeys for Thanksgiving, every one of us can exercise that same presidential power by choosing a nonviolent Thanksgiving observance that spares a turkey's life. And here are some good reasons: • You can brag about pardoning a turkey - like Obama. • You truly are what you eat. Who wants to be a "butterball"? • Fruits and vegetables don't have to carry government warning labels. • You won't sweat the environmen... Full story
Snow falling in Sisters is a sure sign that winter is right around the corner. Keeping the community's youth active this winter, Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) is offering a variety of indoor and outdoor activities from the pre-K ages through high school. Snow sports, basketball, and wrestling head the leader board for SPRD's winter lineup this year. Winter sports enthusiasts around Central Oregon typically think of snow sports during the winter, and SPRD can... Full story
Sisters Middle School students had the opportunity to hone their engineering skills in a unique way this past month. Every fall for the past five years Carol Packard's sixth-grade science class has a chance to build an enrichment project for the animals of Chimps, Inc. to interact with. "The biggest challenge for the student groups is to come up with something that can entertain an animal with the mind of a 4-year-old and the strength that is eight times stronger than a grown... Full story
One of my favorite rivers is very broken. Once considered a blue-ribbon trout river, the Upper Deschutes from Wickiup Reservoir down to Bend is now abused. The river is treated like an irrigation ditch. It is no longer the special place it once was. Growing up as a Portland kid, I first fished the Upper Deschutes when I moved to Bend in the summer of 1980. At the age of 11, I was just getting my fishing game together. That evening on the river was a life-changing event. Later, as a grown-up (as much a fishing guide can call... Full story
Dogs can help people get through a crisis. Sue Dolezal of Sisters Eagle Airport, her husband Gary, and their dogs Isaac and Foster, are specially trained and certified with National Crisis Response Canines to do just that. Last October 2, they were deployed to Roseburg to attend the Roseburg candlelight vigil just one day after the UCC shooting. National Crisis Response Canines held a rigorous three-day training and evaluation in Sisters last weekend to recertify teams.... Full story
Last week, Kathy Winn, who lives north of Sisters, sent me a photo of an owl perched on a road sign near Sage Meadow, thinking I'd enjoy seeing it. Did I ever! I thanked Kathy for thinking of me - and all of us here in Sisters Country: "Many thanks for the sighting, Kathy - that's the barred owl (BAOW) a species who is (supposedly) causing a great deal of havoc with the northern spotted owl (SPOW), and a row between birders and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service." BAOWs found... Full story
It's been said that "volunteers make the world go 'round," and indeed it does seem to be that way. Take the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) for example. Once a month, the volunteer members of the FOSL Board get together at the Sisters Library to make plans on how to make money to help keep the Sisters Library going smoothly and to pump a sizable amount of cash into the Deschutes Public Library System (DPLS). At the moment the FOSL Board is operating with nine local volun... Full story
The wild turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo) is not a native species in Oregon. Introduced in 1961 by ODFW they are now well established in the pine forests around the Metolius Basin. The subspecies Rio Grande has had the most successful natural expansion, although the Merriam's also has a steady population. Females lay 10-14 beige mottled eggs which hatch in approximately 28 days. Within 24 hours of hatching, the poults have left the nest. Insects, berries, seeds and all varie... Full story
The Lady Outlaws had six players selected to all-league teams, and senior Michaela Miller and junior Nika Chick were first-team picks. Miller played at center midfield for the Outlaws. Michaela finished league with nine goals and five assists. She was runner-up for league MVP, just behind Cottage's talented and fast forward, Kianna Kemenway. "Michaela excelled in ball control, winning balls outs of the air, taking shots, and sending smart passes through the opponent's defense," said Coach Thomas Draxler. "She also had... Full story
The Lady Outlaws had five players selected to all-league teams this year, and sophomore Hawley Harrer earned top honors as the league's MVP. Harrer was a unanimous selection for league MVP and an automatic first-team pick. Hawley stood out in all the coaches' minds as the top player in the league. Opponents were always stumped as to how to shut down the six-foot, left-handed player. Hawley led the Outlaws with 259 kills during league play. She also served-up 34 aces, and... Full story
Firefighters from Cloverdale Fire District, Black Butte Fire District, and Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District are teaming up to fight blood cancer. Next March is the 25th anniversary of the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. It is an event organized by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which brings firefighters from around the world to Seattle, Washington, to make the grueling climb up the Columbia Center tower in full firefighter protective clothing. This year marks the first year... Full story
Thanksgiving has a little extra resonance for Susan Wilson of Sisters. Wilson recently had it officially confirmed that she is a descendent of the Mayflower Pilgrims. And not just any Pilgrim either: Part of her father's line in America started with William Bradford, who served as governor of the Plymouth colony for 30 years. Bradford also left journals that provide much of what we know of the founding of the early colony in what would become Massachusetts. Wilson moved to... Full story
Venison, waterfowl, seafood and beer. The actual menu for the 'First Thanksgiving' in Plymouth Plantation in 1621 was a little different from - and richer than - our "traditional" menu. It makes feasting like a Pilgrim sound like a pretty good deal. The great feast made by the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag friends in 1621 was really more of a harvest celebration than a formal "thanksgiving," which would have been a wholly religious and more solemn observance. However, that... Full story
It has become a family tradition in my household during the Thanksgiving weekend to gather before the electronic hearth to watch the PBS American Experience documentary "We Shall Remain - After the Mayflower." In it, the saga of the first Thanksgiving unfolds from the point of view of the Wampanoag, who greeted the arrival of the Pilgrims as an opportunity to forge an alliance in the face of destruction. The film well captures an aspect of the story that generally escapes... Full story
Barbara Turner, of Little Frog Learning Center, moved to Sisters in 1985 with her husband and children from McMinnville. She will be retiring this winter after a 44-year career in education and 30 years serving the Sisters community. Barbara's first job in the community was at Sisters Preschool, where she worked for five years. While teaching at Sisters Preschool she would walk her children down to the old library behind the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center... Full story
A young Sisters artist who admittedly came to the Caldera arts-based mentorship program as "a shy and timid seventh-grader who rarely voiced opinions for fear of the repercussions," stepped into the national spotlight on Tuesday, November 17. Alena Nore, now 18 and a senior at Sisters High School, visited the White House to receive an award from First Lady Michelle Obama. Alena attended a special White House ceremony as a youth representative of Caldera, which was being... Full story
