Allergy levels are high, but pine pollen is not to blame page 17 Sisters Dance Academy marks 10 years on the hardwood page 25 Cowboy Court Apartments to open this summer page 38 The Nugget Vol. XLII No. 23 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, June 5, 2019 Sisters gets ready to Rodeo Sisters Rodeo is geared up for some great competition this week, with a huge num- ber of competitors in every rodeo event, including world champions and barnstorming rookies. There will be 35 bareback riders, 55 saddlebronc riders, 52 bull riders, 49 tie down ropers, 53 teams of team rop- ers, 46 steer wrestlers and 90 barrel racers. There are 24 Wild Horse Race teams to kick off rodeo action in a flurry of dives, dust and bucking rides. Five teams are from Arizona, one team each from California, Wyoming and Montana, two from Washington and 13 from Oregon. Wild horse racing is growing in rodeos in the West, with several rodeos in the Rocky Mountain states wanting to add them to their events. Butch David of Warm Springs, the district presi- dent of the Wild Horse Race Association, is excited about Lightning storm does damage in Sisters Christmas event. Timber Moore won Rodeo Rapid City A late-afternoon lightning storm that moved through Sisters Country on Tuesday, May 28, struck and damaged three structures and surround- ing trees. The first incident was reported at 2:54 p.m. when a homeowner on Peterson Burn Road reported a smoke odor in the main house on her property. A second structure on the property, an Airbnb that was occupied by rent- ers at the time, also reported a direct strike to their struc- ture, that reportedly knocked everything off the walls. Initial arriving units found two structures with obvi- ous damage to both due to See RODEO on page 8 See LIGHTNING on page 30 PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK Volunteers have gotten Sisters Rodeo Arena into shape for the Biggest Little Show in the World. the surge of the sport and the number of teams coming to Sisters. Tie down roping adds some royalty to the mix of 49 competitors. Cooper Martin won St. Paul Rodeo during the 2018 Cowboy PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 Ranger shares plans for Outlaws jazz band tops in state USFS headquarters By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief By Sue Stafford Correspondent The U.S. Forest Service has a long history in the city of Sisters. And it looks like that history could be even longer due to some changes in Forest Service plans for its proposed new administrative site. The total 67 acres owned by the Forest Service on either side of State Highway 20 at the northwest end of town has been the subject of years of speculation, dreaming, and concern about what would happen to the property when the Forest Service announced it was selling the property and moving its new Sisters Ranger District headquarters. Inside... The first plan was to build a new building across Barclay Drive on Forest Service prop- erty and sell off the rest. The second plan was to sell all 67 acres with its current zoning as a single parcel, and build new headquarters west of Rail Way off Highway 20. After deciding to break up the prop- erty into sections to enable separate sales, the 18 acres north of Barclay sold to a local party who plans to build light industrial buildings. When the City and ODOT sent a letter to the USFS indi- cating an interest in the East Portal (the triangle of land bounded by Highways 20 and 242, and Hood Avenue), The Sisters High School Jazz Band brought home first-place honors from the Jazz Band State Finals held at Mt. Hood Community College on May 18. Band Director Tyler Cranor recognizes a signifi- cant accomplishment for the young musicians.