News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
To the Editor: In ordinary times we are thankful to the Lord for each other, for our friends and for those who give their time, their energy, even their lives for our benefit. This year, for Amber and I, life is not ordinary in any sense except that it is Christmas time once again. On December 5 a fire and a couple of explosions occurred at our home in Tollgate. The fire was bad enough that our house will be demolished and rebuilt. We have so many people to thank, who came to give my wife aid, who have and are helping us in... Full story
The corner where Sisters Inn and RV Park now sits will look considerably different after the Green Ridge Subdivision is completed. Last week, the 12-acre commercial development along Highway 20 won unanimous approval from the Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission. The development reconfigures the entrance to the Sisters Inn, which opens up the corner of Highway 20 and McKinney Butte Road for a new business. Also, a frontage road would parallel the highway extending from... Full story
Back in 1991, their political inventors hoped that Oregon’s CIM and CAM programs would do for modern education what Kittyhawk did for powered flight. But they never really got off the ground. Rather than keep struggling, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo said earlier this month that it’s time to find a different vehicle. She made her announcement in a Thursday interview with The Oregonian and the next day (December 9) in a speech to the Portland City Club. “… I am here to tell you now that I believe the tim... Full story
The full moon outside shone down on a full house at the Camp Sherman Community Hall last Thursday evening during the annual Black Butte School (BBS) Christmas show. “This is our gift to the community,” declared head teacher Toni Foster. Neatly attired students sang a variety of traditional Christmas songs they had selected from choices made by school volunteers. Foster also thanked all of the volunteers who had helped in refurbishing the community hall. The hall’s light... Full story
Katie Hughes scored 13 of her 17 points in the first quarter to lead the Lady Outlaws to a 60-54 home victory over Madras on Tuesday, December 13. Sisters jumped out to an early lead over the White Buffaloes and maintained the lead throughout the game. Hughes hit three three-point shots in the first quarter and Emily VanBlaricum hit a three at the buzzer ending the first quarter to give the Outlaws a 23-14 advantage. Coach Bill Blevins said, “Katie hit the wide open shots. E... Full story
A 25-year-old mother and her two children escaped serious injury in a single-vehicle accident on Cloverdale Road on Friday, December 16. The accident could have been fatal. According to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reports, the woman lost control of her Ford Explorer and plowed through a fence on Cloverdale Road. A fence post skewered the windshield and thrust all the way through the vehicle into the cargo compartment in the back, passing between the driver and her two c... Full story
The Sisters Starry Nights Benefit Concert Series will kick off with a performance by renowned singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett on Saturday, February 25. The final show will be a double bill featuring past Starry Nights favorites Leslie Satcher and Hanna-McEuen on Saturday, April 22. The shows will take place at the Sisters High School auditorium. “We’ve been waiting for over two months to get the final date for Lyle Lovett’s show,” said event Co-Chair Jeri Fouts. “He is busy putting together tour dates starting in January,... Full story
Local club wrestlers won two tournaments last week. Joshua O’Brien took gold in a barn-burner of a contest at Mountain View High School on December 10. The following Saturday, the USA Wrestling squad traveled to Cottage Grove where O’Brien pinned all three of his opponents in the first round on his way to another gold. O’Brien has compiled an 11-1 record so far in the club wrestling season. The wrestlers will hit the mats again on January 7, 2006.... Full story
The bulge on the volcanic South Sister is still growing — but not nearly as quickly as it was just a couple of years ago. Geologists are reporting that the rate of growth of a bulge on the west slope of the South Sister has slowed down to about half of its former annual rate of uplift. Instruments monitoring the activity on the ground show that the bulge now is only about a half-inch a year. Geologists at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, have been monitoring the bulge since 2001 when measurements t... Full story
Sisters Elementary School students showed they are budding scientists in the annual Inventerprise 2005 contest. Sisters students have done well in past years and once again won awards this year. In early December, a representative from sponsor Bend Research Inc. came to Sisters Elementary School to hand out two awards. Adam Novotny won in the second grade category and the team of Molly Boyle, Annie Miner and Emily Christen won for third grade. This year’s challenge was to find solutions for the earth’s energy becoming sca... Full story
• The Barclay Gallery will offer an “Introduction to Pastels” class taught by Georganne White on February 25-26 at Sisters Art Works. Advanced registration is required, call 549-1050 for more information. • Artist Paul Alan Bennett will teach a class on color and design. The four-week class will be held on Wednesday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Call 549-8756 for more information. • Out West Designs is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a customer appreciation day December 26, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Owner Nancy Tripp sai... Full story
Music greets you entering the Dancerfli Productions! studio next door to Iron Accents at 117 W. Sisters Park Dr. in the industrial park. Peak through the curtained door and you’ll likely see dancers under the direction of a young woman completely in her element, Sundi McClain. McClain, who is originally from Roseburg, and her husband Robb were traveling through the area earlier this year, decided Sisters was “the place” and opened the studio August 8. In short order, McCla... Full story
With the first competition still two weeks away, the abundance of local snow has given the Sisters High School Nordic ski club a great jump start to the season. In addition to good snow, the team is reveling in its biggest turnout in club history. Coach Lee Fischer, in his sixth year heading the team, is thrilled to have a number of returnees as well as a fresh flock of new faces on the squad that touts 18 members. “It’s always good to have a strong core of experienced ski... Full story
The Sisters wrestlers lost 60-30 to Summit (Bend) on Thursday, December 15. The team isn’t suffering from poor performances —there just aren’t enough guys on the mat. Coach Tony Cosby told The Nugget that he was missing four of his best wrestlers. “Four of my best guys weren’t able to wrestle tonight due to illness, grades and being out-of-town. If we’d have had them we would have won the match.” The lone Outlaw to win individually was Nate McFarland (171 pounds). McFarland pinned Jay Colcord in the first round. Cosby... Full story
Sisters will be seeing more homes at the west end of town now that the Village Meadows subdivision has been approved by the Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission. At their monthly meeting in November, the planners rejected the subdivision master plan due to lack of information on details, including how open space would be used. However, at last week’s meeting the details were ironed out and commissioners voted unanimously to accept the plan. The Village Meadows subdivision, being developed by Aspen Brothers, is located on a... Full story
The White Buffaloes of Madras crushed the Outlaws by a final score of 81-52 in a boys basketball game on Tuesday, December 13. Madras shot over 40 three-point shots and pressed and trapped the Outlaws the entire game. Coach Rand Runco said, “It was a tough game. Our conditioning and lack of practice was exploited. We missed multiple lay-ins and open scoring oppor-tunities and Madras didn’t. “We have a lot of work to do, starting with conditioning and finishing easy shots. Thank goodness it’s a month before league.” Guy Mount... Full story
• A woman was arrested for assault after she allegedly smacked another woman in the face with a snow shovel in a dispute over a propane tank. • The 15-year-old who was hospitalized after a drinking bout earlier this month was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol. • In an unrelated case, deputies responded to a report of a suicidal person. The person proved not to be suicidal, but he was extraordinarily intoxicated. • A man pulled out onto the street right in front of a deputy, who, naturally pulled him over. W... Full story
Dancer and choreographer Makram Hamdan performed in an open recital at Caldera on Friday, December 16, to conclude his residency at the Sisters area arts center. Hamdan began his dance career in high school in Portland and the residency at Caldera marked a return to Oregon during which the choreographer sought to create a new work titled “Double Quartet.” “Although I have presented works on proscenium stages, challenging environments have been a strategic choice for my creat... Full story
Folks who live in Sisters or love to visit here can hang a little of the countryside’s spectacular beauty on their walls with a new calendar produced by local photographers. The Sisters Calendar 2006 was produced by the Sisters Area Photography Club and printed by Xpress Printing. The calendar features 13 full-color outdoor captioned photos of the Sisters area shot by club members. The last two pages list Sisters area events for the whole year including contact information. The calendar sells for $14.95 and will be carried a... Full story
Sisters’ future includes two traffic signals, one at each end of town on Highway 20. The first will be built at the intersection of Highway 20 where the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge sits and McKinney Butte (west) and Barclay (east) Roads enter. The second is planned at the corner of Locust Street near Sisters Elementary School. Sisters City Planning Director Bill Adams gave an update on the signals at last week’s Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission meeting. He said the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is now pla... Full story
When winter comes to Central Oregon and the snow piles up deep in the Cascades, access to some of summer’s favorite places is largely cut off for most people. A new snowmobile tour company that opened last week in Sisters changes all that. Three Sisters Back Country Access, operated by Gabe and Rima (Givot) Chladek and their partners Shane Fox and fiancée Liz Asher, bring together a true love of the outdoors, environmental education and tremendous knowledge of the Sisters ba... Full story
Facing some of their top rivals in the 3A district, the Outlaws swimmers competed on Thursday, December 15, in the first invitational of the season against Sweet Home, 3A State Champion Sherwood, Philomath, Stayton, Mollala and Blanchett. Brittany Baldessari spoiled State Champion Sherwood’s nearly flawless performance. Instead of placing first and second in every event, Sherwood had to concede the 100-yard backstroke to Baldessari, who swam an outstanding race from beginning to end. Baldessari’s time of 1:08.14 was alr... Full story
While a number of Oregon educators understand and support the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM), fewer grasp or feel any affinity for the sister Certificate of Advanced Mastery (CAM). One of those is the superintendent of Sisters schools, Ted Thonstad. Thonstad is not happy that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo said recently she believes it’s time to give up on CIM and CAM. Thonstad calls her stated reasons “excuses, political excuses.” Even Sisters Middle School Principal Lora Nordquist, a stron... Full story
An athletic event that was once Scott Buckles’ dream is now heading successfully toward its fourth year. Buckles began the Sisters High Cascades Off Road Triathlon with $10,000 seed money — half from Sisters Athletic Club and half from the Sisters Rotary Club. Last week, he returned the Rotary Club’s investment and gave the club an additional $2,500. He had already paid back the Athletic Club. Each year, Buckles plans to donate money to Rotary to show his appreciation for g... Full story
The “Furry Friends” of the Sisters community will have a happy holiday season thanks to donations of food and pet toys from the Sisters community and beyond. “It really is amazing to see it all come together and the trailer is full of over 150 large bags of dry pet food and 100-plus Ray’s paper grocery bags full of pet treats and toys,” said organizer Kiki Dolson. Steve Mills from American Nutrition made sure a donation of AttaBoy pet food arrived on time. The donation increas... Full story
