News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Articles from the February 7, 2023 edition


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  • Nancy Ellen Hoff February 12, 1945 - February 1, 2023

    Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Nancy Ellen Hoff, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many, passed away on February 1, in her home in Sisters. Nancy was born on February 12, 1945, in McMinnville, Oregon, and was the only daughter of Bert and Frances Crossgrove. She grew up on a farm in the McMinnville area and after graduating from McMinnville High School, she pursued a nursing degree at the University of Oregon. While completing her nursing degree in Portland, Oregon, she met her future... Full story

  • Scientist weighs in on balloon

    Jim Cornelius, News Editor|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Steven Peterzen has had a busy week. Peterzen, who has lived in Sisters for more than decade, is the founder and owner of ISTAR Stratospheric Ballooning. ISTAR launches and recovers payloads for scientific and technological experiments for agencies, companies, and academic institutions. He has worked with Sisters’ science classes to launch balloons from Sisters Eagle Airport. With deep expertise and more than three decades of experience in the field, he’s been fielding pho... Full story

  • Trees stressed by climate change

    Steve Lundeberg Correspondent|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    CORVALLIS – Douglas-fir trees will likely experience more stress from drier air as the climate changes than they will from less rain, computer modeling by Oregon State University scientists shows. The research is important because Douglas-fir are widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest, an iconic species with ecological, cultural, and economic significance, and learning how the trees respond to drought is crucial for understanding forest sensitivity to a shifting climate. Douglas-fir grow in a range that stretches f... Full story

  • Autobahn reopens to delight of families

    Bill Bartlett|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The last few weekends have been the scene of squeals of joy and broad smiles at Ski Hoodoo, where barely sufficient snow and enough staff have allowed the Autobahn tubing park to reopen. Having been closed nearly in its entirety since the COVID-19 pandemic, the popular family activity has resumed on Saturdays and Sundays. The Delgado and Estoban families from Bend and Redmond, 13 in number, typified the hundreds who took to the lanes Saturday. The entourage didn’t mind at a... Full story

  • Sisters Country birds

    Douglas Beall|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    A full-time resident of our pine forests, the Red-breasted Nuthatch, [Sitta canadensis], can be found climbing up and down tree bark using their enlarged toe and short tail, gathering conifer seeds and various insects, including beetles, worms, ants, earwigs, and spiders. They are common visitors to black oil sunflower feeders and they will often cache foods between the bark of trees for later use. The female Nuthatch will most often choose the nest and prefers soft wood trees... Full story

  • Scotties seeking the light

    Jean Nave|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    If you have ever lived with a cat or a dog through the wintertime, you have noticed how they find every pool of sunlight in which they can safely and comfortably sleep. Seeking comfort, warmth, and peace in the sunlight is where my Scotties go too. For thousands of years people have searched for light. We know from ancient structures like Stonehenge in England — which is more than 5,000 years old in stone and another 5,000 years older as a wooden structure—that... Full story

  • Holding and protecting a candle in the dark

    Katy Yoder|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    I heard a writer say he saw his writing as a candle in the dark. I love that image — the idea that words can light a way for someone else. It’s also a big burden to shoulder. I feel mine sagging under the pressure just thinking about it. But I also read that this is my moment to shed self-doubt and be who and what I was born to be. Do the things I was meant to do. Can I be a candle in the dark? First, I must light my own candle and make sure the flame can’t be easily extinguished. Resilience and fortitude are qua... Full story

  • Outlaws own second place in league

    Rongi Yost, Correspondent|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The Outlaws hoopsters recorded a 43-34 victory at home against Harrisburg on Thursday, February 2, which pushed their record to 7-2, and gave them sole possession of second place. Sisters was looking to avenge their 38-50 loss to Harrisburg earlier in the season, and their plan was to apply aggressive man-to-man pressure on the Eagles. However, the Outlaws found themselves in foul trouble early. Taine Martin got the Outlaws’ scoring started when he outran the Eagles in t... Full story

  • The Steampunk Party Balloon

    Craig Rullman|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Here’s hoping you enjoyed the sudden appearance of the Steampunk Party Balloon over the United States as much as I did. There’s something delightfully throwback, something Jules Verney, or perhaps League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, about this mysterious apparatus that has so beguiled and bewitched the public imagination. Nothing triggers a Sean Hannity meltdown, or constricts the reptilian pupils of foreign policy experts in Arlington think-tanks, faster than a Chinese wed... Full story

  • Outlaws continue to dominate on the slopes

    Rongi Yost, Correspondent|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The Sisters Outlaws Alpine Ski Team raced in a slalom race on Wednesday, February 1, at Hoodoo Ski Area, and once again both the boys and girls teams came off the slopes with a first-place finish. On the boys side, Sisters skier Bela Chladek set the bar high and took first place overall by 4.5 seconds with a combined time of 1:23.85. Corbin Fredland posted a strong second-place finish with a combined time of 1:28.35. Styopa Myagkov took third (1:32.97), Brody Duey finished six... Full story

  • Affordable housing site requires zone change

    Sue Stafford|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    At their February 2 workshop, planning commissioners learned more about the proposed Heavenly Acres rezone and several Sisters Development Code amendments in preparation for the public hearing scheduled for February 16 at 5:30 p.m. At the hearing, the Commission will be asked to render a decision on the proposal’s merits after a staff report and public testimony where citizens will be able to voice their support or opposition for the proposal. Matters of growth and development... Full story

  • St. Charles’ health is mixed

    Bill Bartlett|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    At the same time that the bond ratings house Moody’s Investors Service changed its outlook for St. Charles Health System from “stable” to “negative,” the four-hospital system has announced plans for a $90 million Cancer Care Center in Redmond at the corner of Canal Boulevard and Kingwood Avenue. The goal is to break ground in 2023 and to open the facility in 2025. The expansion is being funded with bonds secured in 2020. Who will staff it? Patient care staff expressed... Full story

  • Outlaws edge out Harrisburg

    Rongi Yost, Correspondent|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The Lady Outlaws edged out Harrisburg 34-33 at home on Thursday, February 2, which gave them back-to-back wins for the first time this year. Sisters felt that the Eagles were a team they could compete with, but they were again short Josie Patton (concussion) and Ellie Mayes (sprained ankle), who were still unable to play, and they knew the game would be a challenge. The team was also playing with three or four girls who had missed practice due to illness days before the game.... Full story

  • City looks to hire manager in March

    Sue Stafford|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    If all goes well, Sisters could have a new city manager chosen by the end of March. The position was posted by Jensen Strategies, the consultants running the recruitment process, as of January 30, 2023, and will remain open for applications through February 26. Applications will be screened and semifinalist online video interviewing by Jensen will be conducted the week of March 6. On March 14, City Council will hold an executive session to review the semifinalists and pick... Full story

  • Skaters build community

    Olivia Nieto|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Finding community and friendship in work is a difficult feat, but the Sisters Skate Alliance managed to embed that outcome within the skatepark expansion project in their hometown of Sisters. The recent construction that the local park underwent over the past year is both extensive and impressive. The skatepark itself has been a part of the Sisters community for over a decade. It is a place for excitement, growth, and support. Over the past 13 years, many changes have been... Full story

  • Sisters to host ski championships

    Tatum Cramer, Correspondent|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The Sisters alpine ski race team will host the 2023 OISRA (Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association) State Championships at Hoodoo this year. This is the first time in over two decades that Hoodoo has hosted the championship alpine ski race. The race will be the first weekend in March. Wednesday March 1, will be a warm-up/travel day. Racing will be held on March 2-3. Racers and families will be staying locally in Sisters throughout the weekend. Many of the racers that are... Full story

  • An open letter to Sisters City Council

    Doug Wills|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    You all need to remember that the citizens of Sisters elected you to represent those of us who live in Sisters, not big builders that hit and run, not having to live with the consequences. The previous administration allowed Hayden and others to violate codes and agreements. Who approved Sisters Woodlands? Who approved the ugly green fence? Who allowed those monster houses to be painted black? And who approved the steel monsters on Barclay? Previous administration did. And so did you. Why did they allow something so ugly in o... Full story

  • Letters to the Editor 2/08/2023

    Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Development moratorium To the Editor: On September 22, 2021 the Sisters Comprehensive Plan was adopted, resulting in a set of updated goals, policies, and implementation measures that are intended to guide decisions about future growth and development in Sisters. As stated in the introduction of the Plan, “it can be summarized ‘Growth with Intention.’ This will guide us to maintain Sisters’ unique quality of life, mitigate the effects of growth, and absorb it the Sisters way, maintain our special community character, and con... Full story

  • Habitat officers pick up hammer

    Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Sisters Habitat for Humanity welcomed their new board of directors on Tuesday, January 24. The gavel (a hammer) was passed from outgoing President Bob Buchholz to the new board president, Joe Rambo. Buchholz said, “It was an honor to serve! Sisters Habitat is such a great organization that serves the community by bringing affordable homes to Sisters. I am always awed at the dedication of volunteers and staff to the organization and to the community. During my six years on t... Full story

  • Sisters man works toward recovery

    Jim Cornelius, News Editor|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Life took a hard turn for Steve Rollins on December 2, 2022. The longtime Sisters mechanic took a bad fall at his home shop that left him with spinal cord injuries and facing a long road to recovery. “He slipped on ice,” his son Jeremy Rollins told The Nugget. “He said the last thing he remembered was the ground coming up at him.” What happened, though, was worse than hitting the ground. Rollins fell face-first into the hydraulic arm of a floor hoist used for lifting car eng... Full story

  • Man arrested, threats assessed

    Updated Feb 7, 2023

    Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) arrested a 27-year-old Sisters man in an incident at Takoda’s restaurant in Sisters on Tuesday, January 31. According to DCSO reports, an allegedly intoxicated Christopher Seekell was refusing to leave the restaurant, and being aggressive with the staff. At one point, Seekell allegedly made a threat about doing a school shooting. Seekell did not specify any school in this statement, according to police. Seekell also allegedly threatened to return and shoot up Tak... Full story

  • Removing trees to promote forest health

    Sue Stafford|Updated Feb 7, 2023

    The removal of 177 juniper trees from 18 lots in the High Meadow neighborhood off Indian Ford Road is creating what participants in the project consider a win-win situation for everyone involved. The homeowners are improving the resiliency of their Firewise community and improving the environment for their ponderosa pines. The junipers are all being removed as intact trees, branches and all. They will be taken up to Deschutes Land Trust’s (DLT) Rimrock Ranch, where the U... Full story