Sisters salutes...

• Muchas gracias, Sisters Country! The Hispanic Coalition steering committee is grateful to all those who made Cinco de Mayo another successful and truly fun celebration of the Mexican culture. The generosity of Greg Willits and FivePine, the many giving donors and business folks, the families who sewed, cooked, decorated and cleaned, and you who came and bought have made numerous college and preschool scholarships a reality! Thanks for your support in helping build our citizens of the future!

• Shanntyl Mendez wrote:

Every week The Nugget is full of articles about events the Sisters community does to support our schools. We get to read about how fantastic our kids are at sports and art. Sisters kids are truly blessed to be growing up here. We don't, however, get to hear about the amazing men and women who are the teachers at our schools.

One of these great teachers is Scott Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan teaches 7th/8th grade social studies and coaches middle school cross-country. Mr. Buchanan is one of those rare adults that has earned the respect of teenage kids. He has done this by treating them as the young adults they are. He encourages them to look at the world and history from many different points of view. He pushes them to be the best student, athlete, and individual they can be. Every time you see him cheering the kids on at every game, to giving "high fives" in the hall, you can see his dedication to this town's kids.

I know we all had that one teacher that we will never forget because of the wonderful influence they had on our lives when we were kids. I have a feeling that for many kids attending Sisters Middle, Mr. Buchanan is that teacher.

• Earlier this month, Katy and Gary Yoder headed to Monterey for a golf tournament that Gary's family has been hosting for 22 years. In all that time, winning the tournament has eluded them. This year, they finally prevailed with help from Katy's shot on a par 3 after her partners had failed to land their balls on the green. With Katy the only player in their foursome left to tee off, the pressure was on. She was able to hit a shot about 10 feet from the pin and then, with her family cheering her on, she sank the putt for her first-ever birdie.

Two holes later Gary sank a shot about 100 yards from the green, clinching the win.

"Now that Gary's dad has passed away, we're calling the tournament the Ken Yoder Golf Classic," said Katy. "I know he would have been so proud to see his family bring home the win."