Make the McKenzie Connection!

Articles from the December 25, 2012 edition


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  • Planning a rain garden

    Dec 25, 2012

    By Denise Ruttan Rain garden Photo by Derek Godwin Rain gardens feature hardy, drought-resistant plants in a landscaping design with a purpose. Oregon's winters are a good time to observe how water flows on your property so you can later create a rain garden. These landscapes with a purpose are dug-out areas where storm water from a hard surface like a roof or driveway can soak into the soil instead of flowing into a storm drain or sewer system, said Weston Miller, a horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. One...

  • Young adventurer’s visit to Portland ended with life in prison

    Dec 25, 2012

    Oro fino hall By Finn J.D. John Joseph E. Swards was 16 years old when he left his native Philadelphia as a brand-new apprentice seaman on the barque Geo. F. Manson, bound for Astoria and Portland. He would turn 17 at sea, in July of 1878. By the time he was 18, he would be doing life without parole for a crime he didn’t commit. The facts of Joseph’s story are clearly laid out in the Portland newspapers, and they read like a 19th-century cautionary tale — the kind that used to be made up to demonstrate the dangers of playing with mat...

  • Up & over Broken Top

    Dec 25, 2012

  • Cougar Reservoir goes deep

    Dec 25, 2012

    Cougar dam colling tower construction The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is performing a "deep drawdown" of Cougar Reservoir to test a possible method of improving downstream fish passage past Cougar Dam. The Corps is lowering the reservoir’s surface to 1,500 feet above sea level, about 32 feet below the usual minimum flood control elevation and 16 feet below the minimum water level required to operate the dam’s powerhouse. Reservoir regulators will try to hold the reservoir at that elevation for several weeks, depending on juvenile fish cou...

  • Don't let disease foul your bird feeder

    Dec 25, 2012

    By Denise Ruttan Bird feeder Photo by Betsy Hartley As you're welcoming wild birds into your yard this winter, be sure to keep your bird feeder clean and keep an eye on the health of your feathered diners. "Sick birds will either be found dead or perched, often with feathers in disarray, eyes squinted or wings held out," said Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. "Healthy birds are alert and mobile, whereas sick birds stand out because they are neither of those." Birds can get salmonella from bi...