Week of December 19, 2024
Week of December 19, 2024
Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) staff responded to a report made to the Oregon Invasive Species Hotline on Wednesday, Dec. 18, that a koi (fish) was spotted near the Armitage Boat Landing on the McKenzie River near Eugene. District fish biologists removed the large koi which was most likely intentionally released into the McKenzie River. Koi can live up to 25 years, reproduce rapidly, and can survive very cold winters. Mature koi can produce 5,000 to 10,000 eggs and the largest koi can...
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and its partners have received a $4.5 million grant from the federal America the Beautiful Challenge program to restore more than 2,000 acres of oak and prairie land up and down the Willamette Valley. The project will draw on partnerships across 22 public, private and tribal sites to restore native plant species such as camas, and reduce fuel for wildfires. Lindsay McClary, restoration ecologist with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, said these...
RAINBOW: A one-acre parcel barely a quarter mile from the ignition site could become a memorial to the Holiday Farm Fire, according to a recent study. The site of the proposed memorial is located on unused USDA Forest Service land at the junction of Highway 126 and the west end of McKenzie River Drive. In their proposal submitted to the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, University of Oregon students Rachel Benbrook, Meghan Doremus, and Elise O’Brien note the lot also includes a historic...
SALEM: At its December meeting, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) unanimously adopted the first set of rules Oregon will use to implement what it calls “comprehensive, system-wide housing planning reforms to address the state’s housing crisis.” The adopted rules direct the approaches and methods local governments will use to reverse decades of underinvestment in housing production and meet community needs. The new rules require local governments to use standardized...
Calling all fourth graders! This year’s Every Kid Outdoors program is underway, and the U.S. Forest Service wants to make sure all eligible fourth graders (and their parents and educators) know that it’s not too late to request their free Every Kid Outdoors public lands pass, or to get a complimentary permit to cut their own Christmas tree on a National Forest this holiday season. The Every Kid Outdoors program provides fourth-grade students and accompanying family members free entry to...
EUGENE: The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) recently received a $1 million federal grant for the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. The money will be used in partnership with McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Eugene Springfield Fire to support fuel reduction, and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to work on a “landscape-scale” in high-risk areas in the McKenzie River Valley and Eugene’s South Hills. McKenzie Fire & Rescue has been awarded $325,000 in the...
Oregon is losing local media outlets quickly, echoing a national trend. This year alone, 130 newspapers nationwide shut down, according to a new report from Northwestern University. Bob Singer, president of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters, said readership is low for local papers, which leads to a loss of advertising revenue. He pointed out local radio stations in Oregon have stepped in to fill in the gaps left by print media, and those stations are doing OK. “It’s not the robust...
The $20,000 salary increase for wildland firefighters in the 2021 infrastructure law could be coming to an end next week if Congress doesn’t act. The infrastructure law included $600 million to boost salaries for the nearly 11,200 wildland firefighters for two years, giving the Interior Department or Forest Service employees a raise of either $20,000 each or 50% of their base salary. Federal wildland firefighters earn as little as $15 per hour, with entry level positions earning just less...
BLUE RIVER: The special Blue River Water & Sanitation District meeting on December 11th focused on several critical administrative matters. Jim Parks (interim chairman), Melanie Stanley (secretary-treasurer), and Terry Herndon attended as board members. The board approved the termination letter for interim superintendent Tony Cassa, who was given notice of the meeting but did not attend. Jim Parks was appointed as the temporary superintendent. A request for the return of district property...
McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week The McKenzie Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball teams host Chiloquin on Tuesday, December 17. The Girls game tips off at 5:00 pm and the Boys start at 6:30 pm. The McKenzie Athletic Department will host the McKenzie Winter Classic with the Glendale Girls playing against host McKenzie on Friday, December 20; game time is 5:30 pm. The Glendale/McKenzie Boys game will follow at 7:00 pm. Saturday, December 21, the McKenzie Girls play Yoncalla at 1:00 pm and the Eagle Boys follow versus Yoncalla at 2:30...
Those were the bad news headlines in the Corvallis Gazette-Times this week. The article explained that the 188-year-old Brownsville Times newspaper had published a paper the week before and was quietly shuttered. The story from the Sweet Home New Era was that its former publishers had to take back the reins and were contemplating whether the 95-year-old publication would continue to exist after the end of December. As most readers know, River Reflections faced a similar fate back in 2022 when the costs of printing and mailing a weekly...
The U.S. Supreme Court will now step into the national debate about regulating social media, a move that might be popular but is the wrong one at the wrong time – and maybe for all time. The court has agreed to hear a challenge to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, seeking to limit – or even remove – a federal law that gives tech companies sweeping immunity from lawsuits over user-generated content and how social media company algorithms surface that posted content. The justices will consider a lawsuit against Google brought...
One of the real privileges of being a lifelong Oregonian of a certain, er, vintage, is the opportunity to have seen this state in its golden age — roughly, 1946 through 1980 — through a child’s eyes. The basic style and culture of the Beaver State have changed a lot over the last 50 years. And, for the most part, it’s changed for the better ... but not entirely. Sociologists would say this change was the transition from a “modernist” culture — proud, conformist, and optimistic...
Traditional holiday arrangements are full of scented or berried evergreens, among the few garden items available to us in the winter months. Each of these greens performs differently, both in an arrangement and in the landscape. A closer look at some of the popular greens frequently used in these decorations provides insight into long-standing tradition as well as tips for using greenery in our modern homes. Records of bringing evergreens indoors during the winter months are recorded as far...
Dec. 9: 5:41 p.m: Suspicious Conditions - 54700 blk, Caddis Ln. A caller reported a vehicle missing, but did not answer a callback by a deputy. Dec. 10: 3:52 p.m: Assist, Follow Up - 49700 blk, McK. Hwy. 4:10 p.m: Unlawful Use of Vehicle - Blue River Reservoir Rd. 4:18 p.m: Assist Fire Department - McK. Hwy. 5:18 p.m: Assist, Follow Up - 54700 blk, Caddis Ln. Dec. 11: 11:06 a.m: Fraud - 89900 blk, Greenwood Dr. A fraudulent listing was made for a rental property, and was discovered by the owner. 12:13 p.m: Civil Enforcement - 90700 blk, Hill...
Dec. 9: 13:56: McK. Hwy. Milepost 13. Motor Vehicle Accident, Non-Injury, Non-Blocking. 22:19: 44000 block, McK. Hwy. Structure Fire. Smoke from Fireplace, Homeowner Confirmed. Dec. 10: 11:49: 1300 blk, 66th St. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 16:00: 51000 blk, McK. Hwy. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 18:38: 7000 blk, Thurston Rd. Medical, General. Disregarded En Route. 21:42: 600 blk, S. 79th St. Trash Fire. Disregarded. Dec. 11: 0:04: 56000 blk, McK. Hwy. Medical, General. Assisted Upper McKenzie. Dec....
Dec. 14: 18:35: Menacing – Hwy. 126E, Milepost 2. Two vehicles were eastbound. Possible road rage incident occurred where the driver of one vehicle stopped in the highway, pointed a handgun at two individuals, exchanged some words, and left the scene. The driver of the vehicle was located by a Bend trooper, where the male was taken into custody and a weapon was seized. The vehicle was towed. The driver was taken to the Lane County Jail where he was lodged on the crimes of Menacing x 2, Unlawful Us of a Weapon x 2, and Reckless Driving....
Dec. 10: 23:46: Medical – 56000 block, N. Bank Rd. Male, Conscious,...
