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Wednesday, November 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
NOVEL IDEA:
2021 selection to be
unveiled December 5
ELECTION: Blum,
Letz, and Ross eager
to serve Sisters
Continued from page 3
Continued from page 1
person and seeing the reac-
tion from guests when the
book is announced, but rest
assured, we are putting forth
our best efforts to deliver
incredible online program-
ming,= said Deschutes
Public Library9s Programs
Supervisor Liz Goodrich.
<A Novel Idea is one of our
favorite programs, and the
community9s too. We have
interactive elements to bring
the event to viewers in all its
glory to make it an unforget-
table year.=
A Novel Idea began in
2004 with David James
Duncan9s <The River Why=
and 400 community partici-
pants attending a handful of
programs. After a quick pivot
to move the program online
in March 2020, with Anne
Griffin9s <When All Is Said=
4 including a live-streamed
event featuring the author in
Ireland 4 organizers saw
their highest engagement
numbers ever, with more
than 800 viewers tuning in
for the live event. In addi-
tion, more than 9,000 people
viewed <A Novel Idea= pro-
grams online leading up to
the main author event.
By transitioning A Novel
Idea to the digital realm,
Goodrich notes the library
has the ability to reach peo-
ple throughout the county,
whether it is their first year
or 18th participating in the
project.
<Last spring when we
transitioned to online pro-
gramming, Deschutes
County readers continued to
show support for A Novel
Idea by turning out for vir-
tual programs in record num-
bers,= Goodrich said. <We
believe that A Novel Idea
provides a platform to under-
stand one another a little bit
better by reading, explor-
ing, and discussing a book
together.=
Programming for A Novel
Idea begins on Saturday,
April 3, and culminates with
the author9s live-streamed
event on Sunday, May 2.
All programs are presented
online and free of charge
thanks to the support of the
Deschutes Public Library
Foundation. Readers can
reserve a library copy imme-
diately following the reveal
on December 5. All local
bookstores will have copies
available for purchase.
For more information
about this or other library
programs, visit the library
website at www.deschutes
l i b r a r y. o r g a n d t h e
Foundation website at www.
dpl.foundation.org. People
with disabilities needing
accommodations (alterna-
tive formats, seating or aux-
iliary aides) should contact
Goodrich at 541-312-1032.
have gotten themselves a
really dedicated and hard-
working group of City coun-
cilors,= said Fisher. Cobb
admitted, <I had a hard time
voting for only three of the
five candidates; the two to
exclude sometimes included
me& The voters of Sisters
wisely selected the best
candidates.=
The two women not
elected noted as a positive
the uptick in citizens volun-
teering to serve in elected
positions as well as on
boards and committees.
<I ran to do the job but
also to influence others to
become engaged. Looks
like Sisters folks were
already thinking similarly
because within a month after
I became a candidate, we
soon had four more. Also,
I recently learned that the
applications for boards and
committees are breaking
records in local participation
this month,= said Cobb.
They both plan to vol-
unteer for other public
positions.
Fisher indicated, <I have
applied to be part of the Citi-
zens Advisory Committee
for the Comprehensive Plan
update and the Sisters Coun-
try Vision Implementation
Team.=
She is confident she will
find a way to make sure her
voice is heard in Sisters.
Both Blum and Letz
shared that one of their pri-
orities for Council to address
in the very near future is
planning for and practicing
wildfire safety in Sisters.
<I9d like to address wild-
fire safety as soon as possi-
ble. We owe it to our fellow
Oregonians who lost their
homes and lives to learn
from their tragedies and pre-
vent a large-scale disaster
from impacting our commu-
nity,= said Letz.
Blum concurred, <I9m
most concerned about how
we prioritize making Sisters
a wildfire-resistant commu-
nity. When I look at what
wildfire has done to other
small cities in forested areas,
I realize we have to do every-
thing we can to prevent that
from happening in Sisters.=
Ross and Blum are both
concerned with the impact of
the pandemic on Sisters.
Ross thinks, <we will
face major challenges as a
city in the next 18 months as
we deal with the impacts of
COVID-19 on our business
community, schools, and
citizen health.=
Along the same line,
Blum said, <I see the
Council9s main priority is to
see that the community gets
safely through the pandemic
with as little damage to our
local businesses as possible.=
Ross is eager to work
<with the existing Council,
the city manager, and the
excellent City staff, as well
as community members, as
we plan for Sisters9 next 20
years.=
Having been already
involved with the Sisters
Vision Plan, Blum is <most
looking forward to continue
implementing the Sisters
Community Vision. Through
the process of updating the
Sisters Comprehensive Plan,
we have the opportunity to
further develop, in writing,
many of the community9s
Dreaming of a new home
for the holidays? I can help.
Our town is full of
creative and engaged
people and I’m interested
in tapping that energy to
maintain Sisters’ quality
of life for its citizens
and visitors.
— Jennifer Letz
goals for the next 20 years.=
Letz, also focused on the
Comprehensive Plan, stated,
<Obviously, completing
the Comprehensive Plan is
going to be a very important
and exciting project for the
Council in the near term.=
Ross would like to work
on improving pedestrian and
bicycle safety on city streets,
p a r t i c u l a r l y J e ff e r s o n ,
Locust, and Washington. He
also hopes to help move for-
ward the Locust/Highway 20
roundabout project. In the
area of regulations, he would
like to see the City ensure
that <Dark Sky= lighting is
required on all new construc-
tion and enforced in areas
where it is required but often
ignored.
Letz is looking forward
to getting to know more of
the City staff, other Council
members, and members of
the community.
All three councilors hold
very positive views of the
city and care about our qual-
ity of life.
<Our town is full of cre-
ative and engaged people
and I9m interested in tap-
ping that energy to maintain
Sisters9 quality of life for its
citizens and visitors,= said
Letz.
Ross said, <Sisters is a
community I enjoy 4 the
greetings of folks on the
streets, the easy access to
services, and the walkability/
bicycle friendly nature of the
community. I want to work
to keep that special feeling
as we plan for the future of
Sisters.=
<In all the ways that
matter, we are a strong and
united community. I believe
we will look back on the year
2020 and be proud of what
we have overcome and been
able to achieve as a commu-
nity,= concluded Blum.
The new Council will be
seated in January 2021.
In other local elec-
tion results, Phil Chang
won Position #2 on the
Board of Deschutes County
Commissioners, Sheriff
Shane Nelson was re-elected
to serve a second four-year
term, and a funding measure
for the Deschutes County
Library District passed (see
related story, page 6).
“Ross is an excellent Realtor and overall great guy!
He communicates eff ectively and promptly and is
professional and knowledgeable. Most importantly,
he genuinely cares about his clients and strives to help
them sell their home or fi nd a home within their budget
that fi ts their needs! Buying and selling a house can
be stressful but Ross makes it fun! Every member of
my family highly recommends Ross!”
— Robine B.
One Point of Contact...
Recently closed home with very satisfi ed clients.
Call Jen McCrystal, Broker
541-420-4347 • jen@reedbros.com
Reed Bros. Realty
291 W. Cascade Ave. Sisters, OR
541-549-6000 | www.reedbros.com
Each office independently owned and operated.
Principal B
Broker & Loan Originator
Ross Kennedy
Principal Broker
Loan Originator NMLS #1612019
Licensed in the State of Oregon
541-408-1343