Letters to the Editor 04/27/2016

To the Editor:

Voters' pamphlets are often used as fire starters on these cold Central Oregon spring mornings. Not this time, not in my house. Curious, I immediately flipped through to find the arguments against the upcoming school bond measure. There were none. BUT, there were several pages in favor of the bond. My favorite snippits: "...$10.25 per month"(assessed $300k); and "Our community supports our kids and our kids support our community." - J. Bachtold

I married into a third-generation Aylor family from our tiny town of Sisters and often hear stories of pride in how our unique community stands in the gap for each other. As a parent of a 2012 grad, I can attest to the direct impact that Sisters School District was in our son's success, who will graduate nursing school this Friday after four arduous/grueling years.

I'm so thankful for this community and fellow teachers who supported the prior construction bond 14 years ago, from which Sebastian directly benefitted.

I am a homeowner who will be honored to be part of the financial responsibility from this bond.

Recently, I heard a keynote speak of the irony of magazine title progression (or deterioration). First, it was Life magazine (included everyone, everywhere), then People magazine (a slightly narrower view), then there was Us magazine (whatever group you identify with, but certainly not everyone) and now in 2016 we have Self magazine (because that is who we now only cater to. Really?).

Please look up and see how 35 cents a day will positively impact all of us who enjoy this beautiful place we are fortunate enough to call home.

Future generations will learn by example what it means to invest in ALL generations, as it is time to rally and invest in theirs.

Three yes votes coming from our home (one absentee).

Becky Aylor

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To the Editor:

My husband, Jeremy, and I moved to Sisters 11 years ago from Portland when we knew we wanted to start our family. Having lived as newlyweds in the Portland Public School District and having worked along a school nurse in an inner-city high school, we knew we wanted a small town with a great community to raise our future children. Jeremy grew up in Minnesota, where all parents and siblings rallied to support community and school events. On the contrast, I was part of the thousands of students in a large city that struggled with funding for so many needs.

From our first meeting of other parents at the Little Cloverdale Preschool Co-op, we have felt that we were exactly where we were meant to be. Now our daughter, Kathryn, is a fourth-grader. Our son, Emmitt, is a first-grader at Sisters Elementary School. Both kids play baseball in the Sisters Little League. Kathryn is proud to be part of the Outlaws volleyball program where she plays in the SHS gym, and Emmitt started playing flag football this year at Reed Stadium.

As a parent, and extremely proud Outlaw supporter, I look forward to sitting with my blanket and hot chocolate in the bleachers to watch my son play the sport he loves for the next 10 years. I hope for school gymnasium and commons areas where all of our students and teacher are safe.

As a volunteer who spends precious time in classrooms, I look forward to my children continuing to grow and learn and grow in a middle and high school that is so incredibly supported by the entire community.

Please take a moment to learn more about the upcoming measure. All members of this wonderful community have a voice in how we support it. The local school bond proposal has delegated funds to improve our track and field so that all supporters of students, Outlaw or visitor, can cheer safely while our kids strive for their best. The bond also has plans for new measures to help our schools keep our kids safe while they learn and play. I hope you would visit the website http://www.ourschoolsourcommunity.org

We all are so grateful to be a small part of a strong community of parents, grandparents, friends and businesses that values all of our children. Thank you for your time and investment in our future!

Angela Buller

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To the Editor:

As parents of two children in the Sisters School District, we are writing in support of the upcoming school bond.

Ensuring that our schools have upgraded safety and security systems is of the utmost importance in this day and age. This is not an emotional plea, it is a reality of our times. It seems reasonable to use bond dollars to make critical repairs and upgrades to ensure that our schools are a safe haven where learning can thrive.

Renovating Reed Stadium will allow us to host more athletic events, bringing many dollars into local restaurants and businesses and supporting the overall health of our town. It will make the stadium safer and more accessible for all members of our community, many of whom are elderly and may otherwise have difficulty attending games or utilizing the facilities. It makes our school district more attractive to those families moving into the area who are deciding where in Central Oregon to live. It seems reasonable to invest in not only our children and school district, but our community as a whole.

The school bond would have an immediate impact by freeing up thousands of dollars to be used in the classroom. Keeping class sizes small and purchasing learning materials have repeatedly been indicated in community forums to be a priority, so this also seems reasonable.

During the past five years as classroom and district volunteers, we have witnessed teachers, administrators, staff and volunteers stepping up to fill in the gaps in funding due to declined enrollment - all in order to ensure that our children are receiving a terrific education. Sisters still ranks as one of the best school districts in Oregon - let's continue that tradition and vote yes on Measure 9-108.

Amber and Roy Dean

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To the Editor:

We are writing in support of Measure 9-108.

We have children that have attended, or now attend, Sisters Christian Academy (SCA), Sisters Elementary School and Sisters Middle School (SMS). Our daughters have benefitted from strong education, and remarkable teachers and staff, at all three schools. The schools in Sisters were a motivating factor in our decision to move here, and we are fortunate to have such amazing educational choices in a community our size.

When asked why we are supporting Measure 9-108, when one of our children attends SCA, our answer is clear. Our daughter at SMS will be immediately impacted, in and out of the classroom, with the passing of this measure. Both our daughters use, and benefit from, the district facilities. SCA is K-8, and the majority of students from SCA, including our daughter, will attend Sisters High School and be directly impacted as well. Strong schools are an integral part of a thriving community.

Installing current state-recommended security standards and practices ensures the safety of our children. Currently, our school entrances are not secure, and our staff must individually lock each door during a lockdown situation. That feels unacceptable.

Updating our athletic facilities will have a wide-reaching effect. Sisters, unlike many other districts, leaves the track and tennis courts unlocked and accessible for everyone to enjoy. A new track will enable us to, once again, host track meets, which is a win for our entire community.

We have been impressed with Superintendent Curtiss Scholl and the Sisters School Board, and their strong desire to move forward with transparency and fiscal responsibility, keeping the students' best interests at the forefront of their efforts. Their plan for a Citizens Oversight Committee of capital projects ensures accountability.

Please join us in voting yes on Measure 9-108. For more information, please visit http://www.ourschoolsourcommunity.org.

Amber & Shad Sitz

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To the Editor: 

I have questions about the very large assessment that the bond issue, if passed, would entail. 

First:  why not go after the roofer for the repair/replacement cost of the high school roof since it is within the warranty period? 

Second, why build new tennis courts instead of fixing the old ones?

Third, why build a new baseball field instead of refurbishing the old one? 

Fourth, the refinancing would free up money for "staff salaries."  This does NOT mean teacher salaries. The administrative staff could get raises and no new teachers might be hired. 

I am retired on a fixed income and this measure would cost me approximately $328 per year, rising as assessments rise. Many folks in Sisters are in the same boat.  The school board needs to think about this. 

Karen Sweigert

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To the Editor:    

As a business owner in Sisters, I understand the importance of a high-quality school district. Aimee and I don't have any children, but we certainly appreciate what the schools do for our community.

While I do not like paying higher property taxes for both my residence and the business, I have done the math for how much the bond will raise our taxes, and I feel that it is a merited investment.  

I am a "Yes" vote.

Tate Metcalf

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To the Editor:

The passing of Bond Measure 9-108 is essential. Without a solution, the crisis will only get worse.

The State of Oregon woefully underfunds it schools.

When it comes to confronting the serious problems in the Oregon education system, stalling is what those in charge do best, i.e. the legislature. The state legislature provides NO annual funds for capital improvements to its schools.

Some rural schools sites have been condemned and had to close for lack of funds for necessary upkeep, replacement, and repairs.

It is up to the hard-working volunteers in this community to assess and prioritize the schools needs and then design a bond measure which will address those needs. This has been done thoughtfully with attention to fiscal responsibility and accountability.

Details of how the money will be spent are available for all to see on their website:

ourschoolsourcommunity.org.

This is our community and these are our schools.

To paraphrase what a Bend city official once said: Sisters is an "intentional community."  People choose to come here to live. One reason is our outstanding schools.

Continued support of our schools as they fall into disrepair, need to be upgraded to safety standards, pay off existing debt to free up monies for new teachers and reduce classroom size of overcrowded classes, is the responsibility of a community that values education. 

Maintaining what we value comes at a cost.

Continued support of an entity as important to our community as our outstanding schools, is essential. Please vote "Yes" for Bond Measure 9-108.

Debbie & Jim Barnes

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To the Editor:

Last week, the U.S. government reported a stunning increase in suicides in 2014, marking the highest suicide rate since 1986. Among the findings: a 63 percent increase in middle-aged women and a 43 percent increase in middle-aged men taking their own lives.

The study largely attributed the suicides in the middle-age group to financial pressures caused by the Great Recession, from which most Americans have still not recovered. In Sisters, like elsewhere, many people are still living paycheck-to-paycheck and one medical bill away from insolvency.

Against this persistent backdrop of financial struggle, insecurity and despair, the Sisters School District is asking taxpayers to pay for expensive, new athletic facilities (tennis courts and a ball field) earmarked in their $10.7 million bond measure (Measure 9-108 on the May 17 ballot).

It's déjà vu all over again. As with the last general obligation bond the Sisters School District submitted to voters, the current measure is bloated with nonessential items. It's especially insensitive and inappropriate considering the current state of the economy.

The new bond would also pay for the repair or replacement of the High School's defective roof, which has failed after only 12 years. Rather than sue the company that designed and built the faulty roof to force them to fix their shoddy work, the Sisters School District is asking taxpayers to shoulder the burden.

The Sisters School District needs to recognize that most people's budgets are smaller - some completely broken - since the 2008 financial crisis. The school board needs to stop its endless requests for funding discretionary spending, delete the nonessentials from their bond measure and focus on the items for which there is a true need.

Send a message: We won't support the Sisters School District's undisciplined shopping sprees. Vote "No" on Measure 9-108.

Michael Cooper

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To the Editor:

I support school needs, but this bond worries me both because of the range of issues, and the fuzzy math used to sell it.

First the fuzzy math. Part of the bond will pay off a prior bond and we are told that will save $260,000 per year for new teachers. Maybe. But the new bond borrows the same amount to pay off the old which means the interest on the old just becomes part of the new. I suppose what they really mean is they get $260,000 and we taxpayers get stuck with the interest for the old bond we did not vote for along with the new bond. Slick.

The bond has four elements, but none are very clear. The first, repairs to the high school are probably necessary. The second, security upgrades is too vague for $3 million and given where we live, questionable. I suspect this will end being a slush fund. The third is repair and upgrade of the sports fields. This is not only too expensive, but the funds needed to keep these facilities up in the future will end up coming out of the school operating budget, again cutting funds for teachers. The final issue is the ever-present comment that if the bond passes they will create an oversight board who will carefully supervise the projects. Always said, never really done.

This bond should be scrapped. Why must these bonds always be so large and full of different issues. The last one was the same. Come back with a bond only for facilities repair. Do a good job on that, then come back for the next project. Prove to us the money will be used carefully and we will support the effort.

Howard Jameson

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To the Editor:

Re: Trees on Highway 20 are in trouble," (The Nugget, April 20, page 1).

What a terrible story to break in the same week as Earth Day! And with so many unanswered questions.

Who is the unnamed manufacturer? Internet research reveals DuPont. When and for how long was the herbicide Perspective applied in the Highway 20 corridor? The warning that it would damage ponderosas came out in 2012. Are we just now seeing damage from before that? How long does it take to damage ponderosas? How much more damage can we expect to see? Where else has Perspective been used in ponderosa country? Who decides to use these herbicides and how are those decisions made?

According to the website PAN (Pesticide Action Network), DuPont has done this before with Imprelis, a supposedly tree-safe herbicide that killed roadside Norway spruces and white pines in nine Midwestern states (who have filed class action lawsuits). Imprelis was pulled from the market in 2011, but others in the same chemical family, including Perspective, remained.

What are the testing protocols that DuPont uses, and how is it that they are so flawed?

Those dying and damaged trees along the otherwise beautiful western approach to Sisters will be a sad and terrible reminder of flaws in "the system" for a long time.

Joellyn Loehr

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To the Editor:

Deschutes County has taken months to put together a 14-page shapshot report of overnight housing for the four Goal 5 destination resorts. Let's not give them the impossible and publicly subsidized task of trying to track the 1,800+ medical marijuana growers now in Deschutes county that want to convert to recreational growers to increase the size of their grows.

Today Oregonians can each grow four plants legally and can now get ample marijuana medicine thru the Oregon Health Authority. We don't need large grows scattered across the community or grandfathered in homes across our county or in cities under OLCC rules growing more pot for recreation. Medical growers already can sell surplus for recreation.

Bigger grows pose life, health and safety issues for all.

If you think you're immune or your kids are safe taking their learner's permit or that the rural community won't be a target for heist, or you can't figure from where that skunk smell is emanating, get educated.

Testify on May 2 before the Board of County Commissioners - Barnes Hearing Room, 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.

Is it that hard to figure the right way to develop our community? Resort hotels are a bust and large marijuana growers is outright dangerous for Deschutes. Is this the tourism you want?

We don't need another boom/bust hype to risk our rural livability.

OLCC requires fingerprinting to grow pot, so this heavy industry should be behind industrial razor wire the required security cameras inside industrial parks, not open to our scenic views, exposed to our raptors, invading with permanent skunk odor, glowing at night or tantalizing our youth.

Set the keel with our politicians. Land use moves slowly and the Board needs to continue the opt out.

Nunzie Gould