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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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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
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Sunny
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Mostly sunny
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Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
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Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson
News Editor: Jim Cornelius
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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.