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Wednesday, July 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address, and
phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions
not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond, or ask for a
response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items
are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.
Off-leash dogs in forest
To the Editor:
It would be nice if The Nugget had Bill
Bartlett expand on his statement that there are
1,200 acres in the Deschutes National Forest
which are open to off-leash dogs. I am sure
this is true 4 but not a complete picture/
assessment of the off-leash rules.
My experience and conversations with
the sheriff9s office is that the dogs may be
off-leash but must be under the control of
their owners. This means I assume, they must
<come= when called. Also, they cannot chase
deer.
I know of almost no one who has a dog so
well trained that it comes when called all the
time. I have encountered many dogs who do
not <come= when called. Friendly dogs are
fine with me, I love them! But I have encoun-
tered many mean dogs who go after me and
my leashed dog. It is a scary situation.
See LETTERS on page 16
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
July 21 • Sunny
July 22 • Sunny
July 23 • Sunny
July 24 • Sunny
80/45
86/50
91/53
93/53
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
July 25 • Mostly Sunny
July 26 • Mostly Sunny
July 27 • Partly Cloudy
90/53
90/54
91/55
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Battling Grandview Fire was team effort...
N
City of Sisters bulletin
By Cory Misely
City Manager
We all understand and
appreciate the importance
of the small-town feel that
makes Sisters so special.
Over the many decades and
accompanying changes this
essence has evolved but
remained strong.
One factor that has
impacted so many pieces
of our community is traf-
fic, especially on Highway
20 right through the middle
of town. As we have grown,
so too has Central Oregon to
our east and the Willamette
Valley to our west. As one
of the few gateways into
Central Oregon, Highway
20 has seen increasing num-
bers of trip counts, particu-
larly in the summer months.
The City of Sisters has long
discussed this topic and the
successful completion of the
roundabout at Barclay and
Highway 20 is a testament
to the progress of planning,
prioritization, and project
management. Yet it is only
half the necessary progress.
There is not enough space
here to cover the amount
of discussion, work, and
time that went into accom-
plishing the roundabout at
Barclay and Highway 20.
Many deserve praise, yet
most of the same people
involved then are still now
and not satisfied because the
purpose 4 a complete, func-
tional alternate route away
from Cascade for freight and
through traffic 4 is only
half accomplished. Like
only having one bookend,
the alternate route needs a
roundabout at the Locust
and Highway 20 intersection
to complete the necessary
movements heading either
east or west through Sisters.
It took over a decade with
obstacles on many levels to
complete the Barclay round-
about 4 at the time only the
third roundabout on a state
highway.
In 2018, the City was
told the state had no funding
to put towards the Locust
roundabout until, hopefully,
the 2028/31 STIP (State
Transportation Improvement
Program). The project cost is
estimated at $5.1 million and
the state historically contrib-
utes the majority of funds.
This was unacceptable news
and the City prioritized tak-
ing a decade-plus project to
a self-revised goal of accom-
plishing it in half the time.
To do so, there must be three
main components: design
and engineering, necessary
property for the right-of-
way, and the funding to build
it. In 2018 there were none
of those pieces in place.
Since then, the City has
taken significant steps to fur-
ther this project and stay on
track for the timeline goal.
In the fiscal year 2019/20
budget, the City directed
$250,000 to jumpstart the
engineering and design
process through ODOT. A
partnership plan was suc-
cessfully implemented with
the Sisters School District
for property acquisition for
project footprint right-of-
way (not yet completed).
The Sisters Urban Renewal
Agency, through the City,
updated its project list and
among other priorities added
the Locust roundabout,
allocating up to $1.1 mil-
lion toward the project with
support from local taxing
districts, understanding the
importance of this project for
safety, mobility, and vitality.
Just last week the City
submitted an application to
the federal government to
bridge the multi-million dol-
lar funding gap. This project
has and continues to be at
the top of the priority list for
the City. It will take a part-
nership between the City,
County, and ODOT (and
possibly federal) to accom-
plish this project benefitting
Sisters, Deschutes County,
and the state/federal high-
way system. This partnership
has been coming together
through the leadership of
the City. From the outside
perspective it may look like
no progress has been made
since the intersection has not
changed but there have been
important steps taken. If the
grant request is unsuccess-
ful, we continue to monitor
a new (albeit limited) fund-
ing source through the state
and the on-going discus-
sions of an infrastructure
package through the federal
government. One way or
another, we are well on our
way to making the project
happen.
Views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
Got a great photo of life
in Sisters Country?
PHOTO BY BY PETE RENGGLI, SISTERS-CAMP SHERMAN FIRE DISTRICT VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER
Sisters-Camp Sherman firefighters were joined by a state task force in providing protection to local
residences threatened by the Grandview Fire.
Send your high-resolution photo to
editor@nuggetnews.com.