The Nugget
Parents’ stresses can affect their children
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
When the community asks “Are the Kids Alright?” at a Citizens4Community (C4C) forum next Sunday, we might want to ask also whether their parents are alright.
Long-time school counselor Charlie Kanzig, who will be one of the panelists at the forum set for Sunday, November 17, 4 p.m., at the new Sisters Elementary School, reports that he’s seeing a different kind of stress in parents than he did 10 years ago: economic stress; political stress; and “the feeling that they’ve got to fill every moment of their kids’ lives with activities — which is different to me. Their own stress begets their
See CHILDREN on page 12
priorities
Housing, wildfire top councilors’
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
Jennifer Letz was reelected to a seat on the Sisters City Council, to be joined by Sarah McDougall and Cheryl Pellerin. Letz and McDougall each won a four-year term, while Pellerin will serve a two-year term in the wake of the November 5 election.
“It’s just an honor to
serve this community in this important role,” Pellerin said. “I really appreciate the community support. My decision to run was driven by the desire to serve this special community.”
Pellerin cited housing, livability, growth, and wildfire resilience as top issues of concern for the council.
See COUNCILORS on page 9
Vander Kamp sets course for DCSO
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
After a bruising campaign, Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp decisively won election as Deschutes County Sheriff. Vander Kamp garnered 59.32 percent of the vote while his opponent Captain William Bailey recorded 40.06 percent.
“It was a pretty loud message — enough is enough,” Vander Kamp told The Nugget.
The Sheriff-elect told The Nugget that his immediate priorities revolve around community engagement, a comprehensive budget review, enhancing traffic safety initiatives, and building his command staff.
Vander Kamp said that he will hold a series of “good, old-fashioned listening sessions” with stakeholders across the county, recognizing that different areas of the county have different needs and expectations of
law enforcement. He is particularly keen on building, rebuilding, and/or enhancing “good public safety partnerships,” not only with other law enforcement agencies, but also with social service providers, and public officials. He acknowledged that strong partnerships already exist in Sisters.
“Sisters we’ve been very blessed with, because we get along so well with the City,
See DCSO on page 21
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.
Law enforcement and immigrants
To the Editor:
It’s been a tough week for some of us here in Sisters in regards to the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election. My sympathies and understanding of the disappointment we share together.
There’s a long list of potential, less than satisfying winds of change headed our way and I’ll deal with them in my own way when they materialize, but one issue in particular caught my eye and I feel it needs to be addressed and brought into the communities awareness immediately: the proposed use of
local law enforcement agencies in rounding up “illegal/undocumented” individuals, workers or family members that have been here for years and even decades.
I’ve already watched interviews with other towns’ law enforcement powers to be and have noticed that some have stated that they will ignore this request, while others have expressed a zealous willingness to enforce it.
With our newly elected members of law enforcement ready to step into those roles I, and perhaps one or two other citizens are curious as to how they will approach this situation?
W.L.
Duggan
Sisters Weather Forecast
The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
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The Nugget is available to pick up free at The Nugget office and at businesses throughout Sisters and Tumalo; mail subscriptions are available in the 97759, 97756, 97730, and 97703 zip codes for $55/year; subscriptions outside these zip codes: $70/year, $45/six months (or less).
Dear America…
By Bren Smith Guest Columnist
The day after the election, an acquaintance, who voted differently than I did, patted me on the back and said, “Don’t worry, it’s going to be all right.”
I know from talking with family members, the messages we are fed through algorithms, social media, and targeted marketing are not the same messages. Each of us lives in a feedback-loop world based on past programing, programing that tells us to be afraid. I would like to think I can see a little outside my box, so…
Dear America, I hope you chose right.
I sincerely hope change will come, positive change, a chance for all Americans to prosper. I hope that banking systems, sure to be restructured in the next four years, will not shut out the customer, looking for flaws to exploit through AI, lining the pockets of those who already have power. I hope streamlining Washington, defunding over-bloated systems of regulation and government, is done tactfully and with care and concern for employees, offering a severance, avoiding chaos, and the ability to steal resources like the $500 billion that disappeared into the ether during the COVID crisis.
continue to live full lives and not become targets of ridicule and blame. I hope Medicare and Medicaid will not be made to run dry, purposefully, just to get these programs out of the way, that instead solutions will be found.
I hope wars abroad don’t become about who can afford our weapons, and which dictator we court to keep power, instead offering an even hand.
I hope term limits of politicians will not be extended because those in power wish to stay in power. I hope people caught up in the devastation of climate change will find a hand up to get back on their feet, that local communities will come together to help each other, that solutions will be found in restructuring instead of covert money slid into the pockets of powerful politicians and contractors. I hope America’s resources will be used to better the lives of all its citizens.
The words human and humane share the same root, no matter race, religion, gender. Will we be human? Will we be a humane, America?
We live in a world of continual transformation. Change is the new normal. There are those who want to throw a lasso around things, bring back control. With AI, social media, and climate change, it’s not happening soon.
I do hope kids can get a good meal in school, not Fruit Loops and other sugarladen products contracted by big business. I hope educational and other resources are not pulled from states just because they voted blue — care for our children being foremost. I hope healthcare is not destroyed, that those with pre-existing conditions can still get healthcare, and that it is better than what we have now.
I hope families living in the United States for generations are not torn apart — my soul needs to live in an America that will not separate children from parents. I hope people with disabilities will be able to
Systems all over the world are crashing, but as humans there is one thing we do have control of: ourselves and how we choose to treat each other. We can look outside our preprogrammed boxes, hope for positive outcomes, look for change, stay resilient, reach out to our local brothers and sisters for solutions.
My acquaintance was a little patronizing when she said, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be all right.” I can honestly say, I hope you are right, but as a citizen of this wonderful country, I will stand in my truth. Change must and should be humane.
Views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
Some 2,880 cubic yards of road sand piles 40-feet high at ODOT’s Sisters maintenance yard as
conditions arrive.
ODOT facing funding struggles
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
The agency that keeps our highways operating is facing a structural revenue crisis.
This is due to three main causes, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT): Oregonians are driving increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles, and switching to electric vehicles (EV) at a high rate. With increased fuel efficiency and more EVs, Oregon sees lower tax revenues and less money available to maintain the transportation system.
Inflation has made maintaining the transportation
system more expensive.
Unlike many other states, Oregon’s gas tax is static, and isn’t tied to inflation. Vehicle and freight hauler fees are also not tied to inflation. With every year that passes, the same dollar purchases fewer materials and less service.
Restrictions on available funding. Only a small share of the funding that comes into ODOT can be used to maintain the state’s transportation system and run the agency. State law directs almost half of total state highway fund dollars to cities and counties and then dedicates over half of what’s left to pay back bonds for past projects and invest in
new projects, leaving only about 20 percent of every dollar available for state highway maintenance.
This structural revenue issue means ODOT faces a $354 million imbalance between the funds that are expected to be available to operate the agency in the 2025-2027 biennium and the cost to maintain current staffing and service levels. Every state agency is required to model what services could be provided based on expected available funding.
ODOT’s budget also calls for cutting the size of ODOT’s workforce by
Science Club tracks wolves in Sisters event
The presence of wolves is shaped by the landscapes they inhabit and the humans who share those spaces. For millennia, wolves and humans have maintained a complex and intertwined relationship showcasing striking similarities.
Both species exhibit unique behavioral traits that are rare in the animal kingdom. While most people recognize that wolves live in groups known as packs, many may not realize that these packs function as family units. Much like humans, wolves are among the few species on the planet that live in family groups. As cooperative breeders, they collaborate to raise their young, with parents and offspring
assuming distinct roles within their intricate social structure. This fascinating aspect of wolf life highlights their remarkable adaptability and invites comparisons of social behavior, emphasizing the deep cooperation that characterizes this species.
In the presentation, “Wolves: A Social and Natural History,” sponsored by Sisters Science Club, biologist Aaron Bott will explore the nuances of wolf social dynamics, shedding light on the various roles they assume within their complex family groups.
Bott is a wolf biologist employed by the Oregon Department of Fish and
City looks toward season of cold weather
By
With the approach of winter upon Sisters Country, preparations are underway at the City to prepare for allowing emergency shelter to those who are living unhoused.
At the Wednesday, November 20, Sisters City Council meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, the Council will be asked to approve a resolution creating
SISTERS AREA MEETING CALENDAR
BOARDS, GROUPS, CLUBS
Al -Anon
Mon., noon, Shepherd of t he Hills
Lutheran Church. 5 41-610 -7383.
Alcoholics A nonymou s
Monday, 5 p.m., Shepherd of t he Hills
Lutheran Church • Tuesday, noon, Big Book study, Shepherd of t he Hills Lutheran Church • Wednesday, 7 a.m.,G entlemen’s meeting, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church • Thursday, noon, Sober Sisters Women’s meeting, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Thursday, 7 p.m., Episc opal Church of the Transf iguration • Fr iday, noon, Step & Tradition meeting, Shepherd of t he Hills Lutheran Church. 5 41-5 48 -0 440. Saturday, 8 a.m., Episc opal Church of the Transf iguration
Central Oregon F ly Tye rs G uild
For Saturday meeting dates and location, email: steelef ly@msn.c om Central Oregon Trail A lliance (COTA) Sisters Chapter will not have their regular meetings in November or December
Ci tizens4Communit y C ommunity Builders meeting, 3rd Wednesday of ever y mont h, 10 to 11:30 a.m. V isit citizens 4c ommunity.c om for loc ation.
Council on Aging of Cent ral O rego n Senior Lunch In- person community dining, Tues. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grab -and -go lunch Tues., Wed., Thurs 12:3 0 to 1 p.m. Sisters C ommunity Church. 5 41-4 8 0-18 43
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
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
Living Well W it h D ementia Sisters
Care Par tner suppor t group. 2nd & 4th Weds., 1-2:3 0 p.m. T he Lodge in Sisters. 5 41-6 47-0 052.
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
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 Area Woodworke rs First Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m. 5 41-231-18 97
Sisters Bridge Club Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. at Sisters C ommunity Church. Email sister sbridge2021@gmail.com.
Sisters Caregi ver Sup por t G roup 3rd Tues., 10:30 a.m., Siste rs Episcopal Church. 5 41-719 -0 031.
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, 4:3 0 p.m.
Location infor mation: 5 41-5 49 -1193.
Sisters Kiwani s 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, 11:3 0 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Lodge in Sisters. 5 41-6 32-3663.
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.
Sisters Veterans no- host lunch, Thursdays, noon, Takoda’s Rest aurant. All veterans welcome, 5 41-241-6 56 3.
Sisters Trails A lliance Board Meetings take plac e ever y other month, 5 p.m. In- person or zoom. Contact: info@sisterstrails.org
Three Sister s Irrigation Distric t Board of Direc tors M eets 1st Tuesday, 10 a.m., TSI D Of fice. 5 41-5 49 -8 815
Three Sister s Lions Club 2nd Thursday, 6:3 0 p.m., Spoons Rest aurant. 5 41-419 -1279.
VF W Po st 813 8 and A merican Legion Post 8 6 1st Wednesday of the month, 6:3 0 p.m., Spoons Rest aurant. 541-241- 6563
SCHOOLS
Black Bu tt e School Board of Direc tors 2nd Tuesday, 3:45 p.m., Black But te School. 541- 59 5- 6203
an emergency declaration for the period of November 21, 2024 to March 15, 2025, to allow for getting people out of the cold. The resolution will help avoid the last-minute scramble experienced last year when the temperatures dropped. The declaration is not for any particular building or organization, but rather outlines specific criteria that must be met by any entity
Sisters School District Board of Directors O ne Wednesday m onthly, Sisters School District Administr ation Building. See schedule online at www ssd6.org. 5 41-5 49 -8 521 x5 002. 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. Sisters Park & Recreation District Board of Dire ctor s 2nd & 4th Tues. 4 p.m., C of f ield Center. 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 Dire ctor s 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.
Outlaws name all-league players
By Rongi Yost Correspondent
The Lady Outlaws soccer squad had five of their players selected to all-league teams, including seniors Shae Wyland and Ella Davis, who earn first-team honors.
Wyland was one of the Outlaws’ captains, and was a standout player in the midfield and on defense. She tallied three assists during league play.
“Shae was a vital piece to this team in both defensive and midfield positions,” said Coach Makena Zorza. “She was a great leader, was very coachable, and stepped into any position asked of her. Shae was consistently able to outrun attackers, recover quickly, and anticipate the plays of the opposing team. Her vision of the field and strong work ethic made her stand out as one of the top three ranked players in the league.”
Davis was the top scorer in the league with 27 goals. She played as a forward and,
in addition to her goals, she also recorded three assists.
“Ella was an incredible offensive threat who demonstrated great composure and finishing abilities,” said Zorza. “She consistently created scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. Ella’s passion for the game could be seen anytime she stepped on the field in both practices and games, which pushed others to work harder.”
Ella Eby (senior) was a second team pick, and was also one of the Outlaws’ captains.
“Ella was a key piece to our successes from her center defense position,” said Zorza.
“She was a great leader, especially for our two freshmen outside defenders, and was never afraid to make changes to better herself and the rest of the team. Her understanding of her position allowed her to find clearances that regularly created offensive opportunities. Her positive attitude and endless jokes made her a great captain for
the Lady Outlaws.”
Zoee Bafford (junior) earned honorable mention. Bafford scored four goals, and also had four assists.
“Zoee was a great dribbler in the wing position,” said Zorza. “Her speed down the side line was often unmatched with or without the ball, making her a dangerous player against any team we played. Zoee’s knowledge of the game allowed her to consistently look for and create opportunities for her team to advance the ball.”
Mia Rosas rounded out the all-league picks, and was also honorable mention. Rosas scored one goal and had four assists during league play.
“Mia stepped into the center midfield position this season and was never afraid to be aggressive,” said Zorza. “She consistently won 50/50 balls and created plays both offensively and defensively. Mia’s ability to remain composed and visualize the field made her a crucial piece to the midfield.”
Girls soccer team ends season
By Rongi Yost Correspondent
The Lady Outlaws fought hard and played well against the No. 5 ranked Banks Braves, but fell 1-0 in round two of the 3A/2A/1A soccer state championships that were held Wednesday, November 6, at Hillsboro Stadium.
The Braves did an outstanding job throughout the contest, made good give-andgo passes, and repeatedly took shots on goal. They scored their one goal in the last five minutes of the first half.
“The Outlaws held their
own and gave the Braves a high energy game that I don’t think they were expecting,” said Coach Makena Zorza. “It was a tough battle, and eventually we fell short, but the girls gave it their all and really connected well as a team.”
Zorza told The Nugget that the Outlaws exceeded their expectations this year, after losing 11 players from the previous season.
“I am very proud of this team and their continued effort and determination,” said Zorza. “We went through a lot of changes this season and the girls rose to the challenge and
Forest roads closing for winter season
The Deschutes National Forest plans to close Forest Service Road 16, which provides access to Three Creek Lake, and Forest Service Road 370 to wheeled motor vehicle traffic on Wednesday, November 13. Road 370 provides access to Broken Top.
The roads are closed to provide for public safety, minimize resource damage, and preserve the snowpack as these routes transition to winter recreation. Forest managers said Forest Service roads across the Deschutes National Forest are not plowed or maintained for winter driving access and visitors recreating on the Forest should be prepared for winter driving conditions.
Some tips for those enjoying winter recreation on public lands:
• Plan the trip — check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes, enough water for everyone for 3 days,
emergency food, tire chains, shovel, flashlight, flares and/ or something to start a fire with, camp saw or hatchet, and a cold weather sleeping bag or blankets.
• Have a full tank of gas, and be prepared for changing conditions. Let someone know the dates you will be gone.
• If the snow on the road is three inches or greater, turn around; conditions are not likely to improve ahead.
• Do not count on technology — GPS devices can steer drivers onto impassable roads, and cell phone service can be inconsistent.
• Pay attention to weather conditions, including increased winds and snowfall, to ensure plenty of time to safely head back home.
For more information visit fs.usda.gov/deschutes or follow the National Forest on X/Twitter @DesNatlForest or on Facebook.
came out stronger in the end. “I expect next season to be a good growing year as we will have a young team after losing five seniors,” added Zorza. “We have had many underclassmen step up and fill vital roles within this team, and I look forward to the growth they continue to make together.”
Roundabout SISTERS
Bill Bartlett Columnist
Remember when?
With so many of us newbies, me included, I’m always delighted when I learn a tidbit of Sisters history. Of course, The Nugget is chock full of much of what you might be curious about. You may not know how much of a historical library The Nugget is.
Heck, many of you may not even know that The Nugget has an online edition — nuggetnews.com — where in addition to getting the latest news about Sisters Country you can go to that amazing little magnifying glass icon to the right, near the top of the page and hunt to your heart’s delight.
For instance: Want to know what happened to Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill and Saloon (now Sisters Saloon)? Go to the magnifying glass and type in Bronco Billy’s and among other results will be the edition of April 8, 2014, that gives you the whole story, chapter and verse.
Trying to remember when the tree fell on the Ski Inn and destroyed it? December 1, 2013, as reported by The Nugget with a photo of the collapse.
Given my curious nature I love listening to the “old timers” — those here more than 30 years (my definition, nothing official). They surprise me with factoids. I just learned for example that the Habitat Restore was once a
bowling alley. That got me thinking what other morsels I could scrounge up. So, I asked around. Sue Stafford said, “Remember when you could ski at Mt. Bachelor for $4.25?” Gary Tewalt informed me that going west from Sisters, Highway 126/20 was once paved red, and the limbs from the pines spanned the road.
Robin Holm remembers coming in from Camp Tamarack for the mail and seeing horses tied up at the Sisters Hotel. Wait. What Sisters Hotel? What it was before it was Bronco Billy’s.
Charlene Cash remembered when 12 houses off Camp Polk Road burned to the ground in 1990.
Darren Lane and a whole lot of other folks remember taking the school bus to Redmond as Sisters had no high school between 1969 and 2003.
Angela Gardinier said: “Remember when there were llamas at the Patterson Ranch, and they dyed them different colors at Easter?”
And speaking of ranches, Chris Kennedy said: “Remember when the elk ranch had elk?”
How many of you, like me, are guilty of not visiting the Three Sisters Historical Society? I intend to cure that this weekend. The Sisters Museum located at 151 N. Spruce is open Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. The Museum is housed in the historic Maida Bailey Old Library Building. It’s compact, but said to be bursting with history.
There’s “remember when,” which has plenty of firsthand experiences like Sno Cap opening in 1954 and there’s “way back when,” like when the Candy Corral was the Palace Hotel. When The Belfry was Sisters first church in 1914. Or when Sisters Bakery was Leithauser Grocery in 1925.
Wouldn’t you have loved to have seen the lookout tree, a 110-foot pine tree on
Cascade and Larch with a platform on top pierced with iron rungs made by Hardy Allen’s blacksmith shop?A State Forester climbed to the top each morning between 1915 and 1926 to scan the area.
Despite the lookout, Sisters had two major fires in 1923 and 1924, destroying much of Cascade Street due to a lack of fire equipment.
It would have been fun to know George and Virginia Wakefield, whose house still stands at Cascade and Larch. This home features a full basement lined with lava-rock. As owner of Wakefield’s Garage, George kept his many vehicles in the carriage house behind it. He started Sisters Airport in 1936, served as Mayor, and President of the Sisters
Rodeo Association for a time. Every day I get a new one. Claudia Williams told me yesterday: “Remember when Bi-Mart was Ray’s and Ray’s was an RV site?” I didn’t know that. Did you?
So, for us newbies, maybe we should pay more attention to Sisters when it wasn’t what it is today, and then we can have more occasions to ask, “remember when?”
WEATHER: Decree clears the way for action if needed
Continued from page 3
wanting to offer shelter during that time period. The declaration takes the place of any land use application and is applicable when the outside temperature reaches a certain level, for example 32 degrees.
According to Kerry Prosser, assistant city manager, there must be a letter from the property owner approving use as an emergency shelter. The fire marshal must have visited and approved the use of the property for a specified number of people. The sponsoring entity must have posted rules for those seeking shelter based on protocol established by the Deschutes County Health Department, including check-in procedures, and outlining when the shelter will be open. The Deschutes Country Sheriff’s Office must be informed that the shelter is operating.
Provided an organization or property can meet all the requirements outlined in the emergency declaration, they can be approved to provide shelter, whether in a church, public building, or other structure.
WOLVES: Biologist has deep knowledge of behavior
Continued from page 3
Wildlife. He is also a wildlife biology doctoral candidate at Utah State University. His research focuses on wolf social behavior, predation patterns, and developing innovative non-lethal techniques to mitigate conflicts with livestock. Bott began working with wolves while pursuing a master’s degree with the Yellowstone Wolf Project, eventually conducting a multi-year field study monitoring wolves in the park’s remote interior. Aaron was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains before moving to Central Oregon.
This presentation on November 19, at The Belfry in Sisters, Oregon, is part of the Frontiers in Science lecture series sponsored by the Sisters Science Club.
Social hour begins at 6 p.m. with light fare, beer, and wine available for purchase. The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door; teachers and students are admitted free. The Belfry is located at 302 E. Main Avenue in Sisters. For information or questions, contact the Sisters Science Club at scienceinsisters@gmail.com.
Why I quit cutting firewood
By Stu Ehr Guest Columnist
I did the math. It’s probably not the math you’re thinking of. Not how many BTU’s (British Thermal Units) from a certain species of wood you could get.
Also not a comparison of the cost of a cord of wood versus the electricity you would use for heating on any given winter.
The upside is a free wood cutting permit to harvest up to eight cords of wood for personal use. It didn’t used to be that way.
My math doesn’t even consider the cost of a saw, trailer, vehicle to tow a couple tons of wood, or the fuel, oil, chains, sharpening and saw maintenance, although that’s certainly worth considering.
Don’t get me wrong. I went out every spring, and if needed in the Fall, to cut the five-plus cords of wood my household would burn every winter. We heated exclusively with wood via an intake in the ceiling over the stove that forced the hot air throughout the house.
In the dead of winter when the kids come in from playing in the snow, they’d gather around the wood stove and drink hot chocolate. On frosty school days, they would jump out of bed wrapped in a blanket
as I stoked the fire to get it out of the 60s. Really very lovely memories.
Then why the change of heart?
Well it certainly got harder when I got into my 50s. As well, there is a danger cutting wood by yourself.
After one late afternoon of sawing, when exhausted, I could barely lift the saw, I let it slip into idle, with the chain still moving as it touched my pant leg for a hot moment tearing a nice gash in my leg.
Calling my dentist, Dr. Mark Francis, he told me to meet him at his office where he put in some nice smooth stitches. But not even that incident got me to shy away from wood cutting. I vowed to be more careful and find someone, anyone, who could make sure I stayed alive out in the woods.
No. None of those items I just mentioned were why I no longer trek into the forest to cut firewood.
After years of cutting wood, driven by my role as provider for the family (a role for which I felt great satisfaction), the real reason I hung up my trusty Stihl 029 struck me like a thunderbolt and the math became obvious.
Here’s how the math worked out.
I cut down the tree.
Then cutting it into more
manageable lengths I could load into the trailer, that was the first time I put my hands to the wood.
• Rolling the big rounds towards the trailer.
• Lifting the big rounds into the trailer.
• Stacking the rounds neatly in the trailer to maximize space.
• Arriving home, unloading the rounds into a big heap.
• Cutting down the rounds into neat 19-inch lengths to easily fit in the stove.
• Splitting the large rounds into stove-sized pieces.
• Stacking the five cords of split wood.
• Loading the wheelbarrow with enough wood for a few days and parking it on the deck near the sliding glass door.
• Loading a few hours of wood into a hand carrier and parking it next to the wood stove.
• Lastly, firewood goes into the wood stove. Mission accomplished.
So there’s the math if you haven’t been following my logic. And therein came the epiphany.
I handled each piece of firewood 10 times.
Ten times!
My mind immediately fell back to a memory where I had been camping with some First Nations friends
up in Canada. We all set out to gather some firewood for the night. My native friends quickly got a small fire going and sat on some stumps close to the fire, warming themselves and chatting amicably while the rest of us, sweat pouring off our brows, gathered enough wood for a good sized bonfire, enough to signal the International Space Station.
As we tossed more wood on the fire, my Blackfoot and Crow friends, stopped their conversation and looked at us annoyed. We (Americans) had done most of the work and here they sat with their feathers obviously ruffled, having to move the stumps they were so comfortable on back from the heat of the blaze.
Finally, Vincent YellowOld Woman, looked up at us and declared loudly, “White man build big fire. Keep warm gathering wood!” We all laughed. But he was right. Those words took years to come back on me, and they did it with some added common sense math. Indeed, I was staying warm gathering wood. A lot of wood. Not any more.
However, I’ll gladly come to your house and enjoy the warmth and ambiance of your wood fire, knowing the effort it took to make it happen.
Five Outlaws named all-league
By Rongi Yost Correspondent
The Lady Outlaws had five volleyball players selected to all-league teams, including Kathryn Scholl and Holly Davis, who were first-team, all-league picks.
Scholl finished league with 11.9 kills (first on the team), 1.7 aces, 7.4 digs, and 1.2 blocks per match this season.
Coach Josh Kreunen said, “Kathryn is the ultimate team player, willing to play any position on the court to help the team. With the ability to score anywhere along the net and at the service line, Kathryn finished the season as the leading scorer for the Outlaws. She also worked on and improved her ball control throughout the season and ended up being a top passer and defender at the net and in the back row, solidifying her role as an elite six rotation player. Throughout the year and even through injury, Kathryn led by example in how hard she worked every time she stepped on the court, whether it was in a practice or a state playoff match.”
Davis was the Outlaws’ setter and also played all six rotations. She recorded 28.3 assists (first on the team), 1.8 aces, 7.3 digs, and 0.8 blocks per match.
“Holly is an exceptional leader and captain,” said Kreunen. “She consistently demanded the best from herself and her teammates and helped each teammate reach their potential. Holly excelled
Sisters salutes...
in running the offense, finding the hot hitters and was also a huge contribution at the service line. Holly is also an elite defensive setter, finishing in the top three for digs and blocking as well. From the first minute of tryouts through the last point in the state playoffs, Holly consistently competed at the highest level mentally and physically.”
The Outlaws’ libero (defensive specialist), Jordyn Monaghan, earned second team all -ague honors. She tallied 9.1 digs, 2.2 aces, and 1.9 assists per match.
“Jordyn is a well respected captain and leader for the Outlaws,” said Kreunen.
“As the quarterback of the back row, Jordyn helped all the passers become better individually and as a group, while continuing to improve her passing throughout the season. Her confidence and drive were contagious for the team and especially the younger players. Jordyn earned her way to the All League All Defensive Team through gritty, smart defense. Offensively, Jordyn was a huge factor at the service line with the highest/toughest server rating. Her lead-byexample personality helped lead the team to a lot of success this year.”
Both Haven Heuberger and Alli Fogarty were honorable mention.
Heuberger played
primarily as an outside hitter and recorded 6.9 kills and 0.3 blocks per match.
“Haven is a talented offensive player, who can score from all parts of the court, “ said Kreunen. “As the season progressed, Haven became a go-to for points and scoring, especially transitioning out of defense and out of system sets. Throughout the year, she improved her offense by developing more shots, faster, higher swings and smart shots. Haven was a huge part of the Outlaws’ success this year through her aggressive offense and always attacking mentality.”
Fogarty rounded out the all league selections. She played in the back row as a defensive specialist, and posted 8.6 digs, and 2.7 aces (first on the team) per match. She was also first on the team in receiving the serve.
Kreunen said, “With quiet confidence and high expectations of herself, Allison became one of the Outlaws top passers and defenders. Making the jump from JV2 last year to varsity this year, she made huge improvements out of season and during this season in her passing, defense, and serving. She finished the season as the Outlaws’ top server and passer, and on multiple occasions finished out matches with aces or long service runs. Throughout the season she was the rock behind the teams’ serving and serve receive.”
• Sisters Habitat for Humanity thanks everyone who attended the incredible Jim-Isaac Chua Concert on October 25. The concert was indeed a “feast for the ears.” We are very grateful to our sponsors who made the event possible: TDS Telecommunications, Central Oregon Daily News, Mid Oregon Credit Union, Sisters Senior Living, Merrill O’Sullivan Stewart Law, Roth Home, Sisters Coffee Company, BUILD LLC, Rad Dyer of Ponderosa Properties, Sisters Ace Hardware, Bedouin, Sisters Veterinary Clinic, and The Nugget.
And a special thanks to Sisters High music teacher Kayla Golka for coordinating the opportunity for students and Jim-Isaac to meet.
The Sisters community was very gracious to Mr. Chua, and he is looking forward to returning next year.
• David Hiller, president, Sisters Kiwanis Club wrote: On behalf of the Sisters
Kiwanis Club, I would like to wholeheartedly thank each donor providing the wonderful gifts and every one of you for purchasing raffle tickets for the 1st Annual “Make-aDate” Raffle.
Without the unending work of Suzy Ramsey, Teresa Cravens, Jan Failing, Derek Hill, and the other members of the Kiwanis Club this would not have been the success it is. Thank you.
Sisters Community contributions help us, help others in this Community. Indeed, with your support, Sisters Kiwanis will continue to make an impact by creating opportunities for youth and young adults to thrive!
Whether we are building playgrounds, distributing staples at the Sisters Food Bank, building greenhouses at the schools, or helping our neighbors in one-onone situations, the strength of Sisters Kiwanis is greater thanks to all of you!
Bynum declares victory in race
By Julia Shumway and Lynne Terry Oregon Capital Chronicle
CLACKAMAS
—
Surrounded by a hastily assembled group of campaign volunteers, Democrat Janelle Bynum declared victory in Oregon’s closest congressional race.
The Democratic state representative is the first Black congresswoman from a state that banned Black people from living within its boundaries when it joined the union.
That history was on Bynum’s mind as she gave brief remarks at her campaign headquarters Friday afternoon, November 8.
“It’s not lost on me that I am one generation removed from segregation. It’s not lost on me that we’re making history, and I am proud to be the first, but not the last, Black member of Congress in Oregon,” she said Friday afternoon. “I’m proud to be a groundbreaker because of what that means, not just for my children, but for all young people across our state to see that change is possible, and that when something big has never been done before, that it might just be because you haven’t accomplished it yet.”
The Bynum win over Republican Lori ChavezDeRemer, who herself made history in 2022 as one of Oregon’s first Latina members of Congress, flipped the 5th District back to Democratic control after 14-year former Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader lost in the 2022 primary to Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who subsequently lost the general election by 2.1 points to Chavez-DeRemer.
In 2020, Democratic President Joe Biden won the district by 9 points. It has more Democratic voters than Republicans – nearly 32 percent to 27 precent – and is one of Oregon’s most geographically diverse, stretching across Linn County,
most of Clackamas and Deschutes counties, and parts of Multnomah and Marion counties.
The election results are bittersweet for Oregon’s Democrats, including the campaign volunteers who flanked Bynum at her victory press conference. Portland resident Jeff Kidder, a volunteer with the progressive group Indivisible who spent his weekends knocking on doors for Bynum, said he and fellow volunteers are grieving the presidential results and trying to plan how they’ll protect anyone negatively affected by Trump administration policies, but first they’re celebrating that Bynum will go to D.C. to represent them.
Bynum was an engineer before moving to Oregon, her husband’s home state, about 20 years ago. She couldn’t find an engineering job in the state in the wake of the dot-com bubble burst, and she eventually joined her husband in taking over his mother’s McDonald’s franchise. As she talked to more of her neighbors before she first ran for the state House in 2016, she said she heard from people with similar stories of not making it in Oregon.
“That’s what propelled me to first run for office, to make sure that everyone’s voices were heard at the table,” she said. “So at the end of the day, I’m still an engineer. I still take apart complex issues and put together solutions. I still try to figure out how to do what others thought was impossible, and that’s why I entered public service, to solve hard problems.”
Among Oregon’s U.S. races, the 5th District has been the most closely watched, with the candidates raising more than $12 million through midOctober and millions more spent by interest groups to get them elected. National Democrats and Republicans
both considered the race among a few nationwide that would determine control of the House. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Bynum to its competitive “Red to Blue” program, throwing its support behind her in the primary.
During the campaign, Bynum centered her campaign around abortion rights. While Oregon and Vermont do more to protect abortion access than all other states, Democrats including Bynum have warned that Republicans might try to pass a national abortion ban through Congress. Bynum spoke frequently about her 22-year-old daughter, who is deciding where to attend graduate school based in part on where her reproductive rights will be protected, and pledged to support legislation restoring a national right to abortion. She also sought to tie Chavez-DeRemer to Trump, referring to the Republican congresswoman as “standing by her man.”
Chavez-DeRemer, on the other hand, touted her bipartisan record and unusually long list of labor endorsements. While Oregon’s large public sector unions, including Service Employees International Union Local 503, the Oregon Education Association, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations back Bynum, the state’s largest private sector union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, gave both Bynum and ChavezDeRemer its “greenlight” stamp, indicating that both candidates’ values align with the union’s. ChavezDeRemer was endorsed by about 20 unions, mostly smaller local unions representing public safety and tradespeople.
Republished under Creative Commons license
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Outlaws fall in football playoffs
By Rongi Yost Correspondent
Sisters made the long trek to Lincoln City on Friday, November 8, and took on the Taft Tigers.
The Outlaws battled back from a big first half deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to keep the Tigers out of the endzone, and ultimately suffered a heart-wrenching 34-27 loss in the final minutes of the contest.
The Outlaws had a difficult time at the start of the contest and were unable to stop the Taft passing attack, and quickly found themselves down 0-21 just two minutes into the second quarter.
Sisters players kept their composure despite adversity and mistakes. Late in the second quarter they got on the scoreboard. Spencer Davis started the drive with a 40-yard run, and Kolbi Cotner caught a 23-yard pass to put the Outlaws deep in Tiger territory. Ethan Eby had a short carry and then busted his way into the end zone on first and goal. The PAT (point after touchdown) failed, but the Outlaws were on the board 6-21.
On Taft’s next possession they were forced to punt. Sisters blocked the punt to
set up a first-and-goal, but sadly were unable to convert on four plays, and turned the ball over on downs. Taft ran out the clock and at halftime the Outlaws trailed 6-21.
The tide turned for Sisters in the second half. The Outlaws drove down the field, and Eby capped the drive with a two-yard run to cut the lead to 12-21. The Tigers got a timely pick-six immediately after Sisters forced a Taft punt to put the score at 12-27 with just seconds left in the third period.
The Outlaws didn’t waver, but held on and got the ball back, and scored twice in the final quarter.
The first touchdown (TD) came at the start of the quarter when Kayl Mock ran it in for the score. Eby scored on the two-point conversion and the Outlaws narrowed the gap to 20-27. Eby scored again when he ran it up the middle for a touchdown to knot it up 27-27 with just over three minutes left in the game. Sisters was able to move the ball with ease and put the Tigers on their heels.
Taft took the kickoff return to the Outlaws 43yard line, and on the next play the quarterback got free down the sideline and ran it in for another TD. Sisters was down by seven, 27-34,
which was the difference in the game.
It was a valiant comeback from Sisters, but costly mistakes, and the early lead, were too much to overcome.
Sisters finished the contest with 255 yards rushing, and 115 yards passing for 370 total yards of offense. Taft finished with 91 yards rushing, 123 yards passing for a total of 214 yards offense.
Quarterback Hunter Bronson went 7/13 for 115 yards and one interception.
On receiving, Dawson Roberson had two catches for 50 yards, Cotner one catch for 23 yards, Hudson Beckwith one catch for 39 yards, and Kale Gardner one catch for six yards.
In the rushing category, Mock had 23 carries for 134 yards and one TD, Davis nine carries for 66 yards, Beckwith seven carries for 27 yards, and Eby six carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Gary Thorson commented on the defense: “Gardner had a good game with several tackles and quarterback pressures, and all the seniors, Kolbi Cotner, Dawson Roberson, and Hudson Beckwith, did well in coverage.”
Thorson reflected that, “It was a very disappointing way
to end a great season and we did not see it ending that way. Going into the game we had a great week of practice and seemed very dialed in and ready to go, but the first part of the game was a disaster. We had a tremendous amount of mistakes, particularly in the first half, and the amount of penalties added to that was too much to overcome. The players played very hard and did a great job battling back several times when it would have been very easy to quit — and I think a lot of teams would have. Overall, we kept battling hard to the end. I am very proud of them for that.”
Thorson added, “This team was carried all year by the leadership of the seniors who I cannot say enough good things about. Their attitude and effort in doing the right thing on and off the field was some of the best I have seen in all my years of coaching, and that is going to be tough to replace next year. Our entire staff is very grateful to have had the opportunity to coach that group as well as the entire team. This was a very fun and good year for the program, and while this last loss was a tough one to take it does not wipe away all that this team accomplished this fall.”
COUNCILORS: Three elected to seats on November 5
Continued from page 1
In that she is in sync with McDougall and Letz. The incumbent councilor said she was motivated to run to continue working on those priorities. The City of Sisters is currently working on plans for an urban growth Boundary Expansion, and code changes to enhance wildfire resilience in areas of town that are close to the woods and vulnerable to the encroachment of fire.
“I’m excited that the community had enough faith in me to re-elect me,” she said. McDougall sees housing as a top priority, especially as Sisters works through an urban growth boundary expansion process. She seeks to ensure that Sisters maintains a neighborhood feeling in the face of inevitable growth pressures.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I think this is going to be a good group of people to work with.”
She also emphasized appreciation for a hardworking and capable City staff.
The three new councilors take their seats in January (with Letz continuing). The new council will then set its goals for the next year and beyond.
Care and Connect Resource Fair
Join Living Well With Dementia Sisters for this opportunity to meet repre sentatives f rom various agencies such as local health ser vices , Alzheimer ’s Association, respite care provider s , legal & financial advisors , and supportive services . Come to discover what resource s are available in Central Oregon for care partners and those a ected by dementia and Alzheimer’s e Resource Fair will be held at Sister s Communit y Church, 13 0 0 McKenzie Hwy. on ursday, November 14 , f rom 9 to 11:30 a .m.
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. Info: 541-549-4184.
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.
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, 1300 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.
STARS Seeks Volunteers to Transpor t Patients Help Sisters Countr y residents get to nonemergency medical appointments in Sisters , Redmond, and Bend. Attend a free t wo-hour training. Emails from STARS 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.
Living Well With Dementia Sisters Suppor t Groups
Living Well now o ers t wo support groups. A support group for the care partners and family of those diagnosed with some form of dementia meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month f rom 1-2:30 p.m. at Sisters Senior Living , 411 E Carpenter Ln. A support group for the person diagnosed with some form of dementia in the early stages meets the same days and times , also at e Lodge. Info: 541-6 47-0 052.
Sisters Garden Journal Sisters Garden Club has Garden Journals that are available for $15 at Paulina Springs Book s & e Gallimaufr y here in Sisters . e multiyear journal includes pages for notes on weather, monthly garden activities , plant details , and more. Sales support the Club and other local nonprofits. Get your copy now. ey make great gif ts . Please call 971-246040 4 for questions
A NNOUNCEMENT S
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday, November 14
Care & Connect Resource Fair
Sisters Community Church
Saturday, November 16
GriefShare: Surviving Holidays
Sisters Community Church
Saturday, November 16
Geology of Oregon’s High Desert Crooked River Ranch
GriefShare: Sur viving the Holidays e holidays can be a challenging time when grieving the loss of a loved one. Join this two-hour seminar to learn: How to deal with emotions you’ll face during the holidays; What to do about traditions; Helpf ul tips for surviving social events; How to discover hope for your future. Saturday, November 16 , f rom 10 a .m. to 12 noon at Sisters Communit y Church Fireside Room, 130 0 McKenzie Hw y. Register online at: bit ly/ GSHolidays2024
10 0 Women Who Care
10 0 Women Who Care-Sisters is accepting membership applications in advance of its November meeting Applications must be received by Monday, November 18, for those who wish to attend the meeting on ursday, Nov.ember 21. e group pools donations to fund local nonprofits nominated by its member s. More than $24, 000 has been donated since the group’s founding. ere is no membership fee. For more information, email 100wwc. Sisters@gmail.com or call/text 541-912- 0750
Bike Park 242
Winteriz ation
Bike Park 242 is seeking used tarps. Tarps can be any size or thickness , heavy-dut y, weatherproof, t ypically made f rom vinyl or polyethylene. Used billboard vinyl tarps f rom company banner/advertisements are ideal for draping over dirt jumps to preserve them from the freeze-thaw c ycles over the winter season. If you have any to donate please reach out to COTA volunteer Michelle at sistersrep@cotamtb.com
Happy Trails Horse Rescue
Seek s Volunteers
Calling all horse lovers! Happy Trails Horse Rescue needs volunteers! Can you help them help horses? New Volunteer Orientation the first and third Sundays at 10 a .m. or call 541-241-0783 to schedule! Learn more at https://www happytrailshr.org.
STAR S Seeks
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
Lens on Learning : Geology of Oregon’s High Deser t Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area (FANs) is hosting “New Insight s on the Geology of Oregon’s High Desert,” presented by Daniele McKay, PhD, on Saturday, November 16 , f rom 3 to 5 p.m. at the Juniper Room, Crooked River Ranch. Daniele McKay, geologist and instructor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon, will explore recent geologic research that has changed our understanding of Oregon’s volcanic landscapes. Registration is required. Attendance is free for FANs members; a $5 donation is requested for non-members To learn more or to register visit www fansofdeschutes.org.
COTA Potluck Friendsg iving Sisters Chapter of Central Oregon Trail Alliance is hosting a ‘Potluck Friendsgiving’ on ursday, November 21, f rom 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Tollgate Recreation Hall. Contact sistersrep@cotamtb.com to RSVP.
Sisters 4 -H Dog Group for Youth
Have fun and meet new friends while learning about care & training of dogs , including anatomy, parasites , feeding , di erent sports that dogs can do, and more. Sisters K9 Paws 4-H encourages youth to set goals and helps to develop selfconfidence and problem-solving In August group members can show their dog at the Deschutes County Fair 4-H Dog Show. is group is open to children 9-18 years of age who weigh as much as their dog. Projects are available for Cloverbud children ages 5 to 8. Register at Deschutes Count y Extension 4-H, 541-548-6088, ext. 2. New enrollment starts Oct. 1. For more information, cont act: Nanc y Hall 541-9044433, nancyhall4h@gmail.com.
Public Pickleball Courts
ere are pickleball courts available 7 days a week at the middle school tennis courts, for play when school is not in session. All of the tennis cour ts are permanently l ed for pickleball. ere are t temporar y nets up agains fence that can be moved o onto the court and used, or bring your own nets. Please p the net back when you are done.
Info: Karen at 503-871-417
Sisters Careg iver Suppo
A f acilitated support gro caregivers of those with c or life-shor tening diseases meet s 10 to 11:30 a .m. o third Tuesday of ever y mon at Sisters Episcopal Churc e Transfiguration, 121 B Camp Rd. For more infor please contact Kay at 541-719- 0031
Your Announcemen
Schools , churches , nonpr recreational and communi groups: this is your page t announce your free gathering and event s! Regularly occur ring Sisters Countr y meetings are listed on the Sisters Area Meeting Calendar on page 3 and special event s or featured meeting s can be listed on this page. All submissions are subject to editing and run only as space allows. Email nug get@ nug getnews com or drop o at 442 E . Main Ave. Your text must include a “ for more information” phone number. Deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays
TOKEN
is spirited 1-year-old pit bull/husky mix is looking for an active adopter who can keep up with his boundless energ y and zest for life. Token will be the per fect companion for someone who loves outdoor activities and playtime. While he’s working on his training , he’s already crate-trained and eager to learn with the right guidance
Save the Rubberbands Business owners: Are you the recipient of a bundle of Nug gets each week? ose f at rubberbands are highly valued by the Nug geteers that bundle your papers each week. If you can save them and drop them by e Nug get o ce, we’d love to use them again. Questions? Call 541-549-9941.
BROKEN TOP Veterinar y Clinic 541-389-0391
SISTER S- ARE A C HURCH ES
Baha’i Faith
For information, devotions, study groups , etc., contac t Shauna Rocha 541-6 47-9826 • www.bahai.org www.bahai.us • www.bahaiteachings .org
Calvar y Church
484 W. Washington St. , Ste. C & D • 541-588-6288 10 a .m. Sunday Worship • www.ccsisters.org
Chapel in the Pines Camp Sherman • 541-815-9153
10 a .m. Sunday Worship
e Church of Jesus Christ of L at ter-Day Saint s 452 Trinit y Way • Branch President, 5 41-420 -5670; 10 a .m. Sunday Sac rament Meeting
e Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration 121 N Brook s Camp Rd. • 541-549-7087 www.transfiguration-sisters.org
8:30 a .m. Ecumenical Sunday Worship
10 :15 a .m. Episcopal Sunday Worship
e Resting Place
meeting at Sisters Communit y Church, 130 0 W. McKenzie Hwy www.restingplace.us • hello@restingplace.us 5 p.m. Sunday Worship
Seventh-Day Adventist Church 541-815-9848
11 a .m. S aturday Worship
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (ELCA) 386 N . Fir Street • 541-549-5831 www.shepherdof thehillsluther anchurch.com 10 a .m. Sunday Worship
Sisters Church of the N az arene 67130 Har rington 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 www.sisterschurch.com • info@sisterschurch.com
7:30 a .m. Daybreak Ser vice • 9:30 a .m. Sunday Worship 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 Wellhouse Churc h 442 Trinit y Way • 541-549-4184 ht tps://wellhousechurch.churchcenter.com
10 a .m. Sunday Worship
POLICY: Nonprofits, schools , churches , birth, engagement, wedding , and anniversar y notices may run at no charge. Business items do not run on this page. All submissions subject to editing and run as space allows . Email lisa@nug getnews com or drop o at 4 42 E . Main Ave. Deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays
Riders honor Veterans…
— PHOTOS BY JAROD GATLEY —
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 13
Sisters Saloon Poker Night Texas Hold’em 5:30 p.m. to close upstairs. 21+. $20 (add'l $5 when bounty chip is played).
Sisters Movie House Autumn Arts & Adventure: "BOOM! A Film About The Sonics" 6:30 p.m. Information and tickets at www.sistersmoviehouse.com.
THURSDAY • NOVEMBER 14
Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Ellen Waterston, current Oregon Poet Laureate, presents "We Could Die Doing This: Dispatches on Ageing from Oregon’s Outback" 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. More info at www.paulinaspringsbooks.com.
FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 15
Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.
Paulina Springs Books Magic: The Gathering nights Booster Draft at 5 p.m. $15. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.
SATURDAY • NOVEMBER 16
Sisters Depot Live Music: Open Mic Music lovers can enjoy a variety of local talent in a lively atmosphere. 7 to 9 p.m. Info: sistersdepot.com/our-events.
Hola! Camp Sherman Live Music: Emilee Paige 5 to 8 p.m., free Info: www.facebook.com/HolaCampSherman/. Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.
SUNDAY • NOVEMBER 17
Sisters Fire Hall Historical Talk: "The Native People Presence in Central Oregon from Time Immemorial" presented by Wilson Wewa Part of Three Sisters Historical Society's "Fireside Series." 2 p.m., doors open at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door (free to TSHS members) Questions: 541-610-6323
Paulina Springs Books Sunday Scrabble 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Come to play Scrabble socialize, and drink coffee. Open to all. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.
TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 19
The Belfr y Frontiers in Science Lecture Series: “Wolf Biology & Ecology” by Aaron Bott presented by Sisters Science Club Social hour begins at 6 p.m., lecture at 7 p.m. Adults $5 at the door; teachers and students free Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Cat Bude presents "French Kitchen Lessons: Recipes & Stories from Normandy's Rabbit Hill Farm" 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. www.paulinaspringsbooks.com.
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 20
Sisters Saloon Poker Night Texas Hold’em 5:30 p.m. to close upstairs. 21+. $20 (add'l $5 when bounty chip is played).
THURSDAY • NOVEMBER 21
Luckey's Woodsman Megan's Terrific Trivia 5:30 p.m. Prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Located at 352 E. Hood Ave. Ste. B.
FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 22
Downtown Sisters 4th Friday Artwalk 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Galleries and shops feature art and demonstrations. For additional information go to sistersarts.org.
Hood Avenue Art 4th Friday Artwalk Gallery Reception 4 to 7 p.m. Member artists in attendance and live music by Bob Baker, local fiddle favorite! 357 W. Hood Ave. For more information, call 541-719-1800
Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.
Paulina Springs Books Magic: The Gathering nights Booster Draft at 5 p.m. $15. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.
SATURDAY • NOVEMBER 23
Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.
SUNDAY • NOVEMBER 24
Paulina Springs Books Sunday Scrabble
11 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Come to play Scrabble socialize, and drink coffee. Open to all. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 27
Sisters Saloon Poker Night Texas Hold’em 5:30 p.m. to close upstairs. 21+. $20 (add'l $5 when bounty chip is played).
CHILDREN: Forum set for Sunday, Nov. 17, at SES
from page 1
children’s stress.”
Sometimes parents can fall into a pattern of removing obstacles for their children instead of fortifying them with the skills and resilience to learn to overcome them on their own.
“People are worried about their kids hurting, they’re worried about their kids struggling,” Kanzig said, noting that young people aren’t “standing on their own two feet” as much as they used to.
“It’s been more noticeable to me, especially with boys,” he said.
Faith Keeton is the senior class vice president at Sisters High School, and another one of the featured speakers at the upcoming C4C forum. She told The Nugget that she has seen adults intervene in interpersonal beefs among students.
“I’ve seen adults go on Facebook and bash kids,” she said. “We talk about kids bullying each other, but I’ve seen adults chime in, too. No kid should feel like their whole town and community hates them.”
Both Kanzig and Keeton emphasize that Sisters has a lot of community strengths.
“I think we have incredibly strong bonds in our community,” Keeton said, noting in particular that students have unusually strong ties with their teachers.
“Because our school is so small, we’re able to have those bonds with our teachers, which is amazing,” she said.
The only downside of that close-knit community is that it can be daunting for those who aren’t yet a part of it.
“It’s hard for new people to make friends and find their place in our community,” Keeton said.
“Overall, our high school kids are healthy,” Kanzig emphasized.
One of the primary challenges they face is not unique to Sisters: the pervasiveness of technology and social media in their lives.
“We refer to it as the biggest parenting challenge of
our generation,” said Ami Formica, co-founder of Well Wired, a parent advocacy group promoting healthier use of technology by kids. Formica will also be a featured speaker at the C4C forum.
Formica notes that much of social media technology is designed to be addictive, and that young people are exposed sto a high dose at an early age.
“At this point, these kids have been raised with a lot of addictive technology,” she said. “We want technology to be used as a tool. The problem is that it’s not really designed to be just a tool.”
Formica plans to talk about collective action that parents can take to help their children manage the role of technology and social media in their lives. That action includes creating a basic plan and the centerpiece is a pledge to insist that children wait till the age of 16 to go on social media.
“I think the pledge is a really important tool,” Formica said.
Other elements include keeping screens out of bedrooms and away from mealtime. Bringing families together to do the work is important, too.
“We’re trying to encourage families not to do it on their own,” Formica said. “This is how you firm up boundaries around these things that are so hard to build boundaries around. It is easier to do when there are other families that are aligned.”
Formica’s advocacy — which focuses on elementary school families — tracks with Keeton’s experience. Keeton agrees that tech can be addictive, and that social media can leave youth open to exploitation, and bullying in a space where “it’s easy to be mean.”
It’s not easy to simply give up social media and the cell phone.
“If you’re not on social media, you feel left out and are missing a lot of connection with your friends,” she said.
Phones have a positive role to play in communication among peers, for example, those working on a group project. Simply eliminating them wouldn’t be a good move, Keeton believes.
“If you don’t have a phone, you’re only making it harder on your kid,” she said.
However, she agrees that kids shouldn’t be on social media until high school. And restrictions on when tech is accessible are effective and beneficial. Growing up, her access to the internet was cut off at night. She no longer has those guardrails, but she is very mindful of how she interacts with technology.
“Now, I don’t have any guardrails — it’s up to me,” she said. “But personally, I don’t go on social media. That’s a conscious decision I’ve made.”
“Are the Kids Alright? Youth Wellbeing in Sisters Country” is set for Sunday, November 17, 4 to 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 3:30) in the Sisters Elementary School cafetorium, 2155 McKinney Butte Rd. Ample time will be allowed for questions and community dialogue.
Free drop-in childcare will be available in the Sisters Elementary School gym for kids age four and older. Care is being provided by Starshine LLC, a local business offering a variety of youth camps and programming. There is limited availability for kids 0-3 on a firstcome basis; email hello@ citizens4community.com for information.
The forum can be watched online in real-time, or via the post-event recording. Closed captioning and language translation are provided. Registration required at https://citizens4community. com/events/fall-forum-24.
Sisters Country birds
By Douglas Beall Correspondent
Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) were first described in 1766 by Linnaeus, and its generic name is latin for little king. They are very common now, flitting and hanging in the air gleaning small insects from trees and bushes. They live in mixed woods, isolated trees in meadows, coniferous and deciduous forests, mountainshrub habitat, and floodplain forests of oak, pine, spruce, or aspen. These tiny birds nest high in trees, and so prefer older, taller, and denser stands to younger ones. During migration and winter they are common in woods and thickets across most of the continent. Rubycrowned Kis15 nglets prey on spiders, aphids, wasps, ants, and bark beetles. Kinglets usually forage in high tree foliage, hovering and pecking in order to
glean insects from the surface of leaves and branches. These birds also eat a small amount of seeds and fruit, from poison-oak berries to the pulp of dogwood berries. Ruby-crowned Kinglets make their nests in trees, occasionally as high up as 100 feet. Females choose a nest site near the tree trunk or suspended from small twigs and branchlets. Because of the nest site’s height and often remote location, not much is known about Kinglet nesting habits. Their nest sites, chosen by the females, are protected and often hidden by overhanging foliage. 5-12 eggs white with red spots, are laid and hatch in 12-14 days.
A group of Kinglets are called a “princedom,” a “castle,” a “court,” or a “dynasty” of Kinglets. To view more Kinglet images, visit http://abirdsings becauseithasasong.com/ recent-journeys/.
The fly-fishing game and meta game — PART 2 — Life is a GAME
Robert Kruger Columnist
ninety percent of the fish, but there’s something to it, and those are anglers.” (My own father — who brought a dip net for nymphs and water — occupied this echelon of sportsman.)
It’s wonderful.”
Earlier this summer, I stopped by The Fly Fisher’s Place, and asked the employees what drew people to the fly-fishing game and what pushed them away.
Shop employee Gavin Ferguson, of Camp Sherman, said, “Fly fishing appeals to people with a scientific outlook.” He went over to a shelf and took down a book. “Here’s a hatch guide filled with information on flies and nymphs and where you expect to find them in the river. Do you pay attention to things, or do you just stumble through life?”
Jeff Perin, the store owner, said, “Some people never put the various elements together. They need to be shown where to place the fly and never learn to read water for themselves. To me, ‘angler’ is a term of honor, one that’s earned. It’s a bit of a cliché truism that ten percent of the fishers catch
When during the same visit Jeff observed that fly fishing is life, alluding to the Danny Rojas statement on soccer from Ted Lasso, I don’t think he was just being glib. The right game can be your particular door into the world. It has an objective and rules that pattern all your experience. An objective risks being too narrow, though, which is why for Aaron Cousins, the goal of catching fish is instrumental to a larger game of education through observation and connection with nature. He said, “The days you learn the most are the days you aren’t catching fish. I discovered that primarily from bull trout on the Metolius. When you’re not catching, you’re obliged to pay attention to other things. You’re freed to think outside of what you already know. Instead of having a one-track focus, you consider new variables; you’re not so blinkered on the fish.”
In a visit over coffee at Sisters Athletic Club, I discussed my ideas for this article with fly-tying instructor Sherry Steele of the Oregon Council of Fly Fishers, and mentioned how for me that strike on the line represents a connection with not just the fish but the larger environment. Sherry said, “Yes, that’s right. It’s what I call the Circle. You close that loop out from the hatch and the water and the weather.
At the time of my initial shop visit, Jeff’s preparations for a Belize trip had reached the final-day frenzy, so we agreed to pick up the interview on his return. In the interim, I called renowned game designer Skaff Elias about his take on fly fishing as metagame, and he surprised me with his enthusiasm.
“This is just the sort of thing Richard and I do for business consulting!” he said, referring to his partnership with the creator of “Magic: The Gathering,” and other popular tabletop games.
“Ask about average age, average spend, how customers come in. How many are new versus second-generation? How much do they interact with store employees? What’s the seasonality, the store retention for customers and employees? Why do folks leave the sport?”
I’d been so focused on how fly fishing connects people with the natural ecosystem, I hadn’t considered the vantage from Jeff’s business itself, so I took Skaff’s questions to my next interview.
“Sisters is a good place to have a fly shop,” Jeff said, “as it’s a gateway to great water and brings a lot of people from west of the mountains. People say we have the best fly selection in the state, and we curate for the local hatches. A typical customer will buy 10 to 30 flies, some leader, some floatant. They tend to be smart with their spending habits and buy what fills a niche. For some reason, we’ll have a good year of selling float
tubes and then a few slow ones, as they replace ones that wore out. As for seasonality, winters used to be so slow that it couldn’t support more than the owner — this fly shop goes back to 1986 — but it’s not so seasonal anymore, with decent activity even from November to spring break, which is the off-season. November’s the slowest month, as the lakes close down and people gear up for the holidays. The growth of the town and yearround tourism has improved business.
“We’re lucky in that we see a variety of customers. Most are at or nearing retirement age, a lot of workingclass and family people.”
Sequoia Hoffstetter, shop employee and guide, made similar observations: “Lots of customers like to interact. We have both repeat and new ones. We’re seeing more older people, and an increasing number of teenagers getting into the sport. And a lot more women who want to be more active and get outside. They say, ‘Thank you for helping get me out of my head, away from computers.’ They want to be more environmentally aware. It’s really nice that people come to visit.”
According to Jeff, the sport became more popular during COVID, and didn’t decline much after. He sees a fair number of generational anglers who learn from their parents, who in turn learned from theirs, but many in their twenties have recently come to fly fishing by way of Euro-nymphing, a style where anglers use heavy nymphs with no extra lead shot and no strike
We’re seeing more older people, and an increasing number of teenagers getting into the sport.
— Sequoia Hofstetter
indicator. These fishermen haven’t learned the old art of matching a fly to an insect and its stage in the hatch — for instance, from mayfly nymph, to emerger, to dun, to spinner. Jeff sees an opportunity for old-timers and young new fishermen to exchange knowledge and mutually improve their game.
Aaron Cousins observed, “Euro nymphing is looked down on, but I hand my rod to someone to try it, and they find it’s not so easy.” I asked him why they’re dismissive, and he shrugged. “It works,” he said.
Jeff observed that most fly fishermen remain lifelong enthusiasts who pause when they’re busy, and quit when obliged by old age.
“People in their thirties and forties have family and career and not a lot of free time,” he said, explaining the gap between young and old. “They do leave the sport, turned off by the growing crowds on the water, but decreasing mobility tends to be a big factor — they just can’t wade or hike. And, also, people get lazy. It’s time-consuming, and you need to practice, and stay in practice. It can be difficult to find your rhythm again if you take a lot of time away.”
Pairing art, wine, and food in Sisters event series
Makin’ it Local will feature three Central and Eastern Oregon artists in art, wine, and food pairing receptions scheduled through the month of November.
Artist parings include Raku pottery from Terri Axness / Muddy Creek Studio (Haines), newly released fine art prints by Susan Luckey Higdon (Bend) and Kathy Deggendorfer (Sisters). All pairings and receptions feature Oregon wines curated by Mark Clemens of Friends and Vine, (@friends_and_ vine Sisters, Oregon) and feature Alexana Vineyard (Pinot Noir), Resonance Vineyard (Chardonnay), Rex Hill Vineyard (Chardonnay), and more.
Hors d’oeuvres, Oregon wine, beer, and Makin’ it Local’s “famous” gingersnap cookies will be served.
Terri Axness is a retired teacher, painter, and potter known for her diverse work. She was raised in Baker City, Oregon. Terri received her BA from the University of Oregon and her MS in Education from Eastern Oregon University and taught art in public schools for over 30 years. She works in acrylic, oil, pencil, watercolor, and clay, capturing a wide variety of subject matter from the serious to the whimsical.
Axness fires in electric and gas kilns in her ceramic studio, showcasing her thrown and hand-built ceramics. Her love of design and a lifetime of experience in different media allows Terri to produce unique and collectible works. Her work is exhibited in galleries in Oregon and Washington and can be found in collections throughout the United States and Europe.
A lifelong Oregonian, Susan Luckey Higdon is
well-known for capturing the essence of Oregon’s dramatic landscapes, from mountain peaks to wild rivers, especially the high Cascade lakes and streams. Her paintings depict the complex interactions of color and pattern in what she describes as natural abstractions.
“Color, light, texture, shapes...I want to communicate what I see in a way that captures the spirit of the place, showing accurate mood and detail, but working toward simplicity,” she said.
Over 30 years ago, Luckey Higdon began painting with soft pastels in stolen moments while working fulltime as a graphic designer in an advertising agency and raising two young children. Her motivation was to do something completely creative for herself, working intuitively and moving color around for sheer joy.
In the beginning, because she didn’t have a studio, Luckey Higdon used soft pastels because of the pure, vivid colors, which gave immediate, gratifying results. They also fit her method of laying colors next to each other to play upon each other rather than blending. Later, moving to acrylics allowed her to work larger and removed the need for glass over the artwork.
She developed a technique of using acrylic paints on cradled birch board, adding thick color, and then rubbing it off. Scratching and working the medium quickly to achieve an impressionistic effect with rich depth, building up layers, and adding detail, the final image emerges.
A founding member of Tumalo Art Co., an artist-run gallery in Bend, Oregon’s Old Mill District in its 20th year, Luckey Higdon was the signature artist for the Deschutes River Conservancy’s RiverFeast event for 11 years and has been featured in Italian flyfishing magazine H2O, Bend Magazine, and a segment on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat, among others. She is an invited artist to the High Desert Museum’s prestigious juried, annual exhibit Art in the West. Her underwater fish series was displayed in McCormick & Schmick restaurants across the country, and a long list of images have been installed in corporate settings and medical centers. Her paintings have been juried into prestigious shows like the Pastel 100 and by jurors such as Wolf Kahn and are collected widely. Her greeting card line, which began in 2000 and features panoramic views of iconic Central Oregon scenes, is
still available throughout the area.
Kathy Deggendorfer lives on a cattle and hay ranch just outside of Sisters. Inspired by her surroundings’ color and texture, her vibrant and colorful watercolor paintings are whimsical representations of ranch life, her travels, and the environment.
Deggendorfer’s paintings are often referred to as “Painter’s Quilts.” Deggendorfer was chosen to create the 2007, 2011, 2012, 2016, and 2019 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Posters. Her work has been translated into quilting fabrics in collections by In The Beginning Fabrics, Maywood Studios, and FreeSpirit Fabrics. Rich with color and pattern, Deggendorfer’s work is collected throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2008, Deggendorfer was selected to create the Oregon State Ornament for the White House Christmas Tree, and in 2009 was a featured artist on Oregon Art Beat. Her image “Coming Home” was featured on the cover of the
2010 OPB calendar. In 2014, Kathy’s work was honored in a one-person show at the High Desert Museum in Bend. This exhibit continues to travel to museums around Oregon. It includes shows at the Oregon Historical Society Museum in Portland, the Columbia River Discovery Center Museum, and the Baker City Museum. In collaboration with Kibak Tile of Sisters, Deggendorfer creates handprinted tile murals for installation in public and private settings.
Her work is included in the permanent collections at Roberts Field Municipal Airport, Brasada Ranch Resort, Mahonia Hall ( The Oregon Governor’s mansion), OHSU Casey Eye Institute, OSU Cascades Campus, St Charles Hospital Cancer Center, City of Sisters Fir Street Park, Peace Health Hospital in Longview, Washington, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, as well as many private collections.
Makin’ It Local is located at 281 W. Cascade Ave.
SISTERS OREGON FOURTH FRIDAY ART WALK Friday, November 22 from 4 to 7 p.m.
SUPPORT AND CELEBRATE SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY with an Art, Wine, and Food Pairing Saturday, November 30 from 2 to 4 p.m.
For
and invites comparisons of
behavior. Aaron Bott, an ODFW wolf biologist and
SUNDAY, NOV. 17 • 2 PM
The Native People Presence in Central Oregon from Time Immemorial Wilson Wewa will present perspectives on the peopling of Central Oregon by the Northern Paiute and other tribes that passed through this land. He will share insights regarding ancient traditions, gathering of traditional foods, and lifeways of his people and how they continue to be an important foundation for their lives today. The land that makes up Central and Eastern Oregon was not a desolate place; there were resources that made this land a welcoming homeland. The evidence of over 100,000 years proves this was a bountiful land — the reason that the Northern Paiute fought to protect the land and its resources for the people of this land.
Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S. Elm St.
Tickets are $10 at the Door (Free to TSHS members) Doors open at 1 p.m.
Seating is first-come, first-served. Questions? Call 541-610-6323.
Surf and Turf: Oregon State researchers to study feeding seaweed to cattle
By Sean Nealon Correspondent
BURNS — Oregon State University researchers have received a $1 million grant to study the impact of adding seaweed to the diets of beef cattle as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Recent research has found that feeding seaweed can reduce methane emissions from cattle, most of which originates from enteric fermentation that is characteristic of their digestive process.
Oregon State will investigate a specific type of seaweed – Pacific dulse, a species grown commercially on the Oregon Coast – and focus on the effects of including this seaweed in diets of cattle that graze sagebrush steppe landscapes, a common ecosystem in the western United States.
“At a time of heightened public concern about greenhouse gas emissions, this project has the potential to help ranchers more sustainably and efficiently produce beef while also providing an economic benefit to seaweed producers,” said Juliana Ranches, project director and an assistant professor at Oregon State’s Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, Oregon.
The five-year project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
State offering help for health enrollment
By Lynne Terry Oregon Capital Chronicle
State officials are offering free help enrolling in insurance to 1 million Oregons who qualify for Medicare or buy health insurance on the federal marketplace.
Open enrollment for Medicare, available to those at least 65 years old or receiving Social Security disability benefits, started October 15 and runs through December 7, while open enrollment for buying individual plans started November 1 and runs through Janurary 15. Only a fraction of Oregonians buy their own insurance — about 145,500 — while more than 930,000 people are on Medicare.
During open Medicare
The agriculture sector accounts for 9.4 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. with cattle being responsible for more than a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. The majority of that contribution comes from methane produced during enteric fermentation.
For the project, about 20 cows will graze each year in an approximately 100-acre pasture at the Northern Great Basin Experimental Range in Riley, Oregon, between Bend and Burns. They will wear GPS collars and be contained within a virtual fence.
The researchers will supplement the cattle feed with Pacific dulse grown along the Oregon Coast by a company called Oregon Seaweed. They will feed different amounts of dried dulse to the cattle to assess the supplementation level that most suppresses enteric methane, which is emitted during the digestive process of cows.
“We will also be looking at the way the seaweed is grown and how that impacts the compounds of interest that contribute to methane reduction,” said James Fox, an algal physiologist in the Oregon State Department of Microbiology and co-investigator of the project.
Fox will also work with colleagues at OSU-Cascades in Bend to study the impact
seaweed supplementation has on bacteria in the cattle stomachs and how the bacteria may contribute to methane reduction.
Additionally, the researchers will use an atmospheric measurement tool called an Eddy Covariance Flux Tower to measure changes in carbon dioxide and methane levels in the pasture.
“Most of the research on seaweed feed supplementation for cattle has taken place in feedlots,” said Rory O’Connor, a rangeland ecologist with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service in Burns and co-director of the project.
“Our work is novel because we are focused on cattle that graze in the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.”
Partners on the project include Chuck Toombs, the founder and CEO of Oregon Seaweed, and the USDA Northwest Climate Hub.
enrollment, people can enroll for the first time or change their plan, including a prescription drug plan — Medicare Part D — or switch between Medicare Advantage and original Medicare. Health insurance is complicated and there are a lot of options.
The Department of Human Services has five staff members and works with nearly 160 volunteers around the state to help people sort through them and avoid scams.
Through this year, most Medicare prescription plans have a “donut hole” or coverage gap for prescription drugs, but the Inflation Reduction Act, signed in 2022, closed the gap for Medicare policies starting in 2025. Also next year, Medicare plans will cap out-of-pocket expenses for prescriptions at $2,000. The DHS specialists also can explain coverage for weight loss drugs, expanded family caregiver coverage and increased access to mental health services.
For individual plans, the state has revamped its Window Shopping tool this year to make it easier to explore insurance options and curb costs, according to an Oregon Health Authority news release.
The health authority has 1,700 free specialists to help people with their Medicaid and marketplace applications in English and other languages.
The marketplace offers federal tax subsidies, and more than 80 percent of enrollees benefit, according to Amy Coven, a health authority spokesperson.
Get help
For general Medicare help, go to shiba.oregon.gov.
For local help, go to shiba. oregon.gov/get-help/Pages/ help-near-you.aspx.
Call 800-722-4134. For marketplace help, go to OregonHealthCare.gov. Call 800-699-9075 with application questions. Call 800-273-0557 for coverage questions. Republished under Creative Commons license
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. courtesy https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com. ENROLLMENT: Medicare enrollment periods are open
Your Story
democracy, as messy as it can be, has spoken once again.
another fueling a level of distance and distrust counterproductive to any progress.
The aftermath MATTERS
Audry Van Houweling, PMHNP Columnist
It has been a long week. I provide care for patients on all sides of the political fence and some who are hoping to avoid the fence altogether. Inevitably, mental health and policy are intimately connected. Patient opinions are frequently shared and I, trying my best to remain neutral, listen.
We are all entitled to our own definition of safety and progress. From what I gather, votes on all sides were cast mostly on positions of frustration and fear — not hate. For some, this week’s results brought relief and celebration, while for others there has been panic, anger, and powerlessness. It has been a week of trying to encourage against uncertainty, and to refocus on what we know to be true versus operating on assumption. This can be easier said than done with the onslaught of misinformation and profit-fueled propaganda. Nonetheless,
November 11 was Veterans Day. I am reflecting on the blood, sweat, and tears engrained in our nation’s soil as we fought and fought again (and still we fight), striving to uphold the constitutional pursuit of liberty. The morality pertaining to where liberty begins and where it ends is continually evolving. Its edges have been shaped and reshaped, expanded and contracted as the curtain fell on slavery, as women fought their way to the ballot box, as segregation was dismantled, and as marriage no longer had to be defined by man and woman. What used to be considered criminal, is now protected. We can disagree on where these edges ought to be, but this debate and choir of opinions is a special brand of liberty in itself. It is in mystery and curiosity, not certainty nor absolutes where liberty thrives best.
My hope is that we can prioritize the pursuit of liberty above any political figurehead. My other hope is that we do not reduce each other down to a political label, but challenge ourselves to remember nuance and complexity. It may seem we have to dig deep for common threads, but often these connections are just under the surface. The media and curated algorithms have told us stories of deep polarization and contempt for one
Yes, oppositional and hateful behavior exists, and some of us will drink the Kool-Aid served by the pundits, but from my window there is still an abundance of decency and goodwill demonstrated daily by folks on all sides of the political spectrum. Maybe we can surprise ourselves and prove wrong toxic narratives.
This does not mean we cannot be angry, or sad, or fearful. Is there a time to fight? Yes. I have come to believe that some of the most successful battle campaigns are those without weapons or words of spite, but the continual and stubborn insistence to prioritize dignity and respect for one person at a time. That said, as those who have served this country can attest to, our constitutional mandate to safeguard Lady Liberty, can also come with the greatest sacrifice.
When we are in our defensive space, we tend to fight, flight, or freeze. We have tunnel vision. We get primal, territorial. Post-election,
Books Games Events
many of us might find ourselves in this place. Nobody has a crystal ball to predict what is coming down the pipeline, but it can help to ask ourselves what we know for sure. Do our feelings lie in an assumption? What is our evidence? Is it possible to transcend popular narratives of fear and division? No doubt we should remain watchful and no doubt, idolatry should never surpass our Constitution.
Our right to voice dissent ought to be forever upheld. In the meantime, let’s do our best to stop making opinions based on our social media feed. Let’s engage with our fellow citizens and neighbors — face to face. Let’s appreciate sentiment and nuance. Let’s share our stories. Let’s be brave and stand up for individual liberties. Let’s take care of ourselves. Nobody said democracy was easy business, but it is in our right to disagree and express differences that we are strongest. Worry most when the fight stops.
Thank you to all who have served this complex and beautiful country.
30PM p 30 6 30PM
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 • 6:30PM Or egon Poet Laur eate ELLEN WATERSTON pr esents We Could Die Doing This: Dispatches on Ageing from Oregon’s Outback. Lyrical shor t takes r anging fr om sacr ed to pr ofane, addr essing ever ything fr om gr een burial to sex after 70.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18 • 5:30PM PSB FICTION BOOK CLUB discussing The Measure by NIKKI ERLICK. Meeting thir d Monday; info at paulinaspringsbooks.com.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 • 6:30PM CAT BUDE pr esents French Kitchen Lessons: Recipes & Stories from Normandy’s Rabbit Hill Farm, a bac k-to-basics appr oach to Fr ench cooking, and an inspiring story of starting over
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 • 5:30PM
THE PAUSE BUTTON: A Monthly Poetry Gathering ar ound the table to take a moment to pause for poet ry explor ation. Bring a poem or two to shar e. Listen, discuss, and do a little writing
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 • 6:30PM
LORI HELLIS pr esents Children of Darkness and Light
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 • 6:30PM
Sister s author KIT TOSELLO (The Color of Home) in conver sation with MELODY CARLSON (The Christmas Tree Farm). WED., DEC. 18 • 6:30PM Solstice Book Flood
Community gathering and paperbac k book exchange. Details online at paulinaspringsbooks.com.
AT 10 AM! ! y WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 • 5:30PGentlyUsedPuzzleSwap. See details at paulinaspringsbooks.com.
WisdomScottie &Faith
Jean Russell Nave
Scotties,
hosts, and other visions
I looked out the window and there was a smallish black-faced critter just peeking over the slight hill in our backyard. For just a moment it looked like a black bear cub, causing me to immediately look for the mother. Then I realized it was Ernie, one of the new Scottie pups. It is funny what the mind can do. The cool fall weather and leaves blowing around had changed the world of bright skies and summer flowers so much that my mind went to darkness. I saw a bear cub rather than a Scottie pup.
This time of year is filled with wild traditions and emotional urges. The idea of Halloween, which today is about costumes, candy, and dress-up parties, was once a time for remembering
departed relatives and church saints. It began as a time to strengthen one’s faith in God.
Many say that early Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals. It can also be traced back to the 800s and All Saints Day. This was a time to put flowers on the graves of recently departed family members and to attend church services, which venerated the saints and their good deeds. It was a time of introspection, bringing one’s mind closer to God, and doing good for others.
Somehow, during the past 150 years, we have changed the three great yearly festivals into material holidays.
Christmas for centuries was a time to remember the birth of the most important man to walk the earth, Jesus Christ. Today you only see Santa Claus in city decorations and retail store displays.
Easter for two millennia was a time to remember that Jesus, being much more than just a man, was able to fulfill a very old prophecy and rise from his grave after three days. Along with his many recorded miracles, this was the proof that he and we are much more than our bodies. We are each a unique, individualized essence of God, the intelligent, benevolent energy that is everywhere and in everything in the
Universe. Some consider Easter the most important day of remembering because it reminds us that we do not really die, our spirit simply moves on to something else.
And then we come to Halloween. The teachings of Christ were all focused on love. Love is the opposite of fear. When your heart is filled with love, you do not fear or hate— which is a child of fear. Yet Halloween, once a time of loving remembrance, is now the biggest time of the year for movies and other entertainment meant mechanisms to strike fear into the hearts of children and others. Could this be contributing to our modern mood of so much fear and hate for one another?
There is an interesting concept called cognitive awareness that helps us understand how our mind shapes what we see. Our eyes and mind are bombarded with massive amounts of information. There is so much out there for us to look at, hear, and comprehend, that the mind narrows and filters its absorption of incoming data to avoid being overwhelmed.
This is why four people can see the same event, yet, later when asked to describe what happened, they will all have seen different fragments of the event.
The next thing to
understand about cognitive awareness is that you determine how your mind filters the information. You may be totally unaware of your influence, but how you think about things in general influences the filtering of your information.
This means that if you live in a world filled with fear, you will see things to be afraid of everywhere you look. If you live in a world full of love, you will see love in action everywhere you look.
There is a very easy way for you to test this concept. Think about times you have been considering buying a new car. To some degree you have evaluated your choices before purchasing the car. If you paid any attention to this process, you found yourself suddenly seeing that make of automobile all over the place.
The simple reason for this is that cars were just cars before you became interested in buying a new one. Then suddenly cars were important to you and your mind began helping you see the make of car you were interested in.
If this did not happen to you before buying the car, it certainly happened to you after you bought the new car.
This mind filter is very powerful. By turning all the great old faith-based, love-centered holidays into
material, secular, self-centered affairs, we have made a major change in the cognitive awareness of our entire nation. We have moved from love and kindness filters to greed and fear filters. We are training our progeny to be fear-and-hate centered.
When we move our own thinking to being love-centered, we can influence others around us. As soon as we focus on love, this great God energy, the intelligent, allgood and love-based force that builds the Universe, will rush into our lives, making us feel much better than we have before. This was the message of Jesus Christ.
Just for a moment I let the seasonal darkness show me a bear cub rather than a loving Scottie. Fortunately, my love-centered filter corrected my sight.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14.
This is why four people can see the same event, yet, later when asked to describe what happened, they will all have seen different fragments of the event.
Tickets on sale for stringband show
SFF Presents will host a concert with the Andrew Marlin Stringband on Thursday, February 13, at The Belfry. The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and Watchhouse frontman stops in Sisters as part of a larger tour promoting his latest solo record, “Phthalo Blue.” Tickets go on sale Friday, November 15, at 10 a.m., at https://aftontickets.com/ AndrewMarlin.
The solo album features all-original music recorded around one mic at The Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Along with this new release, and his three previous instrumental collections (“Fable & Fire,” “Witching Hour,” and “Buried in a Cape”), Marlin has produced six albums of original works of American roots music with Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange). He formed the bluegrass group Mighty Poplar (with collaborators Chris “Critter” Eldridge, Greg Garrison, Alex Hargreaves, and Noam
Pikelny), and regularly contributes instrumental performances to other artists and albums.
Marlin has recently played mandolin on recordings for Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Plains, Dead Tongues, and Phil Cook. He is also an indemand producer, and has produced albums for artists including Mipso, Kate Rhudy, Rachel Baiman, and Ismay.
The concert will be held at The Belfry at 302 E. Main Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults and $20 for youth/ students and are expected to sell out.
Additional artist information can be found at https://www.sffpresents.org/ concerts. This is a general admission, all ages show. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Follow @SFFPresents on Instagram and Facebook for updates and additional information.
DCSO: Vander Kamp won commanding mandate from voters
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the fire department, Black Butte Ranch,” he said.
An immediate priority is enhancing traffic safety initiatives on the Highway 97 and Highway 20 corridors. Drug enforcement, which has been Vander Kamp’s particular focus as field operations leader for the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE), will continue to be a priority. Vander Kamp is particularly concerned about the presence of the deadly opioid fentanyl.
“Fentanyl continues to be just a monster in our community,” he said.
Vander Kamp intends to spend more time interacting with his personnel, and with the public, and he will have the same expectation of his command staff.
“Visibility and accountability are really important, especially when it comes to leadership,” he said. “Just getting out and being visible is important, I think.”
The Sheriff-elect also plans to initiate an immediate, line-by-line comprehensive budget review to identify potential cost savings. He plans to establish strong performance metrics to gauge how well expenses measure up against public safety pay-off. He believes that the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has spent too much on “ancillary products that we didn’t use,” including vehicles. He also plans to reduce vehicle turnover.
“We’re probably not going to replace cars as often as we are (currently),” he said.
Vander Kamp also pledges greater transparency and public scrutiny on budgetary issues, including seeking input on priorities from members of the community.
“I know there’s people who want to get involved,” he said.
He also believes that there are ways to streamline operations and reduce redundancies with services provided by other law enforcement entities.
The national election has put a spotlight on enforcement of immigration laws. As the incoming Trump Administration vows to deport illegal immigrants, local people have enquired about the role DCSO would play. Oregon statute prohibits local law enforcement from assisting federal authorities in immigration actions.
“We won’t participate, just based on state law,” he said. “We can’t.”
He noted that he expects immediate constitutional challenges over immigration matters.
“I suspect there’s going to be a lot of constitutional challenges,” he said.
A significant aspect of Vander Kamp’s election mandate centered around culture and morale issues internal to DCSO. He was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Deschutes Sheriff’s Association.
“This was a hard election for our office,” he said.
He interprets his election as a mandate for change.
“We have to build trust,” he said.
He said that he plans to have key command staff positions filled in the next week or two, pending his assuming of the office in January. He plans to retain the position of Undersheriff.
He does not anticipate any lingering rancor from supporters of Captain Bailey, or from Bailey himself.
“I know that Bill’s a professional, and we’re going to work right through it,” he said.
He told The Nugget that Bailey will continue to have a place at DCSO, even though they “don’t see eyeto-eye” on some issues.
“We haven’t had an indepth conversation, but we will,” he said. “Bailey is welcome. He’s always going to be welcome. I have a place in my heart for people who have dedicated their life to public service.”
He told The Nugget that there is considerable relief in the office that the election is now over.
almost a fifth — from 4,939 to 3,923.
This budget could be catastrophic to ODOT’s ability to maintain and operate Oregon’s transportation system safely and reliably, the agency warns.
Will the roads get plowed?
ODOT promises that the highways will be plowed this winter. Keeping the roads open is second to overall safety the agency says. It’s a matter of degree, however. If crews are reduced by 20 percent, then there are fewer to do the work and that may lead to delays and possible lane closures.
And if the Sisters station were to be eliminated, the work of keeping the pass open would likely fall entirely on the Santiam crews, downhill from the summit.
While keeping the lanes of commerce open, secondary roads and roads used by recreationists may see a reduction in service. Take Highway 242 (McKenzie Highway): Every effort will be made to keep it plowed at least to Crossroads, but perhaps not to the snow gate, making it difficult for snowmobilers, winter campers at Cold Springs campground, and Nordic skiers and snowshoers having to make it on their own.
With a reduced workforce,
crews late getting to Highway 242 — primary access to the elementary and middle schools — could result in school delays.
ODOT says Oregon needs to spend an extra $1.8 billion annually — and more for bigticket projects promised from the state’s last transportation package passed in 2017 — to avoid a wide range of problems that could impact people traveling just about anywhere in Oregon. The potential results include extended road closures, more trash and potholes, and worse winter driving conditions.
In rural areas like Sisters Country, expect increasing response times, Mac Lynde, ODOT’s delivery and operations division administrator told a gathering.
“In our rural settings where it may take a few minutes to an hour to show up to a crash, it may take hours in that situation,” Lynde said.
Sisters in the crosshairs
Balancing the budget could mean reducing the workforce by nearly 1,000 employee positions across the agency. That level of staffing cuts would involve the consolidation of the agency’s maintenance stations, closing 17 of 88. The maintenance stations identified for potential closure are in the communities of Sisters, Estacada, Manning, Detroit, Sweet Home, Veneta, Rose Lodge, Canyonville, Port Orford, Steamboat, Prospect, Maupin, Condon, Mitchell, Adel, Silver Lake, and Chemult.
In 1919, Oregon became
the first state in the nation to impose a per-gallon tax on gasoline. Oregon’s gas tax for 2024 is 40 cents per gallon, and the federal tax brings the total to 55.17 cents per gallon. The City of Sisters collects another three cents per gallon. Oregon posts the eighth highest state for taxes on gasoline and the 10th most taxed for diesel.
For decades, the gas tax provided adequate funding to maintain Oregon’s roads and support new construction projects. Now it’s an entirely different picture. Between 2013 and 2017, construction inflation averaged 5 percent higher than consumer inflation. However, between 2021 and 2023, construction inflation rose to 14 percent more than consumer inflation.
ODOT projections indicate that this gap will continue to grow in the coming years as the same revenue forecasts continue to decline precipitously.
Oregon has shifted rising transportation costs onto consumers of gas and diesel, with the gas tax going from 10 cents a gallon in 1980 to 40 cents a gallon in 2024. Fuel efficiency for vehicles in 1980 was around 20 miles per gallon jumping to 35 miles per gallon in 2024.
EVs get a free ride
As the federal government and automakers have invested substantially in electric vehicles (EVs), Oregon imposes only a small registration fee for EVs and adds no tax at public charging stations all in an attempt to motivate drivers to switch to EV’s.
Museum explores meaning of flannel
What comes to mind when you hear the word “flannel?” Perhaps it’s your favorite plaid shirt, your trusty yardwork outfit, a rugged lumberjack, or even a classic grunge band.
A new, original High Desert Museum exhibition, “Blood, Sweat & Flannel,” explores what flannel represents. Opened November 2, and running through June 15, 2025, this unique experience invites visitors to explore the stories behind flannel — a fabric that goes beyond clothing to reflect the history of work and culture in the High Desert region.
While flannel originated centuries ago in Europe, the warm fabric with an ability to wick moisture became staple in the United States. Today, flannel is produced from various materials, including wool, cotton,and even synthetic fibers. Its signature softness comes from a brushing process called “napping,”
which raises fine fibers on one or both sides of the fabric after weaving, enhancing its cozy feel.
“Flannel is more than just a fabric; it’s a symbol of resilience and identity,” said Museum Bonnie Lee and Oliver P. Steele III Curator of Education and Engagement Molly Wilmoth. “For generations, flannel shirts, jackets, and undergarments have been essential for workers in the High Desert, providing warmth and comfort as they logged trees and roped cattle. Later, alternative rock artists like Nirvana adopted flannel as their nod to non-fashion.”
To tell the stories of these histories, the exhibition will be split into these five major sections: timber, ranching, herding, sportswear from the 1950s and ’60s, and alternative rock from the early 1990s. The exhibition will feature imagery, tactile elements, and interactive displays.
In
the PINES
By T. Lee Brown
The parents are all right
The Sisters community is gearing up for a public discussion on Sunday, November 17, “Are the Kids Alright?” What about the parents?
I’ve read loads of articles about raising kids. Most of them in recent years question or scoff at hands-on, close, attached parenting styles.
Why do the kids—particularly middle-class and upward, often white kids— not jump on their bicycles and spend all day running around like back in the olden days? When we didn’t wear helmets or bring water bottles?
I’ve wondered these things myself. Our family lived in Portland when our son was little. He and I both seemed freer when visiting the land where I grew up in Lane County, with grandparents and other family around, and over forty acres of trees and trails to explore.
Because I had mold illness, we couldn’t live in the valley. A woodsy life here in Sisters Country, though lacking in family, seemed ideal. In many ways it has been ideal indeed.
Some aspects of “intensive parenting,” as the experts call it, do seem over-the-top: turning every moment into a school-worthy lecture; signing children up for dozens of educational and sports programs; not giving kids time and space to pick dandelions in the backyard or watch clouds scud by.
Kids often lack time for good old-fashioned boredom (off-screen), which has been shown to boost moods and creativity for people of all ages.
Research shows that the intensive approach is eroding many parents’ sense of well-being, mental and physical health, and checking accounts. I get it; I’ve had those days.
These points and more were brought up in a recent episode of The Daily podcast that concluded, “The
Parents Aren’t All Right.” However, as is often true in these conversations, several important factors were left out.
Many of us faced sexual harassment, molestation, predation, and/or bullying as kids and teens. If we didn’t, our peers and siblings did. I am consistently surprised by how few parenting experts bring this up.
Physically we were often unsafe. We broke our arms, got concussions, and wrapped electric fence wires around our necks.
It seems no surprise that we would grow up to prioritize our children’s safety and emotional well-being.
Families are often smaller now. The 11-year-old of the household used to play with and help raise the 7-year-old and the 2-year-old in a typical household. Now parents in small families do it all.
Americans are more mobile, moving to different cities, than in decades past. Some left our hometowns, college towns, friend networks, and churches—for work, education, or because our childhood communities were rife with bigoted, racist, homophobic, sexist, and violent behavior.
Americans are less community engaged compared to, say, the 1950s. The Bowling Alone syndrome and Surgeon Generalapproved loneliness
crisis affect families, not just individuals.
The nuclear family model itself is a historical and cultural aberration. “It takes a village,” as the saying goes. In the past, larger groups of extended family and local community members helped out. Kids ran around in packs. It’s still true in many cultures.
Now many parents get angry if another parent approaches a playground scuffle or tells a rude young visitor how to behave at their own child’s birthday party.
A child may be ripping out another kid’s hair, but heaven forbid you should intervene. The glowering parent, if too passive-aggressive to confront you directly, may go home and post about the incident online.
Parents and others get the message: adults are not allowed to talk to other people’s kids. Hard to have a village of involved parents, everyone helping each other, in that climate.
The podcast complained that the word “parent” was only a noun until the 1980s, when this parenting trend slowly began. Even without the verb, alleged experts have been telling parents what to do for years.
In early 20th century America, parents were told not to hold babies too much or care for them when they
cried. Nope. Wouldn’t want to “spoil” those babies.
Many of them grew up with psychological problems that went unaddressed, which were then laid upon their own children. Some families stigmatize anyone who admits they have a problem and seeks help.
We see the results: emotional and relationship problems, untreated mental illness, mass shootings, self-harm, and addictions to alcohol, drugs, video games, online porn—anything to numb the ache.
Folks who learn from therapy and parenting books may go the other way. We want to be present and loving with our children.
Plus, some of us really love hands-on parenting. We want to stay home and raise our kids, or work from home part-time. It’s daunting financially but worth every precious minute.
We don’t necessarily feel socially pressured to do this, as the experts suggest. We find joy in attending to our kids’ physical and emotional needs while letting them make their own discoveries and explore the world.
Even if it turns a noun into a verb? We like parenting.
Maybe we’re a little tired, worn down, and worried about the bank balance. Still, in many families, the parents are all right.
Postcard from Sicily
By Maret Pajutee Correspondent
Greetings friends, from Cefalù, Sicily.
In honor of the idea that life is short but wide, my husband Rod and I are spending a couple months going to Italian school and exploring.
At first glance, it may not seem that Sisters and a town in Sicily have much in common. But there are some striking similarities.
the economy. Hotels and our school counsel us on water conservation.
The water in many parts of Sicily, including Cefalù, is considered unpotable because of high calcium levels and some contaminants. It’s a good workout to carry a 6-pack of 2-liter drinking water bottles up three flights
of stairs every week.
cans being dragged down the cobblestone street.
beaches, clear Mediterranean
dependent on tourism, Cefalu
Cefalù on the north coast of the island, is a tourist town just like Sisters. It has only 14,000 permanent residents, but millions come each year to enjoy the white sandy beaches, clear Mediterranean water, and charming architecture. Just as Sisters once had an economy based on logging and ranching and now is dependent on tourism, Cefalu was historically a fishing village but is now vibrant with visitors, spending money in shops and restaurants featuring delicious seafood, pasta, and pizza. Remember the streets of Sisters during Quilt Show? It looks like that many days on the streets of Cefalù.
Sicily is a very mountainous island and Cefalù has a mountain backdrop just as Sisters has the Cascades. The geology here is a bit more complicated, involving both uplift of limestone and an active volcano. Mount Etna is over 11,000 feet tall and 57 miles from our town as the birds fly. It last erupted in June.
Affordable housing is an issue in both towns. The economic benefit of renting an apartment in the charming old town outweighs providing long-term rentals to residents. Many people make a living from managing multiple rentals and B&Bs. Teachers, tour guides, and waiters we have met live outside the city center in locations not favored by tourists.
an issue in both towns. The of
But life in Cefalù is also very different than in Sisters where many of us lucky ones have a house on a bit of land. In Cefalù we live in the dense old town which was laid out by Arab architects to take advantage of cooling winds from mountains and sea. The intimacy of living in a small apartment on a narrow street facing others brings a symphony of voices, sounds, and the smells of what’s cooking next door.
Tall windows have shutters letting cooling air inside. Tiny balconies provide a place to check out the weather and hang your laundry to dry. No one has a dryer. I am surprised when I go out to greet the morning and find a little white-haired lady on the next balcony, we wave and say good morning to each other. Garbage trucks and motorcycles roar down the narrow street every morning bringing diesel fumes. The restaurant courtyard below our apartment echoes with voices of diners and music, often an accordionist who plays moody variations on “The Godfather” theme.
Dinner doesn’t even start till seven and goes late into the night. At non-tourist res-
taurants, pizza is only served
for dinner, often wood-fired, with a million kinds. We were appalled to see “Pizza Americana” on the menu, topped with hotdog slices and
Drought is a big problem in both Central Oregon and Sicily. Low rainfall and unusually high temperatures here have dried rivers and lakes used for livestock as well as for domestic use. Wildfires often scorch the hills. The olive, citrus, and wheat crops are suffering.
During Roman times Sicily was called “the Granary of Rome” and wheat cultivation is still an important part of
french fries, then we learned from our teacher Simona that it is the favorite of many Italian children. When the restaurants close, we hear the clatter of bottles and garbage
flags). Many workmen use scooters or electric bikes. It’s easy to walk 4 miles a day
pasta dishes with pistachio cream and shrimp, crispy calcannoli stuffed with sweet corner, and cold Sicilian beer,
There is little parking and much walking up the hilly streets and stairs. Traffic is chaotic, ruled by what they laughingly call “jungle law”. Walkers dodge cars and motorcycles (a little like crossing Hwy 20 on a weekend but without the safety flags). Many workmen use scooters or electric bikes. It’s easy to walk 4 miles a day just to get to school and the grocery store. That helps a bit to counteract the seductive pasta dishes with pistachio cream and shrimp, crispy calamari rings with lime mayo, cannoli stuffed with sweet sheep ricotta, gelato on every corner, and cold Sicilian beer, which comes with a trace of salt.
Almost every business in
town closes between 1 and 4 to allow people to go home for lunch and a siesta. We leave Italian school at noon, shop for a panini sandwich or a Sicilian street food favorite - a fried ball of rice with a filling of cheese, meat ragu, or spinach called “arancini.”
a Sicilian street food favorite - a fried ball of rice with a filling of cheese, meat ragu,
Then go home to sleep it off with a nap, it’s nice!
with a nap, it’s nice! Sicily has been conquered by just about everybody -
of tourists. To deal with the
by just about everybodyGreeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, and now millions of tourists. To deal with the lack of common language people learned to talk with their hands. Loudly. It may look like an argument, but they are probably talking about the weather.
The mixing of cultures
and conquerors has created physical diversity in the beautiful people of Cefalù. There are blondes with green eyes, redheads, and many with cascades of dark curly hair. There is a level of acceptance of differences. However immigration by desperate people looking for a better life is a huge issue here as well, especially on the southern coast near Africa.
There are blondes with green eyes, redheads, and many with cascades of dark of acceptance of differences. However immigration by
We live two blocks from
a magnificent Norman Cathedral with Arab design elements called the Duomo.
with elements
It’s the living room of Cefalù.
with palm trees, full of outdoor seating, and lined with shops for gelato, beautiful pastries, hot food, and drinks.
The square in front is lined with palm trees, full of outdoor seating, and lined with shops for gelato, beautiful pastries, hot food, and drinks.
From 5 to 7 there is a custom called “passeggiata.”
tom called “passeggiata.” You fix your hair, dress up a little, and stroll, greeting your
You fix your hair, dress up a little, and stroll, greeting your friends and neighbors, and maybe sit down for a light drink, which always comes with free snacks like potato chips, peanuts, and olives to tide you over until dinner.
Learning Italian is hard, but they say it’s good for aging brains to create new neural pathways. And travel isn’t always a picnic, but I
like the quote “Traveling, it leaves you speechless and turns you into a storyteller.” That’s my story for today, friends. See you in December.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS
The Nugget
N EWS PA PE R
? ??
Bob and Clara Hughes (retired SES teacher) enjoying their time in Sienna, Italy
Ken and Ann Nora Kruger brought The Nugget to Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, stopping for a photo at the Tropic of Capricorn.
Sisters resident Andy Anderson at the Eiriksstadir Viking longhouse in Budardalur, Iceland.
the 1600s.
Obituaries
Dr. Irving “Irv” Weston
Passed November 2, 2024
Dr. Irving “Irv” Weston was born on his family farm in Gibbon, NE, and passed away peacefully on November 2, in Bend, at the age of 93.
Irv attended Nebraska Wesleyan, received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska and served as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force. He practiced family medicine in Lincoln, Nebraska, for three decades and continued to practice medicine for several years in Phoenix, Arizona.
Irv was an avid ultrarunner and long-distance cyclist. A gentle, humble man, he was loved and respected by all who knew him.
Irv is survived by his wife of 37 years, Bobbi McGinn; children from his first marriage, Steve Weston, Michelle McFall,
David Porter Van Ness Jr.
Passed June 29, 2024
David Porter Van Ness, Jr., of San Diego, California, passed away June 29, 2024, after a short illness.
He is survived by his sister Rosalie M. Van Ness-Hanford of Sisters, his daughters Eva King of San Diego, California, and Samantha Van Ness of Dubai, and his son Samuel David Van Ness of San Diego, California. David was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 16, 1950. He was raised in Carpinteria, California.
and Sandy Stewart; stepchildren Bridget McGinn, Patrick McGinn, and Kara McGinn; eight grandchildren, seven greatgrandchildren, and sisters LaVonne Pederson and Janice Funkey. He is preceded in death by his brother, Elton Weston, and his first wife, Joanne Young Weston.
Immediate family members will gather privately to commemorate Irv’s life. Memorial donations may be made to Partners in Care Hospice Services.
David lived his life enjoying surfing, family, welding, and Baja off-road racing. A celebration of life is being planned for the fall of 2025.
Dealing with muscle soreness
By Ashlee Francis Correspondent
Whether you’re new to fitness or a seasoned athlete, managing muscle soreness effectively is key to maintaining a consistent workout routine. Here are some tips for optimizing your post-workout care at home.
1. Stay hydrated . When you exercise, you lose fluids through sweat. Replenishing this water loss is crucial for muscle and joint function and removing toxins from the body. Staying hydrated reduces muscle cramping and spasms. Proper hydration also ensures your joints are well lubricated, which prevents stiffness and pain in the body. Adequate intake of water also helps prevent fatigue and helps flush out toxins that can build up during exercise, which in turn reduces soreness. Because hydration transports nutrients to muscles, it can speed up the recovery process.
Pro tip: Aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily, and increase your intake on workout days. Adding electrolytes to your water can also help balance your body’s fluids, pH and minerals.
2. Stretching and foam rolling: Incorporating stretching and foam rolling into your routine can significantly reduce muscle soreness. These post-exercise modalities can increase blood flow to the muscles,
which aids in nutrient delivery and recovery. Regular stretching can also improve flexibility, which reduces the risk of injury and soreness. The fascia is a fibrous connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, bone, nerve, and muscle in place. Fascial stretching makes your tissue more elastic and durable at the same time. Fascial stretching involves more gentle and flowing movements as opposed to static holds. Try to move with your body and how it is feeling in order to optimize your recovery process.
Pro tip: Spend at least 10 minutes stretching and foam rolling after each workout to maximize recovery benefits.
3. Fuel your recovery: What you eat post-workout plays a significant role in muscle recovery. Consuming protein helps repair and build muscle tissue. Carbs replenish glycogen stores depleted during exercise, providing energy for recovery. Include foods known for their antiinflammatory properties. Good examples can be berries, nuts, and leafy greens to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness.
Pro tip: Aim for a balanced meal or snack containing both protein and carbs within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.
4. Rest: Rest is a critical component of any fitness routine. During rest, your muscles repair and grow stronger. Sleep helps restore energy levels, preparing you for your next workout.
Adequate sleep regulates hormones that influence muscle growth and recovery.
Pro tip: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to ensure optimal recovery.
5. Epsom salt baths: Taking an Epsom salt bath can provide significant relief from muscle soreness. Epsom salt contains magnesium, which helps relax muscles and reduce inflammation. A warm bath can reduce stress and promote overall relaxation. The warmth can also improve blood circulation, which we already know helps muscles recover quicker.
Pro tip: Add two cups of Epsom salt to a warm bath and soak for 15-20 minutes after a tough workout. Reducing muscle soreness at home is all about consistency and taking care of your body. By staying hydrated, stretching, eating well, getting enough rest, and using techniques like Epsom salt baths, you can effectively manage and reduce muscle soreness. Listen to your body, and find what recovery methods work best for you.
Ashlee Francis is a fitness professional in Sisters.
Fearing fear
By Nancie Carmichael Guest Columnist
Do you sense it? That allpervasive fear that seems to be gripping too many. We wonder, ‘Is this the eye of the hurricane? Or has the storm passed?’ We hold our breath, wondering what’s next.
It’s true, there are lots of things to fear and we want to protect our people, ourselves. But fear is sneaky and creative. And when we give it free rein, it multiplies: Republicans fear the Democrats; Democrats fear the Republicans. We fear a difference of opinion. Why? We fear running out of toilet paper. Just stop. Breathe. “In the multitude of my anxieties
within me…”(Ps. 94:19).
This afternoon I’d sat at the computer long enough, and the October sunshine and the possibility of hearing soothing water drew me down to my prayer place, the Metolius River.
I walked along its banks and remembered when I was a kid hearing Mahalia Jackson sing Psalm 27. My parents had her album, and we listened to it over and over. She belted it out: “The Lord is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”
Today I needed me some Mahalia, with her songs of declaration, songs of faith.
No timid wishy-washy songs. Songs that declare hope and knowing. And she sang it with her whole self. I googled it, and sure enough, found her on YouTube and sang along with her. “The Lord is the strength of my life!”
Jesus told us, “Don’t be afraid.” But we are, sometimes. Anger can pull us in, energizing us, and along with fear makes us feel stronger. At least in the beginning. But it backfires, and the truth is that God is not the author of fear. It’s of the Enemy. And we don’t want that creep around.
The challenge is: What do I believe? Who is greater? Do I stand on the Rock, Jesus Christ? Faith calls me to say,
Truth or Dare — Where it Leads Us
Michael Richards
In our land w her e shadows blur, wher e tr uth slips quietly into the dar k, the people stand, not knowing what they know –no longer sur e of what is r eal
It is not the devout believer, the loud ideologue w ho shouts with cer tainty, not the soldier of cause, but those who wander between fact and fiction, tr uth and lies, no longer able to distinguish one fr om the other. The lines have faded, facts are fr agile, tr uth no longer solid enough to stand In the hollow space between, the people float –lost in a fo g of uncer tainty, wher e all things seem equally distant and equally near
The r ulers do not need to force obedience, for in the haze, the people sur render what remains of clarity, and drift.
It is the absence of belief that gr ants them power –not in the cer tainty of the loud, but in the silence of minds that cannot gr asp what is tr ue and what is false.
They ar e not br oken by force, but by the er osion of the distinction between w hat is and w hat is imagined, until ther e is no dif fer ence left.
T his is the hear t of totalitarian r ule, wher e tr uth disa ppear s, and the people forget that ther e w as ever a distinction to begin with.
“Yes, I will trust.” I will choose faith, not fear.
• Faith leads us to Knowing. “Be still and know that I am God.” Fear leads us to turmoil, uncertainty.
• Faith leads us to Peace. Fear leads us to alienation, to sleeplessness.
• Faith energizes us, motivates us: “They that know their God shall do great exploits.” Fear keeps us small, keeps us from stepping into our calling.
• Faith leads us to Hope; Fear leads us to despair.
Can we defeat fear? You bet! This isn’t my first rodeo with fear. Years ago, when my babies were small and my husband was traveling overseas, I was terrified
Night Cat
Anna Jolles
Sometimes I go downstair s at night
Because I’m aw ake
by staying home alone. I began to memorize verses like Psalm 27 and others. I learned to defeat fear by watching what I took in: what media I watched, what I read. I even had to learn to pray with faith — not with fear (which I’d been doing). There’s such a thing as praying with fear, with foreboding or dread.
Here’s a more powerful way to pray: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds” (Phil. 4:6 & 7).
Let It Snow
Jay Swartz ~ 1981
I’ d rather have it snow
Than get wet and freeze.
I’ d rather have it snow
And not get over 25°.
While the house sleeps
Without fail the night cat appea
Fr om some wher e.
And might as well wor k or r ead or write
He materializes on the kitchen island
He consider s sitting on my
If he feels str ongly
Mor e often he asks me
About undivided attention.
To push my chair bac k a bi
Exposing a cat-sized lap.
He indulges in a c law massage
And pur ring.
or read or appea rs kitc hen pages onn. a bit p. assage
Befor e settling his tabby body on my thighs
I mar vel at the str angeness
The impr obabilit y, the miracle!
Of under standing – love even –
Between a small noctur nal felid and a human.
Don’t You Know?
I’ d Rather Have It Snow! * * * *
Henrietta Crumbtray
Alissa Cowan
Come one, come all – Five dollar s a day
Voice Lessons with Henrietta Cr umbtray
Childr en lined all in a row
Warming up, Baritone and Alto
Middle C played on the piano
Joining in now we re Sopr anos
All one voice as the piano chor d played
One shar p note – sang loud, to Henrietta’s dismay
“Who let out this sour tone?”
The Can’t Get To Know You Blues
Jackie Page ~ 1981
Solitar y victories
With a philosophical downbeat, Somehow shatter s the need for human contact.
I’ ve got the ca n’ t get to know you blues.
It’s har d, I know, to alw ays r ead between the lines. The fact that you have to leaves you cold Makes you year n for the r eal and the simple tr uth.
Yeah...the can’ t get to know you blues.
They say that time cures those ailments of the hear t. And w hat can I say to that?
It’s c hoices, ba by, not time that tells Those can’ t get to know you blues.
Have an original poem that you’ d like to share?
Email submissions to jess@nuggetnews.com
Publication is subject to space availability and discr etion of The Nugget Newspaper
Mr s. Cr umbtray fr owned with a moan
The music started up again continuing the song, but then…
Ever yone stopped to take a look at the little boy in the second row, who sang A-Flat
It w as then discover ed w ho sang of f key
For ever yone would know or soon would see
The note that came so loud and fr ee
Came fr om the boy, Little Allen Bunzie
His face tur ned r ed, aw ar e of the stares –unsur e of what he had done
To ear n the par t of “Best in class”, and a Solo he thought he had won!
Henrietta Cr umbtr ay smiled in the kindest way as she played Middle C with a hum
Looking ar ound she encour aged them all, “Bac k to the beginning ever yone”.
Feeling cr eative? November/December writing pr ompts
“All I want for (holiday of your choice) is...”
“A holiday memory that changed me...” pts... . ”
Runners compete at state meet
By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent
The Outlaws’ cross country teams wrapped up the 2024 season with the OSAA State Championships on Saturday, November 9, at Lane Community College in Eugene.
The girls’ team, which squeaked into the meet with a third place finish at District October 30, produced mixed results at State.
Brooke Duey led the team with a 17th-place finish with a time of 19:58, her best time at the state meet in her three visits.
“The field of fast individuals in the meet was deeper than ever and Brooke held her own throughout the race,” said coach Charlie Kanzig. “Brooke ran consistently well throughout the final meets of the season. Her time this year would have placed in the top ten last year.”
Josie Ryan came through next for the Outlaws in 21:35 in 59th place. Mae Roth (23:24), Althea Crabtree (24:18), Helena Welty (24:37), Kiara Martin (24:47), and Annalycia Erdekian (24:53) completed the team for the Outlaws.
The Aardvarks of Oregon Episcopal won the team race with 79 points to edge Enterprise by three. Union finished third (126) and Banks (163) beat Siuslaw by one point to take the fourth place trophy.
Daisy Lalonde of East Linn Christian won the individual title in a time of 18:07, almost a full minute faster than last year when she placed second.
For the boys, George Roberts completed a solid
senior season, finishing in 18th place in 17:04, as the Outlaws placed eighth among 12 teams. Heading into the meet the Outlaws were ranked fifth in the final coaches’ poll.
“We figured going into the meet we would finish between fourth and eighth, but after we lost Ben Hayner, typically our fifth scorer, to illness, it was going to be tough to place as high as we had hoped,” Kanzig said.
Spencer Tisdel, in his fourth consecutive state meet, clocked 17:26 to place 33rd. Like the girls’ field, the entrants in the boys race were deeper than any time in history. Despite running faster this year Tisdel finished six places back from 2023.
“Last year’s winner ran 16:18, which would have been seventh place this year,” said Kanzig
The winner, Clayton Wilson of Siuslaw, led three boys under 16 minutes with a time of 15:37.
Freshman Zachary Kemp came through third for the Outlaws (18:08), followed by John Berg (18:38), Kellen Werts (19:37), River Dalton (20:19), and Jude Parzybok (20:22).
Banks won the team title with 79 points, but it came down to the sixth runner tie breaker to edge Valley Catholic. Siuslaw was third and Oregon Episcopal took the final trophy in fourth.
“I think overall the team peaked at District and seemed to lack the spark needed to run their best at state,” said Kanzig. “It wasn’t for lack of effort, but sometimes things just don’t line up on the day for a variety of reasons.”
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CATEGORIES:
102 Commercial Rentals
STORAGE WITH BENEFITS
8 x 20 dry box
• Fenced yard, RV & trailers
In-town, gated, 24-7
EWDevcoLLC@gmail.com
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.
Executive Office Space
Very nice executive office space for rent in Sisters light industrial park. 224 sq. ft. private office.
Shared restrooms with shower.
Shared conference/kitchen room. Easy parking. All utilities included. Starting at $750 per month. Call 541-549-9631
OFFICE/RETAIL
SPACE FOR RENT
Great location across from Ace Hardware.
Several space types available. Call owner Jim Peterson/RE Broker. 503-238-1478
103 Residential Rentals
PONDEROSA PROPERTIES
–Monthly Rentals Available–Call Debbie at 541-549-2002
Full details, 24 hrs./day, go to: PonderosaProperties.com
Printed list at 178 S. Elm, Sisters Ponderosa Properties LLC
3 bedroom, 2 bath house with attached garage. Near old grade school. Refrigerator, stove/oven, washer/dryer, A/C. Fenced yard. Small pets allowed. Owner pays all utilities including internet. $2,500 first/last month's rent plus $300 cleaning deposit ($500 with pets). No smoking. Call 541-639-2875.
Gorgeous architectural home. 22 min. east of Sisters. Available Jan. 4 thru March. Fully furnished, 3,380 sq. ft.,
3 BR, 3 BA. $4,900/month, plus utilities. 541-480-4083
CASCADE HOME & PROPERTY RENTALS
Monthly Rentals throughout Sisters Country. 541-549-0792
Property management for second homes. CascadeHomeRentals.com
2 BR, 2 BA 1st-floor unit in back building, #205 at Cowboy Court Apartments, 154 W Adams Ave. $1,600/mo. W/S/Garbage Paid, dishwasher, microwave, washer & dryer, patio, garbage disposal, granite countertops, energy efficient windows, storage, plank flooring throughout, electric heat w/air conditioning, off-street parking - 1 reserved space (covered space $20/Month), some pets considered (dogs & cats OK with add'l $350 RSD per pet), owner pays landscaping, approx. 1,000 sq. ft., NO SMOKING, RSD $1,600, Lease thru November 30, 2025.
104 Vacation Rentals
Downtown Vacation Rentals
Popular 1 and 2 Bedroom
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Great pricing. 503-730-0150
~ Sisters Vacation Rentals ~ Private Central OR vac. rentals, Property Management Services 541-977-9898
www.SistersVacation.com
202 Firewood
• WINTER 2024 •
SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS
DAVE ELPI – FIREWOOD
• SINCE 1976 •
Doug Fir – Lodgepole –Hardwood – Juniper – Fir
DRIVE-IN WOOD SALES
– 18155 Hwy. 126 East –
SistersForestProducts.com
Order Online! 541-410-4509 541-699-7740
204 Arts & Antiques
Studio at the Loop Art Sale
780 Westview Loop in Sisters Weekends in November Thurs-Sat, 10 to 5. Pictures of American flag; and poppy pictures and merchandise. 15% of sales donated to Tunnel to Towers in your name.
205 Garage & Estate Sales
Bald Eagle Music moving sale. 40 years of teaching music. Old sheet music, ukulele acoustic/electric bass, FREE parlor grand, mahogany cabinet, many other items. 100 E. Main, Suite B in The Place on the Elm side. Mon-Fri thru Nov. 30. Drop by or call 541-410-9064. Happy Trails Estate Sales and online auctions!
Selling, Downsizing, or Deaths? Locally owned & operated by... Daiya 541-480-2806 Sharie 541-771-1150
301 Vehicles
We Buy, Sell, Consign Quality Cars, Trucks, SUVs & RVs ~ Call Jeff at 541-815-7397
Sisters Car Connection da#3919 SistersCarConnection.com
401 Horses ORCHARD GRASS HAY ALFALFA TRITICALE
New crop. No rain. Barn stored. 3-tie bales. $240-$360/ton. Hwy. 126 & Cline Falls. 541-280-1895 500 Services
Junk removal, new home, garage & storage clean-out, construction, yard debris. You Call – We Haul! 541-719-8475
GEORGE’S SEPTIC TANK SERVICE
“A Well Maintained Septic System Protects the Environment” 541-549-2871
• DERI’s HAIR SALON • Call 541-419-1279
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
501 Computers & Communications
3 Sisters TeleNetworks, LLC
Cable jobs, security cameras, WAPs. CCB #191099 541-318-7000 • 541-306-0729
502 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
M & J CARPET CLEANING
Area rugs, upholstery, tile & dryer-vent cleaning. Established & family-owned since 1986. 541-549-9090
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
504 Handyman
3 Sisters Handyman Services 20+ years experience No job too large or small. Snow removal services available. Licensed, Bonded, and Insured Call Nate 907-748-4100 CCB# 253556
– C L A S S I F I E D S –It pays to advertise in The Nugget, your local "Yellow Pages" for Sisters! Deadline to place your ad is Monday before noon... Call 541-549-9941
600 Tree Service & Forestry
LOLO TREE WORKS
Tree Services: Tree Removal, Tree Pruning, Stump Grinding, Emergency Tree Services. ISA Certified Arborist Owner / Operator: Erin Carpenter lolotreeworks.com Call / Text: 503-367-5638
Email: erin@lolotreeworks.com CCB #240912
TimberStandImprovement.net
Tree Removal & Pruning TRAQ Arborist/ CCB#190496 541-771-4825
JS Mulching LLC Forestry mulching, Land clearing. Free estimates. Licensed & Insured 541-401-9589
– All You Need Maintenance –Tree removal, property thinning & clearing, forestry mastication & mulching, stump grinding. Lic/Bonded/Ins. CCB# 218169 Austin • 541-419-5122
4 Brothers Tree Service Sisters' Premier Tree Experts! – TREE REMOVAL & CLEANUP –Native / Non-Native Tree Assessments, Pruning, High-Risk Removals, 24 Hr. Emergency Storm Damage Cleanup, Craning & Stump Grinding, Debris Removal. – FOREST MANAGEMENT –Fire Fuels Reduction - Brush Mowing, Mastication, Tree Thinning, Large & Small Scale Projects! Serving Black Butte Ranch, Camp Sherman & Sisters Area since 2003 ** Free Estimates ** Owner James Hatley & Sons 541-815-2342 4brostrees.com
Licensed, Bonded and Insured CCB-215057
Keep up-to-date! Check us out for breaking news at www.nuggetnews.com
www.sistersfencecompany.com Lara’s Construction LLC. CCB#223701 Offering masonry work, fireplaces, interior & exterior stone/brick-work, build barbecues, and all types of masonry. Give us a call for a free estimate 541-350-3218
Uncompromising quality. Local and personal. You can trust me. All projects: From new construction to those little projects you don't seem to get to. My team of local subcontractors and I will get it done right, fair, and pain-free so you can make your spouse happy. Call Jared 503-949-9719 CASCADE GARAGE DOORS Factory Trained Technicians Since 1983 • CCB #44054 541-548-2215 • 541-382-4553
From Ground to Finish
Accurate and Efficient
541-604-5169
CCB#248916
INSPIRED CUSTOM HOMES
www.teeharborconstruction.com
541-213-8736 • CCB#75388
Construction & Renovation
Custom Residential Projects
All Phases • CCB #148365
541-420-8448
Earthwood Timberframes
• Design & shop fabrication
• Recycled fir and pine beams
• Mantels and accent timbers
• Sawmill/woodshop services EWDevCoLLC@gmail.com
New construction, addition, remodel. Large and small projects. Contact for estimate. 541-325-3020 sales@gardnercontractingllc.com
Custom Homes • Additions
Residential Building Projects
Serving Sisters area since 1976
Strictly Quality
CCB #16891 • CCB #159020 541-280-9764
John Pierce jpierce@bendbroadband.com
T H E N U G G E T N E W S P A P E R
541-390-1206
beavercreeklog@yahoo.com
Log repairs, log railing, log accent, log siding, etc. CCB #235303 Insurance & Bond
602 Plumbing & Electric SWEENEY PLUMBING, INC.
“Quality and Reliability” Repairs • Remodeling
• New Construction
• Water Heaters 541-549-4349
Residential and Commercial
Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB #87587
Commercial • Residential • Industrial • Remodels • Generators • Hot tubs/Saunas monteselectric@hotmail.com
CCB#200030 • 541-480-9860
Ridgeline Electric, LLC
Serving all of Central Oregon
• Residential • Commercial
• Industrial • Service
541-588-3088 • CCB #234821
The Nugget • 541-549-9941
603
Excavation & Trucking
ROBINSON & OWEN
Heavy Construction, Inc.
All your excavation needs
*General excavation
*Site Preparation
*Sub-Divisions
*Road Building
*Sewer and Water Systems
*Underground Utilities
*Grading
*Sand-Gravel-Rock
Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB #124327 541-549-1848
SUDOKU Level: Difficult Answer: Page 23
Full Service Excavation
Free On-site Visit & Estimate
Tewaltandsonsexcavation@gmail .com
541-549-1472 • CCB #76888
Drainfield
• Minor & Major Septic Repair
• All Septic Needs/Design & Install
General Excavation
• Site Preparation
• Rock & Stump Removal
• Pond & Driveway Construction Preparation
• Building Demolition Trucking
• Deliver Top Soil, Sand, Gravel, Boulders, Water
• Dump Trucks, Transfer Trucks, Belly
• The Whole 9 Yards or 24 Whatever You Want!
Excavation: septic system installation and repair, utility installation, site prep, demolition, road and driveway construction and maintenance.
"We dig your project" contact 541-325-3020
sales@gardnercontractingllc.com
BANR Enterprises, LLC
Earthwork, Utilities, Grading, Hardscape, Rock Walls
Residential & Commercial CCB #165122 • 541-549-6977
www.BANR.net
604 Heating & Cooling
ACTION AIR
Heating & Cooling, LLC
Retrofit • New Const • Remodel Consulting, Service & Installs actionairheatingandcooling.com CCB #195556
541-549-6464
online at NuggetNews.com
605 Painting
JUNE PINE PAINTING
Interior & Exterior Painting
Staining & Deck Restoration 541-588-2144 • CCB# 252954
METOLIUS PAINTING LLC
Meticulous, Affordable Interior & Exterior 541-280-7040 • CCB# 238067
Interior/Exterior Painting Deck Refinishing Jacob deSmet 503-559-9327
peakperformancepainting1@ gmail.com • CCB#243491
EMPIRE PAINTING
Interior and Exterior Painting and Staining CCB#180042
541-613-1530 • Geoff Houk ~ FRONTIER PAINTING ~ Quality Painting, Ext. & Int. Refurbishing Decks CCB #131560 • 541-771-5620 www.frontier-painting.com
606 Landscaping & Yard Maintenance
Complete landscape construction, fencing, irrigation installation & design, pavers/outdoor kitchens, debris cleanups, fertility & water conservation management, excavation. CCB #188594 • LCB #9264 www.vohslandscaping.com 541-515-8462
STEVE'S HAULING Yard and other debris, landscaping services, chain saw work, etc. 707-328-8370 All Landscaping Services Mowing, Thatching, Hauling Call Abel Ortega, 541-815-6740
Keeping Sisters Country Beautiful Since 2006 candcnursery@gmail.com 541-549-2345
THE NUGGET NEWSPAPER
– All You Need Maintenance –Pine needle removal, hauling, mowing, moss removal, edging, raking, weeding, pruning, roofs, gutters, pressure washing. Lic/Bonded/Ins. CCB# 218169 Austin • 541-419-5122
701 Domestic Services
I & I Crystal Cleaning, LLC Specializing in Commercial, Residential & Vacation Rentals. Licensed, Bonded & Insured. 541-977-1051
BLAKE & SON – Commercial, Home & Rentals Cleaning WINDOW CLEANING! Lic. & Bonded • 541-549-0897
Black Butte School District is hiring a District Clerk/Business Manager. More info at blackbutte.k12.or.us/employment or 541-595-6203
We are Hiring! Join our summer camp culture at Lake Creek Lodge. We're recruiting for: Maintenance Dept. PT/FT. We are proud to offer flexible schedules and excellent compensation. www.lakecreeklodge.com 13375 SW Forest Service Rd. 1419, Camp Sherman 803 Work Wanted
POSITION WANTED; for Companion Caregiver. Looking for part-time; must be close to Sisters downtown. References upon request. Please call 503-274-0214
SISTERS OREGON GUIDE Pick up your copy around town today!