Letters to the Editor 07/30/2014

To the Editor:

What a wonderful 2014 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show weekend! I had been a vendor of the Sisters quilt show for many years previously as a guest of a Sisters store owner. After she sold her business, we lost one of our favorite venues to sell our vintage items.

We have always enjoyed the wonderful crowd and the wonderful quilts. We had also previously participated in many Antiques in the Park antique shows with the chamber.

Last year I was pleased to hear about Richard Esterman pulling together many vendors for added value to quilt show weekend. It was a good and successful show for us, despite thousands of attendees not knowing we were there, and many not being able to walk that far.

Then Richard contacted me about the new site! Wonderful! This would be so convenient for attendees, so of course, I was excited to participate.

I heard so many great comments I wanted to share them with you:

"I love all these booths, is this the first year for this?"

"Oh thank goodness we found some shade and somewhere to sit down!"

"Oh it's so nice to see vintage quilts!"

"There are really some talented vendors here!"

"That barbecue place is delicious!"

"What a fun fun day we've had, love having so much to do!"

It was very well received by everyone.

Plus, my husband and I have purchased gas, groceries, food, and a few items from local stores - we have probably spent $300 or more in your city as a vendor.

I do have one complaint about local businesses. We wanted to have dinner. Thank goodness the new Mexican restaurant was open, or we would have had no where to eat. It seems to me that they would want to stay open late (or at least till their posted hours) to take advantage of the

visitors.

Anyway, I really appreciated the work and effort Richard has put in so that we can participate in the quilt show once again.

Liz Dodge

Coos Bay, Oregon

•••

To the Editor:

I am writing this to The Nugget again in response to a letter Carey Tosello and Marcos Gnos wrote on May 28 regarding roundabouts in Sisters.

Mr. Tosello, you stated I resorted to name-calling, when, after reading my letter again, I found none. I called out those whom I felt were responsible for not including those of us impacted the most by their decisions.

You stated that in 2009 a public discussion was held and skeptics you knew walked away wanting it. It is now 2014. Are you telling me in five years, no one has moved in or out with a different perspective? Seriously? If roundabouts on state highways are such a wonderful thing, why did we not get at least one put in near Pumphouse when the road was torn up? That would have been the cost-efficient way to do it, since it was OK'd by everyone in 2009 ... didn't they have five years to figure it out after all?

At this point the agenda is certainly not hidden.

They have helped to take a quaint, Western-themed town and make it into a clone of other tourist towns.

Mr. Gorayeb has stated he wanted Sisters to be like Jacksonville or Tualatin.

He came from a big city, so maybe his cup of tea was not a quaint country town, but a small town with that big-city feel.

Either way, the point is in 2014, another public meeting should be held.

If another meeting had been held prior to the announcement roundabouts were right on track, us loud-mouths would have kept quiet.

I do base my opinions on fact, not just emotion, by the way.

So, no, I do not feel I owe an apology, in fact, I believe Mr. Gorayeb, Mr. Boyd, and the city council owe us one.

Mr. Gnos, for your information, this lovely lady drives that particular intersection 3-4 times a week (Walgreens at Highway 97 and Veterans Way in Redmond). I really don't see a problem with the way the lights work. They give more than 2-3 cars time to get through. The light has been there for several years and would only be a "fatality waiting to happen" if a person wasn't paying attention. A roundabout at that intersection would be a fatality waiting to happen! It's called Road Rage. I know how to navigate roundabouts just fine, no problem, thank you. I see nothing wrong with them when not on congested state highways. Try thinking outside the box...

I will continue to have opinions and speak my mind. You guys won't shut me up. You'll just have to learn to deal with it. We still do have a First Amendment, freedom of speech, in case you aren't familiar...

Brenda Hartford

•••

To the Editor:

Let me cast my vote now for the proposed school district levy of $14.5 million for 15 years at the rate of $149 more taxes for a lot of home owners, including the elderly and those on fixed incomes.

I truly hope all the parents with children who attend Sisters schools get out and vote for their taxes to increase. Especially so that all students can have laptops (you've got to be kidding, right?). And since when does laptop computers constitute repairs and maintenance?

And so the parking lot doesn't have any cracked asphalt. Has anyone heard of re-surfacing the blacktop every couple of years to preserve the parking lot? And to make the track less lumpy so that no one will fall over a lump when they run. Why wasn't it made right to start with - it's certainly not that old?

I vote for fixing the roof on the high school, getting a new phone system and upgrading the heating and cooling system this time around. That shouldn't cost $14.5 million. The rest of the things mentioned in The Bulletin can come later - just like other people budget their money, a little at a time.

I think the committee better re-work the proposed bond levy.

Diana Raske Lovgren

•••

To the Editor:

As I listened at the last council meeting (over a poorly working amplifier system!) to the Council session I wondered if Sisters is beyond a point where a handful of volunteers, as dedicated as they might be, are up to managing Sisters' City business.

Reviewing the recent boondoggle, the raft of complaints about lack of citizen input in City decisions, and now the latest, the TUP (temporary-use permit), which will not face resolution for another month (next council session) it leaves one with the opinion that a modern city of 2,000 citizens is entitled to full-time management - it is no longer a matter of new stables for horses!

Does the City code need an overhaul? When was it last updated - will it get public input? All this squabbling makes one think - shades of Congress!

Russell B. Williams

•••

To the Editor:

Regarding the paved bike path between Sisters and Black Butte Ranch that Ed Protas wrote about in last week's Nugget: Ed, I believe you have looked the other way. At what point have we as a society said that it's okay to cut trees and pave roadways for cars but not bikes and pedestrians? How many trees have been cut down so we can drive in cars from one end of our small one-mile-wide town to the other? 250? 2,500? 25,000?

We need to stop driving cars and ride and walk more. How about a little progress in the right direction? How many tons of emissions will not be put in the air due to people using paths instead of roads?

If this path does not get approved I believe we all would be looking in the wrong direction. Or, rather, we'd all be burying our heads in the sand. You may think a small thing like a paved path won't save much in CO2 emissions. As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." We must all start to do what we can to stave off the ridiculous amount of emissions. This short path is a single step in the right direction.

Ed, you mention the loss of trees will contribute to global warming and pollution. I have a hunch that it won't. Although the continuation of people driving between Sisters and BBR certainly will. The savings in carbon emissions by having people walk and bike, however, will very quickly offset any tree-cutting. I'm a tree-hugger, and dislike seeing trees cut for pretty much any reason. Therefore I don't take lightly that trees would be removed. However, the benefits outweigh the negatives on this issue.

I believe so strongly in this that I would be willing to donate money to help plant trees in the area after the path gets put in. It would be an easy task to get others to do the same. We could hopefully even plant more trees than would have to be removed for the installation of the path.

Steven Segal

•••

To the Editor:

Dave Clemens and I grew up in the same small California town of Wasco. I was in the same class as his sister, Marilyn.

The entire family was loved and respected in Wasco and made wonderful contributions to its growth. Both Dave and Marilyn are missed. May their new adventures be wonderful.

Arlene Murrell

•••

To the Editor:

Dave Clemens was a part-time winter resident, along with Laurine, at our condo community in Fountain Hills, AZ, and our next-door neighbor there. He was very well respected by the residents and was involved in many activities and association decisions. He will be sorely missed.

Jim Sexton