Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Dump chart Closing the dump sites is not about bucks,” Dennis Powers of McKenzie Bridge reminded the Lane County Board of Commissioners at their meeting last Tuesday. “Highway 126 is a heavily traveled beautiful area,” he noted. “A lot of dollars come into Lane County because of this.” Powers observations were part of the messages McKenzie area residents had for the board to consider before deciding whether to approve a consultant’s report that in part recommends the closure of eight of the county’s 16 waste transfer stations. The closures were...
EUGENE: Conflicts involving the National Flood Insurance Act and the Endangered Species Act relating to impacts subsidized flood insurance have had on development in floodplains is now being reviewed by Lane County‘s Land Management Division. In a June memo to the board of commissioners, Keir Miller, a senior planner with the Public Works Department, noted the county had been participating in the flood program since 1970. “The Land Management Division is responsible for administering the day-to-day activities of the county’s floodplain progr...
Painting Belknap Bridge RAINBOW: The Belknap covered Bridge will be closed from August 15th to November 17th for rehabilitation work. The project includes replacing some of the structural elements of the truss as well as replacing the floor decking. The exterior will receive a new coat of paint as well. In addition, the $830,475 project also involves adding lights down the middle of the bridge (inside) to increase safety, especially for pedestrians. Workers from Oregon Woods, Inc. will be adding “post tensioning” along the bottom, which hel...
BR map BLUE RIVER: Over a hundred years ago Samuel Sparks dreamed about creating a city. After moving upriver from Cedar Flat in 1895 he acquired a quarter section of land. Fueled by the boom associated with the discovery of gold nearby, he built a cabin and a two-story log house, plus a sawmill, store, hotel and livery stable. By 1911, he and his sons, Dexter and Felix, had surveyed and mapped out a new town tentatively to be called “Sparks City.” But on July 7th of that year, Sparks died, along with his dream. Today each of the McKenzie Riv...
Blue River Downtown Redevelopment & Wastewater Roadmap 2015 - 2016 Prepared by Stephen Dobrinich and Aniko Drlik-Muehleck, Hatfield Fellows with Lane County Community and Economic Development In partnership with Chris Marko, Rural Development Specialist at Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) Acknowledgements Portland State University’s Hatfield Residential Fellowship Program. In July 2015, Lane County Community & Economic Development brought on two Hatfield Fellows to assist with rural economic development projects. The two Fellows p...
Dancer bridge Places to eat, sleep, recreate and even read about the local area will all be part of a special “Best of the McKenzie River Valley” segment on Rick Dancer TV this week. The weekly show highlights different aspects of life in Lane County. Dancer, a downriver resident, worked in the television news industry as a main anchor/reporter for commercial television stations in Western Oregon for more than 20 years. His company, Rick Dancer Media Services, produces videos promoting individual businesses as well as natural attractions. Thi...
Cafe rebuild VIDA: Rebuilding of the fire damaged Vida Cafe is now underway. For owner Sue Nelson, though, that doesn’t mean the doors will be opening for customers soon. “I just heard from the contractor,” she said on Tuesday. “He said the work should be complete towards the end of August and we should open around September first.” Part of the challenges are fire-related, she noted. Each time damage is discovered and repaired it has to be inspected before workers can cover it up. An 8 foot by 8 foot new addition now sits on a portion of the ca...
McKenzie Schools FINN ROCK: Discussions on the “Oregon Rising” survey supported by state educators generated some local talk last week. At the June 15th McKenzie School Board meeting superintendent Jim Thomas suggested people approach the questionnaire as if it was a clean slate. “Think about what our schools should look like,” Thomas suggested. “What should they look like if we had all the resources available to us to provide the best education for all our kids?” One item on his own wish list would be to find a way to create a high qualit...
Hwy 242 debris MCKENZIE BRIDGE: At 8 a.m. on June 20th, highway crews opened the snowgate for motorized traffic to cross the Old McKenzie Pass. The route, first known as Craig’s McKenzie Salt Springs/Deschutes Wagon Road, was completed in 1872. It connected the Willamette Valley with Camp Polk, near what is now Sisters. Learn more history at: alturl.com/nv3tm. Image: Debris has been cleared from the McKenzie Pass/Santiam Pass National Scenic Byway. McKenzie River Reflections...
EWEB drinking water EUGENE: EWEB commissioners took another look at ways to implement and maintain a comprehensive drinking water source protection program last week. At the June 7th meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board, staffers Karl Morgenstern & Steve Newcomb gave a presentation covering the McKenzie watershed plans and budget, including an expansion to the Coast & South Forks of the Willamette to cover Alternative Water Supply drainage areas. Currently, the utility draws its drinking water from a single source - the McKenzie River....
Top of the Pass Early in the winter, most of Oregon’s mountains were on track to have a near normal snow season, according to the June Water Supply Outlook Report released by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. However, an unusually warm springtime temperatures abbreviated the winter and started an early and rapid snowmelt. While about half of monitoring sites in the state recorded near normal peak amounts of snow, most of those peaks occurred between one to four weeks earlier than normal. “The early snowmelt has resulted in str...
Strawberries June 4 - Strawberry Festival The Lane County Pomona Grange will host a mini-strawberry festival on Saturday, June 4th, at Herrick’s Farm from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The Grange will be selling strawberry short cake as a fundraiser for county programs. There is space available for other vendors at no charge for other items or crafts. Contact Jeff Dehne at 541-915-2163 or [email protected] should bring their own pop up or table in the sun....
River cleanup The McKenzie River Guides Association, McKenzie Watershed Council, and the McKenzie Flyfishers are looking for volunteers to join them for a fun-filled annual family event - the McKenzie River Cleanup. People who stay after the cleanup can enjoy food, prizes, and more. To register for boat routes, land based cleanup, or additional questions, contact Larry Six or Amanda Wilson at 458-201-8150. Litterbags and gloves are available at the Watershed Council office at 442 A Street in Springfield. The Cleanup is scheduled from 9 a.m....
Cafe porch VIDA: Work to repair the fire damaged Vida Cafe was expected to begin this week, after long awaited building permits have been finalized. A big part of the delay, according to cafe owner Sue Nelson, was Lane County’s concerns with prior violations dating back more than 30 years - things Nelson says she and more than one previous owners never knew existed. Starting with removal of asbestos flooring, McKenzie Taylor Construction will be doing more than a simple rebuild. Part of the approval process called for a reconfiguration of the b...
Oregon's Bounty" src="http://mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com/sites/default/files/Oregon%27s%20Bounty.png" style="width: 180px; height: 80px; margin: 5px; float: left;" Strawberries, squash, asparagus, and salad greens — not to mention a vast array of bedding plants, flowering baskets, and fresh-cut flowers — are just a few favorites of the agricultural bounty of spring. But if people want to buy directly from the source, where do you go? “Everyone knows where their local farmers market is. But what about farm stands, u-pick f...
Dump MCKENZIE BRIDGE: A $1.5 million shortage between operating costs and revenue generated is facing Lane County’s Waste Management Division. County dumps receive no property tax funding to operate. The Board of County Commissioners is tentatively scheduled to receive a presentation regarding a consultant’s report in August and begin public discussion of the options. “We chose August in order to allow ample time for public feedback in July,” according to Devon Ashbridge, Lane County’s Public Information Officer. “The timeline also allows for...
BLM map By Eric Tegethoff Oregon News Service Conservation groups filed a protest yesterday against the Bureau of Land Management’s latest proposal to change forest management in western Oregon. The BLM’s revision eliminates some protections against logging near streams, and could put the state out of step with the Northwest Forest Plan, the 100-year plan coordinated with Washington state and California. Susan Brown is an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, which filed the protest on behalf of 22 conservation groups. “Our concer...
Charter school bus FINN ROCK: A “horrendous $459,000 budget deficit” and the loss of 6.91 positions is the harsh image officials see when they look toward the future, people learned at the April meeting of the McKenzie School Board. An alternate opportunity, based on the possible creation of a public charter school, was also up for review. A sixteen member charter school steering committee is currently exploring what impacts the changeover might bring about. Some of their talking points range from maintaining current offerings to reviving dorma...
LifeFlight BLUE RIVER: Police and medical teams responded to the report of a male down with blood all over his face near the Blue River Reservoir last Wednesday. According to Oregon State Police reports, Thomas Burkhard, 55, of Blue River was found unconscious on spur road about 1/4 mile up the Blue River Reservoir Road from Hwy. 126. Personnel from the Upper McKenzie Fire District, a Life Flight helicopter and two state troopers all responded to the scene around 2:30 p.m. Police reported that when they arrived on the scene the patient was...
Clarification of Voters' Pamphlet Measure 20-239 Explanatory Statement Press Release By Leigh Rieder The steering committee of Support Lane County 4-H and Extension (SLC4HE) notes the voters' pamphlets for the May 17 Primary Election contain potentially confusing language in the Explanatory Statement for Measure 20-239. The statement shows a dollar sign ($) before “1.5 cents,” which may be incorrectly read as one dollar and 50 cents. To clarify, the SLC4HE wishes to confirm that the measure, if approved, would establish a 5-year property tax...
Want to vote? The voter registration deadline for the May 17, 2016 Primary Election is Tuesday, April 26, 2016. This is also the deadline to change your party affiliation. People who are not registered to vote in any Oregon county may register online at oregonvotes.gov no later than 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 26. The online option is available only to those with a valid Oregon driver’s license, DMV-issued identification card or learner’s permit. Other registration options: · Submit a voter registration form to the Elections Office by...
April 21 Charter School At 5:30 p.m. on April 21st, Kate Pattison from the Oregon Dept. of Education will be a featured speaker at a community meeting about a possible public charter school at McKenzie Schools. The meeting will be held in the district office at 51187 Blue River Drive in Finn Rock. April 21 McKenzie Action Team The McKenzie Action Team will host a community outreach meeting at the Walterville Grange on April 21st. The goal of the meetings is to gain more information on community needs, assets, challenges and opportunities....
Plowing 242 MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Depending on the weather, Oregon Dept. of Transportation crews plan to finish clearing snow off Hwy. 242 this week and then clean up debris like downed trees. The first snow gate at milepost 61.8 will open by the end of the day on April 21st to allow fishing at Linton Lake for the high lakes season. Officials estimate the second gate at milepost 66 will remain closed until June 20th. Clearing is beginning on the west side as well. In the interim, some people will be able to use the route. “ODOT reminds bicyclists a...
Desserts WALTERVILLE: The McKenzie River Guides Association will host their annual Boat Safety Rodeo and Dutch Oven Cook-off this Saturday, April 16th, at the Hendricks Bridge Wayside Park. Outdoor cooking that is part of the lore of professional guiding will be demonstrated when members of the Guides match their skills. Meals coming out of Dutch ovens can range from ribs to enchiladas. In addition to boat inspections by the Oregon State Police, the Emerald Chapter of the Northwest Steelheaders will be holding a swap meet/garage sale with used...
Krystal Kruse By Ada Weeks One of Vida’s best-kept secrets is a sparkly young lady, Krystal Kruse, who attended her first rodeo at the tender age of six. While at the Eugene Pro Rodeo, Krystal was smitten, and knew that horses would be a big part of her life from then on. When Krystal met that event’s Rodeo Queen, who was signing photos and autographs, she treated her kindly and made her feel welcome and at home in the rodeo and horse world. Krystal knew then she would love to also, one day, be a Rodeo Queen. Dreams really can come true. Som...
