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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2016)
Boys soccer wins league games page 9 Sisters resident assists with feral-cat trapping page 15 Sisters set for Halloween festivities page 23 The Nugget Vol. XXXIX No. 43 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, October 26, 2016 Couple badly hurt in Sisters wreck An Oregon State Police trooper was parked along Highway 20 west of Sisters on Thursday, October 21, at about 10:20 a.m., when he saw a vehicle crash into a tree a short distance away. The trooper and an off- duty paramedic arrived on scene about the same time and noted the driver was not breathing and had no pulse. They freed the driver, who was later identified as Dana Leroy Niehaus, age 66, of Santa Cruz, California, and began CPR on him. The trooper and the off-duty para- medic performed CPR for 10 minutes on Niehaus before Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire personnel arrived. The fire personnel continued CPR and transported the injured man to St. Charles in Bend. The passenger, Jeannine C. Niehaus, age 66, also of Santa Cruz, was extricated from the vehicle and taken to St. Charles with serious injuries. News Editor The City of Sisters has requested that city council candidate Richard Esterman provide additional informa- tion and documentation to demonstrate that he is a resi- dent of the City of Sisters. The city charter requires that a candidate for council be a resident of the City for a year prior to the election. Esterman’s home in Tollgate went on the market in late September. Esterman told The Nugget he needs to downsize and he said he began renting a small house in town at 153 Oak Street in October 2015. He reported he has been using his Tollgate house as his office. Inside... Candidates vie for county seat By Jim Cornelius News Editor PHOTO COURTESY OSP Witnesses quickly came to the aid of a couple involved in a single-vehicle wreck near Sisters. Preliminary investigation revealed a 2008 Audi sedan was traveling westbound on Highway 20 near milepost 98 (west of Sisters) when it drifted off the roadway and struck a large tree. It is City questions candidate’s residency By Jim Cornelius PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 Questions have come into the City regarding Esterman’s actual residency and on Monday, October 24, City Attorney Jeremy Green sent the candidate a letter seeking clarification. The City provided a copy of the letter to The Nugget. The letter notes that Esterman filed a candidate statement on July 14 identi- fying 153 Oak Street as his place of residence and indi- cating plans to move to 329 Jefferson Way. “City is concerned that your actual place of resi- dence is in Tollgate,” Green wrote. Esterman told The Nugget in a recent interview that See ESTERMAN on page 27 believe Dana Niehaus had suffered a medical issue and lost consciousness. At the time of this release, Dana and Jeannine Niehaus are in stable condition at the hospital. OSP was assisted by the Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon Department of Transportation and Black Butte Police Department. Incumbent Deschutes County Commissioner Alan Unger is facing off with Republican/Independent challenger Phil Henderson in a race for Unger’s seat on the Deschutes County board of Commissioners. Unger, a Democrat, has served two terms on the commission; he was previ- ously mayor of Redmond. Henderson, a homebuilder by trade, with additional back- ground in law, has served on the City of Bend Budget Committee and as a precinct See CANDIDATES on page 9 Himbert national contest finalist By Steve Kadel Correspondent Erik Himbert could have given up when a snowboard- ing accident in 2009 left both of his legs paralyzed. It happened when he hit an ice block at high speed, shot into the air, and shat- tered a vertebra on the crash- landing. Himbert spent more than two months in a hospital. “It was bad,” he recalled last week. “It was like falling from a two-story building.” Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he began work- ing on ways to regain as much movement as possible. That led him to design and construct a standing wheel- chair, which allows him to keep some muscle tone and mass instead of just sitting all the time. PHOTO BY STEVE KADEL Erik Himbert, of Sisters, who designed and built a standing wheelchair, is among five finalists in a contest to construct modes of transportation. “Bone density is a big problem, too,” Himbert said. “So is blood flow. Being confined to a chair, I see how bad it is on our bodies to be sitting for so long. “When I got out of the hospital, it was all about how See HIMBERT on page 25 Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ............... 10 Obituaries .................. 16, 19 Sisters Saver ................... 24 Classifieds ..................28-30 Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....11 Bunkhouse Chronicle ........21 Crossword ....................... 27 Real Estate .................30-32