Letters, letters, letters

To the Editor:

Stephen Shunk attempts to distort my letter, (The Nugget, January 28) which suggested that the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce's support for a large-scale sewer needed some explanation about who is to pay for the inevitable growth to come, into a no-growth position.

That is not what I wrote, and not what I meant. My concern is that Sisters residents not vote to install a sewer in the absence of adequate controls on growth and assurance that new developments pay the lion's share of the costs.

If the effect of building a sewer will be to allow increased densities from the development of duplexes and four-plexs, that will fundamentally change the character of Sisters. So will new restaurants.

Mr. Shunk's position seems to be that there will be time later to develop growth control mechanisms to define the future of the city. I think those measures ought to be a part of the decision on the sewer. Voting on the sewer in the absence of such measures invites a sort of "we'll fix it later" approach that now brings traffic to a standstill during most summer weekends.

When I asked him in a phone conversation, why the sewer couldn't be sized to limit future growth, he said that a smaller sewer aimed at the downtown core would jeopardize federal and state subsidies designed to assist low-income residents.

If this is true, then the irony is that low-income residents are in effect subsidizing future growth.

Therefore, perhaps a system development charge should be imposed not only to pay for the sewer's cost but to compensate low-income residents for the subsidies their presence is apparently attracting.

Before the city votes a good deal more public information needs to be made available about who will pay for the chamber's proposed sewer, its size, its relation to growth and options to control that growth, and its relation to the traffic congestion problem.

Michael Blumm

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter in response to the misinformation that Steve Shunk gave out at the January 20 sewer workshop meeting at the firehall and at the January 22 city council meeting.

At the sewer workshop, Steve claimed that if Sisters had a sewer, the Sisters Industrial Park would draw businesses which would provide family-wage jobs, adding that currently Sisters is losing family-wage jobs to Bend and Redmond. He did not identify these jobs.

Secondly, at the council meeting two days later he gave a glowing report on how the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce had approved the idea of a new sewer system by voting 100 percent in favor of it. He then said that the reason residents and voters of Sisters did not fully understand the issue is because we just didn't have the right information yet.

Therefore, Steve and others would be calling the residents to "objectively" inform them why approval was in their best interests.

Now let's back up and look at this from another angle: Steve has been hired by the chamber to represent them and promote increased tourism. He is new to Central Oregon and in no way can he relate to the feelings and needs of those who have lived here for some time.

The chamber view is subjective and slanted toward commercial interests. How can he be objective in presenting information when he calls?

To the residents of Sisters: When you are contacted and efforts made to convince you, the ratepayer, that the sewer project is in your best interest, remember "caveat emptor" - let the buyer beware. Take a close look at the motive of those who call. It is to convince you to pay the lion's share of a project so the businesses downtown can provide "Toilets for Tourists!"

Whose best interest is served? Yours? Or the Chamber of Commerce?

Ken Emmrich

To The Editor:

I would like to take a quick moment to thank everyone for supporting our Sisters High School basketball team. It's something we can look forward when stepping out upon the hardwood. Just knowing that hundreds of people will be behind us really helps us get pumped up. It is quite an emotional lift hearing everyone cheer so loud.

Please keep coming out to support us, in all the way we go. And when state playoffs near, we know that there will be familiar faces when we begin our quest. Thank you so much again.

Sincerely,

Marc Decker

To the Editor:

Last September, Chris Klug came and talked to our volleyball team about preparation for competition and goal setting. At that time, it seemed as if he was just an ordinary snowboarder up on the hill.

You proved to us that if you set your goals high, that you can achieve anything. We would like to congratulate Chris on his qualification for the Olympics and wish him the best of luck.

Outlaw Varsity Volleyball Team

To The Editor:

The Sisters community is a great place, proof is in the new school addition.

The donated $500,000 in labor and money could have been a school bond levy. A $500,000 bond (excluding Black Butte Ranch) would have cost an assessed $100,000. City of Sisters homeowners would pay approximately $90 a year, maybe for the next 20 years.

You should all be very proud of your participation. We, on behalf of the City of Sisters are grateful.

Tim Clasen, Sisters City Council

To the Editor:

Many thanks to Steve Shunk for his story on the oldsquaw now lingering at Suttle Lake. I sneaked away for an hour on Friday for a peek, and it was right where Shunk reported it to be. Now I'd like to return the favor.

This morning my wife and I spotted an eastern blue jay at our backyard feeder in Tollgate, traveling with a mixed flock of pinyon and Steller's jays along with a few starlings.

Having grown up in New England, I recognized it even before getting out the binoculars to confirm. I understand an eastern blue jay was spotted in the Bend area earlier this year and wonder if it could be the same bird, if several are in Central Oregon this winter or we are seeing the beginning of year-round population.

Jim Yuskavitch