The Nugget Newspaper // Vol. XLVII No. 11 // 2024-03-13

Leprechauns dash around town

By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent

For 63-year-old Paul Reina of Bend, last weekend’s Lucky Leprechaun run marked his first-ever formal race.

“I started running in November with my daughter, who is a cancer survivor, and figured that by signing up for events like this, I would stay motivated to keep running,” Reina said. “This was a lot of fun.”

Reina was one of more than 200 runners and walkers, many clad in green, who took to the streets of Sisters for the Lucky Leprechaun 5k and 10k Saturday, March 9, as precursor to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day.

A short dash for kids got the running underway before the 160-plus 5k runners and walkers toed the line.

Gregory Glesener of Sisters zipped through the course that wound its way through the ClearPine neighborhood and into town in 16:48, well ahead of the rest of the field.

Ashley Coltrane of Redmond finished fourth overall and first among women in a fine time of 21:30.

The 10k course included two loops of the same route and featured 60 finishers.

Mason Lacy of Bend crossed

Runners wore the green to get into the St. Paddy’s Day spirit for the annual Lucky Leprechaun run.

the line first in a time of 38:29.7, while April Summer of Sisters placed first among women and fourth overall in a time of 42:42. Ashleigh Thomas, also of Sisters was next in 44:27.

Following the race, prizes for the best costumes were bestowed upon some especially lucky winners.

Members of the high school cross-country running

High Desert Heroine: Martha Cobb Hindman

By Maret Pajutee Correspondent

Martha Alice Taylor didn’t have a long childhood. Born in Oregon in 1857 to parents who came across the Oregon Trail, she married her 24-year-old neighbor Alfred Cobb in California when she was just 13 years old.

By the time she was 14 her first baby, Newt Cobb was born. She had two more sons by the time she was 17. When she was 18, her growing family headed north back to her home state of Oregon. Two more children joined the brood as another child died.

By 1881, the Cobbs and their four children were the

second family to homestead near Sisters. They lived for two years in a 12- by 16-foot cabin without windows, and a dirt floor covered by deer hides. In his 2006 history of Camp Polk, Martin Winch notes that the hides were plentiful because in their first winter the industrious Cobbs killed 125 deer, producing three tons of meat to smoke and cure for trade. They soon moved into a new two-story home, where the Lazy Z Ranch stands today, and opened the Cobb Roadhouse to provide a welcome stop for people on the long journey from

team and some parents provided volunteer help for the event, and Race Director Kelly Bither of Run Sisters Run will make a donation to the program in thanks.

In all, nearly half of the participants hailed from the immediate Sisters Country area and most of the rest came from the surrounding area. Visitors from the Willamette Valley comprised

the rest of the field.

First-timer Reina finished in 54:50 and has plans to join his daughter in the future for a half-marathon in Disneyland. Stories like Reina’s are exactly what Bither envisioned when she started Run Sisters Run.

“My goal has been to offer local, fun, themed races that are accessible for all ages,” she said.

Sisters names new fire chief

Following background and reference checks, a medical physical, and successful contract negotiations, an official public announcement will be made by the SistersCamp Sherman Fire District board.

In a phone conversation last week with Chief Prior, he told The Nugget , “My wife Diane and I were amazed at the process and welcoming spirit of the community. We’re extremely excited to get down there and get settled.”

The month of June will be a transition period, with Prior shadowing Chief Johnson as he conducts his last month of official duties. Prior’s wife plans to come to Sisters in late April or early May to do some house-hunting.

Prior shared his

See FIRE CHIEF on page 19

Protecting the Sisters community

By Sue Stafford Correspondent

A drug overdose. A suicide attempt. Patients in cardiac arrest and not breathing.

Two calls in February 2023, only three days apart — and two lives saved through professional care, quick thinking, and intervention including advanced life support provided by paramedics of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District.

April 2023: Using CPR and rapid intubation, paramedics got a patient with a self-inflicted gunshot transferred to a waiting air ambulance, to be taken to the hospital. The patient fully recovered, and was discharged from the hospital. Sisters Fire Chief Johnson

described the incident report for this call as “incredible.”

A seizure and a fall in May 2023 left a Sisters patient

with significant head trauma, causing unconsciousness.

PHOTO

BY SUE STAFFORD

PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG

News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon Vol. XLVII No. 11 www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, March 13, 2024 POSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Per mit No. 15

Choice

leader is critical

By Adam Bronstein Guest Columnist

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 is more important than speed,” Chair Mary Wahl said at the February 16 meeting in support of the decision. This process comes as Curt Melcher, who has been director for the last 10 years, prepares to retire.

As the commission navigates the hiring process, I want to express my thoughts and give the commission some important things to consider.

longer represent the majority. And that’s OK. The new director must speak up on behalf of all wildlife, including predators, and advocate for ethical hunting practices, all of which the public reasonably demands. In my estimation, the greatest threat to hunting and angling privileges, aside from dwindling habitat and species loss, is public support and tolerance.

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The person hired to replace Melcher should reflect the values of the majority of Oregonians. Namely, the commission must accept and embrace how Oregonians’ values have shifted in recent decades. Our citizens still value wildlife; but it’s not usually through the scope of a rifle or at the end of a hook. The North American Model of Conservation, which has guided fish and game agencies since the turn of the 20th century, is outdated and no longer an appropriate and workable framework for wildlife management in this age of extinction. We should now look to and embrace the public trust doctrine, a legal principle that holds that wildlife are held in trust by the government for the public benefit, not just for hunters and anglers. To make this vision a reality, the commission – along with the new director – will need to secure new sources of funding that are not tied to consumptive uses of wildlife.

The new director should be someone with a conservation background, not an old-school “wildlife management” degree who looks to the best science to guide policy. For instance, we now know and appreciate the presence of wolves, mountain lions, and other predators in our ecosystems. They help control disease among ungulates, plant-eating hoofed animals like elk and mule deer, and provide for safer meat consumption for humans. We know now that hatchery programs are harmful to wild fish populations in all cases where wild fish are present in a system.

Hunters and anglers no

Too often, the “hook and bullet” crowd feels the need to dig in their heels fearing a slippery slope when new restrictions are proposed. For instance, beaver hunting and trapping restrictions are fiercely opposed by entrenched trapping interests. The 200 or so beaver trappers in the state must not be allowed to deprive our 4.4 million residents of the ecosystem services having healthy beaver populations provides. We must protect beavers for the expansive wetland habitats they create that foster natural fire breaks, water storage, water filtration, carbon capture, and more. We need a new director who will be unafraid to advocate for hunting and trapping closures of beavers on public lands to gain these ecological services and benefits.

Over the last few weeks, the commission heard from the public on various concerns related to the hiring process. Some of that feedback has been taken to heart, such as the suggestion that the application process be opened up to external candidates. The commission should also be commended for conducting the hiring process in a public and transparent way with many points of public engagement. I trust that the commission will seize this pivotal opportunity to appoint a new director whose values mirror those of the majority of Oregonians.

The commission must select a new director who can navigate the inevitable resistance from the status quo as they embark on implementing necessary changes. I hope that the commission will take a serious look at qualified external applicants. Sometimes, the change that is needed has to come from the outside. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife should consider hiring a new director who is democratic and represents the broad interests of the public and not a select few.

Thursday evening Sisters High School students presented the Spring Festival Concert, featuring 26 singers in jazz and concert choirs and 25 musicians in jazz and concert bands.

jazz choir members shown here are Blake Parker, Audrey Roth, Ted Stolasz, Teague Wessel, Savannah Baldwin, Althea Trask; (front row) Georgia Miller, Emma Sahlberg, Frank Trask, Serafina Smith, Kendall Guiney, and Ava O’Neill.

PHOTO BY KELLI CARTER

The cold temps couldn’t stop the Sisters Running Club from their morning run last week. Sisters Country Running Club meets Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

PHOTO BY ANN MARGOLIS

Managing the forest in deep snow

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

What does the Sisters Ranger District do when the ground is buried under five to 10 feet of snow, or the roads are closed? They do much of the same work they do any other time of the year. Only the means of conveyance changes.

Last week The Nugget accompanied Jim Beaupre, recreation team lead, and Skyler Ogden, recreation

management specialist, in making a safety and compliance inspection around the Three Creek Lake area.

We met at the Sno Park, checked our gear, and took off, each on a District snowmobile — the lake as our first destination. The terrain is altogether different in winter, and the silence, notwithstanding engine noise, is eerily astonishing. The lake, covered with feet of snow, and the Tam McArthur Rim in the

background, is a rare vista. The District’s winter goals are much the same as for the summer, keeping recreationalists safe. That starts with signs, both the direction kind and the warning kind. The first one we encounter within the first 100 yards is a large, five foot by four foot, brightly colored sign with the heading: “ARE YOU BEEPING?”

See

Council on Aging of Cent ral O rego n

Senior Lunch In- person community dining, Tues. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Grab -and -go lunch Tues., Wed., Thurs 12:3 0 to 1 p.m. Sisters C ommunity Church. 5 41-4 8 0-18 43

East of the Cascades Quilt Guild 4th Wed. (September- June), Stitchin’ Post . A ll are welcome. 5 41-5 49 -6 061.

G o Fish Fishing G roup 3rd Monday 7 p.m., Siste rs C ommunity Church.

Lutheran Church

Thursday, noon, Sober Sisters

Women’s meet ing, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

Thursday, 7 p.m., Episc opal Church of the Transf iguration

Fr iday, noon, Step & Tradition meeting, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. 541- 54 8-0 440.

Saturday, 8 a.m., Episc opal Church of the Transf iguration

Central Oregon F ly Tye rs G uild

For Saturday meeting dates and location, email: steelef ly@msn.c om Ci tizens4Communit y C ommunity

meeting, 3rd Wednesday of ever y mont h, 10 to 11:30 a.m. V isit citizens 4c ommunity.c om for loc ation.

541-771-2211

Hear twarmers (f leec e blanketmaker s)

2nd Tuesday, 1 p.m., Siste rs Communit y Church. M ater ials provided. 541- 408 -8 505.

Hero Q uilters of Sisters Thursday, 1 to 4 p.m. 5 41-6 68 -1755

Milita ry Parent s of Sisters M eetings are held quarter ly; please c all for details. 5 41-388 -9 013.

Oregon Band of Brothers Sisters Chapter meets Wednesda ys, 11:3 0 a.m., Takoda’s Rest aurant. 541- 549- 64 69

Sisters Aglow Lighthouse 4th Saturday, 10 a.m., meeting by Zoom. 503- 93 0- 6158

Sisters women will support local nonprofits

Chris Laing woke up inspired one recent morning at her home in Tollgate. She had been thinking of a successful organization in her former hometown of Homer, Alaska, that pooled individual donations to make one significant contribution to a local nonprofit.

“We should have one of these in Sisters!” she recalls thinking.

Within hours, she had contacted a few friends and “100 Women Who Care-Sisters” was born.

Her first recruit was Kathy Campbell. Laing and Campbell have volunteered often in Sisters to lead nonprofit organizations. Just a week later, they had sent

emails to about 100 of their closest friends and volunteer colleagues, inviting them to join the new group.

“We had a great response,” Campbell said. “The idea that Sisters women could — and would — support this collaborative effort was enthusiastically endorsed.”

The Sisters organization will meet quarterly and is modeled on “100 Women Who Care” groups around the country and across the globe.

“Our first meeting is set for noon on Thursday, March 28, at The Lodge adult living facility,” Laing said. “We are accepting membership applications online before the

Sisters students explore asteroids

By Olivia Nieto Correspondent

Citizen scientists are exploring a body of asteroids called the Trojan to research remnants of the early solar system through NASA’s Project Lucy. Launched in 2021, the Lucy Spacecraft has been in orbit for over two years.

Since its launch, Sisters High School staff and students have been involved in surveying the asteroids in occultations around the

Sisters Area Photography Club 2nd Wednesday, 3:3 0 p.m., at Sisters Communit y Church. 5 41-5 49 -6157.

Sisters Area Woodworke rs First Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m. 5 41-231-18 97

Sisters Astronomy Club 3rd Tuesday, 7 p.m., SPR D. 5 41-5 49 -8 8 46

Sisters Bridge Club Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. at Sisters C ommunity Church. Email sister sbridge2021@gmail.com.

Sisters Caregi ver Suppor t G roup 3rd Tues., 10:30 a.m., Siste rs Episcopal Church. 5 41-719 -0 031.

Sisters Cribbage C lub M eets 11 a.m. ever y Wed. at S PR D. 5 09 -9 47-574 4.

Sisters Garden C lub For monthly meetings visit: SistersGardenClub.com.

Sisters Habitat for Humanit y Board of D irectors 4th Tuesday, 4:3 0 p.m.

Location infor mation: 5 41-5 49 -1193.

Sisters Kiwanis Thursdays, 7 to 8:3 0 a.m., at Aspen Lakes Golf Cours e. 541- 410-2870

Sisters Parent Teacher Communit y 2nd Tuesday, 6 p.m. at Sisters Elementary School Commons. 917-219-8298

Sisters Red Hat s 1st Friday. For location infor mation, please c all: 541- 8 48 -1970.

Sisters Rotary 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, Noon, Aspen Lakes. 5 41-760 -5 64 5.

Sisters Veterans Thursdays, noon, Takoda’s Rest aurant. 541- 903-1123

Sisters Trails A lliance Board Meetings take plac e ever y other month, 5 p.m. In- person or zoom. Contact: info@sisterstrails.org

Three Sister s Irrigation Distric t Board of Direc tors M eets 1st Tuesday 10 a.m., TSI D Of fice. 5 41-5 49 -8 815

Three Sister s Lions Club 2nd Thursday, 6:3 0 p.m., Spoons Rest aurant. 5 41-419 -1279.

VF W Po st 813 8 and A merican Legion Post 8 6 1st Wednesday of the month, 6:3 0 p.m., M ain Church Building Sisters Communit y Church 541- 549-14 62 (John).

SCHOOLS

Black Bu tt e School Board of Direc tors 2nd Tuesday, 3:45 p.m., Black But te School. 541- 59 5- 6203

country. An occultation occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them.

In previous years, members of the astronomy club have visited Las Vegas and Colorado..

Recently, SHS science teacher and astronomy club supervisor Rima Givot attended an occultation in Baja California, Mexico.

“The unique thing about

Sisters School District Board of Directors O ne Wednesday m onthly, Sisters School District Administr ation Building. See schedule online at www ssd6.org. 5 41-5 49 -8 521 x5 002.

CITY & PARKS

Sisters Ci ty Council 2nd & 4t h Wednesday, 6:3 0 p.m., Siste rs City Hall. 5 41-5 49 -6 022.

Sisters

PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT

By T. Lee Brown Correspondent

It’s a Friday. Or a Monday. The school district declares a day off. Parents with jobs, caregiving duties, or medical appointments scramble to find a healthy, fun way for their kids to spend the day. Now there’s a new option:

Starshine’s first No School Day Camp, taking place on the grounds of The Suttle Lodge.

The camp will provide a mix of nature immersion and imaginative activities for kids ages 5–11 on Monday, April 22. Guided by an experienced outdoor educator, kids will “play, imagine, explore, and get silly together,” according to Starshine.

Local parent Amanda Van Buren told The Nugget she’s excited for her daughter to participate. Olive is a first grader at Sisters Elementary. Her mom remembered taking Olive to her first Starshine camp—a week-long, summer day camp a couple years ago.

“We got to Suttle Lake,” Van Buren explained. “Immediately the surroundings were beautiful, a magical environment to spend the entire day outdoors.” Her daughter was usually shy around new people; at this camp, Olive made new friends, explored nature, and performed onstage with confidence.

Van Buren appreciated that Starshine’s approach “allowed the kids to be creative and imaginative, to express themselves, building fairy houses and pretending to be animals.” She particularly admired teacher and Starshine founder Jennie Sharp, who is also known for creating elaborate performances with students at Black Butte School in Camp Sherman.

At Starshine, “Jennie gives them the space and environment to explore their full selves,” explained Van Buren.

No School Day Camp will offer students the chance to build forts, go on scavenger hunts, and let their imaginations loose. They may find themselves transformed into “fantastic forest dwellers” such as animals, fairies, wood nymphs, gnomes, and insects.

The camp is not weatherdependent; it will take place in sun, rain, or snow.

Van Buren said her family’s activities on no-school days usually depend on her work schedule. Sometimes she isn’t working and can have “a day of fun” with Olive. Other times, they trade with other parents, trying to set up play dates, “which can be stressful when you’re juggling work obligations.”

On April 22, “Olive will have the full day to get creative and imaginative with other kids, put on costumes,

act like other creatures and animals. It’s a great way to spend a day out of school! Much more fun than spending a day with mom when mom’s working and half her attention isn’t with Olive,” she said.

Carpooling with other parents is how Van Buren expects to arrange rides to and from the lake.

Starshine’s mission is to bring the magic of nature alive through outdoor adventures for kids and adults, and to “empower kids to shine their inner selves.” What began as a theater-focused camp has evolved and expanded, supported by Sharp’s extensive outdoor education experience.

She studied art history and forestry at the University of California, Berkeley, then earned her teaching license through the University of San Diego.

Sharp received her Masters of Science in Leadership for Sustainability Education from Portland State University in 2012.

Sharp has taught outdoor field science, performance, and core subjects to young students; she has guided adults in places like Yosemite National Park. She is supported by several guides who bring a wealth of experience and education to Starshine, from animal rescue and rehabilitation to fly fishing, nature writing, and natural

science education.

Starshine partners with Central Oregon resorts to offer outdoor adventures for kids and adults in season, such as group stargazing and guided hikes. Starshine also provides childcare and activities during resort weddings, and for birthday parties at The Suttle Lodge.

Starshine’s core camps delve deep into nature and imagination. A new program for summer 2024 encourages kids to become “masters

of their habitat,” training to become Wild Warriors. “With inspiration from animal adaptations, they will tap into positive Wild Warrior character traits, like courage, teamwork, mindfulness, stealth, and strength,” according to Starshine materials.

No School Day Camp is Starshine’s newest offering. Registration is now open; the camp costs $60 and runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Learn more at starshine-theater.com/ noschoolcamp.

Starshine camps plunge kids into nature—and sometimes into inventive performances. Their new camp fills the gap on a Sisters School District no-school day.

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

Ski team competes at state tournament

By Rongi Yost Correspondent

The Outlaws pushed their limits and took risks at the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing 2024 State Championships at Mt. Hood Meadows, Wednesday through Friday, March 6-8. They didn’t make top finishes, but they ended their season on a spirited note.

Wednesday was a training day. The snow was dry and cold with sunny skies and calm winds, which made for a fun day and great team bonding.

Thursday brought slalom competition for the boys on a run called Stadium, and giant slalom for the girls on Ram’s Head run. On Friday, the venues and events reversed with the boys racing giant slalom and the girls the slalom.

Outlaws girls included Ava Riehle, Tallis and Pia Grummer, Ella Eby, and Presley Adelt.

On Friday, the girls pushed themselves a bit beyond their limits in an attempt for a top finish. They had a number of crashes or missed gates, and were unable to get three finishes on the first run and were disqualified from getting a team score in the slalom event.

The girls came in seventh out of 19 teams in the giant

slalom. Riehle was the fastest Outlaw with a 25th-place finish.

Coach Gabe Chladek made note of Riehle and her improvement over the course of the season.

“Ava started the season as a fifth- or sixth-seed racer and moved up incrementally throughout the season,” said Chladek.

Central Catholic took first, Lake Ridge second, and Summit finished third.

Outlaws on the boys side included Spencer Tisdel, Cooper Merrill, Emerson Backus, John Berg, Spencer Davis, and Ben Hayner. Tisdel was the fastest Outlaw with a combined giant slalom and slalom finish of 20th place.

The boys also pushed hard and encountered some crashes, and had some disqualifications, but were able to pull off a team score in both events. They finished 12th in the Giant Slalom and ninth in the slalom for a combined overall ninth place.

Chladek noted freshman and first year racer Spencer Davis, who was able to pull off a clean run and get a respectable time on the second run of the slalom when it looked as if the Outlaw boys might not have enough finishes to get a team score.

“Spencer came from the fifth seed and his finish

completed the score for the Outlaws boys,” said Chladek.

Both Tisdel and Grummer were selected from their league scores throughout the season to represent Oregon high schools at the Western

Regional Championships, which will be held this week at Mammoth Mountain in California. Assistant Coach Natalie Grummer will represent Oregon as one of the team coaches at the event.

Of the tournament Chladek said, “It was really impressive to watch all of the athletes try their hardest and also demonstrate an amazing sense of camaraderie at the meet.”

The Outlaws capped a solid season at the state championships at Mt. Hood Meadows last weekend.

PHOTO BY RIMA GIVOT

Page by Paige

By Paige Bentley-Flannery Columnist

Are you looking for a nonfiction book to read in 2024? “Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming” by Ava Chin might suit you.

What does one single building in New York’s Chinatown reveal about the author’s ancestors?

Growing up, Chin’s family’s origins were a mystery and nothing seemed to match between what she was told and what she researched. Chin, who grew up estranged from her father, begins a detailed quest as she researches and explores newspapers, film footage, databases, family oral stories, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and being Chinese in America. From Hong Kong to all over the United States, Chin learns about her family’s history and present lives. As she discovers more, she uncovers multiple surprises along the way.

Family portraits throughout the book highlight and capture her family members’ triumphs and struggles throughout time. She shares her father’s stories, her grandpa’s Exclusion Act file at the National Archives offices, and family oral stories. Was it all false? Will she uncover the whole truth? These beautifully written lost stories are captured in a unique nonfiction novel about Chin and her family going back to 1906 in one single building on Mott Street.

Paige Bentley-Flannery is the community librarian, reader services with Deschutes Public Library.

Sisters Country birds

The most colorful of all our ducks, the Wood Duck [Aix sponsa] , lives and breeds in swampy forested areas. Acorns are a favorite food along with other seeds, salamanders, aquatic insects, snails, and tadpoles. Courtship begins in fall and may be interrupted by harsh weather, and then be resumed in spring. They nest primarily in tree cavities and man-made nesting boxes. Females line the nest with breast feathers and will lay between nine and 14 eggs. After approximately 35 days the ducklings will

exit the nest sometimes falling up to 100 feet. Two clutches are common and some Wood Ducks will lay eggs in another’s nest [egg dumping]. These fast-flying tree ducks have several nicknames; squealer duck, swamp duck, or Carolina duck. Their populations have grown over the last 30 years due to many nest box programs and habitat protections. A group of ducks are referred to as a “paddling,” a “flock,” a “raft,” a “plump,” a “badling,” or a “brace.”

For more Wood Duck images visit http://abird singsbecauseithasasong. com/recent-journeys.

By Douglas Beall Correspondent Wood

Sisters prepares for wildfire season

Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District is inviting folks in Sisters to a community event on wildfire preparedness. Local, county, and state agency professionals will speak on the upcoming wildfire season and their respective planning. They will have guest presenters from the City of Sisters, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Sisters Ranger District, ODF, and Deschutes County Health Services.

The event is set Wednesday, March 20, 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Sisters Fire Hall.

Additional experts from Oregon State Fire Marshal, OSU Extension office, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, Discover Your Forest, Oregon Living with Fire, American Red Cross, Project Wildfire & Neighborhood Coalition will be on hand for information and to answer questions at the booth space.

duck.

PHOTO BY DOUGLAS BEALL

Legislature overhauls drug policy for Oregon

By Ben Botkin Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Legislature’s proposal to overhaul the state’s response to the fentanyl addiction and overdose crisis cleared a major hurdle on Friday, March 1, with passage by the Senate.

The bipartisan vote of 21-8 came a day after a similar 51-7 endorsement in the House, making the end of a long legislative journey that started last fall. House Bill 4002 now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek’s office for her signature. The governor’s office had no immediate comment about the bill, which strikes a compromise between Republicans and Democrats and comes after widespread disgruntlement over Measure 110 and a move to repeal that voter-approved law that made Oregon the first state in the nation to decriminalize drugs.

The bill would dial that back, enacting a new misdemeanor charge for drug possession, with the goal of encouraging people to enter treatment programs rather than go to jail. Drug users would only face jail time if they violated the terms of their probation.

“I can’t stress enough that inaction is not an option,”

said Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton and co-chair of the joint addiction committee that shepherded the bill through both chambers.

The bill’s passage disappointed advocates who successfully pushed for drug decriminalization in 2020, when voters passed Measure 110. The proposal would keep intact the marijuana revenue for addiction services and programs in Measure 110, which has led to the distribution of more than $276 million for treatment, harm reduction, mentoring services, and housing programs.

Democrats and Republicans reached the deal with input from police chiefs, sheriffs and district attorneys after law enforcement raised concerns that an initial proposal with a low-level misdemeanor was too soft. In this bill, a person would face up to six months in jail if their probation were revoked. In the earlier version, the lowlevel misdemeanor carried potential jail time of up to 30 days. People would be offered an early release from jail if they entered inpatient or outpatient treatment.

Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, praised the bill as a solid

compromise that’s needed to prevent people from committing suicide while waiting for scarce treatment.

“We need to put a stake in the heart of the decriminalization because it is not compassionate to say, ‘Drugs are a choice and it’s OK if you make that choice,’” Knopp said. “It’s not OK.”

Measure 110 enacted a system of $100 citations for those caught with small quantities of drugs that a person could avoid if they obtained a health assessment. But the system failed to work, with suspects ignoring the fines and pursuit of treatment.

It didn’t take long for police and the public to turn against Measure 110, and by last year a majority said they would support repealing all or part of Measure 110. A well-funded group behind a ballot initiative to repeal much of Measure 110 released a statement Thursday saying if Kotek signs HB 4002, they’ll drop their campaign.

But an Oregon nonprofit that advocates on behalf of incarcerated people has threatened to sue over a technicality to try to prevent the proposal from going into effect. And civil rights advocates, including the ACLU

of Oregon, pushed back hard against the proposal, saying that Oregon would disproportionately harm people of color.

Opponents in the Senate echoed that concern, saying the bill would change the system without adequate treatment programs in place.

“I remain concerned that it is taking us down a potentially dangerous path if it doesn’t work out in the way that it’s hoped for,” said Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland.

The penalties for drug possession would take effect in September. But Dembrow and Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, warned that the existing shortage of public defenders will only grow worse with the increased caseloads.

“In its current form, there are just too many question marks,” Dembrow said.

Three Republican and five Democratic senators voted against the measure.

Under the bill, counties would have the option, but not a mandate, to set up new, state-funded deflection programs that offer people a chance to avoid charges after an initial encounter with a police officer.

So far, 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties have signaled

their intent to set up the new programs. Defendants in all Oregon’s counties would have additional opportunities to enter treatment programs and have their records erased.

The bill would provide about $30.5 million for counties and community mental health programs, which contract with counties to provide services to people in addiction. In all, the proposal would put an estimated $211 million that lawmakers want to put toward addictionrelated services, treatment and programs.

That total has more funding for court programs, community mental health clinics, treatment programs, new residential treatment facilities, and other services like addiction medication in jails.

The Senate passed the $211 million funding through a separate bill, House Bill 5204, with a 27-3 vote on Thursday. That bill, which has already passed the House, also goes to Kotek’s desk.

The package includes about $85 million in “shovelready” projects across the state, from rural Oregon to Portland.

Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Renowned runner shares book at SAC

By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent

Lauren Fleshman made her mark athletically as an elite runner, but her memoir may be her legacy. Fleshman’s deep concern for the well-being of athletes, especially girls and women, is woven throughout her book, “Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World.”

In a book talk at Sisters Athletic Club (SAC) Wednesday, March 6, this theme remained her focus before an audience of around 100 guests.

“This was really our first social event since COVID and it was so great to see and feel the energy from the audience,” said SAC owner Tate Metcalf. “We love hosting these events for the Sisters community and to return with such a gifted speaker was incredible.”

As the owner and operator of an athletic club and as a former track coach, Fleshman’s message resonated deeply with Metcalf.

“Lauren has such an important message to share. She was able to explain how, as a society, we have undercut female athletes by putting them into systems and coaching approaches designed by and for males. It was fantastic to see the room full of people interested in contributing to the change. I think it was particularly impactful for the young female athletes in the audience, along with those that want to support them.”

One such athlete is Sisters High School senior Ella Bartlett, who has had a very successful running career for the Outlaws.

She said, “Lauren brought up some very valuable things that runners and coaches often overlook, such as the fact that women are not the same as guys. It was interesting how she talked about how puberty makes a women’s athletic progression bumpy, and often women don’t reach their full potential until they’re in their 30s.”

She continued, “What we need is more education on puberty and to give young girls the tools and education to equip them to care for their bodies and understand how to fuel themselves well and trust the process. Running is not always a linear path and while it might be easy to lose weight to get faster, what will be best for you in the long run is eating well and building a strong and healthy body.”

Metcalf acted as the moderator for questions and answers with Fleshman, who eloquently expounded on a series of prompts.

Over the course of the evening Fleshman covered topics ranging from Title IX to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (REDS) in a natural, down to earth, yet straightforward, style.

For women distance runners, the trajectory for success is much different than for males.

“Men tend to have a very linear progression from high school into adulthood as they grow and gain strength naturally,” said Fleshman. “Girls face an entirely different experience as they go through puberty and adolescence, yet they are often coached exactly the same way as males.”

And that can lead to a myriad of trouble for females striving to be the best they

can be in a sport that celebrates “grit and sacrifice,” according to Fleshman.

One such problem for elite runners is RED-S, which can also affect men.

In females, RED-S can be the unsurprising result of overtraining and undernourishing. According to Fleshman, this can lead to a downward spiral of physical and psychological issues including fatigue, food preoccupation, disordered eating, lowered immune systems, and lost menstrual cycles in women, among other impacts.

Being an advocate for women is nothing new for Fleshman. During her time as a professional athlete she successfully pushed back on the way women were

portrayed in advertising by her sponsor Nike. After retiring from running she coached for eight years in a program dubbed Little Wing Athletics, which was an allwomen’s team with a woman coach and women sponsors.

“As a coach I was able to put all the things I believed about how to develop female runners to the test,” she said. The results speak for themselves as all seven of the athletes under Fleshman’s tutelage qualified for the 2020 Olympic Track and Field Trials where they ran personal bests.

When asked what was next for her, Fleshman said that her current focus is on her two children, aged 10 and six.

After the talk, Fleshman

stayed to meet people and sign copies of her book, available at Paulina Springs Books, which partnered with SAC for the event.

A hundred people turned out to hear Lauren Fleshman talk about the well-being of athletes at Sisters Athletic Club.

PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG

Snow-trackers find Sisters playground

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

What a difference a few weeks make. Ski Hoodoo waited until January to open for lack of snow. Now they are sitting atop 80 inches plus, with more coming in. At the nearby Sno Parks, and Three Creek Sno Park closer to town, the snowmobiles are revved up and gliding over deep snow terrain.

The Three Creek snowmeasuring station reported 40-inch snowpack on Saturday — 88 percent of normal, a big gain from just a few weeks ago. The lateseason snow is a delight of snowmobilers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers who share the winter playground.

The diverse groups generally play well together as each has its designated trails. But in recent years a new breed of recreationalists have shown up. Owners of ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) of the tandem and side by side versions have figured out how to remove the wheels and replace them with treads or trax, as is preferred.

With higher profiles and/ or wider stances they can appear intimidating. Their tank-like drive system can also make a bigger footprint on the snow. They are not always welcomed with open arms.

A foursome from Redmond acknowledged the reaction.

“We know we are the bad boys when we pull into the lot. We get lots of stares and questions about where we’re going to run,” said Gary

DONATIONS: Group will pool funds for local non-profits

meeting, but everyone is welcome to attend.”

The “100 Women Who Care” concept is simple, the group’s founders explain.

“We have no membership fees, and the only commitment is a quarterly donation of $100,” Laing said. “Each member writes a check directly to a local nonprofit, which is chosen by the group at the quarterly meeting.

“This ensures that donations go directly to the recipient nonprofit, with no ‘middle women’ or administrative expenses at all,” Campbell added.

For more information or a membership application, interested women are invited to contact “100 Women Who Care-Sisters” via email, 100wwc.sisters@gmail.com.

Tolman, speaking for the group.

“Once we tell folks we’re going to be well out of their way in back country, far from their trails, everybody seems to relax a bit,” added Cal Deitrich.

It’s also the case that the rigs are like magnets, with groups forming around the machines, and talk soon turning to: “How much (cost), how fast, and how hard to convert (wheels to treads)?”

A conversion kit runs between $3,000 and $5,000, with the average over $4,000. They can be run over mud, rocks, and logs but when used in the snow they will last years with little maintenance.

Experts say that it’s a learning curve with first-time riders typically driving too fast and losing control. They

are harder to steer. Compared to sleds (snowmobiles) however, they are generally more maneuverable and utilitarian. They cannot compete with sleds in terms of steep terrain or overall speed. On the flip side, they can be rigged for plowing and have a bigger payload.

The speedometer is fooled when you put on trax.

“If it reads that you are going 50, it’ll be more like 25 or 30,” Tolman explained.

Gloria Edmunds from Powell Butte thought out loud that the snow-rigged ATVs had one huge advantage over her sled, as she eyed the full driver and passenger enclosure: “That’s gotta be warm.”

Rita Bradley from Bend, on hand for cross-country skiing, was skeptical of the

ATVs converted for snow travel make the backcountry a playground. PHOTO

machines’ impact.

“Aren’t those treads going to mess up the snow?” she asked.

Deitrich tried to assure her that used properly they actually leave little impression.

ATV.com claims that “the larger surface area of the tracks results in a more even

distribution of the vehicle’s weight, reducing the individual points of pressure that force the machine down into the ground. This is particularly important when using ATVs in delicate ecosystems or areas with loose topsoil, such as wetlands and grasslands.”

Kennedy, Principal Broker

1997

2024 GREATER SISTERS COUNTRY WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS FAIR

PHOTO

MARCH 20 • 5:30 TO 8 PM

Questions?

Contact Steven Lord, Community Risk and Fire Specialist at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, 541-549-0771.

Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District 541-549-0771

Special

thanks

for providing food and beverages. We will have guest presenters from City of Sisters, Deschutes County Sherif f’s Office, Sisters Ranger District, Oregon Depar tment of Forestr y, and Deschutes County Health Ser vices.

Wildfire Preparedness Fair

Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire

District invites you to a communit y event on wildfire preparedness . Local, count y, and state agenc y professionals will speak on the upcoming wildfire season and their respective planning. Wednesday, March 20 , 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Sisters Fire Hall, 301 S . Elm St. Questions? Contact Steven Lord, community risk and fire specialist, at 541-549-0771.

Sisters Rodeo Parade

Want to participate in the parade? ere are limited entries , so don’t wait. Deadline is May 15 . Visit sistersrodeo.com and fill out the registration.

Free Weekly Meal Service

Family Kitchen hosts weekly togo hot meals on Tuesdays , 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sisters Community Church, 130 0 McKenzie Hwy Visit www.FamilyKitchen .org

Circle of Friends Mentors

Circle of Friends will host a Mentor Open House on Wednesday, March 13 . Drop in any time 10-11 a .m. or 5- 6 p.m. at 16 4 N . Elm St. to learn more about volunteering with Circle of Friends

Weekly Food Pantry

e Wellhouse Church hosts a weekly food pantr y ursdays at 3 p.m. at 222 N . Trinit y Way

Both drive-through pick-up and shopping-st yle distribution are available. Info: 541-549-4184.

STAR S Seeks

Dispatch Volunteers

While working from home, help STAR S transport Sisters Country resident s to nonemergenc y medical appointments . Needed: A computer, the abilit y to use online apps, and a telephone. Call 541-9 04-5545 . STAR S is an AFSC Action Team.

A NNOUNCEMENT S

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday, March 16

Sisters Garden Club Meeting Sisters Community Church

Sisters Garden Club Meeting

Sisters Garden Club invites the public to their monthly meeting on Saturday, March 16 . ere will be a presentation by Sara Schwab, of Pollinator Pathway Bend . She will discuss gardening for pollinators using native and non-native plants . e meeting is at Sisters Communit y Church, 130 0 W. McKenzie Hwy. e meeting starts at 10 a .m., with doors opening at 9:30.

Sisters Habitat

Volunteers Needed

Are you looking for something fun to do with your free time? Volunteer with Sisters Habit at for Humanity! Call 541-549-1193 to get connected

Sunday School for Children

Church of the Transfiguration is now o ering Sunday School for children, ages 5 to 12, regardless of church a liation, during both Sunday worship ser vices.

Protestant/ecumenical ser vice is at 8:30 a .m. and Episcopal service begins at 10:15 a .m. e church address is 121 Brook s Camp Rd . Sisters . For info call Margaret Doke at 541-588-2784.

Save the Rubberbands

Furr y Friends Volunteers Needed

Furr y Friends is looking for volunteers to help with the bottle and can f undraiser drive once a week ever y Friday. It takes about 45 minutes to put donated bottles and cans in the blue f undraiser bags.

e bags are processed at the donation drop-o spot on e Nugget porch, and then taken to the bottle drop at Ray ’s . To volunteer please call or text Kiki at 541-797-4 023.

STAR S Seek s Volunteers to Transpor t Patients

Help Sisters Countr y residents get to nonemergenc y medical appointments in Sisters , Redmond , and Bend . Attend a free t wo-hour training. Emails from STAR S dispatchers allow you to accept dates and times that work for your schedule, and a mileage reimbursement is included . Learn more at www starsride.org. STAR S is an AFSC Action Team.

Free Lunches for Seniors

For those 60+, the Council on Aging of Central Oregon o ers a f un, no-cost social lunch every Tuesday, 11 a .m. to 1 p.m. at Sisters Community Church , 130 0 McKenzie Hwy. No reser vations needed. No-cost Grab-N- Go lunches take place weekly on Wed . and urs ., f rom 12:30 to 1 p.m. Call 541-797-9367.

Easter Sunday at Hoodoo

Celebrate spring on Sunday, March 31, at 9 a .m. at the Easter eg g hunt at Hoodoo Ski Area, 2740 0 Big L ake Road, Sisters Presented by Breaking Free Media.

10 0 Women Who Care

10 0 Women Who Care-Sisters will hold its inaugural meeting on ursday, March 28, at noon at e Lodge, 411 E . Carpenter Lane. 10 0 Women Who Care is a newly organized group that will pool its resource s to fund local nonprofits . For more information, email 100wwc. Sisters@gmail.com or call/text 541-912- 0750

SISTERS LIBRARY COMING EVENTS

Obstacle Course at Sisters SPRD Co eld Center

Ages birth through 5 are invited to run, jump, and climb through an obstacle course on Tuesday, March 19, from 11 a .m. to noon. After a short stor y and stretch time, kids will build gross motor and sequencing skills as they work their way through an obstacle course. A safe space with toys will be set up for babies and their adults to play and socialize too.

PET OF TH E WEEK

Humane Societ y of Central Oregon 541-382-3537

SMOKEY

Business owners: Are you the recipient of a bundle of Nug gets each week? ose f at rubberbands are highly valued by the Nug geteers that bundle your papers each week , not to mention the value of rec ycling rather than throwing them away If you ca e them om week to week, p them

Cele ation o f Life Heidi Fernandez (Molenaar)

Saturday March 23, 11 a .m. Camp Sherman Community Hall 13025 FSRD 1419, Camp Sherman

is energetic boy is ready to find his forever home with someone who can match his boundless enthusiasm and dedication to exploration. With a heart set on Central Oregon adventures, Smokey is the perfect companion for hiking and outdoor escapades . His ideal adopter would be someone with breed experience. If you’re ready to welcome this active and loving husky into your life, visit the shelter today!

— SPONSORED BY —

Open to anyone whose life Heidi ith kindness . In lieu of , donations may be made to k Wild Conservation Center.

don ink f rom to week then drop them by e Nugget we’d love to us again.

Black Butte Veterinary Clinic

them a Questions

Questions? C 541-549-9941

541-549-1837

SISTER S- ARE A C HURCH ES

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

For information, devotions, study groups , etc., t Shauna Rocha 541-6 47-9826 • www.bahai.org • www.bahaiteachings .org

386 N . Fir St. • 541-815-9848

11 a .m. S aturday Worship

y Church hington St. , Ste. C & D • 541-588-6288 y Worship • www.ccsisters.org

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (ELCA)

386 N . Fir Street • 541-549-5831

www.shepherdof thehillsluther anchurch.com

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

Chapel in the Pines mp Sherman • 541-815-9153 y Worship

e Church of Jesus Christ of L at ter-Day Saint s y • Branch President, 5 41-420 -5670; y Sac rament Meeting

Sisters Church of the N az arene 67130 Har rington Loop Rd. • 541-389-8960 www.sistersnaz .org • info@sistersnaz .org

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

Sisters Communit y Church (Nondenominational)

130 0 W. McKenzie Hwy. • 541-549-1201

www.sisterschurch.com • info@sisterschurch.com

e Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration s Camp Rd. • 541-549-7087 uration-sisters.org menical Sunday Worship .m. Episcopal Sunday Worship

9:30 a .m. Sunday Worship

St . Edward the Mar tyr Roman Catholic Churc h

123 Trinit y Way • 541-549-9391

5:3 0 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass • 9 a .m. Sunday Mass

12 p.m.

Monday Mass • 8 a .m. Tuesday-Friday Mass

e Resting Place meeting at Sisters Communit y Church, enzie Hwy lace.us • hello@restingplace.us y Worship

Wellhouse Churc h

442 Trinit y Way • 541-549-4184 ht tps://wellhousechurch.churchcenter.com

10 a .m. Sunday Worship

profits, schools , churches , birth, engagement, wedding , and anniversar y notices may run at iness items do not run on this page. All submissions subject to editing and run as space anice@nug getnews .com or drop o at 4 42 E . Main Ave. Deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays

Your Story

MATTERS

Audry Van Houweling, PMHNP Columnist

Make better decisions

Buying a piece of custom furniture seems like one of those adult rites of passage. In the latter half of my 30s, I have decided to pursue my first custom piece — a couch. Throughout my nomadic adult years, I have been accustomed to secondhand finds complimenting my frugality and boxed IKEA-ish pieces sure to draw out a few expletives as one navigates assembly and too often, reassembly. I feel ready for the custom, “noassembly needed,” white glove experience.

After a prolonged vetting process, I took a deep dive into the very customizable world of The Pottery Barn. After scanning images of seemingly endless fabric and color combinations, measuring and remeasuring, thinking far too long about what side the ottoman should be on, I sensed I was hitting the familiar wall of decision fatigue. A bit unenchanted, I order the max number of sample swatches — 12. I sit on my couch at present that I have a desire to break up with. I think of lounging on the new couch, which leads me to think of lounging on a beach, which leads me to think that as I stare at the sticker shock and then to the two feet of snow outside, I could just take the money and go to Mexico..

A classic first-world problem of ineffectual discernment

Discernment is an art that is losing steam against a world that bombards us with opinions, choices, and theoretical outcomes. As so many of us are one click away from information overload, the ability to effectively make decisions without so much static and interference is so often an uphill battle. As we might look to avoid the static, some of us prefer the more spontaneous or impulsive way of operating while some of us analytical types might become bulldozed into a state of paralysis by analysis.

In an era of endless information — too much of which is artificial and false — cultivating discernment seems to be more important than ever before. How? I have thoughts...

Integrity to our core values

If you don’t know your core values, it is a good time for a little self-discovery. Core values are not static, but they serve as an internal compass providing a filter by which decisions must pass through. It’s not easy making decisions from a foundation of shifting sand. Helpful tip to avoid shifting sand? Put down your phone and turn down the noise. Your values offer you a solid piece of ground and a place of clarity amid so many options and opinions.

Leading with what we know now

It can be hard to predict the future even when we think we have a solid plan. Choosing a couch is one thing, but making decisions about relationships, careers, family, and financial matters can have far more gravity. We can get stuck in the “what ifs” and unknowns. It can help to focus on what is clear at present. While we may dwell on potential outcomes should we change, we may also know that what is happening now is not sustainable.

Operate from a place of self-trust

While some decisions may seem crystal clear, many others will feel blurry and rich with complexity. There can be multiple potential paths. Not one path is necessarily right or wrong, but they are simply options, all likely with their own peaks and valleys. Trusting ourselves to navigate the outcomes and to take ownership of our responses is perhaps the most important outcome of all.

Your feelings are real, but not always true

Discernment means acknowledging our feelings while also marrying them with evaluative reasoning and logic as the heart and head come together. If we put too much stock on making decisions based on how we “feel,” it is likely our momentum will only last so long and we may be tempted to engage in counterproductive behaviors. Feelings are important, but not always the best leaders.

Remember the ripple effect

The energy we bring to this world has a ripple effect and the decisions we make will impact ourselves and those around us. These ripples can be both positive and negative all at the same time. The greatest good does not mean everyone goes unharmed. Sometimes the impact of a decision can sting a bit before it feels better. And yet, indecision can sometimes sting more. While being mindful of our impact on others is important, so too is the act of honoring ourselves even if that means ruffling a few feathers. Every decision has consequences, but if our decisions open more room to operate in a place of compassion and integrity, they are worth pursuing.

Thank you for making the decision to read this today. And should you want to know, in the days since I started this article, my custom, definitely overpriced couch is officially en route. Mexico will have to wait...

Sisters-Area Events & Enter tainment

THURSDAY • MARCH 14

Suttle Lodge Fireside Concert Series: Megan Alder

6 to 8 p.m. Doors at 5:30 Tickets, $10, at bendticket.com. Frankie’s Upstairs Live Music: Mairead, Medici, and Goodwin Together again — Irish legend reconvenes her band for her first visit to Sisters Part of the Singer Songwriter Series. 7 to 9:30 p.m. Location is upstairs at Sisters Depot, 250 W. Cascade Ave. Tickets, $20 at www.sistersdepot.com/our-events.

FRIDAY • MARCH 15

Paulina Springs Books Magic: The Gathering nights

5 to 8 p.m. Booster Draft at 5 p.m. $15

More information at www.paulinaspringsbooks.com. Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

Hoodoo Ski Area Friday Night Lights 4 to 9 p.m. Night lights, live music and more. Info at www.skihoodoo.com.

SATURDAY • MARCH 16

Fika Sisters Coffeehouse Live Music: Rebecca Smith Harpist. 1-3 p.m. Info: www.fikasisters.com.

The Belfr y Live Music: Skillethead

St. Patrick's Day Celebration featuring local string band Skillethead presenting an evening of danceable bluegrass and Celtic music Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Tickets $15 at bendticket.com, or $20 at the door Info: belfryevents.com. Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

SUNDAY • MARCH 17

Paulina Springs Books Sunday Scrabble

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Come to play Scrabble, socialize, and drink coffee. Open to all. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.

TUESDAY • MARCH 19

Sisters Movie House & Café March Radness: "Women’s Adventure Film Tour 2024" Part of the Radical Art & Adventure series. 7:15 p.m. $16 at www.sistersmoviehouse.com.

THURSDAY • MARCH 21

Paulina Springs Books Book Talk Michelle Davis presents "The Retreat," the second of three books in The Awakening Series. 6:30 p.m. Info: www.paulinaspringsbooks.com.

Suttle Lodge Fireside Concert Series: Kar yn Ann 6 to 8 p.m. Doors at 5:30 Tickets, $10, at bendticket.com.

FRIDAY • MARCH 22

Paulina Springs Books Magic: The Gathering nights 5 to 8 p.m. Booster Draft at 5 p.m. $15

More information at www.paulinaspringsbooks.com.

Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

Hoodoo Ski Area Friday Night Lights 4 to 9 p.m. Night lights, live music and more. Info at www.skihoodoo.com.

SATURDAY • MARCH 23

Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

SUNDAY • MARCH 24

Paulina Springs Books Sunday Scrabble 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Come to play Scrabble socialize, and drink coffee. Open to all. Info: paulinaspringsbooks.com.

TUESDAY • MARCH 26

The Belfr y Frontiers in Science Lecture Series: Dr Jerr y Freilich on River Ecology presented by Sisters Science Club Social hour begins at 6 p.m., lecture at 7 p.m. Adults $5 at the door; teachers and students free

THURSDAY • MARCH 28

Suttle Lodge Fireside Concert Series: Jeshua Marshall 6 to 8 p.m. Doors at 5:30

Tickets, $10, at www.bendticket.com.

Frankie’s Upstairs Live Music: Paul Eddy Bend troubadour playing Beatles, Sinatra, Hank Williams, and more, plus originals. 7 to 10 p .m. Upstairs at Sisters Depot, 250 W. Cascade Ave. Tickets, $20, at www.sistersdepot.com/our-events.

FRIDAY • MARCH 29

Paulina Springs Books Magic: The Gathering nights 5 to 8 p.m. Booster Draft at 5 p.m. $15 More information at www.paulinaspringsbooks.com.

Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

Hoodoo Ski Area Friday Night Lights 4 to 9 p.m. Night lights, live music and more. Info at www.skihoodoo.com.

SATURDAY • MARCH 30

Hardtails Bar & Grill Karaoke with Gaby & Annie 8 p.m. to midnight. Information call 541-549-6114.

Obituaries

Warren “Dale” Coats

January 22, 1939 — February 4, 2024

Warren “Dale” Coats went home to be with the Lord February 4, while at the Partners in Care Hospice House in Bend after battling Lewy body dementia.

Dale was born January 22, 1939, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, to James and Vera Coats. His childhood years were spent in Long Beach, California.

His wonderful high school years were attended at Jordan High School in Long Beach. His 1956 Chevy was his prize possession, and he especially enjoyed being president of a very active car club. During his senior year, he met his lifetime sweetheart, Irene Matthews. They were married July 10, 1959.

Dale worked at North American Aviation at that time, a mechanical engineer, and was proud to have had a part in working on the Apollo Space Craft. Dale served in the Army National Guard from 1959-1963. In 1966 Dale and Irene moved to Beaverton, Oregon, with their two children, Steve and Debbie, where Dale worked for Tektronix for many years.

In 1969 Dale made another life commitment, to follow Jesus, at Village Baptist Church.

He absolutely loved the outdoors, and he used that love for ministry with youth, leading climbs up Mt. Hood, and taking many week-long backpacking trips into the wilderness. Fishing, hiking, bike riding, and wood working were his passions. But his greatest love was his wife and family.

Healthy marriage was also a high priority, and pre-marital counseling

became another ministry involvement.

The family moved to Newberg in 1979, and enjoyed 20 years there. In 1999, Dale and Irene moved to Sisters for his employment at Weitech.

They were active members of Sisters Community Church. A new ministry developed, this time with four-legged partners, Lucky and Buddy, his therapy dogs. Along with his wife, they visited many memorycare facilities, schools, fire camps, and became volunteers with Partners In Care.

Dale was also honored to be a member of the Sisters American Legion, and forever grateful for their help during his cancer recovery.

A move closer to Bend was made in 2016 for health reasons. His family cherished him, grieve his loss, but look forward to the day when they will see him again.

Dale was preceded in death by his parents, and brother, Garry W. Coats.

He is survived by his wife, Irene; son, Steven (Dannette) Coats; daughter, Debbie (Michael) Ford; sister Ada Unruh; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Sisters Community Church on April 13, at 2 p.m.

Kenneth “Bruce” Shaull

November 5, 1945 – February 16, 2024

Kenneth “Bruce” Shaull, 78, of Woodland, CA, passed away on February 16, 2024, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Bruce was born on November 5, 1945, to Verl and Georgia Shaull in Cushing, Oklahoma. In 1950, the Shaull family relocated to Oregon.

Bruce graduated from Gresham High School in 1963, he then went on to study business administration and technology at Oregon State University, graduating in 1967.

In 1958, while attending 4-H summer camp, he met Susan Davis, on the steps of the Forestry building at Oregon State University in Corvallis. They married in January of 1967 and relocated to Hood River where they went on to have two children, Jyll and Kenneth Gregory.

Bruce started his career at Diamond Fruit Company but soon transitioned to what would become his long-term, final employment with United Telephone Company and retired in beautiful Camp Sherman in 2000.

Bruce developed a love of music, dance, and sports at an early age. These loves became entwined in all things associated with Bruce.

His musical and dance passion become public with the Emery Clay Dancers in grade school, his Rhythm Masters band in high school,

playing in the 1965 Rose Bowl with the Oregon State University marching band, his children’s junior high and high school games and eventually in retirement with the Cascade Horizon Band in Bend.

Bruce’s commitment to volunteerism was evident by his investment of time and energy given to community and local school athletic programs. Those that knew him may remember his solo trumpet bouts of the HRV fight song, or involving the crowd by leading cheers at various events. He was also a passionate community member during his life with organizations such as, the Jaycees, Little League, Babe Ruth, Hood River swim team, and The Lyon’s Follies. During his retirement years Bruce continued his volunteer efforts as a math tutor, restoring the Camp Sherman community hall, a greeter at the Chapel of the Pines, and found great joy in serving as a volunteer fireman in Camp Sherman.

Bruce was predeceased by his father, Verl, mother,

Georgia, and sister Betty.

He is survived by wife, Susan; daughter, Jyll (husband Bill); son, Kenneth Greg (wife Lisa); grandchildren: Kenneth Peter (wife Hannah), Alina, Wyatt, Valkyrie, Charlie; greatgrandchildren: Kenneth Finn and Miles; brother Val Shaull (wife Linda).

The Celebration of life for Bruce will be held at the Camp Sherman Community Hall on June 29, 2024, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Oregon State Marching Band or Cascade Horizon Band in Bend. Go Beavs!

Beeping as in “do you have a locator beacon” in the event of an avalanche?

The number of backcountry skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers, and track propelled ATV’s (see related story, page 9) enjoying the forest, numbers in the thousands, with hundreds on the various delineated trails at any one time during weekend outings. Even weekdays it’s easy to encounter dozens of enthusiasts.

Some actually camp there for days, either in one of two heated yurts each with six bunks and full kitchens that share a sauna, or in one of two heated wood huts that can sleep six in each. All of these units are operated by Forest Service permittee Three Sisters Backcountry run by Jonas Tarlen and his wife, Anna.

Our first stop was at the yurts where we met Jonas.

“The Tarlens are part of a large informal network of volunteers and winter recreationalists who make the winter experience possible,” said Ogden.

Beaupre laid out the collaboration between the Forest Service, Sisters Trail Alliance (STA), Oregon Snowmobile

Association (OSSA), and some of their local clubs, along with every day volunteers with a love for winter recreation. OSSA provides snowmobile trail grooming statewide with 100 percent volunteers.

“It just doesn’t happen magically,” Beaupre said, laughing. “The majority of users have no idea how many hands are involved behind the scenes to enhance their experience.”

Many users at Three Creek Sno Park are unaware that the trails eventually connect to Dutchman and seven other Sno Parks on the Bend side of the massive playground. It takes seven to 10 hours of grooming, mostly done at night, to keep the myriad trails open.

Our next stop is to the wilderness boundary, off limits to snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles. “It’s essential,” Ogden said, “that the wilderness boundary be respected.” Among many considerations, including wildlife protection, some of the wilderness is in the Bend watershed.

Both Ogden and Beaupre are also Forest Protection Officers with the authority to cite violators. Entering the wilderness can yield a $5,000 fine and six months in jail. On the Bend side Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies patrolling in pairs on snowmobiles handle most of the

enforcement.

When returning we made a stop at one of the two huts that roughly follow the historic Metolius-Windigo Trail. There is no cell coverage in most of the area, and the potential for avalanches or getting trapped in a tree well is obvious. Thus these patrols are an important lifeline to backcountry seekers.

It’s not just for the recreational component that the Service employs a half dozen snowmobiles, called sleds. They are kept busy by other staff. Wildlife biologists don’t let winter sideline them. There are cave inspections and surveys for whitenose syndrome to be done.

White-nose syndrome is a disease caused by the fungus

pseudogymnoascus destructans. The disease is estimated to have killed millions of bats in eastern North America since 2006 and can kill up to 100 percent of bats in a colony during hibernation.

Timber managers track logging contracts, and measure stand inventories and ground truthing data.

Using side-by-side, twoperson utility vehicles, the fire teams are out in the winter marking prescribed burn units and accessing burn piles.

While winter is a slightly quieter time for the Forest Service, it is by no means a dormant time, or time for complacency.

Even when its buried under snow, Deschutes National Forest gets the attention of Sisters Ranger District personnel.

PHOTO

Katie Pendleton: Fort-ifying promising futures in the trades

By Matt Van Slyke Correspondent

In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, we are highlighting inspiring Sisters of Industry. From woodshop enthusiast to successful entrepreneur in the male-dominated world of construction, Katie Pendleton, owner of local luxury custom-home builder The Fort, is carving a path for budding carpenters and tradeswomen.

Growing up in a small town, Katie Pendleton imagined exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up. She just didn’t know it yet.

Pendleton says her fascination with building and construction began in woodshop, her favorite class, but her spark likely came about ten years earlier.

“The Fort derived from the sense of adventure and having a childlike state of mind. What do you do when you’re a kid? You create a fort. Whether that’s out of blankets or cardboard boxes or whatever it is, you take all of your prized possessions – your memorabilia, your baseball cards, or your Barbie dolls – and you put them in that fort. It is your safe haven. It is your favorite spot. That’s where The Fort name came from.”

Building skills

Encouraged by a supportive teacher, Pendleton developed a love for carpentry that would shape her future. Despite initially pursuing a different field in college, she found her true calling.

“I decided to take some engineering classes at the new engineering building, starting out with a shop class at Eastern Washington University, and I fell in love with the process,” said Pendleton.

Finding the right fit helped her figure out what she wanted to do for a living.

“I had done an internship for a company that did Street of Dreams-caliber homes in the Portland area. With them, I got a sneak preview of being on the job sites of multimillion-dollar homes, and got

to work with interior designers and architects. My love for the custom side of things came from that internship.”

Graduating with a degree in construction management and business administration, Pendleton entered the workforce during the 2008-2009 recession – not an ideal time for construction.

“We were not going in the right direction. The whole world wasn’t. My first real job was with a commercial construction company, J.J. Henri Co, out of Lake Oswego. We worked on the Tillamook Cheese Factory phase two, and North Clackamas School District bonds. That was my first teeth-cutting experience.”

While kick-starting her career with cost engineering, site visits, and project management behind the scenes, Pendleton kept creating, using her own home as her construction site.

“When we were living in Portland, my husband and I bought a 1936 Craftsmanstyle home. That was my after-hours job, remodeling the house – another reaffirmation that I loved working with my hands and building things. I knew I wanted to get back to the residential side of things.”

Sisters-bound

After three years on the west side, Pendleton and her husband sold their home

and everything they owned to move to Central Oregon, where they bought and built their true fort, the Sisters property where they live today.

Pendleton went to work for custom-home builder High Timber Construction and began defying stereotypes.

“There are not a lot of females in this world of management and construction, and that didn’t really bother me, necessarily. It was a really fun process of gaining the respect of others in that field, especially counterparts, which are 90 percent males, and growing on that, building my own processes, and getting feedback.”

Over the next eight years, Pendleton worked on nearly 100 high-end, custom home remodels, earning a reputation for excellence.

“I had the opportunity to help run the company, and it was just starting its portfolio when I started with them. It was a fantastic experience. I got to create relationships with trade partners, subcontractors, and utilize some of my contacts that I had from the commercial side of things in the Portland area. I used that time to grow my experience, because experience is what you wish you had while you’re getting it.”

Fortifying relationships and earning respect,

Pendleton gained confidence and acted on her dream to start her own company in the home sector.

The Fort

In 2020, Pendleton created The Fort, inspired by what

she had seen and heard from previous clients. Her “forts” are not cookie-cutter-style homes; most very high-end, all carefully crafted.

Katie Pendleton.

PHOTO PROVIDED

See THE FORT on page 16

Why play?

By Edie Jones Columnist

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 growth. Those words took me immediately back to the article, “Ten Things You Should Do Now So Your Kids Know How to Deal with Failure,“ by Dr. Jill M. Richardson, and her emphasis on the value of failing. A primary piece of that article emphasized the value of play and what it teaches kids.

Kids and adults relish the idea of more leisure time. Why is that? For kids, it means more time to play. We adults look to it to unwind, visit with friends, and do things we enjoy.

Today I’m talking about unstructured or free play and why it is so important. Kids will tell you, “It’s fun!” Watching them, it is obvious much more than “fun” is happening. Educators often refer to play as the kids’ job, something they engage in very seriously.

Kids are born curious, which allows them to learn, explore, and discover. In play, a whole world opens up to kids when they are encouraged to explore.

Allow your memories to return to earlier times when you jumped on your bike, joined friends in a vacant lot, and explored. Think about all the discoveries you made and what you learned.

I’m sure some of that exploring happened while you played alone. Remember the excitement of discovering something on your own, and the joy of sharing what you learned. How easy it is for us adults to forget this and to rush in with suggestions of things to do when our kids say, “I’m bored.” A habit hard to break.

I remember very clearly when I and three others would gather with our dolls under a weeping willow tree that hid our daily Pauly Pigtails club. I don’t remember what we played, but I still remember their names, Kathleen, Maxine, and Patty.

In play, kids learn how to make friends. They negotiate, take turns, consider alternative ideas, and compromise. Maybe we need to send all the leaders of the world to a Play

ASTEROIDS: SHS has ongoing relationship with program

Continued from page 3

this experience was that it was a really amazing collaboration between the Lucy mission and Mexican universities,” said Givot.

With approximately 100 Mexican, and 50 American students and professors attending, Project Lucy held this gathering to further study Polymele, the Trojan asteroid orbiting Jupiter.

There were 50 teams spread across Baja California with three people on each telescope. Givot was paired with two Mexican students, and she said she enjoyed the experience, acting as interpreter for other non-Spanishspeaking researchers.

Although the setup had initial technical setbacks, the group eventually got set up, and were able to survey early in the morning. Unfortunately, because of weather conditions, many

groups collected data but never verified if they were on the right site because they couldn’t see enough stars.

“This is the kind of science where you can control the equipment and setup, but the weather is out of your control… It’s just part of the chance of the science, but do it enough times and you can collect accurate information,” said Givot.

Despite this setback, the teams managed to collect some viable information on Polymele’s shadow. The Project Lucy team is currently planning to survey an additional occultation on August 11 with over a hundred telescopes.

Principal Analyst of the Southwest Research Institute Bryan Keeney said it was likely that some SHS Astronomy Club students would be able to attend this Patroclus occultation.

“After taking six students to Las Vegas in 2021, this new chance brings an opportunity to the newer generations,” Givot said.

A Mexican university student operated a telescope with Sisters science teacher Rima Givot during a Project Lucy astroid survey event in Baja California.

PHOTO COURTESY RIMA GIVOT

“The amount of attention required with these custom builds, and their level of quality, the pre-design –from the conceptual design phase to the pre-construction bidding and engineering – can last six months to a year, engaging with clients for that amount of time before we even get to break ground,” she said. “When you get to the construction side of things, it’s anywhere from 14 months to two years of care in creating each one of these forts. It is very, very time consuming. It’s very critical to pay attention to all the details.”

A project manager with over 15 years of construction experience, Pendleton runs weekly to bi-weekly meetings with every client, architect, designer, and interior designer, paralleled with site walks, site meetings, and trade meetings. Pendleton requires a state of constant meeting, planning, and execution to build those safe havens where clients keep their prized possessions.

From overseeing every aspect of the projects to fostering strong relationships with subcontractors and clients, Pendleton’s hands-on approach sets her apart.

— Katie Pendleton

“I’ve been blessed and have had a lot of amazing clients over the years. We’ve had challenging experiences but we’ve always persevered and prevailed. That has really built the success.”

The Next Gen Pendleton’s aspirations extend beyond business success. As Vice President of the Central Oregon Builders Association — and a mother of three — she is a strong role model.

“Now that we have a company that is established, I want to define my ‘why’ even more. ‘Why do I do this?’ I want to be able to give back,” she explains.

Pendleton is leveraging her unwavering commitment to excellence to inspire young people to better themselves and to pursue careers in the trades.

“It’s such a rewarding career. There’s so much you can learn, so much you can create, including a feeling of self worth. Whether you’re a little girl or a little boy, whatever you identify as, you can

always find something that would fit you in the trades.”

As her high school woodshop teacher did for her, Pendleton plans to guide youth to create forts for themselves, future clients, or businesses.

“Most of my subcontractors, by sheer experience, are silver haired. They’re my age or older, getting into their 40s. It’s not as easy to crawl around and pull wire or be on scaffolding. Getting the younger generation excited about the trades, I think, is the key. Getting those classes back into the schools. Getting opportunities where kids can put their name to something that they built. There’s a huge pride in that.”

As she drafts those plans,

Pendleton maintains a workload of three to four forts at a time.

“We really want to maintain our authenticity and

our dedication to creating the best possible forts that we possibly can. I’m

Sisters plows through much of snow budget

By Bill Bartlett Correspondent

Public Works Director Paul Bertagna will be happy when spring arrives. Nearly all of Sisters was under a blanket of snow for 10 weeks. Bertagna and his crews have found themselves at all hours of days and nights tackling the beast.

The City has plowed through $42,800 of its $50,000 snow-removal budget with a good four to six weeks left of possible accumulation.

Four of Bertagna’s staff are trained to handle the job. He occasionally has to jump in himself when the snow comes hard. The City has six pieces of dedicated snow-removal equipment and another eight that can be converted. Four plows can be attached to pick-up trucks. There are two dump truck/sander plows and a path plow employed to clear 62 lane-miles of streets and walkways.

The Nugget asked Bertagna when the work begins.

“When it’s three inches and still snowing with snow in the forecast. We like to plow at night (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) if at all possible so there is less traffic to deal with, but sometimes the storms don’t behave and we have to plow during the daytime hours to keep our arterials and collectors open.”

For the most part, citizens express appreciation and understanding for the situation. A few think the City could do more. A discussion at a recent Sisters Downtown Business Association meeting found a few merchants complaining that the City needs to help businesses do more to manage snow in front of their shops. Others object to the occasional piles of snow that eat into parking slots.

Mayor Michael Preedin

have no snow removal at all and it has to go somewhere.”

He doesn’t think that any snow piles are keeping shoppers out of stores.

The piles in question at the corners of blocks are generally left to melt on their own.

“We only haul snow piles when there is a concern of another large storm in the forecast and we won’t have enough room for the additional snow storage, or if we need to uncover storm drains. We haul just the piles that are encroaching into the travel lane or present a visibility issue at an intersection,” Bertagna said.

A consistent impediment to plowing are cars parked on the streets. When the snow starts accumulating, owners are asked, if possible, to move their cars so that crews can clear streets as widely as possible.

Likewise, on trash pick-up days try not to put out cans the night before.

Conference where they could learn to do all the above.

And imagination! Think of how many times you use your imagination to get through your day.

Where did you learn to do that? Most likely through free play, starting in your earliest years, when you turned a block into a telephone or a box into a playhouse. Every time your fire engine sprayed imaginary water on a burning building, or you fed pretend invisible soup to your doll, you were using your imagination.

Not too many years ago, my now college-age granddaughters, shared a delightful meal with me made up of twigs, rocks, leaves, and sand. Today one is studying architecture and the other law. What in their growingup prepared them for these intricate studies? I believe the creativity and imagination developed years earlier

in play contributed a lot.

In an earlier column, we looked at the importance of our kids learning to cope, so when things went wrong, they could surface and move on. Think of how when things don’t go as planned in play, kids explore possibilities and come up with new ideas. As the analysis of the Harry Potter books remind us, much is possible when we know how to cope.

In the scenario of jumping on your bike, do you remember the instructions of, “be home in time for dinner?” Does that ever happen today?

Most likely not. We parents are fearful of all that might happen. Think of what our kids are missing by not having the freedom to explore as we did.

Do you remember the rules for Hide and Seek, Red Rover Red Rover, Kick the Can, or I Spy? I bet you do. Have you played these with your kids? Do they even know how to play them? Too often play involves gaming on an iPad or computer, alone, or in conversation with a competitor on the phone. Or play means signing our 6-year-old up for

soccer, so he or she will be in the loop when they enter middle school, able to compete.

I’m not campaigning against organized sports. I’m only suggesting they be delayed long enough for undirected, free play to take place. My four kids all swam competitively, so I’m very aware that much of what kids learn from free or undirected play happens on teams. Relationships, taking turns, considering alternative ideas, and developing negotiating skills all take place. Probably the most important skill being developed is how to cope when things go wrong. Winning or getting a better time doesn’t always happen.

Even if competitive sports are an important part of their day, look for opportunities for “free” play. It teaches so much that will enhance their lives for years to come.

Edie Jones is the retired Executive Director of Together for Children, has a master’s degree in Adult Education, is the former owner/director of Camp Tamarack, and has worked with children her entire adult life.

FIRE AWARDS: District celebrated service at FivePine event

Continued from page 1

Using rapid sequence intubation, Sisters paramedics saved the patient’s life.

Lives saved were at the heart of the annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony for Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District (SCSFD), held at FivePine Conference Center on March 8. With quiet understatement, Chief Johnson summarized the importance of these lifesaving incidents as “making a difference every day.”

The FivePine Conference room was filled with Sisters residents who share a common goal – protecting life and property. This was Chief Johnson’s last awards event before his retirement on July 1, and he shared thoughtful reflections, pride in the organization, and a big dollop of humor.

The evening kicked off with the rousing sound of bagpipes and drums from the Bend Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drums Band, replete with kilts and beribboned hats.

After acknowledging the leadership of the district Board of Directors, Budget Committee, and Civil Service Commission, all populated by Sisters residents, Johnson thanked special guests and agency partners who offer collaborative support to the

work of SCSFD. He referred to the board as, “the engine that keeps us moving.” Board members are Kristie Miller, president; Rob Schulz; Jack McGowan; Rodney Cooper; and Tom Herrmann.

It takes many high-functioning teams to provide quality service to the community and Chief Johnson explained the duties of each team. Two of the three stations run by SCSFD are staffed by volunteer firefighters in Whychus Creek Canyon Estates and Camp Sherman.

“We couldn’t deliver the services we do without them,” Johnson said.

The Fire Corps members, all of whom are citizen volunteers, provide a variety of non-emergency services and programs to the community, enabling first responders to focus more on training and response activities. Their varied experience and careers allow them to care for the community and support the work of SCSFD by running blood pressure clinics, the address sign program, the smoke alarm program, the car seat program, burn to learn, and CPR/AED and first-aid training. They also conduct the Spirit of Christmas Giving Tree gift drive for children. Johnson said the Sisters Fire Corps is the largest one in the state of Oregon.

The resident volunteers live in the station while attending school to become career firefighters. They

receive valuable on-the-job training while in residence.

Johnson referred to the Administrative Staff as “amazing.”

“They are the most solid, cohesive, professional staff we’ve had,” he said. “I appreciate your support and encouragement.”

The staff includes Tim Craig, deputy chief of operations and training; Julie Spor, executive assistant/financial manager; Angela Linker,

office assistant; Jeff Puller, division chief and fire safety manager; and Steven Lord, firefighter, EMT, and community risk specialist.

There are two mechanics — James Schwartz and Trevor Stratton — who keep all the engines and equipment running smoothly.

The line staff consists of three shifts with three firefighters on each shift, which is staffed 48 hours on, 96 hours off, rotating their duty

so one shift is always at the station.

The Association Board, headed by President Kevin Cramer, is the philanthropic arm of SCSFD and supports the community service events.

Board of Directors president, Kristie Miller, encouraged the assembly to “celebrate what we do.” She relayed that the board is proud of the district staff and, “although we don’t go on calls with you, our hearts are with you. We appreciate all the work you do.” She congratulated and thanked Chief Johnson for his 12 years of service to Sisters.

Who receives the awards is determined by all members of the SCSFD, who nominate and vote on co-workers they believe possess exceptional skills in performing their duties, being a role model for other employees and volunteers, and exemplifying what it means to be a “public servant.”

Awards were presented to personnel with five, 10, 15, and 20 years of service (see inset, page 19). The Chief’s Award for Excellence is not necessarily given every year, but this year the recipient was Julie Spor, described by Johnson as “the glue that keeps this place together and running, and she does it with grace and passion.”

Spor, who has been with the district for 20 years, is an integral part of organizing

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PHOTO BY L OMA SMITH

Fire Chief Roger Johnson presided over his final awards banquet as fire chief. He retires July 1.

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

See FIRE AWARDS on page 19

2023 Fire District Awards

SERVICE AWARDS

FIVE YEARS: Katie Yates, Marcel Luz, Mike Terwilliger, Sarah Bialos, Ben Duda, Rick Gillaspie

TEN YEARS: Pat Burke

FIFTEEN YEARS: Cody Meredith, Roy Dean, Doug Myers

TWENTY YEARS: Julie Spor, Les Schell

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Anna Westburg

RESIDENT VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR:

Grant Dickenson

FIRE FITNESS AWARD: Grant Dickenson

EMT OF THE YEAR: Kelly Morris

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Doug Myers

CAREER FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Pat Burke

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: Jeff Liming

FIRE CORPS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR:

Marcel Luz

FIRE CORPS SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Monica Matthews

PARTNERSHIP AWARDS

Oregon State Fire Marshal

Deputy State Fire Marshal Clara Butler

Blazin Saddles — Casey Meudt

CHIEF’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE: Julie Spor

FIRE AWARDS:

Paramedics saved several lives this year

Continued from page 18

the awards event. Keeping her selection a secret from her presented numerous challenges. This spring Spor will be receiving a degree in accounting from Eastern Oregon University.

While presenting the Lifesaving Incident Awards, Chief Johnson recounted the situations faced by the responding firefighters/ EMTs/paramedics as they did their job of saving lives.

Two long-serving volunteers who passed away within the last year were remembered fondly with a moment of silence and a standing ovation by those in the room. Dave Moyer was a volunteer captain for the district for over 50 years. Bruce Shaull was a volunteer firefighter and a Fire Corps volunteer when he retired.

Each of the awards presented last Friday night went to ordinary people who do extraordinary things to be of service in our community. The next time a siren goes by, remember the men and women who are responding to someone’s emergency.

FIRE CHIEF: Prior to come on board with Sisters in July

Continued from page 1

admiration for Johnson and the department.

“It was obvious after meeting Chief Johnson why the department is so successful,” he said.

Board president Kristie Miller offered the board’s thanks to Johnson and appreciation for what Prior will bring to Sisters.

“First, I want to recognize Chief Roger Johnson and the 12 years of excellent service he has provided Sisters Country with his leadership. We will miss his steady, strong hand at the helm, but we wish him a healthy and enjoyable retirement,” said Miller.

She continued, “We look forward to working with Chief Prior. He brings a wealth of experience in the basics of fighting fires and providing medical assistance to communities. He also brings leadership in communities. His

leadership within his organization and in his community comes well-recognized. We anticipate he’ll sail smoothly through the next steps in the process (medical and background checks) and will be our next chief.”

Tony Prior of Kenai, Alaska, has been selected as Sisters’ new fire chief.

PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD

Julie Spor earned the Chief’s Award for Excellence.

Continued from page 1

the Willamette Valley to Prineville. Alfred had a blacksmith shop and took care of wagons and horses, while Martha welcomed visitors to the rooms upstairs and was known as an excellent cook, baking famously light, saltrising bread and sourdough biscuits.

It was a hard life with trips to the valley for supplies and stints running chuckwagons for cattle drives. Alfred pushed himself to provide, despite illness, and it was a great blow to the family and Martha when he died in 1898 at the age of 52. That was the end of her life as the proprietress of the Cobb Roadhouse.

Martha was a pragmatic survivor, and four years later she married Charlie Hindman of the pioneer family that had settled at Camp Polk. It was an important local dairy, and milk from cows there was sold for almost a hundred years. She ruled over the ranch, growing a large garden full of corn, keeping chickens and ducks, and welcoming guests from what her son Newt described as a “big two-story house sitting on a slope beneath the spreading branches of quaking aspens, silver maples, and huge ponderosa pines, with a spring bubbling up underneath the kitchen, where dairy products were kept cool and fresh.”

Despite a treasure trove of photos discovered by her descendants we know few personal details about Martha or her personality. In early posed photos she has a serious determined look, light eyes, curly hair, and beautiful elaborate jackets and blouses with long jewelry chains. In later years at the Hindman ranch she looks strong and is practically dressed in a plain ankle length skirt, dark hair piled in a bun. We can imagine she was good with people from her years of welcoming travelers. She was a busy woman but she must have had a lot of stories and it would have been fascinating to sit down at her kitchen table with

a cup of coffee.

As Sisters grew into a lively timber town, she and her new husband opened Hindman’s Restaurant, a livery stable, and soon bought more businesses. Then Martha’s life again took a turn when her husband Charlie died in 1920. She rented the ranch to her son Newt and hung on. A year later she married a Swedish immigrant named Gust Olson, who had worked on the ranch as a hired hand, in what was reported to be a short-lived practical arrangement.

Fires were always a threat to a town made of wood. The famous Sisters fire lookout, built in a 110-foot pine tree, could not save it from the devastating fire of 1923, which started in a garage and burned 10 businesses to the ground. Tragically six out of the 10 were owned by Martha and were uninsured. Martha was in town at the time and ill in bed. She barely made it out alive, rescued by her son Otis, who tried to salvage some belongings but had to make a run for it, leaving his flaming coat and hat behind. Things got even tighter and she was short on money for taxes on the ranch.

After 40 years at the Camp Polk-Hindman Ranch she moved to Prineville to be close to her daughter Fannie, and helped out at Stevens Hospital until her death in 1940 at the age of 82. Her

family brought her home to her beloved Camp Polk Ranch and the little juniper covered cemetery, to rest, finally reunited with her first husband Alfred Cobb. Her house is gone, but thanks to the Deschutes Land Trust which acquired the old ranch site in 2000 there is much to see and learn along an accessible gravel trail loop. The barn ruins have been carefully restored, and interpretive signs explain history and

family, and admire their new headstone.

Martha’s heirs deeded the two-acre cemetery at Camp Polk to a trustee, but the deed wasn’t recorded. Her greatgreat-granddaughter Janet Hodgers explained the ownership of the cemetery: “It belongs to no one and no one claims it.”

But Hodgers has kept the story of Martha alive through her work with the Three

SUDOKU Level: Moderate Answer: Page 22

Sisters Historical Society. Thanks to her and others interested in early Sisters history we still speak the name of Martha Alice Taylor Cobb Hindman Olson and remember her grit and determination as a pioneer, rancher, business women, wife, and mother during the earliest days of Sisters. Thanks to Janet Hodgers, the Three Sisters Historical Society, and Martin Winch for their research and photos.

Nugget Poetry Corner

Listen —Pay Attention!

Edie Jones

AsIgazeatour flag, rememberingdayslonggone, I think of history, where all went wrong.

Athenians and Romans andtheBritish,too,said,“Yes,”toConquer . “We’re greater thanyou!”

China today, and Russia for sure, arelookingfor ways Sayingmotivesare pure

Aglobalsociety,somethinkbest. Regimesthatcontrol more, not less

The U.S., too, can claimsomeguilt Quietlypiecing a globalquilt.

Whatcangowrong,ashere we sit? Compliancegainsground, bitby bit.

Payattention—what’s best? Electionswillpass Can then we rest?

Give us the will to do all we can topreserve whatwehave, our country grand.

Helpuslisten,topersonallyheed, ideas that heal us andhelpustolead.

Lead,Yes!—but, conquer, no Lead,Yes!—helpfriendshipsgrow

Avoidcomplacence,it’ll rob our souls Freedomforall, ourconstantgoal.

HINDMAN: A tale of a pragmatic survivor in Sisters

Gustav Olson, Samuel Hindman, Charley Hindman, and Martha Cobb Hindman at the Camp Polk home, circa 1918.

PHOTO COURTESY THREE SISTERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Martha and Alfred Cobb, circa late 1890s.

PHOTO COURTESY THREE SISTERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Martha Cobb Hindman.

THREE SISTERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Introducing our High Desert Heroines

By Maret Pajutee Columnist

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 skyline says it is a woman resting on a long journey with her pouting husband. Our town is even named after the girls in the family. Sisters is the perfect place to celebrate Women’s History Month and the lives that helped make our community what it is today.

Many women walk through the pages of history quietly. It’s hard to find records, stories, or newspaper clippings on their lives and contributions. They are often referred to under their husbands’ names. Many worked as a team with spouses and others, some unpaid and heroic, leading important societal improvements, yet they disappear unrecognized in the historical record. But despite these challenges, some stand out, and we still speak their names, decades after they have left this earth.

There are women worth celebrating in our local history. Martha Cobb Hindman Olson ruled over two of the first way stations for travelers in Central Oregon, owned six businesses in town, and outlived three husbands to become a legend (see story, page 1)

Maida Bailey was the highly educated, first librarian, advisor, and Dean of Reed College, who fell in love with a sheep rancher and became an integral part of Sisters’ ranching, logging, and library culture. Grace Cyrus Aitken served as postmistress and librarian, ran the drugstore, and heroically saved the mail full of peoples’ paychecks from the 1923 fire that destroyed half of town. Teachers Alice Scott and Tillie Wilson thought to record local history in their book “That was Yesterday,” which has become an invaluable record for researchers today. Elva Smith homesteaded in a remote cabin on the lower Metolius, and rode her horse across the river to teach children at Agency Plains on the Warm Springs Reservation. Gertude Merrill was the first woman fire lookout of the Sisters Ranger District

on Black Butte way back in 1921. Bertha Perry Ronalds the tobacco heiress, philanthropist, and socialite played a role in the development of the tourist economy and Metolius Meadows in Camp Sherman. Roblay McMullan was a feisty beauty who reigned over happy family vacations at Lake Creek Lodge for decades.

There are so many women we know played important roles in the history of Sisters and Camp Sherman, and yet there are so many unanswered questions. What was Daisy Allen like and how did she help her blacksmith husband transition from a horse to an automobile culture? Where did Elva Smith go after she left the her remote Metolius cabin and apple trees? What crises did Leda South resolve while her husband was off being a Ranger? How did Grace Cyrus Aitken mobilize a crew to move groceries out of the fire’s way and reopen the store the day after the building burned? Does anyone still have the recipe for the famous cream and lemon pies Lora Zumwalt made for guests while she was answering the radio, issuing permits, and managing the Ranger Station at Allingham? What happened to Hazel McKinney, her daughters, and their dog Snip once she left the Black Butte cupola lookout in 1927? How did the Women of the Civic Club mobilize community food donations for hungry students during the depression? How did a nationally known French teacher known as Madame Dore end up as Cache Mountain fire lookout in 1945 and what was her first name? So many questions...

If you have any answers, old photos or stories, curiosity to learn more, or the urge to provide monetary support, you are in luck. The Three Sisters Historical Society is currently planning exhibits to highlight local heroines during women’s history month and welcomes your curiosity, volunteer help, and support.

Help us make those quiet footsteps a little louder and inspire our sons and daughters to emulate the women who had the courage and willpower to try to make our world a better place. Visit the Three Sisters Historical Society website at www.threesisters historicalsociety.org.

Great location across from Ace Hardware.

Several space types available. Call owner Jim Peterson/RE Broker. 503-238-1478

STORAGE WITH BENEFITS

• 8 x 20 dry box

• Fenced yard, RV & trailers

• In-town, gated, 24-7

EWDevcoLLC@gmail.com

103 Residential Rentals

For rent

Fully furnished, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Camp Sherman close to the river and store. 6-month lease. Available May 1st. $3,250 includes utilities. 541-206-2844

PONDEROSA PROPERTIES

–Monthly Rentals Available–Call Debbie at 541-549-2002

Full details, 24 hrs./day, go to: PonderosaProperties.com

Printed list at 221 S. Ash, Sisters Ponderosa Properties LLC

TENANT PLACEMENT

“nothing’s more expensive than bad tenants”

call or text mike 541.588.2028

mikez@wetdogpnw.com

CASCADE HOME & PROPERTY RENTALS

Monthly Rentals throughout Sisters Country. 541-549-0792

Property management for second homes. CascadeHomeRentals.com

104 Vacation Rentals

Downtown Vacation Rentals

Popular 1 and 2 Bedroom

SistersVacationRentals.net

Great pricing. 503-730-0150

~ Sisters Vacation Rentals ~ Private Central OR vac. rentals, Property Management Services 541-977-9898

www.SistersVacation.com

HAVE A VACATION HOME?

Advertise it in The Nugget

107 Rentals Wanted

Looking for a room to rent. Needed by mid-May

Call or email Tim 541-306-7340 lynchpinstim@gmail.com

Looking for a 2+ BR for 3 adults, one dog. Need a place for May and June, possibly 2 weeks in July, anywhere in Central OR. 541-602-1963

Skilled Sisters resident, mom of 10-year-old and a 3-year-old lab searching for mutually beneficial housing situation. Pay rent or partial exchange for caretaking, which could include grounds maintenance, animal care, meal prep, shopping, and open to other possibilities per your needs. Options: small cottage, trailer, ADU, and I'm open to others. mbayur4321@yahoo.com

201 For Sale

Sisters Carports & Metal Buildings start at $1,295 for 12'x 21'x 6' (WxLxH)

Free Installation. Contact Matt 541-728-3507 for price sheets.

202 Firewood

• SPRING SPECIAL • SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS DAVE ELPI – FIREWOOD

• SINCE 1976 • KINDLING

Doug Fir – Lodgepole –Hardwood – Juniper – Fir DRIVE-IN WOOD SALES – 18155 Hwy. 126 East –SistersForestProducts.com

Order Online! 541-410-4509

205 Garage & Estate Sales

Estate Sale Sat. & Sun., 10-3. 14763 Bluegrass Loop, Sisters. Furniture & household items, indoor and outdoor.

HERITAGE USA

Open daily 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. 253 E. Hood Ave., Sisters.

Happy Trails Estate Sales and online auctions!

Selling,

Locally

Daiya 541-480-2806

Sharie 541-771-1150

301

Lucky is a 3-year-old handsome boy that is looking for his forever home. He is shy around new faces, but enjoys attention from those he knows. We would love for him to be adopted with his sister, Bebe. Apply to adopt him online at: sisterswhiskers.org

500 Services

Junk removal, new home, garage & storage clean-out, construction, yard debris. You Call – We Haul! 541-719-8475

• DERI’s HAIR SALON • Call 541-419-1279

GEORGE’S SEPTIC

TANK SERVICE “A Well Maintained Septic System Protects the Environment” 541-549-2871

SMALL Engine REPAIR

Lawn Mowers, Chainsaws & Trimmers

Sisters Rental 331 W. Barclay Drive 541-549-9631

Authorized service center for Stihl, Honda, Ariens/Gravely, Cub Cadet, Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Kawasaki Engines

501 Computers & Communications

3 Sisters TeleNetworks, LLC Cable jobs, security cameras, WAPs. CCB #191099 541-318-7000 • 541-306-0729

Technology Problems? I can fix them for you. Solving for Business & Home Computers, Tablets, Networking Internet (Starlink), and more!

Jason Williams

Sisters local • 25 yrs. experience 541-719-8329

Oregontechpro.com

502 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

M & J CARPET CLEANING

Area rugs, upholstery, tile & dryer-vent cleaning. Established & family-owned since 1986. 541-549-9090

GORDON’S

LAST TOUCH

504 Handyman

JONES UPGRADES LLC

Home Repairs & Remodeling

Drywall, Decks, Pole Barns, Fences, Sheds & more.

Mike Jones, 503-428-1281

Local resident • CCB #201650

600 Tree Service & Forestry

LOLO TREE WORKS

Tree Services: Tree Removal, Tree Pruning, Stump Grinding, Emergency Tree Services. ISA Certified Arborist

Owner / Operator: Erin Carpenter lolotreeworks.com

Call / Text: 503-367-5638

Email: erin@lolotreeworks.com

CCB #240912

TimberStandImprovement.net

Tree Removal & Pruning

TRAQ Arborist/ CCB#190496 541-771-4825

4 Brothers Tree Service

Sisters' Premier Tree Experts!

– TREE REMOVAL & CLEANUP –

Native / Non-Native Tree Assessments, Pruning, High-Risk Removals, 24 Hr. Emergency Storm Damage Cleanup, Craning & Stump Grinding, Debris Removal.

– FOREST MANAGEMENT –Fire Fuels Reduction - Brush Mowing, Mastication, Tree Thinning, Large & Small Scale Projects!

Serving Black Butte Ranch, Camp Sherman & Sisters Area since 2003

** Free Estimates **

Owner James Hatley & Sons 541-815-2342

4brostrees.com

Licensed, Bonded and Insured CCB-215057

601 Construction

Construction & Renovation

Custom Residential Projects All Phases • CCB #148365 541-420-8448

SPURGE COCHRAN BUILDER, INC.

General Contractor

Building Distinctive, Handcrafted Custom Homes, Additions, Remodels, Cabin

Renovations Since ’74

A “Hands-On” Builder

Keeping Your Project on Time & On Budget • CCB #96016

To speak to Spurge personally, call 541-815-0523

Cleaning Specialists for

1980

puzzle on page 20

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