Christmas comes early
for Habitat families page 9
Festival announces 2018 Winter
Concert Series lineup page 19
Public can weigh in on
proposed roundabouts page 22
The Nugget
Vol. XL No. 50
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Firefighters knock down two blazes in Sisters
Alert residents and neigh-
bors and quick response from
firefighters kept two structure
fires from being much worse
over the weekend in Sisters.
Quick reaction by
bystanders and an immedi-
ate response by Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire District kept
a wall fire at a duplex on
the afternoon of Saturday,
December 9, from spreading
to the entire unit.
Bystanders noticed the
fire in an exterior wall of the
duplex and called 911.
The bystanders evacuated
the residents and put water on
the fire in the wall while the
fire department responded.
When firefighters arrived
on scene they found fire
smoldering in an exterior
wall and used a chainsaw to
remove the exterior siding
and water was applied until
the fire was extinguished.
Improperly stored ashes
on a wood deck were believed
to be the cause of the fire,
which caused an estimated
Editor
An excavation crew broke
up and hauled away asphalt
paving on approximately 300
feet of runway “runout” at
Sisters Airport last week.
The demolition was
undertaken on behalf of the
Sisters Eagle Air Estates
(EAE) Homeowners
Association and resolves
longstanding contention over
the paved area, which was
constructed in 2015 without
permits and on property not
owned by the airport, but on
the common area owned by
the adjacent Eagle Air Estates
subdivision.
The Robinson & Owen
Heavy Construction crew
removed asphalt and base
Inside...
School
district bus
barn plan
on hold
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
for days after they appear to
be out.
The Sisters School District
has decided to “pump the
breaks” on construction of the
proposed transportation facil-
ity slated for the high school
parking lot. Contractors who
were involved in making bids
on the project have been noti-
fied that it is not moving for-
ward at this time.
The project was going
to be paid for with money
from the $4 million state
grant funds unexpectedly
received by the district as a
result of Senate Bill 447. The
announcement by the District
See FIRES on page 18
See BUS BARN on page 25
PHOTO PROVIDED
Firefighters battled a roof fire in Tollgate Sunday morning.
$2,500 in damage to the unit.
Ashes should be disposed
of in a tightly covered metal
container. The container
HOA removes airport
runway runout
By Jim Cornelius
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
material down to a level con-
sistent with the pre-overrun
flow of water across the
meadow. The crew removed
the asphalt to Robison &
Owen’s Cline Butte facility
for recycling and will store
the base material in that loca-
tion for later use.
Eagle Air Estates
Homeowners Association
President Todd Newman told
The Nugget that the approxi-
mately $10,000 cost of the
project will be borne by the
HOA and shared among the
12 properties in the subdivi-
sion, which lies just north of
the airport.
The runout issue had been
under mediation between
the airport and the HOA.
See RUNOUT on page 24
should be placed outdoors, at
least 10 feet from the home
and any other nearby build-
ings. Ashes may retain heat
Hunters and wildlife remain robust
By Craig Rullman
Correspondent
Despite increased fees,
interest in hunting remains
strong in Oregon.
As the 2017 hunting sea-
son draws to a close, The
Nugget spoke with Corey
Heath, a wildlife biologist
with the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife’s Bend
office, on a range of wildlife
and hunting-related issues.
In various media outlets,
and around the water cooler,
there has been much recent
discussion about a so-called
“death spiral” related to
increases in hunting fees. It
has been suggested that fee
increases, including recent
fee hikes for hunters, lead to
fewer people buying licenses
and tags, meaning less
money for ODFW budgets,
which results in even more
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Deer populations were hit hard by the harsh winter, while elk fared very well.
The overall wildlife picture is always mixed and complex.
fee increases and even fewer
hunters.
Heath told The Nugget
that while it is generally true
that in the first season follow-
ing a fee increase there are
fewer hunters, “the numbers
(of hunters) typically come
back up for general season
hunts.” Heath pointed out that
for limited-entry hunts, there
is still far more demand than
available tags, which indi-
cates steady and consistent
interest from Oregon hunters.
In recent years, ODFW
See HUNTERS on page 31
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Bunkhouse Chronicle ....... 10 Movies & Entertainment ....13 Obituaries ....................... 26 Classifieds .................. 27-29
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ................12 Sisters Salutes ................ 24 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32