Former Sisters mayor looks back

Dave Elliott is leaving Sisters after four decades during which he did as much as anyone to make the community what it is today.

Elliott served twice as mayor of Sisters - the second time presiding over a period of massive change to the town - and as chair of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors as the fire department transitioned into the modern era.

Now he's retiring to a 46-acre spread near Spray, Oregon, that he purchased with his son, Mitch, where he figures he'll probably "work harder than ever."

Elliott hit Sisters in the fall of 1978. He'd done an eight-year stint in the U.S. Navy and was working on the maintenance crew at Camp David, Maryland when family connections led Sisters developer Greg Podorein to invite him out west to build houses with him. That's what Elliott did until one of Sisters' periodic crashes put the housing market into deep freeze. He worked at Hoyt's Hardware & Building Supply for several years, then he and his wife Janet bought Ali's Deli, which they operated for a dozen years or more.

Elliott also managed an RV park and what is now Sisters Inn, and in recent years has served as customer service manager at Bi-Mart. His last day there will be February 14.

Throughout his working life in Sisters, Elliott made time for public service. He served as mayor briefly in the 1980s, then was appointed to the Sisters City Council at the end of 1998. He would be named mayor in 2003 and serve in that capacity through 2006.

It was an era of significant change in the community. As a city councilor and then as mayor, Elliott helped guide the community through a period of growth and densification allowed by the construction of a sewer system approved by voters in 1998.

"That led to shrinking lot sizes and all the infill," Elliott recalled.

While that change brought development and economic growth, it was also controversial, as it changed the character of the town.

In addition to the massive undertaking of installing a municipal sewer system, the City of Sisters also completely revamped its water system and dedicated several new parks. City Hall was then located in a small decrepit box of a building where Fir Street Park is now, and Elliott takes considerable pride in the project that produced Sisters' current City Hall, which is part of a campus of public buildings - including the Sisters School District offices and the Deschutes Public Library - which was created during Elliott's tenure on council.

The physical plant wasn't the only thing that changed. The City moved from having a City Administrator to a City Manager - a reflection of the growing complexity of municipal government - and Elliott worked for many years with then-Manager Eileen Stein.

There were many controversies along the way, and tensions among council members - but Elliott recalls that the diverse group managed to get a lot of important work done.

"We agreed to disagree and we moved on and we did a lot," he said.

Elliott also served on the fire district board at a time of crisis and change. Elliott took the reins as board chair after former Deschutes County Sheriff and fire district budget officer Greg Brown was convicted of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the district and helped the district restore its confidence and morale.

He was deeply involved in the voter-approved construction of a modern new fire hall facility on Elm Street and the hiring of Fire Chief Tay Robertson. Elliott resigned on the day Robertson retired and handed the reins to current chair Chuck Newport.

Now Elliott is leaving the town he helped to bring into the current era. His son Mitch, who served for many years as a Black Butte Ranch police officer is now Undersheriff in Wheeler County - "and he loves it," Elliott said.

Mitch and Karen and Dave and Janet had been contemplating purchasing a spread together for some time, and they found their spot at what they call Hilltop Ranch.

Dave, at 70, will maintain the property, where they will raise beef cattle for personal use and where he plans to have an extensive garden.

Dave doesn't feel strange about leaving the town where he lived for four decades and where he served for years.

"I've been out of it for long enough, and the town - what they call Sisters Country - has grown so much," he said. "It's changed. The small-town atmosphere has changed... We're just going to go out and retire in the countryside. (The ranch house has) got a big back porch with a rocking chair. Of course, I don't know how much time I'm going to spend in that..."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941