The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 30
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Tree falls on electrical line, sparks fire Cold
weather
shelter a
victim of
pandemic
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Firefighters quickly contained a brushfire sparked by a downed electrical line on Friday. The fire was near homes east of Sisters. It took some
time to get it completely out as it was burning in large log pile.
Firefighters from the Sisters-
Camp Sherman Fire District doused
a brush fire at 16305 Riata Ct. east
of Sisters on Friday morning, July
17. The blaze was uncomfortably
close to homes in the area.
The fire was sparked when a tree
fell on a power line, and the downed
line ignited flammable vegetation.
The fire burned approximately
one-quarter of an acre of brush and
logs. According to fire officials, the
fire was quickly contained, but full
extinguishment took several hours
due to the quantity of logs and large
debris on the property.
The Oregon Department of
Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and
Central Electric Cooperative also
responded to the incident.
<We were fortunate that the fire
occurred in the morning and the
winds were calm,= said Fire Chief
Roger Johnson.
The area where the fire occurred
is mixed trees, brush and residential
structures.
The incident caused a momen-
tary power outage in some parts of
Sisters.
The Sisters Cold Weather
Shelter is yet another vic-
tim of the coronavirus pan-
demic. Local churches that
have offered space for the
shelter for the past four
winters are unable to open
their doors to offer shelter
to those in the community
who are unhoused. Two of
the churches have congrega-
tions with a large percent-
age of older members, one
of the high-risk populations.
Another may be involved
in a remodel project of the
space the shelter normally
uses.
WellHouse Church (for-
merly Westside Church)
has offered to be available
during the coldest month
if temperatures drop to
See SHELTER on page 22
Cougars active in Sisters Country
District planning for
challenging school year
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Planning school sched-
ules is always a challenge
for a small district: How can
you ensure that all students
have the best possible access
to limited numbers of elec-
tives, etc.? The coronavirus
pandemic has thrown a mas-
sive spanner into the works.
Sisters schools are each
crafting plans for the 2020-
21 school year that must
revolve around mitigating
the risk of contagion from
the COVID-19 virus. These
plans are being created in
a shifting environment of
increasing COVID-19 cases
in Deschutes County, includ-
ing a few in the 97759 zip
code 4 and shifting and
Inside...
evolving guidance from the
state.
Sisters School District
Superintendent Curt Scholl
offered a status report on
planning to The Nugget:
<We have skeletons.
We9re planning right now
K-6 in-person; we have the
capacity for that.=
Middle and high school
planning is more compli-
cated and Scholl said that
schools are looking at a
<hybrid= plan that includes a
modified schedule and a mix
of in-person and distance
learning.
Schools are being
asked to maintain separate
<cohorts= of students, so that
any outbreak of COVID-19
See SCHOOL YEAR on page 23
Several residents have
reported cougar sightings,
or sign of cougars present in
the local area.
Corey Heath, Supervising
Fish and Wildlife Biologist
with the Oregon Department
o f F i s h a n d Wi l d l i f e
(ODFW) office in Bend told
The Nugget that there have
been reports 4 some direct
and many of them second- or
third-hand 4 of cougar pres-
ence in the Panoramic subdi-
vision northeast of town, and
on both sides of Whychus
Creek in the canyonlands to
the north of Sisters.
The potential for a prob-
lem encounter is always
present when cougars are
around residential neigh-
borhoods with pets and
livestock.
PHOTO BY KRIS KRISTOVICH
Cougars periodically make their presence known in Sisters Country. They
usually move on on their own.
<It9s not desirable, cer-
tainly, where they are,=
Heath said. <We9ve got signs
up letting people know what
to do if they encounter one.=
(See sidebar, page 18.)
See COUGARS on page 18
Letters/Weather ................2 Obituaries .........................4 Announcements ............... 10 In the Pines...................... 13 Classifieds ..................19-20
Meetings ...........................3 Sisters Country Naturalist..7 Events ..............................11 Crossword ....................... 18 Real Estate ................. 21-24