Letters to the Editor 09/25/2013

To the Editor:

Sisters Country needs our help.

After public outcry saved the Metolius from new resort development, the legislature decided they should allow the "development opportunities" that could not be used there to be transferred to rural counties with unusually high unemployment rates.

Deschutes County is not one of those counties. Nevertheless, John Huffman has organized a work group to "develop a project for the 2014 legislative session that will use the legislatively adopted transfer development opportunities (TDOs) from the 2009 Metolian Development Project."

The first work group meeting was held on August 29 without public notice, though some neighbors did attend, as reported in the September 3 Nugget Newspaper. The second work group meeting is going to be held on October 1 with the purpose "To provide an opportunity for community feedback about the use of the Metolius TDOs on The Cyrus Property."

Exact plans for the type of development have never been finalized, so it's difficult to know exactly what the use of the TDOs would mean. The last proposal involved 480 new homes near Whychus Creek and an RV park with 100 spaces on a site to be determined. What we know for sure is that the TDOs are only needed if the plans involve development that is prohibited by current state or county law.

If you want to tell the legislature how you feel about exempting large property owners from state and local law, this is your chance.

Ask what specific plans are in store for the sensitive lands near Whychus Creek. Tell them you oppose special-interest legislation for the few while the rest of us obey the laws.

Please attend the meeting Tuesday, October 1, at Sisters High School. There is an open house at 4 p.m. and the public meeting is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m.

Eva Eagle

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To the Editor:

As a resident and business owner for 25 years in Sisters, I would like to address the letter written by Michelle Ehr regarding Hardtails.

My business, Miss Sew It All, is adjacent to an alley just like yours. I too, have people sitting on the retaining wall, leaving cigarette butts and trash behind. I regularly go out and clean it up. It is ridiculous for me to believe that Hardtails is the cause of the people in my alley and so it is just as ridiculous that they are the cause of those people in your alley. I have been in this same location for 17 years and before that my business was in the same exact location you are in for the 8 years prior.

Alleys are alleys, just that. Whether it be in a big city or a small town, they both have alleys. People that don't have a permanent place to go congregate and travel using alleys.

We live in a town that has a freeway going straight through it. We therefore get our share of hitchhikers, transient people, bums as some might call them, trying to get from east to west or vice versa.

I ride a motorcycle and have attended some of the rides that have stops at Hardtails. I have sat outside and enjoyed the bands in the afternoon. I have taken my children there, when they are home on leave from the military, to relax and shoot some pool. I would never do anything to put my children in danger. I am also very comfortable going into Hardtails by myself. I meet girlfriends there and sit and chat with other local patrons. I have been there by myself early evenings and late nights. I have never once felt I was threatened by any drunks.

As for the music, well it is what it is. I live across the street from a great place that has outdoor music. I sit in my living room at night relaxing and listen. But I don't call the cops. We live in a town that has many different venues of entertainment. That's what makes our town unique and wonderful. Different strokes for different folks as they say. It is the end of summer now. The colder weather is coming. I can assure you that the activity in the alley will slow way down. But it will always be the right of way for some folks that travel them.

Therefore, it is not Hardtails that is bringing those folks to your alley and mine, it is Hardtimes.

Marsha Marr