0
chuckakers

A new "Citizens for Quiet Skies" issue

Recommended Posts

Hi Trevor,

Quote

Madras is more safe



It's been a few years since I've been over to Madras; went to a great boogie there many, many years ago.

I also think Madras is a better location due to it's proximity to the larger population of Bend/Redmond.

And, yes it is a great big open area with almost no other aviation activities. Skydive Awesome may find out that it is a blessing in disguise.

Jerry Baumchen

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hey Jerry.
I wonder if I ever saw you. As a kid 1990ish I worked on a few farms right at the end of the runway there. I watched fixedwing and heli jumpers on multiple occasions. Made it hard to get work done while I was daydreaming!!!
Whale oil beef hooked

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen

Hi headover,

Quote

I'm planning to visit Madras on August 21st.



Based upon what I am hearing on the news, you should plan on taking a sleeping bag. Motels all over this state are selling out fast; and at a very high dollar rate.

Jerry Baumchen



Yeah, I was on the Oregon coast last month, and they were pretty much booked already. I'll overnight in Bend with friends.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/5286106-151/sisters-skydiving-company-moves-to-madras-but-controversy
Quote

Sisters skydiving company moves to Madras, but controversy remains
Anti-skydiving group says it will continue to push to eliminate skydiving in Sisters
By Aaron West, The Bulletin
Published May 7, 2017 at 04:01PM / Updated May 7, 2017 at 08:37PM

Even though a controversial skydiving company in Sisters recently moved its headquarters to Madras Airport, the local group that wanted the business gone shouldn’t celebrate just yet.

Skydive Awesome! will be back at Sisters Eagle Airport, its owners say.

Cara Rosier, who owns Skydive Awesome! with three other people, said her skydiving operation only began to operate out of Madras Airport this month because it couldn’t get a necessary conditional use permit from Deschutes County in time for the 2017 season.


The pushback from more than 100 Sisters residents, who formed a group called Save Our Skies and have been working for nearly a year to stop skydiving from happening in Sisters, doesn’t have anything to do with it. Save Our Skies maintains that the air traffic and noise that skydiving brings to the area is disrupting their rural ambiance.

“We don’t call it a move so much as an expansion,” said Rosier, adding that her company can still operate in Sisters under certain conditions and plans to do so “a few times a week” this summer.

“I think it’s great in Sisters, and awesome in Madras as well,” she said. “We’re happy to have both locations.”

The reason for the move comes down to safety and what the county permit allows, Rosier explained. A conditional use permit from the county is required in order for Skydive Awesome! to land beginning skydivers outside of airport property, which Rosier has to do in Sisters because the city’s airport is too small for beginning jumpers.

More experienced skydivers can still land at the Sisters airport, Rosier said, but in Madras there’s plenty of room for participants of all skill levels to land on the airport property, which doesn’t require a permit.

“We still have our office in Sisters, but we also have gracious hosts at the Madras Airport,” she said. “We have a large hangar and we can easily land there.”

Dave Campbell, manager at Sisters Eagle Airport, confirmed that Skydive Awesome! would still perform jumps in Sisters, just “not to the extent that they had been.”

Pat Kearney, who’s on the Save Our Skies leadership committee, said the skydivers’ move to Madras is a step in the right direction, but that the group wants more.

“I wouldn’t say it meets any of our goals; I’d say it just gives us additional time,” Kearney said. “We’re still committed to negotiating an end to skydiving in Sisters, and we continue to be in the process of setting up mediation sessions. There seems to be a willingness to mediate.”

Rosier agrees that she and her business partners want to compromise civilly with Save Our Skies so that everyone’s happy, but she said she’s skeptical of the group’s true intentions. An email that was unintentionally sent from an SOS group member to Skydive Awesome! in March reveals the anti-skydiving group’s true objective, Rosier claims.

The email, sent from SOS group member and Sisters attorney Marcy Edwards, is in response to a different group member’s message that proposed a potential compromise — that Skydive Awesome! still use the Sisters airport but land its skydivers closer to Redmond.

“It is a good suggestion for later in the process if we are losing,” Edwards wrote. “I am not ready to give up on trying to eliminate skydiving entirely. Let’s see how far we get before offering compromises.”

Edwards, in an interview with The Bulletin on Friday, said she stands by what she wrote in her email.

“Everybody that negotiates goes in with a goal in mind,” she said. “I’m not saying we’re not willing to negotiate, but as a goal it’s not unfair to say we want to eliminate skydiving in Sisters. There’s nothing wrong with saying that’s our goal, but we’re willing to compromise. We would be happy if they move to Madras.”

Rosier, in an email to The Bulletin, said the expansion to Madras is great for the business, but Skydive Awesome! doesn’t plan to give up its territory in Sisters.

“We have put skydiving in Central Oregon on the map, and we are happy to call Central Oregon our home,” she wrote. “So for future summers, expect to see Skydive Awesome! parachutes flying freely over Central Oregon.”


Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It might pay for someone to join the anti skydiving group, then you'll have a spy inside the organisation to see what they are really up to.

If they succeeed then it sets a precedent that other groups like CQS will use to strengthen their case.

These battles have to be fought tooth and nail till the bitter end.
My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
These type people that are anti this or that are relentless to an extreme - supporters of this and that Must be equally as relentless, hopefully better informed and willing to sacrifice a possibly large portion of the fun parts of their lives to participate in the governmental processes defeat the anit's - short of that level of commitment those who enjoy the fun they have will have problems defeating true extremists anti's the likes of which I have come in contact with with. Defeating them is possible but not without pain.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0