Of a certain age...

I've only been here for five years, and during this entire time Sisters has been a community in transition, but it seems lately to have stalled and lost its compass. It seems to me, a community psychologist, that it lacks a sense of community and the visionary leadership to carry the town forward into the 21st century.

Since I'm retired and have the time to volunteer, I've gotten involved in city politics a bit over this past year. I've been involved before, on city, state and national levels, although I'm not passionate about politics, I do feel a sense of civic responsibility to stay informed and vote. It's usually when some issue pushes my buttons that I feel the need to speak up - beginning in 1962 when I stood with a bunch of other lunatics on the sand of Miami Beach and dared Castro to shoot nuclear missiles at us.

Well, he didn't, did he?

So last year when that amphitheater plan hit the community, threatening to take away the serenity of the town, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Not just because I thought it was a terrible idea for the town, but because of the way it was done. The community was clueless and it seemed it was just sprung on us by a patronizing city council that came up with it as their solution to the stalled economic situation in the town.

Although it was probably well-considered behind closed doors, it was perceived by many people to be poorly thought-out and the community wasn't part of the process. It was way too big for the town. It would bring in noise, pollution, garbage, drugs, criminal activities, vagrants, etc. It seemed all they were thinking about was the money.

If they had called a town meeting to discuss it and gotten some feedback before they decided on what's best for Sisters, there wouldn't have been such a backlash. Instead they moved on to cutting trees down and reconfiguring Creekside Campground so they could accommodate large motorhomes and charge higher rates as if we were a suburb of Bend.

The positive thing that came out of all that, besides stopping both, was a wake-up call for the community that some things need to change in this town if it's going to come out of this recession better than it was before, and it's going to take a village. Government transparency and citizen involvement in the process are certainly priorities for this to be a successful community effort.

And, to council's credit, some efforts have recently been made in that direction.

Some think many people in Sisters have become too complacent and apathetic. Most people will say "it's not that I don't care, I just don't have time to attend meetings - the job, the family, the house, the yard, yadda yadda - that's why we elected those people to do it for us."

We can't just assume because we elect a group of people to run our city government that they have a clue about what they are doing or if they are working in the town's best interest or their own. We can't just hope that they will do the right thing. As citizens, we have to stay on top of what's going on so we don't lose the values we hold dear for this community.

And maybe that's the problem: We don't know what they are anymore.

It used to be that Sisters had a vision plan, but with all the people who have moved away and all the new people who have moved here, and all that has happened economically in recent years, those old values may have changed and we need to find out where the people who live here now want this town to go. Do we stay a small town of artists and musicians selling our wares to tourists or do we become a mecca for small high-tech businesses or is this just a little town that's a cool place to retire to and go fishing? Or could it be all those things within a self-sustaining ecological system?

We have an election coming up soon, an opportunity to decide to change the make-up of our City Council, or do we want four more years of the same? I'm just asking people to get involved. Look into the issues. Talk with the candidates. Invite them for coffee and cake to have a conversation with you and your neighbors. Talk about your values and what you want to see for Sisters.

Especially if you're retired and can volunteer some time, attend city council meetings and observe how business is conducted and the attitudes of the people involved. Then get out the vote for the candidates you think represent your ideas and values, and who have the best interests of this community at heart.