Letters, letters, letters

The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.

To the Editor:

Why vote "Yes" on the upcoming Sisters school local option and vote "yes" on the bond? Because it is the right thing to do for the kids.

Children need the attention of their teachers; let's reduce class size by voting for the local option. Children need up-to-date books from which to learn, especially in this age of everchanging technology. We want Sisters' school children to be prepared for the future. We need them to become productive citizens.

The middle school is falling apart; it is only smart business to build a new school now rather than sinking money into the current makeshift building. Kids need the school now; let's build it now rather than building it later for much, much more.

The Sisters School Board put together two responsible ballots; let's follow their lead and vote "YES" twice for our children -- our community's future.

Sincerely,

Rod and Susan Robinson; Mike and Daiya Owen Robinson and Owen Heavy Construction, Inc.

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To the Editor:

New schools do not cause the growth of a community. The growth of a community calls for new schools. In the Sisters School District, growth, coupled with literally decaying facilities, calls for passage of a new bond measure.

In the coming years, there is no question that Sisters will add significantly more homes, cars and families. No matter on which side of the growth/no-growth debate you stand, the passage of a new bond measure is a smart decision.

It would assure that the newest families to our community participate fully in the creation of needed facilities from the day they arrive, allow current community members to replace a facility with today's dollars, and show the state as a whole that Sisters supports education when there is a true need.

The need is true. I urge your support of Sisters Schools in November.

Scott B. Pillar

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To the Editor,

I'd like to expand on a few points Jim Anderson brought up in his September 6 article about WREN's move to Sisters ("Wildlife rehab center coming to Sisters," page 29). First let me say thanks, Jim, for recognizing our work and giving us such a friendly welcome.

Credit for building our physical facilities goes to many people -- some were paid but many volunteered. Craig Rishel, for example, built our largest enclosure (10-x-20-x8-feet) and several other structures.

Tracy Leonhardy has been a very valuable addition to WREN. Besides rehabilitating deer, she works with many other species, and brings considerable energy, skill and knowledge to WREN's animal care operations.

Our goal with Mokey, the female river otter, was release into the wilds. Unfortunately, she was at death's door when she arrived and needed a lot of care. And we had no other otter pups to raise with her.

As a result, she ended up trusting humans too much to qualify for release. Our research revealed that the High Desert Museum was her best alternative to release, so we placed her there in 1991.

We're pleased that she's doing well, but still wish we could have set her free. WREN's mission is to release injured and orphaned wildlife back into the wilds as soon as they are able to fend for themselves. It is extremely rare for us to place an animal with an educational facility, and we always do so with mixed feelings.

We feel fortunate to be joining the Sisters community. making us feel so welcome.

Bill Stevens

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To the Editor:

On Saturday, September 23, many of the members of the Sisters community will be joining together to put on a spaghetti dinner to benefit one of our own, Larry Perry.

Many of us have worked beside Larry during the many years he has operated his construction firm, Larco Builders. Larry is in need of an operation to correct a conceivably life-threatening condition that causes him to retain almost all what he eats, thereby resulting in abnormal weight gain.

The dinner, which will be staffed by many of the faculty at Sisters Elementary School, will include, live music, an auction and a Taekwondo exhibition by Tim Davis.

I sincerely urge all members of the Sisters community to attend this most worthwhile event. The doors at Sisters Elementary School open at 6 p.m. See you there.

Dennis Orwig

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To the Editor:

Thirteen years ago I came to Sisters to visit an old high school friend. I was to meet her at the elementary school and of course the first person you see at the elementary school is Kathy Perry.

That high school friend and I became friendlier and I moved here a few months later. Kathy and her husband Larry Perry became close friends and even came to our wedding. Larry and I would talk about construction and I relied on him for advice about many things in the three houses I have built to date.

Larry is a very quiet man and doesn't socialize as much as others, but when Larry becomes your friend he becomes your friend for life. Anytime I have asked Larry for help he doesn't hesitate to help if it is at all possible. I have asked for his help and advice far more often than I probably should have, but he was always there.

Now Larry is asking for help to save his life and I will be there to help do whatever I can. Larry is in need of surgery to restart his metabolism. His body will not metabolize any food, only store it, resulting in a tremendous weight gain. If this medical problem is not stopped and reversed his life is very much in jeopardy.

Unfortunately, their insurance carrier will not cover the surgery required to reverse this problem. The hospital, OHSU is requiring the Perrys to put up almost $20,000 or the surgery cannot be performed. So, I am asking you the friends of the Perrys to send your donations to the Three Sisters Fellowship, P. O. Box 1045, Sisters, Or. 97759. Please make a notation on your check "Larry Perry Fund."

David and Beth Quick

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To the Editor:

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Sisters High School Swim Team's yard sale on September 2. From those who contributed items to those who worked on the day of the sale, everyone's willing participation helped to make the fund-raiser a success.

Special thanks goes to swim team members and their families who showed up on Saturday to help set up, take down and work the sale.

I believe that the willingness of students and their families to help with fund-raisers such as this once again shows the strong commitment of students, families and the community to support our schools and to keep important extracurricular activity programs going in the face of severe budget cuts. Thanks again.

Mary Pyke

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To the Editor:

Music lovers who were fortunate enough to attend the Sisters Folk Festival know what a memorable experience it was to see artists like Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Robin and Linda Williams, Radim Zenkl, John McEuen, Jimmy Ibbotson and Guy Clark grace our local stage with such superb performances!

The following weekend, the High Mountains Jazz at Sisters festival continued its long-standing tradition of excellent entertainment for locals and visitors alike.

We congratulate the Sisters Folk Festival committee and the Jazz Festival committee and the many volunteers and sponsors whose commitment to the arts and to this community made these events back-to-back successes.

They've both done Sisters proud!

Jeri Fouts and Susan Arends

To the Editor:

Sisters Folk Festival 2000 was a success. This happy result is due to the financial and volunteer support we received from many, many people.

The board especially wants express its thanks to the City of Sisters (and particularly Gary Frazee) for the use of the Village Green and to the High Mountain Jazz at Sisters festival for cooperating to reduce our mutual operating costs.

Many of our artists wanted us to pass along their thanks to those who attended the concerts and workshops. You helped them have a wonderful stay in Sisters.

We look forward to staging Sisters Folk Festival 2001 the second weekend in September next year. If you have any thoughts or suggestions you'd like to share with the board, please email us at [email protected], or call us at 549-4979. See you next year!

Sisters Folk Festival Board of Directors

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To the Editor:

Recently there was an article printed, "City may crack down on event vendors." This article, like others pertaining to events in Sisters, only showed the negative side from a select few.

Many different types of vendors do show up for these events in Sisters. This is also a part of the atmosphere that makes these events more festive.

Sisters has become a tourist town which many of us like to profit from.

It was mentioned in the article that these transient vendors were a headache for the City of Sisters, because they had to be licensed. There was no mention that the City profits financially either.

As far as the Quilt Show and its founder there is due credit. But, most of the credit today should go to all the store owners, guest artists and the vendors. If it were not for these participating people, the Quilt Show would not be as successful as it is today. This is one event in the past years where credit is never shared.

It is business teamwork which makes all the events in Sisters a success.

If the city council and its Mayor feel that they need to regulate business owners on what they can and cannot do with their store fronts, maybe the council members should financially compensate each business owner as well.

Most of these licensed transient vendors are residents of the Sisters area. The term transient is often confused, when in all reality it is only a temporary permit to conduct business within the city limits for a small amount of time.

Richard Esterman

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To the Editor:

Re: your stirring endorsement of Al Gore ("Vote for Gore... and get McCain," The Nugget, August 30).

To say that he is less dangerous than George W. Bush is really a stretch. Gore and his supporters are working diligently to reduce our individual rights and freedoms to a point where only Washington will have total control.

Anyone who believes in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights handed down by the Founding Fathers has to say "No" to Al Gore and his cronies.

This is not a recommendation for Bush, whose background is very similar to Gore. He is, however, somewhat better qualified than the last state governor to be elected president.

The Republicans just want our money; the Democrats want our money and our souls.

David Jensen

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To the Editor:

I've had minimal success growing tomatoes in my greenhouse this year.

The Early Cherry tomatoes did the best. The Early Girls are finally starting to ripen. The Cherokee Purples cracked, but might produce some fruit in a few weeks. I heard that Ponderosa Pinks did well.

Does anyone know of tomato varieties that do well in Sisters? There must be desert varieties that would produce here.

Bruce Berryhill [email protected]

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