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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2020)
2 Wednesday, January 15, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Letters 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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: Before Mr. Trump took office, Iran was abiding by agreements made about weapons of mass destruction. International inspectors certified that this was true. Our two countries were at peace, more or less. Three years into Trump9s administration, we are closer to war with Iran than we have ever been. Trump slowly but surely eroded our shaky peace with Iran first by upping his rhetoric, then by imposing sanctions, next by upping the rhetoric even more, and now by killing one of their leaders. Who can blame Iran for reacting? Our country would do the same thing. The American Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, not the president. Congress has let this authority slip from its hands over the years, and look at the result. And yes, most countries would see a drone strike killing an important leader of another country as an act of war. We certainly would. Do we really want another war in the Middle East? How many thousands of people would die, most of them decent people just trying to live their lives as best they can? How many bil- lions of dollars would we have to borrow from China to finance this war? Making war is distracting us from the most important battle of our time 4fighting climate change. This should be the only issue on the table in every country of our world. Paula Surmann s s s To the Editor: On Monday, January 6, over 85 people gathered at FivePine Lodge to learn about a new PAC called Strengthening Central Oregon Political Action Committee (SCOPAC). SCOPAC is a new volunteer-run, bipartisan organization being formed to support pragmatic problem-solvers with a common-sense agenda in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties. I want to thank everyone who attended and extend an invitation to others to learn more. At a time when our national politics have become so divisive, it is inspiring to see how our community strives to work together. This new PAC will provide training, funding, and practical support like childcare and meals to candidates so that more women and others from underrepresented communities might run to give us better representation of all voices in our community. To learn more, go to SCOPAC.net. On behalf of SCOPAC and the whole host committee, thank you again to all those who came to learn more, show their support, and donate to support more pragmatic problem- solvers in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook county public offices. Vanessa Wilkins s s s To the Editor: I was disgusted to learn how badly Ray9s Food Place in Sisters has consistently scored on the state9s health inspections (See story page 9.) The Oregonian recently published this health violations report: www.oregonlive.com/health/2020/01/these- 21-oregon-grocery-stores-scored-the-worst-on- health-inspections.html The grocery store9s most recent inspec- tion showed 10 high-risk violations and six repeat issues including mouse droppings near the sandwich prep table, meat at unsafe tem- peratures and lack of hand-washing. Ray9s ranked 13 out of 21 stores with the worst rat- ings in Oregon (out of more than 1,100 stores statewide). A <heavy buildup of brown/black sludge- type material= inside fountain drink nozzles does not happen due to one missed cleaning. In addition, <brown slime buildup= on produce baskets containing green onions and <consider- able buildup of milk solids= on the dairy case floor and racks demonstrate long-term inatten- tion to health and safety. The Sisters community deserves to know if Ray9s will finally take these ongoing health violations seriously and act to address them. Also, we need to know the company9s plans to make safety a higher priority in the future 3 it is disturbing to see a pattern of sanitation viola- tions in past years. These plans must include continuing employee education because inspec- tors have frequently found lack-of-knowledge of proper food handling. In the most recent inspection, inspectors observed an employee sticking an unsanitized thermometer in chicken See LETTERS on page 16 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Snow showers Snow showers Cloudy Rain/snow Partly cloudy Mostly cloudy 38/27 37/22 38/28 42/29 43/28 41/29 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 & Lisa May Community Marketing Partners: Vicki Curlett & Patti Jo Beal Classifieds & Circulation: Kema Clark 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, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65. Published Weekly. ©2020 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. N Implementing Sisters Country Vision By Janel Ruehl Correspondent As the Sisters Country Vision celebrates its first anniversary, those work- ing hard to bring the Vision Action Plan to life celebrate some notable progress and look forward to another year of collaborative, community- led action. The Vision Implemen- tation Team, led by Mayor Chuck Ryan and County Commissioner Patti Adair, has been meeting regularly to share progress updates on different strategies, identify priorities, and work together to find solutions to chal- lenges. The team9s mission is to <implement the vision action plan and prioritize projects through a transpar- ent, balanced, and inclusive process.= The 17-member team is comprised of repre- sentatives from local organi- zations listed as a lead partner on three or more items in the action plan, along with a cur- rent student at Sisters High School, and two unaffiliated community members. Along with members of the Vision Implementation Team, other local organizations have taken a lead on one or more of the four vision focus areas in the past year. Age-Friendly Sisters Country, a new non-profit, has stepped up to tackle sev- eral Livable Sisters vision strategies. With a new Afford- able Housing Work Group and a new volunteer medical ride-sharing database proj- ect in the works, these local leaders are demonstrating tremendous initiative. They also took on a Resilient Sis- ters strategy, securing offi- cial recognition of Sisters as a member of the Worldwide Age-Friendly Community Network; one of only seven communities in Oregon! <Sisters is a leader and model for the Age-Friendly movement; working to ensure that people of all ages and abilities can thrive and prosper, = says AFSC9s Dixie Eckford. In addition to AFSC9s work, improved transportation options are also coming to Sisters Coun- try via Cascades East Tran- sit in 2020. CET is adding expanded Saturday service and three new stops (Tum- alo, Cascades Mall and St. Charles) to the existing route 29 between Sisters and Bend. They are also adding Tues- day service to their dial-a- ride program. Progress on Resilient Sis- ters strategies also include the updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan and the new Deschutes County Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee. This committee is working with county staff to develop recommendations on how newly adopted build- ing codes could better meet wildfire preparedness goals in Sisters. <If the new building codes are adopted it will reduce the loss of homes to fires within Sisters Country,= says Fire Chief Roger Johnson. The Sisters-Camp Sher- man Fire District is also working with statewide and national partners on the First- Net rollout, which will bring expanded communications connectivity to the Camp Sherman area and fill in gaps in connection along Hwy. 20. Prosperous Sisters strat- egies focused on Artisanal Capital, and a vibrant local economy also saw progress in 2019. A local group of entre- preneurs, assisted by EDCO Sisters Director Caprielle Lewis, has launched a new network called the Sis- ters Country Entrepreneurs and Executives Network (SCEEN). They will plan 4-6 <meet-ups= annually to con- nect and support local busi- ness owners, remote workers, and start-up companies with resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities. A new partnership between the Sisters Arts Alliance and the City will expand Sisters9 pub- lic art program and includes funding for new art pedestals in 2020. Meanwhile, several Connected Sisters strate- gies have been advanced by Citizens4Community (C4C). The nonprofit is develop- ing a Community-Builders network and has presented many events 4 like a Let9s Talk series, a First Amend- ment forum, collaboration/ facilitation workshops and a community sing 4 to fos- ter engagement, leadership, inclusion and collaboration. <We9ve been working on Vision activities for two years 4 since the begin- ning of the community input process. It9s great to see momentum continuing into implementation and the col- laboration from individuals and groups throughout the area. It just further energizes C4C. We anticipate another busy year!= said C4C9s Amy Burgstahler. Visit sistersvision.org. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.