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12 pages featuring the stories of the skilled craftsmen
and industry experts who serve Central Oregon
The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 17
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Age Friendly Sisters
Country (AFSC) “Action
Teams” received a $5,000
grant from The Ford Family
Foundation (TFFF) to focus
on their COVID-19 response.
The grant will be split
between the STARS “Action
Team” and the newly formed
Linked Villages — Sisters
“Action Team.”
Launched March 1, the
Sisters Transportation and
Ride Share (STARS) provides
a free, all-volunteer ride-share
service for round-trip trans-
portation for non-emergency
medical appointments in
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
A noble visage…
Action
Teams step
up to help
seniors
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Candidates
vie for
sheriff’s
office
Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS
A golden eagle had a successful hunt in Sisters on Monday, taking advantage of a newly-mown meadow.
Two candidates are vying
for the office of Deschutes
County Sheriff. As the only
two candidates filed, they
will bypass the May 19 pri-
mary election and face off in
November.
Bend Police Officer
Scott Schaier is challeng-
ing incumbent Sheriff Shane
Nelson for the position that
Nelson has held since being
appointed by the Deschutes
County Commissioners in
2015 and then elected by
See CANDIDATES on page 17
See SERVICES on page 18
Adaptability, patience, Drive-through testing at St. Charles
for new teaching model
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Teachers and students
across Oregon are adjusting
to a new way of doing school
as the “Distance Learning for
All” is being rolled out.
Here in Sisters, creativ-
ity, flexibility, and learning
new approaches to teach-
ing through technology are
abundant.
Distance teaching looks
a bit different depending on
the grade level and subject
matter, but a common theme
runs throughout: adaptabil-
ity, patience, and humor are
required.
Sisters High School art
teacher Bethany Gunnarson
explained that firing up “dis-
tance” art required a ton of
preparation up front, but
seems to be working out so
far.
“Last week, after call-
ing students individually as
a part of the district-wide
effort to contact each family
on the phone, I was working
to get a survey out to all my
classes to get a pulse of what
was possible from home,”
Inside...
she said. “I found that most
students were willing and
able to continue their cur-
riculum/projects at home if I
could get materials to them,
so that was the next thing I
did.
“All day Friday (April
10) I was running from the
art room to the curb to hand-
off materials for students for
the remainder of the term. I
literally was hustling from 7
a.m. to 3 p.m. and felt dead
tired by the end,” she said.
She elected to forgo live
classes in place of videos of
herself outlining expecta-
tions for each week.
“My philosophy as of
Day 4 is that their art classes
should be the ones that they
use as stress-relief around
their other classes, choos-
ing the time of the day that
works best for them, not in
the 30 minute window that
our classes are pared down
to,” she said.
At the other end of the
educational spectrum, first-
grade teacher Annie Reid
admits it has been a bumpy
See DISTANCE on page 18
St. Charles Health System
is now offering a drive-
through specimen collection
service for COVID-19 test-
ing outside of the St. Charles
Family Care clinic at 2600 NE
Neff Rd. in Bend.
Those taking advantage
of this service must have
a provider9s order and call
541-699-5107 to schedule an
appointment. The ordering
provider does not have to be
employed by or affiliated with
St. Charles.
Individuals who do not
have a provider9s order will be
referred to their primary care
provider, or to an Immediate
Care or Urgent Care clinic for
evaluation.
Initially, the drive-through
will be open weekdays, 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. Upon arrival,
individuals will participate in
a quick registration process,
after which a specimen will
be collected. All specimens
will be sent to the University
of Washington for testing, and
results should be available
within two to four business
days.
To use this service, indi-
viduals should enter the St.
Charles Bend campus from
Neff Road and follow the sig-
nage on Medical Center Drive
PHOTO PROVIDED
St. Charles in Bend has increased its COVID-19 testing capacity.
to the drive-through entrance.
In addition to offering
drive-through specimen col-
lection, St. Charles Bend is
now also able to provide rapid
on-site COVID-19 testing for
eligible patients who are hos-
pitalized. The health system
received its first allotment of
120 test kits Friday, allowing
its Bend laboratory to begin
performing COVID-19 tests
on its Cepheid platform on
Saturday. The health system is
expecting a second shipment
of 890 test kits within the next
two weeks. Once that ship-
ment is received, the health
system expects to expand
rapid on-site testing to its hos-
pital laboratories in Madras,
Prineville and Redmond.
Letters/Weather ............... 2 The Quarantine List ........... 8 In the Pines......................13 Crossword .......................14 Sudoku ............................ 17
Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements ...............10 Sisters Country Birds .......13 Classifieds .................. 15-17 Real Estate .................17-20