The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 11
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Snow buddy...
City, County talk tourism, housing By Sue Stafford Correspondent
Sami Rheault built a snowman with her dad after last week’s stout snowfall. They made friends immediately.
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
The March 8 joint meeting of the Sisters City Council and Deschutes County Board of Commissioners had an agenda packed with updates on a number of new and ongoing programs. Explore Sisters Executive Director Scott Humpert introduced himself to the Deschutes County Commissioners and explained how the world of tourism promotion has evolved from just marketing a destination to managing tourism as an economic activity incorporating See TOURISM on page 18
Sheriff’s office investigates vandalism
Keeping the roads open at all costs
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is seeking assistance from the public in identifying people responsible for gunfire vandalism to a newly constructed home in Sisters. The DCSO reports that on March 7 the Deschutes County Sheriff ’s Office was dispatched to a report of vandalism affecting the new construction in the 600
Sisters Country woke up to snow Friday morning that persisted off and on throughout the day, with accumulations of five to eight inches depending on location. The weather event had been forecast fairly accurately and ODOT crews were ready. The Nugget rode along with lead employee, George Ormsbee, in one of the two 465-horsepower plow rigs in the Sisters maintenance yard fleet on duty that morning. Many in Sisters do not even know of the yard’s existence two miles east of town on Highway 126, as it is concealed by trees. The Sisters yard basically has only three roads to maintain — Highway 20 from Suttle Lake to Robal Road in Bend; Highway 126 through Redmond, and Highway 242. But two of the roads are essential arteries, one a federal highway that is the longest highway in the U.S., stretching from Massachusetts to the Oregon coast.
“Our primary goal is to keep the roads open at all costs,” Ormsbee said, as he pushed snow off the roads and/or sanded to keep the roads passable. “There better be a darned good reason to close the road, and we will do everything possible to keep that from happening.” Indeed people’s livelihood, and occasionally life, depend on the roads remaining open. Ormsbee, who lives in Sisters, about a mile from the yard, wants the roads to be as they would
be for his family who, like him, use them for their shopping, getting kids to school, attending meetings, and being able to get about safely and efficiently. Our travels began at 4 a.m. Crews are working a lot of 12-hour shifts during the winter months. Getting on the roads early and staying on them is the key. They rely on the same weather forecasts used by the general citizenry, mostly
Announcements...............10 Entertainment ................. 11
Obituaries ....................... 11 Crossword .......................19
Classifieds................. 20-21 Real Estate ................ 22-24
block of North Reed Street in Sisters. Deputies were advised a property manager had completed a site visit of the newconstruction homes and witnessed what is suspected to be bullet holes in the exterior siding, interior drywall, and a window. Upon arrival deputies See VANDALISM on page 23
Road 16 to be rebuilt this spring The Sisters Ranger District and Deschutes National Forest road crew plan to reconstruct the nonpaved portion of Forest Service Road 16 this spring and early summer. The road surface has degraded to a condition that is difficult for vehicles, in particular those towing trailers, to
Inside...
safely navigate. The reconstruction work will improve forest users’ driving experience while increasing the long-term sustainability of the road. The road crew plans to begin reconstruction activities as soon as spring snow See ROAD 16 on page 11
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Meetings .......................... 3
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
ODOT snowplow crews were out in force to deal with the latest snowfall. Nugget freelancer Bill Bartlett got a ride-along.
See ROADS on page 7