News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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The glorious landscape of Central Oregon is a prime reason most of us have chosen to make our lives here. All of our love for the outdoors puts a lot of pressure on our natural environment - and it takes dedicated folks to help ensure that the land stays healthy even as we enjoy it. The Deschutes Land Trust conserves and cares for the lands and waters that sustain Central Oregon, so local communities and the natural world can flourish together for generations to come. Since...
Sisters - and Central Oregon at large - is a community built on the work of dozens of nonprofits. You would be hard-pressed to find a community anywhere that more vividly embodies the ethic of "see a need, fill a need." There are more than 50 registered nonprofits in Sisters - and hundreds regionwide. The nonprofit organizations that thrive in Central Oregon work across a broad spectrum of needs - from the most fundamental need for shelter and food, to the need for cultural an...
Sisters has a quality of inestimable value, one that is increasingly hard to find in the fractured and fragmented modern world: A quality of neighborliness. We look out for each other, and support each other in good times and hard times. Many of the nonprofits that grace Sisters and Central Oregon focus on supporting children and families - the fundamental building blocks of a healthy and happy society. Circle of Friends recognizes that one of the key elements of success for...
Life in Central Oregon is beautiful — but it can also get hard. And eventually it comes to an end. There are caring, compassionate people who make it their mission to help make the hard times as comfortable and as navigable as possible. Living Well With Dementia Sisters is a support group for caregivers, adults supporting parents or siblings, and those living with dementia to come together and discuss challenges and successes. Living Well with Dementia Sisters’ mission is to provide support and illumination, helping to lig...
There are many folks in Sisters who need help meeting basic needs like shelter, food and clothing. There are many caring people who step up through local and regional nonprofits to help meet those needs, treating all with respect, compassion and dignity. The need has grown along with Central Oregon’s population. The Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank served 5,152 people in 2020-21. Through 2023-24, that number has grown to 12,318. Thanks to tremendous community support — and a cadre of hardworking volunteers — the organization has b...
You are way out there, on a remote road next to a wild river, or out in the middle of a sea of sage and juniper. First you might notice a huge gnarled Lombardy Poplar, a few old broken boards, and pieces of barbed wire. Then you notice other trees that look out of place. In spring there may be white blossoms. In the fall sweet fruit falls unnoticed and unappreciated, except by bees, deer, and the occasional bear. Pioneer homesteads often left few permanent traces on the land...
My favorite newspaper? I reckon I've put out about 1,500 editions of The Nugget over the past three decades - and the August 28 edition has to be one of my favorite issues ever. Mostly that's down to the element that makes Sisters a cool place to live and do business: people. This edition holds our quarterly feature section, Neighbors - this one with a Labor Day theme of "Neighbors at Work." It's a privilege and a pleasure to highlight people not because they did something...
Actor and singer Christie Capucci has lived in Terrebonne for many years, but her story began in Los Angeles where her dad, Joe Ramirez, recently passed, worked as a professional musician. He toured the world and played the house band in Caesars Palace in the 1970s. "I don't remember ever not wanting to be on the stage," Capucci says. Yet she left the West Coast's hotspot of acting in 1992 and moved to a small city called Bend, Oregon, which was then unknown to most people...
In Central Oregon, a quiet but life-changing movement is taking place through organ donation, particularly living kidney donation. For many, these selfless acts offer hope and the chance for extra years of life. Through the experiences of local women, we can see the profound impact of becoming a donor. A Gift from Mother – and Another from Brother Elise Michaels, a long-time resident of Bend, knows the value of organ donation deeply. Diagnosed with renal failure at 25, her fut...
The world of the 21st century is driven by high technology. It pervades almost every aspect of our lives, from shopping and banking, to communication, to operating our cars and appliances. From cell phones and social media apps to work computers, we spend an increasingly large part of each day interacting with a screen. Sometimes it feels like technology runs us, instead of us running technology. And that leaves many people craving simpler, more grounded life-ways. Those...
Steve and Bev Oberg's Powell Butte neighbors like to gather for a little libation at the Bison Bar, where they share camaraderie while looking out over the pastures which are home to the bar's namesakes. And the bison often cooperate by coming up to feed on the other side of the fence. The Obergs have been breeding and raising bison for 18 years on their Powell Butte Bison Ranch. At one point they had close to 100 head, but that proved too large for their acreage to sustain...
From prehistoric times when the earliest archers hunted for meat, to Greek and medieval times when archers fought wars, to today when archery is a worldwide passion, the lure of archery is almost irresistible. Central Oregon is prime ground for 3D archery, a fast-growing sport. 3D archery targets are in the shape of animals, birds, or even dinosaurs. The targets are often quite whimsical. Like field archery, 3D archery is set out on a course of 24 targets in similar settings....
A Central Oregon resident is Oregon's 11th Poet Laureate. Governor Tina Kotek made the final decision after a 20-person committee narrowed the field to three finalists. When previous Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani's term ended last May, hopeful poets waited for several months, and wondered who would be next. Ellen Waterston was one of them. When Kotek made the announcement in August, Waterston was her choice. She's the second poet from Central Oregon to receive the two-year...
Most people traveling over Santiam Pass on Highway 20 are probably unaware of the historic architectural gem hidden in the trees. It sat abandoned and neglected for almost 40 years. Just to the west of Hoodoo Ski Area and across the highway, a group of dedicated volunteers and donors - Friends of Santiam Pass Ski Lodge - are meticulously bringing back to life the rustic lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in just seven months, from July 1939 to February 2,...
RC piloting in Central Oregon is reaching new heights. RC airplanes in simplest terms are model planes that a pilot controls by radio signals. The RC stands for radio control. Alternatively, you might see the term remote control. Technically speaking, radio control is the correct term, but remote control is widely used, and it is not incorrect. Model planes have been around for nearly 100 years, and all forms of model planes and other aircraft fall under the hobby name of...
Madras-based silversmith Jill Latno-Yamate has some advice for people interested in pursuing the fine, and difficult, art of engraving: "Start now, where you are and with what you have. I've had students who went on to have careers. But if you have the desire, you have to do it every day. I engrave something every single day." Originally from Napa, California, Latno-Yamate grew up horseback, with a strong interest in the sciences, which led to an early career as a Vet Tech....
Out of the shadow of the Paris Summer Olympics, locally trained Winter Olympics hopefuls are breaking out as rays of hope vying for a chance to represent Central Oregon on the world stage. At 19 years old, Bend native Elijah Pyle has made significant strides in the competitive snowboarding world. Specializing in halfpipe, Pyle's journey from local slopes to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team exemplifies our rich regional winter sports talent and culture. "I first started off...
Ann Ford knows a thing or two about senior living establishments. She managed three of them, including a memory care facility in Bend. Now she's a resident at Sisters Senior Living (formerly known as The Lodge in Sisters) - and she chose the place for one reason in particular: Alea Schliep. Alea is the life enrichment coordinator at the senior living home on Larch Street at the north end of Sisters. "I'm the one who basically creates the fun," she said. And creating that fun...
When Sisters resident John May saw people wading in Whychus Creek on August 19, obviously working on some sort of project, he was curious. He stopped by and encountered Deschutes Watershed District Fish Biologist Jerry George conducting a fish survey. He asked George for details on the work, and the biologist sent him an email sketching out the results of the survey. May shared the information with The Nugget. "Today we found that, while present, trout were in very low...
Even if you don't recognize her person or her name you will undoubtedly recognize Robin Bentz's work: She's the "lady who keeps Sisters beautiful." That's what we heard repeatedly as we asked about town. Indeed, Bentz is the tireless City's Public Works Department worker who almost single-handedly deals with city-owned landscaping. A lot of it is within five city parks, among the many, many acres of land that needs to be weeded, planted, pruned, irrigated, and fed. Bentz will...
Adrian and Buddy Blair work at Sno Cap. They live in the Deschutes National Forest. Upon first reading you might think that the two are entry-level line workers. To the contrary, Adrian is the manager and Buddy is... well you name it, and Buddy does it. Preps, cleans, fixes, stores, and helps keep the wheels turning. Sno Cap is not a fast-food restaurant. Everything is cooked or served to order, from scratch. Most everybody in Sisters has at one time or another dined at Sno...
Hi, my name is K-9 Copper and I assist the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) in finding people - even some who aren't happy when I find them. I have the best job in the world (for a dog). I have my own heavy duty pickup truck with my name on it and big lettering to let you know this is my truck. I have my own personal driver, Deputy Donny Patterson, who lives with me and his other dog, K-9 Bloodhound Dani, who retired from Riverside, California, and is my playmate at...
It is hard to imagine what Sisters and Burns, Oregon, Time Magazine, China, a shootout at the Tex Saloon in 1894, a gold rush at Windy Point, and actor William Hurt might have in common. The answer is that they all have ties to Claire McGill Luce, a "child of the west," a woman who worked around the world, but never forgot her roots in the high desert of Harney County. She is responsible for a treasure trove of western history that holds almost forgotten tales and secrets of...
The wild expanse of forests we enjoy in the foothills of the Cascade mountains are not there by chance. It took concerted thought for the future when in 1893, Congress established the precursor of National Forests, the Forest Reserves. Forest land was being developed fast as the Government encouraged settlement of the West. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of free land to any citizen over 21, with certain other requirements. The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 further...
While The Nugget staff and freelancers put out our weekly newspaper 52 weeks a year, year in and year out, the paper is far from our only publication. We produce programs for organizations and agencies across Central Oregon, the visitors guide that is a primary marketing tool for Sisters, and a now-biannual magazine. The spring edition of Spirit of Central Oregon is on the street now - and it is one of my favorite projects in more than 30 years of creating content at The...
