News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 29611
Local nonprofits Age-Friendly Sisters Country (AFSC) and Citizens4Community (C4C) are teaming up to offer a free workshop for residents interested in turning their community building ideas into reality. “What Do You Do With An Idea?” will take place Sunday, November 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Sisters Fire District Community Hall. The event will also be live-streamed and recorded, and light refreshments will be provided. Registration for both in-person and online attendance is requested, and is accessible at bit... Full story
Assume. It’s what we do every time we climb behind the wheel of a car. We assume we are going to get to our destination safely. Odds are you will. Often that creates a complacency that will catch up with you sooner or later. On average there are six injury accidents, and dozens more “fender-benders” that police do not respond to in Deschutes County daily. Even a seemingly low-speed accident may cause serious and sometimes life-altering injuries. How to make sure you don’t eventually end up involved in one of those serious... Full story
Bristows Barbershop in Sisters will be hosting a fund-raiser for longtime resident Adam Silva who is needing to have unexpected open heart surgery. Adam, who is a father to five children, is without medical insurance, and will be out of work for five or six months. On Saturday, November 9, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. the barbershop will be offering haircuts for $25, and $20 for veterans and senior citizens. All proceeds will be donated to the Silva family to help cover medical costs. There will also be a free barbecue and drinks... Full story
Steve Amsberry, a retired veterinarian living in Black Butte, asked The Nugget to remind readers of the danger of some candies to dogs. His brother, Mike, also a vet still practicing in Sisters, says that chocolate is the highest candy risk to canines. “Chocolate contains several active chemicals, including theobromine and caffeine. They are far more powerful in dogs. Signs of chocolate toxicity vary by size of dog and the amount of chocolate eaten. Symptoms may take s... Full story
The Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) hosted its fall Volunteer Celebration at the Belfry on Monday, October 14. The event started with a short video produced by STA Youth Ambassador and SHS senior Jack Turpen, which showcased STA trails. Forrest Tancer, current Board Chairman of STA, welcomed the 70 plus volunteers and introduced Stephanie Presley, STA’s new Executive Director. She praised the work of STA because it embodies the best in volunteer spirit and community collaboration, and noted that over 350 persons had v... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District is one of three ranger districts on the Deschutes National Forest. It covers 350,000 acres surrounding Sisters on three sides. During the summer season, the Sisters district has about 110 staff at work. The current acting district ranger, Lauren DuRocher, is in charge while permanent district ranger Ian Reid is spending four months on the Modoc National Forest in the extreme northeastern corner of California, comprised of 1.6 million acres. He will... Full story
Wrestling has been a central part of Jeff Smith's long and accomplished life. He's given a lot to the sport he loves - and now the wrestling world has given back to him. Earlier this month, at a gala in Tigard, Smith was inducted into the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma, honoring a lifetime of contributions to the sport. Smith was drawn into the sport of wrestling in high school in Roseburg, Oregon, coached by a World War II... Full story
The two candidates for Deschutes County Sheriff have released documents clarifying information about their background in what has become a highly contentious race. After his education credentials were called into question, Captain William Bailey provided a memo from Oregon’s law enforcement certification agency demonstrating that he has more than the required number of college credits for the management and executive police certifications he holds. The memo was issued by t... Full story
Ronald is one lucky feline. This big marmalade cat, who weighs 18 pounds, was saved from an untimely end by a kind man who brought him to Sisters and released him. As though guided by his guardian angel, the cat made his way over two miles to the front porch of Sisters resident, Jill Eidsmoe, an inveterate cat lover. He received instant care and food and lots of love. When Eidsmoe posted a photo on Facebook to see if she could locate the kitty's owner, the man who had saved hi... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District (SRD) plans to conduct approximately 439 acres of brush mowing operations in areas adjacent to Forest Service Road 2058 (Pine Street), Sisters Tie Trail, and Forest Service Road 1102 (Indian Ford Road). Work got underway earlier this month, and will continue for the next few months. According to the Forest Service, operations are strategically located within the Highway 20 Project Area, which is critical to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire to the Sisters community. Brush mowing will gener... Full story
Ballots will be in hand in the coming days, and Sisters voters will have a chance to decide on the make-up of their city council; the size of the county commission; and who will lead the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. There are three open positions on the Sisters City Council, with five candidates throwing their hat into the ring. The five candidates participated in a League of Women Voters/City Club of Central Oregon forum on Thursday, October 10. The forum can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3BKW0Pu. The Nugget’s pro... Full story
Jennifer Letz has thrown her hat in the ring for another term on the Sisters City Council. Letz, who is finishing up a four-year term, helped navigate Sisters through the challenges of hiring a new city manager, a contentious battle over a proposed emergency homeless shelter, and is currently embarked on the state-mandated project to expand the City's Urban Growth Boundary. Letz is one of five candidates running for three available seats on Sisters City Council in the... Full story
He drove two- and one-half days to get to the 2024 Harvest Faire in Sisters, the 15th sponsored by Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. It was a 1,781-mile journey for Ryan Stanley, one of 172 vendors at the event which drew as many as 10,000. Some vendors estimated 12,000 and seemingly they could not be more pleased with the outcome. When asked why he would travel so far for a weekend show, Stanley said, "Well first of all it's a beautiful drive, so the time goes quickly. And I... Full story
During his visit to Mosaic Community Health's Sisters School-Based Health Center (SBHC) on Friday, October 11, to celebrate their one year of service to Sisters children, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden told those assembled, "Thank you for what you do. The School-Based Health Centers do some of the most important work in the state, providing health care for our children." Earlier, Wyden was thanked by Mosaic staff: "We offer you our gratitude because we couldn't have done what we have... Full story
A group of nine activists representing several groups asked The Nugget to accompany them last Friday to an area on Green Ridge to show trees marked by the Forest Service for removal under a proposed timber sale as part of the Service's Green Ridge Landscape Restoration Project, a 25,000-acre planning area. Green Ridge is in the Sisters District of the Deschutes National Forest in Jefferson County about nine air miles north of town and close to Camp Sherman and the Metolius... Full story
With a median price of $825,000 and an average price of $889,010, September single family home transactions in Sisters Country show a continuing trend of lack of affordable housing stock. The inventory of available homes remains low as sellers are stuck in their homes sitting on mortgage rates of three to four percent. Were they to sell and finance a new home at current 30-year lending rates of 6.365 percent such sellers would be often doubling their monthly payment.... Full story
Eli Madrone is an active man. He's the owner of a small business - Madrone Communications - chair of the City Parks Board, father of an elementary school-aged child, a youth soccer coach, and a volunteer with Sisters Folk Festival. Now he's thrown his hat into the ring to serve on the Sisters City Council. Five candidates are vying for three available seats on the Council in the November 5 election. "I was encouraged by a couple of Council members," Madrone said. He believes... Full story
Cheryl Pellerin got interested in participating in city government when Sisters faced a controversy over the citing of a shelter in town last year. "I was pretty interested in how the City was going to handle this," she recalled. She started learning about the processes of local government - and found herself hooked. Soon, she was serving on the City of Sisters Budget Committee, and the Urban Forestry Board. She participated in the City's inaugural Civic Leadership Academy, wh... Full story
Due to the lack of significant rainfall and continued warm temperatures, open burning within the Black Butte Ranch, Cloverdale, and Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Districts remains closed. Central Oregon Fire Chiefs and partner agencies will meet in mid-October to re-evaluate conditions and may open burning towards the end of October. Currently prohibited in residential areas: Backyard or open burning (branches, yard debris, etc.); Agricultural burning (waste crops, field burning); Land clearing, slash, or stump waste. To help... Full story
Locals citizens are continuing to map out the future of Sisters. The Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Steering Committee met on Thursday, October 3 to continue discussion of the draft study area map. The committee reviewed criteria that will be used to evaluate four “concept” alternative boundaries. Andrew Parish, of MIG, the consulting firm retained by the City to support the UGB amendment process, was at the meeting to present major categories of criteria that will be used to evaluate the study area. The three main criteria all... Full story
More than 100 Sisters Country folk joined 11 speakers at Sisters Elementary School on Sunday, October 6, for a community conversation about houselessness. The gathering convened at 4 p.m. for the first public meeting at the brand new facility. Instigated by the City of Sisters in partnership with 11 organizations, the 90-minute meeting was billed as a learning and input-gathering session. Its purpose was to learn about houselessness in Sisters Country and hear ideas,... Full story
For many a year, Sisters children have been treated to a downtown event whereby school-aged kids in costume would gather at Fir Street Park on Halloween (or the nearest school day to October 31) and then in small groups of roughly 25, they would be led by an adult guide, also in costume, up and down portions of Main, Cascade, and Hood avenues. The trick-or-treaters would be rewarded by participating merchants - some 40 plus - with an array of goodies many of which were... Full story
It's an ongoing blight, and it's a challenge to forest managers to remove abandoned vehicles in the national forest. There are no reliable numbers of discarded vehicles, but estimates continuously place the total in the many thousands. In the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest the number runs between 30 and 40 per year, mostly RVs, the kinds towed by a car or truck and ranging in size from 15 to 35 feet in length. However, cars and motorcycles also... Full story
A local forest dweller wielded fire extinguishers provided through a fire protection program to attack a small fire in the woods near Sisters the evening of September 24. According to the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, a nearby forest resident reported a small fire on National Forest land approximately one-half mile north of the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge in Sisters. After reporting the fire, the neighboring forest dweller attempted to extinguish the fire using two small fire extinguishers that were provided to him... Full story
When it comes to law enforcement priorities and policies, there is not a lot that separates the two candidates for Deschutes County Sheriff. But Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp are sharply divided over culture and morale within the agency. The candidates participated in a League of Women Voters-sponsored forum in Bend on Monday, September 23, where they fielded questions submitted earlier by the public on issues ranging from homelessness to guns to the con... Full story
