News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1478 - 1502 of 29656
Fire Chief Roger Johnson of Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District is vigilant in an effort to catch sparks of what he thinks might be undue concern among Sisters Country property owners as to their potential cost of hardening their dwellings to mitigate fire risk. Oregon Senate Bill 762 is a $220 million sweeping legislation that deals with a wide range of wildfire issues. Some advocates have raised red flags about potential costs. Johnson was particularly uneasy about the... Full story
Sisters will soon have a new organization in charge of tourism. The Sisters City Council voted last week to approve the organizational documents (articles of incorporation and bylaws) for Explore Sisters, a new destination management organization (DMO), that will strive to balance community needs with fostering the evolution of the local tourism economy. Sisters is often referred to as the gateway to Central Oregon. However, Sisters is no longer a place to just stop for gas... Full story
Brandi Gregor is a veteran, having proudly served in the Oregon National Guard. She moved to Sisters a while back and has taken up residence alongside FS Road 100, more or less behind Ponderosa Lodge, within easy distance, aided by her walker, to Mainline Station and Ray’s Food Place. She sat for a lengthy interview with The Nugget last week just outside her newish tent and star-spangled banner camp chair. She showed a range of emotions from a flash of anger when she misunders... Full story
The final seven artists slated to perform at the 25th annual Sisters Folk Festival September 30 to October 2 are in the final lineup, announced last week. The full lineup includes more than 30 folk, jazz, bluegrass, and blues artists from around the country, with recent additions David Wilcox, Abby Hamilton, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, Strain + Worth, Dave Hause, Justin Farren, and Jenner Fox Band rounding out the list. More than three decades into his career,... Full story
The Roundhouse Foundation, a Sisters-based philanthropy organization that supports innovative programs in Oregon’s rural communities, has announced final selections in its spring grant cycle. Supported programs and projects fall into the organization’s four focus areas, which are fundamental in building thriving rural areas: arts and culture; environmental stewardship; social services; and education. A total of $1.4 million was awarded to 75 organizations working across Ore... Full story
If you’re like me, you might be feeling a little withdrawal now that the Rodeo is over. Of course, you could saddle up and head over to Prineville on June 23 for the Crooked River Roundup with a $67,500 purse. Or maybe plan an Independence Day weekend at the St. Paul Rodeo and it’s whopping $285,000 purse. Or, save a whole bunch of $5 gas and find your way to Sisters Movie House today for “Bitterbrush,” which has scored an impressive 86 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. Emelie... Full story
A special meeting of the Sisters School Board held Thursday, June 16, to vote on a replacement for the position vacated by Don Hedrick, resulted in a tie, delaying the decision for another week. Three applicants, Rodney Cooper, Asa Sarver, and Josette Johnson, were briefly interviewed at the public meeting before the vote took place. The board had nearly a week prior to the meeting to review the applicants’ comprehensive applications, according to board member Jeff Smith. The information within the applications was not s... Full story
Sisters Arts Association’s (SAA) Fourth Friday Artwalk on June 24 celebrates the coming of summer. Hood Avenue Art District galleries welcome you and your friends to meet local artists, see new and old favorite artworks, and take advantage the long hours of summer daylight. Pick up a Gallery Map and follow the ART flags to visit the local galleries. The Clearwater Gallery is freshly stocked with locally made rustic garden art just in time for summer. These whimsical characters and phrases bring beauty and joy to any o... Full story
Ever hear the expression “curiosity killed the cat?” Mushrooms can do that. Kill your cat or dog. Hundreds a year, according to PetMD. And thousands end up in vet clinics, often on an expensive, emergency basis. There are some 10,000 fungal species that have been identified from all over North America. Roughly 10 to 20 percent of mushroom species are edible, 5 percent have medicinal properties, 20 percent can make you sick, and about 1 percent are known as deadly. Here in Sis... Full story
Tyler Cranor, the beloved music teacher at Sisters High School, will take the stage in Sisters one last time. On Friday, June 24, Cranor will be hitting the stage at Angeline’s Bakery — right before his cross-country move to Fort Myers, Florida. Cranor has been the band director at Sisters High School for the past eight years. In addition, he has been an active performer in the local music scene. The show at Angeline’s Bakery will feature an array of musical guests — from colleagues, to peers, to friends, to stu... Full story
Josie Newport, who became the new executive director of Citizens4Community (C4C) as of May 4, wants to assure that all sectors of the community will avail themselves of the platform provided by C4C. Newport views the role of C4C as being to “provide the platform for the community to discuss interesting and important topics. I enjoy working with all personalities and weaving conversations together.” “Josie is a real people person, with lots of energy. She is great at conne... Full story
Jenner Fox has become an integral part of the Sisters music community — as a performer and as a teacher with Sisters Folk Festival’s music education outreach programs. On July 1, he will release his new collection of songs, titled “Good Luck Road.” In this latest release, Fox brings to life stories and soundscapes from the small Wyoming town of Dayton. The Sisters-based songwriter wrote “Good Luck Road” during his stays as Dayton’s artist in residence in 2019 and 20... Full story
Two of the properties on this year’s Quilts in the Garden Tour are located in Sage Meadow, next door to each other. Both have beautiful unobstructed views from house and backyard, of cattle grazing in the bucolic Indian Ford Meadow, with Mount Jefferson standing in the distance. When Marti Ayers and Al Scheidigger bought their home on 1.6 acres nine years ago, there was a fence between their yard and the neighbors, so they created an opening in the fence to be more n... Full story
Jennifer Sowers has always found herself to be “calm in the eye of other people’s storms.” That makes her well-suited to her role as a mental health counselor. After years working for three counties in Oregon, Sowers launched a private practice — Jennifer Sowers, LPC, in Sisters in January. She’s been living here for five years, working in the mental health field in Madras. She opened her practice in Sisters in part because she sought greater connection to a communi... Full story
After a two-year absence due to COVID-19, the 25th Annual Quilts in the Garden Tour, sponsored by the Sisters Garden Club, will be held on the Thursday of Quilt Show Week, July 7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s theme is “Living with Pollinators.” Tickets are available locally at The Gallimaufry and online at www.sistersgardenclub.com for $20. For the first time ever, due to the popularity of the tour, the number of tickets available is limited and must be purchased ahead of ti... Full story
The recent closure of the lab at St. Charles Family Care Clinic in Sisters is just one symptom of a financial crisis engulfing St. Charles Health System. The term is not an alarmist. When The Nugget met with Mike Richards, operations VP for St. Charles Medical Group, and Lisa Goodman, public information and government affairs officer for the parent organization, St. Charles Health System, they used the term “financial crisis” four times in the conversation. They made no eff... Full story
The city of Sisters currently has enough water rights for the next 20 years, according to Public Works Director Paul Bertagna in his report to the joint workshop of the City Council and the Planning Commission on June 15. Sisters’ water supply is 100 percent groundwater from wells drilled in 1975, 1992, 2007, and 2021. Well No. 4 was drilled ahead of schedule because of the water rights gifted to the City by Dorro Sokol’s daughter, Cris Converse. The pump in well No. 4 sit... Full story
Sisters in Sisters held its inaugural gathering on Thursday evening, celebrating Pride Month with a casual get-together including food, drinks, and music. Kids ran up and down the spine of The Barn’s outdoor garden while the band Oregon Fryer buoyed up the atmosphere, playing country-flavored rock and honky-tonk. Co-organizers Stefanie Siebold and her wife, Teresa Laursen, moved to Sisters about five years ago. “We have met some amazing individuals here in this community, fel... Full story
A couple of decades ago (ouch!) Erik Dolson and I sat in the courtyard at what was then The Depot Deli, musing on the bland “normalcy” of the day. The Berlin Wall had fallen a decade before, and liberal democracy and economics seemed to have established an unassailable global dominance. We reflected on our sense that we were living in singularly uninteresting times. They got more interesting real fast. The past two decades have been a roller coaster of change and unc... Full story
Don’t Charge Veterans To the Editor: Give our vets a break. I attended the Memorial Day service in the city park put on by our local VFW Post 8138, the American Legion Post 8, and the Sisters chapter of the Band of Brothers. They needed a sound system for the event this year, and also wanted a piper, so I was happy to help out on both of those fronts as I have a portable sound system from our band that I brought over so all could hear the speakers, and was glad to play the Highland pipes to commemorate and honor the f... Full story
Senate Bill 762, adopted last June, provided legislative direction to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) regarding the wildland-urban interface, statewide fire risk mapping, and prescribed fire, directing the Department to review and clarify the enforcement of rules pertaining to forestland and baseline standards for unprotected and under-protected lands in Oregon. The ODF is a state agency and the U.S. Forest Service is federal. The ODF fights fires, among myriad other... Full story
Some serious decisions are ahead for Sisters’ volunteer city councilors and planning commissioners. At last week’s joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission, members of City staff and consultants from APG-MIG provided the latest draft reports on “efficiency measures” and housing plan updates. These projects attempt to address continuing growth in Sisters, as well as the need to meet state-mandated planning requirements. The consultants and staff were looking... Full story
On a clear, sunny Wednesday morning after torrid downpours of a relentless spring, Sisters was beaming with natural beauty. On the south-facing wall of the public bathrooms in Barclay Park mural artists Karen Eland and Katie Daisy were busy installing a tribute to that beauty. After months of hard work, keen eyes, and careful strokes of the paint brush, their artistic depiction of Sisters Country was put on permanent display for locals and visitors to enjoy. This is the sixth... Full story
On Tuesday, June 21, the summer solstice, residents of Sisters Country are invited by Citizens4Community (C4C) to a Community Celebration from 4 to 6 p.m. at Creekside Park. The community is invited to help celebrate the progress in Sisters Country through the hard work and focus of fellow community members. The City and the Vision Implementation Team (VIT) will be sharing the progress made on a variety of local projects. Over the last several years, a great deal of work has... Full story
The Whychus Creek watershed has undergone an amazing amount of restoration and stream improvement over more than a decade. The riparian areas have been improved and replanted. Old dams and barriers have been removed to encourage fish passage. More water runs in the creek year-round. Millions of dollars have gone into these projects. Local citizens and visitors are enjoying these improvements. However, there have been recent incidences of dumped trash, graffiti, and vandalism... Full story
