16
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
LETTERS
Continued from page 2
These grant funds are being earmarked in
a rush, for projects from a wish-list created
by school district insiders. Details of this plan
are hard to find. A City “Notice of Land Use
Action” flier at the site tipped me off.
The School District seems poised to act
first and answer questions later. (Does the
tree-cutting incident at the elementary and
middle schools ring a bell?)
Maybe a transportation facility is neces-
sary, but surely there is a safer and less intru-
sive place to locate it. If you are concerned and
want more info, contact BreAnne McConkie,
the principal city planner at 541-323-5208, or
email her at bmcconkie@ci.sisters.or.us. The
next bond oversight meeting is on December
6 and the next school board meeting is on
December 13.
Dixie Eckford
s
s
s
To the Editor:
The proposed bus barn to be built in the
existing student parking lot of Sisters High
School and Sisters Park & Recreation District
could be more aptly named a bus warehouse.
This outsized metal shed will have the
same charm and function as the most unin-
teresting and obtrusive examples of its type.
Additionally, it would be plunked right down
in the existing high school landscape, thereby
reducing the number of parking spaces and
necessitating convoluted access routes (think
fun-house maze) for users of the high school,
the skate park, the new bike park and SPRD.
The Bus Warehouse requires severe tree
reduction at the southern edge of the lot, as
well as significant intrusion on portions of the
disc golf course.
And, oh yes, a chain-link fence.
Who authored this remarkable plan; when
was it conceived? And how does it happen to
be but one step from approval?
I urge any regular visitor to SPRD, the high
school, the skate park, the new bike park or
the disc golf course to check out the proposed
site. Look first at the little forest between the
school lot and Highway 242, then imagine
that view blocked by a large metal warehouse
and fleet of school busses, all surrounded by
chain-link fencing. While you’re at it, think
about driving into the parking lot or trying to
walk or bike to the SPRD building or the other
play spaces in the complex. The proposed plan
seems hostile to walking or biking and cur-
rent use of the area. It will be a big lot, for big
vehicles, user-friendly only for busses.
Let me be clear, I recognize the need for
an improved facility, but this design seems to
have been conceived in another time, for a dif-
ferent space.
There is no need to get in a fever to spend
the bond windfall on an outdated, uncomfort-
able plan. Our community is filled with smart,
creative people. We can put energy into creat-
ing a solution that will actually solve the prob-
lem as well as respect the site and those of us
who use it.
Options for action exist. The comment
period is still open. Attend the bond oversight
meeting December 6 at 5 p.m. Attend the
school board meeting December 13 at 5 p.m.
Send comments to BreAnne McConkie, city
planner, bmcconkie@ci.sisters.or.us.
Linda Hanson
s
s
s
To the Editor:
Once again Sisters High School honored
See LETTERS on page 24
Court orders rewrite
of term-limits title
By Steven Dubois
Associated Press
PORTLAND (AP) — The
Oregon Supreme Court on
Thursday ordered a rewrite of
the ballot title for an initiative
petition that seeks to enact term
limits for state lawmakers.
Ballot titles are intended
to provide a concise, neu-
tral description of a measure.
They’re regarded as crucial
information for voters who
haven’t done homework on an
issue, and the language is fre-
quently challenged in court.
The ballot title certified
by Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum this summer accu-
rately says the measure would
prohibit state legislators from
serving more than eight years
during any 12-year period.
But Oregon’s high court
agreed with an opponent of the
ballot title that it omits a piece
of key information: The mea-
sure would apply retroactively,
quickly changing the composi-
tion of the Legislature.
The opinion written by
Justice Martha Walters said
there are instances when a
measure is complex and some
details can’t be included in
the brief description. But,
she added, the caption must
accurately identify the major
effects of a measure in terms
that won’t confuse voters, and
the term-limits title fails in that
regard.
“Without further informa-
tion, voters reasonably could
think that the measure is pro-
spective only; that is, only leg-
islative service after the effec-
tive date of the measure will
affect a legislator’s continued
service.”
The initiative petition was
filed by former Republican
gubernatorial candidate Bud
Pierce. To qualify for the
November 2018 election, sup-
porters must collect nearly
90,000 signatures from regis-
tered voters.
The rewrite was sought
by Matt Swanson, executive
director of the Oregon chap-
ter of Service Employees
International Union.
Voters overwhelmingly
approved term limits for state
legislators in 1992, but the state
Supreme Court reversed their
decision a decade later on tech-
nical grounds. The governor,
state treasurer and secretary
of state are subject to limits.
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