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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2019)
2 Wednesday, August 21, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P Arÿ I N Stÿoll I O Join The 4th Friday N Considering public safety options for Sisters By Cory Misley City Manager, City of Sisters Visit Downtown Sisters for the S ISTERS G ALLERY & F RAME S HOP Fourth Friday Artwalk August 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. Ken Scott9s Gather your Gallery family and friends to visit the galleries for Imagination new and unique art, discussions with artists, and light refreshments. See page 5 for information and map. Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: Re: <Don9t give a pass to false narratives,= The Nugget editorial by Jim Cornelius, August 14, page 2. That9s right, Jim, facts matter. It is not at all clear from the facts in the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Wilson in Ferguson five years ago, whether or not a murder occurred. Legally, two elements must be present to constitute a murder. First there must be an actus reus 4 a physical act that harms another person 4 and a mens rea 4 a guilty mind or criminal intent to commit a crime. The facts in this instance confirm there was a physical act that harmed someone. It is not as clear as to whether or not Officer Wilson had criminal intent where he shot unarmed black man Michael Brown in the head. One might infer that from the circum- stances of the shooting, but it is not known if Officer Wilson had a guilty mind at the time of the incident. So, politicians Harris and Warren don9t know if a murder occurred. They are just spec- ulating as are you when you suggest a mur- der did not occur. Speculation is something in which politicians and newsmen ought not to engage. The findings of the investigation into the killing were based upon the fact the investi- gators were unwilling to speculate as to the intent of Officer Wilson. Roger Detweiler s s s To the Editor: My closest and dearest friend often sends me cut-outs of articles from The Nugget. I9m a See LETTERS on page 31 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday PM Showers Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy Sunny Sunny Sunny 82/52 80/50 87/52 84/50 84/48 84/49 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Vicki Curlett & Patti Jo Beal Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2019 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper9s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. Although Sisters is a safe community, there is always room for improvement. In the 2016 survey conducted by the Deschutes County District Attorney9s Office, <Community Attitudes About Public Safety in Deschutes County,= Sisters 4 across the board 4 reported the lowest level of concerns on public safety topics compared to other communities. However, the focus of the City Council and staff is continuous improve- ment of the quality of life here in Sisters, especially as we grow and change. We should acknowledge that, overall, we live in a safe place. Since 1998 we have had Deschutes County Sheriff9s Office (DCSO) as our contractual law enforce- ment partner, with backup help from the Oregon State Police and Black Butte Ranch Police, and our atten- tive community to thank for that safety. We are also aware that some current public-safety issues need attention, and actions are being taken to lessen those issues. Our actions are being determined through a sensi- ble, evidence-based policy- making process. As many of you remem- ber, in 1998, the population sign read 911. Since then, the city has tripled in size to 2,725. It goes without say- ing, there has been a lot of growth and change in Sisters and Deschutes County. The contract terms between the City and the DCSO have not changed much since 1998. The contracted cost has dou- bled with inflation, while the number of weekly patrol hours within the city (120) remains the same. The City is doing significant due dili- gence regarding future law enforcement services, well ahead of the current contract ending June 30, 2020. In February 2019, the City Council established its goals for this current fis- cal year, and a top priority was public safety, specifi- cally evaluating the City9s law enforcement options. We take this seriously. Law enforcement (and the public safety it fosters) is essential to our community and a sig- nificant component of our budget 4 this fiscal year the City is spending $611,849 (over half of the property tax revenue within the city) on service from the DCSO. There are effectively two options: Contract with a law enforcement agency or reinstate our own police department. The former requires looking at possible contractual partners and negotiating acceptable terms in that contract. The latter requires a comprehensive analysis of the associated expenses and infrastructure and timing (for a primer, among his opinions, read Craig Rullman9s column <Community Policing= published in The Nugget on August 28, 2018) and poten- tial long-term, sustainable funding options. Community policing is predicated on relation- ships. Sisters is still a small city, somewhat like a small neighborhood in a larger city. We should know the individuals that serve us in a law enforcement capac- ity on a daily basis 4 that means full-time staff who work only here. The School Resource Deputy at Sisters High School, who builds relationships with School District employees, stu- dents, and parents can lever- age that to bolster public safety throughout the entire community. It would make a significant impact if that approach were applied to the City9s contracted law enforcement service. In that 2016 survey, Sisters ranked traffic safety as their top threat (illegal drugs second) while every other community had that flipped. We know traffic is an issue and we are work- ing on that through a mul- tifaceted approach 4 there is no silver bullet. We will continue to explore our law enforcement options over the next handful of months. To learn more about your perspective of public safety in our community, we will distribute a public safety survey to utility accounts within the city. If you live outside the city, you can share your opinion by con- tacting me at cmisley@ ci.sisters.or.us. Your input is very valuable to us. We are being thoughtful about considering public- safety options in the com- munity9s best interest as we look to the future of law enforcement in the city. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.