The Nugget
Vol. XLI No. 12
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Sisters Science Fair educates
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
The air vibrated with elec-
tricity in the Sisters High
School commons as students
from all three Sisters public
schools shared their creative
abilities and knowledge in
the seventh annual Sisters
Science Fair. Hundreds of
folks got involved through
hands-on challenges with
science experiments, activi-
ties and demonstrations from
constructing rockets and the
magic of slime, to learning
about aeroponics in Sisters
High School greenhouse.
The fair was sponsored by
the Sisters Science Club and
free to all. “Outdoor Science”
was this year’s theme and was
evident throughout the fair
with displays ranging from
“What do our Trees Tell us?”
to “Native Bird Care.”
Sisters Science Club
President Bob Collins was
having a great time observ-
ing students demonstrate
Correspondent
Residents who live within
Sisters city limits will have the
opportunity in the November
2018 general election to vote
on whether or not marijuana-
related businesses should
be allowed in the city and
whether a three percent tax
should be levied on the sales.
Despite the fact that Sisters
voters approved state Measure
91, making recreational mari-
juana legal, with a 51-49 per-
cent split, and the measure
carried statewide, Mayor
Chuck Ryan told Council
at their March 14 workshop
he thinks lots of things have
changed since that vote.
“I think we owe it to the
Inside...
Airport/
ODOT
dispute
headed to
court
kids of all ages
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
aren’t just growing lettuce.
That’s a dream come true
for me to have a greenhouse
A year ago, the Oregon
Department of Transportation
sent a demand letter to Benny
and Julie Benson, owners of
Sisters Eagle Airport, seeking
the repayment of $377,152 in
ConnectOregon V grant funds
and payment of an additional
$13,033 to meet the minimum
requirement for matching
funds for grants entered into
in 2015.
The state agency alleges
that the airport “misexpended”
See SCIENCE FAIR on page 25
See DISPUTE on page 29
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Youngsters were irresistibly drawn to the display of static electricity at the Sisters Science Fair.
the science behind each
unique project to hundreds of
spectators.
“This year we are empha-
sizing outdoor science,”
Collins said. “And what is
exciting to me is what’s going
on in the greenhouse this
year. They are doing experi-
ments in the greenhouse, they
Bullfighter named Grand Marshal
Citizens to vote on
marijuana businesses
By Sue Stafford
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
public to put it (allowing mar-
ijuana businesses) to a vote,”
Ryan said.
Although voters said yes
to recreational marijuana,
they previously voted down
amending the City code to
allow medical marijuana dis-
pensaries, indicating mixed
reactions to marijuana in this
community.
Even though recreational
marijuana is legal state-
wide, the previous council
maintained the status quo
by relying on the word-
ing in the City’s business
license application to keep
marijuana-related businesses
from opening in Sisters. The
current wording states that
See MARIJUANA on page 37
Sisters Rodeo has selected
Bullfighter Rowdy Barry as
the 2018 Grand Marshal of
the Rodeo Parade to honor his
decades of dedication to the
sport and 25 years of “mem-
bership” in the Sisters Rodeo
family.
Barry is retiring from bull-
fighting after the 2018 season.
Barry began his career
with Rob Smets, a legendary
bullfighter who was his men-
tor. He worked with Smets for
several years at Sisters Rodeo.
“Sisters is a special rodeo
for me, beginning with
Smets, but it is also like com-
ing home,” Barry explained.
“I’ve watched kids grow up at
Sisters just as the membership
has watched mine grow. And
Sisters Rodeo is where I met
my wife.”
A rancher in Kennewick,
Washington, Barry has also
served as the
president of the
Columbia River
Circuit Rodeo for
the last six years.
Barry’s rodeo
job is to protect bull
riders from bulls
after their attempt
at eight-second
rides. The job
requires great ath-
leticism, instincts
and risk, which
Barry has been
doing well since
he was 14 years
old. In 1986, he
became a member
PHOTO BY GARY MILLER
of the Professional Rowdy Barry has been tangling with bulls on
Rodeo Cowboys behalf of cowboys at Sisters Rodeo for decades.
Association.
In 2015, Barry and his chute boss. An irate bull
bullfighting partner were slammed the cowboy into
instrumental in rescuing Curt
Kallberg, a Sisters Rodeo
See BARRY on page 38
Letters/3eather ................ 2 Sisters Salutes ..................4 Movies & Entertainment ....11 Obituaries .................. 31-33 Classifieds ..................34-36
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ............... 10 Home & Garden ........... 14-25 Crossword ....................... 33 Real Estate ................. 37-40
High school sports are online this week at
www.NuggetNews.com Go Outlaws!