Habitat volunteer
marks 93 years page 9
Life-skills kids enjoy a
night of hoops page 10
The Nugget
Vol. XXXIX No. 3
Students help teacher earn
master’s degree page 20
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Community
turns out
for ‘Speak
Your Peace’
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
400-year-
old tree
in its last
days
Winter magnificence...
By Sue Stafford
By Jim cornelius
Correspondent
News Editor
The community hall at
the Sisters fire station bub-
bled with conversations and
friendly greetings as a light
snow fell outside on the eve-
ning of January 14. A steady
stream of Sisters Country
residents flowed through the
door, out of the cold and into
the warmth of camaraderie
and curiosity as live music by
the Back on the Street band
set feet tapping.
“What is this Speak Your
Peace program all about?” “I
like the name.” “I heard from
someone who went to the
noon meeting that it sounds
like something we might be
able to use here in Sisters.”
As Robyn Holdman,
head
of
the
new
A ponderosa pine tree in
Creekside Park is in its final
days. The towering old pine
has been slowly dying, and
foresters have decided it will
have to come down.
The City of Sisters
Forestry Board made that
decision last week, on the rec-
ommendation of contract for-
ester Dan Galecki. Galecki’s
report stated that “this tree is
an extreme hazard. It should
be eliminated immediately.
Its ailments and peculiarities
were observed for two years,
and its condition is now dete-
riorating rapidly… It is very
unfortunate. It is believed
this tree is about 400 years
old.”
That would mean the tree
photo by Jim cornelius
three-Fingered Jack rises through an early morning fog to touch the sunrise.
See SyP on page 30
See tree on page 28
City snapshot: Finance
manager to depart
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
News clips of happenings
around town:
• Lynne Fujita-Conrads
will be leaving her position
as City of Sisters Finance
Officer on January 25, after
eight years at City Hall. She
plans to pursue other inter-
ests. Lynne has been training
her replacement, Joe O’Neill,
to help get him onboard.
• Sisters School Board will
hold another public forum on
Monday, January 25, at 6:30
p.m. at Sisters Elementary
School to explain the repair,
maintenance, and update
Inside...
needs in the schools, answer
questions, and hear the pub-
lic’s opinions. The School
Board is considering float-
ing a bond in May for these
expenses, but wants to hear
from local residents first.
• A resolution was
approved by a 5-0 Sisters
City Council vote at the
January 14 meeting to adopt
changes to the City Master
Fee schedule to more accu-
rately reflect actual costs to
the City of impacts on the
parks from large events.
Fiscal year event-fee revenue
is estimated to increase by
See cIty on page 23
Sisters man killed in Hwy. 20 wreck
Rodney A. Stambaugh,
54, of Sisters, was killed in
a single-vehicle wreck on an
icy Highway 20 early Sunday
morning.
According to Oregon State
Police, troopers and emer-
gency personnel responded
at about 3:30 a.m. on January
17 to the report of a single-
vehicle crash on Highway 20
near milepost 2.5, just east of
town.
Emergency crews found
a 1997 Subaru wagon had
exited the roadway and struck
a tree. The driver, Stambaugh,
was dead when crews arrived.
The road conditions at
the time of the accident were
dangerous, with black ice on
the roadway.
OSP was assisted by
photo courtesy osp
A Sisters man died when his vehicle left the roadway and hit a tree.
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office, Bend Police, Black
Butte Police, the Oregon
Department of Transportation
and Cloverdale Fire and
Rescue.
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ................12 At Your Service............. 16-17 Sisters Salutes .................21 Classifieds ..................26-28
Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Paw Prints ....................... 19 Crossword ....................... 25 Real Estate .................29-32