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
