The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 21
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Sisters
moves into
Phase I
reopening
with county
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Folk Festival fundraiser marks big success
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Sisters is cautiously emerging
from the COVID-19 shutdown after
Governor Kate Brown last week gave
Deschutes County the green light to
enter Phase I of the state9s <reopen-
ing” protocol as of May 15 (see side-
bar, page 23).
Matters were thrown into confu-
sion on Monday afternoon when a
Baker County Circuit Court Judge
invalidated all of Brown9s restric-
tions on businesses and social gath-
erings along with other executive
orders around the coronavirus out-
break dating back to March 12. On
Monday night, the Oregon Supreme
Court stayed that ruling, leaving
restrictions in place pending an
appeal.
Many retail businesses and res-
taurants were back in operation
under Oregon Health Authority
guidelines over the weekend, while
some announced that they were
deferring opening into this week to
allow them time to conform to those
guidelines.
In a Sisters City Council workshop
on Wednesday, May 13, Mayor Chuck
See PHASE 1 on page 23
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
SFF Creative Director Brad Tisdel described the Preston Thompson Guitar that was raffled during a Facebook Live event that marked
the conclusion of the My Own Two Friends Art Auction. The auction was taken online this year due to the cancellation of the live event.
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Just a few weeks ago, the Sisters
Folk Festival was faced with the
possibility of losing its My Own
Two Hands fundraiser to the coro-
navirus pandemic.
The annual event is critical to
supporting the Festival9s music edu-
cation and outreach programming,
so the staff came up with a way to
move the auction online. And the
response exceeded all expectations.
<We blew away our goal, so I9d
have to say it was a resounding
success,” said SFF Executive
Director Crista Munro.
The organization9s stretch goal
was $75,000 and the event came in
close to $85,000, which will sup-
port everything from middle school
See MOTH on page 22
Class of 2020 to have commencement ceremony
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
A team of dedicated educators
and parents have saved the day and
created a plan for the Sisters High
School class of 2020 to have a com-
mencement ceremony after all,
despite the limitations imposed by
COVID-19.
The one-of-a-kind ceremony
will take place at the Sisters Rodeo
grounds at 7 p.m. on Friday,
June 12.
Due to health restrictions, the
event will not be open to the general
public and will be a drive-in style
event. Graduates will have two park-
ing places allotted for themselves
and guests in specific locations in
front of a stage to be constructed
by the Sisters Rodeo Association.
A large screen will be used in order
for the senior slideshow as well as
pre-recorded student music and
speeches to be viewed. Audio will
be streamed via FM radio signal at
104.7.
See GRADUATION on page 15
SPRD is
restructuring
in time of
change
The work goes on…
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
There’s no Sisters Rodeo this year, but volunteers turned out last weekend to maintain the Sisters Rodeo Grounds, including ongoing work
on the new Red Rock Corral.
Inside...
Letters/Weather .................. 2
Meetings ............................. 3
COVID-19 Situation Report ... 4
Announcements ..................10
Faced with a radically altered
programming landscape and a sig-
nificant revenue squeeze thanks to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Sisters Park &
Recreation District (SPRD) is restruc-
turing and streamlining.
SPRD approved a $1.567 million
budget for the 2020/21 fiscal year
on May 12. According to Executive
Director Jennifer Holland, that budget
Paw Prints ..........................15
Crossword ..........................19
See SPRD on page 18
Classifieds .................... 20-22
Real Estate ................... 22-24