Wednesday, March 22, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
AIRPORT: Mitigation
is being explored
on noise issue
Continued from page 1
The listing in Appendix
M as a privately owned, pub-
lic-use airport of State con-
cern would have little direct
impact on the operations of
the airport.
“It continues the uses
that are currently allowed,”
Swecker said. “It enables
them in statute.”
While the airport has
seen an increase in traffic
and instruction activities,
the issue that has raised the
greatest concern in the com-
munity is the skydiving oper-
ation, which is expected to
return to action this summer.
Some local residents — both
in the vicinity of the airport
and further out — contend
that the aircraft’s takeoff
pattern and particularly the
droning noise of its circling
to gain drop altitude is nega-
tively impacting their quality
of life.
“Skydiving is the issue,”
Bruce Mason told The
Nugget.
Mason is a member of the
steering committee of the
local activist group Save Our
Skies (SOS).
SOS representatives noted
that they are splitting the cost
of a facilitator with the air-
port owners to explore miti-
gation of the impacts of air-
craft noise. Facilitator Anne
George is currently assessing
the potential for a mitigation
agreement.
Both sides have expressed
a willingness to “come to
the table” — and both sides
have said that they’ve met
resistance from the other
side.
Julie Benson told The
Nugget last week that “SOS
is not willing to mitigate
(noise impact) — they just
want it to stop,” Benson
said.
SOS members say that is
not true. Asked what would
constitute mitigation from
their point of view, Mason,
Karen Hulbert and Susan
Springer agreed that a change
of takeoff and climbing pat-
tern, changes or reductions in
hours and/or days of opera-
tion and mechanical modifi-
cations to the skydiving air-
craft would all be considered
forms of mitigation worth
considering.
“It would be a substan-
tial noise reduction,” Mason
said. “We’ve been saying that
all along and have offered
suggestions for that… If
they did that, 95 percent of
the complaints would go
away.”
Asked last week about
mechanical adaptations that
could make a difference
with propeller noise on the
skydiving aircraft — such
as installing a three-bladed
propeller or adding a muffler
— Benson told The Nugget,
“Absolutely, I believe there
are some mechanical modifi-
cations that would help that
plane. They’re expensive.
Who’s going to pay for that?
That’s absolutely something
that we could bring to the
table — if we can get to the
table.”
Mason suggests that
the use of a more powerful
plane that could climb more
quickly and quietly would be
beneficial.
The skydiving operation
does not currently have use
of the drop zones where par-
achutists landed last summer.
To use the properties where
they landed — one along-
side Camp Polk Road inside
the city limits and one on a
hayfield on private property
under county jurisdiction —
the operation would have to
obtain a conditional-use per-
mit, which would require a
land-use process including
public hearings. The time-
line for obtaining permits
by the start of the season
would be extremely tight
and given the likelihood
of appeals, probably not
viable.
Without the permits, the
skydivers’ landing zone
would have to be on the air-
port property.
In addition to the noise-
impact controversy, there is
an issue regarding a paved
“runout” on the airport
runway. Senior Deschutes
County Planner Peter Russell
noted in a memorandum last
fall that the paving of the
runout in 2015 poses several
“challenges” for the County
— the first being that it was
reportedly done without per-
mits. Additionally, the use
is not allowed in the Rural
Residential (RR-10) zone
and it sits on property not
owned by the airport but
on the common area owned
by the adjacent Eagle Air
Estates subdivision.
Also, the runout was
reportedly built on lands
mapped as wetlands.
The Department of State
Lands has not yet made a
determination on the wet-
lands question or any action
that might arise from it, and
the Eagle Air Estates home-
owners association and the
airport owners are currently
involved in mediation to
resolve the issue of the run-
out intrusion onto the HOA
common area.
35
Obituary
Dalton James
January 30, 1990 — March 9, 2017
A Celebration of Life
for Dalton James, 27, of
Sisters, will be held at 5
p.m., Tuesday, March 28, at
the Sisters Rodeo Clubhouse.
Dalton passed away
Wednesday, March 9, 2017
in Dunn Center from injuries
sustained in a motor-vehicle
accident.
Dalton Ray James was
born January 30, 1990 to
Stacy James. He grew up in
Central Oregon and gradu-
ated from Sisters High
School in 2008. Dalton built
his first guitar during his
junior year, which added
to his love for music. He
wrote a song he titled “These
Boots,” and touched many
people with the lyrics. He
also was a part of his school’s
football and wrestling teams.
The annual Sisters Rodeo
was a big part of Dalton’s
life. No matter where or
what he was doing he always
made sure to attend. Dalton
worked at the Three Creeks
Brewery in Sisters before
moving to Dickinson in 2012
to seek work. He worked for
various jobs including Titan
Chemical, Pathfinder, ZECO
and Smithies Hot Shot.
Dalton shared his musi-
cal talent at many bars. He
won second place in the
2013 Dickinson’s Got Talent
and opened at the Bandshell.
Dalton enjoyed having jam
sessions and bonfires with
friends. He made friends that
turned into family every-
where he went. He will be
truly missed by everyone
who was lucky enough to
know him, and even those
who didn’t get a chance.
Dalton is survived by
his mother, Stacy Berk of
Dickinson; brother, Colton
Berk of Bend; grandpar-
ents, Laurel and Bill Chrisp
of Washington; dog, Tank;
numerous aunts, uncles,
cousins and friends too
numerous to list.
Additional
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