The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 20
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Fire consumes two forest dwellings
Preparing for emergencies is up to each of us
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
A fire of undetermined origin consumed two trailers/RVs in the forest just west of Sisters late Saturday night, May 13. “It involved two RVs,” Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Shift Commander Cody Meredith told The Nugget. “One of them was completely destroyed. When we pulled up, there was pretty good flame-length; a tree was torching between the two RVS.” The fire, which was called in just before 11 p.m., occurred north of the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge off the 2068-120 forest spur road, less than a quarter-mile from Sisters. The fire was on the east side of Highway 20 and readily visible from the highway. Meredith said that the occupants of the RVs appeared to have departed the scene; law enforcement informed firefighters that a truck associated with the campsite was not present. It was not clear whether the occupants left before or after the fire started. The shift commander told The Nugget that one of the RVs appeared to be the area of origin for
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
By Sue Stafford Correspondent
PHOTO BY ADAM ST. CLAIR
Firefighters responded to a late-night blaze that consumed a pair of trailers in the forest just west of Sisters on Saturday night. (See related story, page 21.) the blaze — the fire then spreading to the second one 20 to 30 feet away.” Sisters Fire Chief Roger Johnson told The Nugget that the state fire marshal responded to investigate. Due to the level of destruction, the deputy state marshal was unable to pinpoint a cause.
The fire’s cause is officially ruled “undetermined.” A number of forest dwellers camp regularly in that area, which has posed concerns over sanitation, fire safety, and personal security for neighbors in the area. Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District; Cloverdale Fire District; Black Butte
Ranch Fire District; and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded Saturday night. Chief Johnson said that the U.S. Forest Service was on scene Sunday morning dealing with a small spot fire near the scene. There were no injuries to firefighters or other responders.
Do you know what to do in case of an emergency in Sisters? How can you prepare ahead of time for an emergency? At last week’s forum “Emergencies in Sisters: Be Prepared,” sponsored by Citizens4Community (C4C), residents had the opportunity to listen to and ask questions of six agency representatives and one citizen, all of whom deal with emergencies on a regular basis. Sisters resident Jack McGowan, who sits on the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire District Board of Directors, is a private citizen who has spent 38 years deeply involved with emergency preparedness. McKenzie Valley resident Devin Thompson shared his experience with the 2020 Holiday Farm fire that destroyed 573 homes and See PREPARE on page 18
Mary Flande selected to Hall of Fame Sheriff’s lieutenant clarifies drug presence By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent
Fentanyl may not be the looming menace for Sisters that it is in many U.S. cities (see “Fentanyl crisis yet to touch Sisters,” The Nugget, May 10, page 1), but Lt. Chad Davis of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) wants to be clear that it is a presence in the community. “The Sheriff’s Office has arrested individuals in Sisters with fentanyl and we know it is in our community,” Davis told The Nugget. “We have had a small number of overdoses, but no recent deaths. We know fentanyl comes through Sisters via Highway 20 from the Valley, and also enters Deschutes County by way of Highway 97 from
Inside...
California.” A reader noted that “overdoses aren’t the only problem,” referencing Nugget reporting on a November 2022 incident in which the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) arrested a Sisters man for trafficking fentanyl. At the time, Sgt. Kent Va n d e r K a m p o f t h e Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reported that an initial investigation alleged that the Sisters man imported fentanyl pills from the Portland area into Central Oregon for distribution. Detectives from CODE and DCSO gathered and See FENTANYL on page 20
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Mary Flande, who spent 20 years working for the Sisters School District as a teacher, coach, and athletic director, was inducted into the Oregon Athletic Directors Hall of Fame at the group’s 54th Annual Conference and Banquet held at Sunriver Resort Saturday, April 17. Flande has spent a lifetime associated with athletics. She was a three-sport athlete at Scio High School, where she graduated in 1975, in a year in which she won the state shot put title and played on the state championship basketball team. She began her teaching career in the fall of 1978 in Alaska, and after returning to Oregon had stints in Newport
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PHOTO PROVIDED
Mary Flande, flanked by Margaret Sturza and Larry Johnson, was inducted to the Oregon Athletic Directors Hall of Fame last month. and Madras before coming to Sisters when the new high school opened in 1992. She taught P.E. and health and coached a number of sports, including track, volleyball,
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and golf. Her girls golf teams won state titles in 2007 and 2008 resulting in Flande being named state Coach of See FLANDE on page 19
Additional Outlaws Sports Coverage at www.NuggetNews.com