News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Traffic topped a list of concerns that more than 30 Sisters area residents laid out for the Deschutes County Sheriff's Department at a Town Hall meeting Wednesday, March 11.
The meeting was one of a series designed for citizens to tailor their sheriff's department services to the needs of individual communities.
Residents said they don't like waiting to get onto Cascade Avenue and then being forced to take risks and cut people off to get into traffic.
Black Butte Ranch resident Howard Dugdale suggested that parking be removed from Cascade Avenue in downtown Sisters to improve traffic flow and safety during the busy summer months.
Sergeant Rich Shawver told The Nugget that, while Cascade probably could not accommodate two lanes in each direction, removing parking would allow for a left-turn lane, which would help mitigate log jams.
The corner of Cascade Avenue and Locust Street was a particular concern due to the proximity of the elementary school.
Kirsten Werner, a Sisters parent and coordinator of the Juvenile Empowerment Team (JET) program, argued for some traffic control.
"I know the citizens of Sisters hate the idea of stop signs or flashing lights, (but) it's inevitable and it's going to be too late if we put it up after a kid gets squished," she said.
Most of the traffic issues have less to do with law enforcement than with state highway department regulation. Sheriff Greg Brown offered to invite Oregon Department of Transportation officials and local state representatives to a future town hall meeting to further address residents' concerns.
But Lee Currie, a Buck Run resident, did raise a traffic concern that points directly at enforcement. Currie said that he has witnessed numerous cars speeding through Buck Run at speeds of 35 to 50 miles per hour, apparently taking a shortcut from Three Creeks Road to the junction of South Locust and Cascade Avenue.
"One of them almost lost it on a curve," Curry reported.
Many residents praised the results of the recent merger of Sisters' police services with the county.
Craig Eisenbeis believes the merger has enhanced a sense of community among Sisters area residents, who previously felt alienated from "home town" life.
"Some of us who live outside the city limits have been led to feel that we're outsiders," he noted.
Phil Chlopek, who lives off the McKenzie Highway west of Sisters, believes that patrol coverage has gotten better in the area since the merger.
"Between 1991 and till about two weeks ago, I saw one deputy and I called him out there," Chlopek said. "In the last two weeks, I saw two. So our coverage is better."
Other concerns ranged from junk cars in yards to drugs in schools.
One resident complained that the "Sisters district is getting to look like a garbage dump and my property values are going down."
He said residents are often intimidated from reporting neighbors whose yards become trashy because of fear of retaliation.
"These people have nothing to lose. I do," the resident said.
Sheriff's officials and County Commissioner Nancy Schlangen acknowledged that code enforcement can become a sticky issue because of property rights, but Schlangen said the county is working on creative ways of mitigating or eliminating nuisances.
Sgt. Shawver assured residents that they can report problems that appear to be code violations without exposing themselves to retaliation.
"You don't even have to come in (to the station) personally," Shawver said. "A phone call, anonymous, will do."
Shawver said he would send out deputies to check on possible violations.
One Sisters parent expressed disappointment that the D.A.R.E. drug education program had been eliminated from the schools.
Sheriff Brown said that D.A.R.E. had not proven effective, partly because it targets only fifth graders, not all grade levels. He believes that resources are better spent in other areas, such as the JET diversion program.
"JET is a better program than D.A.R.E. ever thought of being," Brown said.
JET director Kirsten Werner noted that the sheriff's department and JET are working with local schools to help enforce "zero-tolerance" drug policies. Offenders can be cited into the JET program and go through peer trial and sanctions in Teen Court.
Brown indicated that a future town hall will include input from the Sisters School District on dealing with potential problems in the schools.
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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