12
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
DEDICATION: Volunteer
hours totalling about
3,600 went into home
Incumbent seeks new term on Sisters City Council
By Sue Stafford
Continued from page 1
Correspondent
<We are looking forward
to the day you move in and
there are more children play-
ing in the neighborhood 4
children learning to ride
bikes and playing between
houses,= Ehr said.
Volunteers and the Neal
family worked along-
side each other to com-
plete the home 4 Sisters
Habitat9s 70th in the area
4 since breaking ground
in the fall of 2019. It took
approximately 3,600 volun-
teer hours and $96,000 in
materials to complete the
three-bedroom, two-bath
home.
The Meyer Memorial
Trust and Oregon Housing
and Community Services
assisted Sisters Habitat in
purchasing the property
nearly a decade ago. One
hundred and thirty-seven
donors gave approximately
$43,000 toward the comple-
tion of the project. Small
businesses and corporations
made donations of materials
along the way. Other major
sources of funding came
from the sale of products at
the Thrift Store and ReStore
as well as the mortgage
payments paid by current
Habitat homeowners. Sisters
Habitat is extremely grateful
for the community9s stead-
fast support.
Those interested in
homeownership, home
repair, or volunteering with
Sisters Habitat can visit
www.sistershabitat.org or
call the Habitat office at
541-549-1193.
City Councilor Andrea
Blum9s current term is expir-
ing, and she is hoping to be
re-elected.
<We are in the middle of a
huge transition here in Sisters.
We have just scratched the
surface of our Sisters Vision
Plan and I want to be sure
those goals and objectives are
implemented. This is an excit-
ing, energizing time for the
city,= Blum said.
Blum began her Council
career in 2014 when she was
tapped to fill an open seat left
vacant due to a resignation.
In 2015 she was elected to a
four-year term, during which
time she had the challenge/
pleasure of working with four
different City Managers.
<Government has always
been of interest to me,= Blum
said, referring to herself as
<a political junkie who tries
to think local.= Her employ-
ment experience over the
years bears that out. She
served as the recording secre-
tary for the Deschutes County
Commission and the office
manager for the Oregon
Public Employees Union.
While on the Council,
Blum has served as the Sisters
representative on the Central
Oregon Commission on
Transportation (COACT), so
she has been able to keep her
finger on the pulse of plans
for transportation projects in
Central Oregon, including
roundabouts in Sisters and
elsewhere.
Blum said because of her
five years on the Council,
she can offer an historic
Sisters
Dental
WE ARE HERE
FOR YOU!
PHOTO PROVIDED
perspective when needed,
and also offer her experience
and her time. Because she is
retired, she is able to respond
to last minute requests from
the City staff for things like a
signature on a check.
Blum9s main goal is to
<keep Sisters livable.= With
a growth rate of three per-
cent per year, she is con-
cerned about losing the
small-town feel. She loves
the city-wide events but
thinks there needs to be care-
ful consideration before add-
ing any more to the calendar.
Blum sees one of the
Council9s jobs this next year
is to take the Vision and figure
out ways to pay for it. She is
also excited about the possi-
bility of a master plan coming
forward for the portion of the
Lazy Z property that the City
owns (south of Highway 20).
Two major items that Blum
thinks the Council needs to
address are fire danger for
the City and how the City can
convert to green energy.
<When asked why I
am running again for City
Council, I reply it is what I
can give back to this incred-
ibly special place. . . Because
of my experience, I am most
suited to work in our local
government,= while other cit-
izens share their own talents
that make Sisters so special.
<However, our secret is
out, and growth is coming to
Sisters. My pledge is to view
every decision I make on City
Council through the lens of
whether it will preserve, pro-
tect, or enhance the livability
of Sisters,= Blum said.
Blum is most proud of the
work Council did in working
with an affordable housing
developer to provide the last
piece of funding that allowed
the Ponderosa Heights afford-
able housing project to come
to Sisters. She thinks one of
the more contentious issues
Council has addressed is poli-
cies for special events. They
are essential to economic
prosperity but bring signifi-
cant disruption to local resi-
dents. Blum has not always
agreed with everything that
was enacted but, <I believe
Council will continue to fine
tune the process as more
demands on our community
resources increase.=
Blum and her husband,
Jack, moved from Salem
to Sisters Country in 1988,
<before the sewers and pros-
perity.= They now reside in
Pine Meadow Village.
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4 1 4 1 0 1 0 2 3
413 W. Hood Ave., Sisters
Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, evenings by appt.
Trevor Frideres, D . M . D .
Greg Everson, D . M . D .
541-549-2011
491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters
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Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Vote
Gary
Ross
for City
Council
Ad paid for by Gary Ross
I have been a Sisters
resident since 2017,
serving on the City
of Sisters Budget
Committee and Park
Advisory Board.
Sisters is a community
involved in change
and growth. How this
process is managed by
elected and appointed
offi cials will determine
where Sisters as a com-
munity is 10 to 20 years from now.
I bring extensive experience in long-range
planning, public/private partnerships, and public
budgeting.
If elected, I will carefully consider both sides
of all issues, seek information when necessary,
and make decisions based on community wants
and needs.