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Wednesday, October 14, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Cobb wants to ‘walk her talk’
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Susan Cobb decided to
run for Sisters City Council
when she realized that,
instead of encouraging oth-
ers to run, she would walk
her talk. She indicated that
even if she doesn9t garner a
Council seat, she will find
other ways to be involved.
If she is elected, Cobb has
identified a number of issues
she would like to address
including working with
the Sisters Area Chamber
of Commerce to amplify
the businesses already in
Sisters and what new ones
could be brought in to sus-
tain and grow the business
community.
With Zoom meetings the
norm for now, Cobb would
like to see a brief pre-meet-
ing overview of topics to be
discussed to help those phon-
ing in to understand the pro-
ceedings. She believes ongo-
ing open communication
from City Hall is important.
Cobb thinks creation
of additional safe bike and
pedestrian lanes out to
Adams and Hood avenues,
while maintaining a lush,
treed environment, would
benefit residents and visitors.
Fire mitigation and edu-
cation for all citizens is
high on her list of priorities.
While she served for three
years as the president of the
Timber Creek Homeowners
Association, Cobb actively
supported fire prepared-
ness education with mailers
to homeowners. She would
like to see public fire mitiga-
tion meetings at Sisters Fire
Hall to explain topics such
as fire preparedness, emer-
gency evacuation routes, and
the use of fire-wise building
materials to raise everyone9s
awareness.
To assure all residents
have the opportunity to
thrive, she sees a need for
more local low-income hous-
ing that is built with as much
care as market-rate housing.
To help those in the com-
munity who are unhoused,
she pointed to programs in
other cities where they are
provided with tiny homes,
so they have a roof over
their heads. Cobb thinks it is
incumbent on society to care
for the people who have the
least.
She summed up her phi-
losophy this way: <I am
just an individual who cares
about the people. I will put
my whole heart and soul into
making things better for the
greater good. . . I will do my
best for the vast majority.=
Most of her working
career was as a project man-
ager for Pacific Bell, during
which time she received a
supervisory certificate in
management from Golden
Gate University. Her job
evolved into working with
software developers to cre-
ate software for billing. She
was one of only a handful
of women working in that
field in the earlier days of
computers. She took all of
that experience and formed
her own consulting busi-
ness, spending five years in
Europe fulfilling one con-
tract after another in Munich,
Amsterdam, London, and
Prague.
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SUCCESS: Market
created hopefulness
and community love
Continued from page 3
PHOTO PROVIDED
Having received her
bachelor9s degree in fine arts
from University of Nevada
Reno, Cobb is an artist at
heart, drawing and painting
most of her life. In Central
Oregon, she is recognized
as an accomplished quilter,
who donates her quilts to a
number of organizations and
fundraisers. She used both
her artistic skills and man-
agement background while
working at Stitchin9 Post for
four years.
Cobb chose to move to
Sisters in 2006 because her
sister and brother-in-law live
here.
<As this is my first
attempt to be a civil ser-
vant, there is much to learn,=
Cobb9s Voter Pamphlet entry
says. <I will study the appli-
cable laws, learn the ropes at
City Hall, and be an advocate
for the people of Sisters.=
Cobb didn9t offer an opin-
ion on any decisions made
by the current Council.
<I can9t say from the side-
lines, without the material
the City Council had before
them,= she said.
sanitizer. A few hundred
shoppers attended the first
Sisters Farmers Market, one
of the only communal events
in Sisters since March. Word
spread around communi-
ties of shoppers and vendors
about the safe and welcom-
ing environment created at
the Market throughout the
16 weeks of the season. By
the 17th and final event on
Sunday October 4, the maxi-
mum number of vendors was
reached at 25 spaces, and
over 750 shoppers poured in
for closing day.
Another remarkable suc-
cess attributed to our sup-
portive community was
the September Fundraising
Raffle. Originally created
to raise funds for help-
ing offset extra costs due
to COVID-19 this season,
the Raffle expanded mid-
month to fundraise for farm-
ers and families impacted
by the devastating statewide
wildfires. The community
showed their support for
these causes by purchasing
Raffle tickets in-person and
online throughout the month,
raising over $7,000 in all.
Half of the overall proceeds
were divided between
two Oregon wildfire relief
efforts; UNETE, Center for
Farm Worker Advocacy, and
Friend of Family Farmers9/
Portland CSA Coalition9s
GoFundMe for small farms
affected by Oregon wild-
fires. Four local community
members were drawn as win-
ners on October 1 for vari-
ous prize packages consist-
ing of over $3,000 of goods
and services donated by local
producers and businesses.
The real success of the
Sisters Farmers Market can
hardly be quantified in num-
bers. In a year when more
separated us than brought
us together, the Market cre-
ated a source of hopefulness
and community love, which
is at the heart of Sisters cul-
ture. Anyone who meandered
through the path of eclec-
tic booths was able to tap
into the joyous, vibrant, and
inclusive environment cre-
ated by the people involved.
We may not know what
our cherished community
events will look like in the
near future, but lessons from
this year exemplified how a
supportive community can
inspire connection and grow
resilience.
For more information on
the 2021 Market, visit www.
sistersfarmersmarket.com.
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