News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The issue of a proposed gravel mine west of Sisters has become a political minefield fraught with dangers for those who wander unwarily.
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners learned just how volatile the issue is in the wake of an appeal filed last week by opponents of the mine asking that the commissioners to review the county Hearings Officer's decision to approve the mine application.
And -- despite published comments that might suggest otherwise -- the commissioners say they haven't decided yet whether they will hear that appeal.
Commissioner Barry Slaughter drew fire from mine opponents last week after he was quoted in central Oregon's daily paper, The Bulletin, to the effect that the county commissioners would not hear the appeal and that the commissioners wanted the appeal to go directly to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.
"Unluckily, (the comments) were mine," Slaughter told The Nugget Monday, "but I was wrong in saying them. Not wrong in what I said, necessarily, but wrong in saying them.
"I really haven't made up my mind," Slaughter said. "I want to hear what the arguments are one way or another first."
At least one mine opponent is willing to give Slaughter the benefit of the doubt.
Sisters businessman Greg Timms said, "I have a lot of respect for Barry Slaughter and I think he'll be fair."
Slaughter told The Nugget that the commissioners have not seen the appeal yet and he was not sure when a decision would be made on whether or not to hear it.
Commissioner Nancy Schlangen confirmed that the commissioners have not made any decision.
"The first I heard about that was what I read in The Bulletin," Schlangen told The Nugget. "No such decision has been made. An appeal has been filed, but has not been `perfected' and nothing has come before us (the county commissioners).
"When it comes before us we will look at it then," Schlangen said. "Other than that I have nothing to tell you other than that we have been getting lots of phone messages and letters, as you might imagine."
Mine opponents plan a motorcade to Bend October 25 to petition the commissioners to hear the appeal.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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