The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 42
POSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
City works on dark skies ordinance
Sparks Lake reflections...
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
PHOTO BY SUE STRATER
The Sisters City Council affirmed a commitment to preserving Sisters’ dark skies during their workshop on Wednesday, October 11. City of Sisters planning staff is working on a revised dark skies ordinance, and sought input from the Council on some key courses of action. A draft ordinance is expected to come before the City Council for approval soon. Councilors agreed that public lighting — street lights and lights on public buildings — should not be exempt in the ordinance, and operate under the same See SKIES on page 21
Roundabout set for March launch Sisters takes on loneliness and isolation By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
Across the nation, there is rising concern about the negative impacts of loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness and isolation affect older people whose connections to community have withered, and young people who struggle to find their place in the world.
Studies have shown that working-age men in particular have a difficult time forming friendships. Some have observed that habits fallen into during COVID-19 lockdowns have persisted, making it harder for people to engage in their community. A town hall forum See LONELINESS on page 16
STARS recognizes volunteers By Sue Stafford Correspondent
Last Thursday, October 10, the bar at Three Creeks Brew Pub was full of good food, good friends, and good feelings as the Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS) organization gathered for their second
Inside...
annual volunteer appreciation event. STARS provides free rides to nonemergency medical appointments (physicians, dental, vision, physical therapy, hearing, lab work, and testing) in Sisters, Bend, and Redmond for See VOLUNTEERS on page 14
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Meetings .......................... 3
Construction of a new roundabout at Locust Street and Highway 20 is still set to get underway in March 2024, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Central Oregon Region Manager Bob Townsend told the Sisters City Council in a workshop on Wednesday, October 11. ODOT’s $5 million in state transportation improvement funds — which will combine with $1.425 million from the City of Sisters, and $1 million from Deschutes County — are secure, despite ODOT’s current funding crisis (see related story, page 5). The project will go out to bid next February and is set to begin in March with the closure of Locust Street until Memorial Day weekend. Three legs of the roundabout are expected to be functional by that holiday weekend, with the project fully completed in September 2024. “It’s a pretty firm schedule, barring something Announcements...............10 At Your Service.............11-13
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Construction of a new roundabout at Locust Street and Highway 20 will get underway in March 2024. completely unforeseen at this time,” Townsend told the Council. Plans call for the highway to be deviated from its current track for a gentle curve into the roundabout, designed to slow traffic coming into town from the east. The construction will eat into a portion of property that is now the Sisters Elementary School tennis courts. Council President Andrea Blum asked Townsend what Entertainment .................14 Obituaries ...................... 20
will become of the abandoned portions of highway. Townsend explained that ODOT would retain the right-of-way, although they would be open to a land swap if the City of Sisters had a particular use for any of the land. Much of the old highway will be removed, Townsend explained. “It’ll get torn up and seeded so it looks natural,” he said. Crossword .......................21 Classifieds................. 22-23