14
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters-Camp Sherman
Fire Corps launched
The Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire Department
has announced the cre-
ation of the Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire Corps and is
recruiting local citizens to
become members of this new
organization.
Fire Corps is a locally
driven, national program
launched in 2004 under
Citizens Corps, an initia-
tive under the Department
of Homeland Security.
Citizens Corps was begun
to encourage and coordinate
citizen activities that help
make communities safer
and stronger. Fire Corps
activities specifically sup-
port local fire departments
in non-emergency activities,
which enable fire department
members to focus on emer-
gency response and training
for both fire and medical
response.
Sisters-Camp Sherman
Fire Corps is under the
direction of Gary Marshall,
Community Risk and Fire
Safety Manager, and co-
chaired by Les Schell and
Gail Butler.
According to Marshall,
“Involvement in national
programs such as Fire Corps
is promoted from the high-
est levels of federal and state
government to encourage
citizens to get involved at the
local level to enhance their
own personal and neighbor-
hood safety, become better
prepared for natural disas-
ters, and is also a great way
to give back to their com-
munity through volunteer
services.
“Some of the activi-
ties and projects currently
underway are: Monthly
American Heart Association
‘Heartsaver ’ CPR/AED
and first aid classes for the
community, monthly blood
pressure screening clin-
ics at Bi-Mart, child safety
seat clinics, district address
signage, front office assis-
tance, door-to-door smoke
alarm checks/replacement,
and other fire prevention
activities.
Fire Corps is looking to
expand some of the exist-
ing projects and additional
projects will be consid-
ered as resources allow. To
that end, Sisters Fire Corps
is recruiting new volun-
teers. Appropriate train-
ing and/or certification will
be provided at no cost for
those wishing to join Fire
Corps.
Sisters-Camp Sherman
Fire District Chief Roger
Johnson said, “Not everyone
is able or interested in run-
ning into burning buildings,
but anyone can be a Fire
Corps volunteer, and I am
convinced this program will
save lives.”
If you are interested in
joining Fire Corps or would
like more information, call
Gary Marshall at 541-549-
0771, Les Schell at 541-
595-5712 or Gail Butler at
541-595-5712.
LETTERS
Continued from page 2
the paved trail that advocates want for ADA
reasons — and without bulldozing another
path through the forest and bringing down
hundreds of trees. It only has to be paved.
The group called “Friends of the Black
Butte Trail” seem to be adamantly against
using existing trails.
Why not take advantage of what we
already have? Why carve another trail through
the forest? Why lobby for taking down hun-
dreds of trees? Why are the advocates of this
trail refusing to consider alternatives? It is
starting to smell very fishy out there.
JoEllyn Loehr
s
s
s
To the Editor:
Last week, a representative from the BBR
community and I met with Commissioner
Unger regarding the proposed Sisters-to-BBR
asphalt path. Our meeting was a good oppor-
tunity to bring him up to speed and clarify
our position on some of the issues involving
this project, as this issue has been ongoing for
well over three years, and Mr. Unger only got
involved this past November.
I am pleased to report that Mr. Unger
pledged his commitment to thoroughly exam-
ine ALL options for a path, including locating
the path on the north side of Highway 20 to
Indian Ford Campground — in the highway
right-of-way — one of several community trail
options discussed with the Forest Service last
October and supported by some as being more
publicly accessible and preferable to connect-
ing two private (one gated) communities.
Unger’s openness was somewhat encour-
aging, as this is different from the mes-
sage being conveyed by the STA, and clari-
fies Unger’s earlier statements that recently
appeared in the press.
I appreciate that many (most?) people
may be burned out on this trail debate. I truly
believe, however, that whether or not to move
forward with this asphalt path is a huge deci-
sion that will have ramifications that last well
beyond all of us currently trying to figure out
whether or not this project is, on balance, a
good idea.
The Nugget reported that Unger’s goal is
to submit a go-forward proposal to the USFS
in August. What’s the rush? Probably grant
money. As of late, Sisters seems to be in the
habit of making hasty decisions and then
doing the due diligence and corrections when
things don’t work out as well as expected. A
decision this big should not be driven by grant
funding. You can’t re-stripe the forest. Let’s
get this one right.
Susie Werts
s
s
s
To the Editor:
The guest editorial written by Cathy Ellis
which appeared in The Nugget on June 24
concludes that, “the majority of BBR owners
support the proposed multi-use trail entering
the Ranch.” This conclusion is misleading for
several reasons.
First of all, for all official businesses at
Black Butte Ranch only one vote per house-
hold is allowed, not opinions sought from
1,785 registered email addresses. Why this
exception was made for this particular case
is unclear. The issue is quite important and
one vote per household should have been
observed.
Second, how accurately do the “registered
addresses” reflect an actual homeowner ros-
ter? Is it possible that many names appearing
on the list should have no say on issues of this
magnitude? How is the list audited to ensure
accuracy and validity? Will all future sur-
veys use these “registered” addresses? If so,
shouldn’t the homeowners know what these
addresses are used for?
Thirdly, the conclusion that the “majority”
of homeowners support the proposed path is
mathematically faulty. Whether one used this
See letters on page 37
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