The Nugget Vol. XLV No. 25
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News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
New mural depicts beauty of Sisters By Cody Rheault Correspondent
O n a c l e a r, s u n n y Wednesday morning after torrid downpours of a relentless spring, Sisters was beaming with natural beauty. On the south-facing wall of the public bathrooms in Barclay Park mural artists Karen Eland and Katie Daisy were busy installing a tribute to that beauty. After months of hard work, keen eyes, and careful strokes of the paint brush, their artistic depiction of Sisters Country was put on permanent display for locals and visitors to enjoy. This is the sixth mural for the painting duo from Bend on what has been dubbed the “Mural Trail,” an artistic endeavor headed by Visit Central Oregon to honor the beauty residing in each Central Oregon town. Over the past two years they’ve depicted landscapes and local character onto panels, which are then installed in public spaces. La Pine, Sunriver, Maupin, and Redmond to name a few have been rewarded with their art. Sisters was next. Karen’s and Katie’s love for Sisters is deep, so when they were approached in late 2021 to paint the landscape
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City faces serious decisions on growth By Sue Stafford Correspondent
Over coffee at Sisters Coffee Company on a dreary day in early March, they sketched
Some serious decisions are ahead for Sisters’ volunteer city councilors and planning commissioners. At last week’s joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission, members of City staff and consultants from APG-MIG provided the latest draft reports on “efficiency measures” and housing plan updates. These projects attempt to address continuing growth in Sisters, as well as the need to meet state-mandated planning requirements. The consultants and staff were looking to receive direction from both bodies on which strategies make sense. The questions they were asked to consider when providing feedback included: Are we missing any housing strategies? Are we missing any efficiency
See MURAL on page 22
See GROWTH on page 13
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Katie Daisy and Karen Eland painting in a borrowed hangar at the Sisters Airport. and wildlife of Sisters it was a task met with enthusiasm. Their research took them to Camp Sherman, where they studied the blue hues of the
Metolius River and the colorful wildflowers that line it. Towering ponderosa pines near FivePine Lodge laid the scene in Karen’s mind.
Rescuers airlift hiker off South Sister Wildfire bill could be costly for homeowners By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
Senate Bill 762, adopted last June, provided legislative direction to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) regarding the wildland-urban interface, statewide fire risk mapping, and prescribed fire, directing the Department to review and clarify the enforcement of rules pertaining to forestland and baseline standards for unprotected and under-protected lands in Oregon. The ODF is a state agency and the U.S. Forest Service is federal. The ODF fights fires, among myriad other tasks, on state-owned lands like state parks. More importantly it
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is the first line of defense for many private woodlands. As Oregon’s largest fire department, ODF’s Fire Protection Program protects 16 million acres of forest, a $60 billion asset. These lands consist of privately owned forests as well as some public lands, including state-owned forests and, by contract, U.S. Bureau of Land Management forests in western Oregon. The ODF’s stated firefighting policy is straightforward: “Put out fires quickly at the smallest possible size. Most of the lands protected by the agency are working forests that produce revenue and support jobs. It is crucial See WILDFIRE BILL on page 21
Search and Rescue personnel came to the aid of a 23-year-old man from Ithaca, New York, on Saturday, after he took a fall on South Sister. Deputy Donny Patterson, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office assistant search and rescue coordinator, reported that Deschutes County 911 received a call at about 6:54 p.m. on June 18, from a hiker who had taken a fall and injured himself on the north side of the South Sister. The climber had reportedly triggered a small avalanche, which caused him to tumble down the mountain. The hiker suffered an injury, which made him unable to continue down on his own. The hiker was requesting the assistance of a helicopter to get off the mountain. Poor weather conditions would not
PHOTO COURTESY DCSO
Rescuers came to the aid of a 23-year-old hiker who tumbled down the mountainside on South Sister last weekend. allow for a helicopter rescue that evening. The hiker had access to a tent and a sleeping bag to secure himself in until a rescue team could reach him. Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue was activated and plans were made to send a team to the hiker’s location
on the mountain at about 9,100 feet elevation. The time it would take to travel to the location and the need to negotiate avalanche terrain made a daylight rescue the only viable option, Patterson reported. The Oregon Office of See RESCUE on page 21
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Roundabout Sisters .......... 6 Announcements...............10 Fun & Games ....................14 Classifieds................. 19-20 Meetings .......................... 3 Sisters Salutes ................. 8 Entertainment ................. 11 Crossword .......................18 Real Estate .................21-24