News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
New steel power poles were going up on an easement across land owned by the Cyrus family of Sisters as Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) resumed work last week on an oft-stalled upgrade of the Jordan Road power line.
According to CEC attorney Martin Hansen, work crews got back to work last Wednesday, June 21, after a June 19 court ruling denying the Cyruses an injunction to stop the project.
Judge Stephen Tiktin found that the work would not cause irreparable harm to the Cyruses.
The family had moved heavy equipment into the easement earlier this month to block workers from digging holes to plant the towers. The ensuing standoff quickly ended up in court, where the judge ordered both sides to back off and cool down while the matter was resolved.
The Cyruses removed their equipment from the easement.
CEC is installing new poles up to 83 feet high to carry a new power transmission line to Sisters. CEC wants to increase the capacity of the power line along Jordan Road as a backup source of power for the Sisters area during periods of high demand or if the line along Highway 20 east of Sisters is damaged.
The Cyrus family has opposed the project from the beginning, citing degradation of views from their property, some of which could be developed under Measure 37 guidelines. The family succeeded in an appeal of the original Deschutes County decision approving the project. The county denied a second CEC proposal.
However, CEC won a Measure 37 waiver from the county and proceeded with the work, installing new towers from Redmond west toward the Cyrus easement.
Owners of the proposed Thornburgh resort near Cline Butte filed suit to stop the installation of towers across resort lands and asked a judge to stop work. The work, however, had already been completed.
While the project continues, the legal fight will also rage on. The Cyrus family is continuing to challenge the utility’s right to do the work, arguing that a state Measure 37 waiver, which CEC has not obtained, is required for the work to proceed.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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