Letters to the Editor 10/09/2024

Lights out! (Do it for the birds.)

To the Editor:

Two reasons we are so lucky to live in Central Oregon are for our potentially dark night skies, and because we live along the Pacific Bird Flyway. With a few simple choices, we can preserve these attributes and lessen our unintended consequences.

Eight out of 10 bird species in North America migrate at night, relying on the stars and moon to navigate. Our electric lights reduce visibility of starry night skies for birds (and us). Artificial light can attract night-migrating birds from three miles away, and cause birds to circle lights, using up their energy reserves crucial for migrating often thousands of miles. Lights can also mess with other important behaviors, and increase collisions with windows.

What can we do?

These problems can be solved by the flip of a switch, especially during the fall and spring migrations. At the least, from September 19 to October 19, switch off outdoor lights, and close curtains over windows of lit rooms at night.

For more long-lasting solutions to light pollution, where you cannot go “lightless,” there are other easy lighting adjustments:

• Install automatic motion sensors and controls.

• Down-shield exterior lighting.

• Convert to bird-conscious lighting using recommendations from birdalliance.oregon.org that help choose brightness (dim is better), quality (“warmer” light is better than white or blue “cooler” wavelengths), and timing.

Lights Out programs and bird-conscious lighting also help reduce impacts on mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, plants, and humans, save you energy and money, reduce our carbon impacts, safeguard our health, and preserve our view of night sky! In light of the fact that bird populations have decreased by 3 billion in the last 50 years, it feels like the least we can do, is reduce light pollution for migrating birds, with these simple actions and changes.

Dim outdoor lights for birds at night!

Jill Oertley

Big send

To the Editor:

Volunteers in a major grassroots postcard campaign organized by the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network and Indivisible Sisters celebrated the completion of their effort to hold Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer accountable and to get out the vote.

Local activists gathered at the Sisters Post Office to celebrate mailing more than 2,500 “Defeat DeRemer” postcards to non-affiliated voters in CD-5. The “Big Send” was part of a larger project reaching nearly 31,000 non-affiliated voters in Congressional District 5. The group also mailed more than 1,000 other postcards and letters to get out the vote, some of the more than 100,000 other postcards and letters that are being mailed this weekend across Oregon.

Volunteers sought to counter the false narrative that Chavez-DeRemer has tried to create that she is “bipartisan” and a “moderate” in her efforts to deflect attention from her extremist MAGA voting record.

With wildfires raging across Oregon, I want to tell undecided voters: Chavez-DeRemer’s votes against climate solutions put Oregonians at terrible risk because of the increasing heat. Chavez-DeRemer also voted for a MAGA bill, passed by one vote, that would have cut funding to the Veterans Administration by 22 percent. It would have slashed veterans’ access to health care, housing programs, food security, and training programs. Fortunately, that bill died in the Senate, but Chavez-DeRemer’s vote caused it to pass in the House.

Mary Chaffin

McDougall for council

To the Editor:

Please elect Sarah McDougall to City Council.

It’s exciting to see the interest in our open council seats here in Sisters. As you learn more about the candidates and consider your vote, please make sure to thoroughly consider Sarah McDougall.

Sarah presently sits on the City of Sisters Planning Commission and serves as the Board President for Citizens4Community — a beautiful organization encouraging collaboration, connectedness, and peace within our community.

Sarah is pragmatic, objective, kind, and interested in tackling many of the challenges we face in Sisters, particularly related to affordable housing and long-range planning.

Sarah has proven her dedication to Sisters in her existing roles and would be a fantastic addition to Sister City Council.

Shannon Thorson

Folk music convert

To the Editor:

Despite living in Central Oregon since 2004, I came to the Sisters Folk Festival late in the game. 2015 was my first festival. My most vivid memory of that September weekend is leaving the last venue late Saturday night literally dancing down the middle of Main Street carried by music. It was magic.

In the nine years since, I have become an advocate, some might say a super-advocate, since I’m currently the SFF Presents board chair. Still, it’s taken all this time to get my dad and his wife to come down from Seattle to attend the Sisters Folk Festival. My dad isn’t one to let much dust settle. He’s an active guy and a frequent traveler. He loves road trips, plays pickleball, and has attended far more concerts at the Gorge than I. “September is a busy time for us.” “Maybe we’ll come down for the rodeo.” And, of course, “Yeah, I’m not really that into folk music.” I think his wife guilted him into finally agreeing to come this time.

So, I did what I suspect lots of others do. I sent them the playlist, told them to print out the schedule and mark the acts they liked. And my dad did what he does – he showed up at my door with a handwritten, ranked list of the artists. I’ve been listening to my dad for 62 of his 83 years. We consulted the list every morning.

When asked to join the SFF board, I took some time thinking it over. I’m not a joiner by nature, tend toward introversion, and prize my freedom. However, it was 2021 and an enforced practice of solitude, among other things, had driven some pretty extreme rifts into our country and community. How we spent our days at work and school had been altered irreversibly. Fear and change pushed us apart. I remembered that long ago Saturday night, how the joy of sharing music with friends and strangers made me feel like part of something bigger than myself, so much bigger that it couldn’t be contained and sent me home dancing. I joined the board because I believed in that feeling and the power of the Sisters Folk Festival to make so many feel the same way.

Over and over again this weekend, I heard audience members and artists share how music has shaped their lives and how this festival makes them feel they are part of something bigger, something better, something hopeful. Phrases like “community,” “love,” and “what we have in common” occurred during almost every set. Kyshona, during her Open Door set, said that she wanted to take her experience back to South Carolina to remind her birthplace of what community could be. Sisters Folk Festival is what the music industry calls a “discovery” event, curated to introduce artists who are on their way up, not widely known, and with a wide range of styles. In true folk fashion, the festival brings together different voices and ways of making music with the constant thread of a shared experience. How very human. How very Sisters.

My dad and his wife left for Seattle early this morning, driving rather than dancing, but already planning next year’s festival trip. He saw and loved all but one of his list’s top five, missing one because we simply ran out of time. There were acts down the list that he didn’t get to see, but not many, and no worries, because he left here with his list. He wants to make sure he listens to the acts he missed and doesn’t lose track of the others. I think we’ve got a convert.

Leanne Summers

Superintendent’s letter

To the Editor,

Prior to this month’s regular school board meeting, Sisters School District recognized several hard-working Outlaws for their efforts in language proficiency and multilingualism. Four students were honored with the AVANZA award for successfully completing all requirements and exiting our district ELD (English Language Development) program. Three high school students were acknowledged for their work in qualifying for the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy. The Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy honors and acknowledges the achievements of multilingual high school students.

During the board meeting, four administrators provided presentations on various subjects. Steve Stancliff, Sisters High School Principal, shared that the high school is looking to obtain more academic data from students. One method they are putting in place is the use of 9th grade iReady testing, which aligns with SES and SMS testing practices already in place, as well as 10th grade Pre-ACT testing. Tim Roth, Sisters Middle School Principal, provided an overview of the Belong, Prepare and Inspire goals for SMS. For Belong, several modifications are being implemented, including meeting twice a week in the morning with Belong groups. For Prepare, they will be taking a deeper dive into Math this year using iReady scores and the new “Big Idea” math curriculum. And finally, for Inspire they will continue to push empowering students to own their learning goals by adding additional student-led parent conferences, as well as working closer with the parents throughout the year. Joan Warburg, Sisters Elementary School Principal, expressed how thrilled she is that her team has risen to the challenge of moving and adjusting to the new school. Amongst other things this year, SES will be focusing on SEL (social-emotional learning) by building a new curriculum based on Casel and Oregon standards. The SEL objectives will be integrated every morning in the classrooms to help create a soft start for students. And finally, Lorna Van Geem, Director of Student Services, shared that the school counselors were continuing to implement standards and practices set forth by the ASCA (American School Counselor Association). She also mentioned that SES and SMS counselors were working diligently to apply to become a certified RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) school. Currently only nine schools in the state have achieved this national certification and Sisters School District is applying for this recognition for two of our schools.

For usual business, as predicted, enrollment numbers were adjusted after the start of the year due to late enrollments and drops. We are currently just under our projection with 1,173 students enrolled at our three schools. Construction on the new Elementary School is finishing up with some final details, and the expectation is that all of the bond funds will be entirely used for this project. A work session with the board has been planned to discuss possible additional workforce housing and district office relocation. The board was also presented with the Division 22 - Report on Compliance with Public School Standards, where Sisters School District is in complete compliance.

And in conclusion, I wish to thank the community for the amazing turnout at the new elementary school tour on September 25, where a very broad range of approximately 120 community members were in attendance. Because of this positive turn-out, we would like to propose a second opportunity to visit the new elementary school, for those who may not have had a chance to make it on Wednesday. Therefore, anyone who is interested is welcome to join us in a tour of the new school on Tuesday, October 15, at 5 p.m.

This school year is off to a strong start and we are thrilled about our amazing community spirit. Speaking of which, on Friday, October 11, don’t miss the Sisters High School homecoming parade through town at 4 p.m. and the football game at 7 p.m. We would love for you to attend and show your support to our Outlaws!

Curt Scholl

Superintendent

Immigration scapegoating

To the Editor:

I wish Donald Trump and J.D. Vance would stop scapegoating immigrants in our country. This is a wedge issue to keep voters from thinking about other important matters. They both characterize immigrants as violent criminals who are taking jobs from American workers, raising the cost of housing and increasing the cost of living for American families. Their solution is to set up detention camps around the country and embark on a program in which undocumented workers are hunted down, arrested, incarcerated, and deported. This is a draconian solution which is inhuman and will tear families apart.

It is not true that immigrants increase our crime rate. According to statistic, immigrants are 33 percent less likely to be incarcerated than people who are born in our country.

Secondly, unauthorized immigrants make up about 3.3 percent of our population and of that 3.3 percent, one-third have temporary permission to be here and many of those are children. Currently, our unemployment rate is around 4 percent, and nearly anyone who wants a job can find one. Immigrants are most likely working in the fields (literally) of agriculture and construction. They are doing jobs that most Americans don’t want to do! These are often low-wage jobs which help bring down the cost of goods and services.

As far as the cost of housing is concerned, most economists agree that housing costs are a complex issue and immigration plays a very small part in affecting the cost of purchasing a home or paying rent. How many immigrants could afford to buy a home in Bend when the average home price is around $700,000?

Rather than setting up detention camps, which would put a huge burden on law enforcement and our legal system, I think it would be much more humane and less costly if undocumented workers could stay in this country as long as they registered and had not committed any violent crimes, and are either working, attending schools or training facilities, or providing care for other family members. If they qualified, they should be allowed to be put on a path for citizenship. Putting them in detention centers would not only separate them from their families it would remove them from the job market which would raise prices of goods and services.

I understand why middle class families are concerned about inflation and the high cost of living. I don’t think immigrants are to blame. If Trump has his way, the average family will be looking at a tariff which will cost them about $4,000 a year because of increased prices on imported goods. Another cost to American families is the high cost of child care. The Democrats in Congress are trying to pass a law which will allow families a $3,500 tax credit per child per year, but that law is being blocked by Republicans.

Daniel Ramberg

Council support Measure 9-176

To the Editor:

At the September 11 City Council meeting, the Council heard a presentation from the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District. If passed, their proposed Measure No. 9-176 would authorize a Permanent Tax Rate Limit to provide dedicated funding for various conservation efforts. The district is a special taxing district but does not currently have a tax base.

This new property tax would consist of 6 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value which would raise approximately $2.1 million dollars per year. (The median DSWCD taxpayer is estimated to pay $1.19 per month on a home assessed at $238,000, or about $14 per year. Statistics provided by DSWCD.)

With this small amount of dedicated tax, the District can assist Deschutes County residents with a wide array of conservation efforts without having to rely on grant funding. Their top programs focus on Water Quality and Quantity, Forest Health & Wildfire Risk Reduction, and Soil Health & Regenerative Agriculture.

The Sisters City Council unanimously supports Measure No. 9-176, and encourage that citizens vote “yes” to pass this measure as a new and valuable tool to help with our region’s water conservancy efforts.

If you need further details, please contact Erin Kilcullen, district manager at the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District, at [email protected] or visit their website.

Thank you to area Sisters residents for considering this measure.

Mayor Michael Preedin, on behalf of Sisters City Council