The Nugget Vol. XLVI No. 36
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News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Wednesday, September 6, 2023
New school is on time and on budget
Mixed signals for Sisters housing
By Ceili Gatley
By Bill Bartlett
Correspondent
Correspondent
The new Sisters Elementary School will (SES) open on time, and come in on budget — despite the pressures of inflation. Curt Scholl and the Sisters School District (SSD) team offered a tour of the construction of the new elementary school located across McKinney Butte Road from the high school. The new elementary will be 80,000 square feet, including the mechanical areas, with an additional 7,000 square feet, including the ball fields. Scholl offered a tour to elementary school teachers alongside SES Principal Joan Warburg last Thursday, August 31, to check out the progress on the building and get an idea of the layout as it’s being constructed. On May 18, 2021, Sisters voters passed a $33,800,000 general obligation bond to
Local realtors say the market for single family homes in Sisters has cooled dramatically but a look at the numbers tells a slightly different story. On August 15, a 14,666-square-foot, eightbedroom, nine-bath home on Jordan Road sold for $15 million. Stripping that one-ofkind sale from the totals, August 2023 showed signs of resiliency compared to August of 2022. Last year in August saw 35 single- family homes sell in Sisters Country for $31.7 million. This August saw a slight decline to 32 sales for a total of $27.5 million. In 2022, nine homes sold for more than one million dollars. This year the number was 10 (not counting the whopper sale). For the last three years, homes costing one-plus million have
A school ritual... Seniors like Gracie Vohs painted their parking spots at Sisters High School in a tradition that signals the start of a new school year — and the last one for the Class of 2024.
PHOTO BY JACK TURPEN
See SCHOOL on page 4
Youth Ambassadors liven trail experience By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) is the recipient of a $45,000 grant from The Oregon Trails Fund (OTF), a Travel Oregon program, developed and funded in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, that aims to bolster Oregon’s competitive advantage as a world-class outdoor recreation destination and provide exceptional trail experiences. In 2023, Travel Oregon awarded $438,977 in Oregon Trails Funds to increase capacity of Oregon trail organizations to support stewardship projects (regenerate, restore, maintain,
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develop) on new or existing USFS trails, and/or provide volunteer and trail ambassador programming to help provide enjoyable trail experiences for a diversity of visitors and recreation users. Funds are sourced from USFS and Travel Oregon’s Destination Development team and are separate from Travel Oregon’s Competitive Grant Program. The Central Oregon region received $80,209 of funding and STA was awarded over half. The grant covers staff capacity — a new position that will recruit, train, and manage a robust cadre of See TRAIL on page 11
See HOUSING on page 15
Wetland restoration is a success By Cody Rheault Correspondent
It’s a warm afternoon as smoke from a distant fire settles into the tree canopy. Black Butte’s faded silhouette overlooks the 50-acre Black Butte Lower Swamp, which is experiencing renewed life. Willows and waist-high, vibrant-green blades of sedge drift in the caustic breeze. Birds whisper among the treetops. Indian Ford Creek, once subtle, now ripples through the meadow. This once-barren landscape harbors abundant life, once again. The faint aroma of native mint fills the air as Mike Riehle, the fisheries Biologist for the Sisters Ranger District, hikes the swamp overlooking the
PHOTO BY CODY RHEAULT
Mike Riehle walks through thick folds of sedge, one of the many indicators that the land is rejuvenating with a higher water table. results of last year’s efforts. “It was not this lush last year,” he says, pointing to the vegetation around him while
carefully stepping through the rejuvenated terrain. “A See RESTORATION on page 12
Letters/Weather................ 2 Trailgrams......................... 6 Announcements................10 Entertainment..................14 Crossword . ......................21 Meetings........................... 3 Of A Certain Age................. 9 Sisters Salutes................. 11 Fun & Games.................... 20 Classifieds.................. 22-23