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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
2 Wednesday, August 26, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Beware of apathy By diane goble 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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: Teflon Andrew & his complicit Nugget. Interesting use of the straw man argument so prevalent with the Obama Administration — all my unnamed, silent supporters agree. According to Miriam Webster’s online dic- tionary “litigious” is defined as: “ too ready or eager to sue someone or something in a court of law; tending or likely to engage in lawsuits.” In that Mr. Gorayeb’s conduct is presently the subject of at least one present litigation and further that he has also lawyered up over his egregious conduct with Outlaws Lacrosse one finds his use of that adjective ... ironic. I’ve read the letter in question & I’ve also read several of Mr. Gorayeb’s strident rants in this forum over the years. Andrew’s calling anyone else a bully is beyond irony. It’s time for the city council to address this consistent nuisance. Ted Carlson s s s To the Editor: Our family was stunned and devastated when we received SPRD’s notice of Andrew’s resignation from the Outlaws Lacrosse organi- zation earlier this summer. While my son has benefitted from scores of great coaches throughout his sports career (he will be a senior at Sisters High School this fall), it was Andrew who was the topic of his “Individual who has been an inspiration…” essay assigned in his sophomore year. He had chosen Andrew as his ASPIRE mentor for guidance toward his future college- education plans. As a single mother, I sought out Andrew’s advice more than a few times, when I needed a little extra guidance in navi- gating the sometimes tumultuous seas one encounters raising teenage boys, and always received the advice and encouragement needed to keep my sails aloft and my ship pointed in the right direction! Thank you, Andrew — coach, friend — for your years of service to Oregon lacrosse, our youth, the Sisters community, and our family. You continue to have our support, admiration, respect and love. The field won’t be the same without you. Wendi Reed Jacques See LeTTeRs on page 16 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday saturday sunday Monday Slt. chance t-storm Slt. chance t-storm Slt. chance t-storm Chance showers Partly sunny Partly sunny 86/48 77/46 74/na 83/49 77/48 70/44 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. After attending all the Community Assets Commit- tee meetings this past year because I was interested in observing the process, I can say I was pleasantly surprised at how well organized it was. Everybody participated coop- eratively, there was no dis- sension, no politics, no ego trips, and they accomplished their goal of vetting the top three projects voted on by the people who attended a previ- ous town-hall meeting. Next they offered a fol- low-up town-hall meeting to explain the results and pres- ent a survey, to get more public input about how to proceed. Only about 10 per- cent of those eligible to vote turned in a survey despite intense outreach. Did the other 90 percent just not want anything to do with it? Did 12 people basically waste their time for a year doing what people asked them to do? Maybe it’s apathy, not tox- icity, that’s the problem with Sisters. A lot of changes have taken place in Sisters since the community’s “vision statement” was written in 2010. Sisters is not just a cozy little Western artsy tourist town anymore and is poised to come into her own as a full-fledged self-support- ing ... what? Vision statement: “We cre- ate our future through a strong planning process that pro- tects town character, encour- ages environmental sustain- ability, and defines future development including hous- ing options for all citizens.” That didn’t happen. A recession intervened with loss of jobs, business clos- ings, lower property values; loss of homes, farms, live- stock, savings; and many families leaving the area and emptying the schools. A lot of old-timers left and new fami- lies moved in bringing with them different values and ideas. So the old-timers left are ticked off at the newcom- ers, and the newcomers don’t really care what the old tim- ers think and see Sisters as a blank slate they can write on. City management seems intent on grooming Sisters as a mecca for tourists from overcrowded cities along the coast who have certain expectations about amenities and apparently like to drink. Bud growers aren’t welcome in spite of the plant’s medici- nal and economic potential. High-tech entrepreneurs hope to make Sisters a hub for small international online businesses. Developers want to make it a destination resort or a health-and-wellness center. The arts community, which besides the environ- ment is the biggest draw to Sisters, struggles to find sup- port amidst changing busi- ness models. Those who wrote the vision statement didn’t antic- ipate there might be work- ing families who couldn’t afford housing. Developers complain there’s not enough profit in it for them to build affordable housing, much less apartments for working families, who would become future homeowners with school students. T h e r e ’s t h e d i v i d e between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have- nots; the property owners and the renters; those inside the city limits, those outside. We have those who can afford to own homes outside Sisters and shop in Sisters and those who have to commute to do the jobs required to maintain a tourist economy and service the wealthy homeowners. Vision statement: “We have a strong tourism econ- omy because of this beauty. But we are also a diversified entrepreneurial economy that includes arts and culture, light industry, natural resource- based businesses, and small retail. This economy espe- cially supports locally con- ceived and owned businesses that provide a wide variety of year-round family-wage jobs.” There are people at the City working on making changes and looking to the public for input — so this is your chance to get involved in the new economic devel- opment of Sisters. Take your ideas to City Council. They say they want solutions, not problems. Bring it! Vision statement: “Highly developed local leadership and an active and informed citizenry make Sisters a fine example of community self- sufficiency and grassroots democracy.” That hasn’t happened either. I’d say both sides need improvement — more edu- cation about their jobs for city manager, council, com- mittee members and staff; and more citizen education and involvement. It takes a community with a common vision working together to bring about change. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
