News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The commission received a $20,000 grant --administered by the U.S. Forest Service -- to conduct a "visioning" process that the commission hopes will build a consensus about the area's future direction.
Mike Hernandez will launch the program for the Forest Service. He told the city council at their February 13 meeting that he puts a lot of faith in strategic planning, in which he participated in La Pine.
"It is a process I truly believe in," he said. "It has worked."
The 12-to 18-month program will kick off with a meeting March 12. The Sisters Community Improvement Commission will form the nucleus of a wide-ranging group of area residents representing different viewpoints and interests in the community.
The majority of the grant money will pay for a professional facilitator who will guide this "Community Action Team" in crafting a consensus about Sisters' future for the next 20 years.
The process is supposed to address key issues in the community, getting all viewpoints and interests out on the table for examination and discussion.
"We're not saying growth/no growth; we're saying where does Sisters want to be," Hernandez said. "The issues are real. There's a lot of people with different ideas of the way to go."
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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