News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 29577
Last week's fire of a fully loaded fuel tanker truck headed for the Space Age station in Sisters was brought under control by the quick actions of the driver, neighbors, Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District and a specially equipped fire engine stationed at Redmond airport. The tanker truck was carrying 11,200 gallons of diesel and regular unleaded gas in its two tanks. Each tank has three cells to separate fuel types. Only one cell was breached when a passenger car drove... Full story
Shae Gascon's family moved to Sisters when she was in the third grade. She remembers gardening with her grandparents and how much she loved planting and harvesting fresh veggies. Her interest in farming continued, but it wasn't until her junior year that she spent some time at Seed to Table (S2T) farm "I was in IEE, (Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition) and chose farming as my extra activity," she said. "We were working on building doors for their hoop houses. We also... Full story
Additional fire restrictions are currently in effect on the Willamette National Forest. Those restrictions include popular areas for Sisters’ OHV (off-highway vehicle) riders. The new restrictions prohibit all motorized use on motorized trails, including in the Santiam Pass and Huckleberry Flats OHV areas. Off-highway vehicles are only allowed on multi-use roads, which allow both OHVs and regular motor vehicles; Motor Vehicle Use Maps show which roads are open to multi-use, and are available at Willamette National Forest o... Full story
Explore Sisters is tasked with promoting tourism that fits in well with the community values of Sisters. The work of the organization, which is one year old, has not been very visible to the public. The organization is funded through a lodging tax of 8.99 percent on room rates for overnight lodging of less than 30 days. Transient Lodging (Room) Tax (TRT or TLT) is the City's second largest general fund income source. Despite the volatile economic environment for the last... Full story
Smoke that is visible from Sisters looking toward the mountains is from the Pete’s Lake Fire, which is on the far side of the Three Sisters and west of Elk Lake. Central Oregon Fire Information reports: Firefighters spent a busy day yesterday responding to several new starts caused by lightning storms that passed over the area in the last several days. Four of these new starts were on the Deschutes National Forest and were contained at less than 1/2 acre. One new incident on the Willamette National Forest continues to g... Full story
(Editor’s Note: Hearing time corrected). The Sisters City Council will hold a hearing on Tuesday, September 5, at 5 p.m. on a proposed emergency shelter for the homeless to be located at 192 W. Barclay Drive in Sisters. A local nonprofit organization, Sisters Cold Weather Shelter (SCWS) advocates for the houseless community. The organization was awarded funding from the State through the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) to purchase and operate a shelter at a permanent location within Sisters. The SCWS board has... Full story
Firefighters from the Oregon Department of Forestry's (ODF) Central Oregon District, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Lake Chinook Fire & Rescue, contractors, and local partners have significantly slowed the Juniper Creek Fire through an aggressive initial attack. Firefighters were able to establish a control line completely around the fire and were continuing firefighting operations night and day. Control line is the term used to describe dozer and hand-line... Full story
How can or can't species adapt to the effects of climate change? For decades, Thor Hanson, Ph.D. - respected biologist, author, Guggenheim Fellow and Switzer Environmental Fellow - has travelled the world, written several books, and won the renowned John Burroughs Medal in pursuit of answers to this pressing question. As the keynote speaker at this year's Waterston Desert Writing Prize Ceremony, Hanson will speak on this all-too-relevant topic and later participate in a book... Full story
A 39-year-old local woman was cited on a single infraction in relation to the July 30 crash at the junction of Highway 126 and Cloverdale Road east of Sisters. The crash took down power and Internet in the Sisters area for most of a day, disrupting life and having significant economic impact on local businesses. The woman allegedly ran through the stop sign in a passenger vehicle as she traveled northbound on Cloverdale Road about midnight, and ran into the back axle of a gasoline trailer truck headed west toward Sisters on... Full story
Maui, Hawaii, is as much home to Tristan and Gemma Marshall as Sisters is. When they saw the devastation wrought by a wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina, they wanted to help. But Tristan is 13, and Gemma is 11. They don't have an income from which to make a donation - so they decided to leverage their musical passion to raise funds for Maui Strong. The Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Strong fund is providing financial resources that can be deployed quickly for... Full story
The Sisters Cold Weather Shelter (SCWS) board has reapplied for the emergency shelter proposed by the board to the City of Sisters initially on June 27. The new application is effective starting August 15. A local nonprofit organization, SCWS advocates for the houseless community. The organization was awarded funding from the State through the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) to purchase and operate a shelter at a permanent location within Sisters. The board... Full story
In an abundance of caution, ODOT announced Friday that it was closing 15 miles of the 82-mile McKenzie-Santiam Scenic Byway (Highway 242) between mileposts 61 and 76 due to activity from the Lookout Fire, reported on August 5, which so far has consumed over 11,000 acres. The closure is 14 miles west of Sisters. The popular Dee Wright Observatory at mile post 77.5 remains open. ODOT’s decision was not based on the threat of actual fire reaching the iconic highway. Rather it w... Full story
The pair of wolves known as the Metolius pair are presumed - but not confirmed - to be a male and female. On April 19, 2022 a new AKWA (Area of Known Wolf Activity) was designated in the Metolius wildlife management unit. Since August of 2021, there have been public reports of two wolves. Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) documented that the wolf activity appeared to be resident, prompting the AKWA designation. These two wolves were counted for the 2021 annual... Full story
Firefighters from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Lake Chinook Fire & Rescue, contractors, and local partners have significantly slowed the Juniper Creek Fire through an aggressive initial attack. Firefighters were able to establish a control line completely around the fire and will continue firefighting operations into the night. Control line is the term used to describe dozer and hand-line used create a fire break. The Juniper Creek Fire is l... Full story
In an abundance of caution, ODOT announced Friday that it was closing 15 miles of the 82-mile McKenzie-Santiam Scenic Byway (Highway 242) between mile posts 61 and 76 due to activity from the Lookout Fire that so far has consumed over 6,000 acres. The closure is 14 miles west of Sisters. The popular Dee Wight Observatory at mile post 77.5 remains open. ODOT’s decision was not based on the threat of actual fire reaching the iconic highway. Rather it was the concern that s... Full story
Sisters City Council chambers were packed to overflowing on Wednesday, August 9. The intense interest in the scheduled City Council workshop revolved around an application by Sisters Cold Weather Shelter (SCWS) for City approval to operate an emergency shelter at 192 W. Barclay Dr. The proposed siting has stirred citizenry in vociferous opposition or support of the proposed shelter. Some 35-40 attendees were forced to stand in the doorway or vestibule, straining to hear the... Full story
Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) spokesman Sgt. Jason Wall reported that on Saturday, August 5 at approximately 6 p.m., DCSO Search and Rescue (SAR) was dispatched to two lost and disorientated hikers between North and Middle Sister, near Hayden Glacier. Due to poor weather conditions and remote location, the unit requested assistance from a helicopter. Life Flight agreed to fly two DCSO SAR volunteers to a landing zone as close to the subjects as possible. Life... Full story
Several citizen speakers before the City Council meeting of August 9 expressed frustration that the applicant for proposed emergency shelter on Barclay Drive was not clear in their intent or were purposely misleading. Some cited conflicting or contradictory statements made by the nonprofit Sisters Cold Weather Shelter (SCWS) in various public communications. The Nugget interviewed SCWS Board President Luis Blanchard at length Friday, and sought definitive clarification.... Full story
The City of Sisters Planning Commission decision to deny the application for a major renovation of the Space Age Fuel station at the corner of Highway 20 and Pine Street will stand. “No appeal of the Planning Commission denial of the Space Age service station (file nos. SP22-02/MCU 22.01) proposal was filed prior to the end of the 14-day appeal period which ended August 3, 2023. Therefore, the Planning Commission decision is final,” according to Matthew Martin, City principal... Full story
Work has begun on the Sunset Meadows development by Woodhill Homes located between Felicity Lane and Highway 242. Trees are being removed to make way for street construction. The entire 12.92 acres was approved as three parcels, one for the single-family homes and townhouses, one for apartments, and a third one on the southeast corner of the property bounded by West Hood Avenue and Highway 242, which will be an open space with trees. During their January 19 hearing on the... Full story
The City of Sisters is trying to keep up with advances in technology in order to preserve Sisters' night skies. Last Thursday, the Sisters City Planning Commission discussed updating the City's current dark-skies standards and outdoor lighting ordinance in a work session at City Hall. Updating the dark-sky standards is one of the City Council's 2023-24 goals. According to the project packet: "The purpose of the update is that the existing ordinance - which was last updated in... Full story
For much of Sunday, July 30, the entirety of Sisters, Black Butte, and a good portion of Redmond were without Internet as a result of a fire that occurred when a passenger vehicle hit a gas tank truck headed toward Sisters. Power was out for some four to six hours, depending on location. The burning truck was parked immediately under the high-tension electrical lines, the main feed from the Redmond power distribution station to Sisters. Flames burned through the power and... Full story
The Sisters Community Garden received some good news last week. The organization was asked earlier in the year to find a new place for its 50 members to garden. The Sisters Community Garden has occupied land adjacent to Sisters Eagle Airport since 2012. This spring, the Benson family, who own the airport, notified the board of directors that expansion plans include utilizing the garden area. Now the Benson family has offered the nonprofit organization another year to garden at its current location. “This unexpected gift is q... Full story
Tragedy struck the Sisters Country firefighting community on August 1, 2013. John Hammack, a legendary logger and rodeo cowboy from Sisters, was preparing to fell a lightning-struck 64-inch Douglas fir tree on a lightning-sparked fire north of Highway 242 in the Mt. Washington Wilderness near Dugout Lake. A Forest Service report recounts that "at approximately 0911 hours, after several actions to prepare for a safe felling environment and just as John was returning to the base... Full story
In the last 10 days dozens of flyers have been posted along Cascade, Hood, and Main asking readers to oppose the establishment of a planned emergency shelter in an industrial area on West Barclay Drive. Some of the flyers were tacked up with the permission of business owners and others were placed without their approval, or on public property. No person or organization is taking responsibility for the flyers, and as quickly as they go up some citizens are removing them in... Full story
