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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2016)
Wednesday, March 16, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon FOUNDATION: Staff met with key players in Sisters community Continued from page 3 The Ford Family Foundation has shifted its emphasis from leadership training to community-build- ing and economic devel- opment. In years past, the foundation conducted three leadership-training cohorts in Sisters, each of which resulted in a meaningful contribution to the community. Under the new initiative, the foundation may decide to partner with, participate in and/or fund projects. The long-range process may con- tinue with help to design a viable approach, and assist with implementation of the community’s greatest need. Their site visit included a walking/driving tour, lunches with longtime residents and outspoken vocal advocates, roundtables with low-income renters, service workers, vet- erans, senior citizens, and oth- ers, especially reaching out to the unvoiced and the unheard. “I was really impressed by the numerous efforts that peo- ple, organizations and institu- tions are working on in Sisters. Everyone we met shared how much they love Sisters. We enjoyed the many conversa- tions we had over coffee and some shared meals,” Barros said. They talked with business owners in the industrial park, and met with leaders of Sisters School District and Sisters Park & Recreation District. They heard from people who work in Sisters but can’t live here. They made a stop at the Kiwanis Food Bank. They talked to people who work with all kinds of nonprofit organizations. The largest group meet- ing was at Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop, with representa- tives of a dozen or more non- profits and cohort members (graduates) of Ford Institute Leadership Program. This was an opportunity for them to meet FFF leadership, and to present an overview of oppor- tunities and obstacles. This group represented the commu- nity, arts, music, theater, hous- ing, gardening, rodeo, friends of children and more. They presented posi- tive opportunities including greater collaboration among nonprofits, civility, diversity, high energy, respectful com- munication, and specific proj- ects such as a community ice skating rink, live theater, arts district, museum, and hous- ing, which to no one’s surprise also turned up as an obstacle. Dollar signs were everywhere, seemingly pointing to unaf- fordability of both living and working here, in certain sec- tors. No idea was unworthy; no obstacle was dismissed as too high. All were considered. Three people advocated on behalf of a new local theater group looking for funding and a performance space. They’ve presented theater on a small scale, and they are looking to grow, especially to include more youth and adults. Representatives of the Sisters Rodeo and Sisters Folk Festival talked about the For Sale by Owner Pride of ownership shows in this private custom 2-bdrm 2-bath LOG HOME on heavily forested 5 acres. Wraparound deck, garage, shop, outbuildings, hot tub, carport, fenced, gated and much more. $429,000. Call 541-549-8160. 39 HOMESITES FOR SALE 39 buildable lots covering 100 acres. Just minutes to Sisters. Each square lot is about 2.5 acres with nice tree coverage. Some have mountain views, some border USFS. Gravel roads and the community water main lines are in. Call the listing offi ce for the bids to provide water, power and pavement to each parcel. A rare opportunity to fi nish these 5 streets out and either build the homes or sell the lots individually. Make your own destiny! $1,800,000. Carol Davis ABR, GRI, Broker 541-588-9217 541-410-1556 1-800-650-6766 success and stability of their organizations, and offered ongoing help to the arts and theater contingent. Barros commented, “During the reception at Sisters Galley and Frame, we heard from Ford Leadership graduates, nonprofits, and the arts community about oppor- tunities and challenges and we were happy to hear that these groups want to continue to meet to address the challenges and move the opportunities forward.” The Ford Family Foundation recently pro- vided funding for Speak Your Peace: the Civility Project. In January, speaker Rob Karwath introduced fundamental prin- ciples of civility, and facili- tated discussions on how Sisters can adopt, customize and use these principles to enhance community interac- tion. C4C President Robyn Holdman represented local Citizens4Community at the meeting, and later said, “We are working on building our team and we appreciated their support.” Later that evening, Barros and Thompson dropped in on the Sisters City Council, where Barros explained the nature of their visit, and asked and answered questions. One of the ongoing concerns men- tioned was affordable hous- ing, but the FFF does not deal directly with that. “We can provide funds for technical assistance,” Barros said. But the foundation does not directly help with housing development. Barros told the Council it’s important for the foundation to start at where the commu- nity is, rather than coming in with a pre-packaged pro- gram. There is no “one-size- fits-all,” so what worked for Coburg or Damascus is not the same as what will work in Sisters. In Coburg, some foundation graduates were interested in building a com- munity center, but with the help of the foundation, they discovered it would be more effective to renovate an exist- ing building. In Damascus, a need was met by turning the old fire hall into a community center. In Sisters, much of the preliminary work — in terms of convening focus groups to identify needs — has already been done. In a true effort to listen to citizens who don’t usually get heard, Barros and Thompson met with a small group at Hardtails Bar & Grill, and sat down over coffee for nearly two hours with a Hispanic woman. They represented some of the points of view that otherwise may not be heard. Out West Realty — Serving all of Central Oregon — Principal Broker ABR, CDPE,CIAS, GRI, SRES 541-480-0183 www.sandygoodsell.com Licensed Broker in the State of Oregon 31 It was not all work and no play for the team. Thursday evening, they took in a packed-house concert by Darlingside, and saw how much Sisters loves music. Barros loved it. “The concert was amazing, and what a delight to have such an amazing performance at the high school. The band members felt like they were at home and talked so warmly about their experiences in Sisters.” Asked what surprised him most about Sisters, Barros described a casual meeting: “I went for a walk Friday morning, and walked into the Gallery Restaurant for break- fast, and saw Lance, whom I had met for the first time on Thursday, sitting at the coun- ter having breakfast, and he invited me to sit with him. It speaks volumes about how friendly the people of Sisters are and how welcome they make you feel.” Sue Stafford contributed to this story.
