The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 18
POSTAL CUSTOMER
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Celebrating trees in Sisters
Fighting fire with fire
By Ceili Gatley Correspondent
The City and students celebrated Arbor Day last week with a tree-planting event at Cliff Clemens Park. Twelve Sisters Elementary School students planted six trees, including three autumn maple blaze and three scarlet oak trees, to commemorate the day. Friday, April 28 is a national holiday known as Arbor Day, which celebrates the power of trees. Many communities plant trees on Arbor Day. Sisters Mayor Michael Preedin declared an Arbor Day Proclamation for the City of Sisters. According to Sisters Associate Planner Emme Shoup, “The six trees were purchased from C&C Nursery by the City of Sisters and placed between the Cliff Clemens playground area and bathrooms. As these trees grow, among other trees previously planted in the 2015 Arbor Day, a diverse grove of deciduous trees will provide much-needed shade to the park.” Mayor Preedin thanked the students for coming out and planting the trees:
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
City of Sisters’ Tree City USA designation — and this year is the City’s 16th year
With military-like precision, between 35 and 40 various and sundry trucks snaked their way up Pole Creek Road on Saturday. The convoy doglegged to FS 1513 in a cloud of dust on the rutted gravel road. Led by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the force included other agencies, like Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). They massed to set fire to 112 acres. The weather looked promising, with winds forecast to be mostly northerly at 8 mph that — if accurate — would drive smoke southbound away from Sisters. Mother Nature complied. Around 9:30 a.m. the area of prescribed (intentional) burn was ignited by skilled fire managers. It wasn’t until noon that a faint amount of mostly white smoke reached Pine Meadow. The smoke never settled in or appeared over
See ARBOR DAY on page 19
See FIRE on page 20
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Sisters Elementary School students helped plant six trees at Cliff Clemens Park to commemorate Arbor Day. “It is a really cool program, and our town does special things and celebrates something like planting trees.”
Local students are invited to participate in the City’s annual tree-planting ceremony every year. This is important in celebrating the
Sisters fire chief honored by peers Preparing for emergencies in Sisters By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief
The work each of us does to prepare for emergencies can make a big difference in how well we weather a crisis — both personally and as a community. A cadre of experts in the field of emergency preparedness and response will gather on Thursday, May 11, at the Sisters Fire District’s Community Hall to talk about the range of potential emergencies that can affect Sisters Country, and practical steps we can all take to be prepared to navigate them. The forum, titled “Emergencies in Sisters Country: Be Prepared” is sponsored by
Inside...
Citizens4Community (C4C), runs 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sisters Fire Hall is located at 301 S. Elm St. There are many potential emergencies that can develop in Sisters — severe winter weather and wind events; flooding; the fallout from a major coastal earthquake among them. Wildfire, however, always tops the list, and Sisters has experienced 20 years of events that have forced evacuations and disrupted the quality of life in our home country. Experts recommend that residents have an evacuation plan, including disseminating contact information and See PREPARING on page 8
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Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Fire Chief Roger Johnson was awarded the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association (OFCA) President’s Award during their annual awards ceremony at the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association Spring Conference held in Bend on April 27. Chief Bill Boos, president for the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association, presented the award for Chief Johnson’s outstanding work and unwavering dedication to bringing updated legislation to the State of Oregon Fire Service. Chief Boos said, “As an OFCA board member, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many outstanding individuals in the fire service, and as OFCA President, I get the honor of selecting an
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PHOTO BY MACKENZIE BOSKOVICH
Sisters Fire District Board President Kristie Miller with Fire Chief Roger Johnson. Chief Johnson was presented the President’s Award by the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association last week. individual that I feel has made significant contributions to the Oregon Fire Service. “Selecting Chief Johnson
as the recipient for the President’s Award was easy
Sudoku ............................14 Stars over Sisters ............16
Crossword .......................21 Classifieds................. 22-23
See JOHNSON on page 14