News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 9 of 9
You got your property tax statement in the mail last week. Eagerly, you ripped open the envelope, ready to be thrilled at the large property tax reduction promised by the state legislature. Wrong. In some cases, taxes actually went up in Deschutes County from the year before. Rarely was there much of a decrease, less than most taxpayers anticipated and far less than the 17 percent reduction seemingly promised by elected representatives who rewrote Measure 47 in the last legislative session. What happened to your tax... Full story
A proposal to put the Deschutes County Sheriff's Department in charge of police services for the City of Sisters appears to be on track toward approval. The Sisters City Council met with Sheriff Greg Brown in a workshop on Tuesday, November 25, to work out the details of a contract. The council is expected to approve the merger of police services at their December 11 meeting. The proposed merger would station six deputies and a supervisor in Sisters; the officers would provide... Full story
According to Best Western motel owner Bill Reed, the City of Sisters could generate up to $30,000 per year in additional room tax revenues as a result of the pending land swap between Crown Pacific and the U.S. Forest Service. In a proposed land exchange between Crown Pacific and the Forest Service, the Sisters Ranger District could gain 9,000 acres of property, while giving up 72 acres to Crown Pacific. But these parcels comprise only part of a massive land swap where the Forest Service would trade nearly 33,000 acres in... Full story
Criminal cases in Sisters are up from this time last year, and Sisters Police Chief Rich Shawver believes the statistics indicate a rising pattern. "It just appears to me when (statistics) are going up on a monthly basis, it's a trend - not a good one," Shawver said. Sisters police handled a total of 50 criminal cases in November, compared to 23 in November, 1996. In October, the department dealt with 43 cases, compared to 17 in October, 1996. Shawver noted that residents... Full story
Some Sisters parents and community members have come up with a way of honoring Outlaws athletes for their stellar fall season while helping to nurture future Outlaws. One Sisters woman "bought" a brick for the elementary school classroom raising in honor of the Outlaws 1997 Capital Conference Champion football squad and one in honor of her grandson, a player on the team. Other parents and sports program enthusiasts are following suit. The bricks, which go for $250, are inscribed according to the donor's wishes. Those who... Full story
Burglars hit the office of Meridian Construction in the Monson Building on the corner of Hood Avenue and Pine Street sometime before Friday morning, November 28. According to police, the burglars apparently entered through the locked front door of the office suite, though there were no sings of forced entry. Police noted that the main doors of the office complex appear to have been left unlocked. The thieves took a fax machine valued at $550 and a Gateway computer valued at $2,500. According to police, no other items were... Full story
* * * To the Editor: The Sisters Ranger District recently sent out the Environmental Assessment for the Santiam LSR Restoration Project to the public. As part of this timber sale were two unprecedented proposals to change the definition of snags and future snags. One proposal would allow the cutting down of dying trees that were to be designated as snags. The other proposal would allow the logging of "declining" trees over and above the original plan. The Forest Service refers to these reckless, and in my opinion illegal,... Full story
Organizers of Sisters' annual Christmas Food Share program are hoping for an upsurge of donations to fill holiday food boxes for Sisters families in need. "There are people who need food baskets, and we're a little skinny this year," said Katie Powers, one of the program's organizers. Donations to the food share program, coordinated through the Kiwanis Community Food Bank, are lagging - perhaps because a late Thanksgiving delayed the start of the holiday season. The program helped 84 families last year, and more than that... Full story
Real Soup Enter, the Mouse Winter enfolds us. We have stopped resisting the ices, the frozen wood stacks, foggy night driving, snows, of all descriptions. We carry gloves with us. We glory in the warm days. We have adjusted. All winter systems are in place, including assessing road conditions by how slick the porch is, gazing at the thermometer in a vaguely competitive manner, wondering who, among your friends is the coldest. Who has to work the hardest to be warm becomes winter's odd emblem of the pioneer spirit. On cold... Full story
