Youth art submissions
sought for Eagle Watch page 9
Young violinist impresses
Sisters audience page 15
Circle of Friends mentors
unlock stories page 21
The Nugget
Vol. XXXX No. 4
Local snow
conditions
ripe for
avalanches
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Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Winter glory...
ODOT
updates
Sisters on
roundabout
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Correspondent
Snow. More snow … mul-
tiple layers of snow. Thawing,
refreezing, and then … more
snow.
The current snow situation
in the mountains is a textbook
example of avalanche-prone
conditions, and backcountry
travelers need to be aware and
take appropriate precautions.
This season’s mammoth
snowfall has already resulted
in avalanches that blocked
Highway 20 west of Santiam
Pass. Sadly, an avalanche also
claimed the life of a Seattle
woman, an experienced
Gary Farnsworth, of
the Oregon Department of
Transportation Region 4, has
announced that the contract
negotiations with Knife River
have been successfully con-
cluded for construction of the
roundabout at Highway 20
and Barclay Drive.
Farnsworth said that
ODOT is very pleased to be
working with Knife River,
the same company that
did the Cascade Avenue
reconstruction.
All of the land acquisitions
have been completed and the
PHOTO BY WILSON ZHANG
Sisters may be a little tired of snow and ice, snow-loaded roofs and leaks, but we never tire of the
magnificent scenes that winter provides when the clouds lift a bit and the sun breaks through.
See AVALANCHES on page 10
See ROAD WORK on page 29
Councilors get job training in Sisters
Schools seek to
mitigate snow closures
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
By Steve Kadel
Correspondent
Sisters School District
officials are trying to make
up class time lost to snow
closures this winter without
reducing spring break period
or extending the school year
in June.
Superintendent Curt
Scholl has met with repre-
sentatives of the certified
and classified unions to dis-
cuss the situation. Everyone
agrees that mitigating lost
time without affecting the
major vacations is desirable,
he said.
“We have spots on our
calendar which are staff work
days and students aren’t
there,” Scholl said.
One day was made up last
Inside...
Friday, January 20, which
had been scheduled as a
non-class workday for teach-
ers but was changed to hold
classes instead.
The District has closed
on six days due to heavy
snow this academic year (see
related story, page 18).
Scholl said the District
routinely builds in enough
class time to exceed the State
Department of Education
requirements of 990 hours at
the high school level and 900
hours at the middle and ele-
mentary levels. The District’s
schedule reduces the seven
needed makeup days to six,
and last Friday’s decision to
hold classes further pared the
number to five days.
See CLOSURES on page 18
Incoming City Councilors
and City department heads
put two afternoons of training
under their belts last week —
a first here in Sisters.
The training, organized
by City Manager Rick Allen,
was designed to prepare
councilors for the job they
have been elected to do.
Hearing from a variety of
trainers, public officials, and
the City attorney, participants
learned about conflicts of
interest and ethics, roles and
responsibilities in the land-
use decision-making process,
legal issues and elected offi-
cials liability, City council
and City manager roles, and
regional partnerships and the
role Sisters plays (ODOT,
EDCO, COIC, COCO).
Allen reminded the
PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD
Sisters City Councilors took in-depth training on the multifaceted nature
of their volunteer work last week.
presenters that it has been
several years since Sisters
has had any stability in the
City government arena. He
said that in his time as the
interim City manager, he has
worked with three different
mayors. For a period of time,
David Asson was the only
elected councilor, the others
having been appointed to fill
vacant seats due to councilor
resignations.
Redmond Mayor George
Endicott, Redmond City
Manager Keith Witcosky, and
See TRAINING on page 16
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Salutes .................. 8 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Bunkhouse Chronicle ....... 19 Classifieds .................. 27-29
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ................12 Sisters Naturalist ............. 14 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32