The Nugget Vol. XLVII No. 36
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Sisters roundabout takes shape
Building shows no letup in Sisters
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
With only the South Locust Street branch to go, motorists can now get a clear picture, both of what the finished roundabout will look like, and how to navigate it. Access from Cedar Street is also now clear in how it will work. None too soon for Sisters Pumphouse and Country Store, the Union 76 station, and High Camp Taphouse, two businesses who “have taken a beating” owners say. Drivers are confused with how to enter the businesses which have easyto-miss temporary access. C i t y P u b l i c Wo r k s Director Paul Bertagna told The Nugget that he’s “… still looking for an end of September for South Locust to be opened. And the end of October for the whole project.” The contractors are experiencing some grading issues, causing them a slight slowdown. Weather, as expected, has not been a factor since some concrete curing issues at the beginning of work. The state has spent $3.4 million of the $6.6 million project. Traffic has been slowed throughout the
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
loads have less of a curve to navigate. Roundabout art The art selection process for the roundabout has been published on the City website. The full scope of the project and application can
Despite mixed-to-negative reports of commercial development across the country and Oregon, Sisters developers and entrepreneurs appear to have a differing take. According to Goldman Sachs, some $1.2 trillion of commercial mortgages are scheduled to mature this year and next. That’s almost a quarter of all outstanding commercial mortgages, and the highest recorded level dating back to 2008. The biggest single holder are banks, many local and regional, with a 40 percent share. Other estimates put the “maturity wall” as high as $1.5 trillion. Many borrowers will be refinancing mortgages at two or even three times higher rates thanks to the 500 basis points of Fed rate hikes over 2022-23. Nearly every day there’s
See ROUNDABOUT on page 11
See BUILDING on page 14
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Sisters’ east-end roundabout is nearing completion. construction, some days worse than others. This has led to frustration among drivers. Local shopkeepers say that the resulting congestion has negatively impacted their business. Drivers utilizing the roundabout have been
curious about what appears to be a parallel road on the south edge running from Cedar Street east to a point where the roundabout rejoins Highway 20/126. This is an access or utility lane for eastbound oversized trucks unable to make the tight radius. Westbound, long
Woman killed in head- Fire consumes camp near Tollgate on crash west of Sisters An 18-year-old woman from Klamath Falls was killed in a head-on crash on Highway 20 west of Suttle Lake on Tuesday, August 27. Oregon State Police responded at about 11 a.m. to a two vehicle crash on Highway 20, near milepost 82, in Jefferson County. According to OSP, preliminary investigation indicated an eastbound Tesla Model S, operated by Scarlett Jewell Felder, crossed into the oncoming lanes and struck a westbound Jeep Wagoneer, operated by Michel Phillipe Sabourin, age 65, of Naples, Florida, head-on. The operator of the Jeep attempted to avoid the collision by moving
Inside...
into the slow lane but was unable to do so. Felder was declared dead at the scene. Sabourin reportedly suffered minor injuries and was transported for evaluation. Three other passengers in the Jeep, Stephanie Anne Warren 56, of West Linn, Parker David Warren, 25, of West Linn, and Holly Skye Ross, 24, of San Diego, California, all suffered reported minor to moderate injuries and were transported for treatment. The highway was impacted for approximately 3.5 hours during the onscene investigation. Speed is considered the primary contributing factor to the crash, according to OSP.
Firefighters quickly got a handle on a fire that consumed an RV and a truck at a dispersed camping site directly across Highway 20 from the entrance to the Tollgate subdivision, lying approximately 150-200 yards to the north of the road. The blaze ignited around 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 1. There was a series of small explosions as ammunition and propane tanks cooked off; the flames flared and the blaze spread into the surrounding forest. Wind conditions were calm, and firefighters were able to stop the blaze from spreading further. According to law enforcement, the owner of the RV and truck was living at the site. He works in Sisters and was not at the campsite when
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Firefighters responded on Sunday afternoon to a blaze that consumed an RV and truck in the forest west of Sisters. Though the fire spread into the brush and trees, they were able to get it quickly corralled. the fire erupted. The man had two dogs — one perished and the other escaped the flames
and was rescued. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Letters/Weather ............... 2 In the Pines....................... 4 Sisters Salutes ................12 Obituaries .......................15 Sudoku ............................21 Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements...............10 Entertainment .................12 Crossword .......................19 Classifieds..................21-23