The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

As a young professional who has lived and worked in Sisters for nearly four years, I have been invited to share my story for C4C’s Community Forum about local housing challenges, “Who Gets To Live Here? The Search for Local Housing Aff... — Updated 4/16/2024 Full story

A few years ago, in the very early morning hours, I visited the Lincoln Memorial. A crew was busily cleaning the huge statue. I acknowledged the workers with a wave. One man shouted to me, “Sorry for the inconvenience, but we don’t want grim... — Updated 4/9/2024 Full story

Have you ever wished you could travel through time? What would it have been like to set out on the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon in 1840? What was life really like in a European castle in the Middle Ages… or in the villages outside? W... — Updated 4/2/2024 Full story

Sisters Country homeowners and business owners are struggling to access affordable fire insurance coverage. I’ve worked for 20 years to protect our homes and communities from wildfire and now I’m working as your Deschutes County Com... — Updated 4/2/2024 Full story

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 g... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story

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 i... — Updated 3/12/2024 Full story

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

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

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 imagine i... — Updated 3/5/2024 Full story

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

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 and... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story

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” inf... — Updated 2/20/2024 Full story

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

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 exists be... — Updated 2/6/2024 Full story

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

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 r... — Updated 1/30/2024 Full story

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, this ye... — Updated 1/23/2024 Full story

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

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 con... — Updated 1/16/2024 Full story