Pine Needlers offer winter quilt raffle

There may have been a foot or more of snow on the ground last week, but the Sisters Community Trails Committee was still at work — indoors — on a community trails network for the area.

The trail makers noted their major start on the Sisters High School to Tollgate trail, posting of signs on over 58 miles of trail and a series of 10 workdays on trails at their meeting on December 2.

“We are still needing more volunteers than just the trails committee members to work on our trail projects,” said Committee Chair Jeff Sims. “We had a lot of participation from residents in our planning process and now we need help on the ground when we resume outdoor work this coming spring.”

Goals for 2006 include completing the Tollgate trail, updating the trails master plan, developing revised maps and brochures, completing trail signing funded by an Oregon State Parks grant, and increasing publicity on the trails network.

The committee also discussed how an Adopt-A-Trail program could increase interest and participation.

All officers were reelected for the coming year including Jeff Sims as chair, Jerry Norquist as vice chair, Chuck Humphreys as treasurer, and Jim Yuskavitch as secretary. The committee next meets on January 20 at 8 a.m. at the SOAR office just west of Sisters High School.

The Sisters Commnity Trails Committee was organized in late 2001 to develop a community trails system connecting the City of Sisters with schools, residential areas, local scenic areas and the trails network of the Deschutes National Forest. Initially, some 36 trails were proposed covering 143 miles.

The committee drafted a trails plan, constructed informational kiosks, marked some routes and now has constructed some trails. The committee first worked with the Community Action Team of Sisters and is now associated with SOAR.