News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
Everyone understands that the U.S. Flag is to be treated with respect, but most people do not know what should be done with a tattered or worn out flag that has outlived its usefulness. The Sisters posts of the American Legion and VFW and the Boy Scouts of Troop 188 answered that question at a special ceremony held last week at Sisters City Hall. With a turnout that seemed to surprise even the organizers, an overflow crowd packed City Hall for a patriotic ceremony that brought together active-duty military, veterans, scouts... Full story
The Sister School District is asking the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to analyze and possibly investigate actions taken by the Sisters Web Academy to transfer students out of the academy and into other Web academies run by the parent company, AllPrep Academies & Early Colleges. In a letter to ODE dated November 30, School District Attorney Shawn Swisher stated that "as far as Sisters School District can determine, these transfers apparently occurred without acquiring... Full story
Power is slowly being restored to areas affected by a significant power outage overnight. Work must be deliberate because with many appliances and heating systems on, bringing up the system too quickly could cause it to crash. Guggenheim urges residents to turn off water heaters at the breaker and unplug appliances to enable smooth restoration of power. Guggenheim expects the restoration to hold up overnight, even with the return of sub-zero temperatures. "Once it's hot and holding we'll be OK," he said. Some areas farther... Full story
Jack Frost didn't just nip at Sisters this week - he bit down hard. Temperatures plunged to 15 degrees below zero (or further) on Monday night. The cold caused a power outage that forced the cancellation of school in Sisters on Tuesday. The National Weather Service forecast calls for continued cold temperatures, with highs slowly creeping back up into the low- to mid-30s by next weekend. Lows will hover into the teens until the weekend, when they should rise into the more... Full story
Inclement weather prompted Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) to postpone for one week two planned outages that will affect 103 accounts in the area of the FivePine campus and the south part of Sisters. The first of two planned outages affecting those 103 accounts will be conducted Tuesday, December 15, from 11 p.m. to Wednesday, December 16, at 3 a.m. The second will be Thursday, December 17, 11 p.m. to midnight. "The two outages are necessary so that our crews can safely install new equipment and transfer service to those... Full story
To the Editor: The first time I called Jim Anderson was about the absence of quail in my yard. He told me about the feral cats in Sisters and Deschutes County. They were feeding on all the ground dwellers. The second time was when a hawk came down right outside my front window and took down a quail. It was a sight to see and turned out to be a Cooper's hawk. A rare sight. I have read and enjoyed Jim's columns in The Nugget from the beginning. I always learn something, plus, he spins a great yarn. I really liked last week's... Full story
Norma Funai, who resides with her husband, Arnold, out near Indian Ford Meadow, reported a grey catbird, Dumetella carolinensis, drinking warm water out of the hot tub in their backyard last week. She was quite excited about the observation, as catbirds in this part of Oregon are rare. Try as she might, however, obtaining a photo of the rare bird was not in the cards. Even though it was close to her kitchen window, it was impossible to get a photo. A photo is required to... Full story
Early on the first morning of December, with cold grey skies over Sisters and the icy scent of snow on the way, most kids would be sitting behind a desk in class. But thanks to a new Forest Service initiative to reconnect kids with the natural world, Kit Stafford's middle school Arts Discovery class was at Cold Springs, circled around a warm campfire, drinking hot chocolate after scrambling over rocks and learning how Native Americans once used the area. Sisters Ranger... Full story
Whether you consider the countless hours spent in the art room, the months of interning with local artists, or her dedication to "paying it forward," Sisters High School senior Cindy Steele can be considered a pillar of the high school art department. Steele has been involved in art throughout her school career, taking art all four years in high school, under the instruction of art department head Mike Baynes. Though she appreciates and enjoys all types of art, her passion... Full story
December marks the month that Roger White, owner and operator of the Camp Sherman Store, will be displaying his unique talents with neon and argon art forms in the Community Room of the Sisters Library. "I use essentially three types of glass to create my light art," White said. "Clear, coated, and colored glass." Depending on what type of gas he is using, what amounts of mercury he places in the tube(s), and types of glass, he can create many different color hues, shapes and... Full story
The Outlaws girls basketball team defeated the Stayton Eagles 43-32 in their first game of the pre-season on Monday, November 30. All 11 players contributed in the win over the No. 7 team in the state. Sisters jumped out early and at the close of the first quarter held a 16-6 lead over Stayton. It was a low scoring second quarter, and the Outlaws had trouble executing their offense. The Eagles outscored the Outlaws 7-4, but at the half Sisters still held the lead at 20-13. Stayton outscored the Outlaws by two in the third... Full story
The Outlaws battled back several times in their hard-fought game against Molalla on Friday, December 4, and in the end came out on top with a 63-62 victory. Coach Rand Runco said, "Molalla had several upper classmen and played a five out three point shooting up tempo offense." Sisters struggled at the start of the game and at one point in the first quarter trailed Molalla 18-8. The Outlaws refused to give up and tied the game 19-19 at the end of the quarter. The lead changed... Full story
The Sisters High School Drama Department will present it's third annual fall play production, The Deadly Pen, by Frank Carmine, on Thursday and Friday, December 10-11 at 7 p.m. at the Sisters High School Auditorium. The play, a classic murder mystery with a cast of quirky characters, is directed by performing arts teacher Gary Bowne. The cast, made up of students from SHS fall acting classes, is being led by senior Julia Rahm, junior Bryant Lasken and sophomores Katie Dumolt and Brett Pray. Supporting cast members include... Full story
Visions of sugarplums will dance in your head, and on the Sisters Middle School stage, as The Sisters Dance Academy presents "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" on Saturday, December 12, at 6 p.m. The poem will be narrated by Jim Anderson and enacted by the dancers in Lonnie Liddell's academy. "Each dance coordinates with the poem," Liddell said. "It should be a really fun, festive recital." The recital is the latest effort from what has become a thriving dance school in... Full story
The wrestling team had a good showing in their first match of the season, held at Gilcrest on Saturday, December 5. Nine teams were scheduled to participate, but only six were actually able to attend. Coach Gene O'Brien told The Nugget that the event went from a tournament to a "crab pool." "A crab pool is where you take a group of wrestlers and pool them in a group of four or five wrestlers around the same weight," said O' Brien. Josh O'Brien took a second-place finish. O'Brien usually wrestles at 130 pounds but was bumped... Full story
Local Western wordsmith Rick Steber stood tall behind the podium at Paulina Springs Books on Friday evening, reading excerpts from three of his recent novels, "Forty Candles," "Buy the Chief a Cadillac," and his latest book, "Secrets of the Bull." Steber is a colorful fixture in the Central Oregon literary community and has won multiple awards and national attention for his gritty, two-fisted Western yarns. With over 30 titles under his belt and more than a million books in print, writer's block is not something he's... Full story
David Perkins, Sisters High School Mandarin Chinese teacher, wrote: The Mandarin Chinese class at Sisters High School would like to thank "Peggy's Pin Pals" of the Black Butte Ranch Art Guild for the donation of the awesome Christmas quilt to support our students' trip to China next summer. We sold opportunities to win the quilt beginning at the Sisters Harvest Fair, and ending Saturday, December 5th at the Sisters Art Works' Christmas Open House. The lucky winner was Ms. Michelle Malone of Sisters.... Full story
Members of Sisters Supper Club welled up with emotion as they presented an $1,800 check to the Kiwanis Food Bank at the club's December 3 meeting. Kiwanis president, Grant Cyrus, accepted the donation and thanked co-authors of the book "Dinner is the Evening." The experience was overwhelming for supper club members who created and sold the book in 2009, specifically to raise money for the Sisters Food Bank. "Oh my goodness, that felt good, I never expected to feel that way," said Diane Rodgers. Making the presentation to a... Full story
The Sisters community turned out to make a full house at the annual Sisters Rotary "Magical Vocies of Christmas" last Sunday. Austin Erlandson and Hayley Valoppi opened the evening with a rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the Sisters Elementary School choir followed up with three songs including a rousing "Frosty the Snowman," which kept the crowd chuckling. After performing "A Holiday Medley," Peggy Tehan brought the crowd away from the chilly weather gripping... Full story
Whether they keep it low-key or turn into elves, folks in the Sisters Country revel in their holiday traditions. "Mine is Christmas Eve with my family and making pizza," said Pinky Pagano, a secretary at Sisters High School. "We've gone to church and had pizza for years. In fact, I wanted to change this year and not have pizza, and they all had a fit!" Principal Bob Macauley said his favorite tradition is "the night before Christmas opening one present and telling stories - and making them wait." Sisters District Ranger Bill... Full story
Sisters Art Works helped make the season bright last weekend, with its fourth annual Holiday Open House. Vendors were out front on the lawn and filled the upstairs and downstairs with their handcrafted holiday fair. Few things evoke the feeling of the holidays like the fragrance of good homemade food. Janet Zuelke, of Sisters, made her mom's recipe of homemade gingerbread waffles, with lemon curd and whipped cream or ice cream, sending the luscious scent wafting down the sidew... Full story
Santa Claus may be one busy elf at this time of year, but he's finding plenty of time to make pre-Christmas visits to Sisters (Got to make that list and check it twice, you know...). Santa made his first appearance in the Sisters Christmas parade, after which he sat with eager children to hear their Christmas wishes. Last weekend, he took the time to hang out with folks' pets during Pet Photos with Santa at Sisters Art Works. Always one to support a good cause, Santa was... Full story
Seems like everybody is minding their wallet this holiday season. We all want to save money in these tight economic times - but we still want to give gifts that the folks on our list will truly appreciate. Fortunately, you can have it both ways: great gifts that won't break the budget. Shopping around Sisters you can find a whole lot of great gifts for $25 or less. Books are a great entertainment value. For the $15 or so for a trade paperback you can give a gift that will provide hours of interest and enjoyment. Music is... Full story
Capitalizing on the Pacific Northwest's winter recreation appeal, Sisters has produced a full calendar of holiday ideas to inspire visitors to take satisfaction in simple pleasures, especially those outdoors. "It's a season to celebrate with relatives, friends and the family dog, and we want folks to know they can do that in Sisters without breaking the bank," said Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, Erin Borla. "It's just a magical time of year to be here, with furry livestock and lights all strung downtown... Full story
Woodworking can break the heart. Wood warps, it splits - often just as a piece is nearly finished that has been worked on for hours or days. Members of the Black Butte Ranch Art Guild learned about the painstaking requirements of the craft in last month's astonishingly popular guild meeting. The house was packed to nearly overflowing. "This was the best-attended meeting we have ever had," said Lynda Sullivan of the guild. "We finally got the men to come out." Four... Full story