The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters' leaders continue to wrestle with a fundamental question that will shape the city's future: How to preserve Sisters' semi-rural character while accommodating a predicted population explosion over the next few years. City councilor... — Updated 7/13/2004 Full story

Most local opinion on a proposed couplet has been negative, judging from the response at a public meeting held last month on the City of Sisters' Couplet Refinement Plan. The city is proposing a Hood Avenue/Main Avenue couplet to relieve... — Updated 7/6/2004 Full story

Sisters area residents who dislike a proposal for a one-way couplet on Hood and Main Avenues may not have to worry about seeing a couplet in the near future. The City of Sisters' difficulties in getting a plan together for the couplet are th... — Updated 6/29/2004 Full story

Residents of rural subdivisions near Sisters are bracing themselves for fire season and taking steps to plan swift evacuations. Forest fires are inevitable and solid preparation is critical, said Dorene Fisher, chairman of the homeowners... — Updated 6/29/2004 Full story

While the majority of Sisters residents appear to oppose plans to build a Hood Avenue/Main Avenue couplet, they have different opinions on how to best preserve the character of downtown. Traffic officials reminded the citizens at a... — Updated 6/29/2004 Full story

Sisters area residents dug in their heels over a proposed one-way couplet on Monday, June 21, at Sisters Middle School. The City of Sisters hosted the first public workshop to gain feedback on plans to build a Hood Avenue/Main Avenue... — Updated 6/22/2004 Full story

Maintaining neighborhoods with large lots and open space is a priority for some locals and community leaders. The question is how to balance the growing population, the demand for parks and streets and development codes to make that happen.... — Updated 6/22/2004 Full story

Sisters, which is part of the fastest growing county in the state, grew by 296 people to a population total of 959 between 1990 and 2000, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. In the next three years it grew even faster, increasing by 455... — Updated 6/22/2004 Full story

June 24, 2004 -- Sisters area residents who dislike a proposal for a one-way couplet on Hood and Main Avenues may not have to worry about seeing a couplet in the near future. The City of Sisters' difficulties in getting a plan together for t... — Updated 6/22/2004 Full story

The Sisters City Council voted unanimously to waive a $2,994 Systems Development Charge for a property owner to connect to the municipal sewer system. Sewer fees have been a controversial issue among city staff and property owners over... — Updated 6/15/2004 Full story

A seat on the Sisters City Council will soon be open. The council voted unanimously on Thursday to accept a letter of resignation "with regret" from Deb Kollodge, a councilor who has served since December 1, 2001. Kollodge is resigning so sh... — Updated 6/15/2004 Full story

The West Nile Virus, which killed 61 people in Colorado last summer, may migrate to Oregon this summer. But then again -- it may not. Last year, Oregon and Washington had no confirmed cases of the West Nile Virus, according to the Deschutes... — Updated 6/1/2004 Full story

Freedom of religious expression is an important American right, but public schools often grapple over how to implement that freedom while not endorsing a religion. According to some local Christian students, however, Sisters High School is... — Updated 6/1/2004 Full story

While local Christian youth may not be as "cool" as the emerging pop cultural Christian scenes in the nation, a small group of Sisters High School Students is finding its own way to relate the faith to peers. Church and youth groups are the... — Updated 6/1/2004 Full story

The Sisters City Council will award $5,000 to the Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation (SOAR) this year. The city council agreed at a Thursday, May 27, workshop, on how to allocate $9,000 of the $10,000 it gives for community... — Updated 6/1/2004 Full story

Sisters Young Guns are ace motocross riders. photo provided A seven-year-old Cinderella is giving up beauty pageant titles to ride her Cobra 50 motocross bike with the boys. BreAnna McLuskie won "Miss Personality" in the 2003 Cinderella... — Updated 6/1/2004 Full story

The group facilitator fished hard for a consensus, Monday, May 17, at the Sisters Couplet Advisory Committee meeting. Although he managed to gather some preferences, the atmosphere of the meeting was that of unanswered questions, distrust... — Updated 5/25/2004 Full story

On the day that Stephen Withrow allegedly brutally beat and killed Curtis Dean Kizer, he had consumed nine 22-ounce beers, according to a search warrant affidavit. The 17-year-old allegedly purchased the alcohol illegally from a clerk at... — Updated 5/18/2004 Full story

Find every foster child a permanent home: that's the goal of state services for foster children. But some foster children are not likely to be adopted or reunited with their biological family. These children are typically in their teens,... — Updated 5/18/2004 Full story

The two sets of foster parents in Sisters who take care of the most difficult, older children in the state system both say they foster parent because it is their "calling from God." Blanche, 59, and Orville Tadlock, 60, are full-time foster... — Updated 5/18/2004 Full story

Plans to create a traffic alternative that will relieve traffic on Cascade Avenue is costing the City of Sisters more time and money than anticipated. The Sisters City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to award an additional $18,462 to C... — Updated 5/18/2004 Full story

Considering that there was a measure affecting Sisters' density on the agenda, City Hall was unusually quiet Thursday, May 13, when Sisters City Council unanimously voted to pass a controversial ordinance which has been tabled for months.... — Updated 5/18/2004 Full story

The new Sisters Fire Chief will be holding the department's first-ever public workshop for four days this week. The workshop is open to all fire service personnel and to the public. It will be a step in the process of developing the fire... — Updated 5/11/2004 Full story

Construction is well underway on new homes in the Timber Creek II subdivision east of Sisters Elementary School. A Portland development firm purchased Timber Creek from Sisters developer Bruce Forbes. photo by Jim Cornelius A partially-gated... — Updated 5/11/2004 Full story

Sisters High School is a safe environment: That is the message principal Bob Macauley is sending in the wake of Sisters High School student Stephen Withrow's indictment for murder. Withrow, 17, was indicted for murder, first-degree... — Updated 5/11/2004 Full story