Our band-tailed pigeon page 9 Outlaws dribble to second-place tournament finish page 4 It’s hayin’ time! The Nugget Vol. XXXVIII No. 1 page 18 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 Wednesday, January 7, 2015 A spectacular start to 2015... New city council to be sworn in on Thursday photo by Jay mather the first sunset of 2015 was a beauty, captured in the lens of Jay Mather. Three city councilors will be sworn in on Thursday, January 8. I n c u m b e n t s We n d y Holzman and David Asson both won reelection in the November election. Asson received enough votes to earn four more years on the council; Holzman will serve another two-year term. Nancy Connolly is the See CIty CouNCIl on page 30 Sisters figures in top 2014 weather stories Ducks fans witness historic victory Eight staff members of the National Weather Service in Pendleton voted on the 10 most important local weather events of 2014. The No. 1 weather story was the December 11 extreme wind which brought hurricane force wind gusts and widespread damage. A summary of 2014’s top 10 local weather follows: 10. October warmth: Summer-like weather contin- ued into October. Monument, Kennewick, and Walla Walla had the warmest October on record. Top 5 warm Octobers were recorded at Yakima, Whitman Mission, Trout Lake, The Dalles, Pendleton, Long Creek, Heppner, Condon, Goldendale, Moro, La Grande, Bend, Sisters, Pelton Dam, Meacham, Madras and Redmond. 9. Dry water year: From October 2013 to September 2014, Kennewick had the driest water year, receiving only 3.81 inches. The previ- ous record was 3.92 set in the 1963-64 water year. Walla Walla had their fourth driest When the Oregon Ducks took the field in Pasadena on Thursday, January 1, to battle the Florida State Seminoles for a slot in the college foot- ball national championship game, they had the backing of a strong contingent from Sisters. NFL Hall-of-Fame quar- terback and U of O alum Dan Fouts was on the 50-yard- line for the coin toss, named the Ducks’ honorary captain. On the sidelines, Thomas Arends, a Sisters High School graduate and former Outlaws football player, kept a watchful eye on the team he helped build as the Oregon Ducks’ assistant director of player personnel. And in the stands of the venerable Rose Bowl were other folks from Sisters — ardent fans of a program that has captured the hearts of football fans all across the country. “The whole Rose Bowl experience is like no other,” said Fouts, who did not play in the game but has broad- cast many. He said that being Inside... water year and Redmond’s water year was 10th driest. 8. Wildfires: Dry thunder- storms and dry vegetation led to numerous wildfires across the Inland Northwest during July and August. In the NWS Pendleton Fire Weather ser- vice area, there were 456,000 acres burned in 2014, com- pared to 135,000 in 2013 and 182,000 in 2012. 7. Damaging winds, January 11-12: Wind gusts of 60-90 mph led to trees down, power outages, and roof damage. A semi-truck was blown off the road near West Richland. 6. Severe thunderstorms August 12-14: Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, dam- aging winds, and blowing dust hit many areas of the Inland Northwest. Hail up to golfball size fell south- east of Meacham. Over an inch of rain in an hour or less was reported southeast of Cliffdell, in Bickleton, east of Ellensburg, and west of Hermiston. A mudslide See top Weather on page 25 By Jim Cornelius News Editor photo provided ryan Burbank, dan fouts, and thomas arends were ready for game time. named honorary captain “was an amazing honor.” Fouts enjoyed reconnect- ing with fellow former Duck players in a pre-game tailgate party. “That’s always the best,” he said. While many saw Oregon’s crushing victory and Ohio State’s upset of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl as stun- ning, almost unbelievable developments, Fouts found both outcomes “completely believable.” “At this point in the sea- son, those are the four best teams,” he said. “Oregon is a momentum team, and when they get it, they go off.” As for Ohio State, they had already showed the capacity to put up points in beating Wisconsin to get a crack at Alabama. “That didn’t surprise me, them beating Alabama,” Fouts said. The atmosphere at the See duCk faNs on page 22 Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Salutes .................. 5 Business at Glance............11 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Classifieds .................. 27-29 Meetings ........................... 3 Sisters Naturalist ............... 9 Announcements ................12 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32