The Nugget
Vol. XLIV No. 26
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Amid clamor
to increase
prescribed
burns,
obstacles
await
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
‘Critical
Race Theory’
and Sisters
schools
One last wall...
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
By Andrew Selsky
Associated Press
SALEM — In the 1950s,
when University of California
forestry professor Harold
Biswell experimented with
prescribed burns in the state’s
pine forests, many people
thought he was nuts.
“Harry the Torch,’’ “Burn-
Em-Up Biswell,’’ and “Doctor
Burnwell’’ were some of his
nicknames from critics, who
included federal and state for-
esters and timber groups.
Six decades after Biswell
See FORESTS on page 21
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Sisters High School woods teacher Tony Cosby (red shirt) led a crew of students in a wall rasing for
Habitat for Humanity. Cosby will semi-retire next year. See story, page 5.
Sisters on high alert
over holiday weekend
It should be obvious to
everyone that record heat
and extremely dry conditions
make for extreme fire danger
in Sisters during the upcom-
ing holiday weekend.
Local officials and citi-
zens alike hope that no one is
foolish enough to indulge in
shooting off fireworks to cel-
ebrate the Fourth of July.
“I would encourage
people to go to the public
displays if possible,” said
Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire
Chief Roger Johnson. “Pilot
Butte (in Bend) is still on, and
we’re hearing that’s going to
be a spectacular show.”
Fireworks displays, in
Redmond and Bend are
scheduled to begin at dusk.
The Redmond show will
be at the Deschutes County
Fairgrounds and requires a
free fireworks parking permit
if parking at the fairgrounds.
Visit www.visitredmondore-
gon.com/events/4th-of-july
for more information.
The Bend show will take
place at the top of Pilot Butte.
Fireworks are illegal
anywhere in Sisters, in sur-
rounding subdivisions, and
Inside...
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
on national forest lands.
“We’ll be sure to have
deputies out patrolling and
looking and educating — but
also enforcing,” said City
Manager Cory Misley.
While they don’t have an
enforcement roll, firefighters
will be out and about as well.
“We always patrol on the
Fourth,” Johnson said.
The fire district will have
“vehicles staffed and ready to
respond” to any fire outbreak.
Fireworks are not the only
concern. Campers and recre-
ationists out in the forest must
be extremely careful. People
should be mindful of where
they drive or park a vehicle
in the forest, as a hot exhaust
manifold can start a fire
when conditions are this dry
and hot. Open fires, includ-
ing wood stoves and charcoal
briquette fires, are prohibited
in Deschutes National Forest
except in certain designated
campgrounds. Under cur-
rent public use restrictions,
smoking is prohibited in
the forest, except within an
enclosed vehicle or building,
See HIGH ALERT on page 20
Critical Race Theory
(CRT) is one of the most con-
tentious issues in the nation.
It is also known as Critical
Race Training, or occasion-
ally as Culturally Responsive
Teaching. CRT is not, as
is frequently suggested, a
curriculum.
Critical Race Theory is
an academic concept that is
more than 40 years old. The
core idea is that racism is a
social construct, and that it
is not merely the product of
individual bias or prejudice,
but also something embedded
in legal systems and policies.
The basic tenets of CRT
See CRT on page 23
Beware of EXTREME HEAT
The splash pad at Fir Street Park was a popular
destination last weekend as a severe heat wave
clamped down on the Pacific Northwest.
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
Central Oregon’s extreme
heatwave is expected to
continue for at least another
week. When temperatures
reach 90s and enter into the
triple digits, it becomes more
important to take care of
yourself and to be aware of
signs of heat-related illness.
When it’s hot, you should:
• Drink water and bring
extra bottles for yourself and
others.
• Drink more water than
usual and don’t wait until you
are thirsty. Talk to your doc-
tor first if you are on water
pills.
• Avoid alcohol and sugary
beverages.
• Take a cool shower or
bath.
• Use air conditioning or
a fan.
• Don’t use a fan to
blow extremely hot air on
yourself; use it to create
cross-ventilation.
• Wear lightweight and
loose clothing.
• Avoid using your stove
or oven.
• Avoid going outside dur-
ing the hottest part of the day
(3 to 7 p.m.).
Take care of those around
you:
• Check in on elders and
vulnerable neighbors during
warm weather — twice a day
is best.
• Never leave a person,
child or a pet in a hot car.
• Regularly check on how
babies and toddlers, seniors,
pregnant people, people tak-
ing mental health medica-
tions, and people with heart
disease or high blood pres-
sure are doing. See the symp-
toms of heat stroke and heat
exhaustion, page 20.
• Share a fan.
• Invite a friend to a splash
pad, movie, mall, or museum.
See HEAT on page 20
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Obituaries .........................7 Entertainment .................13 Stars & Stripes ........... 15-18 Classifieds ................. 26-28
Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements ...............12 Of a Certain Age ...............14 Crossword ...................... 25 Real Estate ................ 28-32