Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 1151 - 1175 of 1820
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...
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....
