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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2019)
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 29 Breakfast brings veterans together at elementary school By T. Lee Brown Correspondent Veterans and their families munched on bagels, donuts, fruit, and hard-boiled eggs in local-farm hues of green, blue, and brown. Many wore military gear, or jackets and caps celebrating their service, labeled with the branch in which they served. They drank coffee and talked in the Sisters Elementary School gym, hosted by fourth-grade lead- ership students and the Sisters Parent-Teacher Community group (SPTC). Bill Phillips described himself as active from 1965 to 1969, when he was in the Army Airborne Special Forces and First Cavalry Division. <He was a heavy-hitter in Vietnam,= said his son Adam Toney, a sergeant in the Oregon National Guard and father to students at SES. Said Phillips of his mili- tary experience, <Well, when I first went into the ser- vice I was a nice, clean-cut Mormon boy from Utah.= Serving in the Army <gave me a better outlook on life& I met a lot of nice people, lost a lot of nice people. It was awakening.= The war made him appre- ciate life, <more than any- thing. We appreciate that we didn9t die over there,= he said of veterans like him- self. <We9re all brothers and sisters.= To n e y s e r v e d i n Afghanistan in 2006, and was a Special Forces liaison in Iraq, 201032011. <I had a pretty positive experience in the military,= he said, though he lost friends, <mostly to accidents after- ward, but also there.= He said he was a <trouble- maker= before he enlisted; Phillips used the word <ruf- fian.= Toney said that since he first entered service in 2003, <There9s a lot of things that can raise the hair on my neck.= He described seeing both the positive and negative effects of military interven- tion on the ground in the Middle East. <Seems like politics gets in the way of doing what9s right,= he said. John Ferguson is a local veteran who attended the breakfast. He served in the Air Force. <I was an E-4, which was a sergeant in the Air Force back then,= he said. <I was in for a commitment for six years, October 1967 through June 1973, and two years for active reserves. It was during the Vietnam War, but I was lucky. I served at Naha Air Base in Okinawa in support of the war.= The experience of entering the military made him grow up fast. <You come out of high school after being taken care of your whole life, you get into boot camp and you9re PHOTO BY TL BROWN Leadership students at Sisters Elementary School served a continental breakfast buffet to veterans at an event presented by SPTC. on your own,= Ferguson said. <It9s kind of instant maturity.= Local veteran Earl Schroeder said, <It was with great delight that the school district office put up new flags for Veterans Day.= The old ones had been Wherever you spend this holiday... D ESIGNERS & B UILDERS of D ISTINCTION 541-549-1575 Mayfi eld Realty y 809 SW Canyon Dr., Redmond d CCB#194489 Khiva Beckwith Broker, 541-420-2165 khivarealestate@gmail.com www.khivasellscentraloregon.com BLACK BUTTE REALTY GROUP EAST MEADOW 29 • $1,125,000 • mls 201902536 Wildlife haven with breathtaking views of Black Butte is pleased to welcome CORRIE LAKE to our team of Realtors. Contact Corrie At: Phone: 541-521-2392 corrielake.realtor@gmail.com ROCK RIDGE 77 • $849,000 • mls 201905481 Well-built home with studio apartment and views of common area. 414 W. Washington Ave. C o m m e rc i a l | R e s i d e n t i a l | F a r m | L a n d Exclusive Onsite Realtor for the Ranch Don Bowler, President and Broker 971-244-3012 Gary Yoder, Managing Principal Broker 541-420-6708 Ross Kennedy, Principal Broker 541-408-1343 Carol Dye, Broker 541-480-0923 | Joe Dye, Broker 541-595-2604 Corrie Lake, Broker 541-521-2392 Land & Homes Real Estate Sandy Goodsell Jonathan Hicks Principal Broker Principal Broker ABR, CDPE, CIAS, GRI, SRES 560 NW Birch Ave., Redmond <I made sure all the vet- erans knew what they were doing, and I helped set the bagels up,= she said. <My grandpa worked in the military, in the Air Force,= she said. <I just felt like I really wanted to do this.= Serving Sisters Since 1994 Our agents have served Central Oregon for over 30 years. 541-923-0855 looking worn. Who pro- vided the flags? Schroeder gave a wink and said not to tell. Leila Jarvis, a fourth- grader in the school9s leader- ship program, stood proudly beside the buffet table. 541-480-0183 sandygoodsell @gmail.com Jennifer King Broker 865-335-6104 jwhicks000 @gmail.com 541-923-4567 jenniferkingsisters @gmail.com LICENSED BROKERS IN THE STATE OF OREGON Open daily, 9 to 5, by the Lodge Pool Complex 541-595-3838 Black Butte Ranch 541-549-5555 in Sisters, 414 W. Washington Ave. see all our listings at blackbutterealtygroup.com
