The Nugget
Vol. XLIV No. 2
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Schools set
plans for
return to
in-person
learning
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Retiring
mayor
assesses
Sisters
Back in the saddle again...
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
All students in the Sisters
School District are scheduled
to return to some level of in-
person learning by February
1, according to a communi-
cation sent out January 6 by
superintendent Curt Scholl.
Sisters Elementary School
has been operating with in-
person instruction under what
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Sisters High School’s equestrian team has launched into training, though their competition season will be
somewhat restricted due to COVID-19.
When Mayor Chuck Ryan
took office, the City was just
beginning to pull out of a
very unsettled time for City
government. In a fairly short
period of time, the City had
had three city managers, and
hit a low point in citizen inter-
est and involvement on City
commissions and boards.
As Ryan retires from his
mayoral duties this week,
the City is running smoothly
See SCHOOL on page 8
See RYAN on page 9
Broadband internet on
tap for Camp Sherman
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
After more than a decade
of false starts, broadband
internet service is coming to
Camp Sherman via Sureline
Broadband in Madras.
Local realtor and Camp
Sherman native Shane
Lundgren has been heading
up a group of Camp Sherman
residents since 2009 to
secure internet access for the
community. According to
Lundgren, the original impe-
tus was the government9s
<No Child Left Behind= pro-
gram in 2009-10, to bring
internet learning oppor-
tunities to students at the
Black Butte School in Camp
Sherman.
We are excited to be in
Camp Sherman. This has
been a long time coming
and we are standing on
the shoulders of others.
Now it’s our job
to get it done.
— Josh Richesin
Inside...
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
Through the past decade,
potential connection was dis-
cussed with BendBroadband,
Century Link, and then
Central Electric Cooperative
to possibly run cable lines on
their power poles. The nego-
tiations with BendBroadband
ended when they were sold
to the national TDS corpora-
tion, who had no interest in
extending service to Camp
Sherman.
Due to its isolated loca-
tion under the shadow of
Green Ridge and Black
Butte in the thick Deschutes
National Forest, Camp
Sherman presents a number
of challenges to providing
internet and cell service.
Lundgren said that over
the years they have tried
hard to solve the problem.
He and Lamont Boileau,
senior account executive
for Sureline, credit the hard
work of Caprielle Foote-
Lewis, Sisters Economic
Development for Central
Oregon (EDCO) manager,
for helping bring Sureline to
Camp Sherman by leverag-
ing some of her contacts.
Sureline was able to
secure a grant to help with
the expense of equipment
SHE Project raises funds for
victims of domestic violence
By Helen Schmidling
Correspondent
The SHE Project, 52
pieces of art for sale, returns
this month to the art wall at
Good Day Café in Sisters
to raise funds for Saving
Grace, a Central Oregon
organization that provides
services for domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault
survivors.
Each of the artworks is
designed along a theme of
empowering women, with
a theme or title that begins
with the word <She.= For
instance, <She knows her
greatest power is her own
inner tranquility.= Or, <She
flies with her own wings,=
which happens to be the
Oregon state motto, and
<She let the moon restore
her softly at night.= Another
says, <Take a chance; seize
the moment. What are you
waiting for?= Many are
collages, and nearly every
media is represented. Each
piece is just $35, all of
which is donated to Saving
Grace.
Kit Stafford, a textile art-
ist and community activist,
coordinates the SHE Project
PHOTO BY HELEN SCHMIDLING
Penelope Youngfeather, Kit Stafford, and Paul Bennett check out the
SHE Project art on the wall at Good Day Café. All sales benefit Saving
Grace, which provides services for domestic violence and sexual
assault survivors.
with the help of all the art-
ists who9ve donated.
<The pieces reflect the
many facets of what the art-
ists are thinking about in
these times, and it9s espe-
cially poignant and heart-
felt for people in positions
of trauma and danger,=
Stafford said. <All of us
who made something are
sending out a lot of love to
those women, because the
process of making involves
your heart and your hands.=
The SHE Project is a
significant fundraiser from
Sisters. Last year9s SHE
Project included an artists9
kickoff, where creators
began making their work,
and an opening reception
for the show, both of which
were missing this year. The
2020 event raised around
$2,000 for Saving Grace
according to Harmony
Thomas, owner of Bedouin
See SHE PROJECT on page 23
See INTERNET on page 14
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Sisters Salutes ................. 4 Virtual Events .................. 11 Obituaries .................. 14-15 Classifieds ................. 20-21
Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements ...............10 Fun & Games ............... 12-13 Crossword .......................19 Real Estate ................ 22-24