Wrestlers compete
at regionals page 4
Heartwarmers at work in
Sisters page 3
The Nugget
Vol. XXXIX No. 8
Matthew Riehle wins
geography bee page 6
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Fair sparks fascination with science
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
The Sisters High School
commons buzzed with excite-
ment on Saturday for the
fifth annual Sisters Science
Fair. Students from all three
Sisters schools showed off
their educational experiments,
displays, and demonstrations.
Hundreds of folks expressed
interest by watching or get-
ting involved through hands-
on challenges.
The fair was sponsored by
the Sisters Science Club and
free to all. “The Science of
Nature” was this year’s theme
and was evident throughout
the fair with student displays,
ranging from the “Science of
Photosynthesis” to “What’s
In Our Forest” and “Pop
Bottle Ecosystem” drawings
done by students from Sisters
Elementary School.
The Sisters Science Fair is
an educational opportunity to
gather students, teachers, and
ideas together in an environ-
ment immersed in science,
technology, engineering, math
and history.
Riding a bicycle is a life
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
City
works on
forgivable-
loan
program
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
the Sisters Science Club, was
ignited with energy as he
In an effort to attract new
business to Sisters and to
retain businesses already
established here, Sisters
City Council has been
working on the establish-
ment of a forgivable-loan
program.
The City of Bend estab-
lished such a program with
the original intention of
stabilizing companies and
retaining businesses, and
thus local jobs, during dif-
ficult economic periods. As
the economy has strength-
ened, the focus has shifted
to attracting new business to
Bend.
See SCIENCE FAIR on page 10
See LOANS on page 22
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Fairgoers at the Sisters Science Fair played with hands-on exhibits, including a gyroscopic umbrella.
skill we learn as kids that
sticks with us for a lifetime.
Once you learn it you never
forget it. But what if there was
a special kind of bike that will
make everything you learned
useless?
Cal Allen, co-founder of
Sheriff’s captain fired
after theft charge
Chamber honors Sisters’ best
BEND (AP) — A
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
captain faces federal charges
that he stole more than
$200,000 from the county,
then turned over much of
it to an ex-colleague with
whom he had a romantic
relationship.
Scott Beard was arrested
and fired Friday, two days
after a grand jury returned a
five-count indictment charg-
ing him with theft, money
laundering and passport
fraud, The Bulletin newspa-
per reported. He was jailed
pending a Monday court
appearance.
Beard, 45, is accused of
“It’s always better to get
a plaque than a headstone,”
said Bob Grooney at Friday
night’s Sisters Area Chamber
of Commerce Awards dinner.
Longtime members of
the Chamber have come to
expect that kind of dry humor
out of Grooney, who served
26 years as a member of the
Chamber’s board of direc-
tors. That service, along
with his work on the school
board; early economic devel-
opment efforts; his work as
the owner and operator with
his wife, Claudia, of The
Gallimaufry; and as a found-
ing member of what is now
Sisters Park & Recreation
Inside...
stealing the money between
January 2014 and September
2015, when he was put on
paid administrative leave.
Investigators say he some-
times submitted overstated
or fake funding requests for
a regional drug task force he
oversaw.
His attorney, Erick Ward,
said in an email to The
Associated Press on Saturday
that he could not immediately
comment on the case.
Beard gave at least
$100,000 to former sher-
iff’s office employee Krista
Mudrick, 35, the indictment
See SHERIFF on page 29
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Peter Storton presented Bob Grooney, right, with a Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce.
District, earned Grooney the
first-ever Chamber Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The award was presented
by Peter Storton, who offered
up a heartfelt tribute to a
See AWARDS on page 16
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Bunkhouse Chronicle ......... 9 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Paw Prints ........................15 Classifieds .................. 25-27
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ................12 Obituaries .......................20 Crossword ....................... 23 Real Estate .................29-32