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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Housing Works awarded funds Housing Works has announced the fund- ing of Village Meadows Apartments in Sisters through the Oregon Housing and Community Service (OHCS) Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) Housing Program. Funding is also secured for a project in La Pine. A total of 90 affordable units are planned between the two projects. “Both La Pine and Sisters desperately need more affordable housing,” said Tom Kemper, executive director of Housing Works. “We are hopeful to have these new affordable devel- opments completed by 2018 for low-income households in those communities.” The plan for Village Meadows Apartments in Sisters includes 48 afford- able apartments with a mix of one-, two-, and three- bedroom apartments. The development site is located on two lots totaling 2.12 acres behind Ray’s Food Place, making it conve- niently located near much of Sisters’ commercial district and schools. With vacancy rates below 1 percent throughout Central Oregon and the majority of renter households in both communities burdened by housing costs, these new communities could provide up to 90 low-income house- holds (at or below 60 percent of area median income) with an affordable place to live. As affordable properties, the La Pine and Sisters develop- ments would have rents well below market rates. Oregon Housing and Community Services has allocated over $3.6 million in state funding for the develop- ments under their new LIFT program. The projects will also rely on 4 percent low- income housing tax credits from OHCS for funding the projects. Housing Works hopes to begin construction on both communities by the summer of 2017. Build time is expected to be 12 months. Preleasing for Village Meadows Apartments will begin approximately three months prior to comple- tion through EPIC Property Management. Ore. enacts tougher fall protections for builders EUGENE (AP) — A state regulation that took effect Jan. 1 requires Oregon con- struction contractors to make sure workers are protected from falls if work is done six or more feet above a surface. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division said the new rule will pri- marily affect home builders because many commercial contractors already require the protections, reported The Register-Guard. The previ- ous state OSHA regulation required the protections for work at 10 or more feet off a general surface but at six or more feet off established floors, mezzanines, balconies and walkways with unpro- tected sides. OSHA said Oregon con- struction firms were cited most frequently last year for violating rules about fall protection. “We’ve come a long way in Oregon in reducing inju- ries and deaths from falls, particularly in construction, but we still have a ways to go,” said Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood in a written statement. Walter Custom Homes owner Tom Walter argued, however, that the new rule is a “regulation looking for a problem.” He said his firm has constructed 118 homes since 2003 and no work- ers have been injured in a fall. Ed McMahon, execu- tive director of the Home Builders Association of Lane County, said the group’s members will need to fig- ure out how to comply with the rule for some tasks, like when workers install roof trusses. “It would appear that we Home is where the dog is would need to go around the top of the walls and build a safety barrier, then put the trusses up, and then tear the barrier down,” said McMahon. “On commercial buildings, you see contrac- tors build a little hand rail at the roof. And now we may have to do that for single- family homes.” He said the extra time and expense of creating such structures will increase the cost of new homes. Jeff Jones Principal Broker 541-480-7201 jeffjoneslcl@ gmail.com Ali Mayea 541-588-6007 401 E. Main Ave. SistersHometownRealty.com Sisters Hometown Realty Continued from page 22 continue to feed them with artificial feeds and tempt them with salt blocks are not being kind to them. Those deer should be among their kind in the deer winter-range habitat, most of which is east of Central Oregon. That’s where old- growth Western junipers come into the picture as big- game animal shelters. It is not uncommon to see thou- sands of mule deer and even elk sheltering among the old-growth juniper, eating grasses, sagebrush and bitter- brush, without which many animals of the high desert would have a tough time of it in winter. No one likes to see mule deer die in winter, so in some parts of the West they are being fed hay and other foods. However, in the long run, that doesn’t work to help deer survive. In spring, car- casses of thousands of deer have been found with stom- achs full of hay and other food they couldn’t digest, or they died because of diseases that spread rapidly in feeding yards. The soils under old- growth sagebrush, juniper and grasslands are ideal for our native Great Basin spade- foot toads to burrow deep down below the frost line, where they can live for years on the fat reserves, breath- ing air and absorbing water though their skin. The heart- beat of hibernating amphib- ians and reptiles is almost undetectable. And foes often become friends in winter, shar- ing space to hibernate. Rattlesnakes and gopher snakes are normally not compatible in summer, but in winter they frequently share the same hibernacu- lum, along with other reptile species. Another interesting part- nership for finding food in winter is that of the mag- pie, raven and eagle. Dead animals are sometimes dif- ficult to spot, so in winter, eagles often perch on a high spot and watch for magpie or raven activity. This often leads to a meal. Survival of the fittest is the rule for winter; all ani- mals have a do-or-die plan. Use Your Home to Stay at Home WITH A REVERSE MORTGAGE Call Shelley Nelson, , Reverse Mortgage Specialist t 541.385.6112 Ext. 2302 2 NMLS 351571 Shelley.Nelson@ directorsmortgage.net This is not a commitment to lend. Consumer Loan License NMLS-3240, CL-3240 THIS WEEK’S FEATURED PROPERTY ! Just listed Doug Roberts Principal Broker 541-280-6199 dougrobertsMPS @gmail.com Lana Labuda Principal Broker 541-408-4144 lana@sisters properties.com Ross Kennedy Principal Broker 541-408-1343 ross@myrk solutions.com Thinking of moving to town? We’ve got maps and lots of info. WILDLIFE: Deer should be in their winter range 31 1 16190 6 1 9 0 F Foothills th hi l l Loop L South, S th h Sisters S i t ~ $ $949,900 9 4 9 9 0 0 Beautiful custom home in Starr Ranch! 5 bedrooms and 5.5 baths total in main house, guest house, plus bonus room above garage! Main house has: Elegant foyer and spindle staircase; solid oak pegged fl oors; river-rock fi replace and wet bar in living room; formal dining room plus eat-in kitchen; main-level master suite; private offi ce; large den with private entrance and more! Horses allowed! Stop by or call to learn more about this property and all our other listings. Suzanne Carvlin Broker We have what you’re looking for! Scan to visit our website! 541-595-8707 Suzanne@Home Metolius Property Sales InSisters.com Linda Brooksby Broker 541-977-4488 lindabrooksbylcl @gmail.com Kimberly Gorayeb Principal Broker 541-639-5551 kiminsisters @gmail.com 290 E. Cascade Ave. 541-588-6614 metoliuspropertysales.com Ellen Wood Broker 541-588-0033 woode51@ msn.com Katie Cam Broker 971-409-0177 katiercam@ gmail.com Dechen Dawkins Broker 541-241-6619 soldonsisters @gmail.com
