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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
Sisters home on green tour page 7 Boys soccer posts two league wins page 8 Camp Polk Cemetery will be wreath site page 18 The Nugget Vol. XL No. 39 P OSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, September 27, 2017 What does winter hold in store for Sisters? City orders halt to tree cutting project By Ron Thorkildson Correspondent It shouldn’t be much of a stretch to suppose that wildfire-weary residents of Central Oregon — and much of the entire western U.S. — will welcome the onset of the fall and winter seasons. Since early August, smoke-filled skies haven’t just been an annoyance to outdoor enthu- siasts, but have posed health risks in many areas. The key to returning to some semblance of normalcy is, of course, the weather. At this writing, cooler and wetter weather from the Gulf of Alaska has moved into the Northwest, helping to slow the spread of these fires. But what lies ahead for the remainder of fall into the winter? Does a low-elevation September snowfall portend an early or harsh winter? The short answer is — no. It’s no secret that seasonal weather forecasts over the By Sue Stafford Correspondent PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK Recent cool, wet weather cleared out the smoke and blanketed the mountains with their first snowfall of the season. past couple of years have not verified well. The El Niño monster of 2015-16 was sup- posed to menace Southern Vacation rentals under review in Sisters By Sue Stafford Correspondent At the request of the Sisters City Council, the Sisters Planning Commission is currently reviewing code regarding vacation rentals in town. There are currently 39 permitted vacation rentals in town, which amounts to about 3 percent of the 1,300 residential dwelling units in the city. A vacation rental is considered a short-term dwelling unit that is rented out for 30 or less consecutive days. With the upsurge in Air BnB and VRBO-type rent- als everywhere, the Council is looking for recommenda- tions regarding the regula- tion of vacation rentals to Inside... help maintain the livabil- ity of the community and avoid or mitigate negative impacts. There are currently local renters who are losing their housing due to long-term rental units being converted by their owners to short-term units, impacting an already tight rental market here in Sisters. Although there are cur- rently only 39 identified vacation rentals, 25 percent of those have come on line in 2017. There may also be units that are not known to the City. Based on what has been occurring in other small towns in the U.S., the Council would like to get out in front See RENTALS on page 24 California with torrential rains and numerous mud- slides. None of that materi- alized, as rainfall amounts were barely normal. Here in our neck of the woods a See WINTER on page 22 The City of Sisters issued a stop-work order to the Sisters School District last Thursday, ordering them to cease tree removal on the District’s campuses. The City asserts that the District project has removed too many trees. “It has come to the City’s attention that the School District has not complied with the Urban Forest Board’s (UFB) approval to remove trees on the District’s properties,” the notice read. “Due to this violation of the approval granted by the See CUTTING on page 18 Birds on the move across Sisters By Jim Anderson Correspondent “There’s three birds over the butte on the east side, just under those puffy clouds,” Chuck Gates said, looking through his binoculars. “Got ’em,” Peter Low responded, getting his scope up to his eye. “Looks like turkey vultures.” That’s the kind of con- versation that goes on most of the day during the East PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON Cascade Audubon Society’s Participants of the ECAS Hawk Watch on Green Ridge. (ECAS) annual Green Ridge Hawk Watch, an event that’s been going on for over 10 Ridge Lookout, but if you’ve what food you enjoy in the years in Sisters Country. never been up in that part outdoors, water, and dress Anyone interested is wel- of Sisters Country it might in layers for the weather. If come to join experts and be best to meet the group there’s a good wind coming novices from next Saturday, at 9 a.m. in the Indian Ford out of the southwest there September 30 to October Campground. will be plenty of birds riding 21-22. The roads to the site You will need a good set the currents along the edge of are well marked from Road of binoculars (and optional 12 to Prairie Farm and Green spotting scope). Bring along See BIRDS on page 29 Letters/Weather ................ 2 Announcements ................12 Bunkhouse Chronicle ....... 14 Crossword ....................... 25 Classifieds ..................26-28 Meetings ........................... 3 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Obituaries ....................... 16 Sisters Naturalist ............. 25 Real Estate .................28-32
