Wednesday, August 26, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 11 Developer Reading program pivots to deliver services wants City to buy property for a park By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Nick Veroske thinks the property he owns at the corner of Oak Street and Cascade Avenue would make a great park 4 and he wants the City of Sisters to use Urban Renewal District funds to purchase it. In a July 20 letter to the members of Sisters Urban Renewal Agency (members of the city council), Veroske stated: <A prominently visible park right as travelers enter Downtown after the drive from the I-5 corridor would act as a magnet to motivate a traveler ready to stretch their legs and enjoy a refresh- ment to stop. The logical progression is then to walk, shop and spend. In addition, this location is easily walk- able from the future 8Sisters Woodlands9 250 to 300 work- force housing units proposed for the 31 acres of the Forest Service land. As such, it will act as a magnet to draw those residents into downtown.= Veroske, President of Willamette Equities, Inc. of Portland, said the prop- erty has a commercial value of $1.24 million. He has dropped the price to $800,000. He told The Nugget that he would like to see the City purchase the property and develop it as a <town square= park, a project that is contemplated in the City9s urban renewal plan. The City has scheduled a workshop for Wednesday, August 26, to revise that plan, and draft revisions include removal of the town square park. City Manager Cory Misley told The Nugget that the proposed removal of the park from the urban renewal plan is not connected to Veroske9s proposal. <That plan was adopted in 2003, and at that point there was a couplet on the table and a lot of things that are no more,= he said. <Fir Street Park didn9t exist at that time.= Misley said that the City is not interested in pursuing Veroske9s proposal for a park at the Cascade/Oak location. <We didn9t do an analy- sis per se,= he said. <But we don9t think spending three- quarters-of-a-million dollars on that property is the right path forward.= The property has See PROPERTY on page 18 As schools across the state plan for the coming year in light of the COVID- 19 pandemic, nonprofit and community partners, includ- ing children9s literacy non- profit SMART Reading, are adapting their services to meet the changing needs of our state9s children, families and communities. Research suggests that students will enter the 2020- 21 school year with only two-thirds of the typical gains in reading from the previous year. <With students facing staggering learning losses, reading support will be more critical than ever,= says Jennifer Zardinejad, SMART9s central area man- ager. <This could have a pro- found, long-term impact on kids and communities. As we have been for nearly 30 years, SMART Reading is poised to continue empow- ering kids for reading and learning success through providing access to books for students to keep and reading practice.= While SMART Reading typically spends the summer preparing to bring more than 5,000 community volunteers into schools for one-on-one reading sessions with over 11 , 0 0 0 p r e - K t h r o u g h third-grade students across Oregon, physical distancing and other pandemic-related considerations make in-per- son reading impossible in the 2020-21 school year. In response to the chang- ing landscape, the organiza- tion has developed two new delivery models that align with safety guidelines from local school districts and the Oregon Department of Education, including: " Book distribution: Educators, researchers and families affirm that access to books is a crucial way to support children9s liter- acy. SMART Reading dis- tributed over 33,000 books after schools closed in March, and the organization is building upon those learn- ings to expand book distri- bution in 2020-21. Students will continue to have access to new, high-quality, diverse titles from a variety of book publishers that align with SMART9s guidelines. " Vi r t u a l r e a d i n g : SMART Reading will offer virtual reading sessions, both live and pre-recorded, where volunteers can read books with children and help We’re Hiring! foster a love of reading. The organization is working on the implementation details, factoring in legalities and security considerations, and incorporating feedback along the way from educa- tors and families. <We9re committed to working with our school and community partners to con- tinue ensuring young readers in Central Oregon have the support they need to become strong, confident readers,= said Zardinejad. SMART Reading plans to engage current volunteers in supporting both program delivery models, but is not currently seeking new vol- unteers. The organization encourages those interested in supporting young read- ers to help raise awareness about the importance of this work, or consider making a FREE LIVE MUSIC Matt Borden & the MFB Friday, August 28 6:30 p.m. Now Open for Breakfast 9 a.m. Open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. 175 N. Larch St. 541-549-6114 hardtailsoregon.com Facebook darcymacey Entertainment & Events Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common Regional Literary Event Series with Daniel Matthews & Valerie Trouet 6:30 p.m. For more information call 541- 27 THUR 549-0866 or go to BooksinCommonNW.com. The Suttle Lodge Thursday on the Deck Summer Wine Series Seatings every 30 minutes from 1 to 4 p.m. Wine paired with small-plates from the chef. Reservations required at www.thesuttlelodge.com/happenings. Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night Session 1: 5:30 to 6:15; Session 2: 6:30 to 7:15. Family-friendly trivia. Socially-distant. Free. For additional information call Eurosports at 541-549-2471. AUG AUG 28 FRI AUG 29 SAT See available positions at financial gift to help provide books and virtual reading opportunities. To learn more about SMART Reading9s plans for 2020-21, visit www. SMARTReading.org/covid- 19-program-adaptations. SistersRecreation.com ? Hardtails Bar & Grill Live Music with Matt Borden and the MFB 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Free. No cover! For more information call 541-549-6114 or go to hardtailsoregon.com. Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Friday Car Show 5-6:30 p.m. Bring your cool or vintage car for the free Friday car show. For more information call Eurosports at 541-549-2471. Hardtails Bar & Grill Live Music with Unchained 7:45 to 10 p.m. Tickets online at www.bendticket.com. For more information call 541-549-6114 or go to hardtailsoregon.com. High Desert Museum Virtual High Desert Rendezvous 6:30 p.m. Program, live auction, raffl e. Register today at $ highdesertmuseum.org/hdr. 541-549-2091 • 1750 W. McKinney Butte Rd., Sisters AUG Say Aaahhh... General Cosmetic Implant Family Dentistry We’re here to help you SMILE with confi dence! Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben | 304 W. Adams Ave. | SEPT 1 TUES Fir Street Park Sisters Farmers Market 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every Sunday: fresh local produce and more. Pre-order and details at sistersfarmersmarket.com. Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common Regional Literary Event Series with Vanessa Veselka & Peter Geye 6:30 p.m. For more information call 541-549- 0866 or go to BooksinCommonNW.com. Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common SEPT Regional Literary Event Series with Jane Kirkpatrick 3 & Greg Nokes 6:30 p.m. For more info call 541-549-0866 THUR or go to BooksinCommonNW.com. The Suttle Lodge Thursday on the Deck Summer Wine Series Seatings every 30 minutes from 1 to 4 p.m. Wine paired with small-plates from the chef. Reservations required at www.thesuttlelodge.com/happenings. Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Family-friendly trivia. Socially-distant. Free. For additional information call Eurosports at 541-549-2471. Events Calendar listings are free to advertisers. Submit items by 5 p.m. Fridays to lisa@nuggetnews.com ~ Serving Sisters Since 1993 ~ 541-549-0109 30 SUN Sisters ?