Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2020)
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon School district waives athletic fees Volunteers named to city committees By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent In a gesture to help fami- lies and to promote partici- pation, the Sisters School District has announced that the pay-to-play fees for mid- dle school and high school sports is being waived for the school year. Superintendent Curt Scholl and high school ath- letic director Gary Thorson made the announcement last week. Any families who have already paid for upcoming sports seasons will be reim- bursed, according to Thorson. <Our 8Season One9 that took place with limited activ- ity was no charge, so this decision is focused com- pletely on the upcoming sea- sons,= he said. Thorson said, <We have seen positive results from other school districts that have done the same and Superintendent Scholl made this a priority for our district. The benefits of cocurricular activities are crucial to the development of our students, and this removes a barrier for more participation from both the middle and high schools.= Being able to offer fami- lies a financial break during the pandemic also played a part in the decision. <Obviously this year in particular has been hard financially on many fami- lies, and the timing of this could not be any better,= said Thorson. <I am very apprecia- tive of Superintendent Scholl and the SSD School Board making this commitment By Sue Stafford Correspondent PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG Cross-country runners like Hayden Roth and Kaleb Briggs will be running “free” this season thanks to pay-to-play fees being waived this year. that will benefit so many in the community. They have shown great leadership dur- ing difficult times and we are lucky to have them in the positions they are in.= The move is financially possible for the school district due to the fact that athletic spending has been almost completely nonexistent since virtually no teams have been competing since last March, resulting in budget savings on transportation, facility main- tenance, officials and other expenses normally associated with athletics. The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) announced a new athletic calendar that begins in January in the hope that many, if not all, sports will at least be able to have an abbre- viated six-week season. The traditional <fall= sports are scheduled to begin February 22, 2021. <Spring= sports will begin April 5, and <winter= sports are set to start May 3. 9 Middle school sports seasons have not yet been updated, but information and details should be forthcoming in January. Even though the seasons are now topsy-turvy, Thorson hopes that a record number of students will sign up and get involved. <We all know that these kids have been isolated for months, so anything we can do to help them be able to access activities is 100% worth it,= he said. Families can register stu- dents for sports via an online portal at www.familyid.com/ sisters-school-district. Large numbers of local volunteers will help guide Sisters into the future. A record number of volun- teers turned out in November to fill positions on City boards and commissions, with terms beginning on January 1, 2021. The inter- ested residents all filled out City applications and par- ticipated in Zoom interviews with several City councilors and City staff before the final selections were made. Council President Nancy Connolly told The Nugget, <I believe the people we selected are a fair represen- tation of the community.= She indicated that the large number of applicants was a validation for the council and staff for being open and inclusive. At the December 9 City Council meeting, Mayor C h u c k Ry a n f o r m a l l y appointed the following peo- ple to committees and boards: " Planning Commission: Jeff Seymour, Scot Davidson, and Tom Reis for four-year terms. " Public Works Advisory Board: Dave Moyer, Robert Hatfield, John Herman, Bill Kelly, and Jenn Rambo. Term lengths will be determined at the first meeting. " City Parks Advisory Board: Dixie Eckford and Sarah McDougall to one-year terms; Eli Madrone for three- year term. " Urban Forestry Board: John Myers, three-year term. " Budget Committee: Susan Cobb, Briana Metzler, and Robin Smith to three- year terms. One position still open. Going forward, new board members will be appointed every year in January and members whose terms are expiring will go off the board as of December 31. All new appointees will receive train- ing for their positions in board protocols, City require- ments, and particular expec- tations for each board. www.NuggetNews.com Quality Truck-mounted CARPET CLEANING Year-round FIREWOOD SALES Quality Cleaning 16 years in Reasonable Prices Sisters! — Credit Cards Accepted — — Kindling — — — ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS 541-410-4509 Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 SistersForestProducts.com RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL We are closed through December 30th. Reopening New Year’s Eve! 391 W. Cascade Ave. | 541-549-2675 www.corkcellarswinebistro.com CHRISTMAS EVE Candlelight Service December 24 • 6 p.m. We will follow all current safety directives. Please go to our website www.sisterschurch.com to reserve a spot and for updates to our program. a family friendly event for all Sisters Community Church 1300 W. McKenzie Hwy.