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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2015)
26 Wednesday, April 1, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon GALLERy: Artists captured the essence of the Deschutes Continued from page 3 aren’t too dark and the high- lights aren’t too bright. I did it with my technical camera and a slow exposure.” Schmidling, manager of Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop, also inspired by the falls, submitted his photo- graph of Steelhead Falls, just as stunning, but with dramatic differences. “It’s been a hard journey for me getting back into photog- raphy and looking for some- thing that really inspires me. I stood there with my camera in that same spot on the bluff for about 30 minutes just looking out at the falls, and it finally hit me that this was really a beautiful spot, it truly inspired me,” Schmidling said. The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council teamed up with Clearwater Gallery during the art show as Educational Director Kolleen Yake and Executive Director Ryan Houston talked about their approach to restoration projects for the river. The Watershed Council has worked on over 40 watershed enhancement projects since 1996 in the Upper Deschutes area. “We are working in two primary areas, one is stream restoration and the other is education. You’ve probably read in your local paper about some of our restoration proj- ects; we removed a dam in the upper Pine Meadow Ranch last summer, and we’ve also been involved in some of the big restoration downstream at the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve. We are really trying to protect water quality and promote fish and wildlife hab- itat and trying to bring places like Whychus Creek back to their full potential in terms of their ecological integrity,” Houston said. “We like to focus on collaborative solu- tions with the community.” Houston introduced Yake, who is managing the restora- tion program. “Our primary goal is to get kids outdoors and con- nect them with the rivers and streams. We work with over 3,000 local students every year, providing hands-on stew- ardship experiences designed to educate and inspire students of all ages,” explained Yake. The warm spring weather brought folks out and into the galleries that line Hood Avenue for the late afternoon stroll. Hood Avenue Art’s Early Spring in The High Desert exhibit highlighted the best new work of the sea- son during the art stroll, and Tony Lompa provided the music. Sisters’ ‘invisible’ population By sue stafford Columnist Some people in Sisters claim we don’t have a “home- less problem” here. Recently, there was a complaint about “aggressive panhandling” near Ray’s. In several recent meetings I have heard reports of a couple of problems with homeless people in the pub- lic restrooms in Sisters. A few neighbors who live near Clemens Park are concerned that the proposed restrooms slated for the park will attract an “undesirable element.” Many of us, including me, extoll the virtues of Sisters’ natural beauty, and our com- munity “can-do” spirit when one of our neighbors faces a devastating illness, disaster, or accident. To the casual tourist driving through town or stopping for a meal and some shopping, or attend- ing one of our storied annual events like the folk festival, quilt show, and rodeo, Sisters appears to be an idyllic small town full of charm and friendly people. What most casual observ- ers and a certain percentage of our residents don’t see, or see and don’t acknowledge, is the less-visible side of our town. There are those among us who face a daily struggle to find a place to sleep, to fill their empty stomachs, to meet the most basic needs. Yes, we do have the homeless among us. But even the label of “the home- less” dehumanizes them and their plight. With no name or face and no first-hand under- standing of their struggles, it is easy to put them away in a tidy box with a lid on it. Maybe if we don’t acknowl- edge them, they’ll just qui- etly slip away and we won’t have to deal with any uncom- fortable feelings that our col- lective conscience might feel. The numbers don’t lie. In 2014, 900 people in our small town were connected by FAN to needed services. So far this school year 33 school-aged children in our district have been identified as homeless. Some of those families have moved out of the district due to no avail- able affordable housing into which to transition. Six of those students are camping in the woods with their fami- lies. Five are living in RVs/ trailers/campers, and two are couch-surfing. This has been a mild win- ter by Sisters standards, but it still often drops well below freezing at night and we have experienced several snow- storms. For those of you with children and grandchildren, imagine tucking them in at night in a tent with ice form- ing on the inside and insuf- ficient blankets in which to wrap them. There is an organiza- tion in Sisters, staffed by two dedicated women who daily meet, get to know, and provide help to our homeless neighbors. The Family Action Network’s (FAN) Theresa Slavkovsky Spring Specials! Full Set of Acrylic Nails - $35 Partial Weave & Cut - $55 Men’s Cuts - $15 Allie • Heather • Colinda Exp. 4/28/15 541-549-6456 | 450 E. Cascade Ave. | Next to the big horse statue. and Dawn Cooper exert a Herculean effort to meet the growing needs of our citizens who find themselves home- less and who need help with shelter, food, healthcare and clothing. The Kiwanis Food Bank and Westside Church offer food assistance year-round. The local medical/dental/ vision providers are gener- ous in offering their services. The Sisters School District, Sisters Park & Recreation District and Habitat for Humanity/ReStore all help to meet the needs of those who are struggling. The City provides assistance with water/sewer costs and NeighborImpact offers energy assistance for those who do have some sort of housing. There are a number of exciting new programs across the country developing new approaches to this age- old problem. Right here in Central Oregon the Homeless Leadership Coalition has been tackling this challeng- ing problem since the 1990s. There is a man in Bend who saw a need and met it by outfitting a shower truck for use by the homeless, a small version of the trucks that ser- vice firefighting camps. He has expanded his efforts with a website which connects those with needs to individu- als who can help. I hope Sisters will never adopt the laws and regula- tions of other U.S. cities that make it illegal to sit or lie in public. If you are homeless, what are your options? Being homeless is not illegal. With all the good efforts being made in Sisters to assist the homeless to get on their feet, there is so much more we could do as a coalesced, concerned com- munity to reach out to our neighbors who find them- selves without a stable home. My hope is that we, the good citizens of Sisters, will come together with the same commitment, enthusiasm, and goodwill that we have brought to other community endeavors, to tackle the issue of homelessness, and decide what we can do to ameliorate its crushing impacts. A good start might be a local coalition of churches, service clubs, City repre- sentatives, a representa- tive of the homeless, local builders and developers, the Community Garden, Habitat, interested citizens, local businesses, the school district and SPRD, veterans and elders. Possible projects could include a warming hut, a homeless shelter, tempo- rary facilities in town made available for the coldest win- ter nights, constructing more affordable housing, and tiny houses for the homeless. Let’s think outside the box…. Kick Yer Heels Up! LIVE MUSIC DJ Chris, out of Bend Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. NO COVER! 190 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters • 541-549-RIBS ( 74M7 )