News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Articles from the March 20, 2024 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 24 of 24

  • Shining a spotlight on rural America

    Updated Sep 17, 2024

    Rural America feeds the nation, provides space for infrastructure, and outdoor recreational opportunities for the masses of the cities. Rural communities are often under stress - yet they receive few philanthropic dollars compared to urban centers. The Sisters-based Roundhouse Foundation (RHF) is addressing those challenges in "Funding Rural," a new podcast launched on March 12. "Funding Rural" explores how philanthropy can better serve rural communities and spark systemic... Full story

  • Safe Chauffeur is on the road

    Jim Cornelius|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    John Schweiter Jr. has created a business that plays to two of his passions in life: "I've always been a car guy - a racing family - so cars and driving are in my blood," he told The Nugget. "And I love to serve." Safe Chauffeur Executive Car Service serves people of high net worth across Central Oregon and the Sisters Country. Founded with his wife, executive chef Marie Schweiter, in 1997, Safe Chauffeur offers more than a standard car service. "Our business model is just... Full story

  • The Power of Story

    Jim Cornelius|Updated Apr 11, 2024

    The Nugget believes in the power of Story. Since you are here backing us up with your support, it's pretty safe to assume you do, too. The work that keeps us going week in and week out is the effort to tell the stories of the people of our community, in all their wide diversity in age, background and experience. When I first started writing for The Nugget 30 years ago, I wasn't sure how deep the well of Story would be here. Turns out, it's bottomless. A couple of weeks back, I...

  • Highway 242 work gets underway

    Bill Bartlett|Updated Mar 26, 2024

    In a sure sign of spring, "Construction Ahead" signs are popping up around Sisters Country. One that is likely pleasing to area residents is the improvement project to the popular and historic Highway 242, where thousands of tourists in vehicles and on bicycles wind their way every summer. A favorite highway of motorcyclists and touring cars, Highway 242 is still in the middle of its annual winter closure from about 12 miles west of Sisters to a few miles east of Highway 126... Full story

  • High Desert Heroines: Maida Bailey

    Maret Pajutee|Updated Mar 26, 2024

    In her later years, Maida Bailey liked to cruise in her 1958 green and white Chevy Coupe. She drove around her ranch to check the irrigation, to visit friends in Camp Sherman or Bend, or just around town in Sisters, handing out friendly waves and smiles although she was almost hidden behind the steering wheel. She was famous for easily making friends with every kind of person, from university presidents, to teachers, ranchers, homemakers, store keepers, socialites, mill...

  • Big Ponderoo lineup is complete

    Updated Mar 26, 2024

    The final lineup of the Big Ponderoo roots music festival in Sisters is set. SFF Presents has released the final eight artists on the 2024 Big Ponderoo festival lineup. The second annual music festival returns to Sisters June 29-30 with bluegrass, alt-country, and Americana music on two stages at Village Green Park. Shinyribs, the Oliver Wood Trio, Silverada (formerly Mike and the Moonpies), ShadowGrass, The Parnells, Fog Holler, Rock Ridge, and JoAnna Lee join the previously... Full story

  • Sunshine Club brings brightness to Lodge

    Bill Bartlett|Updated Mar 26, 2024

    Amy Guthrie's Sunshine Club, consisting of 17 Sisters Elementary School fifth-graders, were on hand at The Lodge in Sisters last Wednesday evening as part of their regular holiday visits. They brought handmade St. Patrick's Day-themed cards and crafts just as they did on Valentine's Day last month. At Thanksgiving, Guthrie delivered a giant poster with greetings from the Club, and at the Christmas break, the Club students joined with C4C (Citizens For Community) at The Lodge... Full story

  • Sisters grad works on data centers

    Lisa May|Updated Mar 26, 2024

    Twenty years ago, your living room shelves and closets may have been filled with VHS tapes and DVDs of favorite movies. Finding enough room to store the growing collection was problematic. Perhaps a few readers still insist on storing some of these old favorites today, even without the devices needed to play them back. But now that we are more than two decades into the 21st century, most of us watch digital movies by streaming them from Netflix, Amazon Prime, or another... Full story

  • Fourth Friday Artwalk returns to Sisters

    Helen Schmidling|Updated Mar 23, 2024

    The Sisters Arts Association's Fourth Friday Artwalk is back this week. Most of the galleries of Sisters will be open with featured art and artists, light refreshments, and the return of QuickDraw between 4 and 7 p.m. The art will be on display in galleries all day, with most exhibits continuing well into April. Hood Avenue Art highlights Patricia Freeman-Martin and Breezy Anderson. Patty creates work that reflects impressions and amusements from her life on a horse ranch in... Full story

  • John T. Turner

    Updated Mar 22, 2024

    John T. Turner of Sisters left this life on March 9, 2024. He was 99 years old. Born in Sayre, Arkansas, on January 5, 1925, to Albert and Effie (Machen) Turner. He attended public schools in Casa Grande, Arizona, graduating high school in 1943. He graduated from Park University in Parkville, Missouri. He joined the military at 17, serving in Europe with the Eighth Air Force, flying combat missions in a B-17 during World WarII. He served with the 378th Bombardment Group in... Full story

  • Fatal wreck in Sisters

    Updated Mar 21, 2024

    Sisters resident Kevin Blake Gast, 65, lost his life in a single-vehicle accident north of town on Tuesday, March 12. According to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported single vehicle rollover accident near the intersection of Wilt Road and Hinkle Butte Road at approximately 8:26 p.m. Deputies were advised a Dodge Ram pickup was resting on its side on the shoulder of the road. Upon arrival deputies determined no other vehicles were involved. The dri... Full story

  • Locals sign up for sustainably grown produce

    T. Lee Brown|Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Elizabeth Kirby and her daughter Cora sat in a coffeehouse on a sunny day this week, coloring pictures and talking about veggies. Which were their favorites from Seed to Table farm in recent years? Mom remembered "green kale and purplish-red kale. We made kale chips out of them." Cucumbers with rice vinegar were the winner for Cora, a four-year-old who recently started attending SPRD preschool. "I think she likes those because when I was pregnant with her, I ate tons of... Full story

  • Evan Lee Vujnovich

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Evan Lee Vujnovich, born April 17, 1989, passed away on September 27, 2023, at the age of 34. He was born in Templeton, California, to Steven and Sherri Vujnovich. He loved to fish, surf, and bowl. Evan graduated from Honoka'a High School in 2007 in Hawaii, where he lived with his dad and Hanai Mother Renee'. He then joined the U.S. Navy in 2007, serving honorably for four years. He rose to the rank of E3, earning many medals. He leaves behind his mother, Sherri; his father,... Full story

  • Sisters business at a glance

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    • Ponderosa Properties has relocated their office to 178 S. Elm St., Suite 102 (corner of Hood Avenue and Elm Street). They can be reached at 541-549-2002.... Full story

  • Sisters Ranger District increases staff

    Bill Bartlett|Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Over the past several months the Sisters District of the Deschutes National Forest has seen its head count grow from 80 to 114. It’s part of a larger national effort for the agency which has a workforce of over 31,000 managing 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, more than the entire stare of Texas. In 2022, Chief Randy Moore called on the Forest Service to build its workforce for the future: “Forest Service hiring had not kept pace with attrition, and we nee... Full story

  • Exploring how rivers work

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    At this time of year, we hear a lot about snowpack, its moisture content, and how much water we will have to get through the summer. We drive by Detroit Dam and can't help but check the water level. All year long, we notice the water flow in our local rivers. We know we need water for human consumption, agriculture, sports activities, etc. Our lives are tied directly to water. It seems obvious that we should care about the life of rivers. But what goes on in rivers? They have... Full story

  • Folk Festival announces lineup

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    SFF Presents has announced the initial 19 artists slated to perform at the annual Sisters Folk Festival on Sept. 27-29, 2024, in Sisters, Oregon. Longtime poster artist Dennis McGregor has created another memorable image featuring "Folkasaurus Rox", a jubilant Tyrannosaurus rex playing the concertina. The preliminary lineup includes Aoife O'Donovan, Hawktail, The Mammals, Fantastic Cat, Balla Kouyaté & Mike Block Band, Peter Mulvey, SistaStrings, Cris Jacobs, Kittel & Co,... Full story

  • Sisters author pens lighthearted tale

    Kit Tosello|Updated Mar 19, 2024

    You might assume a novelist with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award adorning her shelf writes mainly about romance. But Sisters author Melody Carlson considers women's contemporary fiction her go-to genre - "books about relationships, and issues, and life," she says. "I know how to write a love story, but I don't do the (romance genre) formula." Carlson's mountainous body of work - she stopped counting at 250 books - ranges from children's books to teen novels to young... Full story

  • Sisters to host Easter egg hunt

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Children from infants to 11 years of age are invited to participate in the annual Easter Egg Hunt co-sponsored by the Sisters-Camp Sherman and Cloverdale fire districts. The event will take place on Easter Sunday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at the adjoining Creekside Park and Sisters Creekside Campground, regardless of weather. The Easter Bunny will be present to greet all. Parking is limited so plan to be a little early. Children wishing to participate are asked to be at the parks twenty (20) minutes before 2 p.m. so they can be... Full story

  • The eyes of India

    Mike Amsbrerry|Updated Mar 19, 2024

    We are all going to miss him dearly. How does one go about describing Sibi? Many of you are blessed to have come to know Fr. Sibi over these last five years as he pastored the flock at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church. Whether as a Young Lifer, pickle-baller, hiker, mountain biker, or just hanging out with the guys at the Space Age. His kind and gentle and humorous nature made him so easy to be around, to be drawn to. His detachment from the world and abiding joy... Full story

  • Nothing is all that can be done

    Erik Dolson|Updated Mar 19, 2024

    To the parents of Trenton Burger: I am so sorry for your loss. No words of mine can mend your wounds. I can’t even imagine the pain you have endured. Trenton, 15, died after he collided with a minivan while riding an e-bike in Bend. The driver of the van was not cited, it being determined that the driver was not responsible. There are many ways to imagine how this tragedy might have been averted. Trenton was illegally riding on a sidewalk. Trenton was was not of legal age t... Full story

  • Letters to the Editor 3/20/2024

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Thank you to community To the Editor: To the amazing Sisters community... We are the family that lost our house to the fire on Valentine’s Day. Since then, the love and support shown by our whole community have truly blown us away. We’d especially like to thank the excellent first responders from the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department and Black Butte Ranch Fire Department. Although our house was beyond saving by the time the fire department was called, firefighters were able to protect surrounding buildings, and contain the... Full story

  • Fire district says: Why not you?

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Have you ever been interested in supporting your community by being involved with emergency services? Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District is currently accepting applications for our upcoming Spring Volunteer Firefighter Academy. Specifically, our fire stations in the Camp Sherman and Whychus Canyon Estates are actively looking for volunteers who are passionate about giving back and serving their communities. The 11-week academy begins Monday, April 22, and it will host a combination of new volunteers for Sisters-Camp Sherman... Full story

  • Rounding up Sisters kindergartners

    Updated Mar 19, 2024

    Sisters Elementary School (SES) will hold their annual Kindergarten Roundup pre-registration on Friday, April 26, in the school gymnasium. Students will participate in a teacher-led activity while parents are involved in a parent orientation. Children who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2024, are eligible for the 2024-25 school year. Sign up by contacting the elementary school at 541-549-8981. Enrollment forms may be picked up at the Sisters Elementary School office between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The school will... Full story