The Nugget
Vol. XLIV No. 47
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Merriment launches holiday season
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
Sisters knows how to
kick-start Christmas. It all
started Friday at 5:30 p.m.
at the annual tree lighting
ceremony in Fir Street Park.
Actually, it began Friday
morning with the 4th Friday
Art Walk held from 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m. Along the art path,
Stitchin9 Post displayed
ornaments and assorted
holiday decorations ranging
from mini stockings to bottle
toppers.
Shops up and down
Cascade, Hood, and Main
avenues (and in between)
were pulling out all the stops
to showcase their Christmas
wares. Shoppers 4 many
visiting relatives here for the
holiday weekend 4 obliged
by filling stores, often with
little tykes in tow. Supply-
chain issues nation-wide
have put a renewed empha-
sis on buying local or filling
shopping lists with craft and
natural items.
The only sadness was the
absence of Hal Reitmeier 4
<Santa Hal= 4 a beloved and
long-time icon for Christmas
in Sisters. Hal passed away
earlier this month, leaving
behind thousands of lives
touched by his charm, wit,
and characterization of Santa
legendary Leonard Cohen
anthem <Hallelujah= was
sung with lyrics of the nativ-
ity, the somewhat surprised
audience gently swayed.
Without exception every-
body was in a festive mood
and eager for the event that
took a hiatus last year due to
the pandemic.
See HOLIDAYS on page 12
See SHELTER on page 26
PHOTO BY JACK TURPEN
welcoming tones at which
time the stage was turned
over to a duo of Victorian
Carolers who delivered a
half dozen carols.
The songs were a mix
of classic Christian hymns
and kid favorites, <Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer,=
and <Jingle Bells.= The
crowd sang along to vary-
ing degrees and when the
Sisters
Cold
Weather
Shelter
seeks help
Since 2017, the Sisters
C o l d We a t h e r S h e l t e r
(SCWS) nonprofit has set
up in local churches to bring
our forest-dwelling neigh-
bors in from the freezing
winter weather. Each year
the shelter has partnered
with churches, local busi-
nesses, and volunteers to
provide a warm dinner meal
and a warm place to sleep.
Last year due to COVID-
19, the local churches were
unable to provide shelter.
Instead, SCWS Board mem-
bers and other volunteers
made the rounds out in the
forest, as frequently as pos-
sible, to make sure individu-
als and families had warmth
and food.
This year, only two
churches are available to
host the shelter, one in
December and another
in January. Other local
churches unable to provide
Santa made his annual appearance
on Hood Avenue Saturday afternoon,
as Sisters rolled into the Christmas season.
Claus.
The 21st annual tree light-
ing came off in pleasant, dry
weather. By 5:30 p.m. there
were already 300 or more
gathered and as the festivi-
ties began another 100 or
so rushed from the close-by
Sisters Saloon and The Barn
to join. As in the past, event
sponsors and Mayor Michael
Preedin spoke briefly in
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
COVID-19: Oregon drops
Volunteers get winter trails in shape
outdoor mask requirement
By Jim Cornelius
By Sara Cline
Associated Press/Report for America
PORTLAND (AP) 4 As
COVID-19 cases in Oregon
continue to decrease health
officials announced Tuesday,
November 23, they were
immediately lifting state-
wide mask requirements in
crowded outdoor settings.
Oregon was the first state
in the U.S. to re-implement
an outdoor mask mandate for
both vaccinated and unvacci-
nated residents in August as
the delta variant spread.
At the time, Oregon was
in the midst of its worst surge
during the pandemic. Record
daily COVID-19 cases were
set day after day and hospi-
talizations overwhelmed the
health system. A majority
Inside...
of people hospitalized were
unvaccinated.
However, over the past
six weeks health officials
say Oregon9s daily COVID-
19 cases and hospitalizations
have steadily declined. The
week of November 15, cases
decreased by 12 percent
from the previous week.
<We took decisive mea-
sures. And, as has been
the case over the course of
this pandemic, Oregonians
resoundingly responded,=
Director Patrick Allen of the
Oregon Health Authority,
said Tuesday, November 23.
<Together we have managed
to turn back the tsunami of
new infections that very
nearly swamped our health
See COVID-19 on page 30
Editor in Chief
Some of Sisters9 beloved
winter trails are ready for
winter 4 whenever it arrives.
Twenty-one volunteers put
in 240 hours on Nordic and
snowshoeing trails south of
Sisters in what Sisters Trails
Alliance (STA) Secretary
Ann Richardson called <by
far our biggest volunteer
work effort of 2021.=
Long-time STA volunteer
Gary Guttormsen told The
Nugget that work crews got
started in late September get-
ting trails in the area of the
Three Creeks Snow Parks in
shape. They did maintenance
work on the Jefferson shelter
and cut firewood for users.
A couple of years ago, STA
replaced the wood stove in
the shelter.
PHOTO PROVIDED
A strong cadre of Sisters Trails Alliance volunteers prepped a warming hut
and cleared and marked trails in preparation for the Nordic skiing and
snowshoeing season in Sisters Country.
After fall winds died
down, volunteers got down
to the heavy work of log-
ging out trees that had fallen
across trails. They worked on
the Snow Creek Trail (known
in summer as the Metolius-
Windigo) and Warren9s and
Nancy9s Loops.
Kreg Lindberg led a
See TRAILS on page 24
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Sisters Salutes ................. 8 Entertainment ................. 11 Fun & Games ....................21 Classifieds ..................27-28
Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements ...............10 Holidays in Sisters ..... 13-20 Crossword ...................... 26 Real Estate ................ 29-32