The Nugget Vol. XLV No. 11
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Building community in Sisters
Sisters says ‘no big deal’ to mask rule change
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
An annual rite of spring has returned to Sisters. A contingent of students from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, spent a week working with Sisters Habitat for Humanity at job sites in Sisters last week. Such exercises in volunteerism and communitybuilding were a regular feature of Sisters Habitat’s year, but they were cut off in March 2020 due to COVID-19. “This is the first group back, and it happens to be the same great college,” said Christine Carriger, who manages Sisters Habitat for Humanity’s Restore. The spring break Collegiate Challenge fits into Gonzaga’s broader effort in community engagement. Tiffany Picotte, program manager for the university’s Center for Community Engagement explained the mission. “The mission of the office is first to bring students into community,” she said. “We really like to go to cities, communities that are very different from Spokane.” Engagement missions are generally built around
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
range from engineering students to sociology majors — raised walls for an under-construction home in ClearPine and built access ramps at another home in Sage Meadow. “It gives us an opportunity to work on projects
Up and down the streets and in and out of businesses small and large, The Nugget found the same thing Saturday when it canvassed the town regarding the March 12 lifting of the Oregon mask mandate: a laissez-faire attitude. There was no huge collective sigh of relief or celebration. One restaurateur said: “I thought about having a maskburning ceremony on our patio, but then thought the better of it. I don’t need the one or two customers who would be offended to spoil it for everybody,” she said. “And it’d be my luck that the deck would catch fire.” By the numbers R a y ’s F o o d P l a c e : no signs of any kind; no employees masked; 31 of 97 patrons masked.
See HABITAT on page 21
See MASKS on page 21
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Gonzaga University students learned how to use power tools safely and effectively during a Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge visit to Sisters last week. a social issue, like housing, the environment, or food security. The collegiate challenge fits both an education model and a service model of community engagement, Picotte said. “This kind of falls in both camps, because I think a lot of education took place on this trip,” she said. “I think a
lot of conversation has been around affordability and what’s happening with the [housing] market.” And there’s hands-on, practical education, too. Students learn how to use tools and do basic construction — many of them for the first time. The students — who
Hasty Team works to keep Leprechauns run through Sisters Sisters Country safe By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
If you’ve fallen into the McKenzie River or went six hours on your Nordic skis and lost daylight, or you are stuck on Mt. Washington, you better hope that when you or companions call 911 they send the Camp Sherman Hasty Team. There is probably no better combination of search and rescue experience than this group of highly trained volunteers in Lynn, Jefferson, or Deschutes counties. That’s not to take anything away from the several other teams, some of whom have an impressive array of the most sophisticated gear
INSIDE:
and knowhow in the western states. Satellites and thermal imaging are vital technologies, but they’re tools, like tracking dogs. It’s the hands that use them that make the difference. Search and rescue successes are often driven by sixth sense or gut feels. The Hasty Team was formed in 1995 by thenactive Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff and Camp Sherman resident Mark Foster, when he made his first rescue of stranded hikers on Three Fingered Jack. Back then most sheriff ’s departments did not have dedicated personnel for this See HASTY TEAM on page 15
Announcements....10 Classifieds...... 18-20 Letters/Weather .... 2 Entertainment ...... 11 Fun & Games ........ 20 Meetings ............... 3 Crossword ............ 17 Real Estate ......21-24
Green-clad runners and walkers filled the streets in the first annual Lucky Leprechaun walk and run, held Saturday, March 12, near downtown Sisters. Race director Kelly Bither, who also put on the Ugly Sweater Run in December, felt ecstatic about the way the event turned out. “The race went great,”she said. “It was so nice to see so many smiling faces. With so much turmoil in the world today it’s good to take a morning to come together and create lasting memories with friends and family.” In the 10-kilometer race a battle developed right from the outset between the top male, Logan Dix, and top female, Christina Henderson. Ultimately, Dix, of Sisters, prevailed in 38:35, eight seconds ahead of Henderson,
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Hard core runners and casual runners and walkers alike turned out for the inaugural Lucky Leprechaun run and walk in Sisters last weekend. who hails from New York. Henderson said, “We were kind of playing back and forth and I actually caught him about three times, but he would take off again. I didn’t know the course and I hadn’t raced in a couple of years, so
it was a little hard to know what my race strategy should be, but the race was a lot of fun and the weather was amazing.” In the 5k run, 2021 Sisters See RUN on page 23