The Nugget Vol. XLV No. 42
Laird closing up shop in Sisters
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Homecoming victory...
Public hearing set on new housing
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
In a formal statement October 12, Laird Superfoods (LSF-NYSE) announced that it would be closing its operations in Sisters, and outsourcing the production of its plant-based products to a copacker, a business that manufactures and/or packages food products for clients. In some cases, the co-packer can be a competitor categorically, but not at the same price point or package size.
PHOTO BY OLIVIA KENNEDY
The Sisters Outlaws had much to celebrate in their homecoming victory over Pleasant Hill last week. See story, page 4.
See LAIRD on page 29
Editor in Chief
Ian Reid, Sisters’ district ranger, knows that when he takes his seat on the “Houseless in Sisters” panel on Thursday, October 20 at Sisters Fire Hall, he’ll be on the hottest seat in the house. It’s his agency, after all — the U.S. Forest Service — that is directly responsible for managing camping in the forests surrounding Sisters. And that’s where the unhoused of Sisters Country live. “It’s a complicated role,” he acknowledged in an interview with The Nugget. The primary mission, he says, is to maintain “a safe forest and a healthy forest.” The Forest Service is tasked with enforcement of rules and laws governing national forests, minimizing damage to resources, while at the same time ensuring “equitable access” and the sharing of public lands. The increase in “non-recreational camping” — people living in the forest on a permanent or semipermanent basis — poses challenges
Inside...
Sisters planners will conduct a public hearing on a proposed development along McKenzie Highway at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 20. The planned Sunset Meadows housing development by Woodhill Homes is proposed to create a 71-lot residential development with 22 single-family, detached dwellings, 48 townhome dwellings, and approximately 72 to 124 multifamily units on one of the last available large parcels of land in Sisters. See HEARING on page 22
Challenges of forest-dwelling By Jim Cornelius
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
for Forest Service personnel. Some local residents have become frustrated with the Forest Service insisting that Sisters Ranger District should be enforcing its own regulations, requiring that a camper must move after 14 consecutive days and prohibiting camping in the Deschutes National Forest for more than 28 total days in a calendar year. According to Reid, that’s not as straightforward as it might appear. “Getting people to move is very challenging, especially when they don’t have the means to do it themselves,” Reid said. The District has required campers to move, Reid said, estimating that “for every RV seen, we’ve probably moved five.” But he has heard the public complaints that they’re not doing enough to manage the problem. Reid notes that the enforcement mechanism for the 14-day and 28-day limits is a ticket. “Enforcement is a violation notice,” he said. See HOUSELESS on page 24
Watch out for deer on Sisters roads By Stuart Ehr Correspondent
It’s the time of year when deer are on the move. Although known biologically as the rut, their unpredictable and potentially dangerous behavior during October and November has some local hunters labelling it derisively as “the time when deer get stupid.” The odds of expensive and life-threatening car-deer interactions are way up, especially as urban boundaries expand and deer are displaced. Eric Smith of Caliber Collision in Redmond is seeing the collision numbers climb, aside from the rut and fawning (spring/summer) seasons, which will only bring more clients into autobody shops. “Because of all the building that is being done, we are taking over their natural habitat, and it’s forcing them out of their normal realm and they’re walking on the streets more often than they should,” Smith said. Nationally, 200 people are killed every year in car-deer accidents. Over 10,000 more are seriously injured. The Insurance Institute estimates that nationwide car-deer
PHOTO BY STUART EHR
Deer are on the move; bucks are in the rut. It’s a dangerous time on the road, especially in the early hours and at dusk. collisions cost motorists one billion dollars. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) data shows one in 165 Oregonians will collide with a deer in any given year. Or as a local chided, “100 percent of Sisters residents if they’ve lived here long enough.” Deschutes and Klamath counties are two of the hot spots where the odds of hitting a deer are much greater. “In late fall deer are
moving from their summer range in the Cascades down to the Metolius, Billy Chinook, Tumalo, or Sisters winter range,” said Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) Biologist Andrew Walch. “What kicks off the rut is the changing amount of daylight. The female does go into estrus, and that also triggers the bucks to initiate See DEER on page 30
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Announcements...............10 At Your Service............ 15-18 Fun & Games ................... 20 Classifieds..................27-28 Meetings .......................... 3 Entertainment ................. 11 Obituaries .......................19 Crossword ...................... 26 Real Estate ................ 29-32