News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1312 - 1336 of 29663
It was in April that the City brought Jacob Smith on board as its first ever code enforcement officer. He had been in a similar position in Redmond for 13 years. Our July 5 story on overgrown weeds and grass pointed out a sizeable part of Smith’s job. We wanted to get more in-depth with him, to get the bigger picture on his role and how he’s adapting to it. True, “vegetation” issues as he calls them are at the top of his work pile, as we are now into the peak of the summer... Full story
On Saturday, August 6, the town of Sisters lost a local who will be forever missed. Conrad Charles Kiefer was born in Eureka, California, where he lived for most of his childhood until moving to Sisters in 1996. Conrad graduated from Sisters High School in 1999. After High School, he worked as a wildland firefighter. No one knew the Deschutes wilderness better than Conrad. Conrad worked for the City of Sisters, Knife River, and most recently McKenzie Cascade Excavation. He... Full story
On Saturday April 16, Russell John Ribb, Jr. went home into the loving arms of his Savior. Russ was 94, born August 28, 1927, in Sherwood, North Dakota. Being an only child, he enjoyed their move to Donnybrook, North Dakota, being close to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In 1937, they headed out west to Long Beach, California, and then settled in La Puente. This is where Russ started attending church as a young boy and accepted the Lord as his Savior at age 10.... Full story
Young artists from a creativity camp performed original songs, read poetry, and showed their paintings at Sisters Art Works last Friday. But this camp had a special twist: the kids also created songs inspired by local elders. Earlier in the week, campers attended the senior luncheon at Sisters Community Church. They asked questions, listened, and took notes on their elders’ life stories, favorite foods, and more. Back at camp, youth came up with song ideas based on luncheon co... Full story
The Pole Creek Ranch property has a history of running cattle, elk, llamas, and even a camel, but for the first time Saturday, August 20 it was 120 people of all ages that had run of the place, at the inaugural Giddy-Up Ranch Run sponsored by Run Sisters Run. The Cole family, owners of the ranch, are moving toward allowing a limited number of events on the property in the future and opened the place up for race director Kelly Bither as a way to foster community connections.... Full story
Water and development To the Editor: Water again. I wonder if the residents of greater Sisters are as confused as I am about the City’s water policies? In the hearing in 2021 to consider the Woodlands development, which will increase the population of Sisters by 30 percent and extract tens of thousands of gallons of water from our aquifer, the City Council gave little thought to water. They seem to have considered it to be an infinite resource, as if this were 1921 and only a handful of people lived in Sisters. The City h... Full story
Laird Superfood, the U.S.-based protein bars and plant-based creamers maker headquartered on Lundgren Mill Drive in Sisters has received a takeover offer from investment bank EF Hutton. Laird, listed on the NYSE-American as LSF, which last week announced a first-half net loss of $19 million, said the approach has been made via a special purpose vehicle of EF Hutton for $3 a share, in what it called an “unsolicited offer.” “The Laird Superfood board of directors will caref... Full story
Deschutes National Forest road crew operations will be moving to Forest Service Road 16 on the Sisters Ranger District. This route provides access to the Three Creek Lake area. Work will be focused on repairing pavement edges and patching potholes. The work is slated to begin next Monday, August 22, and tentatively scheduled to last through the week. The road repairs are scheduled for the paved stretch of road between the National Forest boundary and where Forest Service Road 16 transitions to gravel. Motorists can expect... Full story
In a surprise move, the Oregon Department of Forestry has withdrawn its wildfire risk map after receiving criticism from the public. People who own property in “high” or “extreme” wildfire risk areas may face new requirements under Senate Bill 762. The map was part of the implementation of SB762. Last month the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) released the new map, created with Oregon State University, that outlined wildfire risk statewide, in the first step toward requiri... Full story
Saturday saw 61 equestrians from four states gather at Sisters Cow Camp for a day of endurance riding competition. There was a 50-mile course run by 18, a 30-mile limited-distance route that had 36 riders, and seven riders who came out for a 12-mile introductory course. Known as the Historic Santiam Cascade Endurance Ride, the Sisters-based group has been around for 58 years, with over 300 members on social media. The ride was AERC sanctioned (American Endurance Ride Conferenc... Full story
Last week saw the arrival in Sisters of a task force. Recent lightning and the elevated threat of wildfire in Central and Southern Oregon have prompted the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to pre-position two structural task forces of firefighters and equipment in Deschutes and Klamath counties. A task force from Marion County mobilized Thursday morning, August 11. These firefighters pre-positioned in Deschutes County. The task force is made up of 13 firefighters, fo... Full story
Angelena Bosco’s career has always been in the food industry — from working in restaurants and co-managing Sisters Farmers Market to teaching cooking classes. It’s what she knows and what she loves. Now folks in Sisters Country can call her when they need groceries, or want food delivered from local restaurants. From Camp Sherman to Fryrear Road, Bosco’s new business serves addresses in the Sisters School District. Vacation Grocery Delivery (VGD) began as a groce... Full story
The moon landings were staged; the earth is flat; Hitler escaped to Argentina. Learning “the news” each day while growing up in a city within the heartland of America during the ’60s and ’70s occurred in one of two ways: At 6 p.m. the local news came on followed by the national news of CBS, NBC, or ABC. The other possibility for news came with the city’s morning newspaper or its afternoon edition. The news industry of the day investigated events on the ground with field reporters, who attempted to find out or uncover f... Full story
A semitruck driver who was apparently seeking a place to rest for the night got badly stuck at Suttle Lake last week. His damaged truck ultimately had to be hauled out by a towing crew. Black Butte Police responded to a 911 call about the incident at about 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, August 11. The driver attempted to make a turn the truck could not negotiate and ran over boulders and stumps. The truck’s cargo container was crunched and it popped a tire, leaving it stranded. C... Full story
The Pileated Woodpecker (dryocopus pileatus) is home in a mature forest with dead snags that become large drums for the majestic woody. Whether for proclaiming territory, communicating, or chipping out a nest, decaying trees are essential for a healthy population of the largest species of woodpecker in North America. With a body length of 15 to 19 inches and a 29-inch wingspan, they have a home territory of 320 to 600 acres. Both parents excavate the 10-to-24-inch-deep nest, w... Full story
Pokey LaFarge returned to Sisters after 10 years away, for the 2022 Sisters Rhythm & Brews Festival last weekend. LaFarge played the Sisters Folk Festival in 2012 and was brought back to Sisters for this year’s Rhythm & Brews Festival for a unique set. LaFarge sat down with The Nugget for an interview ahead of his set Saturday evening. LaFarge was born in Bloomington, Illinois, two hours south of the city of Chicago. Around 13 or 14 years old, he began getting into music a... Full story
- Water curtailed. As of August 6, users of Three Sisters Irrigation District were receiving 70 percent of their allotment, a normal flow for the first week of August. - The Woodlands taking reservations. The first of five phases to be ready in the spring of 2023 includes 21 cottages ranging from 859 to 1,250 sq. ft., 11 townhomes and five mixed-use parcels. The 35-acre development is bounded by W. Barclay Drive, N. Pine Street, and Highway 20/126 and when finished will have... Full story
My family has lived in Sisters Country close to 30 years. I still remember our first summer, with snow on July 4, and then lightning strikes in September. I stood holding my baby, looking out at lightning exploding juniper trees as dark ominous clouds moved toward our ranch. I felt helpless, unprepared, and vulnerable. A week later, tendrils of smoke began to spiral up from fire still present in the roots of the trees struck earlier. We were lucky that time, with firefighters... Full story
Deputy Sheriff Brian Morris, who works out of the Deschutes County Sisters substation, was my host for several hours last Friday as I was approved for a ride-along. Morris lives in Sisters and has children in our schools, so he has a personal investment in keeping the streets safe — which, let’s face it, is a fairly easy task. Not exactly a hotbed of crime here in the village. That does not mean there is not much to do. Tragedies do happen of course. It’s not a per... Full story
It’s just before showtime. In blue bat wings and a feather mask, 5-year-old Olive Van Buren gets ready for her circus act with Marley Menasco, who wears a white ensemble with tiara and electric-blue cape. Marley is 5 years old too. Or, as the girls put it, they’re both “five and a half.” They were among a dozen or so kids participating in the Starshine circus camp. In a shady grove of trees near Suttle Lodge, they gathered around a wooden stage last Friday. Asked about t... Full story
Local folks were shocked at the news that thieves hit the Sunglass Hut in the Old Mill District for $20,000 in product earlier this month. It was the kind of brazen shoplifting incident that has been occurring in bigger cities across the nation for the past couple of years. Lt. Chad Davis of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that Sisters is not immune from such incidents and offered some tips for retailers. Davis emphasized that the safety of store staff a... Full story
Cleanup days in the woods near Sisters are scheduled for Saturday, August 20, and Saturday, September 17. The annual events started in 2018, when Mandee Seeley, then an employee at Sisters Park & Recreation District, organized the first cleanup. Seeley said everyone is welcome to participate. Participants are to meet at Village Green Park at 9 a.m. to carpool to the site out Three Creek Road. Work will take place until noon, or longer if people can stay. Workers can bring... Full story
After a two-year hiatus, the Sisters Rhythm & Brews Festival graced the Village Green stage in downtown Sisters last weekend. The weekend was full of blue skies, cold brews, and some of the best blues artists in the country. Founders Joe and Jennifer Rambo have a heart for giving back to their community, with part of the Festival proceeds contributing to Habitat for Humanity programming, Heart of Oregon Corps, and Sisters Gro scholarships — local programs the Rambos supp... Full story
The critical concerns for Sisters’ water system are storage capacity, transmission-line capacities, and aging/undersized infrastructure. Over the next two decades, the City projects investing millions of dollars in the water system. The Sisters City Council has received a system evaluation and recommended capital improvement projects to the City water system from Anderson Perry & Associates Consulting Engineers and Public Works director Paul Bertagna. The water system o... Full story
Roundabouts are the right choice To the Editor: In response to Ross Flavel’s letter last week about roundabouts in Sisters, his suggestion of a one-way couplet in town was thoroughly reviewed, and rejected, during the 2008 TSP update. Unfortunately, major upgrades to our roadways with a state highway designation take years (decades?) to complete and during that time the town has doubled in population. This leaves those who arrived after the public process, which included many open hearings and town halls, wondering why we d... Full story
