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Wednesday, August 12, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I N I O
N
Give existing
trails a shot
By earl Schroeder
Guest Columnist
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let-
ters 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:
As suggested in some previous letters to
The Nugget I support the idea of a paved multi-
use path that is located on the north side of
Highway 20 for the following reasons: First,
there is the existing network of trails called
the Sisters Tie trails that meander through the
forest from the north Pine Street intersection
in Sisters to Indian Ford Campground where
there are facilities for parking, restrooms, and
even camping!
These trails could be paved with much less
expense than creating a new trail as proposed.
With the dollars saved paving already exist-
ing trails we could construct one or two high-
way crossings near Black Butte Ranch and/
or Tollgate. There is a beautifully innovative
green highway crossing in Holland that pro-
vides access for people as well as animals like
migrating deer and elk herds, which are known
hazards for motor vehicles.
With these improvements we suddenly have
access and connection for many more com-
munities (Indian Ford, Sage Meadow, Squaw
Creek Canyon Estates, etc...) on both sides of
Highway 20. Consequently the road becomes
safer for motor vehicle traffic and for the many
animals injured or killed while trying to cross.
The benefits are wide-spread and friction
would be greatly reduced from folks in Toll-
gate and Black Butte Ranch that are opposed
to a paved path so close to their neighborhood.
Sarah Rowland
s
s
s
To the Editor
I attended the concert (Matt, the Electrician)
on Thursday August 7.
What a pleasurable event! Thank you to
all who made the event possible — Sisters
Folk Festival and The Roundhouse Founda-
tion. I also want to express my thanks to the
City of Sisters and in particular the City Coun-
cil members, both past and present, who had
the forward thinking to create the Fir Street
Park. What a nice addition to our community
resources.
Please keep your visionary thinking going!
Again, thank you!
Ken Serkownek
s
s
s
See letteRS on page 30
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About three years ago,
it started. There was this
meeting at the Tollgate
Rec Hall. About six folks
announced there was to be
a trail, all planned out and
ready to go. A real surprise
to all 50-plus folks in atten-
dance. And then it began.
One might call this a
“Trail of Two Cities” from
Sisters to Black Butte
Ranch. Immediately there
was controversy. The loca-
tion of this yet unnamed
trail, was not accepted by
many Tollgate residents,
who considered that the
1,300-plus vehicles that tra-
verse Tollgate Road in and
out every day could be dan-
gerous. But after six months
of grumbling, many other
comments were submitted
to The Nugget via Letters to
the Editor.
Most folks had no idea
that any resistance to this
trail would occur. But it did,
and has became a daily con-
versation throughout all of
Sisters Country. Sides were
taken, with no real middle
ground. The intensity grew,
with volumes of comments
voiced in The Nugget.
B efo re l o n g , m an y
groups became involved so
that things became convo-
luted. Just to name a few:
boards of directors from
Crossroads; Tollgate; Black
Butte Ranch; U.S. Forestry;
Sisters City Hall; Sisters
School District; ODOT;
Sisters Trails Alliance;
and eventually Deschutes
County. All seemed to have
an opinion one way or the
other and things became
very commingled and agi-
tated with no compromise
in sight. Many of the groups
involved “supported” the
concept of this new trail,
but having only limited
information what it would
entail.
All because of a seven-
mile trail to hike or bicycle
on, that was thought to be
wanted or needed to give
our communities cohesion
and to enjoy a pathway
through our national for-
est. All the while, the USFS
was conducting an environ-
mental assessment trying
to determine the feasibility,
what was best for the com-
munity, and still fulfill the
Forest Services’ mission.
By October of 2014
it was determined by the
USFS to set aside the
request to develop a trail,
which was requested by the
Sisters Trails Alliance folks.
With the ability to
allow for a second request,
the door was not closed
to the idea. Nine months
have transpired, and at the
moment, there is no local
trail plan being worked on
by the Forest Service.
But last week I was
musing over the many
concerns that have been
voiced over the past many
months, and discovered
an article that was printed
in The Nugget in March
2012. Lo and behold, I’d
discovered information that
had never been mentioned
on ‘The Trail’ subject. I
would encourage you to
take the time to go to your
computer and read it (link
provided with the online
version of this column at
www.nuggetnews.com —
“Opinions”).
It opened my eyes to the
fact that there are so many
trails in our area, approved
or rogue, that there may be
no need for the expense to
develop yet another trail.
And then it dawned on
me, could the “Tie Trail,”
as mentioned in the above
website, tie us back together
once again?
Let’s all take a closer
look at our present inven-
tory of trails already in
place. I would suggest
to USFS to draft a few
options for our communi-
ties to review and offer their
comments.
The Sisters Forest
Service folks have a much
better handle on such
matters.
In a way, it would allow
for all of us to have some
ownership in this proj-
ect. It would be great to
have a win-win situation.
Tranquility may hopefully
then be restored.
The process for develop-
ment is more important than
the trail itself. If the original
proposed trail never comes
to pass, it won’t be the end
of the world.
So, lets consider that we
all communicate, be consid-
erate, coordinate, and com-
promise. It’s time that we
reevaluate the many bless-
ings the we all enjoy and
love here in Sisters.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.