24
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters
salutes...
RUNOUT: Homeowners
association paid
for removal
Continued from page 1
Leaving the property paved
would have put the HOA out
of compliance with its condi-
tion of approval to have 65
percent of the subdivision’s
land be in undeveloped open
space.
The HOA members
decided to pay for the project
to bring a resolution to the
matter, Newman said.
“Ultimately it’s just a
shorter path to get it done so
people can get on with their
lives in the HOA and in the
neighborhood,” he said.
The area in question was
mapped as part of a wetland,
but the Department of State
Lands inspection of the prop-
erty last spring determined
that it’s not actual wetland.
Newman noted that the
department cleared the HOA
to undertake the removal
project.
Airport co-owner Julie
Benson told The Nugget that
Eagle Air Estates had origi-
nally approached the airport
in 2014 “about constructing a
drainage feature at the end of
the runway on HOA property
to allow surface water to flow
unobstructed.”
Benson said that “removal
of the drain will cause surface
water to back up against the
unpermitted taxiway (from
EAE) and flood the runway,
like it did before. EAE will
again be liable for damage
to the runway, which is why
EAE initiated the project.”
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
An excavation crew from Robinson & Owen Heavy Construction removed a 300-foot section of paved runway
runout at Sisters Eagle Airport last week.
The question of what type
of project was desired and
initiated for the spot and how
it came about is not clear.
Newman said, “there’s never
been a clean reason as to how
and why it went in there.”
Flooding has continued to
be an issue. The area flooded
last year, with the runout in
place.
Newman emphasized that
the purpose of the pavement
removal and return to natu-
ral grade is first to allevi-
ate flooding and second to
resolve the open space issue
and move on from the con-
tentious matter.
Benson contends that
“removal of the overlay will
reduce the safety factor of the
runway. Although it was not
designed or constructed to
support the weight of a land-
ing aircraft, it has been used
for emergency situations.”
Benson told The Nugget
that “since (the runout’s)
construction, there have been
four known instances of
emergency use.”
Newman told The Nugget
that the area will now be left
alone.
“We’re just going to let
the natural ecosystem take it
back over.”
The demolition of the
runout resolves one of sev-
eral recent issues involving
the airport. No resolution
has yet been made regarding
a demand from the Oregon
Department of Transportation
that Sisters Eagle Airport
return some $377,152 in
ConnectOregon V grant
funds, which ODOT claims
were misused. When The
Nugget inquired into the sta-
tus of the matter in October,
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ODOT spokesman Dave
Thompson said the issue was
under discussion by attor-
neys of the parties involved
and that he could not com-
ment. Airport co-owner
Julie Benson also declined
comment.
• Sisters Middle
School Student Outlaw
of the Month Awards for
November were given out
on Friday to two students
in each grade.
These students were
recognized for dem-
onstrating what being
an Outlaw is all about:
showing compassion for
others, a willingness to
help those around them
and to put others above
themselves.
Congratulations to
fifth-graders Sophie
Rush and Brohgan
Staudenmaier; sixth-
graders Gracie Vohs and
Evan Martin; seventh-
graders Laura Torres
and Danny Jones; and
eighth-graders Audrey
Henderson and Colin
Palmer.
Happy Hou
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370 E Cascade Ave. | 541-549-6015
1
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