Shrove Tuesday feast
set at church page 13
Outlaws claim league title
along with Cottage Grove page 4
Birding resource is at
tips of fingers page 11
The Nugget
Vol. XXXX No. 8
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Senator’s town hall draws massive crowd
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Oregon Democrat Senator
Ron Wyden walked onto the
stage at Sisters High School
Monday night to a standing
ovation from an overwhelm-
ingly friendly standing-room-
only crowd. He was here for
his 795th town hall meeting,
22 of which have been held in
Deschutes County.
The 90-minute meet-
ing was a series of questions
courteously posed by the
almost entirely friendly audi-
ence, with Wyden exhibit-
ing wide-ranging knowledge
on a number of diverse top-
ics. Throughout the evening,
much of what Wyden had to
say was greeted with applause
and cheers.
A term used by Wyden a
number of times was “repre-
sentative democracy,” a con-
cept he believes exemplifies
the “Oregon Way” of civil
engagement with respect and
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Sisters
dominates
youth
lifting event
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
regarding alleged ties between
President Donald Trump and
the leadership of Russia.
“I think this is an extraor-
dinary time as it relates to
Sisters may not seem like
the most obvious town to pro-
duce a raft of powerlifters to
dominate the national cham-
pionships, but that’s exactly
what happened last weekend
in San Diego.
Six young lifters from
Level 5 Barbell Club and
CrossFit in Sisters set national
records on their way to five
gold medals and a silver in
the USA Powerlifting Youth
Nationals. Admittedly, they
had the advantage of being
a large contingent in a small
and still-new event.
See TOWN HALL on page 15
See P0WERLIFTING on page 30
PHOTO BY GARY MILLER
Sen. Ron Wyden’s town hall meeting at Sisters High School drew a crowd that overflowed the auditorium.
inclusivity. After asking how
many people were first-time
attendees at a town hall, to
which a large majority of the
crowd of some 800 people
raised their hands, he told
those attending, “I am looking
out tonight at the face of rep-
resentative democracy… I’m
going to listen to what you
have to say. I am interested in
hearing from all of you. I’ll
do my best to respond.”
He addressed questions
Sisters’ citizens earn honors
Locals mourn man
killed in skiing accident
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
A 26-year-old man who
spent five or six years working
here in Sisters at Earthwood
Homes and Ponderosa Forge
& Ironworks was killed in
a fall while skiing on the
south Teton on Wednesday,
February 15.
The Jackson Hole Daily
reported that, “John ‘Jack’
Fields Jr. aimed to ski the
Amora Vida Couloir with
three other mountaineers
when he fell 1,400 feet to his
death, according to a press
release from Grand Teton
National Park.”
Fields had just recently
moved to Jackson. He had
many friends in Sisters who
are mourning his death. The
young man had a reputation
as someone who loved to
work with his hands — and
Inside...
who loved outdoor adven-
ture. According to his friends,
he was also a singularly kind
and generous soul.
Benji Nagel was one of
his many friends in Sisters.
He paid tribute to him in a
Facebook post:
“For his last year or so liv-
ing in Sisters, he would stop
by our house almost every
day after work, usually tired
from a long day, and maybe
crack a beer, or play some
guitar or fall asleep in the
backyard sunshine or show
us whatever Prairie Home
Companion clip he was
stoked about that day.
“What I have heard over
and over again the last few
days is that Jack always made
See SKIER on page 31
Every February, the Sisters
Area Chamber of Commerce
hosts a fête to honor indi-
vidual citizens, organizations,
and businesses who contribute
to making Sisters an economi-
cally and culturally vibrant
place.
This year’s honors got
underway with a special nod
to a woman who seeks no
fanfare in her work, who nev-
ertheless has a big impact on
some of the most vulnerable
lives in the community.
Chamber President
Chris Wilder offered up the
President’s Award to Sherri
Hermans, who works as a
paraprofessional in the Sisters
School District. She works
with special-needs chil-
dren, with particular empha-
sis on providing them with
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Greg Willitts accepted Business of the Year honors on behalf of FivePine
Lodge & Conference Center.
adaptive sports opportunities
through the Unified Sports
Program. An accompany-
ing video brought tears to
eyes at FivePine Lodge &
Conference Center, as the
audience saw children light
up with joy, including a youth
who stood up from his wheel-
chair — a very rare occur-
rence for him — at Hermans’
encouragement.
See AWARDS on page 20
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ................12 Obituaries ....................... 19 Outlaw Calender .............. 24 Classifieds .................. 27-29
Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Sisters Saver ................... 23 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32