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POSTAL CUSTOMER PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Vol. XLV No. 44
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Outdoor School becomes focus of controversy
Soccer celebration...
By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
PHOTO BY OLIVIA KENNEDY
The Outlaws pushed into the second round of playoff action with a dramatic win over Blanchet Catholic last week. See story, page 7.
Outdoor School is a beloved tradition for Oregon sixth-graders. This year, however, it’s become a focus of controversy over how gender identity is handled at Camp Tamarack, and how parents were — or were not — informed about it. The issue gained broad attention last month when the Culver School District, on October 17, pulled students from a three-day/two-night See CONTROVERSY on page 18
Commercial real estate boom in Sisters By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
There’s a real estate boom in Sisters — but it’s not residential. That’s cooled a bit. Commercial real estate, on the other hand, is on fire. Drive all over town and excavators are leveling dirt, concrete is being poured, walls are going up. W h a t ’s d r i v i n g i t ? Speculation mostly, and with
the economy in flux and many economists predicting a recession soon (some saying that we are already in it), such investments may not pay off quickly. You can’t say that developers in Sisters lack pluck. Not all commercial projects are spec in nature. Sisters Coffee just recently moved into its new roastery See COMMERCIAL on page 26
What will winter bring?
PHOTO BY CEILI GATLEY
School officials, builders, and architects put their golden shovels in the dirt for the formal groundbreaking on Sisters’ new elementary school last week.
Sisters breaks ground for new school By Ceili Gatley Correspondent
By Ron Thorkildson Correspondent
After yet another long hot, dry summer that has extended well into fall here in Central Oregon, a major shift in the weather pattern has finally brought cooler temperatures and much-needed moisture to help quell the wildfires and clear the smoky skies.
Inside...
Is it just a short-term anomaly or a harbinger of a much more active winter season that may lie ahead? For the past several weeks, forecasters have been sifting through meteorological data seeking clues to answer that very question. What seems to stand See WINTER on page 21
While there has already been tree clearing over the last few months, on a frosty, sunny morning last Thursday, October 27, Sisters School Board members, architects, builders, and Superintendent Curt Scholl made Sisters Elementary School construction official with a groundbreaking ceremony, using gold shovels to commemorate
work that will create a full K-12 campus. Steve Buettner and Julie Hyer from SunWest Builders were in attendance along with architects Heidi Slaybaugh, Eric Nielsen, and Ellie Escobar from BLRB Builders. Kristin Turnquist from the bond oversight committee was also in attendance. Project Manager Brett Hudson of Sisters School District (SSD) and Ryan Stock, director of operations,
were also in attendance along with school board member Jeff Smith among other board members. Scholl and Sisters Elementary School Principal Joan Warburg were on hand. “This was our official groundbreaking to celebrate the new elementary school and consolidate the K-12 campus,” said Scholl. The school construction is funded through a $33,800,000 See NEW SCHOOL on page 27
Letters/Weather ............... 2 In the Pines....................... 6 Entertainment .................15 Fun & Games ................... 22 Classifieds................. 24-25 Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements...............14 Flashback ....................... 20 Crossword ...................... 23 Real Estate ................ 26-28