News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 576 - 600 of 29577
Avalanches kill 25-30 persons in the U.S. every year with many more injured each winter, according to the National Avalanche Center. At present the Central Oregon Cascades are at Level 3 risk (Considerable) on a 5-point scale. So far in the 2022-23 season, there are 14 recorded deaths including the one reported on page 1: seven in Colorado, three in neighboring Washington, all on February 19 at Colchuck Peak near Leavenworth, and one each in Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and... Full story
Walk anywhere in Sisters for more than three or four blocks and you are very likely to encounter spalling, the unsightly flaking on concrete sidewalks. It looks as if the surface is pitted or pocked. While it occasionally happens from putting sodium chloride (rock salt) based ice-melting products on sidewalks, its actual causes are several. They include poor quality concrete or inferior finishing, improper curing, corrosion of the underlying rebar (reinforcing bars or... Full story
Sisters is the new headquarters for Jive Radio, and a lot of folks think that’s cause for celebration. KJIVE (96.5 FM/www.jiveradio.org), a non-commercial independent radio station owned by OpenSky Radio Corp., has its first-ever formal studio located in The Belfry. And that venue will host a celebration of the station and independent music on Tuesday, March 14. Cruz Contreras, singer-songwriter and band leader of the Black Lillies — who have played here multiple t... Full story
In 2013 on April Fools Day, Sisters local Slater Smith performed his first show with bandmates under the moniker The Weather Machine. The band felt incredibly lucky. After a ton of open-micing as a solo act, Slater had locked down a month-long residency at The White Eagle in Portland just in time for their first record release. So Slater invited the band along to play every Monday in April, and The Weather Machine was born. The Weather Machine brought Smith and his friends to... Full story
Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana) occupies an integral role in the regeneration and maintenance of high-elevation pine forests. They store pine seeds, plucked from cones by their strong and sharp beaks, in a pouch behind their tongue. Up to 90 seeds are stored within this pouch, which are then cached in the ground over a large area. In the fall up to 33,000 seeds will be stored in the ground and the Clark’s Nutcracker is able to remember where they cached the see... Full story
The young man had roots in the sunny forests of the Metolius Basin, but he met his fate in a dark forest far away, almost 80 years ago. The story behind the short, charmed life, tragic death, and surprising afterlife of Elliot R. Corbett is part of the history of one of Oregon’s most remote state parks. Elliot Ruggles Corbett II was a member of the influential Corbett family, who were a key part of the development of Portland, Oregon. It started in 1851, when Henry Winslow C... Full story
The last chance to purchase discounted tickets to the Big Ponderoo Music Festival is Tuesday, March 21 at www.aftontickets.com/BigPonderoo. Early-bird tickets are available at a $25 discount for $150 (limit four per person); the remaining tickets will be sold at the advance price of $175 per ticket. Tickets for youth ages 6-17 are $70 each; children 5 and under attend free. Presented by Sisters Folk Festival, Big Ponderoo — taking place June 24-25 — is a brand-new music festival bringing bluegrass and Americana... Full story
Writer and documentary filmmaker David Alexander Baker will offer a presentation from his new book, “The Lost Continent: Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Age of Extinction,” at Paulina Springs Books on Thursday, March 16. Baker will share selections from his book along with a slideshow featuring photographs of coral reefs from around the world. “The Lost Continent: Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Age of Extinction” is a nonfiction investigation of... Full story
Four years after the adoption of the Sisters Country Vision and Action Plan by the City Council and other key partner agencies, the Vision Implementation Team (VIT) is still collaborating on Vision progress, identifying and dissolving barriers, identifying funding for project implementation. The team annually updates the Vision Action Plan to reflect progress, changes, or new information based on the needs of the growing community, and on community feedback. They provide progress reports on those action items underway, and... Full story
I’m at a loss — stunned, saddened, provoked. I’ve just finished reading a heart-wrenching, soul-sucking article about the latest algorithm update about an AI software called Replika. Replika is an AI chatbot that users can access to create an artificial chat buddy as a virtual companion. The company boasts the catchy (albeit depressing) slogan: “Need a friend? Create one now.” Many of us can hardly believe that our fragmented, individualistic, narcissistic age would ever come to such a troubling tipping point, but reg... Full story
Sisters Elementary School (SES) celebrated reading last week, with local author Joyce Burk Brown, who read her and co-author Linda Wolff’s children’s book, “The Magic in Listening.” The author reading was the culmination of an entire Reading Across America week at the school celebrating reading and practicing habits such as active listening. Reading Across America’s official date was March 2, also author Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Read Across America was created to help kids get ex... Full story
Sisters Elementary School (SES) will hold their annual Kindergarten Roundup pre-registration on Friday, April 21 in the school gymnasium. Each student will participate in a teacher led activity while parents are involved in a parent orientation. Sign up by contacting the elementary school at 541-549-8981. Children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2023 are eligible for the 2023-24 school year. Enrollment forms may be picked up at the Sisters Elementary School office between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The school... Full story
The Outlaws Alpine Ski Team raced in the Oregon High School State Championships held at the Hoodoo Ski area Wednesday through Thursday, March 1-3. Despite a lot of new soft snow, which can be problematic for ski racing, the event came off as a big success. Coach Gabe Chladek told The Nugget that throughout the entire event he heard nothing but positive comments and thank-yous from the teams that traveled from out of town. Wednesday was set aside for teams to train and warm up... Full story
Bill Moore was born in San Diego, California. After graduating from San Diego State University with his bachelor’s degree, he worked as a school teacher. He earned his EdD in special education at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and afterward joined the staff of Teaching Research in Monmouth. He worked at Teaching Research for over 30 years as a research professor. Bill lived in Sisters for many years before moving to McMinnville. He and his wife, Jane, traveled around t... Full story
Roger Nelson of Sisters passed away January 28 after a long battle with Parkinson’s. Roger was born in Salem, graduated from Beaverton High School, University of Oregon, and Willamette Law School. He practiced law for over 52 years, doing estate planning, tax work, real estate development, and nonprofits. He did a considerable amount of his work pro bono and considered it to be his “ministry” in life. He hadn’t raised his fees in over 20 years, as he considered what he did his gift to others. His business partner of 30 years,... Full story
Wellhouse Church offers Christian education to children and students in Sisters. They began serving the youth of Sisters in Christian education in 2020. “We started in pre-K and started expanding further in the fall of 2020, and we picked up where Sisters Christian Academy left off,” said Mary Ryan, director of operations at Wellhouse Academy. Ryan handles student enrollment, curriculum, and staff and teacher training. Wellhouse Academy serves students from kindergarten to... Full story
The Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest will host a public open house in mid-March. On Wednesday, March 15, the Sisters Ranger District will provide interested public the opportunity to review and discuss a range of activities planned for the next year with Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid and program specialists. The open house will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Hall, located at 301 S. Elm St. Doors will open at 5 p.m. “We always enjoy the spring open house to share our u... Full story
An avalanche took the life of a 46-year-old backcountry skier from Bend on Thursday, March 2. Sgt. Jason Wall of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reported that a Search and Rescue unit was dispatched Thursday to a report from a backcountry skier of an avalanche at Black Crater. Black Crater is a steep-sided shield volcano north of the Three Sisters and east of McKenzie Pass — readily visible on the Sisters skyline. DCSO did not identify the skiers by name. The reporting party (Skier No. 2) advised Deschutes C... Full story
Sisters would pay closer attention to housing and aligning its development code with its comprehensive plan under new goals proposed for 2023-24. The Sisters City Council is entering the new year by setting goals for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Every year, the Council gathers for a public meeting to discuss goals proposed by the staff, and to amend any existing goals or change the language of goals set forth before them. The Council met for such a session last month. Mayor... Full story
The Black Butte School District has referred to voters a $2 million school bond measure that, if passed, would provide funds to repair and update aging facilities, replace the HVAC system and roof, and improve safety. The school board took the action on February 1, and voters will decide in the May 16 election. The school has the opportunity to leverage voter-approved funding to double the impact. The District will receive a $2 million matching grant from the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program (OSCIM) if... Full story
Understanding municipal development codes and land-use regulations can be a daunting task — but the average citizen can get the work done. Everything one needs to know is spelled out in the City’s documents available at City Hall and at www.ci.sisters.or.us in Chapter 4 of the Development Code. “Growth and development” issues are currently in the forefront of public interest here in Sisters. Three of the four front-page articles in the February 22 Nugget had to do with... Full story
“No, it is not a truck stop.” When asked by The Nugget what he’d like folks in Sisters to know about the expanded Space Age fueling station on West Cascade, that’s one of the things Jim Pliska emphasized. Pliska, along with his father, Harold, are the principal owners of the 21-station chain started in 1982 and headquartered near Portland. The Pliskas’ expansion plan has fueled vociferous opposition from some locals, led by a fledgling ad hoc group known as CATS — C... Full story
I have now lived in Sisters three years, and I love it. The community is so supportive of the creative pursuits of artisans. I want to reinforce that and thank this community for embracing artisanship as a major value we promote and are proud of. As a musical instrument manufacturer and repairman, here is my somewhat idealized view on the merits of playing acoustic music as one of the many forms of creative expression that are prevalent in Sisters Country: In the spirit of history’s success in finally setting mankind on a c... Full story
The Lady Outlaws basketball squad had three players earn All-League honorable mention, including Josie Patton, Ashlynn Moffat, and Shae Wyland. Patton was a starter for the Outlaws all four years and this year a team captain. She has well-rounded skills, and this year was asked to play three different positions, including point guard, but her real presence was in the post. Coach Paul Patton said, “Josie is what is referred to as a ‘glue player’ because she just held the team together on the court with her hustle and leadershi... Full story
Opponents of the Space Age fueling modernization are apt to be frustrated when lobbying City Hall. As the plans do not request any code variances nor change in designated land use, such as from commercial to residential or vice versa, neither the Planning Commission nor City Council will have to rule on the application per se. City Planner Matthew Martin confirmed to The Nugget that the application by Pliska Investments falls under municipal code 4.1.200 section B Type II... Full story
