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The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 12
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Foster
parent
heroes in
our midst
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
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Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Out with the old, in with the new...
Sisters
facing
COVID-19
impacts
By Bonnie Malone
By Jim Cornelius
Correspondent
Editor in Chief
From a desire to have a
daughter to join their two
sons, Shellie Souza9s life
took a turn that the best of us
would find incredibly chal-
lenging. With her husband,
Brad, theirs is a story of
changing 102 young lives.
At the end of a quiet lane
of dirt and pine needles in a
serene country setting is the
home of the Souzas, where
foster children have found a
place of solace and security.
When they still lived in
California, the Souzas wanted
to adopt a girl. Through a
myriad of loops, they were
Editor 9s note: As the
impact of COVID-19 is a
rapidly unfolding situation,
The Nugget will update infor-
mation at www.nuggetnews.
com and on Facebook as it
becomes available.
Sisters was caught up
during the past week in the
floodtide of closures and
cancellations accompanying
efforts to slow the spread of
COVID-19.
Sisters schools closed as
of Friday, March 13, and will
remain closed until April 6
as a mandated statewide clo-
sure overlapped with Sisters9
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
A City of Sisters Public Works crew is installing upgraded playground equipment at Village Green Park.
The City, its parks advisory board and Sisters Park & Recreation District collaborated on the design,
seeking input from children on desired features.
See COVID-19 on page 21
See FOSTERING on page 22
City signs off on law
enforcement contract
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Sisters will have a lot
more law enforcement cov-
erage starting this summer,
when a new contract between
the City of Sisters and the
Deschutes County Sheriff9s
Office takes effect.
The Sisters City Council
signed the contract at its
Wednesday, March 11 meet-
ing. It now goes on to the
Deschutes County Board
of Commissioners and
Sheriff Shane Nelson for
their approval 4 which
is expected to be readily
forthcoming.
Nelson expressed his sat-
isfaction with the contract in
an interview with The Nugget
last week.
<I9m excited about it,= he
said. <I think this is going to
be a great opportunity not just
for the City but for the resi-
dents out west. I think this is
Inside...
a great moment for the sher-
iff9s office and the Sisters
Country out here.=
The contract calls for
Sisters to have a dedicated
force of one lieutenant and
three deputies. Consistency
of staffing was a critical com-
ponent of the agreement 4
as close an approximation to
having its own police force as
Sisters can realistically afford
to come.
The Sisters contingent will
have distinct markings on its
patrol cars.
<We want anyone who
lives in Sisters to be able to
see a law enforcement vehicle
and understand that is a dep-
uty who is serving our com-
munity through this contract
and the taxpapers are paying
for,= said City Manager Cory
Misley.
Misley said that the
emphasis will be on building
See CONTRACT on page 16
A wildfire campaigner retires
By Ceili Cornelius
Correspondent
Jinny Reed has been work-
ing fire for 32 years. She has
been with the Sisters Ranger
District for 19 of those years
working in wildfire preven-
tion, education and suppres-
sion. After a career spanning
most of her adult life after
high school, Reed hung up
her uniform and retired as of
February 29.
Reed9s primary role as
assistant fire management
officer for Sisters has to do
with prescribed burns and fire
prevention and education.
<My passion is to get the
best information about fire
and preventative fire out to
the public,= Reed told The
Nugget.
Her main focus over the
years has been on planned
ignitions, treatments on cer-
tain areas of the forest, and
mitigation of the impacts of
wildfire.
<I really feel like I have
done my part in my career
PHOTO PROVIDED
Jinny Reed worked in wildfire management for most of her Forest Service
career. She retired at the end of last month.
in the planning, educating,
and post-fire rehab stuff,=
she said. <I do feel a sense of
accomplishment when I drive
through Sisters Country and
see the areas that we have
treated or worked on.=
Reed estimates that she has
been a part of treating 75,000
to 100,000 acres of land.
She has worked on more
than 19 campaign wildfires
in her career and focuses pri-
marily on rehabilitation after
fire. She is actively a part of
proactive treatment services
and getting the forest back
to <pre-Euro settlement=
conditions.
<The forest and trees are
where my roots are growing
up in Deschutes County,= she
See REED on page 16
Letters/Weather ................ 2 Sisters Job Walk ................. 6 Entertainment ..................13 Crossword ....................... 18 Classifieds ...................19-21
Meetings ........................... 3 Announcements ................12 Obituaries ....................... 18 Sudoku ............................ 19 Real Estate ..................21-24