Sisters salutes...

• Nancy Kerkvliet, who will shortly be moving to Sisters, greatly appreciated the help she got from a Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputy in recovering her purse. She left the purse in a restaurant bathroom. She realized a woman who had gone in after her had taken the purse and made her getaway.

Nancy contacted police and Deputy Casey Karpstein tracked the woman down in Tumalo, recovered the purse and returned it to Nancy at the home she is purchasing in the Sisters Country.

Kerkvliet was impressed with the prompt action and the deputy's friendly manner.

• Tom Egan, ski patrol director at Hoodoo Mountain Resort, found three Sisters youths picking up trash under the chair lift. (Melt-off had revealed the detritus of New Year's celebrations.)

Lani Fernandez, Marissa Young and McKenzie Banks undertook the work on their own initiative to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

"It was very touching," Egan said.

Egan provided the three with hot chocolate, cookies - and a year's ski pass - as a thank you.