The Nugget
Vol. XLI No. 45
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
The Sisters don their season’s coat...
PHOTO BY AL KRAUSE
Autumn snowfall has returned the Cascades skyline to its snow-capped magnificence. While the mountains have received snow, Sisters Country awaits its first heavy precipitation.
Sisters represented for Sisters
cutting of national tree is back
in burning
season
By Jodi Schneider
Correspondent
Every year a different
National Forest is selected to
provide a tree to appear on
the West Lawn of the U.S.
Capitol for the Christmas
season.
The 2018 United States
Capitol Christmas Tree
was harvested from the
Willamette National Forest
in Sweet Home last Friday,
November 2. That perfect
tree from Oregon was chosen
in August from a handful of
finalists by the architect for
the Capitol.
It’s the first time in the
47-year history of the U.S.
Capitol Christmas Tree
Program that a noble fir has
been selected and the second
time the tree has come from
Oregon. A 70-foot Douglas
fir from Umpqua National
Forest was chosen in 2002.
Only 50 lucky people
were able to watch the 2018
Capitol Christmas Tree cut-
ting event up close from the
Sweet Home Ranger District
on Friday morning. Jeri
Buckmann, Visitor Center
manager and events direc-
tor for Sisters Area Chamber
of Commerce represented
Sisters and was excited to
witness the cutting of the
beautiful 82-foot fir tree.
“When the tree was
cut, it was a sense of pride
for Oregon. It made you
Burn season opened at
sunrise on November 1, for
many of the local fire districts
in Central Oregon. With the
recent fall weather and pre-
cipitation received in some
areas, the fire chiefs of local
fire departments, the Forest
Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, and Oregon
Department of Forestry have
agreed that many areas are
now safe to enter into burn
season.
Residents still need to use
caution in burning — and
See TREE CUTTING on page 20
See BURNING on page 23
Community to honor
veterans
Each November, the
Sisters community — led
by its youth — honor local
veterans of the armed ser-
vices. All local veterans,
their families, and the public
at large are invited to attend
the observances.
This year, on Friday,
November 9, from 1:55 to 3
p.m., Sisters Middle School
and Sisters High School will
join in honoring veterans in
an assembly at the Sisters
High School auditorium.
Afterwards, there will
be a reception in the lecture
drama room for conver-
sation and photo shar-
ing, accompanied by
homemade goodies and
coffee.
See VETERANS on page 17
Police: Growers were exporting marijuana
A multi-agency inves-
tigation led to the arrest of
two people in Sisters in con-
nection with alleged illegal
manufacturing and sale of
marijuana.
On the afternoon of
Thursday, October 11, mem-
bers of the Central Oregon
Drug Enforcement Team
served a search warrant at
17521 Forked Horn Dr. in
Sisters. According to law
Inside...
enforcement, the action was
part of an ongoing, long-term
investigation. Members of the
Central Oregon Emergency
Response Team (CERT)
assisted with the execution of
the warrant.
A law enforcement state-
ment reported that, “A large,
sophisticated indoor mari-
juana grow was located on
the property which was
contained in both a large
metal pole building as well
as within the primary dwell-
ing on the property. A large,
sealed structure had been
built within the large pole
building and was complete
with an air filtration system, a
self-watering system and also
climate control features.”
Police seized 4,368 mari-
juana plants in various stages
See MARIJUANA on page 24
Local veterans raised
the American flag
on Sisters street
corners last week
in preparation
for Veterans Day
observances.
PHOTO BY JEFF MACKEY
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Salutes .................. 8 Announcements ................12 Obituaries ....................... 14 Classifieds ..................26-28
Meetings ........................... 3 Sisters Naturalist ..............11 Entertainment ..................13 Crossword ....................... 25 Real Estate .................28-32