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Wednesday, May 20, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I N I O
Editorial…
Local politics is a contact sport
There’s an old saying that politics is a con-
tact sport. The Cloverdale Fire District elec-
tion that ended May 19 is the latest demon-
stration that that adage holds true at the local
level, right here in Sisters Country.
The Nugget letters to the editor on the sub-
ject have been pretty civil, mostly keeping
things focused on the issues. The behind-the-
scenes vitriol, though, has been pretty intense.
People get bruised in this contact sport.
People are understandably frustrated with
the tone of civic discourse in Sisters Country
these days — whether the subject is a fire dis-
trict or a school district, food carts or a paved
trail or … it goes on and on. It would be nice
if folks could keep a sense of proportion. The
sky has fallen on the heads of the people of
Nepal; there are hundreds of thousands of
people dead or displaced in a horrific civil war
in Syria. Those people would give anything to
have our “problems” instead of theirs.
People tend to get involved in the fray when
they get fired up. And, human nature being
what it is, fired up usually means fed-up and
angry. That means the fed-up and angry folks
often set the tone of the discussion. Those who
don’t like that can do their part to shift the
tone. And they don’t even have to wade into
the muck and mire.
The Nugget’s “Sisters salutes…” column
has become mainly a forum for folks to say
thank you, which is fine. But it was really con-
ceived as a platform for folks in Sisters to point
out things that they like about the community:
people doing good things, often quietly and
with no expectation of recognition, much less
thanks. We invite you to submit more such tips
of the hat to “Sisters Salutes…” Or write a let-
ter to the editor about something you think is
a good idea. And please keep sending in those
story ideas about interesting people doing
amazing things.
There are always going to be tussles in
the community. That’s a good thing, not a
bad thing. It means people care. But while
we wrangle over roundabouts or elections or
whatever is on the agenda this month, bear in
mind that our “issues” are luxuries to the vast
majority of the world’s population. And there
are far more positives than negatives to focus
on in this remarkable community in this beau-
tiful place.
Jim Cornelius
News Editor
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
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Monday
Showers
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Partly sunny
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69/46
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The Nugget Newspaper, Inc.
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com
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The Nugget Newspaper,
P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759.
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Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson
News Editor: Jim Cornelius
Production Manager: Leith Williver
Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken
Advertising: Lisa Buckley
Graphic Design: Jess Draper
Proofreader: Pete Rathbun
Accounting: Erin Bordonaro
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N
A right to privacy
for BBR residents
By Isolde Hedmark
Correspondent
It is with great dismay
that I watch the ongoing
written battle of oppo-
nents and proponents
of a proposed bike trail
between Sisters and Black
Butte Ranch in Nugget
publications.
Inaccuracies, rude lan-
guage and accusations are
bad enough, but the notion
that trespassing onto Black
Butte Ranch’s private
property should be con-
doned because “parking
and biking” has been going
on for a long time, is par-
ticularly bothersome.
The only public part
of the Ranch’s bike path
system runs from the
east gate to the west gate
and to the Big Meadow
parking lot. Any path
behind those points
is marked “PRIVATE
RESIDENTIAL AREA,”
and signed as “Property
owners and registered
guests only beyond this
point.” Registered guests
include those lodging at
Black Butte Ranch.
As Bonnie Malone men-
tioned in her recent article
to The Nugget, homeown-
ers purchased the Ranch
from Brooks Resources in
the 1980s.
Since then, Black
Butte Ranch’s facilities
have been improved upon
through multiple hom-
eowner-funded assess-
ments, and facility main-
tenance is supplemented
by constantly increasing
homeowner dues.
Black Butte Ranch
is unique among other
resort developments in the
region, and its mission is
to “Maintain and enhance
a high-quality, family-
oriented recreational and
residential community pre-
served in its naturalness,
with limited commercial
activities and necessary
regulations to preserve
the safety, tranquility and
future value for its owners,
their families and guests.”
It is this harmony
between the residential
and recreational communi-
ties, this balance between
commercial activities and
privacy, and this steward-
ship of natural resources
and the financial sup-
port for maintenance or
renewal of facilities that
make Black Butte Ranch
special.
Developing a bike trail
that ends at Black Butte
Ranch will jeopardize
much of what is presently
enjoyed by homeown-
ers and registered guests
alike.
Homeowners and
guests of all ages and abili-
ties frequent the Black
Butte Ranch trail system
as soon as the paths are
swept in the spring till the
first storms in the late fall.
The highest concentration
of walkers, bikers and run-
ners are undoubtedly from
June through September
with trail usage spiking on
any fair-weather holiday
weekend. Roads and paths
are narrow, curvy and
steep — in some places
quite dangerous.
Any influx of more bike
traffic due to a public path
ending on Black Butte
Ranch grounds would not
only aid and abet more
trespassing but also greatly
diminish the unique Black
Butte Ranch experience
for homeowners and regis-
tered lodgers.
It will require additional
police personnel to fulfill
its mission “to partner with
our community and the
Ranch staff to preserve the
safety, security and tran-
quility of the Ranch for
the enjoyment of all.” It
will increase Black Butte
Ranch’s liability. And ulti-
mately, it will necessitate
higher homeowner dues
and levies; more homes
will come on the market
with supply and demand
dictating the future value
for its owners.
And, Black Butte Ranch
will no longer be that spe-
cial place as we know
it, but just another resort
community.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.