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Wednesday, March 8, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters care Sisters man pursues the sport of kings
Hank will begin the pro-
provider
By Jim Anderson
gram at 3 p.m., explaining
the furniture and tools of fal-
expanding
Perhaps you’ve seen “The conry, and is planning to shut
Eagle Huntress.” It sparked it down at 4:30 p.m. But be
in the ancient prepared to stay longer, as
into Redmond an and interest
noble art of falconry. If there’s a sure bet the audience
Correspondent
Absolute Serenity
Senior Care of Sisters has
announced that they are
closing their original foster
care home in Sisters, known
as “Helen’s House” and
expanding their operations
into Redmond.
A n n a ’s H o m e a n d
Pennington’s Place continue
to operate under Absolute
Serenity Senior Care in
Sisters, which has been serv-
ing the community for the
past eight years.
David Tolle told The
Nugget, “We closed the
home so that we can expand
into Redmond and offer our
services. The demand in
Sisters for three homes has
decreased, and the request
for our new homes and that
concept is more sought after
now than the original home.”
The name Helen’s House
will be transferred to a new
foster-care house being
readied in Redmond for an
August 2017 opening.
“We have found that
many of our resident and
families like the home set-
ting and smaller town, but
at times would like to be
closer to more services,”
Tolle said. “By expand-
ing into Redmond, this
will give families that
option.”
Absolute Serenity is cur-
rently taking reservations
for the Redmond home, and
has a waiting list for its two
homes in Sisters.
For more information,
contact Tolle at 541-848-
3194 or absoluteserenity@
ymail.com.
you’ve wondered how rap-
tors and people become good
buddies and watch out for
each other, now’s the time to
learn.
Hank Minor, a newcomer
to Sisters Country, and his
beautiful older teen-age east-
ern red-tailed hawk, Maggie,
are going to be on center
stage on Saturday, March
18, at the new Raven Makes
Gallery located at 182 E.
Hood Ave. in Sisters.
Hank and Maggie have
been pals since Hank entered
her life two years ago. A fal-
coner will trap the raptor he
or she wants to train and fly
for sport — or in some places
to chase unwanted birds away
from a given area. That’s how
Hank met Maggie.
Hank, his wife Laura,
and Maggie moved here
in November from North
Carolina. This became a very
important piece of geographi-
cal and physical information
for Maggie to handle the first
time Hank took her out to fly
over snow; she didn’t know
what it was, having never
seen anything like it in her
short time of living in the
Southeast.
In some places, both fed-
eral and state permits are
required to take on the sport
of falconry, or “hawking”
as it’s known in England. In
Oregon, all that’s required is
a state permit. However, the
first thing that’s required is
the knowledge and training
by a mentor on how to trap
and keep your bird accord-
ing to the rules of falconry —
which Hank will talk about
during his presentation.
Happy 50th
Birthday, Monte!
will have plenty of questions
to go overtime, especially
when Maggie is on the fist.
Hank says Maggie’s a pro-
lific hunter and has captured
over 100 head of “game,”
made up mostly of gray and
fox squirrels, common in the
Southeast. She can take cot-
tontails and once took on
a full-grown opossum and
killed it.
The bigger game she will
be going after here in her new
hunting grounds will make
both Minor’s and her life very
exciting. The first time she
tries for a black-tailed jack-
rabbit will really be an edu-
cational experience. There
are many big owls and red-
tails who found out too late
that if they get sloppy about
capturing one for a meal, the
rabbit (a hare, actually) can
roll over and with one mighty
kick with those powerful hind
legs, disembowel a raptor.
“I apprenticed under hard-
core game hawkers who had
a number-one rule: fly your
bird hard and fly it often,”
Minor told The Nugget.
He says that was a criti-
cal lesson for him. Falconry
is the sport of taking game
with your hawk, not about
hoarding the bird and keep-
ing it as a pet. He’s also
quick to point out that nature
equipped hawks, eagles, fal-
cons and owls to hunt and kill
prey for food and safety, not
sit around as a pet and cluck
like a chicken.
When asked why he chose
Raven Makes Gallery for his
talk, Hank replied, “Raven
Makes Gallery is a truly
stunning, visual space. The
PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON
Hank and Magnolia (aka “Maggie”), good pals, even though one has hair
and the other feathers.
Native American art on dis-
play there echoes the fact that
birds of prey — including the
red-tailed Hawk — are pow-
erful totems and symbols in
the Native American culture;
I couldn’t think of a more
perfect setting to present the
art of falconry.”
There will be plenty of
simple refreshments (maybe
Hank has some some barbe-
cued opossum left over?) and
ample opportunities to take
photos to capture the essence
of the “Sport of Kings.”
Proud of the Sisters High
School Mr. SHS Contestants!
Join us for their FAN fundraising
Spaghetti Feed and Auction
Sunday, March 12 at 6 p.m.
at the Sisters Community Church.
541-548-2899
541
548 28
8 99 38
3818 SW 21st Pl. YourCareMedical.com
Hwy. 126 to Redmond, two turns and you’re there! (Near fairgrounds)
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