Track teams race into the heart of the season page 9 Is alcohol increasing your health risks? page 16 6,000 Easter eggs, gone in seconds page 23 The Nugget Vol. XXXX No. 16 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NtggetNews.com Aggressive dog injures Sisters woman Jodi Schneider McNamee of Sisters was walking her two small dogs in the area of East Tyee Drive and South Locust Street in Sisters last Wednesday when a loose dog — she believes it was a pit bull mix — hit her from behind and knocked her down, causing a serious leg injury that required surgery to correct. The dog “slammed into me out of nowhere, real hard,” Schneider told The Nugget. “I hit the pavement with my knees and pain jolted through me and I couldn’t move my leg. Luckily there was a neighbor out nearby PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Roundabout construction rolling along... PHOTO COURTESY ODOT ODOT reports that dtring the week of April 17, the rotndabott constrtction contractor will open the Barclay Road clostre to a right in/right ott. Dte to the contractor working in the center median section of the highway, McKinney Bttte will be a right in/right ott as well. In the median area of the highway there will be excavation, grading, and concrete paving for the new roadway. There is also the potential for some nighttime work later in the week. No delays are anticipated dtring daytime hotrs; there may be tp to 20-mintte delays at night. See DOG ATTACK on page 30 Quick action stops house fire Quick action by homeown- ers and a rapid response from the Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD on April 12 kept a wall fire from extending to the entire home on Bitterbrush Lane near Sisters. Homeowners Chris and John Zandofsky noticed smoke and flames in the wall near a pellet stove and called 911. The homeowners used a garden hose to slow the prog- ress of the fire while the fire department responded. When firefighters arrived they found flames and sparks in the wall and used a chainsaw to gain access to the concealed fire. Fire Chief Roger Johnson See HOUSE FIRE on page 26 FS closing section of forest to camping New SHS greenhouse is dedicated Faced with a large num- ber of illegal campers, high levels of trash and significant sanitation issues, the Forest Service will close a sec- tion of forest near Sisters to camping for two years. Beginning late this month, the Sisters Ranger District will close an area adjacent to Whychus Creek and in close proximity to the city of Sisters. The closure applies only to overnight camping. All day-use in the area will remain open. The temporary closure will begin on April 30 and end on April 29, 2019. According to the Forest Service, impetus for the clo- sure order is ongoing user conflicts that are leading to public health and safety issues. Long-term illegal The Sisters High School greenhouse rose like a phoe- nix — not out of ashes but out of a pile of snow. The original greenhouse, located at Sisters Middle School, collapsed under the sod- den weight of a two-foot February snowstorm in 2014. Since then, volunteers have put in thousands of hours and climbed over a variety of administrative, regulatory and engineer- ing hurdles to raise a new greenhouse on the grounds of Sisters High School. And the greenhouse that was dedicated in a public ribbon- cutting ceremony on Friday, April 14, is by every measure an incomparable improve- ment over the demolished structure it replaced. Inside... camping in the area has led to chronic law enforce- ment, trash, and sanitation problems. There is a 14-day camp- ing limit on the forest, but many otherwise homeless people are living in that area semi-permanently. “This is primarily peo- ple who have been residing for long periods of time,” said Deschutes National Forest Spokesperson Jean Nelson-Dean. The large number of long- term campers is difficult to keep track of, and conse- quently the rules are hard for Sisters Ranger District law enforcement officer Fred Perl to enforce. See CLOSURE on page 25 By Jim Cornelits News Editor PHOTO BY JEFF OMODT Atdrey Tehan ctts the ribbon on Sisters High School’s new greenhotse as voltnteer Dave Hiller and Stperintendent Ctrtis Scholl look on. “We have potential to dream pretty big with this facility,” SHS sustainable agriculture instructor Audrey Tehan told the assemblage at the ceremony. “This is going to be kind of our living laboratory … figuring out different and more innova- tive ways to grow food.” The greenhouse fea- tures radiant floor heating, drip irrigation, aeroponics, and hydroponics test areas. See GREENHOUSE on page 30 Editorial/Weather .............. 2 Obituaries ......................... 5 Movies & Entertainment ....11 Focus on Health ...........13-18 Classifieds .................. 27-29 Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ............... 10 Sisters Salutes .................12 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32