McDonald's, couplet big stories in 2004

Sisters' growing pains generated some of the biggest news of 2004, with controversies over a proposed McDonald's and a planned one-way couplet generating lots of ink on the news pages -- and in the Letters to the Editor column.

Neither issue is completely resolved at year's end. The Sisters City Council upheld a planning commission decision to allow a McDonald's drive-through restaurant and gas station at the west end of town, but opponents are seriously considering an appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals (see related story, page 3).

The city council received a couplet plan for its review last month, but many residents remain opposed to the idea. Plans call for creating a "relief valve" by shunting eastbound traffic down a one-way Hood Avenue while westbound traffic could access a one-way Main Avenue.

Highway 20 would remain a two-way traffic route through the center of Sisters.

Sisters' population officially climbed to 1,490 in 2004, with no end in sight. Last month, Hayden Homes announced plans for a multi-phase, 400-unit residential development in town.

That announcement gave impetus to a school board review of crowding at Sisters Elementary School.

Sisters schools got a boost in November 2004, when voters approved a renewal of a local option tax to fund school operations.

The district also gained new leadership with the hiring or Ted Thonstad as the new school superintendent last summer. Thonstad took the reins this fall.

The school community and the Sisters community at large were rocked by the arrest of Sisters High School student Stephen Withrow in connection with the killing of 42-year-old Curtis Dean Kizer in Drake Park on April 16.

Firefighters burned down the former middle school in January, clearing the way for a new city hall and Deschutes Public Library "campus."

The library project is on a fast track and construction may begin this spring, while the city hall project is proceeding slowly as the city tries to sell surplus property.

The city dedicated it's newest park in honor of long-time Sisters resident Clifton Clemens. The 98-year-old made it out to Sisters on a blustery November 2, to accept the honor on the site of the park along Larch Street.

Sisters area residents followed events in Iraq with intense interest as a contentious presidential campaign filed the letters columns with strong opinions from both sides of the political fence.

The Iraq war made local news when Senior Airman John Leese, a 1995 Sisters High School graduate, was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions during a convoy ambush in northern Iraq near Mosul last March.

Leese, a transport driver, was in a convoy hit by a roadside bomb. Leese grabbed a medical bag and administered first aid to wounded comrades.

Leese visited Sisters last month.

Sisters continued to host major events, including the traditional rodeo, quilt show and music festivals. This year, Cycle Oregon hosted a weekend riding event based in Sisters, which drew 730 riders to the area.

The event was deemed a success, though 100-degree-plus July temperatures made the going tough for many.

As the year wound down, Sisters had an unusually dry December, with only a couple of small snowstorms to dust the area with white.

With the holidays behind, Sisters geared up for the Atta Boy 300 sled dog race, with two stages set in Sisters January 10-11.