The Nugget
Vol. XLII No. 49
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Winter
driving
conditions
have
arrived
Sisters parades its holiday spirit
By T. Lee Brown
Correspondent
Snowfall framed the pic-
turesque 42nd annual Sisters
Christmas Parade on Hood
Avenue last Saturday. Horses
and dogs, Zumba dancers
and firefighters braved the
cold, waving and handing out
candy to a thin but enthusias-
tic crowd.
<Horse, and Santa Claus,=
were the parade9s highlights,
according to local resident
Iliana Gonzales, age four. She
had many gorgeous equines to
choose from. Many pulled fes-
tive carts and carriages. Sisters
Rodeo Queen Riann Cornett
rode by on her horse, Tequila.
There was a fuzzy miniature
horse named Monty, from
Natural Hoofcare of Bend.
Monty was shod in hand-
some hoof boots to protect his
bare feet from the hard pave-
ment, instead of traditional
horseshoes.
The classic small-town
parade was led by veterans
bearing flags and waving to the
crowd. Red light swirled from
atop fire trucks, their sturdy
tires clattering with chains.
Dogs could be seen in
abundance, from corgis
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Santa Claus closed the Sisters Christmas Parade, then adjourned to the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce
Visitors Center to visit with Sisters Country youth.
to Newfoundlands to a St. rockin9 Christmas carols atop wished visitors <Merry
Bernard. Some pulled mer- a float from Sisters Church of Christmas from 1863.= Clad
rily decorated mini carriages. the Nazarene. Sisters Park & in beautiful costumes evok-
Recreation District9s Zumba ing the 19th century, they
Others pulled their owners.
The Pacific Northwest fitness dancers grooved down asked longtime emcee Bob
Newfoundland Club showed Hood Avenue, following their Buckmann to tell the crowd
off their <gentle giants.= Some banner. It was carried by about their annual Civil War
of the dogs were so friendly, SPRD kids Amaya Wyrick enactment in Camp Sherman.
At the end came Santa9s
the owners could hardly pull and Paxton Seeley, dressed in
candy-cane-striped stockings. picture-perfect, old-fashioned
them away from the crowd.
The High Desert Brigade
A singer-guitarist and key-
See PARADE on page 22
board duo played and sang and NW Civil War Council
Severe winter weather
arrived early in Sisters
Country last week, bring-
ing with it hazardous driving
conditions.
There were multiple slide-
offs on Camp Polk Road
north of Sisters and spinouts
in the roundabout and on
intersections with sharp turns.
A Deschutes County Sheriff9s
Office sergeant averted a
near-tragedy east of Sisters
in Tumalo (see related story
page 3).
Traction tires and all-
wheel or four-wheel drive can
only marginally improve your
chances on the roads when
they9re slick with snow and
ice. Four-wheel drive does
not equate to <four-wheel
stop=; increase your follow-
ing distance and above all,
See DRIVING on page 29
Comments still accepted Man rescued from deep snow, cold
on wilderness permit fee
The Deschutes and
Willamette National Forests
are extending the public
comment period for input
on a proposed special recre-
ation permit fee as a part of
the new limited entry system
for day and overnight use in
three Central Cascades wil-
dernesses. The original end-
ing date of the public com-
ment period was November
25. The new ending date for
the public comment period
will be January 10, 2020.
The limited entry system
will go into effect beginning
the summer of 2020. The
special recreation permit fee,
if approved, also would go
into effect in the summer of
2020.
The limited entry
Inside...
system is designed to allevi-
ate impact from the increased
traffic in wilderness areas,
but it has drawn some fire
from some local people who
objected to restrictions on
access to what they consider
their backyard. Others object
to paying additional fees.
Comments on the special
recreation permit fee can
be mailed to the Willamette
National Forest, ATTN:
Recreation Fees, 3106 Pierce
Parkway, Ste. D, Springfield,
OR, 97477. Comments can
also be submitted by email to
WillametteRecFeeComments
@usda.gov or dropped off at
any Willamette or Deschutes
National Forest office during
See COMMENTS on page 30
With the snow piling high
and temperatures plunging
well below zero on Sunday
night, a man camping at high
elevation in the forest near
Camp Sherman decided he
had better get out.
<He9d been fairly pre-
pared,= Jefferson County
Sheriff9s Office Emergency
Manager Sgt. Dave Pond told
The Nugget on Monday. <He
was there during the initial
snowstorm. He9d finally had
enough and was running out
of supplies and he thought 8I9d
better leave.9 I believe it was
-12 degrees last night where
he was at.=
The man, in his mid-30s,
tried to drive out in his truck
but got stuck in a deep snow-
drift. He was able to call 911
and Sgt. Pond responded. The
sergeant tapped Brett Miller
of the veterans assistance
PHOTO PROVIDED
Sgt. Dave Pond and Brett Miller of Warfighter Outfitters came to the aid of
a man who was stranded in deep snow in the forest near Camp Sherman.
organization Warfighter Out-
fitters for assistance. Miller,
who lives in Camp Sherman,
used his Jeep to get himself
and Sgt. Pond to the location
where the man was camped.
Pond and Miller trans-
ported the man out of the
woods unharmed and left him
in Camp Sherman.
<He has family there, so
that9s where we took him,=
Pond said.
Anyone traveling in win-
ter conditions, regardless of
how short the planned excur-
sion, should plan for adverse
conditions and be prepared
with emergency supplies and
equipment.
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Obituaries ......................8-9 Entertainment ..................11 Sisters Naturalist ............. 25 Classifieds .................. 27-28
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ............... 10 Holidays in Sisters ...... 13-23 Crossword ....................... 26 Real Estate .................29-32