Raffle aids raptor rehabilitation

Wild Wings Raptor Rehabilitation of Sisters is soaring on an updraft crested by artist Tom Murphy, bird-lover Sandy Hiatt and Soda Creek Gallery.

Murphy created a wood sculpture of an owl, which Soda Creek raffled over the past month.

Murphy has been a wood sculptor since 2001, specializing in wildlife carvings in burl woods. He is especially fond of carving birds.

"Being a bird aficionado, of course I wanted to do something to help the raptors," he said. "Raptors are what I mostly carve."

Hiatt, visiting from West Linn, bought a ticket and won.

"I never win anything," she exclaimed on Friday, when she arrived at Soda Creek Gallery to claim her prize. "I drove over the mountain pass to get it."

Hiatt said she liked the idea of the raffle.

"It just seemed like a neat cause and I love birds," she said.

For the presentation at the gallery, Gary Landers of Wild Wings brought a rehabilitated owl with him. The owl cannot be released into the wild (as many of Landers' patients are) and is now used as an educational outreach bird.

The raffle raised $350 for Wild Wings. For more information on Wild Wings, visit http://www.wildwingsrehab.org. Tom Murphy's work is on display at Soda Creek Gallery in Sisters.