The Nugget Vol. XLVII No. 38
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Festival of Books connects with Sisters By T Lee Brown Correspondent
Sisters Festival of Books (SFOB) presented its second festival last weekend and celebrated its new status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Authors, poets, and publishers from around the region and beyond shared stories, food, readings, and workshops with an enthusiastic audience. Born and raised in Sisters, Dr. Kelly Davis Martin was delighted with the successful fest. “It’s awesome! It’s so good just being in community with other people who are interested in writing and books and shared ideas,” she said. The weekend kicked off with a workshop on “notions of wealth and poverty,” led by Chris Vega and tina ontiveros. Vega is a queer Chicana poet, single parent, and publisher of Blue Cactus Press. Born and raised in poverty in the Pacific Northwest, ontiveros writes award-winning work that explores class, poverty, addiction, and power. Davis Martin, a writer who works in behavioral health, attended the workshop. “That alone got the creative juices flowing,”
Correspondent
As summer turns to autumn a new set of risks arises for Sisters Country recreationalists. This is elk rutting time, for example, and the males — bulls — weighing up to 700 pounds can be dangerously aggressive. The elk rut, starting midSeptember, is a wild time of year, both for the elk and for onlookers. From a safe vantage point, say 100 or more yards, you can watch the bull attracting, herding, and fighting for his harem. He uses a high-pitch bugle sound to attract cows (females) and his horns and aggression are in full force.
Inside...
Woodlands to add affordable housing By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
“The community event at The Belfry, the short stories people shared, the music — it reminds me that we’re so privileged here in Sisters to have this community, to have Lane building this community for us,” said
The developer SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat for Humanity are collaborating on six future cottage homes in Sisters Woodlands, via a subdivision and cottage development extension on former Lot 175, becoming Lots 175-180. SWD, BUILD and Sisters Habitat have been working together for the last two years culminating in the current construction of four cottages for Habitat. SWD has provided Sisters Habitat with significantly discounted lots, as well as constructed foundations, utilities, and complete building shells at a further discount and turned those over to Habitat to complete the interiors. This has all been done in service of working together to overcome the financial
See BOOKS on page 6
See HOUSING on page 11
PHOTO BY TL BROWN
A packed house listened intently to poet Chris Vega, originally from the borderlands of Texas and Mexico, who came to Sisters via Tacoma, Washington. she said. The Belfry played host to a packed house for the StorySLAM on Friday night. Locals and guest authors took to the stage sharing music, stories, and poems. Beth Wood, Willy Vlautin, and other musicians told stories through song—mournful
Seasonal change calls for safety measures By Bill Bartlett
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
The bigger and more mature bulls have the best chances of mating. The drama doesn’t just take place in the mountains. It can happen in Sisters Country hay fields, or on the golf course at Black Butte Ranch. Not that you’re likely to ever get that close. But beware. The same with deer. They will usually run away if a human comes near, but deer can and will attack humans in certain situations. One of those situations is during the rut, or their mating season, which occurs in the fall. This is when bucks become aggressive and territorial. See CHANGE on page 15
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Meetings .......................... 3
yet sometimes humorous stories of death and loss. Vega picked up the theme, reading a complex poem set at a funeral. In a moving, intimate moment, festival founder Lane Jacobson told the crowd that it was his mother’s birthday. She had taken her life years before.
Intersection will be four-way stop By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
Pedestrians and closeby tenants say the intersection of South Pine Street and West Hood Avenue is regularly the scene of near misses. Though only two recorded accidents in five years have occurred, locals in the adjacent area, and nearly all businesses, have warned that it was only a matter of time until there would be serious injury. The present arrangement — a two-way stop — regulates east and westbound traffic on Hood Avenue. The issue has been brought to the attention of the City’s Public Works Department on more than one occasion. Sensing a real concern, the City ordered an Announcements...............10 Entertainment .................12
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
The intersection of Hood Avenue and Pine Street is problematic. The City of Sisters is taking action to correct the problem. updated traffic study from Transit Consulting LLC. At its regular meeting, September 10, The
Public Works Advisory Board received the 19-page
Obituaries .......................13 Crossword .......................21
Sudoku ........................... 22 Classifieds................. 22-23
See FOUR-WAY on page 15