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Wednesday, February 23, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
NEWS
NUGGETS
Snippets and tidbits
from Sisters Country
By Bill Bartlett • Correspondent
" Housing sales show no
sign of cooling off. The single-
family home market in Sisters
Country continues its red-hot
pace in an otherwise usually
tepid January. Another 32
homes closed with a median
price of $771,750, which is
$72,000 more than November.
The average price of all homes
sold was $852,369 4 a gain
of more than 10 percent over
last year9s blistering gains.
Eight of the sales exceeded
$1 million, with one com-
manding $2.2 million.
Buyers continue to pour in
from Portland, Seattle, and
California with quality of life
given as the primary reason
for the migration.
Good luck finding an
apartment in Sisters. There
were zero listings on Sunday
for traditional apartments to
rent. Seven rental homes were
advertised for rent at an aver-
age of $2,585/month.
" Construction Zone.
Sisters is in the midst of a surge
in new construction particu-
larly at the commercial level.
The trees have been cut and
removed from the Woodlands
project at Barclay and Pine.
The superstructure for the
new Sisters Coffee roast-
ery is finished, with siding
and roofing to start any day.
Ten of 50 new apartments
at the Threewinds project
located behind Bi-Mart are
ready for occupancy and 10
more are within a few weeks
of tenants moving in. The
five buildings offer a range
of one-, 2- and 3-bedroom
units 4 mostly one-bedroom,
where demand is greatest.
A convoy of concrete
ready-mix trucks arrive daily
for the 18-acre project on
West Barclay and North Pine,
as activity ramps up for the
commercial center that will
house six to eight light indus-
trial units, the first of which
is the Sisters Storage Annex
where floors are poured and
walls are going up.
One of six of the Sisters
Cottage Inns on Locust Street
behind City Hall is standing
with floor, siding, and roof,
while foundations for the
others have been poured and
framing underway.
" Gas busts the $4 per
gallon threshold. Regular
unleaded at both ends of town
is $4.09 a gallon. The aver-
age of all four Sisters stations
is $4.04, 11 cents higher than
the Oregon average. With the
price of crude over $90 and
predictions of $100 per barrel,
forecasts are being made of $5
gas in some parts of Oregon
by May. Uncertainty over the
Russia-Ukraine crisis is add-
ing to the uptick.
Since January of 2021 the
nationwide average has spiked
from $2.42 to $3.53, a 46-per-
cent increase that is severely
affecting the Sisters work-
force, who must commute
to Bend or Redmond or vice
versa for their job.
" Over 125 unfilled jobs
remain in Sisters. At least
89 are advertised and another
roughly 30 are posted on
merchant and restaurant win-
dows. More than 40 offer
salaries between $40,000 and
$70,000, a majority with bene-
fits. Some jobs lay unfilled for
18 months. As many skilled
as unskilled openings exist in
town. McDonald9s is offering
up to $42,120 for some shifts,
which has contributed in large
part to a 10 to 15 percent
menu price increase for the
ubiquitous chain.
" Ad hoc citizens group
forms to promote sister
city. Scott Bowler, Karen
Kassy, Barb Schultz, Bruce
Williamson, and this reporter
will meet soon to explore in
greater detail the value of a
sister-city relationship with
an international town of simi-
lar size and characteristics to
Sisters.
The group aims to present
a proposal to City Council in
May at the latest.
" Warm weather nets
a good fishing report. The
Metolius has seen decent
fishing the past few weeks
due to the unseasonably
warm weather. The hatches
are reported as odd on the
river right now with lots of
October caddis, as well as
some smaller size 14-18 dark
tan caddis.
Nymphing can be pro-
ductive all hours of the day
anglers tell The Nugget, liking
golden stone nymphs, Psycho
Princes, Pheasant Tails, eggs,
baetis patterns, and midges.
This month, the most likely
dry fly hatches will be BWOs
and a few species of caddis.
Fine fluorocarbon tippet is a
necessity. Fish 5x fluoro on a
relatively long leader (12 feet
is a good length).
" Reservoirs stuck at
depressing lows. Wickiup, the
granddaddy, is at 44-percent
capacity. Prineville is only
at 19 percent, while Ochoco
is hurting at 11 percent of its
volume. These numbers do
not bode well for the ongoing
drought that The Nugget con-
tinues to cover in detail.
" Snowpack showing
weakness. Water equivalent
readings at nearby points
are discouraging. Santiam
Junction at 3,740 feet is 90
percent of median. Three
Creek Meadow measured at
5,690 feet comes in at 89 per-
cent the same for all of the
Upper Deschutes and Crooked
River Basin.
Our southerly neighbors
are faring far worse. The
Klamath Basin is clocking in
at an 81-percent median as
compared to a worsened out-
look for the Rogue/Umpqua
Basin registering 79 percent,
giving cause for grave concern
in the upcoming fire season
that by all accounts will arrive
early this year.
" In case you missed
the bus. The Bend-Sisters
and Redmond-Sisters bus
routes 28 and 29 discontin-
ued Saturday service as of
February 5 due to staffing
shortages. A new glass shel-
ter at the Arrowhead Trail
terminus has been installed
giving protection against the
elements.
" Need a rodeo fix? If
you can9t wait for the Sisters
Rodeo June 8-12, and are han-
kering for some super-charged
action, then you could add
the High Desert Stampede
at the Deschutes County
Fairgrounds, March 25-27, to
your warmup list. It9s a PRCA
event with top name cowboys
and cowgirls.
Family-friendly indoor/outdoor dining, party room
Comfort food with flare! Gluten-free options too.
View music & events, order take-out & delivery
online at SistersDepot.com
250 W. Cascade Ave. 541-904-4660
Open 7 days a week! Sun-Tues 11÷÷-3ö÷, Wed-Sat 11÷÷-9ö÷
NEW DELIVERY SERVICE: Wed-Sat 4:30-8:30ö÷ ($30 min.)
ATTENTION LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS AND SUPPLIERS
Homegrown
FARM-FRESH PRODUCE & MEAT • LOCALLY PRODUCED FOODS
W
With the impact of fresh-food
shortages at grocery stores due to the
shor
pandemic and labor challenges, many
pand
people are eager to support local farms
peop
buying farm-raised, homegrown foods
by b
through CSA programs, direct from the
thro
farmer, or at farmers markets.
farm
Publishing in The Nugget Newspaper
as a pull-out resource section
March 23, 2022
Includes full-color display ad (2.9" wide by 6" tall)
and a 170-word story.
One of our professional writers will interview you and write it!
Many are also looking for supplies to
Man
grow some of their own food and flowers
in gardens or greenhouses.
We invite you to showcase your
farm-fresh products and planting
supplies for Nugget readers.
Spring will be here before you know it!
Reserve your space and submit
ad copy/photo/logo by Friday, March 11.
Call Vicki at 541-549-9941
By reserving space the advertiser agrees to advertise in The Nugget’s “Homegrown”
special section. Cancellations received after the deadline will be billed at the full rate.
or email vicki@nuggetnews.com