The Nugget
Vol. XLV No. 9
P OSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion
from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Sisters youth want to save dark skies
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
What creates a greater
sense of awe and wonder
than standing outside and
gazing up into the crystal-
clear dark night sky over
Sisters? Stars twinkling, con-
stellations readily visible,
satellites passing overhead.
Sisters is on the precipice of
losing that amazing night sky
to growing light pollution.
In a presentation to the
City Council on February
23, members of Sisters High
School Astronomy Club pre-
sented data highlighting the
increase in light pollution
of Sisters9 dark skies, and
the importance of protecting
those skies. Students mak-
ing the presentation included
sophomores Molly Greaney
and Kaleb Woods, and junior
Lizzie McCrystal, with work
on the presentation also done
by Paola Mendoza.
Other Astronomy
Club students include:
Zoey Lorusso, Dominic
Martinez, Soyla Martinez,
Emma Sahlberg, Annalycia
Erdekian, Erik Ryan, Daisy
Montecinos, Adriana Luna,
and Zach Theis. Rima Givot
is their faculty advisor.
One photograph taken last
month showed the existence
of a light or sky dome over
Sisters, something that up to
this point in time the area has
never had. As the population
increases and more building
takes place, the selection of
appropriate outside lighting
fixtures and bulbs takes on
added significance.
One of the special attrac-
tions Sisters offers to resi-
dents and tourists alike is the
ability to experience viewing
of the dark night sky with all
the stars and constellations
that humans have used for
navigation for centuries.
Local artist and 31-year
resident of Sisters, Paul
Bennett, presented an adver-
tising slogan to the Council.
He pointed out that Sisters is
marketed as <the town of tiny
lights.= He expanded that to
<the town of tiny lights and
dark skies.= A number of
Bennett9s paintings feature
the local starlit sky.
Responsible lighting not
only protects the dark skies,
but it provides energy sav-
ings. Shielding lights and
reducing glare helps improve
safety. More light doesn9t
always result in a safer envi-
ronment. What matters more
is the way an area is lit.
Lowering and shielding lights
illuminates the area intended
to be lit while preventing
See DARK SKIES on page 23
PRE-SORTED STANDARD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Sisters, OR
Permit No. 15
City to
contract
for water
conservation
expertise
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
The Milky Way over Sisters. Dark night skies are one of the
attractions of Sisters Country — but they are endangered by
increase lighting demands.
PHOTOS BY KRIS KRISTOVICH
The City of Sisters, in
recognition of the worsen-
ing drought picture, is in the
final stages of being able to
hire outside consultants to
prepare a water conservation
plan. City Manager Cory
Misley said: <We are trying
to get ahead of the problem.
Even though the City itself is
in a fairly good water posi-
tion, especially with bringing
well number four online, we
know the situation requires
more preparation.=
Misley expects a contract
can be ready within a week
or two. The scope of work
is being drafted to meet the
budget parameters.
Conditions in the western
U.S. are now being described
as <megadrought,= and a
report from UCLA describes
the situation in startling
terms, producing headlines
like this from around the
See WATER on page 22
Sisters Country resident Hunters support wildlife crossing
seeks reelection
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
The first thing Patti Adair
wants you to know about
her is that she9s a country
girl. She doesn9t mean her
preference in music. She9s
talking about her roots. That
was a key takeaway when
The Nugget chatted at length
with her Saturday. Adair, 70,
who claims Sisters as home,
lives with her husband,
Bob, on their horse ranch on
Edmundson Road.
The native Oregonian
currently holds Position
3 as a Deschutes County
Commissioner to which she
was first elected in 2018. The
Republican is chair of the
board, a rotating position.
Inside...
Adair9s family settled in
Eastern Oregon near Ukiah
in the 1850s. She grew up
in Heppner <with the joys
and struggles of rural life on
a ranch.= Much of her early
years were spent in 4-H and
rodeo royalty. She received
her bachelor of arts degree in
history from the University
of Oregon. She earned a
CPA after attending Central
Washington University in
Ellensburg.
Adair didn9t imagine
being an accountant when
growing up but has found
the discipline of making bud-
gets and numbers add up an
advantage in governance. She
laughed when we pointed out
See ADAIR on page 17
A coalition of hunters,
anglers, Tribal represen-
tatives, and conservation
groups released a priority
list of wildlife crossing proj-
ect needs across the state
where wildlife-vehicle col-
lisions create hazards for
drivers and animals. One of
the identified projects would
include work on Highway
20 between Suttle Lake and
Bend.
The report comes as the
House Interim Committee
on Environment and Natural
Resources recently passed
the Wildlife Crossings
Investment Act (HB 4130-
01) that will invest $7 mil-
lion toward creating wildlife
crossings at wildlife-vehicle
collision hotspots around the
state. The legislation now
awaits a vote in the Ways
and Means Committee.
PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON
Mule deer populations are under threat in Sisters Country, in part due to
fatalities on the highways.
<Our mule deer herds
have declined 30 to 40 per-
cent over the last decade
or less,= said Ken McCall,
northwest director for the
Oregon Hunters Association.
See CROSSINGS on page 19
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Obituaries ........................ 6 Entertainment ................. 11 Fun & Games ....................18 Classifieds ................. 20-22
Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements ...............10 Flashback ........................16 Crossword .......................19 Real Estate ................ 22-24