Letters, letters, letters

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To the Editor:

The Little Cloverdale Preschool parents would like to thank Tom Coffield of SOAR for offering a gymnastics/tumbling class for preschool-age children this summer.

It's exciting to see so many new opportunities for the youngsters in this community: rock-climbing, white-water rafting, even a free guitar class, to name a few.

Makes me want to be a kid again!

Thanks, Tom, for your flexibility and eager willingness to add four and five year-old children to the list of youth that SOAR serves.

May Fan

Preschool Summer Activity Planning Committee

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To the Editor;

It is time for the Sisters Veterans Group to say a very heartfelt "Thank You" to so many people who made our Fifth Annual Memorial Day Service possible and such a wonderful success.

We would like to thank the following for the use of chairs: The SistersCamp Sherman Fire Department, The Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration and the Sisters Baptist Church.

We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Anderson for the use of adjacent property for excess parking.

It was a wonderful treat to have Jody Henderson and members of the Sisters High School Band warm our hearts with a musical prelude. Mr. Henderson also gave us the bugle calls and the drum, which so enhanced the service.

Thank you, Mr. Ron Bliven for once again allowing us the use of your sound equipment. Without sound there really is not much of a program.

Thank you, Tom Salgado, for being our "unofficial" official photo historian. The photos are great, as usual.

We want to thank Walt Winter and American Legion Post 44 in Redmond for the use of their POW/MIA flag.

A big thank you to Doug Cole, son of Irene Peck who we drafted to be one of our rifleman in our color guard. When the chips were down he came through for us despite an injured leg.

Our grateful thanks to the professional firing squad commanded by Sgt. Waggoner, G Troop, 1/82 Cavalry, Oregon National Guard, based in Redmond.

Thank you to Lt. Col. Larry Harrelson, Rector, Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration and Chaplain of the Idaho National Guard, and to Jim Gentry, Pastor of the Sisters Baptist Church and a Navy veteran for giving the opening and closing prayers.

Our guest speaker, Barry Enoch, Chief Gunner's Mate, SEAL Team One, USN, (Retired): Barry, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your inspiring message. We, the Sisters Veterans Group, want you to know as you stated in your message, "We will never, never, never forget!"

And lastly, but most surely not the least, we want to thank every single person, all 110 plus, who were present. Many of you assisted us in various ways, and we appreciate that. But more importantly you came because you wanted to and that is a great honor to us and to those who we were trying to honor.

Gratefully,

Sisters Veterans Group

(VFW Post 8138 and American Legion Post 86)

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To the Editor:

Due to the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce's continued encouragement and support, we are again hosting a Sheep Dog Trial in the Sisters area.

However, due to event size and requirements we regret we will not be at Black Butte Ranch for this year's National Finals. Black Butte Ranch has been kind to let us use their facility for the past two trials; the scenery and accommodations quickly making our trial one of the most talked-about trials in the United States and Canada.

The handlers love the setting at Black Butte Ranch and the town of Sisters. The trial size, combined with our Central Oregon location, has made this trial the handlers' choice for the location of the Oregon Sheep Dog Society's Annual meeting and Banquet.

We were asked to host the United States Border Collie Handlers Association National Nursery Finals and felt it would be a fun event to bring to the area.

Keith Cyrus and Aspen Lakes Golf Course have generously donated the use of their beautiful fields for this year's National Finals. The trial field rivals any beautiful setting in Central Oregon, having great mountain views and ponderosa pine trees adjacent to the field.

The president of the USBCHA came from Wyoming to view the trial site and is excited about the setting and the many amenities Sisters has to offer.

The trial will be held in Cloverdale on September 20-21 this year and will bring in dog handlers from all over the United States and Canada. Be sure to mark the dates on your calendar...and we'll see you there.

Tammy Larkin for The Central Oregon Border Collie Assn.

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To the Editor:

Thanks to the 17 local businesses and 14 neighbors and friends who pledged for the 20-mile Kevin Johnson Memorial Scholarship walk done on May 24. A total of $564 was turned in.

That brought the scholarship value to $1,064 when matched with the $500 earlier raised by the fun run/walk. Last week's news account of this award was inaccurate because all pledges had not yet been collected.

Gabe Pagano was chosen as the scholarship recipient by the interviewing committee which included Kevin's dad Jerry Johnson.

Once more, thank you, all of you who gave so generously. I even enjoyed the razzing I took from some of the doubters. To you I would say, never underestimate the power of a very late bloomer.

Sincerely,

Peggy Lutz