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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 2 O P I N I O N Sisters Eagle Airport — more than an airport By Benny and Julie Benson Owners, Sisters Eagle Airport Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To The Editor: We are nearing the 10th anniversary of the Great Recession. How are Trump and his billionaire cronies celebrating? By revers- ing or scaling back the regulations that were put into place to prevent the kinds of risky practices that caused the recession in the first place! Of course! Perfectly logical! The far right never met a regulation they didn’t hate, regardless of common sense. Do people think these actions were Obama/Democrat/partisan? These regula- tions were developed by the best econo- mists in the world in direct response to the practices that triggered the recession, simi- lar to the rules that were instituted after the Great Depression. Anyone who remem- bers sub-prime mortgages, credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, too-big-to-fail, etc., ought to realize these regulations should be strengthened, not weakened. We should be evolving toward a more stable economy by learning from past mistakes. Scaling back these regulations is not fiscally conservative — on the contrary, it’s very risky. As long as the risk is aimed squarely at the middle and lower class, and away from the wealthy elite, I guess the sup- posedly conservative far right doesn’t mind gambling, after all. If some of Trump’s support came from folks frustrated with the slow pace of eco- nomic recovery, how does that square with policies that risk another downturn? Slow recovery would seem like Nirvana compared to another recession. Stuart Scofield Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Rain Chance Rain/Snow Chance Showers 51/31 49/28 50/27 Saturday Sunday Monday Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny 56/36 57/34 57/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Karen Kassy Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. From the outset, it has been our goal that the Sisters Eagle Airport was more than just an airport. We see it as community venue and as an economic engine for both tourism and business aviation. On April 20, 2017, the Oregon Department of Aviation board unanimously voted, for a second time, to add the Sisters Eagle Airport to the list within the State Aviation Plan of “Airports of Significance,” also known as Appendix M, or Exhibit 2. The determination was based on criteria set forth in ORS836.610 which includes: 1. Provides important links in air traffic; 2. Provides essen- tial safety or emergency services; or 3. Provides eco- nomic benefit to the county where the airport is located. ODA staff reviewed data sup- plied by the Airport owner, public comments submitted during the process, held a public hearing, and deter- mined that the Sisters Airport met all three criteria. We’re delighted to have once again been recognized by the Oregon Department of Aviation as an Airport of Significance. We are com- mitted to the success of the Sisters Eagle Airport and are now looking forward to sitting down with ODOT to address their concerns per- taining to the ConnectOregon Grant. In response to the recent notification given to Sisters Eagle Airport by ODOT, and the recent press surrounding this issue, we wanted to per- sonally share a statement to provide the community with an update in our own words. We have received notifi- cation of ODOT’s demand for repayment, reviewed the issues, and have requested and been granted a meet- ing with ODOT on May 3, 2017. We take this matter very seriously on both a pro- fessional and personal level and are working to resolve with ODOT as quickly as possible. Eleven years ago, our family moved to Sisters, looking for a better way of life. Our sensitivity for the environment and engineering expertise led to the found- ing of ENERGYneering Solutions Inc. (ESI). ESI is an innovative engineering, construction, and operations firm specializing in renew- able energy, biogas collec- tion, pretreatment systems, biogas-to-energy facili- ties, and biomass thermal facilities. The company has grown to become one of the largest private employers in Sisters. Located at the Sisters Eagle Airport, ESI has benefited from the unique combination of employee lifestyle, high- speed communications, and immediate access to air travel allowing us to run a world- class engineering firm in the heart of Central Oregon. We have always been and remain deeply committed to building the community of Sisters. In 2009, we started negotiations to purchase and improve the Sisters Airport. At the time, the airport was in a state of disrepair. In 2011, the State Review cate- gorized the runway at the air- port as a “Failed Runway.” From 2011 through 2013, through a Public Private Partnership (P3), we worked with ConnectOregon and a self-funded private match to replace and widen the pub- lic-use runway. Additionally, we added a fuel station for local and visiting pilots. In 2013, to further improve the airport for the community, we applied for and were awarded a sec- ond ConnectOregon grant to improve the fly-in visi- tor parking, a taxiway, LED runway lighting, and auto- mated weather observation system at the airport. The work under both grants was completed on schedule and within budget. Additionally, at our own expense, we completed the first phase of an approved master plan with rental hangars for local pilots. With the recent letter delivered to us by ODOT, we can assure the community that we have worked very closely with ODOT through- out the grant application and project execution phases of this project. Throughout this process, we have sought to maintain transparency and open communication with all our community partners. While we were completely shocked by ODOT’s request, we look forward to working in cooperation with ODOT to reach a mutually agree- able resolution to this matter. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.