Wednesday, June 15, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5 Operations manager is moving on By erin Borla Correspondent photo by luCas lawson Shannon fouts was honored for excellence in the classroom and on the beach volleyball court. Shannon Fouts earns scholar-athlete honors Sisters High School Alum Shannon Fouts (Class of 2013) was presented with the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for the 2015- 2016 school year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. This award is given for academic and athletic excel- lence and represents all sports at the university. Finishing up her junior year, Fouts competes for the Cal Poly Mustangs in Division I Indoor and Beach Volleyball. She studies Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration with a concentration in Sport Management and has a 3.88 cumulative GPA. This past spring, Fouts helped lead the Beach Volleyball team to its most successful season in program history and a semi-final berth in the first-ever Big West Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament. The Scholar Athlete Award was presented at the “Night of the Mustang” banquet, where all mem- bers of the Cal Poly athletic department were present, on June 2. Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. Happy Father’s Day. Completely In-Canal Helps your ear work the way it’s supposed to! — Stay Active — 541-317-1265 | 1625 NE 2nd St. | Bend, OR June 30 will mark the end of Leland Bliss’ time with the Sisters School District. After serving as the director of operations in Sisters for the last 10 years Bliss will be moving on to Crook County School District. Bliss began his career in education 17 years ago in the Bend-La Pine School District. “There are major differ- ences between a large district and small/medium district,” he said. The director of operations has a big job. When Bliss started he was in charge of only facilities and safety. As time went on and budgets shrank, he began supervising the nutrition, transportation, custodial and maintenance departments for the district. “It’s been challenging try- ing to cover everything,” said Bliss. “I can’t do everything that I would like to within each of our facilities.” Each unique department has it’s own challenges, including the annual review for nutrition services and managing trips and small staff within the transportation department. There have been a few highlights during Bliss’ term in Sisters. “Seeing some of the improvements throughout the schools, like the pellet boiler at the high school,” he photo by erin borla Leland Bliss is leaving Sisters School district. said. “Working hard on the bond and having that pass — those have been the most The community will be in good hands. project lists have been well distributed and we are in the process of identifying oversight committees. — Leland Bliss rewarding.” Bliss knows how much work will be done throughout the district with the passing of the bond and, while he rec- ognizes it may be challenging for a new person in his posi- tion, there will be a project manager to help the new hire, and the projects have been well laid out ahead of time to make them easier to manage. “The community will be in good hands,” he said. “Project lists have been well distributed and we are in the process of identifying over- sight committees. For community members interested in participating in an oversight committee, contact Melanie Petterson, district secretary, at 541-549- 8521 for more information. Leland and his wife are looking forward to this new stage in his career. He hopes to continue to work in the Crook County District and eventually retire in the Prineville area.