News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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With a median price of $825,000 and an average price of $889,010, September single family home transactions in Sisters Country show a continuing trend of lack of affordable housing stock. The inventory of available homes remains low as sellers are stuck in their homes sitting on mortgage rates of three to four percent. Were they to sell and finance a new home at current 30-year lending rates of 6.365 percent such sellers would be often doubling their monthly payment.... Full story
Eli Madrone is an active man. He's the owner of a small business - Madrone Communications - chair of the City Parks Board, father of an elementary school-aged child, a youth soccer coach, and a volunteer with Sisters Folk Festival. Now he's thrown his hat into the ring to serve on the Sisters City Council. Five candidates are vying for three available seats on the Council in the November 5 election. "I was encouraged by a couple of Council members," Madrone said. He believes... Full story
Cheryl Pellerin got interested in participating in city government when Sisters faced a controversy over the citing of a shelter in town last year. "I was pretty interested in how the City was going to handle this," she recalled. She started learning about the processes of local government - and found herself hooked. Soon, she was serving on the City of Sisters Budget Committee, and the Urban Forestry Board. She participated in the City's inaugural Civic Leadership Academy, wh... Full story
Due to the lack of significant rainfall and continued warm temperatures, open burning within the Black Butte Ranch, Cloverdale, and Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Districts remains closed. Central Oregon Fire Chiefs and partner agencies will meet in mid-October to re-evaluate conditions and may open burning towards the end of October. Currently prohibited in residential areas: Backyard or open burning (branches, yard debris, etc.); Agricultural burning (waste crops, field burning); Land clearing, slash, or stump waste. To help... Full story
Locals citizens are continuing to map out the future of Sisters. The Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Steering Committee met on Thursday, October 3 to continue discussion of the draft study area map. The committee reviewed criteria that will be used to evaluate four “concept” alternative boundaries. Andrew Parish, of MIG, the consulting firm retained by the City to support the UGB amendment process, was at the meeting to present major categories of criteria that will be used to evaluate the study area. The three main criteria all... Full story
More than 100 Sisters Country folk joined 11 speakers at Sisters Elementary School on Sunday, October 6, for a community conversation about houselessness. The gathering convened at 4 p.m. for the first public meeting at the brand new facility. Instigated by the City of Sisters in partnership with 11 organizations, the 90-minute meeting was billed as a learning and input-gathering session. Its purpose was to learn about houselessness in Sisters Country and hear ideas,... Full story
For many a year, Sisters children have been treated to a downtown event whereby school-aged kids in costume would gather at Fir Street Park on Halloween (or the nearest school day to October 31) and then in small groups of roughly 25, they would be led by an adult guide, also in costume, up and down portions of Main, Cascade, and Hood avenues. The trick-or-treaters would be rewarded by participating merchants - some 40 plus - with an array of goodies many of which were... Full story
The Biden administration has asked a federal appeals court to reinstate a rule passed under the Trump administration to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Lower 48 states which, if successful, would put the animals under state management as is currently the case in Montana and surrounding states, including Oregon, where state and federal authorities oversee wolf management. On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice filed the 87-page appeal of... Full story
The Sisters community is invited to join an important conversation about houselessness in the Sisters area on Sunday, October 6. This gathering will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the new Sisters Elementary School, located at 2155 W. McKinney Butte Road, Sisters. Hosted by a coalition of local organizations — including the Sisters Ranger District, Sisters School District, City of Sisters, Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), Sisters Library, Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, DCSO, Deschutes County Behavioral H... Full story
The Sisters Country Vision Implementation Team (VIT) recently published its 2023 Progress Report. The Vision report highlights progress toward long-term goals for Sisters Country and details efforts of local agency representatives, organizational leaders, and community volunteers to make Sisters Country more prosperous, livable, resilient, and connected. The report can be viewed at www.bit.ly/sistersvision2023. “With so much growth and change over the past few years, we know that there are many in our community who are u... Full story
Family Access Network (FAN) received an $8,900 donation from 110 Women Who Care. After three local organizations made presentations - Seed to Table, Family Access Network (FAN), and Living Well With Dementia Sisters - FAN was chosen to receive the funds donated at last week's 100 Women Who Care Sisters quarterly gathering. The donation was awarded to the nonprofit receiving the most votes from the women in attendance. The $8,900 gift will benefit the Sisters FAN in a number... Full story
"I like being part of something bigger than me," was Sarah McDougall's answer when asked why she is seeking a position on the Sisters City Council. She also enjoys teamwork and has seen plenty of that in her interaction with and observation of the City Council, the City staff, and other City boards and advisory committees. After 14 years living in Bend, McDougall and her husband, Chris, moved to Sisters in 2020, and McDougall has jumped into volunteering with both feet. She... Full story
It's an ongoing blight, and it's a challenge to forest managers to remove abandoned vehicles in the national forest. There are no reliable numbers of discarded vehicles, but estimates continuously place the total in the many thousands. In the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest the number runs between 30 and 40 per year, mostly RVs, the kinds towed by a car or truck and ranging in size from 15 to 35 feet in length. However, cars and motorcycles also... Full story
A local forest dweller wielded fire extinguishers provided through a fire protection program to attack a small fire in the woods near Sisters the evening of September 24. According to the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, a nearby forest resident reported a small fire on National Forest land approximately one-half mile north of the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge in Sisters. After reporting the fire, the neighboring forest dweller attempted to extinguish the fire using two small fire extinguishers that were provided to him... Full story
When it comes to law enforcement priorities and policies, there is not a lot that separates the two candidates for Deschutes County Sheriff. But Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp are sharply divided over culture and morale within the agency. The candidates participated in a League of Women Voters-sponsored forum in Bend on Monday, September 23, where they fielded questions submitted earlier by the public on issues ranging from homelessness to guns to the con... Full story
More than 1 million acres of federal land in central and southern Oregon could soon be leased for solar energy projects. Officials at the federal Bureau of Land Management announced Aug. 29 they had finalized a plan to add Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming to its existing Western Solar Plan – an Obama-era project that expanded permitting for solar projects on federal land. When it was first implemented in 2012, it only included Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The expansion includes 1... Full story
Oregon will receive nearly $43 million from the federal government to repair roads damaged by recent natural disasters, the state’s two U.S. senators announced Monday. The influx of federal funding comes as the state struggles to fill transportation funding gaps. The Oregon Department of Transportation estimated it will face a deficit of more than $350 million in the 2025-27 budget if lawmakers don’t pass a substantial funding package in the upcoming legislative session. The new federal money, part of more than $800 mil... Full story
Sisters Cold Weather Shelter (SCWS) volunteers joined over 50 Central Oregon organizations at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds on September 13 for an all-day training to learn how to handle tough situations. Renowned trainer Ryan Dowd taught de-escalation techniques and effective communication with people in crisis. SCWS volunteers had participated in many Ryan Dowd on-line trainings and were excited to see him in person. "His training is important, useful and engaging," said... Full story
With 30 attendees, the September 18 Community Builders meeting at City Hall was the most well-attended yet, including one very cute infant who came with mom. • A majority of the meeting was an overview by Scott Woodford, community development director, of the study currently being done on Sisters’ Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) — should it be enlarged and, if so, where? More information is available on the City website, www.ci.sisters.or.us, administration, land use plannin... Full story
It was Saturday when The Nugget last visited Josh Smith, co-owner of The Paper Place on South Elm Street. Smith is one of five candidates for Sisters city council. He has never sought nor held public office. His store was crowded with shoppers. "This is the busiest day we've had all summer," Smith said, smiling broadly. "More than the Rodeo. More than the Quilt Show." Indeed, the town was packed with visitors taking in the Glory Daze Car Show Click here to see related story.... Full story
Hope and trust are beautifully linked to one another. You cannot have hope in anything or anyone without trust. Trust is exactly what the organization Hope Africa International is built upon. The mission had to trust they would be able to make a difference in the lives of others, they had to trust they would be successful in their goals, and those who they have supported have had to trust the people providing this hope. In 2004, a group from Sisters Community Church went to a... Full story
If you found a parking spot in Sisters Saturday, consider yourself among the lucky. Between the 1,000-plus who marveled at a collection of 95 pristine cars and trucks - some nearly 100 years old - and The Artist Studio Tour, town was wall-to-wall with happy visitors. And if three blocks of automotive artistry weren't enough for car buffs and their tag-alongs, no fewer than 52 vintage Packards rolled into Sisters, an overnight stop on their 1,100-mile road trip through a dozen... Full story
As the days get shorter and the approach of winter is not far away, thoughts of our unhoused neighbors rise higher in our consciousness. For many Sisters agencies and organizations, the welfare of those neighbors is a year-round priority. To provide information to the public on the work being done on behalf of those Sisters residents lacking secure permanent housing, and to provide an opportunity to hear ideas, concerns, and questions from community members, the City has... Full story
The developer SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat for Humanity are collaborating on six future cottage homes in Sisters Woodlands, via a subdivision and cottage development extension on former Lot 175, becoming Lots 175-180. SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat have been working together for the last two years culminating in the current construction of four cottages for Habitat. SWD has provided Sisters Habitat with significantly discounted lots, as well as constructed foundations,... Full story
As summer turns to autumn a new set of risks arises for Sisters Country recreationalists. This is elk rutting time, for example, and the males - bulls - weighing up to 700 pounds can be dangerously aggressive. The elk rut, starting mid-September, is a wild time of year, both for the elk and for onlookers. From a safe vantage point, say 100 or more yards, you can watch the bull attracting, herding, and fighting for his harem. He uses a high-pitch bugle sound to attract cows... Full story
