News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Our first U.S. flag, also called the Betsy Ross flag, had six white stripes, seven red stripes, and 13 stars in a circle in the (Union) blue upper left corner of the flag - all to represent the original 13 Colonies. Requested by then Commander of the Continental Army, Gen. George Washington, it was completed in June 1776. Red Stripes stood for Valor, Courage, and Bravery. White Stripes stood for Purity and Innocence. Blue stood for Vigilance. The last edition of our U.S. Flag... Full story
Regan Roberts, executive director of Sisters Graduate Resource Organization (GRO), wrote: A few weeks ago I attended my first ever SistersGRO Senior Celebration. And by attended I also mean did the majority of the planning and hosting. Anyone who knows me can probably guess that I was in high stress mode, feeling out of control and terrified of the unexpected. I’ve lived my life doing everything I can to know what’s coming around the corner. Well what came was an incredibly successful event, albeit the first pancake. You kno... Full story
The Tree Swallow [Tachycineta bicolor] is about five inches long and has a forked tail, sparkling metallic green to blue head, and white feathers on its underside. Females are duller in color than males. In North America, Tree Swallows breed from Alaska east to Newfoundland, Canada and south to California, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maryland. It winters north to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and the Carolinas. They nest in aged trees occasionally using old woodpecker... Full story
Over the years, I have often said if I were to lose one of my abilities as I age, I hope it isn’t my mind. I have always really enjoyed using my mental capacity to create, write, imagine, problem solve, make connections, learn, teach, observe, and remember. My long-time school friends can’t believe I remember the first and last names of everyone in our first grade class as well as all eight of my grade school teachers. In 2019, when I slammed my head into the asphalt dur... Full story
Once again, I smell smoke. The shadows landing on the sidewalk carry an amber tint. My friend points out feathery smoke high above us, floating in from what she describes as a 30,000 acre prescribed burn up on the Metolius. We're walking in ClearPine. A plume of smoke arises; it smells like smoldering pine needles. Then it turns dark black, letting off a nasty stink. That was this week. When we left off in the story, here in the column, it was 2017. Click here to see previous... Full story
A sign tacked to the rafters in Cary Schwarz’s saddle shop in Salmon, Idaho reads: “No Dancing,” but when four of the world’s finest saddlemakers squeezed into Cary’s small shop to build a saddle for the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association’s 25th Anniversary—accompanied by curious students, occasional visitors, and the shop dog — nimble footwork was at a premium. From tree to finished saddle the project was nothing if not an elaborate physical and philosophical f... Full story
Normally these articles are written to highlight interesting facts associated with a constellation of the season that can be viewed from our latitude. This month's edition, however, should generate a heightened level of excitement among the readership because it describes the possibility of seeing a nova. (Nova is Latin for "new star.") Many astronomers expect a nova will appear in the constellation of Corona Borealis sometime in the next few months. Designated T Coronae... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service plans to ramp up prescribed burns across the West on the presumption this will contribute to forest health as well as reduce landscape scale wildfires. However, the Forest Service exaggerates the presumed benefits of prescribed burning and ignores the problems. One of the most critical issues is that most wildfires never encounter a fuel reduction, whether from thinning or prescribed burns. So, even if prescribed burns were effective, fires seldom occur in treated areas. Second, the burn must be... Full story
Best president To the Editor: Jan Pray’s letter to the editor was right on. Lincoln, Roosevelt, Reagan, and Trump have been the greatest presidents we ever had. There is a big drive toward socialism, away from God, country, and freedom. Senator Tim Scott said this is our last chance in November to turn the country back to liberty and freedom or we are done! Some members in churches across the U.S. are advocating for socialism and removing God from the church, which grieves me. Chet Davis First responders To the Editor: We a... Full story
There was enough good news emanating from the May 15 Community Builders meeting that two articles were required, one last week (May 22) and another this week. • As president of Sisters Rotary, Bill Kelly announced the plans for the Fourth of July celebration, Sisters 4th Fest, scheduled for Village Green Park, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is being sponsored by Sisters Rotary Club, Citizens4Community, St. Charles Health System, and Next Phase Realty, with support from Run Sist... Full story
Traditional inflation meant prices rise then retreat. Now consumers see it as high prices stay high. Presidential candidates, be honest about what you can and will do to lower them. Begin by admitting some factors are out of your control. The Ogallala Aquifer supplies groundwater to Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It supports 20 percent of America’s corn, cotton, cattle, and wheat production. It provides 30 percent of all U.S. irrigation water. Since significant g... Full story
Wolf response To the Editor: I’ll repeat: “I’m not anti-wolf nor a wolf hater.” I simply stated the wolves that were brought down out of Canada and transplanted into Yellowstone shouldn’t be introduced or brought here because we already have, or at least had, a remnant of our original Oregon wolves present in the Three Sisters Wilderness and adjacent areas that weren’t killed off in the ’40s. I found out another local saw a large dark wolf over 20 years ago too, so that’s another confirmed sighting. Why didn’t the ODFW... Full story
When I was a kid, there was this fundraiser called the Walkathon. You'd take your piece of physical paper-thick stock, printed with lines to fill in and boxes to tick-and proceed to pester neighbors, relatives, and grownups at church and school. What you wanted from them: a pledge. They'd pledge, say 25¢ for each mile you would walk, filling their name and address on the line provided. You'd plan to walk the whooooole Walkathon. Twenty miles! The money benefited March of Dimes... Full story
In 1968, the world was falling apart. The Vietnam War was at the height of its intensity; the Tet Offensive launched in January was a disaster for the Viet Cong, which was badly mauled in weeks of fighting — but it proved to be a political victory, because Americans were shocked that a nationwide uprising of that scale could even happen after General William Westmoreland assured the nation in November 1967 that the U.S. and South Vietnamese were making great progress and t... Full story
Crying wolf To the Editor: Two guest columnist articles printed in the May 15, 2024 edition were out of touch with science and facts. Steve Allely’s claim about “Oregon wolves” vs. “Canadian transplants” is based only on claims by untrained biased observers, not actual science. Science is based on surveys, studies, and facts based on evidence. ODFW is far more reliable about facts. A quick Internet search on wolf species verifies that the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves, 70 to 150 pounds, are the same all across the northern... Full story
In a previous column, I adopted a view of literature as a time machine that enables us to view people and places from the past. That distant culture might look a little different from ours but, at a heart level, those people aren't all that different from us. This time we are going to crank the controls on the time machine back about 3,500 years ago. Through the pages of the Bible, we will take a look at a woman named Miriam. Miriam's people, the Hebrews, have been living in... Full story
Since the article came out where I introduced game theory in terms of rock-paper-scissors at Sisters Athletic Club, Wade has become more smug when he throws rock to my scissors. Between games, mutual acquaintances question him about my article, and he talks smack about me. And during a match, we goad each other with the specter of public humiliation. The article changed our metagame, and the metagame is really 99 percent of what rock-paper-scissors has going for it. At Wizards of the Coast in the early 1990s, Richard Garfield... Full story
It was a fine week for music and Shakespeare. Or maybe I should say music and wildly silly theater that riffs on Shakespeare? Music first. My teenaged son joined me for a spirited show at The Belfry, headlined by Anna Moss, also known for her duo Handmade Moments (find my interview with her on the fabulous Interwebs at nuggetnews.com). I asked for his opinion. "I liked the opener, Ian George, with his sentimental folk-rock songwriting style," he said. "I thought that he had a... Full story
The world as we know it is becoming slowly less and less stable. A simple observation when we look at the condition of the world clearly demonstrates the fragile moment we are all living through. Anecdotally I hear more and more cynicism, doubt, and despair about the future. Birth rates are dropping, marriage and nuclear families continue to implode, the economy is hanging by a thread and it’s beginning to psychologically effect our corporate psyches. These are actual statements I’ve heard from people in our town the last few... Full story
Let me start off by stating I’m not anti-wolf, nor am I a “wolf hater.” There are issues that need addressing in regards to Ander Rhoades’ article “Recreating with wolves in Central Oregon’s forests,” from April 24, as the article was naive and unrealistic, especially with “what to do” if you see a wolf, and its author has probably had little if any real life experiences with close predator encounters. I also question the info he was given by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Here’s some little known wolf f... Full story
Walk the talk To the Editor: I just read the guest editorial by Diane L. Hodgson in the May 1, edition of The Nugget. Ms. Hodgson was apparently triggered by a person she encountered while having a latte at Sisters Coffee whom she described as “quite intelligent” and “charming,” but made the apparent mistake of saying that he thought Trump was a “good president.” Based on her statements in her guest editorial, Ms. Hodgson did not ask the person why he thought Trump was a good president or why, in light of recent reports in... Full story
Standing in a quiet grove of old growth pine trees near Glaze Meadow, east of Black Butte Ranch, Tim Lillebo would often start a talk by saying "There we were... it was war." And it was. Between 1991-2005, the Sisters Ranger District was challenged on nearly every forest management project. Trust between the Forest Service, conservation groups, and many in the public was low after broken agreements. This led to a federal lawsuit and a mediated agreement putting the District... Full story
An aging American workforce, along with a declining U.S. birthrate, makes the U.S. economy increasingly dependent on foreign-born workers to bridge the employment-labor gap and to finance programs such as Social Security. In 2006, foreign-born workers made up 15.3 percent of the labor market, but by 2023, the share of foreign-born workers in the labor market had increased to 18.6 percent. One of the attractions of employing foreign-born workers is that they are willing to occupy jobs often not desired by native-born... Full story
Fire and fire insurance are top of mind in Sisters. No wonder – because of devastating wildfires, Oregon homeowners face soaring premiums and few property insurance options. Some have had their policies canceled when they came up for renewal, and some insurers no longer write new policies. If the insurance companies tag your home with the label “high risk” you may be forced to get coverage from our state’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan, insurance of last resort. But that will be a costly outcome – the plan... Full story
4th of July event To the Editor: I am not sure that having the 4th of July event at The Village Green Park is a good idea. There are limited areas to park. The homeowners most likely will have issues with people parking in front of their houses. Just too congested. For all the school tax money that is paid by the residents of the City of Sisters and those in the surrounding school district area why not work with the school district and use the high school grounds for this event? There is the large grass field behind the... Full story
