Swimmers hit the pool at
Jay Rowan Invitational page 10
Sisters Community Church
reaches out to Rwanda page 21
The Nugget
Vol. XXXVIII No. 2
Local sisters succeeding
with Western shoe line page 25
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
New city council is sworn in
Food carts
raise a
lively
debate
By John Griffith
Correspondent
On a quick 4-1 vote, his
fellow city councilors selected
Chris Frye to serve as mayor
of Sisters for the next two
years. McKibben Womack
was voted in on a 3-2 vote to
remain council president.
Incumbent David Asson
posted the “no” vote for Frye,
while Asson and incoming
councilor Nancy Connolly
voted “no” on Womack.
Per the City of Sisters
charter, the position of mayor
is chosen by the city coun-
cil members, not the popular
vote. In this form of city gov-
ernment, the city staff reports
to the city manager, and the
city manager in turn reports
to the city council. The mayor
has no formal authority out-
side of the council; the mayor
cannot appoint or remove
officials, and lacks veto power
over council votes.
Many smaller cities have
adopted this form of “weak
mayor” all-volunteer city gov-
ernment. In most larger cities,
the mayor is elected by popu-
lar vote, paid a salary, and
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
By John Griffith
Correspondent
process from nomination to
selection of mayor this year
A new city council
plunged right into Sisters
latest contretemps — this
one over a planning deci-
sion allowing food carts at a
downtown business.
Thursday’s city council
meeting included testimony
from more than 10 citizens
during “visitor communica-
tions” concerning the city’s
granting approval for food
carts on the Eurosports prop-
erty located at the southeast
corner of Fir and Hood. The
property and bicycle busi-
ness is owned and operated
by now ex-mayor Brad Boyd.
The food cart issue was
not part of the regular council
agenda.
Included in the citizen
See CouNCIl on page 22
See fooD CArTS on page 24
photo by Jim Cornelius
Sisters City Council re-elected incumbents Wendy Holzman (left) and David Asson. They were sworn in along with
new councilor Nancy Connolly on Thursday, January 8.
serves as the chief executive
of the city, presiding over the
city staff.
For those that have not
attended this every-two-year
ritual in Sisters, the process
can be surprisingly quick and
without drama. The whole
Campground neighbors Veterans appreciate students
meet with parks board
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
L o c a l r e s i d e n t Ta y
Robertson presented a draft
petition on behalf of the
residents of the Buck Run
and Coyote Springs neigh-
borhoods at the January 7
Parks Advisory Board meet-
ing regarding the Creekside
Campground (CCG).
Robertson highlighted
three main issues: lack of trust
in the City, visibility of the
campground, and traffic in the
surrounding neighborhoods.
Roberts reported that in
an informal random neigh-
borhood survey of a dozen
Inside...
residents, “95 percent had a
low level of trust that the City
would do the right thing with
CCG if there was no public
input.”
The petition states that,
“While most agree that the
campground is a positive
asset to the community and
its visitors, impacts to the sur-
rounding neighborhoods con-
tinue to increase and we have
concerns and solutions...”
The petition goes on to
outline the neighbors’ con-
cerns, including: visual
impact of the campground
on the neighborhood; traffic
See CAmpGrouND on page 30
Sisters schools go out of
their way to show their appre-
ciation for the service of the
community’s veterans. Each
November, the schools host
assemblies in recognition of
Veterans Day.
Last week, local veterans
organizations returned the
appreciation, recognizing stu-
dents and teachers for excep-
tional efforts on behalf of the
local veteran community.
Sisters’ American Legion
Post served up a letter of
appreciation to students
Brandon Borders; Cheyenne
Sproat; Julie Klemz; Zidane
Galant-LaPorte; Seth
Roy; Georgia Rollins; and
photo by Jerry baldoCk
local veterans awarded sixth-grader Tatum Sitz $100 for her “patriots
pen” essay on the topic “Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans.”
leadership counselor Michele
Hammer for their efforts.
VFW (Veterans of Foreign
Wars) Post 8138 presented
high school history teacher
Gail Greaney with a Teacher
See VeTerANS on page 31
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ................12 Sisters Salutes .................15 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32
Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....13 At Your Service.............16-18 Classifieds .................. 27-29 Obituaries .......................30