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
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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-
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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
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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
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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
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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
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