Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Close to 75 people turned out for a meeting at Fish Lake last week, including many of McKenzie River Ranger District employees. Besides camaraderie, there was plenty of maintenance work as well as restoration or replacement of structures to attend to. Part of the projects people took on included scraping and painting, fence replacement, and restoration of decayed log ends on the cabins. While that was underway, other work ranged from general cleaning of inside buildings, plumbing repair,...
The stage is set for a massive investment in Oregon’s plans to bring high-speed internet to everyone in the state. The second volume of Oregon’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment proposal has been approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, laying out its plan for investing nearly $700 million in federal funding. Nick Batz, Oregon Broadband office director says the goal is internet for all. “This is a historic investment. We’ve never seen this much money i...
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed as part of a foreign aid package passed by Congress a law that could ban the video app TikTok. But can the federal government ban an entire social media platform or other form of communication? Or does that violate the First Amendment? Because it’s almost certain that one or more lawsuits will be filed, we explore whether banning TikTok violates the First Amendment. What does the TikTok law do? The law was originally proposed as HR 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled A...
EUGENE: EWEB reports it is modernizing utility infrastructure to enhance efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. The initiative includes upgrading to smart meters, which commenced in 2018, as part of ongoing efforts to improve service delivery and meet evolving industry standards. However, the utility says a small but vocal faction of smart grid opponents is obstructing EWEB’s ability to install the new meters on their properties, resorting to threats against utility workers and tactics t...
McKenzie Fire & Rescue is asking us to maintain current emergency responses by approving a levy of $1.05 per $1,000 assessed property value for five years starting in 2025. This would replace - not add on to the current levy of 60 cents per $1,000 which our community approved in 2018. There were 804 emergent calls to the stations during 2023! Fires, vehicle accidents, and medical assistance were responded to by skilled personnel- in all kinds of weather, day and night. These calls for help have more than doubled during the past ten years! Our...
Not every yard is suited for in-the-ground gardening. Sometimes containers or raised beds are better options. In rental situations or areas with poor or thin soil, garden space must sometimes be “created.” Internet articles often make both sound incredibly easy, possibly because the content creators were gardening in a different climate. Like many horticultural dilemmas, no one answer fits every situation. Considering the pros and cons from a variety of gardening perspectives may help the ind...
Reality can get skewed when there are so many sources of information – books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and, most of all, the internet and social media open up lots of room for contradiction. So, how do you find the right answer to gardening questions? Nine experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions. MYTH: You should top a tree to control its height. R...
American robins are a favorite harbinger of spring, but most people take this ubiquitous Oregon native for granted. Though still abundant, robins are declining in urban settings and could use some help from homeowners. Oregon State University Extension Service wildlife experts encourage Oregonians to learn about these underappreciated native birds. They’ve developed the following information to help people foster robins in their landscape. * Robins (Turdus migratorius) seen in the winter months...
March 11: 11:19 a.m: Welfare Check - 55600 blk, McK. River Dr. 12:23 p.m: Attempt To Locate Drunk Driver - Marcola Rd. & Camp Creek Rd. 6:12 p.m: Criminal Mischief - 89500 blk, Douthit Dr. Fiber optic lines were cut, causing over $8,000 in damage. Criminals have continued to target these lines for scrap metal since the ice storm, causing severe disruptions to internet and phone service, including access to 911. Residents are encouraged to call in any suspicious activity around phone or power lines. March 12: 11:50 a.m: Citizen Contact - 91500...
RAINBOW: “We thought it would be a great idea to get together as a community and try to figure out what went wrong and what we could do better,” was the way Upper McKenzie Community Center president John Carlile kicked off a “Disaster Debriefing” last Saturday. He also detailed some challenges the organization faced when it was decided to open the building as a warming center following a severe ice storm that delivered a hard hit to the region. “All the redundancies that we thought were in p...
A COVID-era program allowed 22.5 million low-income households across the country to get discounts on internet services. But, the funds allocated for it are running out and if Congress doesn’t take action, the program may end this spring. The Affordable Connectivity Program, a high-speed internet initiative, provides discounts of $30 to $75 a month on internet bills. It also allows a one-time discount on the purchase of a laptop, desktop, or tablet computer. Oregon has received nearly $100 m...
Day before birthday, man survives 300-Foot plunge off Highway 20 SANTIAM PASS: A Salem man survived a morning crash last Thursday in the Santiam Pass area in which he lost control of his sport utility vehicle, crashed through a guardrail, and traveled approximately 300 feet down an embankment before coming to a stop. He was extricated from his vehicle and brought back up to the highway by fire and medical personnel before being transported for non-life-threatening injuries. According to Oregon S...
McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week The McKenzie Varsity Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball teams host Eddyville Charter on Tuesday, January 30 with the Boys game starting at 5:30 pm and the Girls following at 7:00 pm. The Eagle Boys team travel to Siletz Valley on Thursday, February 3 for a game tipping off at 6:00 pm. The McKenzie Girls game with Siletz Valley has been canceled. The McKenzie teams host Triangle Lake on Saturday, February 3. The Boys game will begin at Noon and the Girls game will follow, starting at 1:30 pm. Eagle...
Spfd schools Most Springfield schools were to open on Tuesday for students. Only three will remain closed: Thurston High and Briggs and Agnes Stewart Middle Schools. Briggs, All three were expected to have power by Monday evening. Staff were to report to BMS, ASMS, and THS on Tuesday to prepare for an anticipated return to school for students on Wednesday. Transportation staff drove bus routes on Monday to check for any safety hazards. Most bus routes will run as normal on Tuesday. District...
I work in a factory, and we have supervisors who play favorites. They have about six girls who can do no wrong, and they have easier jobs than the rest of us. These girls go out after work to bars, and that is why they are in with the supervisors. The boss over these supervisors will not do anything because his boss is the father of one of these supervisors. So long as “Daddy boss” is still there, this boss will not do anything. One girl played around and made the machinery malfunction for an...
My sister and I are very close, and we don't keep things from one another. Recently she shared with me concerns about her sex life, or lack thereof. She feels like there is something wrong with her because her husband is not attracted to her. They have been married for 15 years. A couple of weeks ago I was on the Internet and highlighted my brother-in-law's name to send him a message. Well, when I did a box appeared, and it stated where he was online. At first, it said he was in a bisexual...
Oregon will receive $157 million from the federal government to help connect about 17,000 homes and businesses to the internet, the White House announced Wednesday. The money, which comes from the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package passed by Congress in 2021, follows an earlier allocation of $688 million for broadband in Oregon through the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, also passed in 2021. “Between those two programs, I would expect that we’re going to get all Oregonians that are cur...
Oregon will receive $157 million from the federal government to help connect about 17,000 homes and businesses to the internet, the White House announced Wednesday. The money, which comes from the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package passed by Congress in 2021, follows an earlier allocation of $688 million for broadband in Oregon through the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, also passed in 2021. “Between those two programs, I would expect that we’re going to get all Oregonians that are currently unserved access to service,” Oregon broad...
For most gardeners it’s been a normal or above-average year for the country’s most popular vegetable. “It was a fairly decent season for tomatoes,” said Brooke Edmunds, horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “We got warm enough and didn’t have any early cold spells. If you were irrigating, you probably had a pretty good year.” Some things – like weather – you can’t control. Tomatoes, which are actually a fruit, thrive at ambient temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees and...
Reality can get skewed when there are so many sources of information - books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and, most of all, the internet and social media open up lots of room for contradiction. So, how do you find the right answer to gardening questions? Experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions. For additional questions, call the OSU Extension master...
May 14: 8:05 a.m: Theft - 59200 blk, N. Belknap Springs Rd. Two bicycles were reported to have been stolen from a truck in a parking lot. They are described as a ‘Switchblade’ mountain bike that’s blue with red lettering and a ‘Mach429’ bike that’s green with white lettering. May 15: 11:31 a.m: Theft, Follow Up - 59200 blk, N. Belknap Springs Rd.5:46 p.m: Assist Fire department - 7500 blk, Thurston Rd. May 16: 11:26 a.m: Assist Public - 88800 blk, Bridge St. 12:00 p.m: Theft - 59200 blk, N. Belknap Springs Rd. 8:36 p.m: Shots Fired - 39000 blk...
Nearly 25 years after, mentions of the Thurston High School shooting bring back painful memories for local residents. For most it was hard to comprehend a mass shooting could happen here, much less in a school. Since then, and Columbine a year later, fatal shootings have become more frequent, while debates on making schools safer, gun control, and sentencing juvenile offenders remain unresolved. Articles from the May 26, 1998 edition of McKenzie River Reflections Thurston High remembers its own By Leah Carlson Two days after a tragic shooting...
ACROSS 1. Pampering places 5. *____ de trois 8. Lend a criminal hand 12. Toy block 13. As old as time? 14. Milan's La ____ 15. Drug addict 16. Craving 17. Some primatologists' study object, for short 18. *Shoe, not a titular character in Henry James' novel 20. What spirits and culprits have in common 21. Falstaffian in body 22. Jack Kerouac's ___ Paradise 23. *Shoe, not lazy person 26. Concealing plant, in a painting (2 words) 30. Not leg 31. ____ ____ help 34. Poet Pound 35. *Sound of...
Reality can get skewed when there are so many sources of information – books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and, most of all, the internet and social media open up lots of room for contradiction. So, how do you find the right answer to gardening questions? Nine experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions. For additional questions, call the OSU Extension master g...
The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is encouraging Oregonians to report their home internet speed data or lack of internet service as part of Faster Internet Oregon’s internet speed test and broadband mapping survey. Officials say the data will help secure infrastructure funding and ensure it is allocated so every Oregon resident has access to fast, affordable internet service. The bipartisan broadband infrastructure funding bills developed by Congress are distributing billions to the s...
