The Nugget Newspaper // Vol. XLVII No. 05 // 2024-01-31

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The Nugget Health

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FOoCn US — — PAGES 12-17

POSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15

News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Vol. XLVII No. 5

www.NuggetNews.com

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

City to introduce speed tables to slow traffic By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

the roundabout is completed, and its known what the display possibilities are. The art will be stored at the school bus barn on the high school grounds. “ I t ’s i n a m a z i n g l y good shape,” King said. “Considering all the sun and wet weather it’s endured I’m amazed at how well it has held up.” It’s uncertain how much of the collection will have to be refurbished or touched

Traffic-calming devices will be installed on West McKinney Butte Road b e t w e e n N o r t h Tr i n i t y Way and the new Sisters Elementary School. Cities employ a number of barriers to reduce speed: speed bumps; speed humps (a wider, smoother contour, lower-profile bump); and speed tables. Speed humps are parabolic vertical traffic calming devices intended to slow traffic speeds on low-volume, low-speed roads. Speed humps are three to four inches high and 12 to 14 feet wide, with a ramp length of three to six feet, depending on target speed. Speed humps are used to reduce speeds to 15-20 mph. Speed tables are asphalt or rubber mounds that cover the full width of the roadway. Speed tables are essentially speed humps that have

See ART on page 19

See SPEED on page 9

PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT

School and Sisters Folk Festival personnel removed an art display that has been a feature of Sisters’ eastern entry since 2016. The installation has to be moved to make way for roundabout construction.

Art installation moved for roundabout By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

Drivers leaving and entering Sisters Friday afternoon at the east gateway were momentarily stunned to see some 200 feet of art removed from the fence at the Sisters Elementary School. The fence stands in the way of the new Locust Street roundabout scheduled to start construction this spring. There was no way the community was going to

just allow the art to be dismantled with no future. Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) in keeping with their long standing commitment to Sisters schools and the arts has once again partnered with the School District, and will facilitate the storage and reimagination of the art. Elementary School Principal Joan Warburg and SFF Facilities Manager Ty King led a group of more than a dozen adult volunteers — some parents — who braved the rain Friday

Snow, rain make small impression on key tables By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

While every drop off water and every inch of snow is critical for our summer needs, recent snows and rain have barely budged the critical SWE (snow water equivalent) readings at the Three Creeks Meadow station which Saturday stood at 46%. On Saturday, the readings were low. Sitting at 5,690 feet, the observed snowpack was 18 inches, down three inches in the preceding 24 hours, as unseasonably warm La Niña weather returned. Temperatures rose to the high 50s over the weekend. The depth was 59 percent of average. Three Creeks

Inside...

Meadow is located about 15 miles south of Sisters. The snowpack in this area is characterized by an average annual snowfall of approximately 200 inches, with an average peak snowpack of around 70 inches. Ski Hoodoo and Willamette Pass resorts benefit from this consistent snowfall, with Hoodoo reporting an average of 500 inches of snow per season. On Saturday however, Hoodoo was sitting under 52 inches of snow and has received only 138 inches since the beginning of the snow year, October 1. Hoodoo was unable to open until the end of the first week See SNOWPACK on page 19

to remove each piece, several hundred, and place them in plastic totes. Several drivers parked their cars and rushed to the fence to get a first-hand explanation. “I was panicked that we were going to lose the art,” Jolene Gary said. Her husband, Bryan, sighed in relief: “Thank goodness. This is essential to Sisters. It has to be saved and put up again.” Warburg says it’s possible some of it can be used again at the east portal once

Gold, conmen, and coyotes By Maret Pajutee Correspondent

London Lee “L. L.” Noonchester was an enigmatic character and the star of the craziest gold rush story in Sisters Country. A dealer in coyote fur, he set up shop in Burns around 1912 and quickly become embroiled in a wave of legal and ethical situations. L. L. was an accomplished promoter and peppered the Burns community with offers to pay more for “coyote and cat hides than any buyer in Eastern Oregon” despite signing a non-compete contract. During World War I he splashed ads in the local paper offering $50,000 for Kaiser Wilhelm’s hide. Noonchester was arrested multiple times for passing bad checks but

COURTESY HARNEY COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

London Lee “L. L.” Noonchester mug shot. still ran for City Marshall in Vale. In 1918, Noonchester was accused of arson in a mysterious fire that destroyed a store in Burns that he had purchased and insured two months earlier. The fire

quickly spread, destroying many adjacent wooden businesses and leveled a block on the main street of the city. Despite these misadventures he flourished, buying See NOONCHESTER on page 8

Letters/Weather ............... 2 Obituaries ........................ 4 Announcements...............10 Focus on Health .......... 12-17 Classifieds................. 22-23 Meetings .......................... 3 Word of the day ................10 Entertainment ................. 11 Crossword .......................21 Sudoku ........................... 23


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