The Nugget Vol. XLVII No. 10
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News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
www.NuggetNews.com
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Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Roundabout project gets under way at east intersection
Sisters Country rancher seeks compensation for wolf depredation By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
City of Sisters, Deschutes County, and the State of Oregon brought the work to fruition. Preedin noted that the project, in addition to smoothing out the eastern entrance into town, is designed
Long Hollow Ranch sits on 12,000 acres across two counties. Its main entrance is on Holmes Road in the heart of Sisters Country. The most visible part of the operation is its wedding and event venue but behind the bucolic setting are cows. Hundreds of them. The ranch also sits on an AKWA (Area of Known Wolf Activity). Long Hollow is claiming the loss of seven cows to wolves beginning in February of 2023 with the most recent loss last
See ROUNDABOUT on page 12
See WOLVES on page 15
Dignitaries from the City of Sisters and Deschutes County wielded golden shovels in the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Highway 20/Locust Roundabout. With a few ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt turned over, the US20/Locust Roundabout construction project is under way. City and county elected officials, Oregon Department of Transportation representatives, along with construction personnel gathered on the south
side of the Locust/Cascade intersection on Monday morning to officially inaugurate the project. Mayor Michael Preedin noted that the effort was six years in the making, starting with initial impetus from Sisters Public Works Director Paul Bertagna. Partnerships between the
Community meets fire chief candidates By Sue Stafford Correspondent
The Ski Inn Taphouse was full of community members and fire staff who gathered last Sunday evening to meet the five semi-final candidates for Sisters fire chief, one of whom will replace Chief Roger Johnson as he retires this summer. George Dunkel, who provides consulting services for Special Districts Association of Oregon, introduced each of the candidates who made brief statements. The assembled citizens and staff had almost two hours to meet, question, and listen to the candidates. They then had the opportunity to fill out a comment sheet with their assessments of the candidates. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for the community to be engaged in the process and have the ability to provide feedback if they
Inside...
wanted to,” said SistersCamp Sherman Fire District (SCSFD) board member Kristie Miller. On Monday, March 4, the board conducted individual interviews with the candidates and then reviewed all the comments from Sunday’s gathering. Once the field is narrowed, there will be background and reference checks done on the finalist(s). After all that is completed, a public announcement will be made revealing the new chief. The district conducted a far-reaching search for J o h n s o n ’s r e p l a c e m e n t which began last summer. District Director Jack McGowan indicated the “hybrid” recruitment process included help from the Western Fire Chiefs Association, who made recommendations of possible candidates of which they were aware. See FIRE CHIEF on page 16
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Rumble on the Runway in jeopardy By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
The annual July 4th flyin, car show, and drag-racing event at Sisters Eagle Airport, known as Rumble On The Runway, is in danger of disappearing from the Sisters event scene, a victim of its own success. Airport co-owner, Julie Benson, told The Nugget “that the cost to insure the one-day event has risen by 500 percent and there are simply not enough of us to staff the event. We need many more volunteers.” In 2021 the event attracted about 1,500 people. That grew to around 2,000 to 2,500 in 2022, and last summer close to 4,000 (some say 5,000) packed the affair. “It is no longer a localsonly event,” Benson said. “Hundreds come from the Valley and as far as Madras, Prineville, and La Pine.” Some of the fly-in planes come from Washington, Idaho, California, and Nevada.”
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
Sisters Eagle Airport’s annual Fourth of July event has become extremely popular — which is pushing insurance costs and volunteer demands up. That sounds like good news to local merchants and town promoters, but the sheer number is overwhelming Benson and her husband, Benny. Parking is a major issue, and there has been no traffic-control support from the Sheriff’s Office or help from the City. On Friday, when The Nugget told Mayor Michael Preedin of the possibility that the event cannot continue, he immediately reacted to the potential loss of the iconic
event, one particularly loved by families. “The community needs to come together to make sure this continues. This is too important for Sisters. And besides, it’s a whole lot of fun,” he said. Preedin couldn’t commit to anything concrete the City could do beyond ”amplify the call for community support.” He thought the event would be eligible for a See RUMBLE on page 21
Letters/Weather ............... 2 Announcements...............10 Life is a game ................... 11 Obituaries .......................18 Crossword .......................21 Meetings .......................... 3 Entertainment ................. 11 Stars over Sisters ............13 Sudoku ........................... 20 Classifieds................. 22-23