2
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I
N I
O
N
A time for good
neighbors
It’s springtime in Sisters…
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
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 Unpublished items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 10 a.m. Monday.
To the Editor:
Save Sisters9 trees!
It was shocking to learn that what I thought
was simply the limbing up of a monumental
ponderosa pine by the City or C.E.C., was
actually a majestic ponderosa pine being
felled by a Redmond company, with no City
permit to do so, hired by a property owner who
wrongly believed the tree was his.
On the morning the magnitude of this
majestic tree claimed its final resting place
along Larch Street, our entire house and those
of my neighbors reverberated from its now
dead weight. I cried. This corpse lies witness
to the decision-making of one overzealous res-
ident. Its neighbors await the City9s response.
We are a <Tree City.= So why is it that
Sisters residents are cutting down huge,
shelter-giving ponderosas? Because they9re
messy? Inconveniently located?
Unless the illegally-felled 150-year-old
ponderosa on Larch Street was your neighbor-
hood tree, you would likely have no idea of
the shelter and beauty this elder pine provided.
I9m sure the folks who live and walk on Pine
Street, where a similar extermination took
place last year, share our collective, sobering
grief.
At this historic time in history, when nature
affords most of us the single most restor-
ative antidote to the craziness, why are some
Sisters residents interested in turning our tree-
lined streets into treeless, urban walkways?
If these huge ponderosas are such an incon-
venience, please consider living elsewhere
and leave Sisters trees standing tall for future
generations.
Kay Grady
s
s
s
To the Editor:
A gentleman passed last week, alone in his
truck in the Deschutes National Forest; we
believe he was approximately 86 years old.
Bill was a proud man. He spoke often of his
service to our country as a U.S. Marine for
25 years, and of his three daughters. What we
know about his past is only what he told us;
we cannot attest to his accounts. We are, how-
ever, comfortable in describing Bill as a good
man, at times a little difficult and a bit loud but
a man who was sensitive and wanted friend-
ship. We met Bill last year while hiking the
Deschutes. My dog came upon him, startled
him for a moment, and then this strong Marine
revealed a gentle and loving nature as he inter-
acted with Cassy. I need to believe that Bill
passed peacefully and that he has other friends
in Sisters who will pray for him and remember
him. We certainly will.
Lt. Chris Salisbury, USMC Foundation
See LETTERS on page 12
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Partly Cloudy
AM Clouds/PM Sun Partly Cloudy
56/40
52/34
55/33
Saturday
Monday
Sunday
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
67/41
68/46
70/43
The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: 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
Creative Director: Jess Draper
Community Marketing
Partner: Vicki Curlett
Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May
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 pro-
hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget
Newspaper, LLC. 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 unconditionally 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.
Sisters is <reopen-
ing= along with the rest
of Deschutes County as
restrictions imposed to
slow the spread of COVID-
19 are eased. We9re a long
way from a return to <nor-
mal,= but it feels good to
see some of the traditional
vibrancy of the community
return.
It9s been a long, sad cou-
ple of months, as local resi-
dents confront the lingering
fear of disease, the loss of
livelihoods, the cancella-
tion of cherished events and
activities. At the same time,
it9s been a time of innova-
tion: Local businesses find
ways to improvise and stay
in the fight; citizens find
ways to support each other,
even at a <social distance=;
and Sisters9 key nonprof-
its continue to pursue their
missions of community
support and enhancement.
Local citizens have been
magnificent in their efforts
to sustain local businesses
4 buying gift cards and
take-out meals, and sup-
porting a GoFundMe drive
to save our local indepen-
dent book store. They9ve
contributed to the Kiwanis
Food Bank and to local
nonprofits. Some citizens
have made a point of donat-
ing to businesses that have
not been able to stay open
during the lockdown.
It seems that Sisters has
generally avoided wad-
ing into the Big Muddy of
politicizing a pandemic.
It9s hard to believe that
so many Americans have
found a way to make pan-
demic disease a front in
our ongoing Culture War; it
just goes to show how deep
pervasive division and dis-
cord has become.
Apparently, there9s
nothing that won9t send
folks running for their ide-
ological corners these days,
even a virus, which, let9s
face it, doesn9t care who
you voted for.
Here9s hoping that
Sisters folks can continue
to stay focused on simply
being good neighbors to
each other.
Our outlook on this
terrible scourge that has
wounded our lives doesn9t
have to be partisan 4 or
political at all. It is entirely
possible 4 indeed, com-
pletely reasonable 4 to
simultaneously fear a new
and potentially devastating
disease, while also caring
deeply about the serious
economic dislocation and
the potential for authori-
tarian governmental over-
reach associated with the
lockdown.
This is a complex situ-
ation, unprecedented in
our lifetimes, and the path
forward isn9t clear. For
some, especially those at
particular risk from this
kind of illness, it may feel
like we9re <opening up=
too soon. The pandemic is
far from over, and there is a
risk that increased interac-
tion will bring on a <second
wave= or a spike in cases.
Others, whose liveli-
hoods are on the line, may
feel that we stayed locked
down too long, especially
in a region that is far from
being a hot spot; that <flat-
tening the curve= has risked
flattening our future.
We should not judge
each other harshly on our
individual take on a situa-
tion that has offered only
fraught alternatives at
every turn.
People who fear
COVID-19 are not cow-
ards; people who fear eco-
nomic devastation and the
erosion of liberty are not
heartless.
Perhaps as we move
forward into a future shad-
owed by the lingering
cloud of COVID-19, we
can act with compassion,
understanding and a dose
humility. None of us has
any answers. We can only
do our best to face adver-
sity each day, and help one
another as best we can.
We can inoculate our-
selves against cultural con-
tagions spread by black-
guards working agendas
that have nothing at all to
do with bettering our lives
and everything to do with
their own aggrandizement.
We can decide that we
are not going to allow our-
selves to be pulled into
inane conflicts that turn
facemasks into battle flags.
A mask need not be
flaunted as a badge of
civic virtue, nor scorned
as emblematic of a knee
bended to a tyrannical
state. A mask is simply an
implement, one that may
have some utility in inhibit-
ing the spread of disease. If
a Sisters business encour-
ages wearing of masks and
asks their employees to do
so, I9ll wear one.
It9s the neighborly thing
to do.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.