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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2020)
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Black leadership group active in region By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Riccardo Waites was moved to act by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minnesota at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin. The incident, which was captured on phone footage by bystand- ers, sparked protests across the nation and now across the globe. Some of those protests were marred by riot- ing and looting. Waites is seeking con- structive action for con- structive change through the founding of the Central Oregon Black Leadership Assembly. The Assembly has figured prominently in ral- lies in Bend and Redmond, and has been included on the citizens advisory committee that will seek a replacement for Bend Police Chief Jim Porter, who is retiring. <I started this Assembly the day I saw the video of George Floyd,= said Waites, who is the father of two daughters and a 20-year resident of Bend. <I liter- ally cried as I watched the video. It made me think, what generation is this going to stop so they (his chil- dren) don9t feel the pain I9m feeling.= Waites has significant goals for the organiza- tion beyond the activism of the moment. He hopes <to unite every black per- son in America= and help build black-owned business as a foundation for genuine equality in American society. Waites, a U.S. Navy sub- mariner veteran lived in major metropolitan areas and came to Bend from Las Vegas at the suggestion of his brother. Like so many who have come here, he was seeking a place to be rooted, a safe and welcoming place to raise a family. <I took a trip out here for a week to see what9s going on, and I just fell in love with the place,= he said. <When I got here in 2000, people waved at me and they didn9t even know me.= The experience of living in Central Oregon and start- ing his own business here has been positive 4 yet he acknowledges that he is liv- ing in a place with very few people of color, and that does have an impact. <My daughters are defi- nitely a lot safer in Bend, Oregon,= he said. <It9s hard for them not to see people who look like them.= Waites told The Nugget that he has been <pulled over for driving= when people in Bend neighborhoods called police. He wanted to convey a message to Central Oregon. <Don9t be afraid of the Assembly& we9re a peace- ful organization.= He said that <the Asse3mbly is for black people because we9re the most oppressed right now.= However, he noted, support memberships are available to anyone. Waites said he is currently focused on Bend, Redmond and Prineville, but, he said, I will eventually get out to Sisters.= He foresees a role in Sisters schools. <I9m definitely going to get with all the local school systems and try to get them to understand more black history, beyond slavery and Martin Luther King, Jr., so they understand how impor- tant black people were to creating this country and how we contributed,= he said. For more information visit https://mycobla.com. Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson Pandora moths are back When I rolled into Bend on my Harley in 1951 I didn9t know a Pandora moth from a monarch but- terfly. It wasn9t until 1986 that they both entered my life, but the first to arrive was the moth; the monarchs came later when my wife, Sue, started monitoring the butterflies at Lava Beds National Monument south of Klamath Falls. During the summer of that year the state highway department had to begin sanding Highway 97 south of Bend because of motor vehicles smashing big, fat Pandora moth caterpillars trying to cross the high- way, causing the pavement to get as slick as snot on a doorknob. Right this minute 4 based on the phone calls and emails I9ve received 4 there9s a whole bunch of these moths wandering all over the forests of our area. They9ve reached their maximum size as caterpil- lars, quietly pigging out on pine tree needles the last year, and are now down from their forest café look- ing for a place to bury them- selves in the earth where Gypsy Wind Clothing NOW OPEN AT OUR NEW LOCATION! they will undergo what I call the <Miracle of Nature,= aka metamorphosis. Just think, that fat and juicy slug-like animal will bury itself in the soil, weave a silken nightshirt (cocoon) and change into another animal. What gets me is the caterpillar doesn9t die. The life that9s in it is transferred to the new ani- mal that will emerge from the cocoon. But unlike it9s predecessor, the caterpil- lar, the new animal has three body parts: head, tho- rax and abdomen, plus sex organs to reproduce, wings to fly, a different breathing mechanism, but no chewing mouth. Anyway, if things go as the moth planned, next summer (or the one after, depending on weather) there will be adult Pandora moths all over the place, flying around the night lights and roosting on the walls of our buildings during the day. The beneficiaries of this bounty are the predators that eat them, such as squir- rels, martens, and a number of birds. However, there9s just enough yellow on the caterpillar to warn birds they may not taste very good, and might even make them sick. Then there9s the para- sites. If you don9t like the idea of caterpillars eat- ing your pine tree needles, please don9t go out and buy a bunch of chemicals. There are a host of parasites that just love to lay their eggs in the caterpillars and they take a pretty good toll, and using chemicals will kill the predators and parasites as well. Bats will think they have died and gone to heaven with all those deli- cious moths flying all over the place, and you9ll have something to entertain you if you have your supper out on the back deck. PHOTO BY TED SCHROEDER Pandora moth caterpillar. Stitchin’ Post is OPEN IN PERSON & CURBSIDE SERVICE NEW HOURS! 10:00am-5:00pm, Monday - Saturday For curbside pickup: Call ahead and order/pay via phone, and we will bring your order out to your car. OR email stitchin@stitchinpost.com with your order and phone number, and we will call to get your credit card info. 183 E. HOOD AVE. Hours: Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Sisters Dental OPEN FOR DINE-IN & TAKEOUT Phone orders for coffee, pastries, and boxed lunch. Monday-Saturday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. 541-588-0311 201 E. Sun Ranch Dr., WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Trevor Frideres, D . M . D . Greg Everson, D . M . D . 541-549-2011 491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters www.sistersdental.com Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. BLUE POOL QUILT AVAILABLE AS A KIT 311 W. Cascade Ave. Sisters, Oregon • (541) 549-6061 stitchinpost.com 5