The Nugget
Vol. XLIII No. 43
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Sisters
In plein air...
Woodlands
wins
zoning
approval
Prescribed
burning set
to begin
in Sisters
Country
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Following a public hear-
ing at last week’s meeting,
City Council unanimously
approved the application to
rezone and redesignate the
35.84-acre property located
at 201 N. Pine St., formerly
owned by the U.S. Forest
Service and zoned Public
Facilities (27.53 acres), Urban
Area Reserve (4.76 acres),
and Open Space (3.55 acres).
The approval by Council
came after the recommenda-
tion for approval, with condi-
tions, from staff and from the
Sisters Planning Commission.
As part of the application
were several edits, in sup-
port of the rezoning, to the
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER
Local artists plied their craft and showed their wares at an Art in the Vineyard event at Faith, Hope & Charity
Vineyards last weekend (see story, page 6). The local arts community is coming up with creative ways to
sustain itself, even under the constraints of the coronavirus pandemic.
See REZONING on page 30
Correspondent
Much has been written
lately about the City’s plan
to update its Comprehensive
Plan, a task last done in 2005.
Public engagement with this
process is crucial if the com-
pleted document is to be of
use to the City.
The comp plan is like a
master plan that lays out how
Sisters will grow over the
next 20 years based on State
goals and the desires of the
community. If residents want
to have a say in that growth,
the comprehensive planning
process is a major opportu-
nity to be involved.
Last week at a joint
meeting of the Sisters City
Council and the Sisters
Planning Commission, the
consultants for the comp
plan introduced the draft
Community Engagement
Inside...
The season for prescribed
burning has arrived.
Sisters Ranger District
fuels specialists have identi-
fied two critical areas — the
Metolius Basin and areas
adjacent to the Highway 20
and Indian Ford Road inter-
section — to do prescribed
burning this fall.
The prescribed burns are
planned around increased
moisture and decreased tem-
peratures. Fire managers
expect a limited window of
suitable weather.
Prescribed burns are
designed to reduce poten-
tial for large wildfires,
reduce excess vegetation,
and improve overall forest
health. Burning could start
as early as this week and will
See BURNING on page 12
Planning underway
for Sisters’ future
By Sue Stafford
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Plan (CEP), which provides a
road map for how the public
can get involved in the update
and how the City will solicit
citizen feedback. This feed-
back, along with the technical
studies prepared by the con-
sultants, form the foundation
of the comp plan.
The comp plan is the
City’s long-range plan for
how it will grow and serve
its community members over
the next 20 years. It has a
strong emphasis on how land
is used, developed, and/or
conserved. Primary topics in
the plan include community
involvement, housing, eco-
nomic development, natural
resources and hazards, and
public infrastructure and
facilities, among others. The
plan provides a set of goals,
objectives, and policies that
provide overarching guidance
for future City decisions.
See COMP PLAN on page 26
Davis to head local sheriff’s detail
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
“This is my dream job.”
That is how Lt. Chad
Davis of the Deschutes
County Sheriff ’s Office
(DCSO) described his feel-
ings about being named to
head the sheriff’s unit at the
Sisters substation.
Davis has been a resident
of Sisters for 25 years, during
which time he first worked
for the old Sisters Police
Department as a reserve
deputy while finishing up his
degree in law enforcement at
Western Oregon University.
In 1996, the Sisters depart-
ment was disbanded with
Davis and some other depu-
ties being absorbed into the
DCSO.
His experience with
Deschutes County has been
broad and varied. In 1998 he
became a patrol canine han-
dler with Ike, the German
shepherd, who worked with
him for six years. He spent
PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD
Lt. Chad Davis will lead the Sisters law-enforcement contingent of the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office under the City’s new contract with
DCSO.
18-months as part of the
SWAT unit, spent several dif-
ferent periods as a criminal
detective sergeant, lieuten-
ant, and captain. In between,
he served as a patrol sergeant
and lieutenant.
Davis thinks his periods
of being a detective in the
criminal division provided
opportunities for positive
personal and professional
growth. As he mentors his
three deputies here in Sisters
for the next step, he said he
will encourage them to spend
time in the criminal division.
Davis’s older brother
served in the U.S. Army as a
military policeman and was
Davis’s inspiration when he
was a senior at Sweet Home
See LT. DAVIS on page 31
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Announcements ...............10 In The Pines ..................... 11 Fit for Sisters ...................21 Classifieds ................. 28-29
Meetings .......................... 3 Entertainment ................. 11 At Your Service............ 15-17 Crossword .......................27 Real Estate ................ 30-32