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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2020)
16 Wednesday, March 18, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon REED: Forester is looking forward to enjoying forest Continued from page 1 said. <I have a sense of soul here.= Even with the changes due to population growth, Reed feels Sisters Country will always be her home. Reed graduated high school in 1987 and jumped straight into college at COCC. She joined their forestry pro- gram because she always loved the outdoors. <During one of my classes, the professor asked me if I wanted to work on a Forest Service engine during the summer and I said yes,= she recalled. Reed then was hired on as a seasonal employee for the Forest Service in 1988 and has been doing forestry work ever since. <The thing that was a sur- prise to me in this work was the manual labor aspect; I wasn9t sure at first if this was my cup of tea, but I stuck with it,= she said. Reed9s own experience with wildfire influenced the way she approached Forest Service as a career path. <I want to help people understand fire and its impact and help them realize it is a part of where we live,= she said. Reed paid for college and her forestry associates degree by working for the Forest Service as a hotshot. After her time on the fire line for 10 years as a seasonal employee and hotshot, Reed wanted to go into a more spe- cialized permanent job in sup- pression and prevention. Her first permanent job was in 1998 at Malheur, where she worked until 2001 when she returned to Sisters. <I returned because a job in education and prevention opened up on the Deschutes area in Sisters and I wanted to return to my home and my roots, so I came back and have been working here ever since,= said Reed. A big part of Reed9s job up to now is to talk to the pub- lic and educate and inform the people. She works with first-graders on teaching them about campfire safety with Smokey the Bear. She works on trail maintenance, forest treatment and post-wildfire rehab. One of her biggest pas- sions in her work is planning and executing prescribed fires. <It takes layers and layers of planning with prescribed fire. It takes so long to get fire on the ground because we have to make sure there is a lasting long-term investment and educate the public about the importance of preventa- tive fire for their own lasting benefit,= she said. Reed plans to continue volunteering in public ser- vice and using her knowledge and applying it to other areas within the community. She plans to work with the Sisters Trails Alliance and volunteer on trail restoration. Reed has an eight-year-old daughter and wants to get her involved in nature and hiking in Sisters Country and beyond. <I haven9t been able to rec- reate for most of my adult life 4 for over 32 years my life has been consumed by fire,= she said. She and her daughter have a list of national parks they plan to visit. <I really want to be there for my daughter and keep busy with her and get out- side with her. I want to use my work knowledge to better educate her,= said Reed. She plans to work with the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center and volun- teer with them when things get busy during fire season. <I feel like I have learned so much in my career and I don9t want to close the book on what I9ve lived through. I want to continue to share it where I can,= she said. <Fire is in my bones, and I will always have a connection to it even while not working for the federal service.= CONTRACT: New deputies expected in Sisters this summer Continued from page 1 relationships between the Sisters-assigned deputies and members of the community. The total fixed contract amount is $661,200, with a total potential amount includ- ing overtime, extended shift coverage and special services of $711,200. The lieutenant will report to the DCSO com- mand, but will work closely with City officials. <The lieutenant is sup- posed to be on board July 1, which is the effective date of the contract,= Misley said. <The deputies, hope- fully some of them will be on board before July 1 or shortly after.= The contract allows for some flexibility in timeline to allow for recruitment of the deputies. With three deputies, there will be a coverage gap of approximately four to five hours. There will continue to be a 24-hour west-county patrol deputy on duty, and Black Butte Ranch Police and Oregon State Police are avail- able for emergency backup. <It is potentially some- thing that will be dynamic, as well,= Misley said 4 mean- ing that shift assignments could be adjusted to address specific law enforcement needs at certain times. Misley noted that the con- tract is built on a cost-for-ser- vice basis, with those costs more fully lined out than they have been in the past. <All we9re trying to do is pay for the service we9re getting,= he said. <From a budgetary perspective, this is pretty black and white. It9s pretty straightforward.= Sisters is getting more coverage, with a directly assigned force of deputies who will know the commu- nity thoroughly. Both the City government and Sheriff Nelson consider that a signif- icant, cost-effective improve- ment in law enforcement services on the west end of Deschutes County. <This is a really good step in the right direction,= Misely said. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS The Nugget N E W S PA P E R ? 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