The Nugget Newspaper // Vol. XLVI No. 27 // 2023-07-05

The Nugget News

and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

www.NuggetNews.com

County scraps mule deer inventory

An afternoon spent listening to Kathie Olson talk about her life as a quilter was filled with fun stories, amazing creativity, and great humor expressed when considering her long dedication to the art and craft of quilting.

Olson said her sewing machine died years ago and she just never replaced it. For all the years since the machine’s demise, Olson has hand-stitched every bit of every quilt to create professional pieces that are a feast for the eyes.

Kathie Olson

will have her quilts displayed in front of Beacham’s Clock Co. on Quilt Show Saturday. INSIDE! 2023QuiltOutdoorSisters PrograShow m!

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

A plan intended to protect mule deer populations in Central Oregon has ended up as roadkill.

At its June 26 meeting, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to withdraw the County’s mule deer inventory update project. The project had included community conversations about the potential creation of the 2023 Mule Deer Winter Range Combining Zone. In May, the Deschutes County Planning Commission had deliberated on the zone following two public hearings in April and recommended approval by a 5-1 vote.

Planning staff has thereby withdrawn the proposal from the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The Board of Commissioners will discuss implementing the Planning Commission’s recommendation to convene a stakeholder group on this topic at the

See MULE DEER on page 20

Don’t be rattled by snakes

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

A Black Butte Ranch police officer deployed spike strips to stop a fugitive’s vehicle, and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) deputies took two men into custody on Highway 20 west of Sisters last week.

The men arrested were suspects in a shooting incident in Redmond. According to Redmond Police Department (RPD), officers responded to the 1900 block of NW Cedar Ave., at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Monday, June 26, regarding a shooting that had just occurred. Witnesses reported that a black passenger car drove by a residence,

Police nab fugitives near Sisters Inside...

stopped, and a person inside the vehicle fired multiple rounds from a firearm at a male resident who was in the driveway. The suspect left the location.

Officers and Redmond Fire and Rescue personnel provided emergency first aid to the victim, 42-year-old Esaui Mutchler, who died of his wounds on Saturday, July 1. RPD shut down the surrounding area and the Major Incident Team (MIT) was activated to assist RPD in investigating the case.

Later on June 26, the Bend Police Department located

See FUGITIVES on page 16

Your odds of seeing a rattlesnake inside the city limits of Sisters are too low to calculate. Nobody seems to remember seeing one in town. Just east and north of town, it’s a different story — although sightings are low, bites lower, and there is no record of death by bite in Deschutes County, although some bites have resulted in emergency care.

Your dog is more at risk than you, vets say, as they are naturally prone to get off trail and flush out movement. Curiosity can kill our fourlegged friends, so the best advice is to avoid known rattler areas.

They’re scary — but they’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone.

Rattlers do not respond to sound. They react to vibration. They rarely, if ever, bite except in a defensive posture.

They will go to great lengths to avoid humans, biologists

See RATTLESNAKES on page 19

PHOTO BY MARK LEPPIN

By Sue Stafford | Correspondent

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.

Thank you to Forest Service

To the Editor:

A big thank-you to our local Forest Service for their prompt response to a recent bonfire that was started and left unattended on BLM land that borders the perimeter of the Tollgate subdivision on the south side of Highway 20. Fortunately, a concerned motorist traveling on the highway reported seeing smoke. The USFS was dispatched and extinguished the fire before it had an opportunity to spread closer to nearby homes.

Crisis averted for now, but it’s not difficult to imagine this scenario playing out again with much worse results. One does

not have to look very hard to find discarded cigarette butts and empty alcohol containers scattered along the dirt trail that runs between Tollgate and Highway 20. Compounding the matter, automobiles are accessing this path via Highway 20. In fact, it was reportedly a motorist that started this most recent fire event. Thankfully, the USFS is taking steps to thwart vehicles from accessing this nonForest Service path.

There are certainly larger issues burning in our local forests that need to be addressed. But for now, many appreciative Tollgate residents are sending much gratitude towards our local U.S. Forest Service for their recent efforts.

Greg Werts

The most dangerous year

By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief

It was, as the Duke of Wellington described the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, “the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.” The series of events that went down 40 years ago, in 1983, carried much bigger potential consequences than any single battle ever did. The stakes were the continued existence of humanity.

Had a couple of decisions gone another way, had individual men not kept a cool head under pressure, it might well have been lights out for the human race.

Most folks believe that the closest the United States and the Soviet Union came to nuclear war was in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Those were some excruciating and dangerous weeks, with tension slowly ratcheting up before being defused by a backchannel deal cut between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. But the events of 1983 were a much more near-run thing than the Cuban Missile Crisis — and very few Americans remember anything about them.

The Cold War was approaching a fatal freeze in 1983. The old KGB mossbacks who ran the USSR were leading a country that had fallen far behind its American adversary technologically and economically. Their war in Afghanistan was not proving swift and short. They faced an American president, Ronald Reagan, who had just called them “the focus of evil in the modern world.” The Americans were launching the Strategic Defense Initiative and were planning deployment of Pershing II missiles to Europe.

down, killing 269 people on board. The shootdown confirmed American belief that the Soviet Union was an “evil empire.” The Soviet leadership thought the Americans were setting up a pretext for war.

A few weeks later, on September 26, a Soviet early warning system stationed outside of Moscow picked up the launch of first one and then four more missiles from the United States, headed toward Russia. Duty officer Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov suspected that the computer detection was a false alarm. A five-missile launch made no sense. A real nuclear first strike would have to be overwhelming to prevent retaliation. Petrov mistrusted the reliability of the satellites involved, and there was no visual confirmation. He stuck with his analysis, which was a good thing because Soviet doctrine called for a launch-on-warning response. Had Petrov made a different “better safe than sorry” calculation, a full nuclear exchange would have been the result — and that would have been that.

It turned out that the false alarm was triggered by an anomalous reflection of light off of high-altitude clouds. Whew…

In November 1983, NATO launched its regular Able Archer military exercise in Europe. They had made some changes to make the exercise more realistic, including scenarios around deployment of nukes — and Soviet intelligence read that as meaning that the exercise might well be a cover for a real attack. Soviet forces went on high alert. Had NATO responded in kind, dangerous escalation all the way to war was only a few steps away.

LLC

Editor in Chief & Co-owner: Jim Cornelius

Production Manager: Leith Easterling

Creative Director: Jess Draper

Community Marketing

Partner: Vicki Curlett

Classifieds & Circulation: Janice Hoffman

Proofreader: Kit Tosello

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The Soviets were convinced that the United States planned a nuclear firststrike. Having grown up in the shadow of the near-fatal German surprise attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Operation Barbarossa, the terminally ill Yuri Andropov and his Politburo comrades were not about to get caught by surprise again.

Andropov initiated Project RYAN, a secret intelligence-gathering program to detect an American nuclear first strike.

America’s political, diplomatic, and military leaders never fully grasped the Soviet mindset — they knew that they weren’t planning a first strike; surely the Russians understood that…

When Korean Airlines flight 007 strayed into Soviet airspace on September 1, fighter pilots shot the airliner

Lt. Gen. Leonard H. Perroots, assistant chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force in Europe, recommended that NATO wait till the exercise wound down, to see if the Soviet alert was based on Able Archer. His boss General Billy M. Minter concurred, and tensions ratcheted down.

The close calls of 1983 probably actually helped Reagan and Premier Mikhail Gorbachev bring about a thaw later in the ’80s. Nobody wanted to walk that close to the edge again.

Now, 40 years later, with the use of nukes in Ukraine a real possibility, we would do well to remember that confirmation bias can lead to catastrophic misjudgments — and to pray that once again smart, cool people are in a position to think twice before letting the missiles fly.

Students sample waters of Suttle Lake

This spring, 32 Sisters High School (SHS) chemistry students worked with Steven Peterzen of The ISTAR Group and SHS science teacher Rima Givot to build the OARS program, in which students explore Suttle Lake ecology through chemical analysis of the water column and benthic sampling of the lake bottom. Canoes made for a nonpolluting vessel to access the deeper waters of Suttle Lake, which is a glacial carved, spring-fed mountain lake west of Sisters. The student scientists used water sampling kits to test the chemical limnology for pH, magnesium, calcium,

BOARDS, GROUPS, CLUBS

Al -Anon

Mon., noon, Shepherd of t he Hills

Lutheran Church. 5 41-610 -7383.

Alcoholics A nonymou s

Cub Scout Pack 139 resumes in Sisters

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

Covid’s misery went far and wide. One of many Sisters Country casualties was a local scouting group. Due to ongoing parents pleas and the determination of a core group of scouting adults, Cub Scout Pack 139 will again be active starting with the new school year.

Cubs are aged 5-10, basically grades K-5, and Cub Scouts, since 2018, include girls as well as boys.

“Cub Scouts is a yearround program whose mission is to develop character and ethical decision-making skills for children. Cub Scouting is organized into

groups called packs and dens, each of which is led by dedicated volunteer leaders who teach Cub Scouts fun, valuable lessons, help learn citizenship, and develop physical fitness,” said Bob Hann, assistant council commissioner of the Crater Lake Council.

An exploratory meeting was recently held and 35 family units, with about 20 percent girls, expressed interest.

“We expect a flood once school starts,” Hann told The Nugget.

Families will get their next look at scouting and the process for enrollment

hardness, phosphate, nitrates, carbon dioxide, and dissolved oxygen levels.

The students then compared the water chemistry of Suttle Lake to glacierfed Whychus Creek and tap water samples taken at Sisters High School.

From the canoes, the students collected microbenthos and macrobenthos samples, organisms that inhabit the bottom of the lake, by means of manually controlled dredges as well as used Secchi targets to record water visibility. Through the OARS project the student scientists began a data baseline and will continue to collect data on the

water chemistry and benthic sampling for future monitoring on the health of the lake.

The data collected will continue to be used for chemical analysis of the water samples and result in written scientific reports.

The real-world application of chemistry helped the students to both connect to the classroom learning and develop a deeper sense of understanding of a water resource, as well as a connection to their local environment through education outdoors.

The OARS project was funded by Battelle Memorial Institute.

The Brothers Comatose to perform in Sisters

Sisters Folk Festival’s Summer Concerts at Sisters Art Works series will kick off on Thursday, July 13, with a performance by The Brothers Comatose, a fivepiece string band with fierce musicianship and rowdy, rock-concert-like shows. Tickets are on sale for $25 for adults and $15 for youth 17 and under (fees included) at https://aftontickets.com/ BrosComatose.

Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The

SISTERS AREA MEETING CALENDAR

East of the Cascades Quilt Guild 4th Wed. (September- June), Stitchin’ Post . A ll are welcome. 5 41-5 49 -6 061.

G o Fish Fishing G roup 3rd Monday 7 p.m., Siste rs C ommunity Church.

541-771-2211

Sisters Bridge Club Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. at Sisters C ommunity Church. Email sister sbridge2021@gmail.com.

Sisters Caregi ver Suppor t G roup

3rd Tues., 10:30 a.m., Siste rs Episcopal Church. 5 41-719 -0 031.

Sisters Trails A lliance Board Meetings take plac e ever y other month, 5 p.m. In- person or zoom. Contact: info@sisterstrails.org

Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country, and rock ’n’ roll music.

The band is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Steve Height (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly

See CONCERT on page 15

CIT Y & PARKS

Sisters Ci ty Council 2nd & 4t h

Wednesday, 6:3 0 p.m., Siste rs City Hall. 5 41-5 49 -6 022.

Thursday, 7 p.m., Episc opal Church of the Transf iguration / Satur day, 8 a.m., Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration / M onday, 5 p.m., Shepherd of t he Hills Lutheran Church / Big Book study, Tuesday, noon, Shepherd of t he Hills Lutheran Church / Gen tlemen’s meeting, Wednesday, 7 a.m., Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Sober Sisters Women’s meet ing, Thu rsday, noon, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church / Step & Tradition meeting, Fr iday, noon, Shepherd of t he Hills Lutheran Church. 5 41-5 48 -0 440.

Central Oregon F ly Tye rs G uild

For Saturday meeting dates and location, email: steelef ly@msn.c om

Ci tizens4Communit y Let ’s Talk

3rd Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m. RSVP at citizens 4c ommunity.c om

Council on Aging of Cent ral O rego n

Senior Lunch In- person community dining, Tues. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. G raband- go lunch Tues., Wed., Thurs. 12:30 to 1 p.m. Siste rs C ommunity Church.

541- 48 0-18 43

Hear twarmers (f leec e blanketmaker s)

2nd Tuesday, 1 p.m., Siste rs Communit y Church. M ater ials provided.

541- 408 -8 505.

Hero Q uilters of Sisters Thursday, 1 to 4 p.m. 5 41-6 68 -1755

Milita ry Parent s of Sisters M eetings are held quarter ly; please c all for details. 5 41-388 -9 013.

Oregon Band of Brothers Sisters Chapter meets Wednesda ys, 11:3 0 a.m., Takoda’s Rest aurant.

541- 549- 64 69

SAGE (Senior Activities, G athering s & Enrichmen t) M onday- Fr iday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sisters Par k & Recreation

District. 5 41-5 49 -2091.

Sisters Aglow Lighthouse 4th Saturday, 10 a.m., meeting by Zoom. 503- 93 0- 6158

Sisters Area Photography Club

2nd Wednesday, 3:3 0 p.m., at Sisters Communit y Church. 5 41-5 49 -6157.

Sisters Astronomy Club 3rd Tuesday,

Sisters Cribbage C lub M eets 11 a.m. ever y Wed. at S PR D. 5 09 -9 47-574 4.

Sisters Garden C lub For monthly meetings visit: SistersGardenClub.com.

Sisters Habitat for Humanit y Board of D irectors 4th Tuesday, 6 p.m. Location infor mation: 5 41-5 49 -1193.

Sisters Kiwanis Thursdays, 7 to 8:3 0 a.m., at Aspen Lakes Golf Cours e.

541- 410-2870

Sisters Parent Teacher Communit y 2nd Tuesday, 6 p.m. at Sisters Elementary School Commons.

917-219-8298

Sisters Red Hat s 1st Friday. For location infor mation, please c all:

541- 8 48 -1970.

Sisters Rotary 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, Noon, Aspen Lakes. 5 41-760 -5 64 5.

Three Sister s Lions Club 2nd Thursday, 6:3 0 p.m., Spoons Rest aurant. 5 41-419 -1279.

Sisters Veterans Thursdays, noon, Takoda’s Restaurant. 5 41-9 03 -1123.

Three Sister s Irrigation Distric t Board of Direc tors M eets 1st Tuesday, 4 p.m., TSI D Of fice. 5 41-5 49 -8 815

VF W Po st 813 8 and A merican Legion Post 8 6 1st Wednesday of the mont h, 6:3 0 p.m., M ain Church Building Sisters Community Church. 8 47-344 -0 49 8

Sisters Area Woodworkers Held the f irst Tuesday of t he month 7 to 9 p.m. Call 541-231-18 97

SCHOOLS

Black Bu tt e School Boa rd of Directors 2nd Tuesday, 3:4 5 p.m., Black Butte School. 5 41-595 -6203

Sisters School District Board of Directors O ne Wednesday m onthly, Sisters School District Administr ation Building. See schedule online at www.ssd 6.org. 5 41-5 49 -8 521 x5 002.

Sisters Park & Recreation District

Board of Dire ctor s 2nd & 4th Tues., 4:30 p.m., SPR D bldg. 5 41-5 49 -2091.

Sisters Pl anning Commission

3rd Thursday, 5:3 0 p.m., Siste rs City Hall. 5 41-5 49 -6 022.

FIRE & POLICE

Black Bu tt e Ranch Polic e Dept Board of Dire ctor s M eets monthly 541- 59 5-2191 for time & date

Black Bu tt e Ranch R FPD Board of Directors 4th Thurs., 9 a.m., BB R Fire Station. 5 41-595 -2 28 8

Cloverdale R FPD Board of Directors

3rd Wed., 5:3 0 p.m., 6743 3 Cloverdale Rd. 5 41-5 48 -4 815. c loverdalef ire.com.

Sister s- Camp She rman R FPD

Board of Dire ctor s 3rd Tuesday, 5 p.m., Siste rs Fire Hall, 5 41-5 49 -0771.

Sister s- Camp She rman R FPD Drills Tuesdays, 7 p.m., Siste rs Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St. 5 41-5 49 -0771.

This listing is for regular Sist ers Countr y meetings; email infor mation to nugget@ nuggetnews.com.

PHOTO BY RIMA GIVOT

Sisters High School students explored Suttle Lake’s ecology.

See CUB SCOUTS on page 14

Sisters woman serves in U.S. Navy

Petty Officer Third Class

Emma Young, a daughter of Sisters residents, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Naval Air Station Lemoore in Lemoore, California.

Young joined the Navy five years ago. Today, Young serves as an aviation ordnanceman.

“I joined the Navy to be a diver,” said Young. “I was going to convert back to Navy diver but I liked aviation ordnanceman so I stuck with it. I liked the people, their work ethic, and the job.”

Naval Air Station Lemoore is home to Commander Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and Commander Joint Strike Fighter Wing. More than half of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft reside here, and it is the only Navy installation to house the F-35C Lightning II.

This year commemorates 50 years of women flying in the U.S. Navy. In 1973, the first eight women began flight school in Pensacola; one year later six of them, known as “The First Six,” earned their “Wings of Gold.” Over the past 50 years, the Navy has expanded its roles for women to lead and serve globally, and today our women aviators project power from the sea in every type of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aircraft. Our nation and our Navy is stronger because of their service.

With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.

“Our mission remains timeless — to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, “This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy.”

Serving in the Navy means Young is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on strengthening

alliances, modernizing capabilities, increasing capacities, and maintaining military readiness in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“We contribute to national defense by covering everything from the land, to air, and especially the sea,” said Young. “We have a very large fleet that’s capable of covering almost everywhere in the world.”

Young and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

“I’m most proud of my

recent deployment,” said Young. “I was able to hold a leading petty officer position as a third-class petty officer. This position is usually held by a first-class petty officer.

I’m also proud of receiving an end-of-service Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.”

As Young and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

“To me, being in the Navy gives me a chance to serve my country and protect my loved ones,” added Young.

Petty Officer Third Class Emma Young.

PHOTO BY VANESSA WHITE, NAVY OFFICE OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH

national defense by covering everything from the land, to air, and especially the sea.

Emma Young

Grass roots effort to tackle Alzheimer’s in Sisters

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

More than 50 attended the first of what organizers say will be a continuing series of events in Sisters to grow awareness of and develop strategies to tackle the increasing devastation of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The kick-off event took

place June 23 at the SistersCamp Sherman Fire District Community Hall with a presentation: “10 Warning Signs of Dementia” and was followed by four “Sis” talks that focused on the importance of social engagement, staying physical, balanced nutrition, and keeping your brain engaged.

“Sis” talks is the term organizers came up with as

a spin-off of TED Talks, a highly successful, international format of presenting complex and lengthy subject matter in a condensed, engaging style.

The event, originated by Rotary Club of Sisters in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association, had local representatives from Partners In Care, Council on Aging, STARS, and Martin

Gauging Alzheimer’s in Sisters

National figures for those diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are readily available. At the state level there is good reporting but at the local level it’s harder to find numbers showing the disease’s penetration.

The disease is prevalent in Oregon, with over 69,000 people living with Alzheimer’s, said Lori Stanton of the Alzheimer’s Association of Oregon and Southwest Washington. By 2050, Stanton says over 84,000 Oregonians are expected to have the disease.

Along with the rise in cases, the report shows how the disease is impacting caregivers — including unpaid caregivers such as friends or family members, who may experience depression or physical ailments as they care for someone with the disease.

In Oregon, there are over 181,000 caregivers, including family members and in-home paid caregivers, Stanton said. However, with the projected rise in cases, Stanton shared concerns amid nationwide workforce gaps to care for those with Alzheimer’s.

Nationally, about one in

nine people age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s. Almost two-thirds of those are women. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while those from heart disease — the leading cause of death — have decreased.

Given Sisters Country’s elder population, the problem may be greater here than throughout the county. The median age in Bend is 39.5, meaning half of all its citizens are under 39.5 and half are older. In Redmond, it’s 36.2. For all of Oregon it’s 39.5. In Sisters its 49.5, a full 10 years older than our neighbors.

In Bend 16.1 percent of the population is over 65. In Redmond that number is 15.1 and in Sisters it’s 21.5, indicating by extrapolation that Sisters Country is likely to have at least 150 of its citizens afflicted. “It’s of growing concern in Sisters especially as we age and are starting with an older population,” said Bill Kelly,

president of Rotary Club of Sisters.

Rotary is becoming more active in trying to equip the community in the fight against dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60-80 percent of dementia cases.

Alzheimer’s worsens over time. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradu ally worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environ ment. On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years after diagno sis but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors.

& Richards, PLLC attorneys specializing in estate planning and guardianships, and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, who had a nurse taking blood pressure for attendees.

Speakers included Ashlee Francis, owner of SweatPNW in Sisters; Joelle Blanchard, community outreach and education manager with Partners In Care; Ken Scholz, PhD, a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association; and Debbi McCune, community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association.

McCune, a Sisters realtor and advocate for Alzheimer’s care, knows about the disease intimately. Her husband was diagnosed 17 years ago and she’s been his primary caregiver for eight. Facilitating the event, she asked the audience how many were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and six hands went up.

When asked how many in the room cared for an Alzheimer’s family member or loved one, another 20 hands were raised. And asking how many present had a family member or loved one with the disease, all remaining hands shot up.

The appreciative attendees asked that the band of sponsors do more to support

events and hopes for more professional caregiving in the community.

The Alzheimer’s Association has a one-person chapter in Bend, but that staffer has been called to Portland, leaving the branch for all of Deschutes County temporarily void.

“We’re going to have to do this largely by our own effort,” said Bill Kelly, Rotary Club president, referring to the grassroots effort getting underway among advocates in Sisters Country.

Sandy Reilly of Sisters is one such advocate. His older sister, Mary, is an Alzheimer’s victim and he has immersed himself in learning about the disease and trying, like McCune, to organize a concerted, longterm approach to combatting dementia and Alzheimer’s on a local basis.

Reilly and Tate Metcalf, owner of Sisters Athletic Club, are staging a 50-kilometer spinathon at the Club on July 22. Using the Club’s spin cycles, teams of four, or in Reilly’s case, a team of one, will spin for 50K as a fundraiser, with proceeds going to the start of a pool of money that can be distributed into Sisters in support of tackling the problem.

Farmer-educators connect kids with food and learning

By T. Lee Brown Correspondent

“I love it,” said Programs Director Hannah Joseph on a sunny day at Seed to Table farm. Peacocks shrilled and Highland cattle mooed. She and Farm Manager Jenn Gardner sought shade after an intense several hours leading kids in activities and education on the farm (see related article, page 7)

“I love connecting everything through food,” said Joseph. “I think we can all relate to food, so it’s a great focal point to then talk about all kinds of subjects.”

Teaching kids through hands-on activities is engaging for her. “There’s so many directions we can go, whether it’s about trying something new or getting comfortable in the outdoors and welcoming all the critters, not being scared of the bees or the worms. Or learning about the science of plants, or about conservation and ecology.”

The breadth and depth of education that’s possible in the on-farm environment is rewarding for educators as well as students. “We have a lot we can do, and I think that makes it fun for all our different educators who have different areas of focus and direction,” explained Joseph.

Farmer-educator is an unusual role in the world. What does Joseph think this role can do in our community?

“One of my favorite benefits of this sort of education is that it provides an alternative learning environment,” she stated. “They’re totally learning things, whether they’re aware of it or not. Informal education at the farm—there’s less structure, it’s less rigid compared to a situation where you have to sit and listen. It’s exploratory.

“So if there’s different styles of learners, kids can engage differently and thrive in a different environment,”

she concluded. “That’s my favorite part.”

Joseph is in her third season on the farm, engaging with students from around Central Oregon, many from Sisters School District. People think of the region as being outdoorsy and agricultural, but many kids aren’t too familiar with the outdoors, farming, and gardening when they arrive.

“It depends,” Joseph said. “Some kids are like, superpros. They garden all the time, they’ve been coming here for years. Other kids are new to it. Last week we had two kids who had never planted something before. They got to plant!”

She especially enjoys working with Sisters Elementary School students, “where we see some of the same kids from second through fifth grade. By fifth grade, they can teach each other how to plant, and teach new students what the farm is like.”

A newer addition to Seed to Table, Gardner taught her first student field trips last year.

Leading young students through learning and exploring has changed Gardner’s experience of farming. “This is the fourth farm that I’ve worked on,” she described. Her past farm jobs involved “just growing veggies, selling to markets, doing the CSA.”

Seed to Table Oregon is a charitable nonprofit organization that operates a farm but also engages with other community efforts. Team members, together with students and volunteers, plant seeds, transplant seedlings, weed, hoe, mulch, and harvest—just like at other farms.

They use sustainable, natural methods to coax a surprisingly large bounty of fresh local produce from the four-acre farm, currently producing about 75,000 pounds per year and feeding

700 households per week in season.

In addition to familiar farming activities, Seed to Table zeroes in on education and food equity. Educational programs include teaching via on-farm student visits, providing food-related education at Sisters Farmers Market, and collaborating with local educators in a variety of ways.

The farm’s produce is distributed to schools and food pantries for increased access to fresh food. Locals sign up for its popular produce share, which operates in the CSA style. CSA stands for community supported agriculture: in this case, a subscription-based food pick-up that

allows folks to select their preferred produce directly from the farm once a week.

Additionally, the Seed to Table booth at Sisters Farmers Market sells pounds and pounds of freshly plucked veggies. The organization also runs the Market itself, providing the Market’s management, leadership, and infrastructure since 2020.

Gardner appreciates the wide array of programs at Seed to Table. “The education component is really fun,” she said. “It’s been great to step away from field tasks for a bit, hang out with kids, and teach them about plants.”

On days when she’s not teaching but working on

those field tasks, Gardner enjoys seeing kids on the farm and overhearing the things they say. “They’ve always got some funny comments, things they get excited about,” she added. “Farming is pretty grueling work at times, so having that young, joyful energy around can really brighten our day.”

During summer, the farm offers education programs for pre-kindergarten children and youth in grades K–8. Learn more at www.seedtotableore gon.org/summer-farm-camp. For educational activities at Sisters Farmers Market, drop by Fir Street Park on Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Details available at www. sistersfarmersmarket.com.

Sisters elementary students learn hands-on in a hoop house at Seed to Table’s farm with farmer, educator, and Programs Director Hannah Joseph.

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

Team Greens explores plants, farming, and nomming

By T. Lee Brown Correspondent

Students gathered in a circle with educator and Programs Director Hannah Joseph at Seed to Table farm. Around the circle, each child announced their name and a vegetable.

“My name is Lachlan, and I like carrots,” said a boy in a plaid shirt.

“My name is Mysie and I like green onions,” said a girl dressed in a red shirt and cap.

Together with others from Sisters Elementary School, they named their group Team Greens.

Students examined vegetables they’d planted on previous field trips, such as onions and lettuce. With Joseph’s guidance, they observed where cold weather had made a leaf brown around its edges.

“Mysie, do you want to harvest the green onion?” Joseph inquired.

“Yeah!” said Mysie. “Green onions helps your sense of smell.”

Team Greens picked leaves of lettuce and spinach to make a snack. But this was no ordinary snack. On a big rice cracker, each child made a “garden.” They started by spreading homemade hummus for soil. Then they planted their gardens with fresh salad turnips, radishes, and greens. Before long, the gardens were in their bellies.

“Are they woolly mammoths?” asked a secondgrader, pointing to a nearby pasture. They were not woolly mammoths; they were Highland cattle, rocking their long horns and flowing with long hair.

“Be gentle with all animals—cows and bugs and worms and humans,” Joseph reminded the kids.

Watching the day’s many activities was Jennifer Orange, grandparent of student Ani. A master gardener visiting from out of state, Orange said she was very

impressed by the program.

“A lot of kids don’t get experience with vegetable gardening, don’t make that connection between what we eat and how it gets there,” Orange said. “So I love this.”

Vegetables taste “extra good being as fresh as they are here,” she noted. “Ani’s eating things she would never eat at home.”

“This is a great facility,” Orange declared. “Sisters is really lucky to have it.”

Adults and kids turned their attention to the mystery plant game. For this, Joseph brought out old coffee cans, each swathed in fabric that hid something inside. Kids bravely thrust their hands into the can, then guessed what type of plant they were touching.

“I know exactly what plant it is,” said a boy in a maroon T-shirt.

“Broccoli!” the kids of Team Greens proclaimed. They soon learned from Joseph that “when we eat broccoli and cauliflower, we’re eating flowers.”

Another activity involved learning the different parts of plants. Lachlan volunteered to be dressed up as a big, human plant, over his plaid shirt. Soon he sported strings for roots, green pants for a stem, real leaves, and an apple for fruit and seeds, topped off with a paper flower crown.

Educators moved students briskly from one educational activity to the next, covering a great deal of literal and educational ground in less than three hours’ time. At the end, students gathered in a circle again. They shared some of what they had learned:

“Don’t trip on the bark chips,” advised Sheviva.

“I learned about different kinds of plants,” Ani shared.

“Cows are like vacuums,” observed Carson.

“Don’t get nommed by a cow because it hurts,” said Lachlan. He clarified that he had not been nommed by a

cow. Said Mysie, “If you eat more vegetables, you grow stronger and you might hold something heavy you didn’t hold before.”

Carson added, “If you eat a lot of turnips you get used to it.”

Orion wasn’t sure. He had fun, but “it feels kind of weird because we’re actually going to a farm instead of doing schoolwork.”

As Joseph later explained, “They’re totally learning things, whether they’re aware of it or not.” The experiential, exploratory approach suits different styles of learners, allowing students to learn and thrive.

“I love coming to Seed to Table. We grow plants and we harvest,” said Mysie. She added, “I like that the farmers made spicy stuff!”

“I liked harvesting and getting the lettuce,” said a boy in blue.

In closing, the kids all yelled: “Thank you, farmers!”

A parent volunteer rushed up to Joseph. “Thank you so much,” the parent said. “I learn so much every time I come out here.”

For her part, Joseph’s favorite part of the day was the scavenger hunt. “They got to explore on their own

a little bit, without so much grownup direction,” she explained. Read more about Joseph and farm-based education on page 6 in this issue of The Nugget. Seed to Table Oregon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing the community with handson, farm-based education; sustainably grown, fresh local

produce distributed through a wide variety of channels; and leadership and management of Sisters Farmers Market. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Seed to Table offers summer educational activities for a span of ages, along with volunteer days and a harvest dinner. Learn more at seedtotableoregon.org.

Kids from Sisters Elementary School make edible mini-gardens at Seed to Table’s farm, using farm-fresh veggies.

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

Bestselling author returns to Sisters

Bestselling author Marie Bostwick will sign her latest novel, “Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly,” at Paulina Springs Books on Saturday, July 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bostwick continues her tradition of signing books during Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

Bostwick is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of uplifting historical and women’s fiction. Drawing on her lifelong love of quilting and her unshakable belief in the power of sisterhood, Marie’s popular Cobbled Court Quilt series has been embraced by quilters and non-sewers alike. Her standalone books have also found a passionate following among lovers of women’s fiction. Marie’s novel “The Second Sister” was adapted into the 2018 Hallmark Hall of Fame feature film “Christmas Everlasting,” starring Patti LaBelle. Marie’s novel “Hope on the Inside” was published in March 2019 and chosen as a Reader’s Digest “Select Editions” book.

Marie lives in Washington state with her husband and a beautiful but moderately spoiled Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

“Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly” is a novel about family, friendship, and finding your true path in life. Esme Cahill thinks she has failed spectacularly: fired from her New York City publishing job, divorced from her husband, and possessing little more than a broken-down car and a pile of unfinished manuscripts, she drives home to Asheville at the request of her late grandmother, Adele, who had begged her just before she died to return to the place she grew up.

There she discovers the once-charming lakeside retreat run by her family is sliding toward financial ruin,

5th District challenger announces candidacy

By Julia Shumway Oregon Capital Chronicle

The path to regaining a Democratic majority in Congress runs through Oregon’s 5th District, state Rep. Janelle Bynum believes, and she’s the person who can win it.

Bynum, a Clackamas Democrat who has served in the state House since 2017, announced her campaign Wednesday for the 5th Congressional District.

are expected to line up for the chance to run against a Republican.

so with the help of her grandfather, George; estranged mother, Robyn; and a travelling chef, Dawes (maker of the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich) they set to work. In the attic, Esme unearths a trove of museumworthy art quilts, sewn by Adele. Piecing together the inspiration behind them, Esme discov -

ers a forgotten chapter in her family history and her grandmother’s untold story, that of a gifted artist who never received her due.

This is an always emotional, sometimes humorous, very human novel of what it means to be family — the ties that bind us together and the unintentional hurts that can rend us apart. And, along the way, Esme learns that failure can be the first step toward the life you’re meant to find.

Paulina Springs Books is located at 252 W. Hood Ave. For more information call 541-549-0866 or visit https:// www.paulinaspringsbooks. com.

“I’m a mom of four, small business owner, engineer, state legislator,” Bynum told the Capital Chronicle. “I see the kitchen table issues. I see the rising cost of food, because I’m feeding four kids. I’m seeing the rising cost of housing.”

The 5th District, which stretches from Portland suburbs across farmland in Marion County and over the Cascades to scoop up Bend, is Oregon’s most competitive.

Republican Lori ChavezDeRemer, the former mayor of Happy Valley, was elected last year. Democrats who didn’t challenge former Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader last year

So far, the most prominent candidate in the race other than Bynum is Lynn Peterson, president of the Metro regional government that serves Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties. But Bynum, who said she’s focused on the general election and has no interest in the primary, can point to an edge over other candidates in the primary: She already beat Chavez-DeRemer –twice.

Both ran for an open state House seat in 2016, with Bynum edging out Chavez-DeRemer. Bynum won by a larger margin in a rematch two years later.

“I’m a metrics person,” Bynum said. “I’m analyzing the data, and I think if there were ever any lessons to learn from my first race in 2016, it’s to look at the numbers and ask the right questions. I think Democrats learned that the hard way.”

Bynum is an engineer by training, but she wasn’t able to find work in her

See BYNUM on page 13

Bestselling author Marie Bostwick has a tradition of visiting with quilters and signing her books on Quilt Show Saturday.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Will Portland verdict impact Sisters’ electricity?

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

In what could be the first verdict for private plaintiffs against a utility over a wildfire, a jury in Portland found PacifiCorp negligible for a series of wildfires in 2020 and awarded more than $72 million for property damage to 17 plaintiffs.

The verdict, rendered June 12, included about $67.5 million in noneconomic damages against PacifiCorp, which operates Pacific Power and is part of deep-pocketed Berkshire Hathaway Energy. PacifiCorp said it would appeal.

The verdict found PacifiCorp’s actions willful, reckless, and grossly negligent. The trial moved to a second phase in which plaintiffs’ lawyers are seeking punitive damages for the plaintiffs. Jurors also found liability to a class of thousands of property owners, who would be part of the second phase that could result in $15 billion in damages against PacifiCorp.

Other utilities have paid hundreds of millions of dollars, in some cases billions, to settle lawsuits over wildfires in California. In 2021, Southern California Edison and its parent company, Edison International, paid $4.6 billion to resolve litigation involving blazes and mudslides in the Los Angeles area in 2017 and 2018.

The Portland trial ensued from four wildfires in September 2020, where many evacuees sought refuge in

Sisters. The lawsuit was filed by named plaintiffs seeking damages on behalf of a class of property owners.

The 12-person jury found PacifiCorp negligent on all major counts, including gross negligence, for causing the Santiam, Echo Mountain, 242, and South Obenchain fires. The fire in the McKenzie River Valley, dubbed the Holiday Fire as it ignited on Labor Day, disrupted traffic to and from Sisters for weeks.

In asking if the large award and potentially a $15 billion further verdict will have an impact on rates or operations in Sisters Country, CEC (Central Electric Cooperative) told The Nugget: “While we can’t speak to the specifics of the class action lawsuit brought against PacifiCorp, the 2020 Labor Day wildfires were a tragic and sobering event and serve as a reminder for CEC to remain vigilant in taking every precaution possible to reduce the risk of our infrastructure contributing to the cause of a fire.

“We continue to implement our Wildfire Mitigation Plan, which includes preparing for a Public Safety Public Shutdown (PSPS) should extreme weather events and related criteria require executing one,” Brent ten Pas, spokesman for CEC, said. “Simultaneously, efforts continue to inform and educate our members and the communities we serve on what they can expect from CEC and what they can do should a PSPS occur.”

Rate impact

Sisters has among the lowest electric rates, at an average of 11 cents/kwh, lower than Bend’s and Redmond’s by a penny and lower than Oregon’s 14.7 cents and the national average of 17 cents/kwh. Will that remain as more and more utilities cough up multi-billion dollar settlements?

Not surprisingly, last week PacifiCorp filed with the Oregon Public Utility Commission for a rate increase of $90 million, which, if approved, essentially covers the jury verdict. CEC is not an investor-owned utility but basically is owned by its customers.

Spokesman ten Pas is not saying that rates won’t increase as utilities’ cost of wildfire mitigation continues to rise. Nor is he saying they will.

“Central Electric Cooperative, as a not-forprofit, is a BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) preference customer, and the co-op gets nearly 100 percent of its power from BPA purchased through PNGC, a G&T cooperative, of which CEC is a member. PNGC also makes

market purchases to supplement our power supply as needed,” he explained.

Transformer shortage worsens

Meanwhile, the cost of transformers has doubled or tripled since 2020, and the lead time between order and delivery has grown from three months to a year plus. The average U.S. transformer is 30 to 40 years old — far beyond the intended lifespan of 25 years.

The transformer manufacturing industry was crushed by offshoring. The remaining eight U.S.-based companies that produce transformers satisfy only about 20 percent of the market, leaving America’s 3,000 domestic electric utilities vulnerable to supply chain disruptions such as were widespread during Covid.

Sisters is experiencing unabated growth of both residential and commercial properties. As is all of Central Oregon, pushing up transformer demand. In the event of a disaster such as the Holiday Fire, the ability of CEC to replace lost transformers would be severely tested.

“As for the national

transformer shortage, delays continue. Residential transformers take about a year, while commercial three-phase transformers face delays for up to two years,” ten Pas said. He added: “To help ease the immediate demand, CEC has partnered with a vendor to refurbish old transformers, returning them to us in likenew condition within weeks, and has also taken steps to secure production slots with vendors to help shorten the delivery timeline for new transformers.”

Transformer supply is an issue to keep an eye on.

PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT

Bir Cele ation

Atreides Roland

Covenant Balloun

A NNOUNCEMENT S

Join a Saturday Morning Interpretive Walk

Friends of the Metolius is sponsoring free walk s for all interested parties . e walk on July 8 will be f rom Camp Sherman Bridge to Allingham Bridge and back, f rom 9 to 11 a .m. Obser ve the unique riparian habitat of the Metolius ecosystem including charismatic species such as osprey, river otters , and merganser ducks

Milestone Cele ation Maggie Bull’s 95th!

Bellingham,

Sisters Careg iver Support

A f acilitated support group for caregivers of those with chronic or life-shor tening diseases meet s 10 to 11:30 a .m. on the third Tuesday of ever y month at Sisters Episcopal Church of e Transfiguration, 121 Brook s Camp Rd . For more information, cont act Kay at 541-719-0 031.

Learn about recent changes to enhance habitat for fish and native plants . Meet near the Camp Sherman Bridge fish viewing platform . e leader is Susan Prince. Children are more than welcome, but dogs are not appropriate. Wear sturdy foot wear and bring water. For information call 415-233-3243.

Please join Mag gie and f amily on July 7 at 4 p.m. at Takoda’s on the patio for a NO HOST celebration of Mag gie’s birthday. Mag gie is a longtime resident of Sisters and would love her “Sisters Country ” family join in the celebration. Maggie has always enjoye d live music, so there will be an band in the evening

Sisters Farmers Market

Seek s Volunteers

Sisters Farmers Market is looking for Market Day helpers

Cele ation o f Life Rodney “Rocky” Davis

Weekly Food Pantry

e Wellhouse Church hosts a weekly food pantr y ursdays at 3 p.m. at 222 N . Trinit y Way Both drive-through pick-up and shopping-st yle distribution are available. Call 541-549-4184 for information.

Free Lunches for Seniors

For those 60+, the Council on Aging of Central Oregon o ers a f un, no-cost social lunch every Tuesday, 11 a .m. to 1 p.m. at Sisters Community Church, 130 0 McKenzie Hwy. No reser vations needed. No-cost Grab-N- Go lunches take place weekly on Wed . and urs ., f rom 12:30 to 1 p.m. Call 541-797-9367.

Free Weekly Meal Service

Family Kitchen hosts weekly togo hot meals on Tuesdays , 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sisters Community Church, 130 0 McKenzie Hwy Visit www.FamilyKitchen .org

STAR S Seek s Volunteers to Transpor t Patients

Help Sisters Countr y residents get to nonemergenc y medical appointments in Sisters , Redmond , and Bend . Attend a free t wo-hour training. Emails from STAR S dispatchers allow you to accept dates and times that work for your schedule, and a mileage reimbursement is included . Learn more at www starsride.org. STAR S is an AFCS Action Team.

STAR S Seek s Dispatch

Volunteers

While working from home, help STAR S transport Sisters Country resident s to nonemergenc y medical appointments . Needed: A computer, the abilit y to use online apps, and a telephone. Call 541-9 04-5545 . STAR S is an AFC S Action Team.

Sisters French Club

For people interested in French culture and language, the Sisters French Club meets the second Monday of the month, July 10 at 6 p.m. at e Barn, 171 E . Main Ave. All levels are welcome. For more information, visit Facebook @SistersFrenchClub.

Volunteers assist with market set-up and breakdown, sta the information booth, and help with a variet y of other tasks . To learn more, call 541-904-1034 or email sistersfarmersmarket@ gmail.com . Sisters Farmers Market is located at Fir Street Park, 150 N Fir St, Sisters . e market is open ever y Sunday, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. now through September.

held at the Redmond VFW Hall July 15 at 10:30 a .m. His wife, Nida, three daughters — Chris , Alona, and Sheila, father Roy, and sister Rita invite friends and f amily to attend . He passed away last December 28th . Family can be reached at 415-378-3551.

Buddy

s Roland Covenant Balloun, bor n at home in Sisters June 17, 2023. Black

Bingo Night Fundraiser

Come to e Barn at 171 E Main Ave. on July 12 f rom 4:30 to 8 p.m. to support Sisters’ ver y own Pine Siskin Waldorf School. ere will be bingo + a silent auction with live music by Skillethead. Admission is free, all ages welcome! Contact Kellen Klein 425-260 -8411.

Volunteer with Sisters

Habitat for Humanity

Have f un, make new f riends, and be an active part of an amazing organiz ation! Volunteer positions are waiting for you at the rif t Store, ReStore, and on the construction team. Attend a one-hour volunteer orientation work shop to get started . New volunteer orientations are 12 p.m . Tues., Wed ., and urs . at the Habit at o ces . Call 541-5491193 or visit sistershabitat.org/ volunteer.

At tention Submariners

Saturday, July 15 f rom 8 a .m. to 2 p.m., Central Oregon Submarine Base will be having a yard sale at 61551 E astlake Dr. in Bend . Proceeds will help in-need submariners and other veterans in Central Oregon.

To contribute, contact Base Commander Rick Neault at 530434-1102 or Secretar y Fran Davis at 541-527-5484.

Sisters Garden Par ty

Sisters Garden Club invites the public to a garden part y on ursday, July 6 from 10 a .m. to 3 p.m. at one club member’s beautiful garden located at 36 4 E . Wapato Lp. ere will be local artisans , ref reshments, and a ra e. ere is no charge to attend but donations are welcome. Contact Ruth at 97124 6-0404

Free Pet Food

Are you in need of pet food for your dog or cat? Call Furry Friends pet food bank 541-7974023 to schedule your pickup in Sisters behind the Nugget

Etched on Stone Workshop

Artist John Vale f rom Copper Moon Artisan will be holding a work shop July 15 at the Sisters librar y f rom 4 to 7 p.m. to teach others how to create an etched stone masterpiece of their own. He will provide all needed supplies and will assist ever yone in making their own creations . On the following Saturday, completed pie ces will be available to pickup, or John can ship your art work to you for a fee. John has owned t wo gallerie s and loves to help others create art. You are encouraged to bring a simple image around 10x10 in size, but a collection of images you can use will also be on hand if needed. Contact coppermoonar tisan. net to receive a registration form. Snack s and water will be provided . Bring your friends!

Photog raphy Club Event

e Photography Club of Sisters host s a presentation by Portland professional photographer ibault Roland, a Sony Artisans of Imager y Photographer. e program will be on long exposure photography on Wednesday, July 12 at Sisters Community Church , 4:4 0 to 5:30 p.m . e club meeting starts at 3:30 p.m. C all 541-549-6157.

Santiam Wagon Road Tour

Carpool over the pass to visit old buildings and hear stories of this historic early transportation route while enjoying a picnic stop for lunch. e tour will visit Hog g Rock and the Fish Lake Station. Group carpool will leave July 11 at 9 a .m. and return about 4 p.m. is event is f ree. Call Diane 541610- 6323 or email museum@ threesistershistoricalsociet y.org to make your reser vation. is event is presented by ree Sisters Historical Society, and the tour will be led by Steve Lent.oa

is charming 2-year-old chihuahua loves to b e outside any chance he gets! He is well socialize d and has exp erience with a crate. Buddy is a sweet littl e dude just waiting for his perfect forever home. Call or visit HSCO to learn more ab out Buddy

— SPONSORED BY —

541-549-1837

LACEY went missing f rom Kent Road, near Cloverdale on Friday, June 23. She is 11 lb. and has tag s. 503-860-7801.

SISTER S- ARE A C HURCH ES

Baha’i Faith

For information, devotions, study g roups , etc. , contac t Shauna Rocha 541-6 47-9826 • www.bahai.org • www bahai.us • www.bahaiteaching.org

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

121 N Brook 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

67130 Har ring ton Loop Rd . • 541-389-8960 www.sistersnaz .org

• info@sistersnaz .org

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

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

12 p.m. Monday Mass • 8 a .m. Tuesday-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

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

POLIC Y: 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 subject to editing and run as space allows . Email janice@nug getnews .com or drop o at 4 42 E . Main Ave. Deadline is five on Fridays

Washing ton, joyf ully announce the birth of their son, Atreide

Bill targets paramilitary activity

By Ben Botkin Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Senate on Saturday passed a bill that would clamp down on paramilitary activity and give law enforcement and private citizens tools to combat illegal intimidation, including through civil actions.

House Bill 2572 has the goal of preventing armed activity that interferes with law enforcement or infringes on a person’s constitutional rights, such as voting. The bill goes to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk after the Senate passed it with a 17-8 party line vote, with all eight Republican senators present opposed.

The bill’s passage comes amid a surge of domestic terrorist and paramilitary activity in Oregon and the Northwest in recent years. Armed antigovernment militia groups have taken over public land, as they did in Harney County in 2016 at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Attackers have targeted the electric grid. In a 2022 report, the Oregon Secretary of State office found the state had the sixth highest number of violent extremism incidents in the nation from 2011 to 2020. The report urged lawmakers to take action because Oregon is one of just 16 states without a definition of domestic terrorism in the law.

“Our communities, our families are vulnerable,” Sen. James Manning, D-Eugene, a chief sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “This bill will fortify Oregon against threats from violent extremists trying to undermine our democracy and infringe on our rights.”

The bill would allow the attorney general to take a paramilitary group to court and get a judicial order to stop certain activity, including armed intimidation. The bill would allow private individuals to sue paramilitary participants in court for damages over their loss of access to a public space or ability to engage in a lawful activity, such as voting. Lawsuits could be filed even if criminal charges weren’t filed.

Under the proposal, unlawful paramilitary activity would be defined as three or more people who operate as a unit with a coordinated command structure. The group, armed with firearms, explosives, or other weapons, would be considered a paramilitary organization if it publicly patrolled, held drills, or engaged in activities that could injure or kill. The bill would apply to paramilitary activity regardless of ideology.

Republished under Creative Commons license

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 courtesy of https://oregoncapitalchronicle. com.

Sisters-Area Events & Enter tainment

WEDNESDAY • JULY 5

Lake Creek Lodge Live Music: Scott Harris 5-7 p.m. on the deck. 13 375 SW Forest Service Rd #1419, Camp Sherman. For info see www.lakecreeklodge.com/events/.

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Eric Leadbetter Band 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For info go to www thebarninsisters.com.

THURSDAY • JULY 6

Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Willa Goodfellow presents “Prozac Monologues” at 6:30 p.m. Raw, vulnerable collection of essays offers a memoir and a self-help guide to folks struggling with mental illness Info: PaulinaSpringsBooks.com.

Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night

Sign up at 5:30 Starts promptly at 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Dogand family-friendly Free For info call Eurosports at 541-549-2471

FRIDAY • JULY 7

Hardtails Karaoke with KJ Mindy

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

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Shaen Marie Pascal 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting Info: thebarninsisters.com.

Eurosports Food Cart Garden Car Show & Live Music: Fiddler Bob and Mark Beringer 5-7 p.m. Free Familyand dog-friendly Bring your cool or vintage car for the car show — or come to see them! For info call 541-549-2471

SATURDAY • JULY 8

The Belfr y Live Music: The Barefoot Movement with Rich Swanger 7 p.m. Modern roots music featuring powerhouse vocals, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass Rich Swanger is an Oregon-based singer-songwriter with roots in folk and country-blues music Presented by The Whippoorwill Presents. Tickets, $20, at www.bendticket.com.

Hardtails Live Music: Juju Eyeball a tribute to The Beatles, 8 p.m. Summer Tribute Series. Tickets at www.BendTicket.com.

Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Marie Bostwick presents her new novel, “Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly,” about family, friendship, and finding your true path in life. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info: PaulinaSpringsBooks.com.

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Alicia Viani Band 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

SUNDAY • JULY 9

Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Featuring live music community booth, vendors, kids activities, and more. For more information visit www.sistersfarmersmarket.com.

Sisters Community Church Live Music: Toast & Jam Summer Concert Series on the lawn. 6 p.m. Free (donation to local nonprofits who provide assistance for those in need in our community, is appreciated). Bring chairs or blanket. More info at www.SistersChurch.com.

Sisters Saloon Live Music: Dead Lee (featuring Brian Koch of Blitzen Trapper)

6 to 8 p.m. on the patio All ages Free Info at facebook.com/SistersSaloonAndRanchGrill.

WEDNESDAY • JULY 12

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Skillethead

6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

Lake Creek Lodge Live Music: John Shipe 5-7 p.m. on the deck. 13 375 SW Forest Service Rd #1419, Camp Sherman. For info see www.lakecreeklodge.com/events/.

THURSDAY • JULY 13

Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night

Sign up at 5:30 Starts promptly at 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Dogand family-friendly Free For info call Eurosports at 541-549-2471

FRIDAY • JULY 14

Hardtails Karaoke with KJ Mindy 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. For more information call 541-549-6114. Eurosports Food Cart Garden Car Show & Live Music: Skybound Blue 5-7 p.m. Free Family- and dog-friendly Bring your cool or vintage car for the car show — or come to see them! For more info call 541-549-2471

SATURDAY • JULY 15

Sisters Depot Live Music: Jazz Folks Quarte t 6-8:30 p.m. A classic jazz quartet based in Sisters playing the great jazz standards. Reservations recommended. $5 cover. Info: www.sistersdepot.com/events.

SATURDAY • JULY 15 (continued)

Hardtails Live Music: Status Fear (rock band) with comedian Billy Brant opening 7-10 p.m. Free show on outdoor stage. For more information call 541-549-6114. The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Holy Smokes 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

SUNDAY • JULY 16

Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Featuring live music, community booth, vendors, kids activities, and more. For more information visit www.sistersfarmersmarket.com.

Sisters Saloon Live Music: Stu Kinzel & The Dust Devils 6 to 8 p.m. on the patio All ages Free Information at facebook.com/SistersSaloonAndRanchGrill.

TUESDAY • JULY 18

Paulina Springs Books Open Mic Night 6:30-8 p.m. Share poetry, a song, or short story (5 minutes or less). Sign-ups to share begin at 6 p.m. This is an all-ages event, and all are welcome Info: PaulinaSpringsBooks.com.

WEDNESDAY • JULY 19

Lake Creek Lodge Live Music: Travis Ehrenstrom

5-7 p.m. on the deck. 13 375 SW Forest Service Rd #1419, Camp Sherman. For info see www.lakecreeklodge.com/events/. The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Blackstra p Bluegrass 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

THURSDAY • JULY 20

Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night

Sign up at 5:30 Starts promptly at 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Dogand family-friendly Free For info call Eurosports at 541-549-2471

FRIDAY • JULY 21

Sisters Depot Live Music: Andrew Lions Quartet

6-8:30 p.m. Reservations recommended.

Info: www.sistersdepot.com/events.

Hardtails Karaoke with KJ Mindy

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

Eurosports Food Cart Garden Car Show & Live Music: Desert Sons 5-7 p.m. Free Family- and dog-friendly Bring your cool or vintage car for the car show — or come to see them! For more info call 541-549-2471

SATURDAY • JULY 22

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: My Band Anna 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

Hardtails Live Music: Valhalla a tribute to Led Zeppelin, 8 p.m. Summer Tribute Series. Tickets at www.BendTicket.com.

Sisters Depot Live Music: Rick Smith 6-8:30 p.m. Local Rick Smith comes to the courtyard stage as a single entertainer with a full band sound, playing rock, country, and blues. Reservations recommended. $5 cover. Info: www.sistersdepot.com/events.

SUNDAY • JULY 23

Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Featuring live music community booth, vendors, kids activities, and more. For more information visit www.sistersfarmersmarket.com.

Sisters Saloon Live Music: Band of Comerados

6 to 8 p.m. on the patio All ages Free Information at facebook.com/SistersSaloonAndRanchGrill.

Sisters Community Church Live Music: High Street Party Band Summer Concert Series on the lawn. 6 p.m. Free (donation to local nonprofits who provide assistance for those in need in our community, is appreciated). Bring chairs or blanket. More info at www.SistersChurch.com.

WEDNESDAY • JULY 26

Lake Creek Lodge Live Music: Brent Alan 5-7 p.m. on the deck. 13 375 SW Forest Service Rd #1419, Camp Sherman. For info see www.lakecreeklodge.com/events/.

The Barn in Sisters Live Music: Sonic Benders 6 to 8 p.m. Weather permitting For information go to www thebarninsisters.com.

THURSDAY • JULY 27

Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night

Sign up at 5:30 Starts promptly at 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Dogand family-friendly Free For info call Eurosports at 541-549-2471

Sisters church offers free concert series

Sisters Community Church (SCC) is hosting its third annual summer concert series in July and August. The summer concert series, which started in 2020, offers outstanding performers from throughout the area.

The first concert in the series is Sunday, July 9 at 6 p.m., featuring Toast & Jam. There is no admission cost. The church absorbs the cost of putting on the concerts.

The purpose of the concerts is two-fold. First, to invite all people from our community to gather in a welcoming, hospitable, friendly, and fun outdoor environment simply to meet people, to reunite with those we’ve not seen for some time, and to enjoy good music with people from all walks of life. It gives the church an opportunity to host something for the entire community.

The second reason is to provide a forum to support and create awareness of a different local nonprofit at each concert. The nonprofits are all from our community. They all have missions focused on serving those in need. In the past, those who’ve attended concerts have assisted youth, young mothers or mothers-to-be, honored veterans, provided support for the unhoused, supported those who fight against human trafficking right here in Deschutes County, and others.

The concert series started in the summer of 2020. Everyone was coming out of a long stretch of COVID-19

illnesses and restrictions.

Businesses were struggling. Youth and parents were fatigued from online school and online work. Many had not seen friends or acquaintances for months. Isolation was real, especially for those who could not easily get out on their own. Many were at odds with neighbors and institutions regarding how best to, or not to, adhere to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. Political polarization was dividing friends and families. Leaders at Sisters Community Church wanted to create a forum where all could welcome each other and focus attention away from ourselves, and toward others who rely on local support to build up the community.

Steve Stratos, pastor at Sisters Community Church, said, “One of our goals is to be a church to the community, rather than simply a church located in the community. Two of our key purposes are to cultivate community, and care for people.” Ryan Moffat, also a pastor at SCC, says, “Invite friends and neighbors. Let’s be welcoming. Let’s be hospitable. Let’s not charge for attendance. Just come and be a part. See friends and meet new ones.”

The original Toast & Jam duo was created a few years ago, when Jeff Miller and Ben Delery decided to get together to play some music. Not intending to start a band, the guys took a few gigs locally, playing their favorite songs from almost every genre of music. Just two guys

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and their friends and families who enjoy good music. But it was apparent to everyone who heard them that these two had something special. Someone even said they go together like “toast & jam.”

And so the journey began.

Fast-forward four years, and the TNJ Band still features the one-of-a-kind vocal duo made up of Jeff Miller and Ben Delery, but now includes Russ Skelton and Bethany Willis. From the moment they start playing, they have a sound that’s entirely their own. It’s a little bluesy, a little country, and a lot of soul-infused magic. Brought together by a shared love of all styles of music, TNJ is known for their fourpart harmonies and gritty vocals, held together by an upright bass, a fiddle, and two guitars. The group’s sound isn’t so much about the notes they sing or play, but more about how their music makes you feel. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old or somewhere in between, there’s something for everyone when this band plays.

The dates of the other concerts in the series are Sundays, July 23 (High Street Party Band), August 6 (Motel Kalifornia), and August 20 (Juju Eyeball). All concerts are at 6 p.m. and are held outdoors on the lawn looking out on the Three Sisters mountains.

RENO

JULY 18-21 | $409 PPDO

Includes 3 nights, Circus/Circus, slot play and food credits.

BRANSON

AT CHRISTMAS

NOV. 9-16 | $2,699 PPDO

Includes air, taxes, transfers, 7 nights lodging, 14 meals/14 shows.

LEAVENWORTH

AT CHRISTMAS

DEC. 10-12 | $699 PPDO 2 nights at Bavarian Lodge, 2 brkfsts, 2 dinners, sleigh ride.

PANAMA CANAL CRUISE

JAN. 21-FEB. 6, 2024 $3,499 PPDO

Includes air, taxes, transfers, 1 pre-night Ft. Lauderdale.

VENICE CRUISE

MAY 2-12, 2024

STARTING AT $2,999 PPDO

Includes air, taxes, transfers, 2 pre-nights Venice, 7 night cruise.

RIVER CRUISE

NASHVILLE TO ST. LOUIS

JUNE 30-JULY 8, 2024

STARTING AT $4,899 PPDO

Includes air, transfers, taxes, 2 pre-nights in Nashville, 7 night cruise, 1 post-night in Memphis. Complimentary shore excursions.

Connie Boyle 541-508-1500

Box 615 Sisters, OR 97759

Toast & Jam will kick off Sisters Community Church’s summer concert series.

Stop by and visit with Shelley Marsh, Krista Palmer, and Sam Pitcher

2023 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show™

Saturday, July 8, 2023

— 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. —

Always the second Saturday in July

Located throughout Sisters

No tickets required • No cost to attend

9 a.m. Start of 48th Anniversary

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

“Hidden Stories”

Over 1,100 quilts on display throughout the town of Sisters

e “Gra ti”

Cherrywood Challenge on display at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Hall throughout the day

4 p.m. End of Quilt Show Day

Live-feed raffle of the 2023 SOQS Raffle Quilt at the SOQS Office: 220 S. Ash St.

VIRTUAL SHOW-DAY ACTIVITIES ON FACEBOOK LIVE:

7 a.m. Welcome to SOQS: Quilt Hanging at Stitchin’ Post

9-11 a.m. Quilts on Display

Featured Quilters

Quilt Block Challenge

12:30 p.m. Cherrywood Challenge

1 p.m. Teachers’ Pavilion

WISH Upon A Card

3 p.m. Quilts of Valor Presentation

Corner of Hood Avenue and Elm Street 4 p.m. Quilt Ra e at the SOQS O ce, 220 S. Ash St.

For the most up-to-date information, follow us on social media:

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

SistersOutdoorQuiltShow

For additional information, or if you miss something, visit www.soqs.org

ADDITIONAL HAPPENINGS

DURING QUILT SHOW WEEK:

Quilter’s A air: Classes held at Sisters High School Monday-Friday leading up to Quilt Show Day. Brought to you by Stitchin’ Post. www.stitchinpost.com

Wed., July 5 – Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Fundraiser

Sun., July 9 – Quilts at FivePine Lodge

A Message from SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd:

Stitching our Hidden Stories

Welcome to our 48th annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and on behalf of our Board of Directors, thank you for joining us. We are so pleased that you have joined us to celebrate the art, skill, and heritage of quilting and fiber arts, and believe we have created an event that will fill your heart and soul with beautiful quilts. May you be inspired by all that surrounds you: design, color, joy, and new quilting friendships.

Our theme for the 2023 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, “Hidden Stories,” reflects each quilt that is lovingly stitched together. There are stories that we carry and pour into our creative works. We celebrate each stitch, every work of art, words that are written, and songs that are sung with the beauty of every Hidden Story. As you walk through our beautiful community and gaze at all the gorgeous quilts, I hope you seek to see the “Hidden Stories” and become inspired in creating art to share your own.

We wish to thank our community of Sisters and its amazing support of the Quilt Show, our quilting storytellers who share their art

with us, our silent heroes of volunteers who help to make the Quilt Show happen, and our sponsors and donors who believe in and partner with us in fulfilling our mission. We must also thank those who step up within our community to make today a wonderful event: the City of Sisters, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon Department of Transportation, Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters Park & Recreation District, and oh-so-many others. We are here today because of the support we have received from all of you.

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has always been free to attend, and always will be. We hope that you will consider supporting the Quilt Show by becoming a Friend of the Show with your donation to help offset our expenses, and to help our Board continue to fulfill that commitment.

We are so thankful you have chosen to join us. May your day and your heart be filled with the magic of quilts and the stories they tell. Enjoy every moment.

— Dawn Boyd

“HIDDEN STORIES” BY KELLY RAE ROBERTS

Poster artist reveals ‘Hidden Stories’

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

Mixed-media artist Kelly Rae Roberts, who created this year’s Quilt Show poster, “Hidden Stories,” discovered her creative self in her 30s, when she was working through anxiety. She has never looked back.

A native of northern Florida, she, and her future husband (whom she met seven weeks before departing Florida) left her home state to drive across country to visit

several friends in the Pacific Northwest. That trip in the 1990s represented the closing of one chapter on one coast and the beginning of another on another coast.

Roberts worked as a social worker through her 20s and then as a medical social worker for Providence in Portland, working with families and patients in crisis.

After discovering the healing powers of art for herself when she began painting as a hobby, Roberts authored a book titled “Taking Flight:

Inspiration and Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings,” available on Amazon. She has gone on to have articles published in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and has been featured in various mixed-media books by her peers.

Her artwork is collected worldwide, and she has been juried into numerous art festivals. Roberts also has many long-term licensing agreements for her creations displayed on calendars and wall art, cards, magnets, journals, fabric, and other reproductions in stores nationwide.

Roberts also leads creativity retreats and teaches online. Check out her website at www.kellyraeroberts.com. She will have some of her creations for sale in the parking lot behind the Stitchin’ Post on Quilt Show Saturday and will be signing posters there from 9 a.m. to noon. While living in Portland since the ’90s, Roberts and her family often traveled through Sisters and found it charming. When things began to change in Portland, they decided to move here permanently five years ago. Kelly’s parents, who had moved from Florida after 40 years of living there, came to Portland, and then on to Sisters. Her mom is a quilter and her dad is a golfer, so they are delighted to call Sisters home.

On Friday, July 7, as part of Quilter’s Affair at the high school, Roberts will be teaching two classes on her creative process, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, by having participants create collages made of paper and vintage wallpaper instead of fabric.

Roberts and fellow artist Katie Daisy, who painted

two murals in Sisters and recently moved here, have signed a lease for a store front on West Washington Avenue, where they will hold open houses and events featuring their artwork, including participating in the Fourth Friday Artwalks. Previously, Roberts owned a shop on West Hood Avenue, Marigold and True, where Daisy’s mural graces the side of the building.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Kelly Rae Roberts, mixed-media artist of Sisters, created this year’s Quilt Show poster titled “Hidden Stories.”

Van Gogh inspires Machine Quilter of the Year

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

The masterful artist Vincent Van Gogh, who famously cut off a portion of his left ear, is believed to have suffered from, among other things, Ménieré’s disease, an inner ear disorder. Annette Caldwell, this year’s Machine Quilter of the Year, is one of only one percent of patients diagnosed with the disease as bilateral — in both ears.

Caldwell is a force in machine quilting, a creative and prolific artist from Central Oregon who has been machine quilting for 25 years, 10 on a longarm machine. She’s also the person at Stichin’ Post in Sisters who fulfills the firm’s large mailorder business.

She often gets to work before 5 a.m., giving her afternoons to perform her magic for dozens of customers from far and wide. The morning when we met with Caldwell before 6 a.m., she showed us a recent piece for a customer in Portland measuring roughly 60-by-60 inches, with over 220,000 stitches. It took her about five hours to complete, leaving those who see it in

awe at the enormity and complexity of the work — to say nothing of her genius.

Caldwell’s creativity in free-motion quilting is now legendary and was thus an easy pick for 2023 Machine Quilter of the Year.

She will be exhibiting several of her own quilts as well, including one depicting Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painted in 1889 during his stay at the asylum of

Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Van Gogh lived well in the hospital, allowed more freedoms than any of the other patients. If attended, he could leave the hospital grounds and was permitted to paint, read, and withdraw into his own room. He was even given a studio.

Caldwell doesn’t work from sketches or preconceived ideas.

“It usually just comes to me as I start,” she said. “I basically work with what’s right in front of me.

“I did ‘Starry Night’ as therapy,” Caldwell shared, saying that it gave her immense relief.

Once the layers of the quilt are basted together, there are two techniques for quilting: machine-guided quilting and free-motion quilting.

Machine-guided quilting is controlled by the feed dogs, and the quilt sandwich can only move in straight lines. On the other hand, for freemotion quilting, the feed dogs are disengaged, which allows the quilt to be moved in any direction.

Elaborate designs can be quilted with free-motion quilting. As the quilt can be moved in all directions, side to side and front to back, without having to be turned, curved designs are possible.

Free-motion quilting can

be faster than quilting with the feed dogs engaged. The quilter can move over the surface of the quilt without having to follow a line like in “stitch in the ditch” or straight-line grid quilting. Free-motion quilting adds beauty to quilts and allows the maker to finish quilt tops much faster than hand quilting.

A typical quality longarm quilting machine starts at around $11,000 and a Gammill Statler will take at least $49,000. Caldwell occasionally instructs on machine quilting but her true love is the actual quilting — where her spirit runs free.

PHOTO PROVIDED

PHOTO PROVIDED

Storytellers’ book

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

Every quilt has a story — some very visible in the quilt’s design and some hidden in

the heart of the quilter. This year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) theme is “Hidden Stories,” celebrating the beauty of every hidden story.

selected

Six years ago, Sisters artist Dan Rickards originated the idea for the “Storytellers’ Book,” an oversized tooled leather book with pages sized to fit original quilt art. Each year, selected quilters are invited to create and donate a quilt for inclusion in the book and to be offered for sale with all proceeds going to support the nonprofit SOQS. The Quilt Show is not a ticketed event, so fundraisers are critical to the staging of the Show.

Purchasing one of these artworks directly supports the Quilt Show organization. Each year, the sale of the quilts has generated $4,000 to $5,000 for the nonprofit.

The book of quilts will be available for viewing and purchase each day of Quilter’s Affair at Sisters High School and on Saturday, July 8, Quilt Show Day, in the courtyard at The Open Door restaurant located at 303 W. Hood Ave. Last year, all the quilts were sold before Saturday.

Artists participating in the 2023 book and telling their hidden

stories are: Anna Bates, Colleen Blackwood, Helen Brisson, Dawn Boyd, June Jaeger, Janet MacConnell, Tonye Phillips, Donna Rice, Marion Shimoda, Jan Tetzlaff, and Jean Wells.

Jan Tetzlaff’s Night and Day quilt will be included in the 2023 “Storytellers’ Book” of Quilts and available for purchase. Her creation represents Palm Springs with its brightly colored succulent made from a variety of different textures and the dark, starlit desert sky.

Jean Wells’ Storybook Quilt.

Jennifer Sampou: inspired by the natural world

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

Jennifer Sampou is a fabric designer, author, quilter, teacher — and the 2023 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) Inspirational Instructor. She finds inspiration in nature’s endless blend of colors and layered light — especially from dawn to sunset. As a painter, she uses pastels to capture patterns of beauty in the glow and hues of the changing landscape.

Her fabric line called the “SKY Ombré Collection” uses digital printing, which drastically expands color possibilities for quilters. As a textile designer, Sampou started her SKY Ombré Collection because she wanted to capture the look and feel of the sky. But she could never quite capture what she wanted with traditional screen printing. With only 16 screens available when using screen printing, Sampou says you can’t capture what you can with digital printing because it has an unlimited number of colors. Ombré is a technical term that blossomed through digital printing’s expansion and access to a rainbow effect or blending of colors.

Sampou was born into a creative family. She still marvels at her mother’s ability to make something out of nothing, whether it was reupholstering a couch or preparing a delicious meal from a seemingly empty fridge. That ability to see beauty and possibility in everyday scenes, coupled with Sampou’s desire to create, took her to New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) where she studied surface design.

Smelling, breathing, and living in New York, along with access to the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern art (MoMA) and studying at FIT, broke open Sampou’s world and her understanding of fashion art. She was inspired to seek out fresh design ideas and study graphic design from other cultures.

“I was fascinated by the

Dutch artist Piet Mondrian who was really a quilter with paint. I spent my early 20s in Kenya, Cameroon, and Tanzania. The West African textiles and Dutch waxes celebrate the repeat, and don’t try to hide it. West African people and their textiles are about seeing rhythm… it’s very obvious and powerful,” said Sampou.

In 1996 Sampou opened Studio Sampou and has been creating best-selling fabrics for the family-owned company, Robert Kaufman Fabrics. SKY Ombré Collection came into being after Sampou got a phone call from Ken Kaufman, saying he was sending her a panel of wolves, deer, waterfalls and forest. “It was everything you could imagine in one square yard,” she laughed. But Sampou saw the potential. “When I woke up the next morning, what I wanted to do was clear: A line of fabrics of the sky at all times of the day.” The collection has become very popular and a good way to find new possibilities for stashed fabrics from old prints to paisleys, plaids, and batiks.

The SKY Ombré Collection currently has 46 blended ombré designs. In 2024, Sampou will add 14 new ones to the collection.

“I like the timelessness of my SKY Ombrés. They’re a way for quilters to paint with fabric and be more expressive in their approach to color. I want people to feel like they’re color-mavens and have the freedom to capture glow and get those weird, in-between colors that are easy to find in my Ombrés,” said Sampou.

A popular and inspirational teacher, Sampou says one of her teaching mentors was Mary Ellen Hopkins.

“I don’t even know if she knew that,” said Sampou. “When I took from her, I was in my twenties and thirties and had no interest in becoming a quilt teacher. But when I decided to teach in my forties, I thought about whose class

I loved to be in. She taught with so much joy and personality. She was a delightful little sprite of a human.”

With inspiration found in nature’s palette, Sampou says when she’s not creating, she’s outside enjoying skiing, dancing, and riding her mountain bike.

“I have to move every day,” she said. Her dream for the future is to live abroad in a Spanish-speaking country again. She lived for two years in Mexico and thrived.

“Being there I felt so alive when I was having to challenge my brain, sense of direction, and meeting new people,” she said. “I love Latin cultures around the world.”

Sampou will be teaching at

the Quilter’s Affair July 3-7. She is the Spotlight Presenter for the Friday night lecture, “How Quilts Connect Us – A Designer’s Perspective.” Her quilts will be on display at the SOQS Office, 220 S. Ash St., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Quilt Show Saturday.

To get the inside scoop on Sampou’s company, Studio Sampou, sign up for her newsletter at www. JenniferSampou.com.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Nature’s colors inspire Jennifer Sampou — and she, in turn, inspires quilters and artists. She is teaching this year at Quilter’s Affair.

Local quilters guild featured

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

It has been tradition for the East of the Cascades Quilters Guild to match the theme of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), which this year is “Hidden Stories.”

This year, however, the Guild is making its own way with the theme “Black & White Plus One” (color of choice).

Karen Tyler, coordinator for the group, is very enthusiastic about the change.

“We will have 20 quilts on display, double from the 10 last year,” she said.

The group’s works will line the Elm Street outside wall of the Candy Corral.

“We’ll have a range of quilts from professionals to beginners,” Tyler said.

East of the Cascades Quilters Guild is a 501(c)(3) organization that is based in Sisters but has members from all over Central Oregon. Their mission is “Sharing our Quilting Passion With Each Other and the Community.”

The Guild meets the fourth Wednesday of the month (except July and August) at Stitchin’ Post. Social time is 4 to 4:15 p.m. and the meeting is from 4:15 to 6 p.m. Each meeting there is a presentation and/or demonstration of a technique on

a variety of quiltingrelated topics.

Presentations include topics on modern quilting, art quilts, quilts of valor, quilts for kids, traditional quilting, machine quilting, quilted gifts, barn quilt blocks and trunk shows by local and international quilt artists. There is also the opportunity for guild members to “show and tell” about their creations.

At every meeting, members receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win gift certificates from Stitchin’ Post, The Quilt Basket, Anvil Sewing Inc., and Cynthia’s Sewing Center.

For a period of time, the Guild ran SOQS, and its members have deep connections to SOQS history. Every bit as important as their collection of work is the role they play as ambassadors for Show visitors.

“Because we know Sisters so well, we delight in greeting tourists and Show visitors, helping them to find directions and places to shop, dine and play,” Tyler said.

Indeed, the Guild has made many contributions to life in Sisters, such as designing, sewing, and quilting the Sisters Country Community

Quilt that was displayed in Sisters City Hall, hosting and participating in The Oregon Quilt Documentation Project, and the Forest Service Christmas Tree Skirt Project that was displayed in Washington, D.C. They will have 14 badged volunteers on duty in shifts to welcome tourists and guests.

We will be hosting My Quilting Loft and annual outdoor market vendor s will be o er ing fabulous deals on new fabr ics, quilts, Afr ican batik panels, hand-woven Afr ican baskets, and more. Stroll inside the store for the vintage quilts and fabr ics, plus lovely antique glassware and collectibles.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Karen Tyler, coordinator of East of the Cascade Quilters, is shown here displaying a quilt by Susan DeGroat.

Jan Tetzlaff is 2023 featured quilter

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

Jan Tetzlaff, this year’s featured quilter for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), says that most of her art quilts are reflections of the colors and places that have inspired her designs. Her Moroccan quilt reflects the colors and culture of Medina and Marrakesh.

Tetzlaff has a very simple explanation as to why she quilts: “This is what I do, what I love.”

Her devotion to her art is evident in all the handwork that goes into each quilt. She may do some machine piecing, but the quilting and some piecing is all done by hand.

Her first attempt at quilting was when she created a bedspread for her college dorm room by cutting up some fabric and sewing it together. In the years of her children’s growing up, she made many quilts but when they went off to college, she thought her quilting days were done, and she took off 15 years from quilting.

Tetzlaff and her husband lived in Southern California for 35 years, where she worked as a journalist and had a home wine-making business with her husband. Her husband had attended the University of Oregon and they vacationed on the Oregon Coast many times. Their two children attended college at University of Puget Sound and Willamette University. Their son is a doctor here in Central Oregon and has three children. Their

daughter is a reading specialist in University Place, Washington and has two children. Jan’s 91-yearold mother lives in Vancouver, Washington.

The family’s pull north saw the Tetzlaffs moving to Bend, which meant Jan was leaving her former quilting community. It didn’t take long for her to find “her people” in Central Oregon. She knew of Jean Wells and Stitchin’ Post, so in 2007 she took some classes in creating art quilts from Wells. In 2008, she entered a traditional log cabin lap throw and attended her first SOQS.

Tetzlaff finds the classes at the Quilter’s Affair a great resource for creating her own designs. She rarely sells any of her quilts unless it is to benefit the SOQS.

“I have a hard time giving up my art quilts,” she explained.

She is a member of the local Journeys Art Quilters group as well as the Studio Art Quilters Association. Her Moroccan quilt will be exhibited in upstate New York later this summer, and in the Alsace region of France for which it had to be juried in. She will be able to see it on

display, as she is taking a river cruise this summer in France with friends.

Nowadays, Tetzlaff likes to hand-dye her fabrics, using a variety of textured fabrics to create artful interest. Her art quilts generally employ a minimalist design approach. She still takes classes and

The culture and colors of Morocco inspired Tetzlaff’s “Medina-Marrakesh” quilt, which will be on display in France later this summer.

Jan O’Brien Tetzlaff of Bend is this year’s Featured Quilter for the 48th Annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Her exhibit will be on display at Ponderosa Properties Saturday, July 8.

said, “I am inspired by the tremendous artists in this region and those who come to teach.”

“I am very grateful and humbled to be recognized this way (as the featured quilter),” she concluded.

Tetzlaff’s 29-quilt exhibit on Saturday, July 8, will be a retrospective of her work from more traditional quilts

to her most recent art quilt titled “City of Light,” inspired by Paris. Her best friend is flying in from Colorado specially to help Tetzlaff and her husband hang the exhibit. It will be available for viewing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Quilt Show Saturday at Ponderosa Properties, located at 221 S. Ash St., on the corner of South Ash Street and West Hood Avenue.

PHOTO BY GARY ALVIS

PHOTO PROVIDED

Hand stitching is her hallmark

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

Each month of the year, quilter Kathie Olson hangs a different quilt on the wall of her apartment in Redmond: a leprechaun with gold coins, an Easter bunny and his decorated eggs, a turkey with tail feathers made from her late husband Ron’s ties, and Uncle Sam sporting some of the fabric from her mother’s gray square dance skirt. Unique buttons, scraps of tatting, and other treasures adorn her creations, and each quilt invites the viewer to make a closer inspection.

What makes all of Kathie’s quilts so special is the attention to detail that goes into each one. Her creativity and eye for color and design are unmistakable. The icing on the cake — or quilt? Every stitch — piecing, quilting, and embroidery embellishments

— is done by hand.

“My sewing machine died years ago, and I just never replaced it,” she explained.

She uses all the techniques employed by her grandmother, Edith Seabury. Today, Kathie sleeps under a quilt created by Edith in 1936 called “French Bouquet,” adorned with lovely shades of pink, lilac, and green and later given to her granddaughter.

Over the years, Kathie’s quilts have been donated and gifted to community causes, nonprofits, individuals, and friends and family. Kids Center recently honored her for all her donations to their cause.

collected all styles, colors, and patterns of fabric and said, “I’ll never buy fabric again,” as she opened the door of her cabinet to reveal her stash.

A sample of Kathie’s artful creations will be on display on Quilt Show Saturday in front of Beacham’s Clock Company, 300 W. Hood Ave. (on the corner of West Hood Avenue and South Oak Street).

Now in her 80s, Kathie says she currently works on smaller pieces that are more manageable. A true quilter, she has

on

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1 Cherrywood Fabrics –The Graffiti Cherrywood Challenge presented by Cherrywood Fabrics – located at the Sisters Fire Station Community Hall. Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics challenged artists to create a unique piece of art with a limited color palette. Their challenge: Gritty urban areas can be the setting for colorful layers of graffiti. This form of expression dates back thousands of years. Why do people engage in graffiti? How can you capture this graphic art form in fabric? Can you do it with just eight colors?

2 WISH Fabric Postcards in partnership with Andover Fabrics and presented by Wildflower Studios, Sisters Gallery & Frame, Bend Picture Framing, Sage Custom Picture Framing, and Eastlake Framing – located at Village Green Park. This is an annual fundraiser for the SOQS Arts Scholarship for Sisters High School students. Fabric postcards, donated from across the country, are sold to raise funds. Custom framing and/or matting is donated by multiple Central Oregon framing and art studios.

3 Teachers’ Pavilion presented by Stitchin’ Post – located in Village Green Park. A collection of quilts created by the instructors of Quilter’s Affair.

4 Featured Gallery Artist: Kris Lang presented by and located inside Clearwater Gallery. Quilting offers Kris Lang a source of relaxation. Creating handdyed fabrics as a medium, using different design elements such as gel printing, hand stitching, and/ or embellishing with different textures is fun as a fiber artist. Kris is a member of numerous quilting groups, and believes in always building her quilting education.

5 Storytellers’ Book 2023, Hidden Stories Storybook: Quilts for sale by various artists. Presented by and located in the courtyard of The Open Door. Various Oregon quilters have created the larger–than-life storybook with quilted pages, each one telling a unique story.

6 Central Oregon SAQA: Meandering presented by Your Store and located in The Open Door courtyard. Meandering is defined as moving slowly and not in a straight line. This theme allowed the participants to slow down and appreciate the beauty of Central Oregon through their art, including a highlight of turquoise on each piece.

7 Made by Men presented by The Gallimaufry located at the Hood Avenue Art Building. Our annual tribute to the men whose quilts are displayed in one exhibit, showing off the range of talent and style of our male quilters.

8 Kathie Olson Showcase

Quilts presented by First Interstate Bank and located on the lawn behind Beacham’s Clock Shop. Kathie grew up in Nebraska and has followed her grandmother’s example. The precedence started early with Kathie receiving a twin-size quilt at birth handmade by her grandma. Kathie has

continued her family legacy with her quilting, and designs all her own pieces. According to Kathie, “It’s still the most relaxing thing I can do while watching some TV each night.”

9 Kaffe Fawcett: Heritage Quilts presented by FreeSpirit Fabrics, located at Beacham’s Clock Shop. Celebrating designer Kaffe Fawcett’s 80th birthday, we are pleased to share this heritage collection of quilts designed by Kaffe. These quilts exude Kaffe’s love of color and boldness.

10 Quilt Block Contest 2023 presented by FreeSpirit Fabrics, located on the lawn behind Stitchin’ Post, at Cascade Avenue and Oak Street. Thanks to the generous support of Sew Kind of Wonderful and FreeSpirit Fabrics, our annual Quilt Block Contest challenges quilters to create a block using Sew Kind of Wonderful’s fabric line, The Cottage Collection. Come see the variety of designs and talents exhibited with over 45 entries, including our winning block and honorary mentions.

11 Stitchin’ Post Employee Challenge Quilts presented by and located at Stitchin’ Post. Each year, the employees of Stitchin’ Post interpret the Quilt Show’s annual theme. This year, they celebrate their “Hidden Stories.”

12 KONA Color of the Year: 2023 Crush presented by Ponderosa Lodge Best Western, located at Stitchin’ Post. Come see these fresh, inspired designs utilizing the KONA Color of the Year, Crush.

13 Storyteller’s Narrative: Water Works – What we do with Water presented by Copper Cane Wines, located on the lawn next to Paulina Springs Books. Seven quilters Illustrating the variety of ways we all interact with water, and showcasing the variety of methods chosen to construct these quilts.

14 Featured Quilter: Jan Tetzlaff presented by Black Butte Ranch, located at Ponderosa Properties. Jan creates quilts that reflect her love of fiber and the maker’s hand. Beginning as a traditional quilter, Jan now most often creates art quilts. Her work reflects abstracted moments of time and place in which movement, line, and memory are pieced by machine and stitched by hand on fabrics that are often hand-dyed and highly textured.

15 Machine Quilter Showcase: Annette Caldwell presented by Cynthia’s of Bend, located at Toriizaka Art, 222 W. Hood Ave. With 25 years of quilting, Annette began by asking her grandmother how to quilt — even after many requests, Grandma said no. So Annette purchased books and took classes. In 2013, Annette’s purchase of a longarm started her on the path to being published in multiple formats. Annette is very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her quilting. And the fun that comes with it.

16 SOQS 2023 Raffle Quilt: Rhythms in Nature presented by Island Batik Fabrics, located on the lawn of the SOQS Office at the corner of Hood Avenue and Ash Street. Two sisters, June Jaeger and Jean Wells, created the 2023 raffle quilt using the River Walk collection of fabric from Island Batiks designed by Jean. June did the designing and piecing of the top that used the free download pattern, Eclipse, from Art Gallery Fabric. Both women are responsible for the free-motion quilting. Rhythms in Nature celebrates the beauty around us from tiny stones, bird nest nestled in trees, pine needles, to the fast-moving water in the streams coming from the Three Sisters mountains. The color palette explores the beauty of a mountain stream, the pine trees, and curry tones in the wild grasses.

2023 Special Exhibits

17 Inspirational Instructor: Jennifer Sampou presented by C&T Publishing, and located at the SOQS Office, corner of Hood Avenue and Ash Street. Jennifer Sampou grew up near Boston and studied Surface Design at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and Textiles at University of Vermont. She began her career at Laura Ashley Headquarters in Wales, UK then moved to California and became design director for P&B Textiles in San Francisco. Later, Sampou founded her own studio and licensed to Robert Kaufman Fabrics. She has created more than 5,000 prints and sold millions of yards worldwide. She is an author for C&T Publishing and loves to teach. Wanderlust leads her around the world seeking color and art. She lives in the San Francisco Area with her family.

HIGHWAY 20 / 126 WEST: Metolius Recreation Area, Camp Sherman, Black Butte Ranch, Suttle Lake, Hoodoo, Portland, Eugene, Salem, Albany

HWY 242 WEST: McKenzie Pass

To Outlaw Station and Three Wind shopping centers

18 “Vintage Flora” by Maywood Makers presented by Maywood Studio, located at the Volunteers VIP Tent, Ash Street and Hood Avenue. A beautiful collection of mini quilts created by the Maywood Makers (designers from all over the U.S.) using Vintage Floral collection fabrics by Kimberbell Designs.

19 Grange Girls presented by Spoons, located at the corner of Hood Avenue and Elm Street. The Grange Girls hail from Tualatin, McMinnville, and Corbett. Their 2020 BOM project was Laundry Basket Quilters “Winter Village” pattern. Each quilt was made in a variety of themes and colors.

20 QuiltCon Best of 2023 presented by Sisters Coffee, located at 110 W. Cascade Ave. Featuring the best of 2023 QuiltCon, each tells a story with modern styling.

21 Busy Bees Quilt Group: My Garden presented by GrandStay Hotel & Suites, located at the west wall of The Hen’s Tooth. This year’s Busy Bees Quilt Challenge was to create a quiet place that each person would want to go to pray and meditate. It’s a joy to see each person’s interpretation of a peaceful quiet place This project was a first of its type for many of the Bees and so we had to lean into our faith to create something out of our wheelhouse.

22 Duo at Play: Capture to Cloth: A Metamorphosis presented by Oliver Lemon’s, located at The Hen’s Tooth. A mother-daughter duo that works off Angelia’s photography and recreates the photo in fabrics. Angelia chooses the fabrics and composition style. Judy enhances the fiber art with dense free-motion stitching and embellishment.

23 Mt. Bachelor Quilters Guild: Music of the Beatles presented by Mid Oregon Credit Union, located at The Paper Place. Quilt makers were inspired by Beatles music, lyrics, song titles, etc. The result is an eclectic mix of fun, colorful, and meaningful quilts — and a trip down memory lane!

24 Journeys Art Quilt Artists: Exploration presented by and located at Bedouin. As a group of textile artists that have met for 11 years, they come together to support one another in their journey, sharing techniques, successes, and challenges. This year as they revisited learned processes, they built their art on these results, using the color magenta to tie the work together.

25 High Desert Quilt Guild of Redmond: The Color Tool Challenge presented by FIKA Sisters Coffeehouse, located at Raven Makes. Our mission was to

use the color tool to help quilters become more comfortable in using color in their quilts. Joan Wolfrom’s Color Tool is like a painter’s deck of cards. On the back of each color card is references for complementary, monochromatic, and analogous. Seeing these color schemes lifts us to another level in using colors. It makes us brave!

26 Kids Activity Center: Fabric Postcard Make-n-Takes presented by Will-n-Bee’z Quilts & Coffee Shoppe, located in the parking lot of Oliver Lemon’s. An introduction and hands-on activity for our guests 18 and under, creating their own make-and-take fabric postcards.

27 Next Generation presented by Will-n-Bee’z Quilt and Coffee Shoppe, located at Oliver Lemon’s. Celebrating all quilters under the age of 18. Varying in age and skill, we celebrate their creativity and artistry in their quilts.

Continues page 14...

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

28 Crook County Quilters: Log Cabin Fever presented by Common Threads, located at 352 E. Hood Ave. No rules for traditional and very untraditional layouts of log cabins, scrappy log cabins, “wonky” log cabins for many members – some who have never made a log cabin quilt!

29 East of the Cascades: Black + White + ? presented by Sisters Saloon and located on the west wall of Candy Corral. The East of the Cascades Quilt Guild is happy to share their challenge for the 2023 show. Each quilt must use only three colors: black, white, and one additional color of their choice.

30 The Undercover Quilters: “Miss Benson’s Beetle” presented by Alpaca Country Estates, located at The Gallery Restaurant. Miss Benson’s Beetle is the tale of two women who toss their everyday lives aside to travel to New Caledonia in search of a rare golden beetle only found on this island and on a particular orchid plant. Adventure, danger, laugh-outloud humor and a very visual novel as you see depicted in our quilts.

31 Blockin’ Robins: Stories that Begin in the Middle presented by Takoda’s Restaurant, located at Dixie’s. Medallion quilts were the style chosen, but each individual chose the inspiration for their quilt. To celebrate the

2023 Special Exhibits (cont. from pg. 13)

group’s 10th anniversary, each quilt top had to contain 10 items of “something.” Can you find them in each quilt?

32 Central Oregon Modern Quilt Guild: Tilted Tiles presented by Three Creeks Brewing, located at the Habitat Thrift Store. Inspired by the “Tilted Tiles” pattern by modern quilt designer Charles Cameron. Each quilt must contain one of the three main blocks: a tilted squarein-a-square, a slanted stripe, and a half-square trapezoid — of any size and color.

33 Mountain Meadow Quilters Guild: The Leaves, They are A’Changing presented by The Rickards Gallery, located at the corner of Main Avenue and Spruce Street. Central Oregon is a region of diverse and everchanging flora. Our exhibit will celebrate the many examples of this, a feast for our eyes throughout the year.

34 Two Rivers, Three Sisters presented by the City of Sisters, located inside Sisters City Hall. This permanent exhibit, created in 2012, was a joint project of many fiber artists and the National Forest Foundation to raise awareness and funds for the restoration efforts on the Metolius River and Whychus Creek. The 40-foot-long, 17-panel quilt depicts the forest and rivers surrounding Sisters.

35 Showcase Quilter: Marilyn Barnett presented by Prestige Senior Living, located inside FivePine Lodge. Marilyn’s quilting journey began in Anchorage, Alaska in 2002 while serving on the Pregnancy Support and Adoption Board of Catholic Social Services (CSS). CSS created a fundraiser to provide supplemental financial support to programs within the agency, including a quilt auction. Members of the Board enthusiastically agreed to “give it a try.” Marilyn’s first quilt was begun in a hotel room after leaving her daughter in her freshman dorm room at Willamette University in Salem. Since she was beginning her college career, it was time for Marilyn to start on a new adventure in retirement. Over the years, Marilyn has made quilts for auctions, friends, family, hospitals, nonprofits, and even the Anchorage Centennial in 2015. However, the best thing about quilting is that it brought her husband and her to live permanently in this quaint and welcoming community.

36 Quilts of Valor/Honor Flight Quilts Info Booth presented by Bluestone Retirement, located at Hood Avenue and Elm Street. Learn about two wonderful programs that support our Veterans with quilts to honor their service.

37 SOQS Quilt Walk presented by The Roundhouse Foundation. Be sure to stroll throughout the Quilt Show business sponsors of Sisters and Central Oregon throughout the month of July; each sponsor business will be showing off a sponsor quilt created by a Central Oregon quilter. Maps are available throughout businesses in Sisters.

38 SOQS Sunday! presented by FivePine Lodge, located at the FivePine campus. On Sunday, July 9, walk through the pine trees on the campus of FivePine Lodge and view quilts created by Australian quilter Sarah Fielke. With over 22 years of quilting experience, Sarah is published in multiple books and has over 200,000 copies sold worldwide. Come enjoy viewing Sarah’s quilts on Sunday and join her lecture at FivePine Conference Center. Quilts will be on view to the public 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

See numbered Exhibits Map on previous page (13).

Graffiti greets quilters in exhibition

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

Graffiti, thankfully rare in Sisters, will be welcome for this year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS). Street art is as old as art itself and has been an expression of the oppressed and downtrodden for centuries. Alas, in its lesser manifestations, it can also be vulgar and lacking any artistic value.

Not so with the 2023 Cherrywood Challenge, which is on tour and will be on exhibit for this year’s SOQS. The traveling exhibit of nearly 100 quilts will be on display at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Hall on July 8. The 20-by-20-inch quilts were chosen from 386 entries.

Cherrywood is a renowned maker of hand-dyed fabrics. The 30-year-old business located in Baxter, Minnesota has perfected rich, suede-look fabrics beloved by quilters. Each year for the past eight, Cherrywood has sponsored a challenge with a theme. In 2021 the theme was Princess Diana and that exhibit was showcased at the 2022 SOQS. The theme of graffiti might at first seem off-putting

but once you see the works, including the top five winners, you’re apt to gain a deeper appreciation for the art form. The only requirement is that entrants use an eight-step Cherrywood bundle. The rest is entirely imagination.

Graffiti, by nature, is often political. However, no politics were allowed for entries. That’s not to say that the quilts lack a message. Or humor. Graffiti is art that is written, painted, or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view.

Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.

Jeff Omodt, who served previously as board president for SOQS, is the prime driver of the exhibition making it to Sisters.

“The first thing we had to come to terms with was the demand from Cherrywood that their quilts remain indoors, which at an outdoor show is a contradiction,” he said.

Omodt reports that the

primary fascination among quilters is the “degree of artistry on such a small space.” He added: “It is a whole new way to look at quilting.”

The Cherrywood collection made its debut at the SOQS in 2017 and is now a perennial favorite among attendees.

The Cherrywood Challenge is also known for its appeal to younger quilters and to non-quilters taking a peek into the quilting world. If you have teens or preteens when taking in the SOQS be sure to check out the Graffiti exhibit.

SOQS is one of 18 stops on the national tour, which travels 14 states. Cherrywood describes the Challenge: “Gritty urban areas can be the setting for colorful layers of graffiti. This form of expression dates back thousands of years. Why do people engage in graffiti? How can you capture this graphic art form in fabric? Can you do it with just eight colors? We encourage you to push yourself creatively and think outside the box.”

Sisters collaborate on raffle quilt

When Quilt Show founder Jean Wells gets together with her sister June Jaeger to craft the SOQS raffle quilt, you can

bet you’re going to get something special. The quilt raffle, a fundraiser for the Quilt Show,

is offered to the public each year. This year’s roughly 70-by-80-inch piece, “Rhythms in Nature,” was a collaboration between the sisters, who live next door to each other and share a studio.

“She designed it and I pieced the quilt, and then she and I both quilted it,” Jaeger explained. “She put a binding on it.”

The fabric is from sponsor Island Batik’s

Riverwalk Fabric Collection, designed by Wells.

“It’s fabric I designed,” Wells said. “All of the images on it are around Sisters-type imagery. I was thinking of Whychus Creek and the Metolius (River) the whole time I was designing the fabric.”

“Rhythms in Nature” celebrates the beauty around us from tiny stones, a bird nest nestled in trees, pine needles, to the fast-moving water in the streams coming from the Three Sisters mountains. The color palette explores the beauty of a mountain stream, the pine trees, and curry tones in the wild grasses.

The sisters frequently come together in their studio to dye fabric.

“Most of the time we do it

together, so that’s always fun,” Jaeger said. “Making our own fabrics is kind of what brings us together.”

Wells says that collaboration is smooth.

“We know each other’s design aesthetics, so it works out really good,” she said.

Proceeds from the 2023 SOQS Raffle Quilt will benefit the SOQS Scholarship Fund, and helps to produce the free-to-attend Quilt Show.

Tickets are $5 each. The winning ticket will be drawn at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, Quilt Show Day, on the lawn at the SOQS Office, corner of Hood Avenue and Ash Street, Sisters. Winner need not be present to win.

To purchase tickets, visit https://www.soqs.org/ contests.

Quilters love a challenge

Nothing seems to bring out the creative spirit of a quilter more than a little challenge.

Each year the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) poses a Quilt Block Challenge for its patrons: Request a packet of fabric, take the six different samples provided (the only ones you can use and you have to use all of them) — and turn the imagination loose.

The challenge is a fundraiser for SOQS, and the final product is a 9-inchby-9-inch quilt block. The winner gets $50 and a prize of fabric — but it’s not about the prize, it’s about the glory.

Each year, Quilt Block Challenge Director Valerie Fercho-Tillery wonders what quilters will do with the Sew Kind of Wonderful line of fabric, donated by FreeSpirit Fabrics.

“I look at them (the fabric packets) and I go, ‘What can you make out of this?’”

The results always astonish and astound. This year, 54 quilt blocks came in, which is more than average.

“For quilters, it’s a challenge,” Fercho-Tillery says.

Can we assume from the response that quilters are competitive?

Fercho-Tillery chuckled at the question.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “They are.”

The imaginative results of the Quilt Block Challenge will be on display on Quilt Show day, on the lawn behind Stitchin’ Post.

“I look at them (the fabric packets) and I go, ‘What can you make out of this?’”

– Quilt Block Challenge Director Valerie Fercho-Tillery

Jean Wells and June Jaeger used fabric Jean designed to craft this year’s SOQS raffle quilt.

Featured Gallery Artist inspired by nature

Kris Lang of Bend, a member of the Mt. Bachelor Quilters Guild, is the SOQS Featured Gallery Artist for the 2023 Show. Lang has been quilting for about 20 years and was inspired to try her hand at it by a group called Women of Cloth.

“For some people gardening is a source of relaxation after a busy day. Quilting is that for me,” said Lang. “Creating hand-dyed fabrics as a medium, using different design elements such as gel printing, hand stitching, and/ or embellishing with different textures, is fun as a fiber artist.”

You can tell at once that she finds quilting a joy, not a task, not an endeavor. Just sheer pleasure. She’s always eager to improve her skills and has taken numerous classes

while also participating in the Central Oregon chapter of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) and other small groups, such as Square Crows and Undercover Quilters. Her works tend to run 18

inches by 30 inches up to 30 inches by 40 inches and are nearly always for wall display. She sells some of her pieces and is growing a following. She hand-dyes her own fabric and considers her style mainly abstract, improvisational. That’s immediately obvious when viewing her handiwork. For the entire month of July her work will be on display at Clearwater Gallery at 303 W. Hood Ave. in Sisters.

For the Show she’s hoping to exhibit 13 pieces, space allowing.

Lang is best known for and loves thread painting, a free-motion sewing technique used to create lines, areas of color and texture, or embroidery designs and motifs by machine. Threads in various colors and weights are used to stitch on top of a base fabric. The maker stitches back and forth across the design area, layering the stitching

and filling in shapes and motifs to create the design or desired effect. Thread painting uses the built-in stitches of the machine.

A recent Lang work is an owl created entirely from thread. She often utilizes stencils, paper lamination, stamping, and beads to enhance her designs. She summed up her love for the art form: “My journey in the world of art quilting has been a joy-filled path.”

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Quilter serves

up bright color palette

Marilyn Barnett was not expecting the call that told her she was to be the 2023 Inside FivePine showcase artist.

“It was a great honor,” she said. “I would never have imagined that this honor would come to me.”

Barnett could have simply displayed the quilts she already had registered inside the conference hall at 1021 Desperado Trail — but that wasn’t really an option for an avid, 20-year quilter.

She produced six or seven additional quilts specifically for the showcase.

“I’ve been hunched over the sewing machine to beat the clock, so to speak,” she said with a laugh.

Barnett says she has a very bright color palette as a quilter. She got her start in the art form when she made a quilt for a fundraiser for a women’s services program in Anchorage, Alaska. Like most quilters who fall in love with the craft, she made a pilgrimage to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, coming from Seattle with her sister. She’s made 16 consecutive shows since — and now lives in Sisters.

“It’s a phenomenal community for quilts,” she said.

Quilters Wish Upon A Card

Give quilters a challenge, and they’re going to step up and surprise you with their creativity. When that challenge helps to support their beloved Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), you’re going to see some remarkable work — and lots of it.

The WISH Upon A Card contest has been a part of SOQS for many years, and it is a major fundraiser for the free Show. The fabric postcard challenge participants are required to use two pieces of fabric donated by Andover Fabrics.

“They can use any other fabric they want, but they must use both of these,” program coordinator Robyn Gold explained.

Entries are juried, and select ones are framed by local galleries, which enhances their sales value.

This year, SOQS received 153 WISH entries, up from 76. Some folks just want to make a card without the confines of using challenge fabric. The show received 353 nonchallenge cards, up from 196 in 2022.

The increase in participation is an indication of just how fun and satisfying the work is.

“There’s just so much creativity,” said SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd. “It’s so neat. They want to be in it and they want to win it. They’re serious about it, that’s for sure.”

Jennifer Ball has been a winner, and she loves participating each year.

“I’ve won a couple of times, and I’ve had cards that

were chosen to be framed and matted and offered for sale,” she said.

Her motivations are uncomplicated.

“I really enjoy supporting the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and it’s a small way for me to contribute to them,” she said. “The second reason I do it is because it’s fun! I like to challenge myself.”

Ball doesn’t conform to a theme.

“For me, it’s just imagination going crazy,” she said. “I’ll look at them (the fabrics) for a couple of weeks and just kind of think about it.

She’ll usually do a landscape and a couple of whimsical cards.

“I did five this year,” she said.

Gold attributes the doubling of entries this year to

a couple of things: She and Boyd visited local quilt guilds and encouraged participation. And last year’s display at Sisters High School during A Quilter’s Affair was enhanced by the use of wire racks, which better displayed the entries in what the show called A Tower of Cards.

This is Gold’s second year coordinating the program, which is a big undertaking.

“I have a phenomenal team of 14 women who help me,” she said. “And I couldn’t do it without every single one of them.”

Like Boyd, she’s continually bowled over by the level of creativity on display in the entries, frequently asking, “How did they do that?!”

“The use of creativity in these things — it’s

phenomenal,” she said.

A silent auction will run during Quilter’s Affair in the Sisters High School lobby. Buy-it-now price is $500 for 27 teacher cards, and three challenge card winners. Buyit-now price is $350 for five honorable mention cards. Buy-it-now price is $250 for additional cards selected by professional framers. The cards are so creative that they sell quickly. Those who are interested in buying one should get out to the Quilters Affair site and bid.

“If they want to bid on the silent auction, that would be a really good idea,” Gold said.

WISH cards will be for sale during Quilter’s Affair and on Quilt Show Saturday in the WISH Upon A Card tent at the Village Green.

Enhanced display of Wish Upon A Card fabric postcards helped to double the number of entries in the fundraising challenge this year.

2023 WISH Upon A Card Winners

• First Place: Donna Rice (Bend)

• 2nd Place: Karen Hewer (Bend)

• 3rd Place: Tricia Pomering (Sisters)

• Honorable Mentions:

Michelle Foutch (Eldora, IA)

Judy Lindros (Sisters)

Donna Paulson (Paso Robles, CA)

Daryl Perry (Rio Rancho, NW)

Christenna Stamm (Lebanon, PA)

These framers have donated their materials and time to beautifully frame 46 WISH cards to support Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show:

• Wildflower Studio (Sisters): 11 cards

• Sisters Gallery & Frame (Sisters): 11 cards

• Bend Picture Framing (Bend): 10 cards

• Eastlake Framing (Bend): 9 cards

• Sage Custom Framing (Bend): 5 cards

Quilting legend featured Sunday

One of the luminaries of the quilting world will lead a walking tour of her work in the peaceful setting of FivePine in Sisters on Sunday, July 9.

Sarah Fielke is an awardwinning quilt designer from Sydney, Australia. In her 22 years in the quilting industry, her 11 bestselling quilt books have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, and have been translated into five languages. Her first book, “Material Obsession,” is widely described as having been at the forefront of the Modern Quilting movement and is a staple in many quilter’s libraries. Her fourth book, “Hand Quilted with Love,” was released in May of 2013, “Little Quilts” in 2014, “Old Quilts New Life” in 2015, and “Stitch Your Story” released in April 2019. Sarah has also worked with The Quilt Show Block of the Month, with the

SPONSORS:

newest release “Homeward Bound.”

“We are so excited to welcome Sarah to Sisters and to have her quilts on display at FivePine,” said SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd. “We have been trying to arrange Sarah’s presentation since 2020. Sarah is well-known in quilting circles around the world, and brings a modern take to traditional quilting. Her gorgeous use of colors and design are a delight for the eyes!”

Fielke’s quilts will be on display 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on SOQS Sunday for those who wish to walk along the creek at FivePine Lodge and Conference Center (free).

The walking tours led by Fielke will be held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 each (limit of 25 per tour). Fielke will host a lecture at 10 a.m. Admission for that event is $35 per person. For tickets see www.soqs.org/2023events.

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Quilting has a long and vibrant international history

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

The technique we call quilting crossed many borders and played a part in ancient history. From the beginning, quilts have told human stories, reflected religious and philosophical beliefs, and revealed what people wore, either out of necessity or as adornment.

Stitched into layered linen with cotton stuffing inserted to raise sections of the design, faces of those who lived thousands of years ago look beyond the edges of quilts into a future they’d find hard to believe.

Researchers have uncovered examples of quilting around the world. In North America, quilting began with immigrants bringing their sewing and handwork traditions from Europe.

For hundreds of years, African American slaves made quilts for their owners and for themselves. When time allowed, women pieced together beautiful quilts with the scraps they gathered and saved. The result was a beauty that defied circumstances of servitude and focused on love stitched together in terrible times. That tradition has evolved and thrived through the skilled hands of people like the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show was honored to have them as guests in years past to pass along their

wisdom — both with the needle and in beautiful a capella song.

The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has one of the largest collections of Native American quilts from the 1940s. The Northern Plains tribes began quilting out of

necessity when buffalo herds were decimated by EuroAmerican settlers attempting to subdue the Plains tribes in the 19th century. The tribes had to find alternate sources for robes and ritual practices. Missionary wives taught quilting techniques to Indian women, who soon found

imaginative ways to personalize what they created.

The origins of quilting can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Quilting commemorated personal stories, historical events, and was a reflection of the beauty surrounding its maker. There are rare examples of old quilts. One preserved quilt is a Sicilian wall hanging made in the 14th century. It is estimated to have been made about 1395. It portrays the legend of Tristan. The piece of art was made using quilting with trapunto (stuffed quilting) on solid white fabric.

The piece is now displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.

Some researchers believe that quilting, in the form of quilted clothing, was brought to Europe through the Crusades. Muslim warriors wore tightly quilted garments as part of their armor, which was soon adopted by medieval

European soldiers.

Although fine quilting was a sign of affluence, the sewing together of layers for warmth was done by the poor as well. If makers couldn’t afford carded wool or cotton to sew between layers, then old blankets, clothing or even feathers, straw or leaves were used instead.

The oldest discovery, from 5,500 years ago is of an ivory carving featuring the king or Pharaoh of the Egyptian First Dynasty wearing a mantle or cloak that appears to be quilted. It was found in the Temple of Osiris at Abydos in 1903 and is currently in the British Museum collection.

The Textile Society of America at DigitalCommons at University of Nebraska –Lincoln, offers interesting and informative research into the relationship between historical Chinese patchwork garments, known as the baijia pao, or “One Hundred

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has relied upon and been supported by a core of dedicated volunteers for decades, helping the Show to share the historic art of quilt making with droves of visitors every year.

PHOTO COURTESY SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Those

Families Robe,” and a recent practice of American adopters of Chinese children. By combining the Chinese tradition of baijia pao, with American commemorative quilt making, makers of the new “One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts” are creating a unique opportunity for a cross-cultural exchange.

People started making Chinese patchwork in the Liu Song of the Southern Dynasty. The first emperor of Liu Song Dynasty, named Liu Yu, was born in an underprivileged family. His mother gathered rags from the neighborhoods to make a patchwork. When he became the emperor, he perceived this kind of patchwork as the symbol for his impoverished childhood. All the infants in Liu’s family had to use the patchwork so that his offspring could know how fortunate they were. Afterwards, his citizens followed this royal custom to make “Bai jia yi” for their babies.

For centuries the Chinese

used quilted cloth to make padded winter clothing, wisely reasoning that two or three layers were warmer than one. Later, the Arabs were discovered wearing quilted garments beneath chain mail. Multiple layers of cloth sewn together provided additional protection and prevented chafing more effectively than cloth of a single layer. Some historians believe this quilted clothing, when brought back to Europe, provided the idea for the bed quilt used today.

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who visit the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show have been, and continue to be, inspired and awed by the

Continued from page 8

field when she moved to Oregon in 2002. Her main focus this legislative session was shepherding a $210 million investment in the state’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industry to help Oregon companies take advantage of billions in new federal incentives and ensure young people in the industry now don’t have the same experience she did two decades ago.

Bynum and her husband now own several McDonald’s franchises in the Portland area. They have four children – two in college, one who starts high school in the fall, and one in middle school – and she said she sees firsthand the economic issues families face.

For instance, she’s helping her oldest daughter rent a $1,700 apartment in Atlanta for her senior year of college and costs are similar for her son who attends the University of Oregon in Eugene. One of her sons has a disability, and she had to navigate the school system with him.

“Those are the things that people care about,” Bynum said. “They don’t care about partisan bickering. They actually want it to stop. Those are the things that I think about, and as my children leave and come back home, I want them to feel that Oregon is welcoming them with open arms and that they can make a life here. They don’t have to leave.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee quickly attacked Bynum, calling her a “handpicked candidate of extreme Democrats in Washington, D.C.” and highlighting her unsuccessful run for speaker of the Oregon House in 2022 after Gov. Tina Kotek resigned as speaker to run for governor.

Bynum confirmed that national Democrats urged her to run, but said that she doesn’t think she has ever been “handpicked” for anything.

“I think the country is hungry for some level of meritocracy to return, and that’s what I’ve done,” she said. “I think that the handpicked statement downplays how hard I’ve worked, how well I’ve been educated, what I actually bring to the table.”

Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 courtesy of https://oregon capitalchronicle.com.

Obituary

David Eugene Carlson

March 3, 1939 — May 5, 2023

David Eugene Carlson was born on March 3rd, 1939, in Denver, Colorado to Elmer and Nellie Carlson. Gene, as he was affectionately known, was born with black hair and hazel eyes. Adored by his parents, he joined his older sister Martha, and was followed by his younger brother, Don.

A busy boy, Gene could often be found on a baseball field. He was raised in the Baptist Church, valuing service at a young age that would extend throughout his life. He was a 1957 graduate of McMinnville High School in McMinnville Oregon, where he was a three-sport athlete. After graduating high school, Gene attended Linfield College, where he earned a degree in chemistry and continued to be a three-sport athlete.

At 22 years old, Gene took a job with Allied Chemical Company and was sent to work in Atlanta, Georgia. Although he was successful, he felt unfulfilled with his career choice. After some soul searching he decided to quit his job, move home, and pursue a career in teaching.

While living again in

McMinnville, he noticed a beautiful redhead. Once she graduated from nursing school, Amber Moss became his wife, on December 22, 1966. Their life together was filled with love and laughter and they lived happily ever after for 57 years.

Gene’s love of teaching and a sense of adventure led to his and Amber’s move to Tokyo, Japan, where he taught at The American School in Japan and where their first child, Piper, was born. Two years later to the day, their second child, Ginger, was born in Portland.

Gene taught math and coached, first at Vernonia High School, then at Madison High School in Portland, and then at Sandy High School. It was here at Sandy High School that Gene entered school administration, where he became

a vice principal. He then became the principal/superintendent at Yamhill-Carlton High School and eventually he retired from Rainier School District as its superintendent in 1998. He was not able to stay retired for long. Gene took many interim superintendent positions all over the state, and he and Amber moved from place to place enjoying each new community. All the while they would return each summer to their home in Sisters, OR.

Known as “Grandad” to his six grandchildren, Gene loved to garden, travel, and golf. He was a big supporter of his grandchildren and would attend games, school activities, and concerts or any other excuse to cheer on those he loved. Among his favorite treats were OREO Double Stuf cookies. His rooster cookie jar was always full, much to the delight of his grandchildren, who remember sneaking cookies from under its lid.

At the end of his life, he battled a series of medical issues that caused him to lose most of his mobility. He died peacefully in his sleep and was welcomed

into Heaven with a joyous celebration by his celestial family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Nellie Carlson.

He is survived by his wife, Amber Carlson of Fruitland, ID; his daughters Piper (Rick) Kelm of Pendleton, OR and Ginger (Jeff) Church of Fruitland, ID; six grandchildren including Madison Kelm, Danielle Church, Riley Kelm, Allison Church, Katelyn Kelm, and Mark Church.

A celebration of life will be held Tuesday, July 11 at 11 a.m., at Sisters Community Church, 1300 McKenzie Hwy. in Sisters. A reception will follow.

CUB SCOUTS: Program is relaunching in Sisters

Continued from page 3

on July 16 at a potluck picnic starting at 1:30 p.m. at Village Green Park. All are welcome.

On August 5, tentatively scheduled at 1:30 p.m., prospective Scouts are invited for a fun outing and information session at the Fir Creek Park splash pad.

Cubs meet once a month for a pack meeting lasting an hour. Packs are broken into dens with dens meeting more frequently depending on age. Pack meetings for Pack 139 will take place at The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration located at 121 Brooks Camp Rd., on the corner of Hwy. 242.

Dens are led by an adult den leader and the pack is under the leadership of the cubmaster.

“We have a committed group to make up the unit committee,” Hann said, “but we are looking for a cubmaster.”

There are some 1.3 million Cub Scouts in the United States, supported by 395,000 adult volunteers. More than 130 million persons have participated in scouting since its inception in 1910. Hann figures that there are hundreds of former scouts in Sisters and is counting on one to step forward.

At the moment there are 20 children ready to enroll.

“We hope to double or triple that number,” Hann said.

For first-time scouts the program cost is $145 for the year. Those with previous scouting experience pay $125. Uniform costs are $130 for kids and $100 for leaders.

Pack 139 Cubs are eligible for Scout Camp. The camp for Sisters scouts is Camp McLaughlin at Lake of the Woods in Klamath County.

For information, to enroll, or to volunteer, call Hann at 808-295-3337.

Audry Van Houweling, PMHNP Columnist

is an annual escape for me, frequently followed by a trip to the Blue or Wallowa mountains. This year’s solo adventure will culminate with trips to the Wenaha, Tucannon Wilderness and the slopes above the Grand Ronde River. I have a strong desire to find an elusive Oregonian moose.

and a little .38 Special on my hip.

As I write this, I am sitting solo at my camp deep in the heart of the Steens Wilderness. One eye on my journal, and the other on my campfire grappling to sustain itself after a day of unexpected pre-solstice snow and wrathful rounds of high winds and hail.

Generally clear this time of year, this time the skies are angry. The sun is finally making its debut out from the west, lighting up the sharp cliffsides of the Little Blitzen River. I can hear the booms of the nighthawks above me. After a day of chasing the sun to the Alvord Desert and tracking down wild mustangs in sage and blankets of desert flowers, it is dinnertime. The peekaboo evening sun makes a fire seem hopeful. The can of chili that had previously been sitting in my kitchen pantry for at least 18 months is the winner tonight.

The Steens Wilderness

I affectionately have termed these solo ventures my “vision quests,” and yes, I am aware of the cultural misappropriation. I travel solo by choice. An annual commitment to adventure (some misadventures), solitude, and challenging my comforts has proven to be a dependable opportunity for respite, reflection, and growth. It is a small attempt at putting aside the modern comforts and sure-fire dopamine machines that make resilience and distress tolerance harder to come by. Although, I really do miss my lattes...

It is not lost on me that it is still probably the exception that a 30-somethingyear-old woman goes adventuring solo in the wilderness. On the rare occasion I have an encounter with another solo female traveler, my excitement is met with validation. Inevitably there are those who question my judgment, or tiptoe on 21stcentury political correctness, expressing “cautious support,” or look at me as if I am carrying some torch for equality. From where I am sitting, I am just a person who dreams of wild places where my wanderlust is stronger than “what if.” Don’t worry, it is not blind faith. I do my homework, I prep, I pack a little punch,

Women (and certainly some men) deserve to grant themselves the permission to, on occasion, “get lost” — to seek solitude. As women, we are still too frequently socialized to base so many of our decisions on popular opinion or on the needs of others. If this is not interrupted every once in a while, we can lose our inner compass in the process. The space that is opened when we are the sole owners of our decisions and have only to respond to the moods of the skies and the terrain at our feet, can be very healing. It can also feel scary sometimes to sit only with the companion of silence, to act without reassurance, or to endeavor without approval. That said, it is both uncomfortable and necessary to open spaces for our inner voices to be heard and acknowledged. This is where growth begins, self-trust blooms, and change starts.

Detachment, escapism, and apathy are pervasive problems in our society. It is too easy to become disconnected from our inner voice and become preoccupied by distraction and the many ways available to avoid discomfort. Nature is

Serving

and has been a loyal antidote to detachment. It forces present awareness as we are in tune with how our body interacts with our surroundings — where we step, how we eat, how we stay safe, and how we adjust to the rhythm of the sun and the moon. As women, we too frequently detach from our bodies, often in response to trauma or societal pressures. We may view our body as an enemy or something that needs to be “managed.” Nature has a way of inviting us back to a place of connection and awareness as our bodies integrate and interconnect with a greater ecosystem. It is a natural homecoming of sorts allowing for an allyship with our bodies made historically difficult.

So, cheers to getting a little lost — and cheers to your solo adventure whether a short walk in the woods or a multi-day trek. We are social beings at heart — let’s not forget that — but a continued commitment to deepening our sense of awareness and resilience sharpens our inner wisdom and only makes us better for the people and places we love. As John Muir wisely stated, “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” Happy trails!

connie@TeamStellarNW.com

I w as asked to define “the gifted.” A solemn thought indeed. To be gifted means, a f lower gr ows, emer ging out of weeds

McLeod-Skinner eyes another run

By Julia Shumway Oregon Capital Chronicle

After a narrow loss to Republican Lori ChavezDeRemer last year, Jamie McLeod-Skinner is “seriously considering” another run for Congress in Oregon’s 5th District.

McLeod-Skinner told the Capital Chronicle on Tuesday that she expects to make a decision about whether she’ll run again in early July. She lost to Chavez-DeRemer by just more than 7,000 votes or two percentage points.

CONCERT: All concerts held at Sisters Art Works

Continued from page 3

Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia, in the Sierra foothills.

Also performing in the Summer Concerts at Sisters Art Works series is Ron Artis II & The Truth on Saturday, July 29, followed by Rainbow Girls on Saturday, August 19. Another concert is scheduled for Friday, August 11 with the artist yet

to be announced.

The concert will be held at 204 W. Adams Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Additional band and ticket information is on the Sisters Folk Festival website, www.sistersfolk festival.org/sff-presents. This is a general admission, all ages show. Children 5 and under enter for free. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Chairs are not provided; bring your low-back festival chairs or blankets. Only service animals are permitted in the venue.

For updates and additional information, follow @SistersFolkFestival on Instagram and Facebook

McLeod-Skinner confirmed the existence of a poll she commissioned with leftover campaign funds. The Capital Chronicle obtained a copy of the polling memo from a source unconnected with the campaign.

“I am very seriously considering it at this point,” McLeod-Skinner said. “(The poll) came out pretty decisive, so it’s very much factoring into my thinking.”

GBAO Strategies, a Democratic polling firm based in Washington, D.C., conducted the poll of 400 likely Democratic primary voters between May 30 and

June 1. The election forecasting website FiveThirtyEight gives the pollster a B/C rating for accuracy, noting that it tends to predict the ultimate outcome of races accurately but overestimates Democratic candidates’ popularity.

The poll asked voters about McLeod-Skinner and three other expected Democratic candidates: State Rep. Janelle Bynum, Metro Council President Lynn Peterson, and Kevin Easton, a state employee in Salem. Easton was already in the race, while Peterson joined in early June and Bynum announced her candidacy last week.

Half of the voters surveyed initially said they would support McLeod-Skinner, with 32 percent undecided, 9 percent saying they would vote for Bynum, 5 percent for Peterson and 4 percent for Easton, according to the polling memo.

After learning more about the candidates, support dropped for McLeodSkinner and Easton and rose for Bynum and Peterson. But McLeod-Skinner maintained a clear lead with 44 percent of respondents saying they would vote for her, compared to 23 percent for Bynum and 12 percent for Peterson.

The memo also said McLeod-Skinner led Bynum by 19 points and Peterson by 35 points in head-to-head matchups.

“It is highly unlikely that McLeod-Skinner can be defeated in a primary, given McLeod-Skinner’s name ID and favorability advantage, and the resonance of her profile,” the memo concluded.

Pollsters didn’t ask about a potential general election matchup with ChavezDeRemer. Bynum, who defeated Chavez-DeRemer in state House races in 2016 and 2018, has sought to position herself as the candidate with the best odds of winning a general election.

Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 courtesy of https://oregoncapital chronicle.com.

The Sisters Folk Festival is kicking off its summer concert series.

PHOTO PROVIDED

I am very seriously considering it at this point.

— Jamie McLeod-Skinner

FUGITIVES: BBR officer deployed spike strip to stop vehicle

Continued from page 1

the suspect vehicle, a black 2013 Honda Civic, in the area of NE 1st and NE Greenwood avenues in Bend.

During the course of this investigation, the MIT identified two suspects: 45-year-old Mark Johnson of Redmond and his 18-yearold son Iceton Johnson of Redmond.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team executed a search warrant of their residence in Redmond. No one was present in the home during the execution of the search warrant.

At approximately 10 p.m., a DCSO deputy located Mark Johnson’s vehicle, a twotoned gray 1993 Ford F150 with a blue stripe, in Sisters. A Black Butte police officer successfully deployed spike strips as Mark Johnson’s truck traveled west on Highway 20 near Black Butte

Ranch. DCSO deputies conducted a high-risk traffic stop of the vehicle.

Iceton Johnson, passenger, was compliant as deputies placed him into custody.

Mark Johnson, driver, refused to obey deputies’ commands and Deschutes County K9 Ronin was deployed and assisted with taking Mark Johnson into custody. Mark Johnson was transported by Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District medics to St. Charles Medical Center-Redmond for medical treatment.

Iceton Johnson was arrested and lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on charges later upgraded to murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, unlawful use of a weapon, and recklessly endangering another person.

Mark Johnson was arrested and lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on charges later upgraded to murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, unlawful use of a weapon, and recklessly endangering another person.

Portraits OF SISTERS

Dawn

Boyd

is the executive director of Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. The woman behind the quilts facilitates a rendezvous of the quilting tribe in Sisters each summer

Boyd d iscove re d he r event m anagement passion helping w ith her daughter’s activities in school in Grants P ass — and she decided to m ove into the field professionally. She graduate d from George Fox University with a degree in management and organizational leadership — and Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show came calling in 2019.

It seemed like an ideal opportunity for Boyd, and it has proved a perfect fit. She loves bringing the free, one-day show to fruition each year but it goes deeper than that. She is facilitating community connections through art, creating an immersive sensory experience that can be enjoyed by whole families.

“There’s a camaraderie and bonding between people of every age, every skill level, every style of quilting,” she says. “You love the art you are creating and you l ove the art other people are creating.

“There’s beauty in that connection between people.”

The winner of the 2023 Big Ponderoo Thompson guitar raffle is Sisters local Dave Fautz. The one-of-a-kind dreadnought guitar donated by Preston Thompson Guitars features a mahogany back and sides; an Adirondack spruce top; and a custom pinecone inlay on the headstock in honor of the festival’s namesake — the ponderosa pine. 400 tickets were sold for $25 each to raise money for Sisters Folk Festival’s music and art programming.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Sisters Folk Festival releases single-day tickets

Single-day tickets for the annual Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) September 29 through October 1 are now on sale. Alongside the previously announced artists, an additional nine performers have been added to the 2023 lineup: Steve Poltz, Crys Matthews, Chastity Brown, Beth Wood, Heron Valley, Bab L’Bluz, Olive Klug, Elias Alexander, and Sweater Weather String Band, for a total of 32 acts on the bill. Patrons can purchase tickets and view artist performance dates at www.sistersfolkfest.org.

With a cult following that includes fellow musicians, regular folks, and festivalgoers who stumble onto his performances, there’s no common denominator to Steve Poltz’s fans. Over the years, the Nashville-based troubadour has built a fascinating solo catalog and made up his own rules along the way. His latest album, “Stardust & Satellites” is an exuberant, thoughtful batch of songs that celebrate life in all of its stages.

A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An awardwinning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Americana, folk, blues, and bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics.

Based in Minnesota, but with roots in Tennessee, Chastity Brown grew up surrounded by country and soul music. In the full gospel church of her childhood, she played saxophone and drums and found her singing voice and a passion for music. Brown’s unique gospel-blues sound offers honest emotion and a deep melodic sensibility.

Beth Wood is a modernday troubadour, poet, and believer in the power of word and song. Beth has been writing, performing, and teaching full-time for twenty-five years — delighting and inspiring audiences with her exceptional musicianship, intelligent writing, powerhouse voice, and warm and commanding stage presence.

Heron Valley are an energy-fuelled, traditional band from Scotland. Their roots lie in Scottish and Irish traditional music, including traditional Scots songs and Scottish piping tunes. Heron Valley brings together an eclectic sound of traditional music, formed through the musicians’ broad musical and family backgrounds.

Bab L’ Bluz (literally “The Gate to the Blues”) is a Franco-Moroccan band

created in 2018 in Marrakesh. They are a Moroccan psychedelic rock band inspired by Gnawa and Hassani traditions, combining rock, modern music, and Moroccan popular music for a showstopping, otherworldly performance.

Olive Klug is an independent singer/songwriter with a rare vocal gift, and a key player in the new wave of contemporary folk singers. Self-styled after genre icons like Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile, Olive is known for their beautiful tone and vividly honest storytelling. Their sound is reminiscent of the Golden Age of American Folk Music but with a uniquely modern lyrical sensibility.

Piper, producer, and songwriter Elias Alexander will perform his electronic project, Ramblxr (pronounced “rambler”) at SFF. Ramblxr puts fiery dance tunes from the Scottish, Irish, and American traditions in conversation with original songs and tastyyet-huge dance productions influenced by disco, house, and lo-fi hip-hop. Elias alternates between bagpipes, fiddle, guitar, whistle, and keyboards while using Ableton Live and a variety of foot and hand controllers to lay down loops, mix in samples, and

build energy. The flash and power of traditional dance music move the body while songs and samples ground the listener in a depth of emotion.

With members drawn together from all across the Salish Sea by a mutual love of traditional music and knitwear, Sweater Weather String Band blends old-time, honkytonk, Celtic, and indie rock influences into a style that has been likened to “the frolicking of sheep before a thunderstorm.” Formed from a series of jams and impromptu gigs, the band quickly developed a wildly danceable sound that can be heard at festivals, folk dances, and bars throughout the Northwest.

The Festival will be held at seven venues throughout downtown Sisters on Saturday, September 30, including Sisters Art Works, The Belfry, The Depot, Open Door, Sisters Saloon, Oliver Lemon’s, Village Green, and a “KidZone” at Fir Street Park. Single-day passes and three-day all-events passes are now available for purchase at https://aftontickets. com/SFF2023tix. Friday passes are $85 for adults and $35 for youth; Saturday passes are $130 for adults and $60 for youth; Sunday passes are $70 for adults and

$30 for youth; and threeday all-events passes are $225 for adults and $85 for youth ages 17 and under. Allevents passes provide attendees access to performances and workshops at all seven

venues on a first-come, firstserve basis.

Be sure to follow @ SistersFolkFestival on Instagram and Facebook for updates and additional information.

The Festival is set for September 29 through October 1.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Continued from page 1

Studying her quilts, one sees attention to detail, with the finest embroidery, delicate tatting, and often a bit of whimsy that brings forth a smile or chuckle from the observer.

At 83 years old, Olson’s quilts now are smaller pieces that are more manageable for her to work on. In the past, some of her quilts have been large masterpieces showcasing intricate details. One such quilt had 2,208 pieces of applique. She often incorporates special antique or unusual buttons and trim which friends know she will use, so they save them for her.

A Nebraska native, Olson began her college years as an art major at Boise Junior College (now Boise State University), transferring to Oregon State and a major in

elementary education. While at OSU she worked in the college library.

On a blind date at OSU, she met her future husband, Ron Olson, who was ready to graduate and leave for the army. Kathie graduated the same year and took a teaching position in San Jose, California, where she also oversaw the school library. Ron wasn’t very far away at Fort Ord.

Ron and Kathie were married in 1961, and moved to Warm Springs, where they lived in faculty housing while Kathie taught school and Ron farmed with his dad on the Agency Plains. Kathie’s first pregnancy meant she had to quit teaching, so she and Ron moved into a house on one of the farms he and his dad were renting. That was the beginning of their life together in Jefferson County, where Kathie would eventually work as the librarian at Metolius Elementary School while Ron grew grass for seed, along with peppermint, wheat, and specialty

seed crops. He also owned Olson Seed, Inc., which he had started with his father.

The Olsons had two more children, giving them a son and two daughters. They farmed from 1962-2006, during which Kathie began her lifelong affair with quilting. When their youngest (son Link) was a baby, she made him bibs out of Ron’s red bandanas so he could look like his dad. She also created Advent calendars with peppermints for each day of the holiday season.

“I got bored with farm life, so I turned our seldom used living room with a view of the mountains into my quilt studio,” she said. “For my first quilt, I drew my own design out on butcher paper, and set up a quilting frame.”

After her sister in Boise died of cancer, Olson created three quilts for her sister’s children, incorporating the T-shirt logos from the song camps her music teacher sister had run.

Kathie and Ron enjoyed the music of Cindy and Reno Holler, and after one of their performances she commented how much she liked Reno’s tie. He gave it to her, and she returned it to him soon after as part of a quilt.

For 30 years, Olson served on the Jefferson County Library Board. She was a member of the Magic Frog Puppet Theater, which she started with four friends from the United Methodist Church choir in Madras, and they gave voice to the puppets singing “Sweet Adeline” music. She is a longtime member of the High Desert Quilt Guild in Redmond and took a variety of classes over the years at Stitchin’ Post. Her interest in quilting goes back to her grandmother, who made her a quilt for her bed that Olson sleeps under today.

In 2006, the Olsons sold their farm and moved to Eagle Crest, where Kathie could be seen riding her blue

bike through the neighborhood. In her apartment now she has a small Kermit the Frog riding a blue bike –commemorating her days with the Magic Frogs and her blue bike.

Olson’s quilts can be found all over Central Oregon at places like the KIDS Center in Bend and Faith, Hope & Charity winery. Her quilts have been donated for fundraisers and auctions to St. Charles, the KIDS Center, and many other organizations.

When Ron moved into Country Side Living memory care as their first resident, Kathie made bibs for him

with a pocket crafted from a Crown Royal whiskey bag. They were a big hit and she was soon making them for other residents as well.

Kathie lost Ron to Alzheimer’s five years ago. Now 83 years old, she lives in an independent living cottage in Redmond but will be moving to Portland this August to be closer to her children.

A sample of Olson’s artful creations will be on display on Quilt Show Saturday in front of Beacham’s Clock Company on the corner of West Hood Avenue and South Oak Street at 300 W. Hood Ave.

1. Pick up a specially labeled BLUE BAG from the porch of Furr y Friends or The Nugget.

2. Fill the bag with Oregonredeemable bottles and cans. (Max 20 lbs. per bag.)

3. Drop off at any BottleDrop location including Ray’s in Sisters (scan code on bag to open door), or on The Nugget’s porch (now on the right side).

KATHIE OLSON: Quilter is featured in this year’s show

Owls adorn the October quilt crafted by Kathie Olson.

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

Photo of Ron and Kathie Olson beneath one of Kathie’s monthly quilts.

RATTLESNAKES: Mind your business; they’ll mind theirs

Continued from page 1

tell us. Still, many humans are afraid of snakes — some extremely so — especially the much maligned rattler.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, ophidiophobia is an extreme, overwhelming fear of snakes. The condition is called a specific phobia (fear), which is a type of anxiety disorder. Ophidiophobia may be associated with herpetophobia, which is fear of all reptiles.

Many people are somewhat fearful of snakes. But ophidiophobia is so extreme that it interferes with a person’s life, well-being, or sense of safety.

Sufferers may act strangely in social, educational, or professional activities because of the phobia and are known to avoid friends’ homes, pet stores, zoos, and other places where snakes may be. Or they may have a panic attack when they see or hear something that might be a snake (like a rope or a hiss).

They may have intense anxiety at the mere mention of a snake and take extreme action to avoid snakes, such as choosing where to live or refusing to go outdoors. A person with ophidiophobia may understand that the fear is excessive but can’t control it.

A generalized fear of snakes is quite common. One in 10 American adults and one in five teenagers will deal with a specific phobia disorder at some point in their lives, and ophidiophobia is one of the most common specific phobias.

Ophidiophobia can affect people of any age, starting in childhood or adulthood.

Get to know your rattler

We have no diamondback or timber rattlers. If we did, this story would be different. In Central Oregon we have only the relatively small Northern Pacific Rattlesnake that averages about 30 to 36 inches, much less than their notorious cousins.

Yes, they can strike about half their length, meaning 12 to 18 inches. No, they cannot lunge mid-air or stand on the tip of their tail and strike.

Bites from our species of rattler are rarely fatal and would most likely be with children or when multiple bites are rendered.

Where they hide

As mentioned above, rattlers have no interest in us until we disrupt them. Around Sisters, most incidents occur when climbing or bouldering, when reaching onto a rock ledge or using a crevice for footing.

There are larger numbers of rattlesnakes in the

Oregon Badlands just east of Bend, on highways, and of course Smith Rock, where at least once a year bites are reported. They are closer than that. You can find them easily in Cloverdale, Cline Falls, McKenzie Canyon, Dry Canyon, Lake Billy Chinook, and most anywhere you find juniper.

If anybody tells you they saw a rattler on the Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) paths, particularly the Peterson Ridge system, you should ask for evidence, although STA trails nearer Camp Sherman may produce a sighting. If you want to avoid them with certainty, get above 6,000 feet for your outings.

When hiking on Deschutes Land Trust protected lands, it’s possible to occasionally see a rattlesnake at Alder Springs, Camp Polk Meadow Preserve, Coffer Ranch, Rimrock Ranch, and Whychus Canyon Preserve, according to nature writer and reptile specialist Alan St. John.

April is when rattlers emerge from their winter dens and that is when to be

most vigilant. Come May or June they are well dispersed and pretty much out of sight.

If you get bit

Try not to panic. And don’t do that John Wayne thing and cut the bite wound and suck out the venom. Using a tourniquet is riskier than the bite itself. Nor should you ice it or wrap it. Keep the victim calm and get to the hospital emergency room. Keep the bite area, usually an appendage, immobilized and if possible raised above the heart.

Snake bite antivenom serum is very fragile and not carried on ambulances or by search and rescue crews. It’s highly volatile and temperature sensitive.

Pray you have insurance that covers the treatment. One vial (two or more may be needed) can cost over $3,000 per vial depending on who is administering it.

Rattlers are around in Sisters Country. If we mind our own business, they’ll mind theirs. Don’t let snake myths keep you from enjoying our amazing surroundings.

Sisters students canoed out for scientific study at Suttle Lake (seestory,page3).

PHOTO BY RIMA GIVOT

MULE DEER: Commission was split on decision to set plan aside

Continued from page 1

board meeting on Wednesday, July 5.

The move was initiated by Commissioner Tony DeBone, who voted with Commissioner Patti Adair to stop the project from moving forward. Commissioner Phil Chang called for the vote after DeBone questioned why the project needed to be advanced.

The back and forth among the commissioners appeared tense, and Chang told The Nugget that he was “pretty irritated. The public was robbed of an opportunity” to provide the Board with input. Chang assumed that there would be public hearings before the Board.

The Deschutes County Planning Commission held community information sessions earlier, one in Sisters.

DeBone and Adair see the issue as one of private property rights. Chang sees it as a landuse matter not infringing upon any landowner rights, although he recognizes that some limits or restrictions could be imposed in rural landowners.

“There was a great deal of public pressure surrounding the issue and a substantial amount of misinformation,” Chang said.

He said he was frustrated that Commissioner DeBone was not giving him any substantive rationale for his position.

“He had made up his mind and was not going to be dissuaded,” Chang said.

DeBone told The Nugget “I’ve heard from constituents all over the county who fear this action will limit what they can do on their own property. For some it’s a misunderstanding and for others they are worried that elements conflict with other state land-use laws.

“Look,” De Bone said, “we all want habitat protected but this probably belongs to ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife), not the County. This is tricky stuff and invites all sorts of potential issues.” He cited ADU (accessory dwelling units) on rural properties within the proposed zone as an example of possible contradiction of existing land-use laws.

While the commissioners voted to withdraw the inventory project, they agreed to continue the discussion at the July 5 meeting. In addressing the commissioners on the matter, Peter Gutowsky, the County’s community development director, said: “This is a very divisive, complex issue.”

Asking that his department not lead the next phase, he suggested that Mark Labhart of Black Butte Ranch, who is an ODFW commissioner, would be a good facilitator for further discussions.

The last mule deer inventory in the county was taken in 1992.

OUR FREELANCERS LOVE DOING THE “WRITE” THING…

Sue Stafford has been writing for The Nugget for nearly 10 years. She covers the city government beat, contributes features, and writes the column “Of a Certain Age.”

You can support Sue’s work — and all The Nugget freelancers — with a SUPPORTING SUBSCRIPTION. 100% of your donation goes to paying freelance contributors.

And if you like doing the “write” thing, too, we’ve got a complimentary pen for you! Just stop by the office and say hello!

How can I participate?

You choose the amount of support you wish to provide. You can mail a check to PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759; stop by the office at 442 E. Main Ave. (we love to connect with our readers), or click the “donate” link at the top of www.nuggetnews.com.

Of aAGEcertain

Sue Stafford Columnist

When people find out that, after seven years, I am no longer going to be writing about what’s going on at City Hall, they ask what I’m going to do with my time. Retire? Find other work?

Although my assigned beat has been City-related, I do write articles having to do with other topics. And now I will have time to do more of what I love: interviewing people for feature stories, and researching topics to learn more in order to write an in-depth article. I should also be able to write more of these columns dealing with matters “Of a certain age.”

I am, and always have been, a student, wanting to broaden my world by delving into interesting subjects. For articles having to do with possible water shortages, I dug deep (no pun intended) into geological formations, aquifers, surface water/ground water, and well drilling.

Oregon land-use laws are unique and require a basic understanding to explain how they guide the City staff, Council, and Planning Commission in making some of their decisions. I studied State websites to better understand the laws.

Currently I’m working on a series of articles having to do with agritourism, regenerative agriculture, and the establishment of

a meadery on the Lazy Z Ranch. The project requires a lot of research and interviews, so to me it is fun work.

In my life before Sisters, my varied jobs always involved working directly with people, as a therapist, volunteer coordinator, fundraiser, parish administrator, volunteer, wife, and mother. Getting to meet and interview all kinds of people and hearing their stories isn’t work for me — it’s what I love to do.

My editor, Jim Cornelius, believes, “We have a duty to report the news; it’s an important part of the job. But it is the stories of the people in the community that really mean the most to us and to our readers. They’re the ones that really last.”

These are stories not often seen in big-city dailies. They relay to the reader what makes Sisters a special place to live. They introduce the reader to their neighbors and their experiences and interests that might otherwise not be discovered through casual interactions.

Not having to attend every City meeting is freeing me up to not only write more fun stories, but also to engage in the life of the community like I did when I moved here 19 years ago. However, I will miss seeing on a regular basis the staff at City Hall and all the elected officials and volunteers who keep our fair town running so smoothly. They have been a big part of my City gig and have always been ready to be of assistance in answering my questions and providing information. Thank you all.

Writing for The Nugget is a privilege I never take for granted. Meeting so many wonderful people and keeping up with the happenings in town has enriched my life immeasurably. For those who read what I write, thank you. There’s more to come.

A young robin beat the heat in a bird bath — and kept its territory clear off rivals.

PHOTO BY ALLISON HERFINDAHL

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 Commercial Rentals Industrial Suite for Lease

692 N. Aylor Ct., Sisters. 1,619

Sq Ft. Perfect for a car collector or someone looking to store toys. $2,250.41/Mo. 541-480-9873.

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.

220 SW PINE ST., SUITE 102

For lease, excellent retail or office space. Great visibility, lots of windows! Corner anchor, 1,040 sq. ft. Move-in ready. Email lorna@nolteproperties.com or phone 541-419-8380.

Lorna Nolte, Principal Broker Lic #200105010

STORAGE WITH BENEFITS

• 8 x 20 dry box

• Fenced yard, RV & trailers

• In-town, gated, 24-7

EWDevcoLLC@gmail.com

103 Residential Rentals ClearPine Building Luxury Apartments Brand-new w/second-story mountain views, covered parking.

units available now.

201 For Sale

A LOT of buildable lumber! Make offer, 541-595-2003

Find Hope in God’s Character

Transformed by God’s Nature

Daily readings accompanied by beautiful illustrations explore the attributes of God as revealed in Scripture. Readers are encouraged to know God more deeply and be spiritually transformed in the midst of trials and suffering. Available right here in Sisters directly from the author for only $10/copy! Text or call 541-420-2324.

202 Firewood

Spring Special COMPOST

BY THE YARD! Call Dave. 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

203 Recreation Equipment Mad River Canoe

15’ Expedition. $375. 541-420-6091.

Happy Trails Estate Sales and online auctions!

Selling, Downsizing, or Deaths?

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

206 Lost & Found

Lost Mickey Mouse wristwatch

June 22. West end of Sisters. Call 541-771-0419.

301 Vehicles

CUSTOM CAR GARAGES

HEATED, INSULATED 541-419-2502

1977 Honda CT90 Trail Bike

530 miles. Excellent condition. $2,950 OBO. 503-860-3779. We Buy, Sell, Consign Quality Cars, Trucks, SUVs & RVs ~ Call Jeff at 541-815-7397

Sisters Car Connection da#3919

SistersCarConnection.com

401 Horses

ALFALFA TRITICALE

ORCHARD GRASS HAY

New crop. No rain. Barn stored. 3-tie bales. $250-$390/ton. Hwy. 126 & Cline Falls. 541-280-1895

Your life with horses is special!

But what does your horse need from you to be healthy, relaxed, and connected? Shera, of Bend

Horse Talk, coaches wholistic horse people in communicating with their horse and honing their equine relationship skills. $40/hr. Try a session. 541-639-9309.

403 Pets SISTERS OREGON GUIDE

Pick up your copy around town today!

Three Rivers Humane Society

501 Computers & Communications

SISTERS SATELLITE

TV • PHONE • INTERNET

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

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

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

SISTERS HONEYDO

General repairs, paint and trim, deck refurbishing, carpentry, drywall, lighting, and more- just ask. 25+ yrs. Maint. exp./local refs. Scott Dady 541-728-4266

JONES UPGRADES LLC

Home Repairs & Remodeling

541-977-1492

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

2 WELL-MAINTAINED ATVs

1999 Sportsman ATV 500

1999 Sportsman ATV 335 ATV Trailer $6,000 for all. Gary, 503-871-7996, Sisters TOO MUCH STUFF?

Advertise your excess with an ad in The Nugget!

205 Garage & Estate Sales

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 Rentals

Popular 1 and 2 Bedroom SistersVacationRentals.net

Great pricing. 503-730-0150

107 Rentals Wanted Looking for a room/loft to rent with a lease/maintenance contract for caretaking of a larger property. Over 35 yrs. in the trade. Tim at 541-306-7340 or lynchpinstim@gmail.com.

Tools: Ridge chopsaw, grinder wheel, Craftsman air compressor on wheels, heavyduty drill press, acetylene torch and welder, scaffolding, automotive wire and tools, yard tools, and more. 17471 Kent Rd, Fri. and Sat. July 7 and 8, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

500 Services

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

We’ve got your cats covered!

Sisters-Tumalo-PetSitting.com 541-306-7551 • Julie

Drywall, Decks, Pole Barns, Fences, Sheds & more. Mike Jones, 503-428-1281

Local resident • CCB #201650

600 Tree Service & Forestry

We are online! nuggetnews.com

4 Brothers Tree Service Sisters' Premier Tree Experts! – TREE REMOVAL & CLEANUP –

Open daily 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

253 E. Hood Ave., Sisters. Consigner’s Estate Sale! One day only, July 7, 11- 6.

210 E. Sun Ranch Dr. Furniture, bars, tables, antiques, art, more! View pics estatesales.net Hosted by Happy Trails.

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

GEORGE’S SEPTIC

TANK SERVICE

“A Well Maintained Septic System Protects the Environment”

541-549-2871

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

TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT

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

— Certified Arborist — Nate Goodwin 541-771-4825

Online at: timberstandimprovement.net

CCB#190496 • ISA #PN7987A