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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2015)
2 Wednesday, June 10, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N WELCOME SISTERS RODEO PARTICIPANTS & PATRONS! Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: I would like to respond to the two editorials in a previous Nugget Newspaper. I am NOT against paved trails for the veter- an’s scooter. I am NOT against walking or bik- ing instead of driving. It is great that the town of Sisters wants to have paved paths around the town and the surrounding area and also has the money to pay for them. Forty years ago we built a home in Black Butte Ranch to have a private, secure place for our family to enjoy. We paid for and own Black Butte Ranch: the land, the roads, the bike paths, the recreational facilities, and the police to pro- tect us and our investment. My question to you is: Would you like any- body to come onto your property uninvited any- time they wish? All I ask is that public paths stay off of our private property. If someone is interested in hav- ing a home at Black Butte Ranch and paying their share for all its amenities, we would love to have you here! M. E. Andrews s s s To the Editor: Being retired and living on Main Avenue, one cannot help but notice our Public Works Department employees. They are always busy, you never see them leaning on their shovels and yakking away time, like the proverbial government worker. So, three cheers for the public works crew. P.S. I would like to thank those who have the power of the pen, for the privilege to park as I wish. Mike Haley s s s To the Editor: I oppose any type of trail that destroys the environment and puts toxic asphalt into our for- ests. I oppose any type of trail that will destroy and kill thousands of animals. Frogs, deer, squir- rels, lizards, elk, coyotes just to name a few would be permanently displaced or killed by any destruction to this forest. I was taught do no harm to the forest. This part of the forest is beautiful and does not need a stupid highway built through it! I don’t know that many children that will ride a bike seven miles to Sisters and then turn around and ride another seven miles and enjoy it. I am sure the first few miles will be cool but I can hear the whining already loud and clear. I have grand- children and believe me, they would bitch. We don’t need to waste our tax dollars toward anything so destructive! Yes these are MY tax dollars! Think again, people — use your heart and your soul. The beautiful huge trees (which pro- vide us oxygen) and the animals will thank you. In the big scheme of things, is it a need or a want? If it is a want then I don’t want my money going to destroy the environment of the animals. Think again, people. With your heart! Carin Baker Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Friday thursday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny 85/42 85/45 76/41 79/45 78/44 75/na 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 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. 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 The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $40; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2014 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. Paved trail could ease traffic By Suzanne Pepin & Bruce Mason Guest Columnists One of the few things on which Sisters Country folks seem in agreement is that we have a traffic prob- lem. This is especially true Fridays-Mondays when vehicles are often lined up bumper-to-bumper all the way from Black Butte and Camp Sherman, past Tollgate and on through Sisters. One way to help alle- viate this problem and the accompanying air and noise pollution is to provide means for our Sisters-area communities to get around safely by bicycle. The success of paved pathways has been demonstrated in many parts of the nation and throughout Europe. These pathways connect resi- dential and resort com- munities with shopping, parks and schools, thereby helping to relieve traffic congestion. Paved pathways not only provide residents with safe, healthy alter- natives for commuting and recreating, they also appeal to visitors. In Oregon there already exist more than 80 off-street paved paths ranging from 1 to 37 miles in length. These have been featured on websites and in guide- books as well as in many other publications. We have seen, for example, newspaper and magazine ads and feature articles about paved pathways around Klamath Falls, Cottage Grove and many others. We recently saw a full-page ad in National Geographic promot- ing Boise, ID, as a bike- friendly town. We have made several trips to smaller towns in Idaho to gain firsthand information about some of their paved trail systems. One of our favorites links the Ketchum-Hailey- Bellevue communities of Woods County with the resort areas of Elkhorn and Sun Valley, as well as with shopping, schools, parks and campgrounds. We love being able to park our car at a motel or campground and then get around exclusively by bike. The Woods County paved pathways system has become so popular that county taxpayers have passed a recent bond mea- sure to add to their exist- ing 30-plus-mile system. Here in Sisters Country we have an opportunity to establish a modest version of that trail system with- out levying taxes to pay for it. The 7.6-mile trail between Black Butte and Sisters, located entirely on public lands, would be paid for with funds already allocated for the purpose of constructing trails. It would connect up with existing paved path- ways and would be main- tained by our own dedi- cated and hard-working Sisters Trails Alliance, together with other indi- viduals and organiza- tions involved in the newly formed Friends of the Black Butte Trail consortium. For more information, we encourage everyone to check out http://black buttetrail.com/library. html to see how such trails have affected other communities in the U.S. The 97 studies referenced on the blackbuttetrail.com website show that trails connecting communities bring many health, eco- nomic and environmen- tal benefits, not least of which is reduced depen- dence on cars for getting around locally. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.