The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 39
www.NuggetNews.com
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
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Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Sisters got a reprieve from
smoky conditions
History
museum
is open to
the public
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
and rain is in the forecast
for Wednesday night, with
showers persisting through
Friday.
The impact from the mas-
sive, destructive wildfires on
the west side of the Cascades
will be felt for some time.
Both Highway 22 and
Highway 126 are expected
Those who settled Sisters
were a hardy bunch who over-
came many obstacles to cre-
ate lives for themselves and
their families here in Central
Oregon. The same could be
said for the board of directors
and volunteers at the Sisters
History Museum who, amidst
a pandemic and hazardous
smoke conditions, persevered
to offer a soft opening of the
new museum on the corner of
North Larch and East Cascade
Avenue last week.
They sent out notices to
their members and welcomed
anyone who happened to
stop by, of which there were
several descendants of early
Sisters families who just hap-
pened to be in town.
<We are very pleased with
the reception from the public
so far, as well as recent visitors
with roots in the past,= said
Karen Swank, board member.
The museum is now open
to the public with winter
hours: Fridays and Saturdays
See CLOSURES on page 9
See MUSEUM on page 22
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE CONNOR
Sisters got a welcome break from hazardous smoke conditions last weekend — including the hopeful sign of a symbolic rainbow.
Rainfall across much of
Sisters Country helped to
scour away smoke for the
first time in many days last
Friday, and Sisters enjoyed
a couple of days of good air
quality.
The return of blue skies
and breathable air was wel-
comed by local folks, who
took advantage of the change
to get out for walks and bike
rides that had been impos-
sible while air quality across
the region was so hazardous
that it ranked worst in the
United States.
The smoke impact from
fires across the western
United States is not over,
however. While rainfall
helped firefighters make
progress against wildfires
that have burned a million
City snapshot —
new planner hired
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
" The City of Sisters has
announced the hiring of
Scott Woodford as the new
community development
director. Woodford comes
to Sisters after seven years
in Redmond as their senior
planner. He has more than
20 years of land-use plan-
ning work and management
of complex projects, includ-
ing experience working in
Colorado resort communi-
ties tackling unique issues
they contend with, such as
retention of community char-
acter, affordable housing,
Inside...
traffic, lodging and manag-
ing growth 4 issues familiar
to Sisters.
Woodford9s first major
project as director is an
update to the Comprehensive
Plan that will begin this
fall. His first day on the job
was Monday, September
21. He can be reached at
swoodford@co.sisters.or.us.
" The City Hall ballot col-
lection box next to the door
will be open to accept bal-
lots from October 14 through
election day, November 3.
Each day, the ballots depos-
ited in the box are transferred
See CITY on page 21
acres in Oregon and mil-
lions more in California,
Washington, and other west-
ern states, fires continue
to burn. By late Sunday, a
smoky haze had crept back
into Sisters Country and
on Monday air quality was
rated unhealthy for sensitive
groups.
Conditions are expected
to improve through the week,
Protecting conservation area
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Sisters residents new and
old may be unaware of the
Trout Creek Conservation
Area (TCCA), a special
parcel of land adjacent to
Tollgate and Sisters High
School, which is owned and
overseen by Sisters School
District in cooperation with
the U.S. Forest Service and
the Deschutes Land Trust.
The TCCA encompasses
160 acres of juniper and
pine forest directly behind
the athletic fields at Sisters
High School (SHS), a con-
servation easement that
was formally established
in 2003. The acreage pro-
vides a venue for hands-on
PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG
The Trout Creek Conservation Area is biologically sensitive and valuable
for education. It is off limits to vehicles.
fieldwork for SHS students
and is home to a variety of
plant and animal species,
according to SHS biology
teacher Rima Givot.
Recent incidents and
See TROUT CREEK on page 8
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Artists Studio Tour ............ 5 Fit for Sisters .................... 8 Entertainment ................. 11 Classifieds .................. 19-21
Meetings .......................... 3 Obituaries .........................7 Announcements ...............10 Crossword .......................18 Real Estate ................ 22-24