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Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
City of Sisters
COVID-19 Situation Report
By Cory Misley
City Manager
The City of Sisters con-
tinues to be in a declared
state of emergency. This
declaration is scheduled to
last until June 24. The City
has been preparing to phase
out of a state of emergency
while sustaining adjusted
policies and new programs
that were implemented by
way of administrative order
(such as utility service bill-
ing relief and the right-of-
way parklet program). To
extend those temporary pol-
icies beyond the sunsetting
emergency declaration will
require adoption of resolu-
tions by the City Council
scheduled for the June 24
City Council meeting.
The focus over the past
month 4 three weeks of
Phase 1 re-opening and the
first week of Phase 2 4
has been balancing public
health and economic pros-
perity. The City has contin-
ued to monitor the health
data closely. The City con-
tinues to support the State
(Oregon Health Authority)
and County (Deschutes
Public Health) restrictions
and recommendations. The
City does not employ any
public health officials and
has relied on County Public
Health for their expertise.
Deschutes County has main-
tained countywide data and
other resources at: www.
deschutes.org/health/page/
covid-19-novel-coronavirus.
On June 9, the City
Budget Committee approved
the Fiscal Year 2020/21 bud-
get (beginning July 1). The
City9s financial health is
stable, even with uncertainty
and an anticipated reduction
of revenue associated with
tourism and overnight stays.
The budget provides finan-
cial assistance to local busi-
nesses including a reduction
in business license fees,
funds for procurement of
supplies such as handwash-
ing stations and barrels for
the parklet program, and
other flexible funds that can
be used during the rest of
2020 and first half of 2021.
The enduring strength of
the Sisters community for
one another has been inspir-
ing. Staying the course will
be important over the com-
ing weeks and months. If
you9re able, check in with
a local nonprofit organiza-
tion and learn how to offer
support. As always, now
more than ever, shop at local
businesses to the extent you
can. If you need informa-
tion or support, reach out
to the City and we9ll work
to get you what you need
whether it can be provided
by the City, County, State,
or Federal government or a
local nonprofit in our com-
munity. Learn more at www.
ci.sisters.or.us.
Commentary...
Teach your children well
By Edie Jones
Columnist
Our country is going
through a radical change,
and our children are watch-
ing and observing. I9m talk-
ing about the movement
against racism.
The June 8 webpage
of www.afineparent.com
shared an article entitled
<How to Talk to Your Kids
About Race.= Young babies
categorize, separating things
into shapes, color, gender
and even race. By 6 months
they can distinguish colors
of skin. By 3 years old they
are already forming biases,
often picking playmates
with the same color of skin
as their own. These discrim-
inations are not taught; they
are innate. The idea, that it9s
best to avoid talking about
race so children won9t learn
about racism, can actually
have the opposite affect so
it9s an important discussion
to have early on.
The article shares many
well-researched suggestions
for how adults can help
stem racism in children.
" Educate yourself first
before trying to educate your
child: Seek out information
about people different from
yourself. Pay attention to
how you are responding
to the current news. Read
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Call 541-588-6245,
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books like Why Are All the
Black Kids Sitting Together
in the Cafeteria, by Beverly
Daniel. Think about your
biases and where they come
from.
" Teach your kids by
example: Conversations are
crucial, however, our kids
learn more by what they
observe than from what they
hear. Never forget, we are
teaching something all of
the time, by what we do and
say. Read books together
about people different than
you. Ask questions about
what they think of the story.
Having exchange students
encouraged our children
to learn about and travel
throughout the world. Visit
museums and explore. Join
celebrations of other cul-
tures such as those in Warm
Springs. Explore art, food,
clothing, and traditions
important to other cultures.
Teach what is appropri-
ate (i.e. no black faces or
American Indian costumes
for Halloween). Monitor
movies and TV for accuracy
in dress, behaviors, and
accents. Encourage learning
other languages and infor-
mation about the countries
of origin. Discuss injustices
shown on the news and ask
your kids what they think.
Expect and honor the
many questions you will
get. Acknowledge when
you don9t know and look for
answers together.
" Demonstrate mind-
fulness and kindness:
Mindfulness allows for
curiosity and inquisitive-
ness. <Shushing= a young
child when they ask an
embarrassing question shuts
down conversation, indi-
cating something is wrong.
Work on informative ways
of responding. Help your
children be curious about
differences, emphasiz-
ing that diversity is what
makes being human excit-
ing and beautiful. The arti-
cle <How to Talk with Kids
about Race and Racism= by
Rosalind Wiseman points
out that it9s important to
speak-up when your child
says something offensive.
Point out why it9s offensive
and provide language that
helps them take responsi-
bility for the mistake. Be a
role model by not tolerat-
ing offensive language from
other adults, showing it9s
not only right but also okay
to speak up.
See TEACHING on page 7
New artwork by
Mitch & Michelle
Deaderick
and photos by
Scott Cordner
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