News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1630 - 1654 of 29670
Who are these guys? That was the question being asked all weekend as Sisters area campgrounds filled to overflowing and hotels put out No Vacancy signs. Some 443 cyclists entered the Cascade Gravel Grinder, the second stage in a four-stage gravel bike extravaganza that began with The Gorge Gravel Grinder April 24, in Dufor, Oregon. The next leg, and a barn-burner, promoters promise, is the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder that brings it all back to Sisters June 22-26, with five... Full story
As did many organizations, the parent/child program Together For Children (TFC) took an imposed hiatus during the pandemic. They are now returning to Sisters, reconnecting at SPRD with a weekly program for families with young children. No matter how resourceful parents have been during the pandemic, socialization and interaction with others has been limited, making it hard to introduce those important skills to their toddlers. TFC is a proven antidote to that problem. The same is true if parenting a two-year-old seems... Full story
Most of the Sisters Outlaws track athletes saved their best performances of the season for when it mattered most, at the Oregon West District Championships held May 13-14 at Husky Field in Sweet Home. There are three ways for athletes to qualify for the state meet, which will return to Hayward Field in Eugene for the first time in three years. The top two finishers in each event automatically qualify, along with one “wild card” from each event based on being the best thi... Full story
Every year entering the spring season, Sisters High School Choir Director Rick Johnson asks his group of students if they would like to compete in state choir competition, or if they’d rather visit an Oregon university and work with faculty and tour the music programs at Oregon colleges. This year, students were eager to compete. “We had just come out of the musical and students said they wanted to compete at the district level,” said Johnson. The Sisters High School concert c... Full story
Been doing a little work for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, one of the most significant events in modern American political history. The aftershocks of the botched political espionage operation that ultimately brought down the Nixon presidency continue to reverberate today, as evidenced by the persistent tendency to attach the suffix “gate” to any political scandal, large or small, that captures our attention (i.e., “Russiagate”). Even for people... Full story
In preparation for the warm weather and tourist and special event season, two of Sisters’ finest took part in a day-long bicycle training held at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Sisters substation. Deputies Mike Hudson and Josh Westfall, along with officers from Bend, Sunriver, and Black Butte Ranch, spent the morning weaving around cones in the parking lot, riding through the forest on multi-use dirt trails, and on paved and graveled roads. The afternoon was spent wor... Full story
The nationwide infant formula shortage has reached crisis proportions. Mothers in some locales are driving as much as four hours to find the product. Others are paying online profiteers three to four times its normal price. And, most desperately and dangerously, some moms are diluting the mix to ration what they have. Doctors warn that this is harmful, with any number of potential detriments to a child’s development. Given that Sisters skews toward an older population and i... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District plans to ignite a prescribed fire on up to 177 acres roughly five miles south of Sisters along the FS 1505 road on Tuesday, May 17. Operations will begin as early as 9 a.m. and will continue until ignitions are complete, or conditions become unfavorable. This treatment is part of the Sisters Area Fuels Reduction Project and is intended to reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland-urban interface and return forest stands to historic conditions by reintroducing fire on the landscape. This unit is a... Full story
The Outlaws varsity baseball team battled tough competition in the 4A-3 Oregon West Conference. They wrap up league play this week with two games against Caldera. Senior night is Wednesday, May 11. Going into the last week of play, the Outlaws are 8-15 overall; 3-12 in league. It’s not clear whether the Outlaws might get some post-season play. “We’re kind of on the bubble as far as a play-in game,” said Coach Kramer Croisant. The Outlaws’ record reflects a young team with... Full story
Venardos Circus is back. The animal-free Broadway-style circus is returning to Central Oregon this month. The circus was started by Kevin Venardos. Their motto is #LiveYourCircusDream, and that shines through in their shows as each performer lives out their passion. Jess Draper, Sisters local and The Nugget’s graphic designer, is an avid circus aficionado who last saw the Venardos Circus when they visited Redmond during Halloween week of 2021. “I love seeing the people liv... Full story
The Lady Outlaws started their week with a 4-4 tie against Woodburn on Tuesday, May 3, and in their final match of league play a day later fell 1-7 at Philomath against the Lady Warriors. In Tuesday’s match, Juhree Kizziar (No. 1 singles) continued her dominance on the court and recorded a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Juhree won the match with a variety of shots that were both short and deep, which kept her opponent off-balance. Brooke Harper returned to play after being out with an injury and defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-2, due in l... Full story
An investigation and a high-risk traffic stop led to the arrest of two men in connection with a burglary at a residence located in the 60000 block of George Cyrus Rd. east of Sisters. The burglary was reported on May 1. Responding deputies found that the main residence and outbuildings on the property had been broken into and property had been taken. Deputies also found a large flatbed trailer on the property that had been loaded with a large amount of machinery and equipment... Full story
If you want a unique challenge, venture into the Cascades and attempt to find and listen to the brilliant Nashville Warbler [Leiothlypis ruficapilla]. Nashville Warblers are so called because the first one was discovered along the Cumberland River at Nashville, Tennessee, by Alexander Wilson in 1811, during this warbler’s migration. Although they do not nest in Tennessee, the name has remained. Nashville Warblers are one of the few warblers that nest on the ground, building a... Full story
On Sunday morning folks in Sisters woke up to a light dusting of snow. “It’s like powdered sugar on a donut,” Margie Cunningham said. Her walking buddy, Lorie Meyer, asked: “This has got to help with the drought, right?” She is. Cooler April and May to-date temperatures and above-average precipitation have made an impact on our years-long drought. Bend moved from D-4 (Exceptional) to D3 (Extreme) on the Drought Monitor Index. In Sisters, the move is from D3 to D2 (Severe).... Full story
Despite weather conditions that one coach termed “a monsoon,” the Outlaws track-and-field team tuned up for District at the 15-team Wally Ciochetti Invitational hosted by Cottage Grove High School. Personal records were hard to come by due to the wet, windy conditions, but a few Sisters athletes overcame the weather in strong fashion. With 300 meters to go, Ella Bartlett lost the lead in the 3,000 meters. Then the Outlaw stormed back to capture the lone win for the team in a personal best by over five seconds with a time of... Full story
It is no secret that housing in Sisters is at a premium as more people have discovered the pleasures of living in a small mountain town with beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, four distinct seasons, and friendly residents. Sisters Country has been discovered. The big question that keeps surfacing is how we accommodate growth while keeping Sisters — well, Sisters — the place we were drawn to in the first place. Thursday evening, May 12, doors will open at the... Full story
The biggest news from the Sisters School District board of directors meeting on Wednesday, May 4, came just before adjournment: Board Chair Don Hedrick, who has served for over 11 years, announced that he would be stepping down effective at the June meeting. He said, “It’s been an honor to be on the board for 11 years, and the reasons are mostly, I am going to say, age-related. Community comments at the outset of the meeting included Steve Swisher reminding the board of the importance of actively recruiting budget com... Full story
The Outlaws packed in four games over the two-day SALI tourney, with all games in a 20-minute running halves format. On Saturday, the Outlaws played three games, the first a 13-3 win over Ridgeview at 8 a.m. Sisters was in control of the contest from start to finish and three players, Bodie Schar, Kyle Pilarski, and Adam Maddox-Castle all scored hat tricks (three goals). The defense played solid throughout, and Justin Blake in particular was a big help as a long pole... Full story
Reflections of a mom To the Editor: I have been blessed to have had two moms. My mama was my everything for 27 years. She was the one who kissed my boo-boos. She was the one who taught me about life. She was the one I went to talk about my latest crush. She was the one who would do late-night runs to the local fast-food joint to get our favorite snack, and then we’d go home and sit in the driveway talking. I remember my dad coming out around midnight, putting his hands on his hips, seeing us in the driveway, walking back i... Full story
As everyone knows, these are challenging times for small businesses in Central Oregon. We face inflation, labor shortages, lingering employee COVID fears, employee motivation issues, retention challenges, rapidly escalating wages, skyrocketing cost of goods sold, supply chain shortages and delays, increasing taxes, and never-ending government regulations. Unfortunately, things will likely get worse before they get better, which may be a long time coming, as we continue to wrestle with the current inflation that will probably... Full story
Living amid the ponderosa pine forest west of Sisters, homeowners in Tollgate know they are vulnerable to wildfire. Last weekend, the Tollgate Property Owners Association hosted an event designed to help residents take wildfire defense into their own hands. Under a tent on the subdivision commons, representatives of the insurance industry, Oregon Department of Forestry, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services Coordinator Sgt. Nathan Garibay, and others dispensed i... Full story
Talking to Shawn McCance, new general manager and longtime Black Butte Ranch (BBR) employee, it’s easy to get excited about the new Lodge construction. Even considering the many view options throughout the region, McCance confidently believes the venue will have the best views in Central Oregon. With amenities like floor-to-ceiling windows on two stories, there will always be something new to see in the changing moods of the Cascade Range, Phalarope Lake, and the flower-filled meadows. “When it’s complete, the Black Butte... Full story
Sisters Community Church (SCC) and VAST Church will officially reunite on Sunday, May 22, under the name Sisters Community Church. “It’s going to be a new church,” said Ryan Moffat, pastor of VAST, who will share pastoring duties with SCC’s Steve Stratos. There will be a new governance structure and a new constitution — but both pastors emphasize that this is about a great deal more than formal merging of two theologically compatible churches that grew from the same ro... Full story
School was disrupted in Sisters last Thursday, after an unspecified threat to a Sisters school was phoned in to 911, originating from a Bend number. According to Lt. Chad Davis of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the threat was very vague and part of a longer message. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office determined that Charles Matthew Schmiel is the person responsible for the threat made to the unnamed Sisters school on May 5. DCSO released an appeal to the public for... Full story
Hay is for horses. And cows. And sheep. And right now its price is causing Sisters Country producers and consumers to rethink their options. According to Oregon ag markets, alfalfa is up 58.8 percent in the last 12 months, and all other hay is up 37.7 percent. “If only that were true,” said Barb Winter, who keeps three horses just a half mile north of the city limits. “A year ago I was paying $45 for an 80-pound bale of timothy grass, and today, if I can even find it, it’s... Full story
