News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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C.J. Box started the Joe Pickett book series with "Open Season" in 2001. Now, 24 books later, the series latest book is "Three-Inch Teeth," published in 2024. Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden who, in this current book, is fighting to survive against two lethal enemies - one a monstrous grizzly bear and the other a monstrous human who is out for revenge. If you are a person who loves to hunt, fish, and enjoy life in the woods and wilderness, then you will live your love of... Full story
On a clear winter evening in January, look to the southeastern sky to behold the brightest, most recognizable constellation in the entire sky. Orion the Hunter straddles the celestial equator, making it visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Hunter's shape is easy to identify because of the arrangement of its brightest stars. His belt is marked by three equally spaced stars of about the same magnitude that lie in a nearly straight line. It is tilted at... Full story
That raucous chatter heard often in neighborhoods across Oregon is what I refer to as the Western Blue-Jay [Aphelocoma californica]. Originally referred to as a "scrub" jay, they now have a larger population within forests and towns. This blue-with-a-gray-back jay inhabits residential areas in large numbers, gleaning food from backyard feeders and trees. Insects, nuts, snails, berries, and bees make up their main diet. A six-inch nest is built within tree branches, where two... Full story
Last week I had coffee with an old friend — the first person I knew in Sisters. We both moved here from the same area in the foothills at the northern rim of the Los Angeles basin more than 30 years ago. We both noted how hard it hits, watching the apocalyptic destruction wrought by the wildfires that have ripped across our old stompin’ grounds. We’ve both lived in Sisters longer than we lived in L.A. — but you never quite lose your sense of connection to the place where y... Full story
Correcting the record To the Editor: Dear Bill Bartlett — I enjoyed our discussions regarding the UGB and I appreciated how accurately you quoted my comments (“Sisters growth plans spark pushback,” See related story.). However, you missed the boat on my information. Bjarne and I moved to Sisters 2013 (not 1978) and we live on Bradley Road (my horse lives on Cloverdale). After 43 years in Alaska we just wanted to escape the very long winters. I did work at Camp Tamarack 1969–1970 and Sisters was a quiet village at that ti... Full story
Letters to the Editor should be 300 words or less. The deadline for submission is Monday at 10 a.m. for publication in that week's Nugget. Please submit your letter by emailing to Jim Cornelius at [email protected] with "letter to the editor" in the subject line.... Full story
Wanting to be up to date on information, I Googled Early Childhood Podcasts and was blown away. The number of choices was amazing. I perused the list, and opened “The Everything ECE Podcast.” The interviewer, Carla West of the Early Childhood Academy was leading a discussion with Cheryl Lundy Swift, about kindergarten readiness. I highly recommend it for all parents and grandparents of young children. Dr. Swift is the Director of the Professional Learning and Academic Partnership for Learning Without Peers, a program add... Full story
We made special Christmas boxes for the Scotties to open on Christmas morning. Each box was wrapped in holiday paper and filled with some of the dogs’ favorite treats. It took them more than 20 minutes to reach the treats. Scotties are tenacious and never give up. For nearly half an hour the pack was fully alive. They pushed, pulled, bit, dug, tore, jumped on, and danced around their prey. We laughed at their antics more than we ever had before. It was the best morning we h... Full story
It’s that time of year again – shopping, parties, decking the halls, gathering with friends and families, exchanging presents, and singing carols. If all is copacetic in life, the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa season can create wonderful memories to last a lifetime. If you are alone, ill, fallen on hard times, or grieving, all the festive airs can seem like a cruel hoax, magnifying the difficult circumstances. If I’ve learned nothing else about holidays, it is to ackno... Full story
No growth option To the Editor: I attended the UGB open house and I was disappointed that the city is not pursuing, or even considering, a no-growth option by challenging the state’s mandate that we destroy the nature of Sisters with continuous expansion and density. Why can’t the city “lawyer up” and fight the state’s requirement? Susanna DeFazio... Full story
A few weeks ago I read an article in The Nugget about Sisters author Melody Carlson. Since she’s written over 250 books, and I’m a former bookstore owner, you’d think I’d have read all of her books — but I haven’t. Over the last few weeks, I’ve made up for lost time. I just finished number nine! A few of them were “short stories” or “novellas” but great to read in one day. Many of them are set in the northwest — Oregon, Washington, Idaho — and that makes them even better. The one I just finished is “Christmas in Winter Hill... Full story
I was away for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it was this weekend that I got caught up with reading back issues of The Nugget. I couldn’t help but compare the open and broad-minded editorial by Julia Fugate (November 20) and the illiberal sentiment of William David (December 4) referring to a piece by Lisa May. The First Amendment to the Constitution protects free speech in this country.Regardless of what you may think of Lisa’s beliefs, she has every right to have them published in a town newspaper like this. It would put Jim... Full story
In August of 2024, when a developer was requesting code changes to allow variances from current code for a plot of land in north Sisters, the Three Sisters Historical Society (TSHS) wrote and submitted a plea to preserve and protect the remnants of Sisters' oldest homestead and what we now call the Conklin House. An excerpt from the 'brief history' which TSHS sent to the city with their plea: "JJ Smith's 1886 homestead went from Pine St. (east) to Locust St. and Cascade to... Full story
Sometimes, when the gods are being generous, we cross paths with incredible people whose accomplishments stand apart, and whose ability to reflect the lessons of great physical and spiritual challenge encourage us to examine our own lives. So it is with Ruby Gates, 60, who is on a quest to circumnavigate the globe in her sailboat, single-handed. I met Ruby at Black Butte Ranch, where she gave a presentation after completing the first leg of her adventure - sailing her 39-foot... Full story
The vibrant economy of Sisters is at risk. Essential members of our workforce have been priced out of the housing market. Our teachers, firefighters, grocery clerks, and small business employees can no longer afford to live here and own a home. As a result, our community is experiencing disruption. There is a way to change course. Our City and its leaders can take the bold action required to build housing for our workforce in Sisters. The current Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion process presents a real opportunity to bui... Full story
Roundabout To the Editor: Sometimes I think people who haven’t been here for over a year should be wearing some kind of an arm band. I went through the roundabout, minding my own business, when someone was laying on their horn throughout, until I pulled over to let them pass. Then I realized they were from California. I’m sorry if I ruined their day. Happy New Year. Craig Cathcart Free speech To the Editor: I believe in free speech. For the individual and the press as stated in the First Amendment. Is there any res... Full story
The Santiam Wagon Road was originally built in 1866 to collect tolls, but the road’s owners also convinced Congress to give them a huge land grant if they extended the road to the Idaho border. While some claimed they never actually finished the road, they ended up getting more than 861,000 acres of federal land. Fifty years later, most of this land was in the hands of two Minnesota businessmen, Watson Davidson and Louis Hill. Hill was the son of James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railway, and he was wealthy e... Full story
Happy holidays, y’all! Here we are in beautiful Sisters Country, awaiting snow and hoping there’ll be enough for a New Year’s Eve party at Hoodoo. Awaiting the first night of Hanukkah, which falls on Christmas Day this year. Awaiting prezzies and family dinners, Santa Claus and Midnight Mass. Awaiting song and candles. Awaiting whatever traditions we’ve inherited or created for ourselves, with our biological families, adopted families, or families chosen in adulthood. Persona... Full story
It did this old history nerd’s heart good to watch a classroom full of middle schoolers reenacting some of the high points of the American Revolution earlier this month. I was a Bicentennial child. The spark of my love for history was already burning in my 10-year-old soul by 1975-76, and the Bicentennial observances poured gasoline on the fire. My passion for history has enriched my life in ways I can’t even begin to enumerate. It’s touched everything I am and do. I hope... Full story
Thankful for school system To the Editor: Something to be thankful for: The public school system. I could go into the history of my personal benefits, my children’s benefits, and my grandchildren’s benefits from this system, but I won’t. Instead, an overview of my direct experience of 63 years participating in this system. The teachers: Overall they are great! Like any aspect of the world, there will be some you love and some you don’t. But this I know: Teachers are dedicated, caring, intelligent people who do their very be... Full story
Winter solstice is an ancient celebration, evidenced by sacred sites such as Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland. Immense stones were aligned to illuminate the sun as it rose for solstice, and are still used as ceremonial sites on this special day. Candles and fires characterize winter solstice and related celebrations of light in darkness. Sisters Community Labyrinth organizers will light a contained fire at the large boulder in the labyrinth's center the evening o... Full story
The Santiam Wagon Road was originally built in 1866 to collect tolls, but the road’s owners also convinced Congress to give them a huge land grant if they extended the road to the Idaho border. This made them eligible for 861,512 acres of federal land. In 1871, they sold the wagon road (which, in the Cascade Mountains at least, was still producing toll revenue) and the land grant for $160,000 (about $4 million today) to two Californians, H.K.W. Clarke and Alexander Weill. Clarke paid $20,000 and Weill, acting as a r... Full story
Tone it down To the Editor: Immigration & the law: Believing that one cannot be part of a solution unless he or she recognizes and identifies the problem, I offer this to my neighbors here in “Sisters Country.” There is no need for misleading or incendiary language in expressing one’s viewpoint. Many of us do it without thinking, almost reflexively. A letter appearing in last week’s Nugget provides an example typical of this: The author thanks “Sheriff (sic) Vander Kamp for his open and unwittingly timely response to law en... Full story
Needless to say, I’m very disappointed with the way the election turned out. I think America is about to go into one of the worst eras in its history. This is really going to put us to the test. Not just any test but a biblical Sodom and Gomorrah type test. I think, in the long run, we will be OK, but sometimes you got to go through hell to get to heaven. I think that Kamala Harris did an exceptional job in her campaign considering she had to parachute behind enemy lines, slog up a slippery, muddy hill against the wind and ha... Full story
The staff here at The Nugget want to thank our readers and advertisers for working with us as we implement our new subscription program. The response has been gratifying, with so many people signing up to make sure they continue to get their weekly Nugget in their mailbox. As this program becomes fully implemented, we want to make sure we are communicating clearly about the various ways to support local journalism. Subscriptions The Nugget Newspaper will continue to be a... Full story
