Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

I have lived in Sisters for 29 years. I deal with the public five days per week.

Over the last few months I have had, on the counter, more than ten pages of petitions calling for limits to the looming encroachment of huge corporations.

I have not been able to keep up with the number of people who have wanted to sign them and make comments and encourage our efforts to keep the spirit of Sisters intact. They avidly express their concern about what is at stake here.

They want Sisters to be here when they come back, not to have disappeared under a mask of logos and branding and signage and sameness.

They don’t want to be targeted. They want to feel at home.

We are working against ourselves as residents of a very clean, safe town with a distinct character and we are working against ourselves as a destination economy if we stand by and allow uncontrolled development.

The point of view expressed in an ordinance to control formula food is not a suppression of free enterprise. It is the proposal of a reasonable compromise between two factions that do not need to be in opposition. Protection of free enterprise does not mean the same as “anything goes.”

We’re now on the map. Everyone wants a piece of this town. We need to be careful and realistic and forward thinking. We need to be brave, and we need to be savvy and we need to be wise.

Please help our planning commission and our city council make a decision we can live with. If we work together we can do this.

Melissa Ward

s s s

To the Editor:

Michael Blum — It seems there was a misunderstanding when you read my advertisement (The Nugget April 20, page 19). Please let me clarify.

My goal in the advertisement was to bring new/additional self-funding programs to the high school. Self-funding means not asking for more tax dollars. Nowhere did I say eliminate classes, school reform, limited agenda or mention elementary school.

I was surprised to hear what I “apparently think” from a person of your respected stature.

I actually purchased a new cell phone to communicate with the community. I appreciate the knowledge you may have. Call me, 815-3828.

We have quality in our schools! You mentioned restoring quality. Can we improve? Yes! Do taxpayers need to spend more money? No!

Remember, we cannot be a “solution-oriented community” if we do not talk.

Jeff Haken

s s s

To the Editor:

Rob Corrigan is exceptionally well-qualified to serve on the Sisters School Board.

First, Rob has demonstrated the commitment necessary to be an effective school board member. He coaches youth soccer. He’s contributed countless hours as a volunteer in the classroom. He’s assisted in the development and implementation of programs for the TAG students. He serves on the Sisters Elementary School Site Council.

Rob has the skills necessary to be an effective board member. He is bright — a BS from Harvard. He has significant business experience, leading cutting edge organizations with budgets much larger than the school district. He is thoughtful, articulate and cooperative, which are attributes so necessary on a board with a variety of perspectives.

Rob has been paying attention to the issues facing the school board.

He has attended nearly every board meeting for more than a year.

He has largely eliminated the “learning curve” that faces many newly elected officials. He has contributed significantly with his research into our likely student population growth and the potential ways we might deal with over-crowding in the elementary school.

Rob has also worked effectively with our local legislators on school-related issues. Most of our revenue comes from the state.

Most of our services are mandated by the state. Helping to inform our legislators about the impacts of revenue cuts or the impacts of new mandates is an essential role for school board members.

Rob has built relationships that will help our children.

I urge you to join me in voting for Rob Corrigan for the Sisters School Board.

Jeff Smith

s s s

To the Editor:

I met Rob Corrigan three years ago within a few days of his move to Sisters. He brought his children to the Bicycle Safety Rodeo being held at Sisters Elementary School.

He was thrilled that Sisters provided these types of programs. It led to a long discussion about the quality of life in our community, and how friendly and helpful people had been to his family.

What stands out about my first meeting with Rob were the questions he asked me, one of which was, “What can I do to help the community of Sisters?”

That’s one of the shining qualities Rob possesses — and he continues to ask that question while he continues to get involved in projects and programs that make Sisters a great place to live.

We are fortunate to have people like Rob living in our community, people who step up and give their time, talents, and energy to help make Sisters better for all of us. Elect Rob Corrigan for Sisters School Board.

Sincerely,

Jerry Norquist

s s s

To the Editor:

I am writing to urge voter approval of Measure 9-32 in the May 17 election. Approval of Measure 9-32 would authorize annexation of a four-acre parcel on Barclay Drive into the City of Sisters.

The property is located to the west of Conklin’s Guest House and is currently vacant, unirrigated land.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am the owner of that property and would benefit from its annexation into the city.

More to the point, however, is that the city annexation of the property would also benefit the community.

The property is an island of farmland-zoned property surrounded on three sides by industrial and commercial-zoned land already inside the city limits. The property is not suited for farm use and would return more to the community in taxes and economic activity if it can be put to more intensive use. Bringing the property into the city would allow for development of the property in a manner consistent with adjacent properties.

Brining the property into the city would allow for local control. The property is currently subject to county zoning; all zoning and land-use permitting decisions for the property are made in Bend by the county planning department. With annexation, zoning and land use permitting authority would lie with the City of Sisters.

Bringing the property into the city would promote orderly growth. Surrounded on three sides by the city and with sewer and water already extended to the property, this property is the logical next addition to the city. Adding this property will allow for expansion of the city without promoting sprawl.

Finally, voter approval would be consistent with the city’s draft comprehensive plan proposal to bring the property within the UGB.

Richard L. Carpenter

s s s

To the Editor:

I was looking over my property tax statement the other day and wondered why, if my family doesn’t use prisons, I should have to pay for them and why, since I don’t read many books, should I have to pay a county library tax?

You know, come to think of it, I don’t draw Social Security or unemployment, why should I have to pay for those taxes every two weeks? It’s unfortunate how often we encounter this kind of thinking. The nature of humanity is community.

A community means sharing the burden, being there for your neighbor and treating others in the fashion you’d like them to treat you.

SOAR makes a difference in the lives of many Sisters residents every day. A place to go after school while Mom’s at work…a place to get a little extra help with algebra…a safe pre-school program for young families struggling to make ends meet…a self-defense program for a 70-year-old lady living alone for the first time.

SOAR is part of the fabric that makes our community among the most envied in the United States. So please take a minute to consider the true impact of your vote on the SOAR local option levy. Your willingness to vote YES and share the burden makes our Community stronger.

Mike Gould

s s s

To the Editor:

As co-chair of the campaign for the SOAR 5-year local option, I’ve been in the unique position to talk with a broad cross-section of people in Sisters about SOAR. It has been very gratifying to get the “report card” from the community and to know that, almost universally, folks give us an “A” for what we do.

If the option fails SOAR may still be able to offer Taekwondo, basketball tournaments and wilderness programs. We’ll probably still provide classroom space for COCC, adult sports leagues and may even be able to provide, in some form, latchkey kids programs, pre-school, tutoring after school, and teen center activities.

Because that is what we do, and we know that it is vitally important to the heart and soul of Sisters.

The difference is that we can be an organization that spends half its time providing a scaled-down version of programs and the other half scrounging for money; or we can be a vibrant community-based organization that puts all its energy into providing a growing population with recreation, children’s services, and forward vision to meet the new problems of a fast-growing community.

Please vote yes for SOAR.

John Bushnell

s s s

To the Editor:

The Board of Directors of the SOAR District have been working together for the Sisters community as a united, cohesive group for ten years. We have enjoyed our service to SOAR and Sisters and have also become friends, besides being associates in SOAR.

We have great respect for each other. We have a complementary board which works with a greatly appreciated director and staff

In any group there are differences of opinion. To me, that indicates a healthy, well-functioning group.

Four of the five members of the SOAR Board strongly feel that the SOAR local option levy is seriously necessary for the continued function of SOAR. We, like anyone, do not welcome another tax, but there are times when the good of the community takes priority over my next tax statement.

This is the reality:

1. Government funding is gone. 2. Fund-raising in Sisters leans so heavily on local businesses that business owners are paying more than their fair share in continued good will. 3. Private foundations have considerably reduced their grant budgets over the last three years. 4. SOAR programs have come at a very low cost to the community over 10 years because of grant, donation and fund-raising support.

The financial support is just not out there as it used to be, folks. If it were, our managing director would have found it and we would have acquired it.

It is now time for the whole community to take responsibility for its recreation district. Please support this integral part of why people fall in love with Sisters and why we have such a healthy place to live.

Would you give $100 or $200 to help a kid or to make your home secure for a year? It’s not much to ask and the return is priceless.

Dr. Bonnie Malone

s s s

To the Editor:

Thank you so much for the article about the Ylvisaka house (“Memories up in smoke,” The Nugget, April 27, page 17). Every time I passed that house I was so glad that there was still some of Sisters’ history available.

I realize that “life goes on” and that whatever is built there will hopefully support some of the people who are here now. However, it is still sad to see part of our history disappear.

Thank you also to Marie Phillips for sharing her memories. I am so glad the memories of Sisters’ past live on.

Maggie Hughes

s s s

To the Editor:

If you are a friend of Sally Ray and have lost touch with her in recent months, Sally now resides in Bend.

Her address is:

Mrs. Sally Ray, Aubrey House — Room 145, 2825 N.E. Neff Rd., Bend, OR 97701.

Sally has expressed her happiness and gratitude for those of you who have come to visit, to entertain and to open your hearts to her and the other residents.

I know that she wonders about friends she has not seen or spoken with. I hope this aids in connecting you again.

Anita Kirkaldy