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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

Driving over Santiam Pass I was able to get a glimpse of just how devastating the fire was. It is heartbreaking. Having spent over 25 years in Central Oregon, my worst fears have been realized.

I suspect that those businesses that derive their income from the wilderness areas will likely not survive this blow. The economic impact for all of Central Oregon has only just begun to be felt.

The merchants of Sisters need your help, particularly this winter. With the loss of revenues during the critical last two weeks of August including Labor Day Weekend, many businesses were unable to set aside adequate reserves for winter.

The solution is relatively simple. BUY LOCALLY!

I am asking the readers of this paper to make a firm commitment to patronize the local businesses. If you are meeting someone for lunch, meet them in Sisters. If you are having a dinner party, buy your groceries locally. Fill your tank in Sisters. Buy your candles in Sisters.

Call your friends and relatives and encourage them to shop Sisters at Christmas.

Detractors may say that these shops are simply over-priced "tourist traps." I beg to differ. I expect you will find quality merchandise presented in pleasant atmospheres by friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Most offer complimentary gift wrap, reasonable exchange policies and it is highly unlikely you will have to wait in line to pay for your purchases.

Think twice before you spend your dollars at any big box store or national retailer. Feel a little guilty about it if you do. A thriving business community is essential to the livability of our little town. We provide jobs and contribute to just about every good cause that comes around.

I am asking for your help and not ashamed to do so. What goes around, comes around and with your help we all may survive this winter intact.

Sincerely,

Kay McLaren

Owner of Sisters Mercantile

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To the Editor:

I would like to offer a suggestion to the town of Sisters. I was a visitor to Sisters this weekend just past (September 13-14) with a group of 13 ladies.

We stayed at Black Butte Ranch and made several trips into Sisters to eat and shop during our stay. However, we were quite dismayed to discover that, both Friday and Saturday, most of the shops we tried to visit were closing at only 5 p.m. Only a few stayed open as late as 6 p.m.

These hours seemed unheard of for a weekend evening.

As we walked the sidewalks we passed many other visitors in town that were just as puzzled as we were. This should have been a big weekend for the businesses as there was a jazz festival also going on in town.

We have read in the news that Sisters has been hurt economically because of the B&B Fire. We would have thought that shops would have taken any opportunity to make up business when there were visitors present.

The business community may want to rethink their practices in the future. Needless to say, we returned home again with most of our money still in our pockets.

Vickie Hense

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To the Editor:

We appreciate the concern expressed for the firefighters in the September 10 Letters to the Editor section where it was suggested that the firefighters working on the B&B Complex were not well served by using the Rodeo Grounds east of Sisters.

On behalf of the entire Great Basin National Incident Management Team, we are pleased to report that the Rodeo Grounds has been one of the best operational sites we have utilized in some time.

Fire camps that provide sleeping space, parking for very large vehicles, temporary offices, outdoor eating areas, showers and other amenities for over 2,000 people cannot be set up just anywhere.

The Rodeo Grounds has provided us with critical connections to electrical power, hard-wired telephone service (as opposed to the expensive satellite phones we must use in remote locations), a huge parking lot, plenty of room for many hundreds of individual camping tents, and immediate access to paved U.S. Highway 20.

We thank the Sisters Rodeo Association for their hospitality in making this excellent facility available to our team and the firefighters who have worked out of this site for weeks.

We are also indebted to the residents of Sisters, Camp Sherman, and neighboring areas for your patience, sense of humor, and good wishes as we complete our firefighting and rehabilitation efforts. The hospitality shown to us is only rivaled by the beauty of Central Oregon.

Again, thank you for support.

Kim Martin, Incident Commander

Great Basin National Incident Management Team -- B&B Complex

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To the Editor:

On the night of August 29 there were 10 of us dining at The Gallery Restaurant. We spent all day on the Booth Fire doing fire suppression work.

As we went to pay our bill, the hostess informed us that someone had already picked up our check.

Our bill for 10 hungry firefighters was no small amount.

On behalf of the Oregon Department of Forestry, I would like to thank Mr. Don Ekman for his generosity.

Sincerely,

Matt Hoehna

Forest Officer, ODF

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To the Editor:

To the crew who strung the fire hoses and sprinklers back of our homes during the devastating fire in our area -- thanks a million for your superb job and concern.

Sincerely,

Bill Miller

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To the Editor:

The Board of Directors of the Sisters Jazz Festival wishes to thank the many persons who helped make our event so successful.

The list is too long to cite all by name, but we start with area businesses, firms and individuals who are our sponsors, the financial backbone of the festival.

Then we have our wonderful volunteers who are there for venue set up and breakdown, and staffing the many positions necessary to run the show. Visitors to our festival always remark positively about the friendly helpers here.

Thanks go also to the more than 40 local businesses that provided prizes for our record setting raffle. Proceeds from the raffle support scholarships and other aspects of our association with the Sisters School District music program.

Finally, we thank our spouses, who at times must put up with the lack of attention on the home front that accompanies our participation in an all-volunteer organization. Your understanding and support is immeasurable.

Sincerely,

Tom Worcester, Chairman

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To the Editor:

The Gypsy Sisters Belly Dance Troupe would like to thank Todd Dow of the High Desert Gallery for inviting us to dance at various locations during the Sisters Art Walk last Saturday.

We also would like to thank the friendly merchants who hosted our performances in front of their establishments. We enjoyed the smiling fans that followed us around town on that perfect warm, late summer evening as everyone seemed to have as much fun as we did.

Sincerely,

Gabrielle Souza, Jennifer Heiden-Smith, Julie Cash, Christina Duarte and Madeline Landis -- Gypsy Sisters