Hatfields & McCoys

History Channel’s miniseries Hatfields & McCoys began Monday. It’s good — damn good. Quality acting, excellent period detail and a respect for the actual history are all here in this depiction of America’s most famous feud.

The yellow journalism of the day (the 1870s-80s) depicted the feudists as exotic primitives, a stereotype that has come down to our day, one which the miniseries effectively dispels. Sure, the folks living in the Tug River Valley in the late 19^th Century were rough-hewn; they were living in frontier conditions. But they weren’t all that different than folks anywhere. Some were entrepreneurial visionaries, some just hardworking plain folk, some were ne’er-do-wells.

They mostly tried to settle their disputes in court.  Occasionally, though, a personal dispute would get out of hand. Mix together tangled kin networks (cut my cousin and I bleed), weak law enforcement, easy access to weapons and add a little whiskey and you have a recipe for bloodshed.

It’s only conditions that make things different here in Sisters, Oregon. Human nature still feels that atavistic tug toward the feud.

I’ve seen old men come near to blows in the courthouse over property setbacks; battles over irrigation ditches and water; homeowners association beefs that turn bitter and personal. Passions run high and hot. The only thing that keeps such feuds from spiraling into violence is the overpowering presence of the law, the certainty of punishment.

Devil Anse Hatfield and Randle McCoy aren’t ghosts from a misty past. They’re still around.

Jim Cornelius, Editor

I want to go to school here

During this past week I attended the Americana Project CD release concert at The Barn and the SALI tournament on Sisters athletic fields. In both cases, there was an abundance of young people pursuing a passion with joy, teamwork and commitment.

I also attended the Ten Friends fundraiser at Aspen Hall. There I heard stories of the life-changing experiences Sisters youth have had trekking in Nepal with the charity, founded by two Sisters teachers. Interviewed Student of the Month Sam Bearzi, whose extraordinary level of engagement he attributes to a desire to give back to a community that has given him “this monumental opportunity at Sisters High School.”

My own daughter’s experience here has been very good. Not perfect — there’s always things that don’t work the way you’d like them to — but overall very good.

I want to go to school here. It’s way better in every way than the suburban California schools I attended way back when. Sure, the quality of the schools has been hyped, but even cutting through all that, there really is something special going on here — but it may not last much longer.

It’s all under threat. After years of deep cuts, we really are coming to the end of our budgetary rope. The school district has done a good job over many years wrapping things in duct tape, plugging holes with bubble gum and making things work. We can do that for maybe one more school year, but after that, it doesn’t look good.

I hope people get that. I hope that nobody is feeling complacent, because, as Superintendent Jim Golden told me, “we’re not down the drain, but we’re circling.”

The district riffed 6.2 FTE last Friday. Good people doing good work in the classroom who are now out of work — and their work has to be covered by others or left undone. The proposed budget spends the district’s reserves. They’ll have to cut days or more people to close the remainder of the $1.3 million shortfall.

By 2014-15, Sisters schools will be looking at the kind of trouble Redmond’s having now. And that’s WITH local option. Without it, the game’s pretty much up. Quality education would be gone.

Everybody with a stake in Sisters should be concerned about this. The schools are a major attractant to Sisters; significant erosion of quality would be a major blow to economic development efforts. Losing all the many points of engagement the schools provide would harm families and reduce the quality of life in the Sisters Country.

So, what’s to be done? Above all, voters must support local option when it comes up for renewal later this year or early next year. That’s all that stands between the schools and real financial calamity. If you’re politically-minded, there’s a crying need for reform of PERS, which has placed an unsustainable burden on schools.

Beyond that, support the Sisters Schools Foundation. Volunteer to help with efforts like Celebrate Sisters, sprucing up the physical plant with volunteer labor. Work with organizations like the Sisters Folk Festival and the Sisters Science Club who are adding enrichment and material support to the schools.

We’ve got a good thing going here. We need to fight to keep it.

Jim Cornelius, Editor