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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2022)
The Nugget Vol. XLV No. 6 P OSTAL CUSTOMER News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon www.NuggetNews.com Wednesday, February 9, 2022 Bulge e is reminder that we live among By Bill Bartlett Correspondent Scientists have detected an increase in the rate of uplift of the ground surface in the Three Sisters volcanic region of the Central Oregon Cascade Range. The United States Geologic Survey (USGS) released an infor- mation statement last week from the Cascades Volcano Observatory with respect to Three Sisters Volcano (complex). The volcanoes9 status remains normal/green, and there is no sign of an immi- nent eruption. Episodes of increased uplift have been observed in this area before and are attributed to small pulses of magma moving deep into the volcanic region. Jon Major, scientist in charge at the observatory, said the activity is prob- ably coming from pulses of magma moving about four PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15 VOLCANOES PHOTO BY JAROD GATLEY A bit of uplift in the Three Sisters Volcano complex is no cause for alarm —but an interesting reminder of the geology of the region we call home. underground. If the volcano much faster pace,= Major miles underground. < T h e r e 9s n o i m m i - were close to erupting, the said. <There would be a lot nent threat,= he said. <Our magma would be breaking interpretation is it9s prob- more rock, generating bigger more signs that magma was ably related to ongoing earthquakes, releasing gases, See BULGE on page 21 small inputs of magma deep and lifting the ground at a Cocaine trafficking bust in Sisters A traffic stop on Highway 20 in Sisters, at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, capped a long- term Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team investigation with the arrest of Dorian Jay Decker, 28, of Bend. According to the CODE team, detectives identified Decker as a cocaine traf- ficker in Central Oregon. Decker allegedly has imported large quantities of cocaine from other parts of Oregon into the Bend area, where it is distributed through various networks. After a multi-county See COCAINE on page 16 School district acquires When the well runs dry Wildhaven Preserve By Sue Stafford Correspondent By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent Sisters schools will soon have an exceptional out- door environmental educa- tion classroom in the Sisters backcountry. The Wildhaven Preserve, a 160-acre property in the Stevens Canyon area that has been cared for and protected as far back as 1970, became the responsibility of the Sisters School District following a transfer from the Nature Conservancy, which had overseen the land since 1982. Originally purchased as a private conservation area by Vivien and Gil Staender in 1970, the land includes a unique ecosystem of native grasses, ponderosa pines, and ancient junipers. It is also a haven for wildlife. From the outset, the Staenders named the Nature Conservancy to inherit the property, in order to ensure that it remain environmen- tally protected in perpetuity. According to a record- ing by Gil Staender relating Inside... the history of the place, the Staenders became disheart- ened by the rapid develop- ment of the area where they lived near Lake Oswego and went looking for a property they felt they could actu- ally conserve. According to the recording, the Staenders bought the land for $100 an acre from a man who claimed to have won the property in a poker game. The Staenders, who were true pioneering environmentalists, had made a plan to live in the Alaska wilderness, literally in the Arctic, for a year around the time of the purchase, and drew up a will naming the Nature Conservancy as the beneficiary of the property in case they didn9t survive their Arctic experiment. The Staenders did sur- vive, and returned to Oregon to live on the property. They lived in tents for nearly seven years before completing the Nature House, built almost entirely of native rock from the area. Gil Staender taught See PRESERVE on page 15 Braxton Holly has lived on his 10-acre parcel of land off Holmes Road over 25 years. When he moved from the val- ley to Sisters, it was 10 acres of scrub, trees, rocks, and no surface water. The surrounding properties are all five- and 10-acre par- cels, each requiring a well to provide running water. Back behind his property there is an old dry lakebed, indicating that at some point in time, the area contained a surface water source, but no more. One of the challenging geological features of that area is underground lava tubes and caverns which create voids that a drill will encoun- ter when drilling for water. If the voids are left open while drilling, when the drill hits water, it can run out into those voids. Filling them with con- crete can reduce the chance of that happening, but it doesn9t always work, as was the case for Holly. Another challenge is pre- sented by the rock beneath the soil. Holly faced both those challenges when he drilled PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD Braxton Holly ended up spending about $70,000 getting a new well installed when his original well ran dry. his original well 4 and the new one he drilled last sum- mer. The initial well was at a depth of 550 feet. After about 15 years, the pump died and the well-drillers declared the well dead. Not one to give up so easily, Holly asked them to See WELL on page 18 Letters/Weather ............... 2 Announcements ...............10 Entertainment ................. 11 Obituaries .......................13 Classifieds ................. 19-20 Meetings .......................... 3 Fun & Games ....................10 Stars over Sisters ............14 Crossword .......................18 Real Estate .................21-24
