New intersection claims first accident

Pay attention, folks...

The new alternate route through Sisters claimed its first accident last week.

Fortunately, nothing more than metal was crunched in the non-injury accident, but it served as a public reminder that Barclay Drive is now a through street and Pine Street now has a stop sign.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputy Allan Borland, Traci Tandy was driving her 1996 Ford Windstar eastbound on Barclay Drive when she T-boned a 1983 Ford Ranger pickup driven by Manuel Menendez Valdovinos.

Valdovinos was driving southbound on North Pine Street and was cited for running the new stop sign.

Both drivers are Sisters residents.

"People need to be aware of the new intersection," said Deputy Borland. "He (Valdovinos) wasn't even aware the stop sign was there. However, it is very well marked, and that's why he received a citation.

"He was just traveling the way that he's used to traveling," Borland said. "People are creatures of habit."