2
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I
N I
O
N
Sisters Vision Team
seek new members
By Janel Ruehl
Guest Columnist
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and
phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions
not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a
response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items
are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.
To the Editor:
Last week Bill Kemp asked those read-
ers of The Nugget, that are also supporters
of Trump, <What would it take for them to
abandon their support of him?= My immedi-
ate response to that question is: What is my
choice?
I refuse to have to flip a coin between two
basic idiots to decide which one gets my vote.
I also refuse to make that decision based on
the lesser of two evils; in my opinion all pol-
iticians are evil so I9ll vote for the guy that
after four years still does not qualify as a poli-
tician, let alone a mental giant.
Trump is the least politically correct per-
son I have ever known to hold any political
office; I don9t consider this a character flaw
but a virtue, I wish more politicians held that
view. What I don9t like about him are the
same things most Americans don9t like: He is
inarticulate, his exaggerations are justifiably
interpreted as lies, his crudeness and his divi-
sive rhetoric are just a few examples that I9m
forced to ignore over the traits that I am more
than willing to accept.
A better question asked by Bill Kemp
might have been <why do any of us have to
choose between these extreme differences?=
Political parties were not this divisive, say,
when Nixon and Kennedy ran in the 1960s.
The answer to all of this is we are a repub-
lic; run by a runaway partisan democracy
where the divide seems to be irreversible.
Terry Coultas
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I know we don9t teach much history any-
more but maybe it would be good for people
to remember that the last president who was
pilloried and lied about by Democrats as much
as President Trump was President Lincoln.
He proved himself to have been one of the
best presidents ever and he was the man who
freed the African Americans over Democrats9
objections.
See LETTERS on page 30
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sunny
PM Thunderstorms AM Showers
85/51
78/51
62/46
Saturday
Monday
Sunday
Partly Cloudy
Sunny
Mostly Sunny
65/41
73/42
74/42
The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to
The Nugget Newspaper,
P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759.
Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon.
Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius
Production Manager: Leith Easterling
Creative Director: Jess Draper
Community Marketing
Partner: Vicki Curlett
Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May
Owner: J. Louis Mullen
The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area.
Third-class postage: one year, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65.
Published Weekly. ©2020 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro-
hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget
Newspaper, LLC. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this
publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and
subject to The Nugget Newspaper9s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material
in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts.
The Sisters Country
Vision Implementation
Team (VIT) is a collabora-
tive group of community
members, representing a
variety of local organiza-
tions, who are working
together to bring the 2018
Sisters Country Vision to
life.
Over the past year,
the team members have
begun work on all 20
Vision Strategies. Now
starting their second year
together, the team mem-
bers are excited to launch a
new progress dashboard at
www.sistersvision.org and
welcome a new staff per-
son, Emme Shoup from the
RARE Americorps program.
The VIT is also announcing
the launch of a small grant
program designed to help
catalyze community-led
action on Vision strategies.
Interested in learning
more, or getting involved
with this powerhouse local
team? There are three open-
ings for new team members
this year!
The City of Sisters suc-
cessfully applied to host a
new AmeriCorps position
this year, from the Resource
Assistance for Rural
Environments (RARE) pro-
gram. Emme Shoup starts
her post on September 14,
and will be with the City
for the next 11 months.
During that time, she will
primarily support the
Sisters Country Vision and
the City9s Comprehensive
Plan Update. Along
with those major proj-
ects, Emme will serve as
Community Engagement
Coordinator. Emme grew up
in Vancouver, Washington
and attended Portland State
University where she earned
a degree in Community
Development. In 2019, she
studied abroad in Llupa,
Peru, earning a certification
in Permaculture Design.
Along with her interest in
food systems and nutrition,
Emme has a passion for
urban planning and design,
and lifelong love for the arts.
<I spent most of middle
and high school at an art
school, which really encour-
aged interdisciplinary work,
crossing art with academ-
ics. I love to draw and find
artsy ways to be creative,
like sewing. A big part of
Sisters is incorporating art
into community. It9s nice to
be with people who have
that artistic mindset,= says
Shoup.
The Vision Team is also
excited to announce the
launch of a local small grant
program this year. The VIT
seeks funding requests from
organizations, businesses,
or individuals in Sisters
Country who are actively
working toward comple-
tion of a Vision Strategy, or
who would like to start work
on a Vision Strategy this
year. Applicants can apply
for up to $1,500 to support
their efforts. Visit the vision
website at www.sisters
vision.org to find the appli-
cation link. While there, be
sure to check out the brand
new progress dashboard
and annual Vision Progress
Update from the VIT.
With such great momen-
tum for the Sisters Country
Vision in 2020, the team is
seeking to add a few new
members this year. The
newly created Arts and
Culture seat will help the
team stay connected to the
arts community and prog-
ress happening on the many
Vision Strategies connected
to public art. The team is
looking for someone cur-
rently representing a local
art organization or non-
profit. The Youth Member
represents the younger
voices of Sisters Country,
and will work with Emme
to engage more students
and young residents in the
Vision.
Last year, this seat was
filled by local SHS student
Olivia Bertagna, and this
year the team has decided
to create a formal intern-
ship through the Youth
Career Connect program.
The internship is open to
any Sisters Country resident
under the age of 30. Finally,
the team seeks to add one
more community member
at-large to their ranks. This
seat doesn9t require any
affiliations or special skills,
just a passion for commu-
nity-building, time to serve,
and a desire to roll up your
sleeves and get involved
in the future of Sisters
Country! Links to the appli-
cation for all three positions
can also be found at www.
sistersvision.org.
The team will be accept-
ing new member applica-
tions through October 31.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.