The Nugget Newspaper // Vol. XLVI No. 6 // 2023-02-08

Vol. XLVI No. 6 www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, February 8, 2023 POSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Per mit No. 15

Removing trees to promote forest health

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

The removal of 177 juniper trees from 18 lots in the High Meadow neighborhood off Indian Ford Road is creating what participants in the project consider a winwin situation for everyone involved.

The homeowners are improving the resiliency of their Firewise community and improving the environment for their ponderosa pines. The junipers are all being removed as intact trees, branches and all. They will be taken up to Deschutes Land Trust’s (DLT) Rimrock Ranch, where the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council (UDWC) is coordinating another Whychus Creek restoration project along 1.5 miles of the valley floor.

High Meadow resident Martha Lussenhop provided the impetus for the project after attending a DLT training last year with Mathias Perle, restoration program manager for UDWC, where he explained a variety of environmental restoration procedures. As he talked about the role of trees in creek restoration to raise the water level, slow the flow, and provide

Man arrested, threats assessed

According to DCSO reports, an allegedly intoxicated Christopher Seekell was refusing to leave the restaurant, and being aggressive with the staff. At one point, Seekell allegedly made a threat about doing a school shooting. Seekell did not specify any school in this statement, according to police. Seekell also allegedly threatened to return and shoot up Takoda’s.

A project to remove junipers in a Sisters Country neighborhood will improve fire safety and ponderosa pine health — and provide instream habitat material.

shade and hiding places for fish, Lussenhop thought of all the juniper trees in High Meadow and the potential fire risk they presented. As a designated Firewise community,

Sisters man works toward recovery

By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief

Life took a hard turn for Steve Rollins on December 2, 2022.

The longtime Sisters mechanic took a bad fall at his home shop that left him with spinal cord injuries and facing a long road to recovery.

“He slipped on ice,” his son Jeremy Rollins told The Nugget. “He said the last thing he remembered was the ground coming up at him.”

What happened, though, was worse than hitting the ground. Rollins fell face-first into the hydraulic arm of a floor hoist used for lifting car engines. The steel cut into

Rollin’s forehead, leaving a nasty gash. But the most serious injury was to his neck. The impact whipped his head back and caused his cervical vertebrae to compress his spinal cord.

He lay on the ground for an estimated hour before his dog found him and alerted another person living on the property, who summoned help.

The fall left Rollins in a state of “incomplete quadriplegia,” meaning that he has some movement, but not with complete control, of his arms and legs.

A surgeon operated to relieve pressure on his spinal

See RECOVERY on page 4

each year the residents focus on projects that contribute to fire resiliency. Lussenhop mentioned the trees to Perle, and a partnership developed. Lussenhop

organized her neighbors and secured the contractor, Four Brothers Tree Service. Perle was able to provide the grant

See TREES on page 8

When staff asked Seekell to leave, he pushed a staff member and appeared he was going to assault the staff member, DCSO reports Seekell eventually left the restaurant, and the staff locked all of their doors to deny Seekell reentry Seekell then went into

See THREAT on page 18

Habitat officers pick up hammer

Sisters Habitat for Humanity welcomed their new board of directors on Tuesday, January 24. The gavel (a hammer) was passed from outgoing President Bob Buchholz to the new board president, Joe Rambo.

Buchholz said, “It was an honor to serve! Sisters Habitat is such a great organization that serves the community by bringing affordable homes to Sisters. I am always awed at the dedication of volunteers and staff to the organization and to the community. During my six years on the board, a lot transpired, including COVID and the purchase of the Thrift Store building; and through it all, we continued to build homes.”

The new vice-president is John Adamson; treasurer is Bruce Kemp; secretary is

Kristi Amsberry. New board members Annie Andreson and Shauna Zobrist will join continuing members Marybeth Beall, Jan Bottcher, Elana Mansfield, Jacki

Shepardson, and Rope Chew. Sisters Habitat thanked outgoing board members Bob Buchholz and Ellie Hammond for their dedication to Habitat homeowners.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) arrested a 27-year-old Sisters man in an incident at Takoda’s restaurant in Sisters on Tuesday, January 31.

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

The Nugget

Letters to the Editor…

The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address, and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond, or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.

Development moratorium

To the Editor:

On September 22, 2021 the Sisters Comprehensive Plan was adopted, resulting in a set of updated goals, policies, and implementation measures that are intended to guide decisions about future growth and development in Sisters. As stated in the introduction of the Plan, “it can be summarized ‘Growth with Intention.’ This will guide us to maintain Sisters’ unique quality of life, mitigate the effects of growth, and absorb it the Sisters way, maintain our special community character, and continue to diversify housing options.”

The Plan is supposed to provide a foundation for decision-making on important issues and reflect the community’s values. This is not happening.

Chapter 2.3 (multifamily district) in the Development Code has been updated, which doubles the density in a MFR (multi-family residence) to 15-30 gross units per acre and decreases the square footage for a detached single family by 1,500 square feet. The only way this increase in density supports the Comprehensive Plan is for Chapter 3.2 (Landscaping & Screening) to be updated with open-space requirements also being increased proportionately.

If this does not happen, then we are moving further away from our goals in the Comprehensive Plan. Envision Sunset Meadows with twice the units, and the same amount of open space. Families and children on the northwest side of town are underserved with parks/open spaces (athletic fields are for organized sports) and now it will be made even more so if adjustments are not made.

I propose a moratorium on all new development relating to multifamily/residential districts until, at a minimum, code 3.2 is updated to reflect our Comprehensive Plan goals.

If there is not a pause in development, we will end up with a Sisters we don’t want to live in and in a constant struggle over whether the code(s) are good for all. Bottom line is that it’s all about the codes. Citizens need to be

An open letter to Sisters City Council

outspoken, active, and heard in code updates if we want Sisters to remain Sisters.

Cathy Russell

s s s

Cascade changes

To the Editor:

As a 30-year resident of Sisters, I was dismayed to read of the potential “changes” coming to Cascade Avenue (Nugget, February 1). This seems a nail in the coffin for any feeling of small-town charm and beauty. Are the city government, the Community Development Department, the planning commission and the developer, Stephen Williams, so blinded by dollars that they don’t see how totally out of character and out of proportion an eighttower, 16-pump gas station and 3,500-squarefoot “convenience” store would be in Sisters? Do Bend or Redmond, cities many times larger than Sisters, even have stations this big? Not only would this increase congestion at an already busy spot on the highway (ingress, egress, and turns from the westbound lane), but it would create light and noise pollution for the patrons of Left Coast Lodge; increased traffic in adjacent neighborhoods, including Pine Meadow; and noise and exhaust pollution for people sitting outside at High Desert Chocolate, Spoons, and Sno Cap.

Additionally, we would lose two small businesses, C&C Nursery and Richard’s Farmstand, which we all look forward to come spring/summer. It seems unlikely they would be able to relocate in town. Would it be another step toward elimination of the wildlife we enjoy see in town periodically? Would it lead to the demise of the two gas stations already in town, creating two empty, hard-torehab sites on our main street? Sisters needs more small shops and restaurants characteristic of our desired “vibe,” not a huge gas station as the west entrance to town. Is this to be our new west portal: “Welcome to Sisters, we’re all about cars, pollution, and prepackaged

See LETTERS on page 23

Sisters Weather Forecast

The Nugget Newspaper, LLC

Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius

Production Manager: Leith Easterling

Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett

Classifieds & Circulation: Janice Hoffman Proofreader: Kit Tosello Owner: J. Louis Mullen

By Doug Wills Guest Columnist

You all need to remember that the citizens of Sisters elected you to represent those of us who live in Sisters, not big builders that hit and run, not having to live with the consequences.

The previous administration allowed Hayden and others to violate codes and agreements. Who approved Sisters Woodlands? Who approved the ugly green fence? Who allowed those monster houses to be painted black? And who approved the steel monsters on Barclay? Previous administration did. And so did you. Why did they allow something so ugly in our city? Or, did the builder promise to keep the trees and didn’t? And now they want to increase commercial building because Bend has no more room. Great idea? Let’s make Sisters the next Bend!

I am happy to see you have paid some attention to the comments of the citizens of Sisters and are doing something positive with Sunset Meadows, requiring the builder leave more trees; they did reduce the number of houses. However, they still need to hide the houses from scenic Highway 242, and they still need to make sure the homeowners in Brooks Camp are protected from the townhomes looking into their backyards and houses; they need to make sure traffic flow does not impact school traffic or other residents. It is very important that the City monitors the contractor to make sure they follow the final agreement and plans and does not receive special treatment to violate city codes for setbacks. Also, how many “affordable homes” will this create?

Next, look at the Sisters 2040 Comprehensive Plan. It was designed to protect and conserve Sisters’ natural beauty, the quality of our air and water and wildlife habitat, and we want Sisters to maintain our small-town look. I am guessing that our planners and City Council didn’t read or understand what the citizens want. So, let’s let the big builders from out of town cut down our old, big historic trees, add many more cars to our roads, and drive wildlife out of their natural habitat. So

let’s give away everything Sisters stands for and what the citizens want, just so big builders can make more money.

The previous administration gutted the Chamber of Commerce and took it over themselves. How effective will that be? Now you hire an executive director for Explore Sisters, to make us a destination. How much will that cost the Sisters taxpayers and what is the return on investment for our businesses and the taxpayers? What does it mean to insure “the right person at the time in the right place?” Sounds a little snobby to me. I think the Chamber had done a great job on this in the past, at less cost to us, the taxpayers.

Now the owner of property that the Space Age gas station sits on is going to build a truck stop. They will force C&C Nursery, our major source of plants and shrubs, to close their location and find a new location or force them out of this business. They are our local friends and have been a major part of our community for years. Richard’s Farmstand will be gone. How about the impact on our classic Sisters motel? It has been a big part of Sisters for a long time. Does Pliska Investments really care?

This decision will be made by the Community Development staff, with no input from the citizens/taxpayers of Sisters unless the Planning Commission or the City Council (the people we elected to represent us, not big business) decides to do so.

Highway 20 is a state highway. We can’t reconfigure it, so where will traffic go? Down Hood or Washington or Jefferson? What will that do to our streets? Will Pliska pay for the repairs? By the way, we currently have five gas stations. Do we need more?

Once again, big business wants to move in, impacting the citizens of Sisters. Will we have any input into this?

Again, remember we voted for you, the City Council, to represent the tax paying Sisters residents, not other folks who don’t live here and don’t pay taxes. How much more of Sisters are you going to give away? Remember, it is your responsibility to protect us!

Sisters to host ski championships

Skaters build community

By Olivia Nieto Correspondent

Finding community and friendship in work is a difficult feat, but the Sisters Skate Alliance managed to embed that outcome within the skatepark expansion project in their hometown of Sisters.

The recent construction that the local park underwent over the past year is both extensive and impressive.

The Outlaws alpine ski team is hosting the state championships this year.

By Tatum Cramer Correspondent

The Sisters alpine ski race team will host the 2023 OISRA (Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association) State Championships at Hoodoo this year. This is the first time in over two decades that Hoodoo has hosted the championship alpine ski race.

The race will be the first weekend in March. Wednesday March 1, will be a warmup/travel day. Racing will be held on March 2-3. Racers and families will be staying locally in Sisters throughout the weekend.

Many of the racers that are part of the ski team this year are very excited for the love and inclusivity that the team brings.

“Ski racing is a technical sport but we would not be able to do it without the team and the amazing support we give one another,” said Charlotte Seymour.

BOARDS, GROUPS, CLUBS

Al-Anon Mon., noon., Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

541-610-7383.

This year’s Sisters alpine race team is the largest it has ever been in Outlaws history. The team has a total of 33 racers competing.

“Even though our team is bigger than it has ever been, we have all grown so much closer. Everyone is so supportive of each other,” said Presley Adlet.

Not only do the Outlaws have a variety of capable athletes, they also have an outstanding coaching staff, including head coaches Gabe Chladek and Rima Givot, who are assisted by Natalie Grummer and Ann Brewer.

“Coach Gabe” and “Coach Rima” have been coaching the Sisters team for a total of six years.

“The team will be very competitive this year due to the fact that we have a lot of experienced racers returning,” said Chladek.

Volunteers are needed to assist with hosting the championship ski race at Hoodoo. Anyone interested

in volunteering for Hoodoo during the state ski race, or in sponsoring the race, is asked to contact Spencer Raymond at swraymond@ gmail.com.

Team Roster for 2023

The racers competing for Sisters this year include (name and grade level):

Payten Adelt, 9, Presley Adelt, 11, Emerson Backus, 10, John Berg, 10, Bela Chladek, 12, Becca Clausen, 11, Annie Cohen, 12, Tatum Cramer, 12, Joseph Derksen, 9, Brody Duey, 12, Brooke Duey, 9, Ella Eby, 10, Corbin Fredland, 12, Tallis Grummer, 10, Araiya Grummer, 11, Hudson Hayes, 9, Pidge Hendersen, 9, Kiara Martin, 10, Carrick McGee, 9, Cooper Merrill, 10, Styopa Myagkov, 10, Gus Patton, 12, Freja Pedersen, 11, Kellen Petke, 10, Ava Riehle, 10, Mae Roth, 10, Charlotte Seymour, 11, Kate Singleton, 9, Lauren Sitz, 9, Spencer Tisdel, 10.

SISTERS AREA MEETING

Go Fish Fishing Group 3rd Monday, 7 p.m. Sisters Community Church. All ages welcome. 541-771-2211.

Heartwarmers (fleece blanketmakers)

Alcoholics Anonymous Thurs., 7 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration / Sat., 8 a.m., Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration / Mon., 5 p.m., Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Big Book study, Tues., noon, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Gentlemen’s meeting, Wed., 7 a.m., Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Sober Sisters Women’s meeting, Thurs., noon, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Step & Tradition meeting, Fri., noon, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. 541-548-0440.

Central Oregon Fly Tyers Guild

For Saturday meeting dates and location, email: steelefly@msn.com.

Council on Aging of Central Oregon

Senior Lunch In-person community dining, Tues. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Grab-and-go lunch Tues., Wed., Thurs. 12:30 to 1 p.m. Sisters Community Church. 541-480-1843.

East of the Cascades Quilt Guild 4th Wednesday (September-June), Stitchin’ Post. All are welcome. 541-549-6061.

2nd Tuesday, 1 p.m., Sisters Community Church. Materials provided. 541-408-8505.

Hero Quilters of Sisters Thursday, 1 to 4 p.m. 541-668-1755.

Citizens4Community, Let’s Talk

3rd Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m. RSVP at citizens4community.com

Military Parents of Sisters Meetings are held quarterly; please call for details. 541-388-9013.

Oregon Band of Brothers – Sisters Chapter Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m., Takoda’s Restaurant. 541-549-6469.

SAGE (Senior Activities, Gatherings & Enrichment) Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sisters Park & Recreation District. 541-549-2091.

Sisters Aglow Lighthouse 4th Saturday, 10 a.m., meeting by Zoom. 503-930-6158.

Sisters Area Photography Club

2nd Wednesday, 3:30 p.m., at Sisters Community Church. 541-549-6157.

Sisters Area Woodworkers

1st Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m. 541-231-1897.

Sisters Astronomy Club 3rd Tuesday, 7 p.m., SPRD. 541-549-8846.

Sisters Bridge Club Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. at Sisters Community Church. Email sistersbridge2021@gmail.com.

Sisters Caregiver Support Group 3rd Tues., 10:30 a.m., Sisters Episcopal Church. 541-771-3258.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors 4th Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Location information: 541-549-1193.

Sisters Kiwanis Thursdays,

7 to 8:30 a.m., Brand 33 Restaurant at Aspen Lakes. 541-410-2870.

Sisters Parent Teacher Community

2nd Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. at Sisters Saloon. 541-480-5994.

Sisters Parkinson’s Support Group

2nd Thurs.,1 p.m. Sisters Library 541-668-6599

Sisters Red Hats 1st Friday.

Location information: 541-848-1970.

Sisters Rotary 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, Noon, Aspen Lakes. 541-760-5645.

Sisters Trails Alliance Board every other month, 5 p.m. varies from in-person to zoom. Info: info@sisterstrails.org

Sisters Veterans Thursdays, noon, Takoda’s Restaurant. 541-903-1123.

The skatepark itself has been a part of the Sisters community for over a decade. It is a place for excitement, growth, and support. Over the past 13 years, many changes have been made, the most recent

of which began in the spring of 2022 and were completed in fall of 2023. The additions include a new entrance, halfpipe, and many other small features.

Daniel O’Neill, a math teacher of 17 years and lifelong skateboarder, describes the project as “a way of allowing kids to realize that they can be powerful contributors to their community.”

The development started with a decision to improve the skating culture in and around the Sisters skatepark.

“After 5 or 6 years (of its initial construction) the culture started to change,” said O’Neill. “People didn’t

SKATERS on page 8

City looks to hire manager in March

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

If all goes well, Sisters could have a new city manager chosen by the end of March.

The position was posted by Jensen Strategies, the consultants running the recruitment process, as of January 30, 2023, and will remain open for applications through February 26.

Applications will be screened and semifinalist online video interviewing by Jensen will be conducted the

CALENDAR

Three Sisters Irrigation District Board of Directors 1st Tuesday, 4 p.m., TSID Office. 541-549-8815.

Three Sisters Lions Club 2nd Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Spoons Restaurant. 541-419-1279.

VFW Post 8138 and American Legion Post 86 1st Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., The Hanger, Sisters Community Church. 847-344-0498.

Weight Watchers Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. weigh-in, Sisters Community Church. 541-602-2654.

SCHOOLS

Black Butte School Board of Directors 2nd Tuesday, 3:45 p.m., Black Butte School. 541-595-6203

Sisters School District Board of Directors One Wednesday monthly, Sisters School District Administration Building. See schedule online at www.ssd6.org. 541-549-8521 x5002.

week of March 6. On March 14, City Council will hold an executive session to review the semifinalists and pick the finalists to interview.

The finalist interviews and selection in Sisters will occur the week of March 27. The schedule for the week is:

• Monday, March 27 –staff reception to meet finalists during the day; community reception in evening.

• Tuesday, March 28 –interviews of finalists with three panels – community,

See MANAGER on page 13

CITY & PARKS

Sisters City Council 2nd & 4th Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Sisters City Hall. 541-549-6022.

Sisters Park & Recreation District Board of Directors 2nd & 4th Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m., SPRD bldg. 541-549-2091. Sisters Planning Commission 3rd Thursday, 5:30 p.m., Sisters City Hall. 541-549-6022.

FIRE & POLICE

Black Butte Ranch Police Dept. Board of Directors Meets monthly. 541-595-2191 for time & date.

Black Butte Ranch RFPD Board of Directors 4th Thurs., 9 a.m., BBR Fire Station. 541-595-2288. Cloverdale RFPD Board of Directors 3rd Wed., 5:30 p.m., 67433 Cloverdale Rd. 541-548-4815. cloverdalefire.com.

Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD Board of Directors 3rd Tuesday, 5 p.m., Sisters Fire Hall, 541-549-0771.

Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD Drills Tuesdays, 7 p.m., Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St. 541-549-0771.

This listing is for regular Sisters Country meetings; email information to nugget@nuggetnews.com

PHOTO BY JACK TURPEN

See

Continued from page 1

cord, and he spent weeks in rehab at St. Charles Hospital.

“Dad’s very lucky to be alive, is what it comes down to” Jeremy said. “If he wasn’t the tough, stubborn ol’ boy that he is, I don’t know if he’d have lived through it.”

Now he’s home, working hard on his recovery, and eager to thank the Sisters community for the outpouring of support he’s received.

“If you know Dad at all, you know he’s trying to figure out how to thank everybody,” Jeremy said.

A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $10,000 to help with Rollins’ care. And friends and community members have visited and sent cards and offered up their prayers. It means the world to Rollins.

“It brought me to tears,” he told The Nugget in an interview at his home last Sunday. “Mostly I want the community to know how grateful and appreciative I am of everybody praying for me. I thank them as much for the prayers as the money. I think that’s why I’m doing so good — the prayers and things.”

Rollins is, in fact, doing well, though he has his ups and downs. His left arm functions well enough for him to feed himself or drink from a cup with a straw, or operate a motor wheelchair. And he’s gained more motion with his right arm in recent days. A home health team visits every day and he works on rehabbing his injuries — which is complicated by a raft of previous injuries and arthritis that had him pretty banged up even before his catastrophic fall.

While he was pleased with where he was last Sunday, Rollins and his family know there is a long haul in front of him. His son Jeremy and daughter-in-law Tonya told The Nugget that his surgeon said that a prognosis is difficult to nail down with this type of spinal injury: Some bounce back amazingly quickly; some never regain function; some take a year or two to regain some or most of their function.

Rollins can’t leave the house without medical transport, and he has to be hoisted from bed to chair and turned over in bed at night. He requires 24/7 care, and the family is actively seeking a full-time caregiver. Those interested or who might know someone are asked to contact Tonya at Rollins & Sons Automotive, 541-549-1241.

Steve’s sisters and a niece have been handling a lot of his care, as have Jeremy and Tonya. They are also working to navigate a tangle of healthcare bureaucracies — all

while continuing to operate their family automotive repair business, which Steve started more than four decades ago.

“Our day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m.,” Jeremy acknowledged.

It’s a grind, but the Rollinses just buckle down and do it.

“Dad raised me to work,” Jeremy said. “So I know how to do it. We don’t want the community to worry about us at all. We mainly want to thank people for what they have given.”

That ethic of hard work and gratitude is ingrained.

Steve Rollins grew up in Sisters after his family moved here from Arizona in 1961, when Steve was nine years old. His dad was a logger and worked in the woods around Sisters.

“Sisters has always been my hometown,” he said.

He spent a free-range childhood pedaling his bike all over town, riding horses in the woods, hunting, and fishing, which is still a passion.

“Adams Street, some of them, were still dirt, gravel,”

he recalled. “It was a neat place to grow up as a kid.”

He tries to give his grandchildren a taste of that life, taking them out fishing.

Rollins got his start in what would become his career as a teenager — working on a 1938 Ford Coupe.

“At 14, I rebuilt my first engine,” he said. “Of course, my dad helped me.”

He opened what is now Rollins & Sons Automotive in 1975, after a stint in the U.S. Army, where he did a lot of work maintaining trucks. He had thought that he would become a carpenter, but a course in auto tech at Central Oregon Community College steered him back toward working under a car hood.

“When I graduated, I hung out a little sign — Rollins Automotive,” he said.

There are a lot of stories in Sisters about Steve Rollins going the extra mile to help a customer in need — from getting tourists back on the road when they got stranded in town on a Sunday, to making sure that seniors in town could keep their car running

without breaking the bank. Doing good work at a fair price was the way Rollins always conducted business — and he worked many a 12-hour day when he was the only pro mechanic in town.

Rollins told The Nugget that he’s had a lot of time to think since his injury, and he’s reflected a lot on his life and work.

He asked himself, “Did I do it just for money, just to

pay the bills — which you’ve got to do, of course?”

He concluded that it was never about the money, past making a decent living for his family. He really enjoyed helping people, and “I really liked working on those old cars... I got to thinking,” he said. “I’ve had a good life.” Contribute to the GoFund Me page for Steve Rollins at https://www.gofundme. com/f/sisters-resident-of60-years-needs-your-help.

Steve Rollins visited with Doug Williams last weekend. The two have been friends since they were kids growing up in Sisters.

PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS

Outlaws edge out Harrisburg

By Rongi Yost Correspondent

The Lady Outlaws edged out Harrisburg 34-33 at home on Thursday, February 2, which gave them back-toback wins for the first time this year.

Sisters felt that the Eagles were a team they could compete with, but they were again short Josie Patton (concussion) and Ellie Mayes (sprained ankle), who were still unable to play, and they knew the game would be a challenge. The team was also playing with three or four girls who had missed practice due to illness days before the game.

The first quarter got underway, and the Outlaws got baskets from three different players. If they could have done a bit better from the charity stripe (one for six), they would have had the lead. Sisters played solid defense and focused on a couple of the Eagles’ players who they knew to be good shooters, and at the end of the first period it was knotted up 7-7.

Sisters’ tough defense continued in the second quarter and they held the Eagles to just five points. The Outlaws’ offense picked up, led by Jenna Lake’s five points, and they entered the half with a 17-12 advantage.

The Outlaws’ offense stalled a bit in the third period, and they were only able to score once, a threepointer from Lake. On the flip side, the Eagles’ offense heated up with one of their

key shooters, Ali Holland, making three shots from behind the arc. Harrisburg closed out the quarter up by six.

Holland hit another three at the start of the fourth to extend the Eagles’ lead to nine, and things looked bleak for the Outlaws. The tide started to turn back in the Outlaws’ direction when Ashlynn Moffat hit a three, and Lake and Haleigh Froehlich got buckets in the paint to pull the Outlaws to within striking distance.

The Eagles hit another shot to go up 31-27, but then Hadley Schar banked in a shot from just inside the top of the key and pulled Sisters to within two points. Schar then stole the ball and converted that into a breakaway lay-in to tie the game at 31.

Sisters’ defense continued make things difficult for the Eagles, particularly in taking away their pick-and-roll game. With approximately a minute and a half left on the clock, Delaney McAfee hit a huge three-pointer to put the Outlaws on top 34-31.

Teams traded possessions with no baskets scored before the Outlaws took the ball on the side on an outof-bounds play after a timeout. Strangely enough, Lake suffered a calf cramp upon receiving the inbounds pass that caused her to fall to the floor and lose possession of the ball.

A Harrisburg player scooped it and dribbled toward their basket, where she was chased down by Shae Wyland, who deflected

her shot. Unfortunately, one of the Eagles’ teammates was close behind her and was able to corral the rebound and put it back to pull Harrisburg to within one.

Sisters was able to get the ball over the top of their full-court press a couple of times in the closing seconds, but couldn’t get their shots to drop. The Outlaws’ defense held strong, with a key shot-block by Froehlich, and a forced errant pass that allowed them to hang on and record the narrow victory.

Lake led the Outlaws with 12 points on the night. Schar contributed eight points, and Shae Wyland added five. Moffat, Froehlich, and McAfee all pitched in with three points each.

Coach Paul Patton said, “It was a joy to see the team celebrating a victory after all the setbacks we’ve faced this season due to injuries and illness.”

Sisters was to play at Pleasant Hill on Tuesday,

February 7. They will also be on the road at Creswell on Thursday, February 10,

and then wrap up league at home on Monday, February 13, against La Pine.

Haleigh Froehlich lines up a shot in an Outlaws’ win.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA KENNEDY

St. Charles’ health is mixed

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

At the same time that the bond ratings house Moody’s Investors Service changed its outlook for St. Charles Health System from “stable” to “negative,” the four-hospital system has announced plans for a $90 million Cancer Care Center in Redmond at the corner of Canal Boulevard and Kingwood Avenue. The goal is to break ground in 2023 and to open the facility in 2025.

The expansion is being funded with bonds secured in 2020.

Who will staff it?

Patient care staff expressed uncertainty about the decision with the Oregon Nurses Association, who represent 1,200 professionals at St. Charles, asking where the health system was going to get enough staff to care for the patients.

“St. Charles is so understaffed that nurses are forced to work 12-hour shifts without meals and breaks to care for patients and cover up St. Charles’ chronic staffing shortages,” said Kevin Mealy, Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) spokesman. “When there aren’t enough nurses, patients have longer wait times and hospital stays, get more infections and injuries, are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital, and are more likely to die.

“St. Charles can afford to buy a new $90 million building but patients and caregivers are already paying the price for St. Charles’ unsafe staffing,” Mealy told media outlets.

The ONA and St. Charles

have been bargaining for months, with the latest rounds taking place January 18-19.

Mari Chay, Chief nursing officer for ambulatory care at St. Charles, said there would probably be 12-13 medical oncology professionals working in the Redmond center, though some could work both in Redmond and in Bend, so it’s uncertain how many new jobs would be created. Presently there are 14 chemo infusion chairs at the existing Redmond site that will grow to 26 in the new center.

Constructing such a facility is quite complicated and precise. According to Chay, physicists are essential to study design plans and there are stringent demands for the amount of concrete and lead needed to surround the linear accelerator and the two vaults.

State of the art

In prepared statements, St. Charles said that the new Cancer facility will include a linear accelerator to provide radiation oncology treatments, along with space for chemotherapy treatments, nutrition, massage, acupuncture, and other support services. It will also include space for additional outpatient services and medical office building needs.

More than 40% of patients treated at the St. Charles Cancer Center in Bend travel from Redmond, Madras, Prineville, and other rural communities for their care. If they need radiation as part of their treatment, this can mean traveling more than 50 miles for services multiple days in a row for weeks at a time.

“We know that many of our patients travel farther

than patients at other cancer centers in the country for their care,” said Dr. Linyee Chang, medical director of the St. Charles Cancer Center. “Some patients opt out of treatment because of the travel and that’s not OK.”

Money woes

Financial reports for the third quarter ending December 31 are under preparation but the health system posted a $30.3 million operating loss for its first two fiscal quarters ending September 30. A loss of $123 million in investment income created a total deficit at the end of September of $152.7 million. With revenues nearly $1 billion and close to 4,500 employees, combined with 19,500 admissions, the financial health of the system is vital to the region. St. Charles had $397 million in long-term debt at the end of 2021.

Moody’s unchanged A2 grade reflects the expectation that St. Charles Health System will continue to benefit from a number of underlying strengths while at the same time it works to shore up challenging operations and weakening liquidity. Following a very weak first six months of fiscal 2022, management expects the second half of the year to show

significant improvement, Moody’s reports.

St. Charles’ balance sheet was the key driver in Moody’s retention of the A2 rating despite large operational losses.

“Full-year results are likely to be modest, providing at best thin headroom to the system’s debt service coverage covenant. Operating challenges include: chronic understaffing; the heightened use of travelers and increased rates; pronounced COVID surges in this part of the country; increased length of stay due to the shortage of post-acute beds; and high inflation. At the same time, liquidity has been weakening, with days’ cash on hand dropping to its lowest point in six years (excluding

Medicare Advance Payments and deferred payroll tax),” Moody’s explains in its ratings rationale.

The negative outlook reflects ongoing operating challenges which may result in St. Charles failing to satisfy its 1.1 times debt service coverage requirement at the end of the fiscal year, which under its direct placement agreement with J.P. Morgan would result in an event of default.

Management is said to be in active discussion with counterparties to explore all available options. The negative outlook also reflects the ongoing decline of balance sheet measures, which if further weakened could additionally erode St. Charles’ credit quality.

A new cancer center is slated for Redmond.

Affordable housing site requires zone change

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

At their February 2 workshop, planning commissioners learned more about the proposed Heavenly Acres rezone and several Sisters Development Code amendments in preparation for the public hearing scheduled for February 16 at 5:30 p.m.

At the hearing, the Commission will be asked to render a decision on the proposal’s merits after a staff report and public testimony where citizens will be able to voice their support or opposition for the proposal.

Matters of growth and development have become a focus of considerable concern among citizens.

During the visitor communication, Sisters resident Cathy Russell made a statement:

“Unless the Comprehensive Plan was just an exercise to fulfill state requirements, something needs to be done to align the (Development) Codes with the Comprehensive Plan. I am suggesting hitting the pause button on all development and zoning concerning residential development. This is not about anti-growth. It’s about growth in a thoughtful manner. It’s about not just providing a roof over people’s heads, but about providing a community that promotes physical and mental well-being.

“People might have learned to ‘get over it and

move on’ with new projects in the past. But this isn’t about a project. The density increase, without addressing open space, parking, and traffic, will impact our entire community. Without some type of provision for open space, the increased need for parking, and traffic impacts, you are changing not only the physical appearance of Sisters but the community environment.”

The Sisters City Council will review the proposal at the February 22 workshop at 5:30 p.m. A public hearing on the proposal will be held at the City Council meeting on March 8 at 6:30 p.m. During that hearing the public will be able to testify regarding the proposal.

The Heavenly Acres subdivision was created in the early 1980s in Deschutes County and includes seven parcels. It was annexed into the City of Sisters in the early 2000s. At the time of the annexation, Urban Area Reserve (UAR) zoning was applied to the property.

According to the Sisters Development Code, the UAR zoning was meant “to serve as a holding zone for lands that are within the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary and within City jurisdiction and to retain parcels in larger sizes until public facilities (including water, sewer, and transportation) are available and the land is rezoned for urban uses and densities.” Public facilities are all now available to the parcels.

For many years, the City has discussed the need to rezone the properties, as the UAR zoning was recognized as no longer being relevant or reflective of its urban status; however, it was never initiated by the property owners, likely due to the coordination and cost involved. Also, the zone district was allowing them to continue their operations unabated, so there was not a pressing need to change the zoning. Similarly, the City never initiated it either, as it was one of many projects annually competing for priority. The outdated zoning was not causing any issues with the landowners and any building or expansion plans.

The impetus to finally push forward with the rezone relates to the City Council’s goals of achieving more affordable housing in the community. With the availability of funds to help leverage affordable and workforce housing through the City’s Affordable Housing Grant Fund (funded by a percentage of the transient lodging tax levied), Urban Renewal District funds devoted to housing, and

from a one-time, $500,000 contribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds passed through from Deschutes County for affordable housing.

To move forward with those funds, it was necessary to find an affordable housing developer and a suitable site to build it on (one which was vacant, about two acres or less, zoned properly for housing, and a willing seller). The City conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for use of the funds and received one proposal, from Northwest Housing Alternatives.

Concurrently, the City inquired with property owners in the city who might be interested and who met the above criteria. Only one property owner expressed interest, one within the Heavenly Acres subdivision. However, the UAR zoning does not currently support multifamily housing. To make the affordable housing project happen, a rezoning of the property to MultiFamily Residential (MFR) is necessary. Because of this opportunity, and due to the existing need to “clean up”

the UAR zoning, the City is spearheading this effort as the applicant.

On behalf of the property owners, the City proposes a city-initiated legislative rezone of these parcels from UAR to another zone – either Public Facility (PF) or MultiFamily Residential (MFR). A Comprehensive Plan Amendment is required in these cases. According to the Sisters Development Code (SDC), a rezone may be initiated by the City Council or the Community Development Director.

A separate but concurrent application for SDC Text Amendments is proposed to accommodate the existing church and other uses in the Heavenly Acres subdivision in their new zones.

For additional information, a project website has been created on the City’s website at www.ci.sisters. or.us/community-devel opment/page/urban-areareserve-zone-change-project.

Commissioner Scot Davidson has notified staff he was stepping down from his position on the Planning Commission after serving for three years.

TREES: Cut junipers will be used for habitat

Continued from page 1

funds to cover the expenses of tree removal and hauling them 7.3 miles to Rimrock Ranch, where over 2,000 trees are needed for stream and valley-wide habitat restoration.

Junipers are particularly useful for this type of project because, even as they dry out, the branches remain more pliable and don’t break as they are placed in the water. Trees with root balls are favored because the extra weight keeps the trees from moving in the water.

SKATERS: Project got The Roundhouse Foundation support

Continued from page 3

even know it was a volunteer skatepark, and people started treating it like any other skatepark that you would find in any other town that wasn’t built with passion and love.”

The Sisters Skatepark Alliance, which is comprised of a few senior skateboarders and O’Neill, from Sisters High School, acknowledged this shift, and decided that there was only one way to fix it.

“We had to get the kids involved… a bunch of 30-, 40-, and 50-year-olds weren’t going to fix this problem,” he said. “So we held a meeting and The Roundhouse Foundation provided us with our first $10,000 grant.”

O’Neill noted that the money was only one of the impacts that The Roundhouse Foundation had on the production.

important than any other financial contribution,” he said.

The ambitious group of young skateboarders raised $50,000. These funds were used for the materials and equipment needed for the project. Most of the labor was completed by volunteers, many of whom were skateboarders themselves, who willingly contributed a great deal of time and energy into the strenuous endeavor.

“Most of the work happened after school, on weekends, and eventually all throughout the summer,” said O’Neill. “And it is hard work; it is hard work for grown men, so it is just brutal on the kids.”

Despite this obstacle, every skateboarder who volunteered did end up helping to contribute toward the finished product, and many took away important life skills.

According to Perle, “Work is being conducted collaboratively with the DLT and Bureau of Land Management as landowners and other state and federal agencies, including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Portland General Electric.”

Perle explained that trees are coming from a combination of private and public sources. Trees that are being thinned to provide fire resilience and overall stand health at the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) at Pole Creek Ranch are being hauled up to Rimrock Ranch, where they will have a “second life” as habitat trees instream and in the surrounding floodplain.

Trees are also coming from WUI public land managed by the USFS. In one instance, trees are coming from USFS land in collaboration with Central Electric Cooperative, who is clearing hazard ttrees around existing power lines between Black Butte and Sisters. Primary funder for this work at the WUI is The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Other funders include the Pelton Fund and Oregon Water Enhancement Board (OWEB).

The ODF has provided a grant of over $6 million for the Central Oregon Shared Stewardship Landscape Resiliency Project. This large grant is being shared basin-wide via individual smaller grants to entities like the UDWC to improve landscape-wide fire resiliency and overall forest health in collaboration with state, county, and private landowners throughout Central Oregon.

“They paved the way, making connections… the guidance, support, and enthusiasm that Executive Director Erin Borla and The Roundhouse Foundation program gave was more

“Building your own skatepark is a really cool experience,” said Sisters High School junior Miles O’Neill. “It taught me hard work, discipline, and how to think creatively to solve problems.”

“All over the skateboard world, people have heard about what we’re doing… people came from all over to skate and see what it is

like. Not only from Oregon, but from Southern California too. And they know it is different because it is built by kids,” said Daniel O’Neill.

The project took a year and a half to complete, with many helping hands. It will never be completely “done.”

O’Neill is hoping to develop a class this year at Sisters High School dedicated to skateboarding, with an aspiration of gaining volunteers for an after-school

program.

“I think when all the kids who want to be part of skateboarding again get to skate every day, it will help some of the kids who didn’t end up committing to the construction part get out there on the weekends and after school to help out again,” said O’Neill.

“I like skateboarding because everyone can enjoy it,” says Miles. “It brings people together in a way nothing else does.”

Skaters took on a lot of the hands-on work to enhance their park.

PHOTO BY MILES O’NEILL

Work is being conducted collaboratively...

— Mathias Perle —

Outlaws continue to dominate on the slopes

By Rongi Yost Correspondent

The Sisters Outlaws

Alpine Ski Team raced in a slalom race on Wednesday, February 1, at Hoodoo Ski Area, and once again both the boys and girls teams came off the slopes with a first-place finish.

On the boys side, Sisters skier Bela Chladek set the bar high and took first place overall by 4.5 seconds with a combined time of 1:23.85.

Corbin Fredland posted a strong second-place finish with a combined time of 1:28.35. Styopa Myagkov took third (1:32.97), Brody Duey finished sixth (1:44.63), and Gus Patton seventh (1:44.89). Emerson Backus finished out the boys varsity score with a 12thplace finish with a combined time of 1:52.99.

The following is the order of finish for the JV boys: John Berg, Spencer Tisdale, Cooper Merrill, Joseph Derksen, Kellen Petke, and Jack Turpen.

Coach Gabe Chladek gave a big shout-out and thanks to Jack Turpen for his work with the photography at the Emerald League races this season.

On the girls side, Morgan Shaw from Ridgeview again took first place, with a combined time of 1:35.11. Leading the Outlaws’ varsity squad was Presley Adelt, who took second place with a combined time of 1:40.54.

Tallis Grummer took third (1:40.94), Ella Eby sixth (1:47.72), Charlotte Seymour eighth (1:52.26), Rebecca Clausen ninth (1:55.11), and Mae Roth finished 14th (2:01.90).

The following is the order of finish for the JV girls:

Brooke Duey, Teagen Welsh, Lauren Sitz, Kate Singleton, Ava Riehle, and Pidge Henderson.

Three days later the Outlaw skied in a giant slalom race at Willamette Pass, where again both the boys and girls teams logged firstplace finishes.

Bela Chladek led the Outlaws with the first-place finish with a combined time of 1:26.70. Fredland finished fourth (1:29.47), Styopa Myagkov fifth (1:32.23), Duey eighth (1:37.06), Cooper Merrill ninth (1:38.30), and Spencer Tisdel rounded out the Outlaws’ scoring with a 12th-place finish, with a combined time of 1:40.44.

Of Bela’s performance

Coach Chladek said, “Bela continues to push himself and overcome his own previous limits. This is inspiring to the rest of the team to push themselves, and everyone is having amazing breakthroughs this season.”

JV boys finish order was: Berg, Emerson Backus, Patton, Turpen, Hudson Hayes, Derksen, and Petke.

On the girls side, Shaw from Ridgeview placed first

(1:29.53). Tallis Grummer tried her hardest to chase down Shaw and led the Lady Outlaws with a combined time of 1:32.85 for second place. Clausen took fourth (1:35.54), Eby fifth (1:36.27), Seymour seventh (1:37.21), Riehle eighth (1:37.54), and Presley Adelt 11th (1:40.17). Chladek made special note of Tallis Grummer, “Tallis is really motivated to get a first-place win this

season. This motivation is pushing her right to the edge and her technique is advancing with every race.”

Chladek added, “There is a lot of competition within the team to move up in the finish order and it’s superexciting to see some of our former JV racers consistently filling varsity spots.”

JV girls finish order was: Duey, Kiara Martin, Tatum Cramer, Welsh, and

Henderson. The Alpine skiers have one more league race, which will be held at Willamette Pass on Saturday, February 11. After that final slalom league race, the team will attend an invitational race at Mt. Ashland and then head to the state championships, which will be hosted locally at the Hoodoo Ski Area Wednesday through Friday, March 1-3.

Tallis Grummer is pushing herself on the slopes in a quest for a first-place finish.

PHOTO BY JACK TURPEN

A NNOUNCEMENT S

Fireside Story Evening on Februar y 21

ree Sisters Historical Societ y will host an exciting evening with Aurolyn Stw yer of Warm Springs who will share her Celilo cultural heritage, including bead work , textiles , jewelry, and dance. FivePine Conference Center. Doors open 6 p.m., presentation at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Call 541610- 6323 for reser vations.

Weekly Food Pantry

e Wellhouse Church has a weekly food pantr y on ursdays , now beginning at 3 p.m. Both drive-through pick-up and shopping-st yle distribution available. Call 541-549-4184

Parkinson’s Support Group

Are you experiencing Parkinson’s disease or a care partner wishing to support for your loved one with PD?

Join us the second ursday of the month, 1 to 2:30 p.m . at Sisters Library, 110 N . Cedar St. Contact Carol Pfeil, program coordinator for Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, 541-6 68-6599.

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group

elma’s Place Adult Day Respite Program in Redmond hosts a f ree monthly support group for those caring for someone with Alzheimer ’s or another dementia-related disease. Meetings are every third Wednesday 4:30-5:30 p.m . Call 541-548-3049.

Free Weekly Meal Service

Family Kitchen is hosting a weekly to-go hot meal ser vice on Tuesdays , 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Sisters Communit y Church Visit www.FamilyKitchen .org

Sisters Careg iver Support Group

A f acilitated support group for caregivers of those with chronic or life-shor tening diseases meets the third Tuesday of ever y month at Sisters Episcopal Church , 10 to 11:30 a .m. For information, call 541-719-0 031, ask for Kay Sisters Garden Club

Monthly Meeting is Februar y 11

Our Garden Club would like to invite the public to come & hear their guest speaker, Er yn Elbers with Roots and Rails Farm. Eryn will talk about the farm, organic practices , and what flowers & vegetables grow well in our climate. Doors open at 9 a .m. and the meeting will start at 9:30 a .m. It will be held at Sisters Community Church, 130 0 W. Mckenzie

Hw y. Contact Ruth Palmer

971-24 6-0404

Free Lunches for Seniors

For those 60+, the Council on Aging of Central Oregon o ers a fun, no-cost social lunch ever y Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sisters Communit y Church . No reservations needed . No-cost Grab-N-Go lunches take place weekly Wednesdays and ursdays at Sisters Communit y Church 12:30 to 1 p.m. For information, please call 541-797-9367.

Volunteers Needed

Furr y Friends is seeking volunteers to help 2 to 4 times a month at their weekly pet food distribution. Individuals must be able to lif t up to 50-pound bags of pet food. Distribution is every ursday f rom 10:30 a .m. to 12:30 p.m. Call 541-797-4023.

Sisters Habitat Board

Openings

Sisters Habitat seeks diver se communit y members with a variet y of talents . Board members ser ve for three-year terms . If you are interested, email info@sistershabit at.org or call the Habit at o ce at 541-549-1193

PET OF THE WEEK

Humane Societ y of Central Oregon 541-382-3537

Pickle

Pickle is a sweet t womonth-old shepherd/ cattle dog mix . She has been in a wonderf ul foster home, where she was exposed to new people and experiences . She is an adventurous and loving girl. Participating in training classes will keep this pup’s mind busy and create a lifelong bond with her new family. Come in & meet Pickle.

— SPONSORED BY — 541-549-2275 • 541-549-8836

SISTER S- ARE A C HURCH ES

Baha’i Faith

Currently Zoom meetings: devotions , course trainings , informational firesides. Local contac t Shauna Rocha

541- 647-9826 • www.bahai.org or www.bahai.us

Wellhouse Churc h

442 Trinit y Way • 541-549-4184 ht tps://wellhousechurch.churchcenter.com

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

e Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration

68825 Bro ok s Camp Rd.

• 541-549-7087

8:30 a .m. Ecumenical Sunday Worship

10 :15 a .m. Episcopal Sunday Worship

www.transfiguration-sister s.org

Sisters Church of the N az arene

Chapel in the Pines Camp Sherman • 541-549-9971

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (ELCA)

386 N . Fir Street • 5 41-549-5831

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

www.shepherdof thehillslutheranchurch.com

St . Edward the Mar tyr Roman Catholic Churc h

123 Trinit y Way • 541-549-9391

5:3 0 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass

9 a .m. Sunday Mass • 8 a .m. Monday-Friday Mass

e Church of Jesus Christ of L at ter-Day Saint s 452 Trinit y Way • Branch President, 541-420 -5670;

10 a .m. Sunday Sac rament Meeting

• 541-389-8960 www.sistersnaz .org • info@sistersnaz .org

67130 Har ring ton Loop Rd .

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

Sisters Communit y Church (Nondenominational)

130 0 W. McKenzie Hwy. • 541-549-1201

9:30 a .m. Sunday Worship www.sisterschurch.com • info@sisterschurch.com

Calvar y Church

484 W. Washing ton St , Ste. C & D • 541-588-6288

10 a .m. Sunday Worship • www.ccsisters.org

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

386 N . Fir St. • 541-595-6770, 541-306 -8303

11 a .m. S aturday Worship

POLICY: Nonprofits, schools , churches , birth, engagement, wedding , and anniversar y notices may run at no charge. Business items do not run on this page. All submissions are subject to editing and run only as space allows . Email nug get@nuggetnews .com or drop o at 4 42 E . Main Ave

The Bunkhouse Chronicle

Craig Rullman Columnist

The Steampunk Party Balloon

Here’s hoping you enjoyed the sudden appearance of the Steampunk Party Balloon over the United States as much as I did. There’s something delightfully throwback, something Jules Verney, or perhaps League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, about this mysterious apparatus that has so beguiled and bewitched the public imagination. Nothing triggers a Sean Hannity meltdown, or constricts the reptilian pupils of foreign policy experts in Arlington think-tanks, faster than a Chinese wedding lanterndrifting over Malmstrom Air Force Base.

To be certain, somebody should have shot it down somewhere over Havre, Montana, but they didn’t, naturally, what with so much fear floating around the Situation Room that it’s peeling off the walnut

veneer. But the truth is, and we should know this without being reminded, that the Chinese don’t need a spy balloon to suck up your data because they already have TikTok. This is how our world works.

Domestically, the BezosZuckerberg cabal already know more about your embarrassing little habits and secret preferences than your diary. A lot of what you think is private has long ago been vacuumed up and preserved in a data warehouse, maybe even as close to home as Prineville, because like it or not, your data is a commodity. Which means you are a commodity. This is surveillance capitalism, and surveillance capitalism is the operating force behind your computer screen—and the ghost in your iPhone. You may not like it, but as the saying goes: If you run, you’ll only die tired.

Which is one reason the desperate appeals to sovereignty, and international law, and so much official pearlclutching over this thing seems a little disingenuous, particularly after neverending revelations about the inappropriate handling of classified documents by American presidents. Which is to say nothing of the recent arrest of Charles McGonigal, a former FBI counterterrorism chief, on his way home from party drinks and dead drops in Sri Lanka. Charles got popped

because he was lobbying for a Russian oligarch, collaborating with Russian spies, and so on and so forth. It is possible to hyperventilate over such things, and many do, but that kind of reaction would require belief in important facts not in evidence: that the FBI is still a credible agency, that anyone in American government ever gets held accountable for anything, and finally, that the people exposed to such information deserve your trust in the first place.

They aren’t, they almost never do, and they don’t. Still, if you must worry, it seems unlikely the big party balloon can scan hard documents from sixty-thousand feet, which might have been troubling given the volumes—we now know— of classified material left on kitchen tables or stuffed between sofa cushions from Delaware to Denver. That’s where the Fang Fangs of the world have real value, though it’s notable that Representative Eric Swalwell’s former paramour has gone back to turnip farming, or maybe just torturing Uighurs in Xinjiang. We may learn more about that epic courtship in Swalwell’s forthcoming autobiography: “Hopscotching the Honey Traps; My Life in Congress.”

But if you really need to get worked up about the big balloon, I recommend

journaling. No one left a written account of the last great Ice Age, which is disappointing because it would be interesting to have something a little less vague than ocher handprints on a cave-wall, or the tusks of a mammuthus columbi dug up in the Nevada desert. We all had relatives who were there and not one of them bothered to forward us a postcard.

Jerks.

I only mention this because an EMP attack has been proposed as one function of our balloon visitation, or at least a trial run for one, and an EMP event over the eastern seaboard would be, both literally and figuratively, a lights-out event. It would make survival in the Ice Age look positively appealing, given the subsequent proliferation of the world’s most successful predator — though it would probably put a damper on Senator Corey Booker’s presidential aspirations.

The point is, if you started, today, pouring all of your accumulated fears into a daily journal your

great, great, great grandchildren would get some sense of what life was like in the waning years of the United States and, more importantly, they would inherit a day-to-day account of survival under the mystery balloon.

No one is suggesting you run out and build a Faraday Cage in your backyard, unless you really want to, but if “The Iliad” taught us anything, it’s that letting huge wooden horses, or in our contemporary illustration, steampunk balloons, through the city gates without a thorough vetting is probably a bad idea.

History is full of such pithy reminders, like Kerouac’s more recent admonition to never get drunk outside of your own house, or Loren Eiseley’s reminder that homo duplex must eventually learn that greatness of spirit isn’t enough. We should remember that stupid games win stupid prizes, that if we insist on playing them, someday all that may remain of us will be rubbled cities and charcoaled bones.

Sisters-Area Events & Enter tainment

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY

9

Suttle Lodge Fireside Music by Kar yn Ann 6-8 p.m. Reservations required; tickets at bendticket.com. For more information: info@thesuttlelodge.com.

Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Drew Kaza presents “High Contrast: A Story of Basketball, Race and Politics in Oregon 1972.” 6:30 p.m. Info: PaulinaSpringsBooks.com.

FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 10

The Belfr y Live Music by Reb and the Good News

Doors open at 7, music at 7:30 Funk, world, and soul music bring a cathartic release to the dance floor Soulful songwriting with trumpet and sax. Tickets: belfryevents.com/events/.

Hardtails Karaoke with KJ Mindy

8 p.m. to 12 a.m. For more information call 541-549-6114.

SATURDAY • FEBRARY 11

Chops Bistro Live Music: Mark Barringer & Bob Baker Playing 6 to 8 p.m. in the lounge at 370 E. Cascade Ave. Information: 541-549-6015

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16

Suttle Lodge Fireside Music by Jenner Fox 6-8 p.m. Reservations required; tickets at bendticket.com. For more information: info@thesuttlelodge.com.

FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 17

The Belfr y Live Music by Jenner Fox Band with special guest Skybound Blue opening Doors open at 7, music at 7:30. A recent favorite at Sisters Folk Festival, Jenner Fox evokes tears and laughter with his thoughtful and poignant songwriting Seated show with full band. Tickets: belfryevents.com/events/.

Hardtails Karaoke with KJ Mindy 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. For more information call 541-549-6114.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Suttle Lodge Fireside Music by Dave and Melody Hill 6-8 p.m. Reservations required; tickets at bendticket.com. For more information: info@thesuttlelodge.com.

Paulina Springs Books Community Poetr y Open Mic Night & Book Talk Share a poem you have written, or one you love then listen to featured poet Donna Henderson present “Send Word,” 6:30 p.m. Info: PaulinaSpringsBooks.com.

Outlaws own second place in league

By Rongi Yost Correspondent

The Outlaws hoopsters recorded a 43-34 victory at home against Harrisburg on Thursday, February 2, which pushed their record to 7-2, and gave them sole possession of second place.

Sisters was looking to avenge their 38-50 loss to Harrisburg earlier in the season, and their plan was to apply aggressive man-toman pressure on the Eagles. However, the Outlaws found themselves in foul trouble early.

Taine Martin got the Outlaws’ scoring started when he outran the Eagles in transition and scored a fast-break layup. Mehkye Froehlich hit two big shots from behind the arc, and his six points would lead the Outlaws in scoring for the first period. At that point, both Froehlich and Kale Gardner got into foul trouble and had to sit out the remainder of the quarter and the entire second quarter.

The Outlaws’ bench stepped in and came up big. Diego Silva, Brody Fischer, Hudson Beckwith, and Garrett Sager kept the momentum going. At the close of the first period the Outlaws were on top 10-6.

Sisters adjusted to the way the game was being

called, and clamped down on defense. Silva got the scoring started in the second period when he penetrated the Eagle zone from the wing and hit a mid-key jump shot just a minute into the period.

Landen Scott then scored the remaining Outlaw points in the period: a pair of freethrows and then a couple minutes later he dropped in the first of his three-pointers for the game. Scott finished the quarter with an acrobatic reverse layup, which put the Outlaws up 19-8 at the half. Scott led the Outlaws with seven points in the period.

Fischer contributed three defensive rebounds, which stopped the Eagles’ momentum of grabbing offensive rebounds and taking secondchance point opportunities. The Outlaws’ strong defense didn’t allow the Eagles to score a single field goal in the period. Their four points in the quarter all came at the free-throw line.

The Outlaws continued to clamp down on the Eagles defensively in the third quarter, and held them to just seven points in the period.

Sisters entered the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead and knew Harrisburg would try and make a run. The Eagles did exactly as expected and cut the

Outlaws’ lead to six after going on an 11-2 run to start the period.

The Outlaws stopped the run by knocking down freethrows and closing out the game on a 9-6 run of their own. Gardner went 6-for-9 from the free-throw line in the final period to lead the Outlaws in scoring.

Scott led the Outlaws with 19 points, including three three-pointers, and Froehlich followed with nine points and five rebounds. Gardner tallied six points and Maddox-Castle recorded five points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Silva and Martin added two points each, and Silva also grabbed four boards.

Coach Chad Rush said, “This was a gritty win for the team. I am so proud of how the team stepped up when we faced adversity in the first and second quarter with two starters having to sit on the bench because of foul trouble. Every player that came off the bench and played contributed to this win, maybe not in the scorebook, but some with key rebounds, others with solid, aggressive defense within our game plan, and others by handling the pressure and making the right pass at the right time. This win moves us closer to the goals that we set out to achieve, but with

two big road games next week, we will have to continue to come together and play as a team.”

The Outlaws were to play on the road at Pleasant Hill

on Tuesday, February 7. They will hit the road again on Thursday for a game at Creswell, and wrap up league play at home on Monday, February 13, against La Pine.

Landen Scott takes a long shot.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA KENNEDY

Commentary...

Holding and protecting a candle in the dark

By Katy Yoder Columnist

I heard a writer say he saw his writing as a candle in the dark. I love that image the idea that words can light a way for someone else. It’s also a big burden to shoulder. I feel mine sagging under the pressure just thinking about it. But I also read that this is my moment to shed self-doubt and be who and what I was born to be. Do the things I was meant to do.

Can I be a candle in the dark? First, I must light my own candle and make sure the flame can’t be easily extinguished. Resilience and fortitude are qualities I’m beginning to understand and respect. The question is how to integrate them into my life.

Sometimes when I get up in the dark, slide into my slippers, and make my way for a midnight pee, I close my eyes to see. There’s no reason to even try to make out hallway walls, the bathroom doorway, or the porcelain toilet against the southern wall. I just know they’re

MANAGER: Consulting firm is helping City with hiring

Continued from page 3

City management, City leaders.

• Wednesday, March 29 –City Council executive session for interview of each candidate.

• Thursday, March 30 –City Council executive session for deliberation and selection of new city manager, followed by open session to announce selection to public.

Notification of the position is on the Jensen website (www.jensenstrategies. com/recruitment/sisterscity manager), the City of Sisters website under job opportunities, and has gone out to all Jensen’s list serves. On the Jensen website is also information pertaining to the City of Sisters, the position and skills needed, education/ experience, salary range, and a link to the position profile brochure. There are also links to a Supplemental Application Form and an Oregon Veteran’s Preference form. Application must go through Jensen Strategies and not be sent to the City.

there and my steps and memory will guide me to my destination. Is that how I can be a candle in the dark? By closing my eyes to see?

much. It’s time to light the match and start. It’s time to begin moving toward an unknown destination. It’s time to forget about who’s following, or reading, or judging, or wondering who I think I am. It’s time to reach beyond what’s safe and familiar.

I heard lately, too, that sometimes you have to stop thinking before your body can do what it knows how to do. Thinking seems different than creating. Thinking is based on what I’ve learned. Creating comes from a source unnamed. How I light a candle will require sliding a match across an abrasive surface to startle the bulbous red end into sparkling life. Somewhere inside me, there’s a match waiting to be pulled quickly, without a thought. I know how to light a match. I don’t need to think about it, just do it. It’s time to stop thinking so

A candle in the darkness will go out if there’s wind blowing in from cracks and corners needing insulation from what’s outside the walls of refuge. I will cup my left hand around the flame and protect it from sources that extinguish efforts. It’s time to begin, move ahead, and believe I can be a candle in the dark. That there is something I can say and share that will make a difference — even to one person. I know, somehow, that’s why I’m here. Writing is my art, my craft, my reason for being. Believing that has been difficult, often extinguished by others, but mostly by me. I will cup my left hand around the flame and see it flicker in darkness and reveal what’s on the walls around me. Then I will remember what I’ve

seen, heard, and felt and try to describe them in a way that is meaningful. I will remember the wind blowing the tops of juniper trees, the waving of a tattered American flag by the barn, and the dogs’ growling play as they pick up the bones of the dead and chew on them. I will remember the puffy, sandy, sterile soil that finds a way through socks and shoes into the crevices of my toenails. And how good it feels to quit fearing the possibility of a falling tree. I will remember that fear is a choice. An option I will reject more than embrace. I will feel the wind on my skin and write it all down. I will watch the tree sway, hear it crackle, and feel tiny bits of it hitting my face. I will take the risk of being too slow to move away from what may fall. I will look up on the hillside that protects our home but can also block the sunlight. I will remember when lightning exploded the

old-growth juniper just thirty feet from our house. I’ll also remember the kindness of our neighbor who showed up with his chainsaw, tractor, and woodchipper to help us remove the broken remains of that majestic tree. How we turned its bark and rings going back hundreds of years into small pieces, easier to manage. How I can use that same tactic to manage heavy memories and the sharp edges that go with them.

Now that tree is a stump on the hillside. I look at it and imagine what kind of sculpture or rock formation I could put on it. How that addition could turn something long gone into something beautiful and pleasing. It’s my turn to illuminate what’s possible, then build it, create it, urge it into being. I’ve been sharpening my chains and blades long enough. It’s time to start the work and see what’s possible, and what’s waiting for the light.

THURS., FEB. 9 • 6:30PM

DREW KAZA pr esents

High Contrast: A Story of Basketball, Race and Politics

FEBRUA RY 25-26 & MARCH 3-5 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ages 18+. Backcountry wilderness medicine skills certification for outdoor professionals, those who take multi-day or longer personal trips, and those participating in high-risk activities.

Sisters,

in Oregon 1972 recounts the events surr ounding one of Or egon’s most fabled spor ting events that occurr ed 50 year s ago in Portland. In an er a when high sc hool spor ts’ popularity ec lipsed both colle ge and pr o spor ts in Or egon, the meeting between the all-Blac k team fr om Portland’s Je ffer son High and the w hite “far m boys” fr om Eastern Or egon’s Baker High capti vated the public imagination

red50 year sa go

THURS., FEB. 23 • 6:30 P.M.

COMMUNITY POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHT followed by featur ed poet DONNA HENDERSON pr esenting Send Word, featuring poems that explor e v arieties of cleaving and their tensions

FRI., FEB. 24 • 6:30 P.M.

T C NI H FRIFEB 2

PAUL ALAN BENNETT pr esents

HUG: A Visual Chronicle of Our Need to Touch filled with visual images of people hugging one another, themselves, their favorite bathr obes, pillows, pets, etc. It’s about how we use touc h to embr ace and connect with the wor ld ar ound us

THURS., MARCH 2 • 6:30 P.M. Local thriller/myster y writer s FRANK ZAFIRO and JAMIE LEE FRY r ead fr om their ne w wor ks Hope Dies Last and The Liar’s Club.

0 PM

I will cup my left hand around the flame and protect it from sources that extinguish efforts...

February Poetry

Is the Hay Really Greener?

ByAlissaCowan

Ther e once was a mouse who lived on 8th Street Down

By the c hic ken bar n, in a hay pile c lose to the gr ound

The gr ound was solid, yet ha rd for his little head

The hay was airy, but the snow and rain made it damp instead

Eac h night the mouse looked through the open window at the warm glowing light

Of the c hic ken coop, all dr y and cozy, w hile the hens bedded down for the night

The little mouse imagined what it must be like without all that itchy hay

To sleep all night long , without being c hilled to the bone, eager to wake up the next day

Eac h night the mouse sat, wishing and waiting for the day

That he too could sit in warm luxur y, aw ay fr om that cold hay

Why, those hens ate to their fill ever y single night

Basking in the warm glow of that cozy bar n light

They neither sc rounged nor worried when their next meal would be deliver ed

Fr esh scraps and goodies from the Farmer’s table, thinking of it, the mouse quiver ed

Yolky br own eggs were his for the taking

“A Gold Mine!” The mouse gleamed, as he plotted his ne w house in the making

His star ry eyes twinkled as he made his move fr om the Hay to “Bar n

Extr aor dinair e!”

Leaving ever ything, he scamper ed br avely into the dar k night air

Entering the warm c hic ken coop, the fluf fy hens r oosting on their pole

Ther e he spied under the nesting boxes, a perfectly tiny hole

A tight squeeze just fit for a mouse, this is his ne w home indeed

All dr y in the lamp light, perfectly placed by the c hic ken feed

Ear ly the next day the rooster cr owed a “Good mor nin’” with his full force

Jolting aw ake, the mouse started his day of gathering, without remorse

He scur ried and plunder ed daily throughout the bar n

Ea gerly snif fing w hile the ranc h hands toss c lippings fr om the farm

The mouse ate to his fill ever y single meal, taking all the leftover s home

While the hens wer e in bed, he’ d lay down his head, r oll onto his belly and moan

Pr etty soon his house was overflowing with old food, stor ed up and smelly

He even had to make a ne w entr ance to his hole, one that would fit his ever-growing belly

A w ater melon rind and a moldy str awber ry fr om last summer’s picnic meal

A cob without cor n, a r otten pear half tor n – anything the mouse could steal

A lemon seed and a cof fee bean with a bite taken out of the side

A banana peel, an apple cor e, and a str ong onion – anyone else would have cried

The more he did gr ow, the slower he’d go – a tasty tr eat for any c hic ken

One would take flight, and they’ d all tr y take a bite, of the mouse’s fat tale that went flic ken’

Hen pec ked and tatter ed, the mouse w as so glad to get out of the bar n that day

Bac k safe and sound, on the dir t gr ound, under the pile of hay

Thank you,readers!

The Nugget is also the place to find interesting stories of people in our community living intentionally and helping to make our community special.

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• Got thoughtful opinions you’d like to share? Submit a letter to the editor (300 words or less) to editor@nuggetnews.com. Have more to say than that? Discuss a guest editorial with Jim Cornelius.

• Support the businesses that advertise in The Nugget

• Read your Nugget — and discuss the articles that garnered your attention with a friend or neighbor

Each week The Nugget delivers hyper-local news coverage of what matters to you and your neighbors... ...local government, land use, forestry, schools, environment, art & music scene, high school sports, business, and more.

Nugget staff (left to right): Leith Easterling, Vicki Curlett, Janice Hoffman, Jess Draper, Jim Cornelius, and Kit Tosello.

If you have ever lived with a cat or a dog through the wintertime, you have noticed how they find every pool of sunlight in which they can safely and comfortably sleep. Seeking comfort, warmth, and peace in the sunlight is where my Scotties go too.

For thousands of years people have searched for light. We know from ancient structures like Stonehenge in England — which is more than 5,000 years old in stone and another 5,000 years older as a wooden structure—that sunlight was valued or even worshiped for something more than just keeping people warm. Some think the structure was used to guide the planting of food crops.

The recently discovered Goseck Circle in Germany — believed to be almost 7,000 years old — like Stonehenge consists of a number of concentric circles. On the winter solstice, the sun’s radiant orb can be seen rising through the southeastern gate, and then setting through the southwestern gate. The gates in each circle get progressively narrower, making the sun’s rays seem more intense the closer you

get to the center ring.

In the Holy Bible, light is associated with God. We don’t know if the ancient builders of the aforementioned structures worshiped the sun, or possibly saw the sun as a messenger of the One God.

I say this because years ago I read an interesting book, the author and title of which I don’t remember, putting forth a somewhat convincing argument that most people in very ancient times believed in one god. The transition to worshiping many gods came later. The argument suggested that sun and its light were seen as holy or a sign of God for tens of thousands of years.

Akhenaten, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the 14th Dynasty, remains a unique and controversial figure. The unexpected successor to his famous and powerful father, Amenhotep III — the Magnificent — Akhenaten turned Egypt’s religious practice on its ear, around 1351 BCE, by declaring the worship of one true god, depicting God as an image of the sun with rays radiating from it. He believed the image was simply a symbol of the god but that the true god was invisible.

What I find most interesting in this story is that the Pharaoh believed God had no body to idolize, in a culture that built depictions and monuments to well-defined god images.

Judeo-Christians have long believed that God is light, among a number of other aspects, including God is love, God is life, and God is truth.

Speaking of light and its possible mystic powers, I’ll

I slipped on ice and dislocated my elbow. While at the emergency hospital, they put me under an “awake” anesthesia to reset the elbow. The doctor said I would be able to hear what was going on, but that I would not remember anything once I awoke.

The nurse covered my eyes prior to the procedure because operating room lights are far too bright for my eyes. Soon they asked me to take a deep breath, and quickly after that amazing things began to happen. I could hear the doctor and nurses conversing. Meanwhile a dazzlingly bright light filled my head. Then I saw at least a dozen figures surrounding my bed, looking down at me while the white light shined so brightly that I could not distinguish any of the faces.

As time passed, I could still hear the doctor talking. More time passed with my companions above, and then the light faded to yellow and I began to feel warmth. Finally, the light changed to glistening gold. The most wonderful peace filled me as I felt the doctor working on my arm. I was filled with assurance that the arm was fine. There would be no complications.

I remember everything that happened.

I have never participated in recreational drugs. I’ll admit years ago I wasn’t one to be too sympathetic to Native Americans when they said they needed to keep the right to using peyote for spiritual enlightenment. This event has opened my mind.

Those of us pursuing any kind of a spiritual path soon learn how hard it is to quiet our minds and receive any form of communication with

was in that anesthesia quieted my mind, giving me a glimpse of more peaceful realms.

I wouldn’t encourage anyone to dislocate their elbow in order to visit such a wonderful place. But this event has forever changed my thoughts about those who think they need help to reach greater spiritual awakening.

The road to light requires faith, love, and an open mind. I sometimes seem to need to be whacked on the side of the head like this, to progress on the issue of

openness. My false spiritual pride about peyote, which I did not see up to this point, is now washed away by this event. I’ve taken one more step toward my spiritual goal of releasing condemnation of others. May 2023 be good to you and may your road to light be an easier one than mine!

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Jean Russell Nave

The author dislocated her elbow — leading to a somewhat mystical experience.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Sisters Folk Festival hosts show

Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) will present a special concert with Charlie Parr and Marisa Anderson at The Belfry on Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m.

Charlie Parr is known as “an incorruptible outsider,” who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. Parr is supported by Marisa Anderson, referred to by The New Yorker as “one of the most distinctive guitar players of her generation.”

Attendees can expect to hear timeless original music and soulful performances by masters of their crafts. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, February 15 at 10 a.m. at https://aftontickets. com/SFFCharlieParr.

An easily confused and very shy individual, born and raised in Austin, Minnesota, Charlie Parr first grabbed a guitar at age 8. To date, he has never had a formal lesson, but wows crowds with his incredible fingerpicking on his 12-string baritone resonator, guitar, and banjo. All that locomotive melodic work is simply the scenery in the tales he’s spinning lyrically. Early in his career, Parr was employed by the Salvation Army as an outreach worker. He spent his

days tracking the homeless in Minneapolis, providing blankets and resources. But they offered him something greater in return. The experience completely rewired him and left him with a newfound respect for human resilience.

Throughout Parr’s music you can hear his sense of place. These are songs from the iron country. They are tales from the paper mill. You can hear the fisheries and the Boundary Waters. His new album, “Last of the Better Days Ahead,” is a collection of powerful songs about how one looks back on a life lived, as well as forward on what’s still to come. Its

Sisters Country birds

By Douglas Beall Correspondent

A full-time resident of our pine forests, the Redbreasted Nuthatch, [Sitta canadensis] , can be found climbing up and down tree bark using their enlarged toe and short tail, gathering conifer seeds and various insects, including beetles, worms, ants, earwigs, and spiders. They are common visitors to black oil sunflower feeders and they will often cache foods between the bark of trees for later use.

spare production foregrounds Parr’s poetic lyricism, his expressive, gritty voice ringing clear over deft acoustic guitar playing that references folk and blues motifs in Parr’s own exploratory, idiosyncratic style.

The concert will be held at The Belfry at 302 E. Main Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youth/ students. Additional artist information can be found on the SFF website at sistersfolk festival.org. This is a general admission, all ages show. Follow @SistersFolkFestival on Instagram and Facebook.

The female Nuthatch will most often choose the nest and prefers soft wood trees, especially the aspen. Excavation of the nest can take up to 18 days, and the entry hole and inside cavity

are coated with conifer resin to possibly resist predators. Nesting material consists of pine needles, grass, and bark strips and then it’s lined with feathers, fur, and fine grasses.

Incubation of two to eight creamy-brown speckled eggs takes 12-13 days, and the nestlings are fed within the nest for 18-21 days. Their yank-yank calls echo throughout the forest and they will often travel with Chicadees and woodpeckers in a group known as a foraging guild, collecting insects amongst the trees. A collection of Red-breasted Nuthatches are called a “jar” of Nuthatches.

For more Red-breasted Nuthatch images visit http:// abirdsingsbecauseithasa song.com/recent-journeys/.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BEALL

Charlie Parr brings his original songwriting and fingerstyle picking to The Belfry in a Sisters Folk Festival concert in March.

PHOTO PROVIDED

THREAT: Assessment team went into action after arrest

Continued from page 1

the parking lot, which is shared with Bi-Mart, and attempted to enter random vehicles.

Deputies arrived on scene and placed Seekell in custody without incident. Seekell was lodged at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office jail on charges of Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree; Harassment; and Attempted Unlawful Entry to a Motor Vehicle.

Following this incident, the Sheriff’s Office presented this case to the Deschutes County Threat Assessment team, who performed a threat assessment.

According to Lt. Chad Davis of the Sisters DCSO station, “The Deschutes County Threat Assessment Team, also referred to as TAT, is a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to the prevention of targeted acts of violence by adult members of the community. Through the cooperative sharing of information, resources, and the knowledge gained through training with leading experts in the field of threat assessment, the team endeavors to identify, assess, and manage situations where the risk of violence is anticipated or imminent in order to enhance the safety of the community.”

The Deschutes County Threat Assessment Team meets weekly to review cases and individuals who are referred to the team. The team consists of members from Central Oregon law enforcement agencies, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, Deschutes County Parole and Probation, Deschutes County Behavioral Health, Bend-La Pine School District, and High Desert ESD.

The Sisters Schools superintendent notified staff of the incident in an email.

Seekell remains in custody, pending a future court date.

“Based on the investigation, it appears Seekell was under the influence of alcohol and controlled substances at the time of incident,” Davis reported.

WORD OF THE DAY…

Autobahn reopens to delight of families

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

The last few weekends have been the scene of squeals of joy and broad smiles at Ski Hoodoo, where barely sufficient snow and enough staff have allowed the Autobahn tubing park to reopen. Having been closed nearly in its entirety since the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular family activity has resumed on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Delgado and Estoban families from Bend and Redmond, 13 in number, typified the hundreds who took to the lanes Saturday. The entourage didn’t mind at all that inadequate snow meant the tow couldn’t run. Tubers had to trek up the hill with tube trailing behind.

“It teaches the kids to appreciate the little things,” Jorge Delgado, grandpa and group organizer, said.

“It’s good exercise too,” added mom Cecilia Estoban, the only one not hopping aboard the tubes. Like many a parent she was the designated cheerleader and photographer.

Families told The Nugget

that it was one of the few remaining affordable winter activities along with bowling. Skiing and snowmobiling are often out of reach for larger families. The Autobahn, with its six lanes, is $16 per ticket, which entitles the tuber to 10 rides. No sno-park permit is required, another savings.

Without the tow to pull riders to the start, it takes hours to use all 10 rides. Add in tailgating, as almost every family does, and it’s a daylong event.

Down the road at the Pacific Crest trailhead, 75-100 other tubers were riding for free on the various steep hills. Those were mostly saucers, the hard plastic rig with two strap handles. Like with the tubes, the only way to steer is with feet or hands extended over the edge. But almost nobody wants a controlled ride.

Spinning and dipping and bumping along is where the most fun is to be had.

Hoodoo requires kids to be at least 42 inches tall or six years in age. Otherwise they must ride double with an adult. It was hard to know who was having the most fun and widest grins — the kids

Families are enjoying tubing at Hoodoo’s Autobahn.

or the parent with whom they shared the ride.

Snow permitting, Hoodoo hopes to continue weekend Autobahn tubing for the

remainder of the season. That’s good news for Sisters Country families looking to get their children into nature during winter months.

PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT

By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service

All-star Portland band to play The Belfry

Reb and the Good News, a Portland-based band, will bring their danceable blend of funk, world, and soul music to The Belfry on Friday, February 10.

The band includes some of Portland’s top-tier musicians, including Leon Cotter

(member of the California Honey Drops) on sax and keys, Cyrus Nabipoor on trumpet, Kirk Kalbfleisch on drums, and Ross Garlow on bass.

Tickets can be purchased at bendticket.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Trees stressed by climate change

By Steve Lundeberg Oregon State University

CORVALLIS – Douglasfir trees will likely experience more stress from drier air as the climate changes than they will from less rain, computer modeling by Oregon State University scientists shows.

The research is important because Douglas-fir are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest, an iconic species with ecological, cultural, and economic significance, and learning how the trees respond to drought is crucial for understanding forest sensitivity to a shifting climate.

Douglas-fir grow in a range that stretches from northern British Columbia to central California, and also includes the Rocky Mountains and northeastern Mexico. In Oregon, Douglasfir are found in a variety of mixed conifer and hardwood forests, from sea level to 5,000 feet, and can reach a massive size; a tree on Bureau of Land Management land in Coos County is more than 300 feet tall and greater than 11 feet in diameter.

Native Americans traditionally used the wood of Douglas-fir, Oregon’s official state tree since 1936, for fuel and for tools, its pitch as a sealant, and many

parts of the tree for medicinal purposes.

A versatile timber tree, Douglas-fir is a source of softwood products including boards, railroad ties, plywood veneer and wood fiber. Oregon leads all U.S. states in softwood production and most of that is Douglas-fir.

The OSU study, published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology , simulated the response of a 50-year-old stand of Douglas-fir on the Oregon Cascade Range’s west slope to less rain and higher “vapor pressure deficit,” or VPD – basically the atmosphere’s drying power.

A team led by Karla Jarecke, a postdoctoral researcher in the OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, sought to look at how the mechanisms behind carbon fixation and water “fluxes” –exchanges of water between trees and the atmosphere –would respond to decreases in rainfall and increases in VPD.

Douglas-fir, like other plants, create food for themselves using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water during photosynthesis. The process pulls CO2, a greenhouse gas, from the air, releases oxygen, and results in the long-term storage of carbon in the wood and roots.

PHOTO PROVIDED

ALL advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

CLASSIFIED RATES

COST: $2 per line for first insertion, $1.50 per line for each additional insertion to 9th week, $1 per line 10th week and beyond (identical ad/consecutive weeks). Also included in The Nugget online classifieds at no additional charge. There is a minimum $5 charge for any classified. First line = approx. 20-25 characters, each additional line = approx. 25-30 characters. Letters, spaces, numbers and punctuation = 1 character. Any ad copy changes will be charged at the first-time insertion rate of $2 per line. Standard abbreviations allowed with the approval of The Nugget classified department. NOTE: Legal notices placed in the Public Notice section are charged at the display advertising rate.

102

Rentals 210 E. Sun Ranch, Sisters Built in 2021; 1,000 sf office space available. Call w/ inquiries 760-391-3400

MINI STORAGE Sisters Rental 331 W. Barclay Drive 541-549-9631

Sizes 5x5 to 15x30 and outdoor RV parking. 7-day access. Computerized security gate. Moving boxes & supplies. STORAGE WITH BENEFITS

• 8 x 20 dry box     • Fenced yard, RV & trailers     • In-town, gated, 24-7 Kris@earthwoodhomes.com

103 Residential Rentals ClearPine Building Luxury Apartments Brand new w/second-story mountain views, covered parking. 3 units available by 4/15/23.

889 sqft.

3 bedroom/2 bathroom 1368 sqft.

$2,900

3 bedroom/2 bathroom 1458 sqft.

$3,100

Contact: peterhallclearpine@gmail.com

DT Sisters Townhome for Rent 3 beds, 2.5 baths. Fully remodeled. Avail. 2-15-23. $2,550/month. 619-847-3891.

PONDEROSA PROPERTIES

Monthly Rentals Available–Call Debbie at 541-549-2002

Full details, 24 hrs./day, go to: PonderosaProperties.com

Printed list at 221 S. Ash, Sisters Ponderosa Properties LLC

202 Firewood

SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS

DAVE ELPI – FIREWOOD

• SINCE 1976 •

Doug Fir – Lodgepole – Juniper DRIVE-IN WOOD SALES

– 18155 Hwy. 126 East –SistersForestProducts.com Order Online! 541-410-4509

205 Garage & Estate Sales

Barn Sale February 10 & 11

Friday 9-5, Saturday 9-3. Harley helmets & leathers, lots of horse tack, 3 saddles, camping gear, furniture & lots more. Follow signs from Camp Polk Rd., 69439 Hinkle Butte Dr., Sisters. Happy Trails Estate Sales and online auctions!

Selling, Downsizing, or Deaths?

Locally owned & operated by... Daiya 541-480-2806 Sharie 541-771-1150

301 Vehicles

We Buy, Sell, Consign Quality Cars, Trucks, SUVs & RVs ~ Call Jeff at 541-815-7397 Sisters Car Connection da#3919 SistersCarConnection.com

401 Horses

HORSE BOARDING

Minutes from Sisters

www.LazyZRanch.com Call 541-588-5299

403 Pets

Three Rivers Humane Society

Where love finds a home! See the doggies at 1694 SE McTaggart in Madras • A no-kill shelter. Go to ThreeRiversHS.org or call 541-475-6889

FURRY FRIENDS

helping Sisters families w/pets. FREE Dog & Cat Food No contact pick-up by appt. 412 E. Main Ave., Ste. 4 541-797-4023

GEORGE’S SEPTIC TANK SERVICE

“A Well Maintained Septic System Protects the Environment” 541-549-2871

MOVING TRUCK FOR HIRE

–COMPLETE MOVING, LLC–

Sisters' Only Local Moving Co.!

Two exp. men with 25+ years

comm. moving. Refs! ODOT Lic.

Class 1-B • Call 541-678-3332

• DERI’s HAIR SALON • Call 541-419-1279

501 Computers & Communications

Technology Problems?

I can fix them for you.

Solving for Business & Home Computers, Tablets, Networking Internet (Starlink), and more!

Jason Williams

Sisters local • 25 yrs. experience 541-719-8329

Oregontechpro.com

SISTERS SATELLITE

TV • PHONE • INTERNET

Your authorized local dealer for DirecTV, ViaSat HS Internet and more! CCB # 191099 541-318-7000 • 541-306-0729

502 Carpet & Upholstery

Cleaning

GORDON’S LAST TOUCH

Cleaning Specialists for CARPETS, WINDOWS & UPHOLSTERY

Member Better Business Bureau

• Bonded & Insured • Serving Central Oregon

Since 1980 Call 541-549-3008

M & J CARPET CLEANING

Area rugs, upholstery, tile & dryer-vent cleaning. Established & family-owned since 1986. 541-549-9090

504 Handyman

4 Brothers Tree Service

Sisters' Premier Tree Experts!

– TREE REMOVAL & CLEANUP –

Native / Non-Native Tree Assessments, Pruning, High-Risk Removals, 24 Hr. Emergency Storm Damage Cleanup, Craning & Stump Grinding, Debris Removal.

– FOREST MANAGEMENT –Fire Fuels Reduction - Brush Mowing, Mastication, Tree Thinning, Large & Small Scale Projects!

Serving Black Butte Ranch, Camp Sherman & Sisters Area since 2003 ** Free Estimates **

Owner James Hatley & Sons 541-815-2342 4brostrees.com

Licensed, Bonded and Insured CCB-215057

Top Knot Tree Care can handle all of your tree needs, from trims to removals. Specializing in tree assessment, hazard tree removal, crown reduction, ladder fuel reduction, lot clearing, ornamental and fruit tree trimming and care.

• Locally owned and operated •

• Senior and military discounts •

• Free assessments •

• Great cleanups •

• Licensed, Insured and Bonded • Contact Bello Winter @ 541-419-9655, Find us on Google CCB#238380

601 Construction

CASCADE GARAGE DOORS

Factory Trained Technicians

Since 1983 • CCB #44054 541-548-2215 • 541-382-4553

Earthwood Timberframes

• Design & shop fabrication

• Recycled fir and pine beams

• Mantels and accent timbers

• Sawmill/woodshop services www.earthwoodhomes.com

CASCADE HOME & PROPERTY RENTALS

Monthly Rentals throughout Sisters Country. 541-549-0792

Property management for second homes.

CascadeHomeRentals.com

104 Vacation Rentals

~ Sisters Vacation Rentals ~ Private Central OR vac. rentals, Property Management Services 541-977-9898

www.SistersVacation.com

Downtown Vacation Rental

Five star. 1 and 2 bedroom. SistersVacationRentals.net

Great pricing. 503-730-0150

200 Business Opportunities

ATTENTION CRAFTERS !

SPRING FAIR March 24-26 at Douglas County Fairgrounds. Our 46th Year! Booths available for quality crafts. For info send SASE to: Spring Fair 2023

P.O. BOX 22, Dillard, OR 97432 Or email: innerspacefamily@gmail.com

201 For Sale

QUALITY HAY FOR SALE

1st and 2nd cutting available. Barn stored, no rain. Call 541-279-5252 or 541-420-1764.

500 Services

BOOKKEEPING SERVICE

~ Olivia Spencer ~ Expert Local Bookkeeping! Phone: 541-241-4907 www.spencerbookkeeping.com

~ WEDDINGS BY KARLY ~ Happy to perform virtual or in-person weddings.

Custom Wedding Ceremonies 20+ years • 541-410-4412 revkarly@gmail.com

SISTERS HONEYDO

General repairs, interior painting and trim, carpentry, drywall, lighting, and much more-just ask.

25+ yrs. Maint. exp./local refs. Scott Dady 541-728-4266

JONES UPGRADES LLC

Home Repairs & Remodeling Drywall, Decks, Pole Barns, Fences, Sheds & more.

Mike Jones, 503-428-1281

Local resident • CCB #201650

600 Tree Service & Forestry

– Sisters Oregon Guide –Pick up a copy at the Nugget!

TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT

Junk removal, new home, garage & storage clean-out, construction, yard debris. You Call – We Haul! 541-719-8475

SMALL Engine REPAIR

Lawn Mowers, Chainsaws & Trimmers

Sisters Rental

331 W. Barclay Drive

541-549-9631

Authorized service center for Stihl, Honda, Ariens/Gravely, Cub Cadet, Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Kawasaki Engines

TREE SERVICES: tree removal, trimming, stump grinding, brush mowing, Firewise compliance.

— Certified Arborist — Nate Goodwin 541-771-4825

Online at: www.tsi.services

CCB#190496 • ISA #PN7987A

LOLO TREE WORKS

Tree Services: Tree Removal, Tree Pruning, Stump Grinding, Emergency Tree Services.

ISA Certified Arborist

Owner / Operator: Erin Carpenter lolotreeworks.com

Call / Text: 503-367-5638

Email: erin@lolotreeworks.com

CCB #240912

Lara’s Construction LLC. CCB#223701

Offering masonry work, fireplaces, interior & exterior stone/brick-work, build barbecues, and all types of masonry. Give us a call for a free estimate. 541-350-3218

Pat Burke LOCALLY OWNED CRAFTSMAN BUILT CCB: 288388 • 541-588-2062

www.sistersfencecompany.com

Construction & Renovation

Custom Residential Projects

All Phases • CCB #148365 541-420-8448

Scientist weighs in on balloon

By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief

Steven Peterzen has had a busy week.

Peterzen, who has lived in Sisters for more than decade, is the founder and owner of ISTAR Stratospheric Ballooning. ISTAR launches and recovers payloads for scientific and technological experiments for agencies, companies, and academic institutions. He has worked with Sisters’ science classes to launch balloons from Sisters Eagle Airport.

With deep expertise and more than three decades of experience in the field, he’s been fielding phone calls from all over the world over the past week, from colleagues seeking to understand what has been happening with a Chinese balloon that traversed the U.S. before being shot down by a missile fired by an F-22 fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina.

The incident, which played out over several days, led to the cancellation of a scheduled trip by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to meet with Chinese officials to ease growing tensions in the U.S.-China relationship. The U.S. has defined the craft as a “surveillance balloon,” and issued a statement asserting that “the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”

Peterzen doesn’t think the flight was worth an international incident.

“Somebody launched a balloon,” Peterzen said. “My history and experience is telling me that they lost communication with it, and it drifted… I think it’s much ado about very little.”

Peterzen says there are better methods for spying than a balloon operating at 60,000 feet, which is low for this type of craft (and also readily shot down, where a higher-altitude balloon would cost millions of dollars to take out). And, he noted, losing communications and control is not uncommon. He noted that last year the French lost communications

with a balloon launched in Ontario, Canada, that flew over New York City and then out into the Atlantic .

“Who heard of it?” he said. “I only heard of it because I’m in the industry. There’s hundreds of balloons launched around the world every day and you don’t hear anything about it.”

He noted that “most balloons that are launched are for research. They’re not for spying or looking down on anything.”

Because of tensions with China, this particular incident created a lot more interest than normal.

Peterzen acknowledged that there are issues with the way the launch was conducted. Whenever he has done a launch, he has had to file a Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) alerting any country that the balloon will fly over. And some countries are very sensitive about the presence of any down-looking cameras.

As far as Peterzen can tell, the balloon launch in question did not file a NOTAM.

He notes that, since the 1950s, the U.S. has “seen” anything flying toward the U.S., and he believes that U.S. officials knew very soon after launch that it was headed this way and at an apparently relatively fixed and low altitude.

“If that is true, that it came to the U.S. at that altitude, they could have shot that thing down in Alaska,” Peterzen said.

He said he would have

Obituary

Nancy Ellen Hoff

preferred that the U.S. let it go and chart its trajectory. He said that people in his line of work could have put up a “constellation of small balloons” to get a good look at the Chinese craft.

So, if the balloon was not a “surveillance balloon” as the U.S. government has asserted, what was its purpose?

Over-the-horizon communication with a balloon requires communication via satellite.

“What they could have been doing was testing the capability of their satellite system,” Peterzen said.

One theory is that the Chinese used the balloon to test the viability of its use in an EMP attack. A nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack could come at high altitude and generate radiation that could knock out the electrical grid, with catastrophic results.

Peterzen is skeptical that this is what this balloon was up to. Why tip off the U.S. to the capability with a balloon that could be seen from the ground?

There is the possibility that the balloon flight was an effort to “tickle our feet,” he said, an effort to get our attention and test our reaction.

But Peterzen sticks to his belief that the incident was a simple mistake or failure.

“My guess is that there’s a bunch of students sitting in Beijing saying, ‘Oh (expletive deleted) we just lost our jobs.’”

Nancy Ellen Hoff, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many, passed away on February 1, in her home in Sisters.

Nancy was born on February 12, 1945, in McMinnville, Oregon, and was the only daughter of Bert and Frances Crossgrove. She grew up on a farm in the McMinnville area and after graduating from McMinnville High School, she pursued a nursing degree at the University of Oregon.

While completing her nursing degree in Portland, Oregon, she met her future husband, Marvin Hoff, and they were married on August 26, 1967. They were married for 56+ years and Marvin was by her side in her final days in Sisters. Her close family included her two sons, Jason and Chris, their wives, Kirstin and Karen, and three grandchildren, Karina, Cooper, and Darren.

Nancy had many loves and passions over the years.

She was an avid horseback rider and loved riding her horses Porter and Pepper in the Central Oregon mountains. She was never shy for adventure and would trailer her horse with friends into the upper mountain regions around Sisters.

Her adventurousness could be seen in her love for travel and seeing new things. Together with her husband, Marvin, they took advantage of their retirement years and visited many parts of the

world, including Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. She was a great travel companion who never complained and always looked forward to the next trip.

Nancy was always an excellent sewer, and her two boys still remember the clothes she made them when they were young (maybe not always fondly).

Later she became a great quilter and loved to make quilts for family and friends. There are many friends and family members who have a Nancy quilt in their homes, and she took great joy in giving them as gifts. She loved being at home in Sisters, where the garden was always cared for, apple pies and cookies were baked whenever the family was in town, and she could look out the window of her sewing room to see her horse wandering the pasture with the Three Sisters in the background. She had a long battle with cancer which never slowed her down. Here she showed her true strength and resilience. Never complained, always looked forward to the next trip or ride on her horse, and took advantage of every day she had.

We will miss her greatly.

Feb. 12, 1945 – Feb. 1, 2023

snack food?” I sincerely hope not.

Ann Thompson

s s s Transgender issues

To the Editor:

As a former teacher, I’ve read with great dismay the recent uproar over the issue of nonbinary and transgender kids! The fears, anxiety, and open hostility expressed by adults, not children, is identical to what we heard in the 1960s and ’70s and around gay and lesbian folks “coming out” to the public, although having existed since the advent of humans!

Science, familiarity, and education have led most of the world to acknowledge the reality that human beings cannot be assigned to limited categories, roles, or physiological makeup. However, some few countries and individuals sadly still reject any perceived “differentness” as threatening, and even criminal. We now know, through research, that some animal species are dual-gendered, can change genders as they age or adapt, and where males bear the offspring. Not all living beings fit narrow categories!

Thankfully, the majority of our world population has accepted and embraced gay and lesbian marriage, adoptions, employment, and friendship without any attached stigma. Our favorite female cousin has a wife; I’ve taught with and been a student of numerous LGBTQ adults; we have friends whose first daughter was born with both gender physiologies; my dear friend’s granddaughter has struggled through a transgender identity, and we’ve learned to say “they.” We certainly count friends in our wide circle who don’t fit traditional categories, and none of us has ever cared about or discussed each other’s sex lives! Over the years, we have read countless stories of anti-gay adults whose eyes opened and acceptance occurred when they met and became acquainted with those they had rejected, finding them to be just regular people!

So kudos to the Tamarack director, Charlie Anderson, and middle school principal, Tim Roth, for standing firm that all kids need support, acceptance, and are struggling to find their paths, already tough enough for just being teenagers! Those adults so fearful of imaginary threats could benefit from diversity education, which kids seem to flow with so much more readily when it is offered. The GLSEN Research Institute ( Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educational Network) has produced and offers all

kinds of inclusive diversity resources for educators, administrators, and leaders who work with kids, and even Title IX has expanded guidance and protection for transgender and nonbinary youth. Education is vital to reducing fears, rejection, and damaging stigmatizing of folks who had no choice in their genetic makeup at birth. It is our job to step up, speak out and embrace, while learning how to say “they” along with “he” or “she.”

Wendie Vermillion

No need for bigger gas station

To the Editor:

You have got to be kidding! A 16-pump gas station overtaking the four pumps there now, at Space Age? I drive by Space Age several times a week and have seldom seen all four pumps in use. Frequently, there are no cars there at all being serviced. Sisters has three other gas stations: Chevron, 76, and Sinclair, and there is absolutely no need for a 16-pump monster on West Cascade Avenue or anyplace else in Sisters.

If this request is approved, what a sickening, pathetic way to say Welcome to Downtown Sisters to our many visitors from the west.

But what’s really scary is The Nugget’s frontpage headline on February 1, 2023: “Changes coming to Cascade Avenue.” It sounds like it’s a done deal. The headline does not say, “Changes may be coming to Cascade Avenue.” Sue Stafford has been your correspondent for many years working the City Hall beat. Does she suspect that the fix is in?

Jim Cline

s s s

Too much growth

To the Editor:

The recent issue of The Nugget, February 1, contained multiple articles about the growth of Sisters and the lack of affordable housing, as well as letters which lamented the rapid overgrowth of Sisters.

Most alarming was the article “ Sisters on the radar for employers.” Mr. Eckert, who designed the now infamous Woodlands development, says that Bend is “completely built out” for the kinds of business development that could be brought to Sisters.

So, now that Bend has been ruined in many ways by excessive development, he wants to bring those woes to Sisters. So, what is it they don’t understand about “No”? Their obsession with development and wealth is disgusting. Why is growth assumed

to be the norm?

Many citizens do not want this in Sisters. There were five letters to the editor this week expressing extreme concern about the path Sisters is following. If someone doesn’t start listening to us, it will be too late.

Sharon Booth

Heavens declare the glory of God

To the Editor:

Living in Sisters, we often have those dark, cloudless nights when we can look to the heavens and be amazed at the multitude of heavenly bodies. But those stars, planets, and our own moon have given us a means by which to navigate between two points of travel. Referred to as celestial navigation, its origin dates back as far as 4,000 years. Traveling across land was primarily a matter of direction. Navigating the vast sea was more complex and dangerous, with errors in calculation, wind, and sea currents resulting to lengthen voyage at best, or disaster at worse. Over time and accumulation of data, improved maps, and advanced sextants, celestial navigation improved significantly.

I can personally testify to heaven’s declaration, experienced as a tactical navigator in the Navy’s P3A/B aircraft over a 30-year period. To get a perspective, think of our earth’s size as the head of a pin in relation to vastness of space, where stars are hundreds of light-years away, but can be used to locate where we are on the head of that pin.

When flying over the Indian Ocean, nighttime, 625 miles from nearest land, no radar contact, no radio navigation aides, the inertial system is drifting, and our position is questionable; celestial location was the only option left to determine aircraft actual position. Variables include the earth moving in orbit and rotating on its axis, a crosswind at 75 mph, coriolis effect, magnetic variation, and aircraft moving at 300+ mph (off course?). Thanks to great training all those factors could be accounted for in calculating necessary settings for the sextant. The chosen three stars are ideally 120 degrees apart, and provide three lines of position that will intersect to give a fix position.

The aircraft sextant is a complex mechanical “periscope” that is inserted into an access hole above the navigator (Google P3 orion sextant). On numerous occasions after difficult and long 10-plus-hour flights, we landed safely, once again having actually experienced the “Heavens Declare the Glory of God.”

Jeff Mackey

ML S# 22014148 0 1 bed / 1.5 ba / 2,010 sf SM AL L RA NC H IN MC KE NZI E CANYON

$6 75,000 Rural Acreage

Ranch prop er ty with 10.2 acre s of 3- Sister s Irriga tion. Pa rt fore sted slop e w/ home ; pa rt level sa nd y lo am ba sin w/ water rights by buried pr es surized ir riga tion line & mete r. Ceda r chalet with woodstove, gr ea troom, loft , 1 be droom plus more rooms that could be fl ex ibly utilized Covere d entr y porch, re ar pa tio. Loca te d be tw ee n Sisters, Redmond, & Te rrebonne. Sister s or Redmon d Sc hool District

ML S# 22014988 4 20 Acres / Zoned RR 10, WA

MOUN TA IN VIEW S & RIMROCK

Rural Acreage

$2 87,5 00

Se cluded prop er ty NE of Sister s of f Holm es Ro ad An cien t junipers & natural ground cove r, with a fe w scat tere d ponderos a pines. Ap prox 2/ 3 of prop er ty is within th e rimrocks & slop e of McKenzie Canyon & 1/ 3 is level, situated on top of th e ca nyon rim. Bordered east & sout h by BL M land Wildlife & bird viewin g oppor tunities abound. Grea t potential for ca mp site, ca bin ge ta wa y, or a custom home

ML S# 220144 37 2 .6 7 Acre / Zoned NSBP

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to town

ML S# 22015504 0 3 bed / 2.5 bath / 2,28 3 sf

VIEW S OF TH E MOUN TA IN S

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ML S# 220157 73 8 .8 6 Acre / Zoned L SISTER S INDU STRIAL PA RK $4 99,000 Ligh t Indu st rial Light in dustrial lot in th e original Sister s Indu strial Park Corner .8 6 acre site with good viabilit y on th e corner of We st Sister s Park Drive an d Nort h Sister s Park Cour t. Almost square shap e provid es multipl e layout alternatives de sign or building, driveway an d parkin g.