Letters to the Editor 08/16/2006

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Southern Area Blue Team and all Black Crater firefighters, I want to thank the residents of Sisters for your warm hospitality. We greatly appreciate all the expressions of support.

Every day children brought cookies to our Incident Command Post at the Sisters Middle School. The ice cream and pie social at Sisters Community Church was particularly touching. Those who attended know how well our firefighters appreciated your hospitality.

Since the Blue Team took over, it seems that every day a firefighter would stop me and share a story of a kindness bestowed upon them by a random encounter with folks throughout the area. Sisters merchants were welcoming and ready to accommodate our needs in any way they could. One of our firefighters, with 35 years experience, stated no community has ever been as supportive of the firefighters as Sisters.

We leave this fire in very capable hands. The firefighters that remain here in your community are performing what is often a thankless job. The greatest danger is past and life returns to some semblance of normalcy. This phase of firefighting, however, is critical and we are leaving this responsibility to a team of folks that are well able to perform.

I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the NW Oregon Incident Management Team for the work they did when they were here. The team did a fantastic job. If it were not for the increased complexity that evacuations bring, a Type I team would not have been necessary. They had things well under way to being in control, and we are all proud of the professionalism and expertise with which they accomplished their assignment.

Your support is much appreciated by firefighters.

Mike Quesinberry

Incident Commander

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To the Editor:

Excuse the sloppy writing (of hand-written letter) but I'm on security detail at the middle school and it's dark in this tent. I was on watch Monday night, August 7, when I asked a young 19-year-old firefighter why he wasn't at the church (for a community "thank you" celebration).

He said it wasn't his type of "thing." I told him to consider going at least for the kids. An hour later this tough, hardworking firefighter returned with tears in his eyes and told me that words could not describe the feeling he had just experienced.

Soon dozens of firefighters returned with the exact same joy.

One 20-year veteran, also with tears in his eyes, had never experienced such an outpouring of sincere thanks, anywhere in this great nation.

Before the fire I had never even heard of Sisters, Oregon. Because of this fire, I will forever remember Sisters, a small slice of heaven on earth. While new crews are coming in to clean up, other crews are leaving to help with other fires and leave this great community.

This community's kindness touched the hearts of these great men and has inspired them greatly. Thank you, Sisters, Oregon, for giving these firefighters something that money cannot buy; thank you for giving them the greatest gifts that the Bible describes as love, kindness and appreciation.

God Bless Sisters, Oregon.

God Bless America.

Thank you!

Burt A. Wilhelm

Security Detail, Sisters Fire, August 2006

s s s

To the Editor:

On Tuesday afternoon, August 8, I participated in the final close-out meeting where the Black Crater Fire was transitioned from the Southern Area Blue Team back to the Deschutes National Forest.

I would like to pass on a comment Incident Commander Mike Quesinberry made at the meeting. There has been much expression of gratitude by our community towards those who fought this fire on our behalf, appropriately so. But at the meeting Mike had the following to say: "In 27 years of fighting fires, we have never experienced the type of hospitality that we experienced last evening at the pie and ice cream social at the Sisters Community Church. We were deeply moved by that and by the support expressed by this community throughout the fire."

Having the privilege of hearing his comment, I wanted to let people know that your expressions of gratitude throughout the fire have been heard. They have been encouraging, and they are deeply appreciated by the incident management teams and the firefighters.

Thank you Sisters, for your generosity and hospitality.

Eileen Stein

City Manager

s s s

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the residents of Sisters and surrounding communities; you have dodged the bullet again.

As the wife a of retired logger the problem is not over; it's just waiting for another chance. Eventually, conditions will prevail for the "perfect storm." You might just think about putting pressure on the powers that be to address the real problem. Thousands of acres of dead, diseased and soon to be dead trees. Watering your lawn and moving your shrubs 20 feet from your home is NOT a solution.

Healthy trees clean the very air you breathe. That is reason enough to demand that our forests be kept healthy with every preventative measure available.

Endorsing any policy for any public land so that it becomes a detriment to the environment is immoral, unhealthy and just plain stupid. Endorsement comes in all forms: apathy, buying into the "save every tree" (dead or alive) or the "don't touch and save the sacred wilderness land!"

I don't care if the area is designated wilderness - the need to start a healthy forest program in your area began 25 years ago. It wasn't nature at work, it was the invasion of a non-native beetle that could have been eradicated. I watched the once beautiful Santiam Pass turn into a real OLD GROWTH forest - old, dead and about-to-be-dead trees.

The folly of protecting the current policy is costing the taxpayers millions and I'm personally tired of spending my money to protect the property of those who tolerate and embrace these policies.

Rintha Renoud

s s s

To the Editor:

Recently I was forced to leave my position with the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office due to an injury.

In my tenure, I was fortunate to have the Sisters area as my primary patrol district for the last several years. During that time, I made many friends and acquaintances in our community. I just want to thank everyone for the support and respect I was given as I carried out my daily duties. I will miss seeing all your familiar faces, working with our local public safety professionals and serving our community.

Randy Shepard

s s s

To the Editor:

I am always amazed at the ignorance of folks who assume when a person can skateboard, then they must be illiterate. It's a transportation mode for some and/or art form in free style for others.

Standing still on a skateboard is talent. Skating and weaving between parked cars and eating an ice cream cone is a skill that few possess. These kids spend hours honing their ability, not to mention taking a beating in the process of tenacious learning.

Dean Smith missed his opportunity to share our new skatepark info with the young 20-year-old... (see Letters to the Editor, The Nugget, August 2). Who'd a thought a small town like Sisters would have a place to skate? How cool are we!

So you saw one skater raising the sales for a local vendor, while the others were at the park. OK. I bet if you looked, you could see adult jay-walkers and drivers illegally crossing the crosswalk before the peds get up the sidewalk too. (Illiterate? Rebellious? No Respect?) If you are bugged by it, then approach the problem, don't profile skaters as illiterates, or no respect for elderly's safety.

Furthermore, what an invitation to tell those out-of-towners what great kids this town does raise! Look at the schools and state testing scores and kids who do a zillion organized team sports and do well! You don't read about skaters wiping out and hosing elderly on our sidewalks. We read about literate drivers hitting people, deer or other cars all the time.

In your spare time you could run an ice cream parlor at the skatepark, get to know these hoodlums to redeem yourself and learn to do a kick-flip too!

Youth Advocate & (Tony Hawk) Boom Boom Huck Jam Fan...Becky Aylor

s s s

To the Editor:

Thank you and your staff for the wonderful Web site and awesome pictures. Having only recently become semi-computer-literate, I never utilized this before.

Seems TV and radio are either inaccurate or late with the news. During the Black Crater Fire I logged on several times a day to keep up with what was happening. And it is easier to give the Web site to out of town relatives and friends than to try to tell them everything over the phone.

So thanks again and keep up the good work.

Mickey Duehren