Opinion / Commentary
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 86
Why play?
Recently I came across a reminder that the Harry Potter books are not about never failing, but rather are about rising every time we fall. The story about the Sorcerer’s Stone is a great illustration of how overcoming obstacles creates... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story
Choice of wildlife leader is critical
On May 10, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to decide who to hire to lead the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department as its new director pushed back an initially aggressive hiring timeline. “Hearing people... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story
Introducing our High Desert Heroines
We live in the shadow of mountains named after three women. One of the names for the river that runs through town came about because Native American women often camped along its shores. A legend about the black volcano that guards our... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story
Three tips for successful surgery
It happens to the best of us as we age. Sometimes, after a long walk, you have a little hip or knee pain. Then it starts happening more often. You get together with older pals and the first half hour becomes what one friend calls the... — Updated 3/5/2024 Full story
Urban and rural are interdependent
On February 26, The New York Times published a column by Professor Paul Krugman titled “The Mystery of White Rural Rage.” While the professor’s opinion perpetuated stereotypes and tropes about many communities across America, I can ima... — Updated 3/5/2024 Full story
A matter of history
The Three Sisters Historical Society packed the Sisters Fire Hall Community Room last Sunday for a presentation by Larry Len Peterson on the legendary photographer of Native Americans,... — Updated 2/27/2024 Full story
Breach the dams
There has been a lot of controversy and litigation involving the possible breaching of the Snake River and its lower four dams to save salmon and steelhead. There are pros and cons on each side. Native Americans, environmentalists, fishermen... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
Furry Friends helps Sisters families
What do you do when you get a call from a mother who just lost her job and is facing the difficult decision to release her young daughters’ cats to the Humane Society? She knows she now won’t be able to afford to spay and neuter them... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
None of your business?
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past year, you cannot help being exposed to some degree to the political fighting going on between the current and immediate past administrations over the handling of “classified... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story
Don't 'rescue' kids - they need to work through problems
The children of our community are in good hands, in their classrooms, and in relationships with their parents. This is obvious every time I have a chance to listen to or meet one of the young people in our district. Knowing that, I am also... — Updated 2/13/2024 Full story
Stuff that works
I sat down this weekend to write a column about dysfunction; 700 words on the bipartisan cascade of incompetence, cynicism and decrepitude that we witnessed on the national stage last week.... — Updated 2/13/2024 Full story
How can women bridge the retirement gap?
Women still need to make up ground in a key area: retirement security. Women’s challenges in achieving a secure retirement are due to several factors, including: • Pay gap – It’s smaller than it once was, but a wage gap still... — Updated 2/6/2024 Full story
Expand board of commissioners
Years ago, while working as a reporter in Oregon, I was tasked with covering the county commissioners. At the time, I had very little understanding of who the county commissioners were or what their jobs entailed. Probably like a lot of vote... — Updated 2/6/2024 Full story
Leadership in law enforcement
This year’s election cycle sees Captain William Bailey and Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp vying for the only elected law enforcement leadership position in Deschutes County. I know both candidates and have privately expressed to both my... — Updated 1/30/2024 Full story
Intelligent failures
Plunging into 2024 we are at a new beginning, one that takes place every year when the clock strikes midnight on January first. With it comes resolutions to do “better” — better at the goals we’ve put in front of us. Determined,... — Updated 1/23/2024 Full story
My name is not homeless
About 10 years ago I was on an extended stay at a Eugene hotel. My mornings began with a walk to Starbucks. Along the way I passed a woman in her 60s bedding in a small alcove; we made eye contact and warmly greeted each other. On my second... — Updated 1/23/2024 Full story
Wolf hate on the rise
The wolf issue continues to heat up across the West, with states like Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and now Colorado, all getting a chance to show their preferred flavor of wolf management. Here in “progressive” Oregon, wolves are... — Updated 1/16/2024 Full story
Walking on the edge of 'Constitutional Cliffhangers'
Suppose a twice-elected president sought to serve a third term despite text in the U.S. Constitution limiting presidents to two “elected” terms? Borrowing trouble? Sure, but could she succeed? Spoiler alert: Maybe so. Lawyers use... — Updated 1/9/2024 Full story
The real deal - an antidote to celebrity
My wife enjoys watching award shows. I’d rather have each of my fingernails removed by the pincers of a medieval torturer than to sit through the Golden Globes. Not a problem — I simply... — Updated 1/9/2024 Full story
A dialogue between past and present
A few days ago, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley stepped on one of the most explosive landmines in the field of American history. Asked at a New Hampshire town hall what was the... — Updated 1/2/2024 Full story
The great pathfinder
History is capricious. Who we remember and who we forget often has more to do with who had the better press agent than who was most accomplished. Most folks in Oregon have at least heard of... — Updated 12/19/2023 Full story
Christmas: Good news for a tired world
Merry Christmas to the people of our wonderful community here in Sisters Country. Just a few short weeks ago many of us gathered for the Christmas parade and the definitive marker that it is now officially Christmas in Sisters Country ... — Updated 12/19/2023 Full story
Losing trees in Sisters Country
Sisters has lost two mighty ponderosa pines, one at Sisters Woodlands Development. And one by a tree poacher, in the Deschutes National Forest behind Crossroads. Click here to see related story. We know who is responsible for the first... — Updated 12/19/2023 Full story
Call it for what it is
The BBC in London, often criticized for perceived pro-Hamas leanings, ran a story last week headlined: “Israel Gaza: Hamas raped and mutilated women on 7 October, BBC hears” The subhead... — Updated 12/12/2023 Full story
Making Sisters a truly walkable town
A few months ago, I addressed the issue of the increase in traffic at the west end roundabout and the surrounding area. Today, I am addressing pedestrian safety in this area, specifically McKinney Butte from McKinney Meadows to the... — Updated 12/12/2023 Full story