The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 8
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Sunset Meadows development will go forward
Waiting for spring...
By Sue Stafford Correspondent
City of Sisters Principal Planner Matthew Martin was notified last week that the Sunset Meadows housing development by Woodhill Homes will be built as approved by the Sisters Planning Commission. During their January 19 hearing on Sunset Meadows, the commissioners approved the master plan with the condition
The landscape of Sisters keeps alternating between spring and winter conditions. This classic rig seems ready to get to work. PHOTO BY JAROD GATLEY
See SUNSET MEADOWS on page 12
Do short-term rentals Sisters man stands tall — with tech help have a negative impact? By Stu Ehr
Correspondent
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
An ad hoc group called CATS (Citizens Action Team of Sisters) has formed, with the goal of helping to formulate policy for growth and development in the city. The group believes that Sisters is overwhelmed by the increase in population and building, and perhaps lacks competency to meet the growth. The new group, just
getting itself organized, has no office nor governing authority nor official spokesperson. Mark Dickens is a lead organizer and speaks with conviction about the group’s potential, saying that they are now 12 to 15 in number with plans to meet monthly or semimonthly. They hope to grow their numbers. They are regulars lately See CATS on page 22
Sisters roundabout to be built in 2024 By Ceili Gatley Correspondent
The Locust/Highway 20 roundabout is set to move forward in 2023-24 — along with many other ODOT roundabout projects throughout Central Oregon. In June of 2022, $5 million was added to the construction budget along with $250,000 from the City of Sisters for preliminary
Inside...
design for the roundabout. ODOT is advancing funds to maintain the 2024 construction due to halts in the timeline due to COVID and supply-chain issues. The Locust Avenue roundabout is part of the 2024-2027 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program that ODOT conducts every three years. According to See ROUNDABOUT on page 23
Erik Himbert has lived in his Sisters home for over 10 years but never walked the scant 100 yards to his mailbox. It wasn’t for lack of desire. Yet late last week, servo motors hummed and Himbert — a paraplegic — was able at last to walk the short distance to his mailbox, a journey that invariably elicited excited responses from the neighbors. A woman who Himbert has known for years stood in her yard with her mouth agape and exclaimed, “I never knew you were so tall!” Himbert returned her comment with a broad smile, and a simple, “Yep!” It was 2009 when Himbert’s life took an unexpected turn for the worst. It only took a few seconds for this catastrophic life event to unfold. Himbert recounted that evening, snowboarding in Wildwood, California. “I hit the jump at full speed and thought it was powder, and it turned out to be ice. My board shot out from underneath me. I fell headfirst about 20 feet or so, and landed on my back, and that was it. When I saw my friend’s face… They came up
PHOTO BY STU EHR
Erik Himbert is on his feet again — with the assistance of cutting-edge exoskeleton technology and his safety partner Rick Retzman. to me and touched my legs and I couldn’t feel my legs, and that’s when I knew it was pretty bad. “I was in the ICU for two weeks, on morphine, tubes coming out of everywhere. I didn’t know what my life was going to look
like, or if I was even going to live.” After months in the hospital, and in a full back brace, Himbert was transferred to a friend’s house. All he could do was lie in bed and listen See STANDING TALL on page 14
Letters/Weather ............... 2 In the Pines....................... 9 Entertainment ................. 11 Poetry .............................18 Classifieds................. 20-21 Meetings .......................... 3 Announcements...............10 Obituaries .................. 12-13 Crossword .......................19 Real Estate ................ 22-24