News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
With Rick Allen at the helm as the newly appointed interim City Manager, the Sisters City Council has decided to also seek new legal counsel, terminating its long-term relationship with Steve Bryant. "Steve worked to serve the City of Sisters for a long time. However, as we're making changes, we're looking at things from top to bottom and have decided to go with new legal counsel," said Mayor Chris Frye after last Thursday's Council workshop. Allen was to contact Bryant last... Full story
Three vintage airplanes will fly over Sisters Rodeo at the Saturday-afternoon performance on June 11. Erickson Collection in Madras is sending the airplanes, which will zoom overhead at the conclusion of the National Anthem. At the 75th anniversary rodeo, two vintage planes swooped over as Peggy Tehan finished the last strains of the anthem in near perfection, streaking across the arena as she struck the last note on "brave." "We briefly lost radio communication," explained... Full story
Voters in Sisters Country said "yes" to the Sisters School District's $10.7 million bond request in the May 17 election. By dint of several other districts in Oregon failing to pass bonds, it appears that the district is in line to receive an additional $4 million in state matching funds. Funds will be allocated for installation of security systems; safety and ADA improvements; facility and site improvements including HVAC renovations and parking lot repairs; athletic... Full story
The new Whychus Creek Overlook and loop trail opened to the public last week. The dedication ceremony was "by invitation only" and not staged for the general public because of limited parking space. Still, more than 100 people were on hand for this long-anticipated addition to the outdoor recreation menu of the Sisters area. Among those in attendance were representatives of local government, business and private organizations that worked together to preserve and make... Full story
To the Editor: Thursday May 5, was the National Day of Prayer. Not something new as the first call for prayer was in 1775. Some of the founding fathers of our nation with their faith - public prayer and national days of prayer became a long-standing and significant history in American tradition. The Supreme Court affirmed the right of state legislators to open their sessions with prayer in Marcs vs. Chamber (1983). The call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln's proclamation of a day of... Full story
In 2000, a girl at Powers High School was banned from walking in her graduation and made nationwide news when she took a shower with the boys in the boys' locker room. This spring, schools all over the state of Oregon and nation are being told they must allow girls to shower in the boys' locker room and vice versa. Huh? The recent craze to allow transgender people to choose whichever restroom they feel comfortable in overrules the rights of 99.7 percent of the population to safety and privacy. Individual transgendered people... Full story
• Mayor Chris Frye signed the contract appointing Rick Allen as a limited-duration city manager for a set term through November 18, 2016 or upon termination at a point, whichever comes earlier. Allen hit the ground running last Thursday with a morning council meeting and workshop, tour of the city, planning commission workshop, budget committee meeting in the evening, and meeting all of the staff. One of his first duties will be to circulate a Request for Qualifications... Full story
Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) held a grand opening for their community preschool's new playground on Thursday, May 19. The community Preschool, housed at Sisters Elementary School, was able to adapt a small gravel section behind the classrooms to a new dynamic play area over the course of the last several months, Thursday represented their community grand opening. "I love it!" said one three-year-old Grasshopper Class member. "I loved building the castle on the... Full story
For a large contingent of Sisters area veterans, their lives continue to be filled with the kind of mission and purpose that drew them to serve their country. The Sisters chapter of Band of Brothers filled the banquet room at Takoda's on Saturday evening for an event marking Armed Forces Day. Co-founder Tom Barrier recalled starting the chapter with Dave Culver and Merle Holm. Now it's grown to 60 members, devoted to fellowship and helping veterans and others in the Sisters... Full story
Fresh off the resounding success of the Whychus Creek restoration at Camp Polk, the Deschutes Land Trust (DLT) is gearing up for yet another major creek restoration project at their Whychus Canyon Preserve, which is downstream from Camp Polk. Beginning in July, bulldozers and heavy equipment will begin to reshape the canyon floor and streambed of the 930-acre preserve. Amanda Egertson, stewardship director for the Land Trust, explained that the lessons learned during the Camp Polk restoration will help to move this next... Full story
It's a comfort to walk into a war camp and see familiar faces. Although everyone at last weekend's Civil War reenactment in Camp Sherman was friendly and eager to share their knowledge of the Civil War, greetings from Janna and Jirka Novotny of Sisters made a stranger from another era walking the path between fires, tents and guns more at ease. The Novotnys' son, David, as a Boy Scout, helped with parking at a previous Northwest Civil War Council reenactment at House on... Full story
The turnover and formal discipline of top officials in the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office continues, with the May 18 announcement that Lt. Tim Leak has been placed on paid administrative leave for "allegations of violating sheriff's office policies." This follows a series of recent incidents at the sheriff's office, including the firing and arrest of former Captain Scott Beard, who was accused of stealing $200,000 from an investigative fund, and then using the money to supp... Full story
Most everyone wants to look and feel better, and hold off the inexorable ticking of the aging clock for as long as we can. Hope Aesthetics & Wellness has jumped into the fray on behalf of Sisters-area residents. The new clinic, which has opened at 354 W. Adams Ave. (next to High Lakes Heath Care and Advantage Dental) offers skin tightening and resurfacing, wrinkle reduction, vein treatments, body sculpting and more -all geared toward helping folks in Sisters look their best.... Full story
The Outlaws' run at the playoffs came to an abrupt end when they lost at home 1-0 to Brookings-Harbor (BH) in the OSAA state play-in game, held on Thursday, May 19. Sisters committed two errors in the contest and could only muster one hit. Brookings-Harbor scored their one run on five hits and had two errors in the game. The Outlaws did get on base due to walks and errors, but left eight runners stranded. In the fifth inning, Sisters had the bases loaded with two outs, and left them all on base. In the seventh, they loaded... Full story
Nearly every Sisters athlete who qualified for the state track and field meet came home with a medal, concluding the 2016 season on a high note for the Outlaws. The Sisters athletes jumped, threw and ran at the OSAA Championships held Friday and Saturday, May 20-21 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. T.J. Hooks got the medal collection underway Friday with a personal best in the 3,000 meters, where he finished sixth in 9:11.67. "T.J. ran bravely, as... Full story
BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond has a core group of volunteers working with 11 dogs they received over the Easter holiday that were rescued from a dog-meat farm in South Korea. Together, the Humane Society of Central Oregon and BrightSide Animal Center took in 28 dogs. After an international flight from South Korea through Humane Society International's (HSI) rescue program, the dogs were transported from San Francisco to Central Oregon. Patty Eiseman of Sisters is a dog buddy volunteer for BrightSide and is part of the... Full story
Asher Davis, who has been visually impaired since birth, got the chance to compete at the Oregon State Track and Field Meet, sponsored by the Northwest Association for Blind Athletes (NWABA) and the BVIS Fund (Blind and Visually Impaired Students). The event was held at Ackerman Middle School in Canby, on Friday, April 29. The annual event is open to all Oregon Regional Vision students, ages first grade through high school, and consists of a wide range of running and field... Full story
Black Butte School in Camp Sherman is known for getting students out and about. Over the years, students have traveled to our nation's capitol and around the state on field trips. This year, new head teacher Delaney Sharp and language arts and humanities teacher Ethan Barrons took on a field studies curriculum that continues the tradition a little closer to home. The Cornerstone Field Studies program is science- based, interdisciplinary and takes place in both classroom and... Full story
It's always a pleasure for me to come out the back (or front), step of the porch and suddenly see a long, slender amphibian with a bright yellow patch on its back madly scrambling for cover under the porch. If that happened to you some stormy night after a rain, don't be surprised, it's "our" long-toed salamander, the only native salamander we have running around on this side of the Cascades. According to local herp expert Al St. John, it's known as Ambystoma macrodactylum.... Full story
You might have noticed fleas and ticks on your furry friends. That's because flea and tick season has started early in Central Oregon. According to Sisters Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Carl Berg has been seeing ticks since winter. And they see more fleas on pets every year. Pulling your socks over your pants while hiking can be enough to deter ticks when you're outside, but Rover probably doesn't wear clothing, so you'll need to take extra measures to protect him from these pesky... Full story
If you are entertaining the notion of raising a few backyard chickens - which many people are these days - there are a few things you need to know ahead of time. Here's the big one, a single fact that often surprises folks jumping into the weird world of poultry: Chickens are dinosaurs, feathered T-Rexes with the capacity for shocking violence. Start there, and everything else will fall into place. Don't let this natural fact discourage you, because they can also be the... Full story
On Friday, May 6, Keri Anne Hillabrant, daughter of Leanne Smith, passed to a better place, a place of wholeness. Keri is remembered as a loving mom and wife, a huge people-person and a mighty warrior against ovarian cancer. Keri was born in Amarillo, Texas, in July, 1970, and died in her Houston home under the care of her husband, Greg, mother Leanne and hospice. Keri is survived by Greg; Greg's parents Jack and Jane Hillabrant; daughter Mia and grandson Kedan Teichman; Leann... Full story
June Brandon passed away peacefully in Portland, Oregon on May 7. June and David "Bud" Brandon lived in Sisters for 27 years following his retirement. They loved the Sisters community, the mountain views, the sunshine, skiing, golf, The Chapel in the Pines and dear friends.... Full story
