Letters to the Editor 07/02/2014

To the Editor:

Greg Werts (The Nugget, Letters to the Editor, June 25) gave kudos to Kristie Miller, Sisters District, Deschutes National Forest, for dropping the Crossroads to Sisters High School portion of the proposed bike path that had been under consideration for well over a year. It was dropped due to lack of support from the Crossroads community. She also deserves kudos for retaining the Black Butte Ranch-to-Sisters portion of the proposal that received strong community support through the review process.

While I agree that Ms. Miller is to be complimented for her decision, I believe that Crossroads residents - and the Sisters community at large - will come to regret their opposition and will eventually want a path of some sort connecting them to the high school and middle school. We are increasingly becoming a biking community, not just for recreation but for transportation for children and adults. We should promote alternative transportation wherever we can. Safe routes to school are particularly important for children, whether by bike or on foot.

Mr. Werts suggested that a "large (and growing) group of Tollgate residents" also share the same concerns as Crossroads. Where he gets this impression he does not say. According to the November 20, 2013, minutes of the Tollgate Property Owners Association Board of Directors, Tollgate property owners were surveyed regarding the Sisters-to-Black Butte Ranch part of the proposed path. Of those who responded to the survey, over two-thirds (66.5 percent) responded in favor of the proposal. Thank you, Ms. Miller, for listening to Tollgate!

The pathway decision linking Black Butte Ranch to Tollgate and Sisters does not need to be revisited. Voices were heard and considered, and the Forest Service has made its decision. Now let's move on and get the project done! It will be a valuable community asset for residents and visitors alike.

Linda L. Davis

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To the Editor:

Sisters Country is still the best place in the world to live and for me to leave my car unlocked when shopping. My banding bag that I was sure had been swiped turned up - not in a dumpster, or out on a lonely trail as I suspected, but in a friend's car, where I had placed it.

My apologies to all who are feeling sorry or me, please forgive me - it's just my old age. And thanks for all your comforting words and thoughts.

All's well.

Jim Anderson