Letters to the Editor…

Not in my backyard

To the Editor:

I’m not usually a NIMBY-person but in the question of moving the Community Garden to Clemens Park, I definitely am because I live in Tamarack Village Apartments. The four-foot fence along the park edge allows residents of 24 of these apartments about eight feet of grass beyond our patios so we have a view of the open space and easy access.

We all use the park, whether kids at the playground; parents teaching their kids to play baseball, football, soccer; throwing a toy for our dogs to fetch; or enjoying a neighborhood barbecue. Neighborhood day care facilitators and home schoolers bring groups of children to the park to play at the playground. We also have the fly-fisher guy teaching people to cast. We have Yoga and Tai Chi groups with plenty of space to practice. In the evening, teenagers hang out in the park often singing songs and playing guitars. Stargazers have a spectacular view of the night sky. The park is a respite for travelers who stop to use the facilities, sit in the shade, and chat with residents about Sisters. And, yes, sometimes it is empty giving the grass time to recover.

Thinking about what would happen if the Community Garden were to move to Clemens Park: First, they are going to have to construct unsightly eight-foot chain link fences to keep the deer out, eight feet from our tiny backyards. There will be heavy equipment digging spaces for planting beds and a water system. Once built, gardeners will be out there bright and early every morning planting, weeding, watering, chit-chatting eight feet from our bedroom windows. Again, in the early evening, those gardeners will out there eight feet from our open patio doors weeding, watering, picking, chatting, yelling at their kids.

I’m not a gardener myself, but I do love the Community Garden as a concept. When Trina and Marvin Benson were in charge at the airport location, I used to go over often, enjoyed Quilt Show luncheons, took photos and wrote articles for The Nugget, and I sincerely hope a new location can be found so the tradition can continue.

But please, have a heart, just NIMBY.

Diane Goble

No firewood

To the Editor:

Hats off to Ray’s Food Place for removing its offering of campfire wood for sale during this especially dangerous wildfire season. Perhaps Bi-Mart, Space Age, Ace Hardware, Oliver Lemon’s Sisters, and Sisters Pumphouse & Country Store will follow Ray’s lead before it’s too late? If you agree, please voice your opinion to a store manager when you do business at one of these establishments. I do.

Jeff Tryens

Just an observation

To the Editor:

I was excited to have the chance to observe the Perseid meteor shower Sunday night and was able to get a glimpse of a few streaks across the night sky around 9:40 p.m.

However, I got more than I bargained for when my attention turned to a bright blue round light above a hazy whitish crescent feature. It was in the east sky and not moving. Did anyone else see this?

I'd be interested in any feedback your readers may share, thank you.

Judy McCann