The Nugget
Vol. XLI No. 23
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Police
dog nabs
fugitive in
Sisters
Sisters gets ready to rodeo
By Cody Rheault
Correspondent
The banners are hung, the
paint is fresh, merchandise is
folded, and the traffic cones
are placed. These are only a
few of the tasks undertaken
on Saturday as volunteers
prepared for one of Sisters’
biggest weekends.
Sisters hosts a number
of high-traffic weekends
throughout the year and the
78th annual Sisters Rodeo is
no exception. It takes a lot
for it to run smoothly. “The
Biggest Little Show in the
World” takes a big number of
volunteers and a lot of heart
to keep running year after
year. The Sisters Rodeo has
been a landmark event in the
region since its start in 1940,
but the driving force behind
its success has always been
its volunteers.
Many have served more
than 20 years. In fact, it’s
hard to find any who have
spent less than two decades
in service. Most of them have
seen the event change over
those years, too. However,
many note it has always had
one thing in common: to
provide a fun, entertaining
Correspondent
Three hundred eighty-four
professional cowboys and
cowgirls will compete for
$10,000 purses in each event
in the 78th annual Sisters
Rodeo beginning June 6 and
running through June 10.
There will also be 69 mem-
bers of the Professional Wild
Horse Racers Association par-
ticipating in their three-man
competition at “The Biggest
Little Show in the World.”
Sisters Rodeo has one
of the largest purses in the
nation in June, which entices
cowboys and cowgirls to
travel from all over the
nation to take their chances in
America’s homegrown sport.
Inside...
See VOLUNTEERS on page 26
See POLICE DOG on page 18
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Sisters Rodeo draws
the best in the West
By Bonnie Malone
with the goal of always mak-
ing the show better. And that
starts with a lot of work.
Each year has seen changes
— whether that be structures
A Redmond police officer
and a dog named Maverick
nabbed a fugitive in Sisters on
Thursday, May 31.
According to sheriff ’s
office reports, deputies were
dispatched to a report of
a domestic disturbance at
FivePine Lodge & Conference
Center at 1:30 p.m.
A deputy contacted Baily
J. Redwing, 18, to investigate
the disturbance. During the
initial investigation, the dep-
uty determined that Redwing
had outstanding arrest war-
rants in Kootenai County,
Idaho. The deputy began
to arrest Redwing for the
outstanding warrants when
Redwing broke away from the
deputy and fled south toward
the Sisters wastewater treat-
ment plant.
The deputy gave chase
through the conference center
until he lost sight of Redwing.
The Sisters Rodeo is an all-volunteer operation. From painting grandstands to picking rocks in the arena, it’s
volunteers who make the annual event “The Biggest Little Show in the World.”
atmosphere for spectators and
competitors alike.
Last Saturday’s work
party consisted of more than
50 people from throughout
Central Oregon. Much of the
work began in March of this
Sixty-three of these are
competing in Xtreme Bulls,
the Wednesday-night opening
event, that will set cowboys
trying to last eight seconds on
some of the best bulls in the
PRCA circuit. Many bulls in
the Corey and Lange Stock
Company have not given a
rider a score this season.
Sisters will host Parker
Bredling, currently the No.
2 bull-rider in the nation,
along with ninth-place Tyler
Bingham and 11th-place
Brady Portenier, with four
bull-riders from Oregon hop-
ing to take home a buckle and
some of that purse.
Traditional rodeo begins
on Friday. In the first event,
See COMPETITORS on page 30
year for the upcoming Rodeo
weekend and has continued
through the spring months.
Chris Schaad, vice presi-
dent of the Sisters Rodeo
Board of Directors, said every
year is a new undertaking,
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
High-profile burns draw scrutiny
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Prescribed burning is
critical to restoring health to
densely overgrown forests
and to protecting communi-
ties from the effects of rag-
ing wildfires. But when they
are conducted in highly vis-
ible areas, the effects can be
startling.
Two prescribed burns in
high-visibility areas of Sisters
Country in recent weeks
have come under scrutiny,
with some members of the
public appalled at the sight
of scorched trees with red-
dened needles and blackened
trunks. Facebook lit up with
comments expressing con-
cern about an apparent lack
of personnel on a burn near
Indian Ford Campground and
the results of a fire near the
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Prescribed burning in areas along roads draws considerable public
scrutiny.
entrance to Camp Sherman.
In an interview with The
Nugget on Thursday, Sisters
District Ranger Ian Reid
addressed the impact of the
two burns.
Regarding personnel
attending fires, Reid noted
that fires are not manned
overnight, when cool tem-
peratures and rising moisture
keep fires quiescent.
“We don’t patrol pre-
scribed burns overnight and
we never have,” Reid said. “If
we have to patrol a prescribed
See BURNS on page 31
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Salutes .................. 7 Announcements ................12 Bunkhouse Chronicle ........15 Classifieds .................. 27-29
Meetings ........................... 3 Obituaries ......................8-9 Entertainment ..................13 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................30-32