Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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“We can’t just leave when the patient is in an ambulance” Wreck MCKENZIE BRIDGE: “When you see a dad or grandad or grandma in pain or suffering, everybody in the family is a victim.” That’s the sort of situation first responders often have to contend with - whether they’re on the scene of a car wreck or a cardiac incident. The same scene often plays out if homeowners see flames consuming a house full of memories. “Nobody can do it all by themselves,” admits Upper McKenzie Fire Chief Bret Russell. At times there’s a need for someone to simply h...
Motorists may gain access to Scenic Route in mid-June OR 242 MP 72 OLD MCKENZIE PASS: With over 30 feet of snow still to get through at the top of the Old McKenzie Pass (Hwy 242), Oregon Dept. of Transportation crews have a lot of work ahead of them. The most recent report from Oregon Department of Transportation says plow operators have been clearing a travel lane but caution motorists to be patient and remember that workers are up there daily to make the highway travel safe. They made more progress this week, but one driver said this is the...
Brownlee and Hayes on 2017 poster Smokey & Eagles MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Smokey and the Eagles have teamed up again this year to spread a fire prevention message. New posters feature Smokey Bear and two local high school students to promote a joint effort between the McKenzie River Ranger District employees and staff at McKenzie High School. The 2017 posters are part of the McKenzie River Ranger District’s “Smokey and the Eagles” program that rewards outstanding student athletes and highlights the importance of fire prevention practices. Each year,...
Eight will compete in Saturday pageant Mr. Walterville WALTERVILLE: What promises to be a great show and hopefully a new town tradition will take place this Saturday. That’s when eight men, most of them are fathers of students at Walterville School, will compete to raise funds earmarked for the PTO to spend on for classroom technology improvements. Participants in the Mr. Walterville Pageant will be judged in a number of different categories, ranging from overall creativity to individual expression, as well as their talent and outfit they a...
Master Plan up for review in Leaburg Thursday night LEABURG: The Parks Division is asking the public’s opinions on how to manage 70 different properties scattered throughout Lane County. A number of public workshops on the 20-year kicked off this week, including one at McKenzie Fire & Rescue’s Leaburg Training Center on Thursday night. Public input submitted so far included comments about a number of McKenzie River area sites, like the Hendricks Bridge Park in Walterville. One note from Lynn Moore cited concerns of neighbors who worry that add...
January 12, 2017 Site Design Workshop Click on image to enlarge...
Support the creation of the McKenzie River Interpretive Center Hatchery logo Send your contribution to: Friends of Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery P.O. Box 506 Walterville, OR 97489 541-914-9089 Donations to Friends of Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery, a 501(c)(3) organization, are deductible on your federal income taxes....
Upper Willamette Basin includes the McKenzie River The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced has begun a process to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for salmon and steelhead hatchery programs currently operating in the Upper Willamette River Basin of Oregon. NMFS is also requesting public review and comment on four Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for evaluation under the Endangered Species Act’s 4(d) rule for threatened salmon and steelhead. The Army Corps’ plan speci...
8-foot setback will impact all Lane streambank properties Flood Flood insurance or fish? Officials of counties, cities and other municipalities around Oregon had that question put on their platters in April. That’s when a lawsuit by environmental groups generated recommendations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlining ways the Federal Emergency Management Agency should modify the National Flood Insurance Program. Throughout the state, 15 salmon and steelhead species are listed under an Environmental Impact S...
Vida Cafe reopen By Walter Wilson VIDA: It’s been almost a year since the Vida Cafe went up in flames in the early morning hours on October 24th in 2015. The valley had lost another icon. But owner Sue Nelson said, “We’ll rebuild and hopefully we’ll be back in business real soon.” And so the process began. It was an uphill battle, but after just over a year the reopening announcement spread through the community like wild fire. People were calling each other, emails, Facebook, and social media were all buzzing with the news, the Vida Cafe would...
Ron Tompkins WALTERVILLE: Like many of his generation, Ron Tompkins answered the call to arms for the armed services in World War II. Age for him wasn’t an issue, getting his mother to sign off on his enlistment papers when he was nine months shy of his 18th birthday. Time, however, did have an effect. Coming into the Navy in 1945 he sailed out of San Francisco and arrived for duty in the Philippines. In the Marshall Islands his ship, the USS Petrof Bay, a 7,800 ton aircraft carrier, was part of a fleet being put together for the invasion of J...
EWEB logo The Eugene Water & Electric Board must replace a rotted transmission pole on the north side of Highway 126 adjacent to Leaburg Lake. In order to replace the pole, line technicians will de-energize the overhead lines, resulting in an electric outage to customers from the north end of Leaburg Lake east to Thomson Lane. In order to mitigate the impact to customers, EWEB will replace the pole overnight. The planned outage will begin at 10 p.m. on Oct. 20 with restoration expected by 5 a.m. Oct. 21. The outage created by the pole...
Heroes RAINBOW: The Not Ready for Retirement Players, a Eugene theater company, will soon present “Heroes,” on a stage in Rainbow, The play, a French comedy by Gerald Sibleyras, is coming to the Upper McKenzie Community Center direct from performances at the Hult Center. The play features three World War I heroes plotting an escape from an old soldiers’ home run by nuns in a small village. The trio spends their days sitting on a terrace hoping for some sort of diversion. The three friends don’t talk about the war but they have plenty of othe...
LRAPA logo After a week-long delay, the Lane County Fall Open Burning season is set to start Saturday, October 8th until Monday, October 31st for many residents in the county. The season, normally set to open October 1st, is actually opening earlier than expected. The initial delay called for burning to wait until the 15th due to hot and dry weather conditions. However, with rapid changes in weather and more days of rain, the Lane County Fire Defense Board decided to open the season this weekend. LRAPA reminds residents that rules are...
Lane County News Lane County’s 15 solid waste transfer stations, including the Glenwood location, begin operating on winter schedules on Saturday, October 1st (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The Vida site will be open Wednesday through Saturday. The McKenzie Bridge will only be open on Saturdays. Winter hours will remain in effect through March. For more information regarding hours, fees, recycling, special permits, composting, directions to the transfer stations and other information, contact Lane County’s Waste Management Division at 541...
Skateboarder MCKENZIE BRIDGE: After starting out in Newport, Oregon, on September 14th, the First Electric Skateboard Crossing of America headed up the Old McKenzie Pass last Friday. During the “Big Climb,” Jack Smith went from 1,700 to 5,200 feet in elevation over an 18-mile stretch. Smith’s journey is designed to draw attention to, and raise funds for Board Rescue, a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing skateboards and safety equipment to organizations that work with underprivileged, at-risk and special needs children. It is spons...
McKenzie logo Editor's note: On 9/21/16 The McKenzie School board voted unanimously to approve creation of a charter school. This report covers a community meeting prior to that vote: FINN ROCK: “We are McKenzie so we study the McKenzie as a textbook, as a source of knowledge.” That sentiment from Science teacher Nate Day was part the rationale supporters of a proposed charter school presented at a meeting last Wednesday. He went on to note that charter schools have a “place based” emphasis that is, “Not all about sitting down in a classroom...
Blue Pool divers MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The location of a bowl where spring-fed waters form a crystal clear pond is no longer privy to just locals. In recent years increasing numbers of hikers, bikers and cliff jumpers have all been going to the Blue Pool on the McKenzie River National Scenic Trail. Their numbers, and the impacts of their visits, have become issues for the McKenzie River Ranger District, which manages the site. District Ranger Terry Baker said about five years ago those numbers ran a range of about 20 to 30 per day. In the last two...
McK Eagle By Jim Thomas Superintendent FINN ROCK: The McKenzie School Board will be holding a public hearing at 6:30pm on September 14th in the high school library to receive input on the proposed conversion of the district’s K-12 program into the McKenzie River Community School. An application for the Community School was submitted by a group made up of community members, educators and parents who are interested in increasing opportunities for our students to receive the highest quality education possible with the resources that are a...
Lane County’s Waste Management Division is seeking public input on its update to the regional Solid Waste Management Plan, including potential strategies to increase waste diversion from the landfill. The ultimate goal of the updated management plan is to develop a waste management system that is environmentally sound, technologically feasible, cost-effective, locally controlled and publicly acceptable, while providing for an overall reduction in waste generation. There are two ways for community members to provide feedback: - Complete the b...
Renee Jackson EUGENE: “I’ve talked to our customers and they’re willing to pay for recycling in order not to have the dumps close,” McKenzie Disposal employee Renee Jackson told the Lane County Board of Commissioners last Wednesday. She also encouraged the board to look closer at the costs of recycling, which currently is offered as a discount. Up for discussion was a plan that included the possible closure of eight of the county’s 16 waste transfer stations. On that list was the McKenzie Bridge site. Currently, people who haul their own trash...
Blue Pool Access MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Due to increased fire danger levels, the Willamette National Forest placed public use restrictions on campfires and chainsaws starting on Monday. “We understand this is an inconvenience for our visitors but fire danger levels prompt us to issue these restrictions” said Sean Stafford, Fire Staff for the Willamette National Forest. Except in campfire rings at posted, developed and designated recreation areas building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, stove or campfire are now restricted. Smoking, too, is...
Sheep Creek bridge HWY. 20: A project to create five-and-a-half miles of new road, bypassing a 10-mile section of the original U.S. 20 that was built in 1917, is now underway. Through the end of September, travelers on U.S. 20 should expect detours on the west and east sides of Interstate 5 due to construction road closures just west of Eddyville (west) and 26 miles east of Sweet Home at the Sheep Creek Bridge (east). ODOT officials say the U.S 20 Sheep Creek Bridge closure will last through the end of September. The highway is fully closed...
Willamette National Forest – Campfires and use of chainsaws limited beginning Monday, August 22, at 12:01am Due to increased fire danger levels, the Willamette National Forest will initiate the following public use restrictions on campfires and chainsaw effective 12:01 am on Monday, August 22nd: 1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, stove or campfire, including a charcoal fire, in the Menagerie and Middle Santiam Wilderness areas. 2. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, stove or campfire, including a charcoal f...
ODF logo HIGH TEMPERATURES, LOW HUMIDITY AND GUSTY WINDS The heat is on! A wave of hot dry windy weather is expected to hit the region Thursday and last through Saturday. Just a single spark under these conditions could lead to a significant and costly wildfire. Fire managers are reminding the public to be extra careful with fire as they seek ways to stay cool. "Everyone will be looking for ways to beat the heat. Remember to take extra precaution with fires or anything that could start a wildfire," said Oregon Department of Forestry Unit...
