The Nugget Health
— INSIDE —
FOoCn US — — PAGES 9-16
Vol. XLVIII No. 54
www.NuggetNews.com
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
City Council grapples with SDCs, housing By Susan Cobb Correspondent
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
A driver was cited after causing a three-car wreck at the corner of Locust Street and East Cascade Avenue on Friday. (The vehicle that caused the wreck is not pictured.) air bags deployed in two of the vehicles, there were no serious injuries reported.
Insurance dominates conversation in Sisters By Bill Bartlett Correspondent
Even though it’s the heart of winter, wildfire risk is at top-of-mind in Sisters. Several readers have contacted The Nugget to express their frustration with the recently released wildfire hazard map produced by Oregon State University and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). “It makes no sense at all,” said Paula Berry. “Fires come from the west. I live on the east side of town and I’m in a higher risk category than Tollgate.” She knows this because she looked up her property on Tamarack using the state’s online map (https:// tools.oregonexplorer.info/ viewer/wildfire). The online tool has frustrated many in Sisters Country, some of whom also received a certified letter from ODF alerting them their property is in a high hazard zone and/or the wildland-urban interface. Many homeowners are in a mild panic, worried that they will not have their insurance renewed or worse,
Inside...
PRE-SORTED STANDARD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sisters, OR Permit No. 15
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Citation issued on three-car wreck An 18-year-old Sisters man was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device after he collided with two vehicles in an accident at Locust Street and East Cascade Avenue on the afternoon of Friday, January 24. The driver’s Mercedes vehicle was headed eastbound out of the parking lot thru-way between Sisters City Hall and the Sisters School District offices when it collided with a vehicle headed north on Locust, then slid into a vehicle stopped at the stop sign on East Cascade Avenue. According to a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Deputy, the driver didn’t run the stop sign; he made a stop but then failed to yield to the northbound vehicle. While
POSTAL CUSTOMER
cancelled. “I’m praying my insurance company doesn’t quit Oregon like they did California,” said Danielle Robard. “My insurance went up 25 percent last year and if it does the same again this year we will literally be forced to sell. It’s just more than we can afford in retirement,” said Duff Crenshaw. “Good luck with that,” Crenshaw’s neighbor Milt Ward said. “Who’s gonna buy a house that may not be insurable like so many will be in Sisters.” Indeed, realtors report that some home sales have fallen out of escrow as the purchaser cannot obtain coverage. Risk Strategies, formerly Bisnett Insurance, agent Tammy Taylor says her phone is ringing off the hook with worried policy holders. “It’s been frustrating trying to help customers through their fears,” she said. She advises that they not panic, and do all they can to mitigate their fire risk. Misperceptions abound See INSURANCE on page 21
Letters...................... 2 Meetings .................. 3
Davis Towing responded to remove the disabled vehicles from the intersection. Locust
Street was closed for the better part of an hour while the wreckage was cleared.
Current development projects are in progress or near completion in Sisters and are expected to move the needle somewhat on housing affordability — but deficits remain, especially in workforce housing. In the Sisters City Council’s workshop meeting of January 22, Regional Economist Nicole Ramos, reporting on Sisters’ demographics, suggested the See CITY COUNCIL on page 7
SSD board member’s roots run deep By Matt Van Slyke Correspondent
The newest member of Sisters’ school board has strong local and educational ties, plus two more good reasons to see schools succeed: his son, a freshman, and daughter in kindergarten. Sisters is Erik Benton’s hometown. His parents moved here in 1978, when he was 12 weeks old. “My dad started teaching at the elementary school and my mom was a high school nurse. I grew up through the school system,” said Benton. “I was part of the educational community, so I’ve known a lot of the staff and teachers throughout the years. I have a lot of close connections.” After graduating from Sisters High, Benton earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, where he lived for 25 years. He helped found a parentteacher association (PTA) at his son’s elementary school, and valued the engagement he was able to create as a member, vice president, and then president. Working in education, for Oregon Health & Sciences
Obituaries ............. 4-5 Announcements........ 8
Focus on Health ....9-16 Crossword ...............21
PHOTO BY MATT VAN SLYKE
Erik Benton is a father of two who values involvement in our education community, and Sisters School District’s newest school board member. University, as a biomedical informatics developer, Benton returned to Sisters in 2021. “One of the big reasons we decided to come back was because of the schools,” he said. “We’d been in the Portland system for a long time, and there are good schools, but it’s a lot of work for folks to put it all together.” Benton enrolled his son in Sisters Middle School and began looking for new ways to get involved. “I had staff and parent friends tell me, ‘Erik, you should consider applying for the school board. We think
Classifieds......... 22-23 Entertainment ........ 23
you’d be a really good fit.’ When the opportunity came up, I sort of took a moment, then decided that I wanted to give it a shot.” The Sisters School District appointed Benton to the board earlier this month. He was one of six people considered to fill a vacancy left by David Thorsett, who resigned after five years. Benton will serve through the May 20 Special District Election, for which he will file to run for his current position in hopes of being the voters’ choice, too. If so, his See BENTON on page 7
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