Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division has named Mihnea Moga as Prosecutor of the Year for 2023. The Oregon Hunters Association provided a framed wildlife print during a ceremony at the Oregon District Attorney Association Summer Conference in Seaside earlier this month. Moga, former Deputy District Attorney (DDA) for Columbia County, graduated from Willamette University College of Law and has a long-standing dedication to Oregon’s natural resources. Moga included classes on w...
A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey looked at how wildfires impact mercury concentrations in headwater streams in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey found wildfires are increasing mercury concentrations in Pacific Northwest headwater streams. Mercury is a naturally occurring metal found in rocks and soil. But under the right conditions, it can be converted into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that accumulates in organisms such as fish and...
PCT: It’s estimated someone would have to complete five million steps to traverse the entire 2,650-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail. Charles Costa isn’t counting but each of his steps has a purpose - supporting charities focused on emotional health and suicide prevention. The British-born singer/songwriter’s goal is to “run the equivalent of 90 marathons in 90 days to support the invaluable work carried out by James’ Place, a A decade ago, a skiing accident left Costa with a brain trauma that cont...
FINN ROCK: People had a chance to hear some good news during last Saturday’s briefing on the Ore Fire at the McKenzie High gymnasium. Oscar Vargas, along with Jason Boehm, is one of the fire’s two incident commanders. Both gave the local community high marks for the welcome area residents have received. Vargas outlined his team’s approach as “being safe and being smart” while efforts are underway to either “put fires out or keeping them small.” He also provided some insight into current ways...
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating numerous reports of vehicles being broken into in the McKenzie Bridge area on July 21st. A local business owner observed the suspect vehicle driving through the area early in the morning and contacted police when he learned of the break-ins. Deputies determined that Codey Lee Lewis owned the vehicle. Later that night, Coburg Police located Lewis. He was lodged at the Lane County Jail on unrelated warrants and the vehicle he was driving was i...
It’s been a labor of love and a long time coming with the Upper McKenzie Community Center getting a fresh start inside and out so we wanted to thank you all for your patience. The new roof is going on this week - just in time for a bit of rain, too. A beautiful new access ramp and new stairs have been poured out front. Next comes the railing which still needs to be created and installed. And just so you all don’t feel alone in the process of permitting and rebuilding, I wanted to let you kno...
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Program is for young men and women between the ages of 18 and 21, who have an interest in law enforcement. Our Cadet Program provides an opportunity to get first-hand experience to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare the cadets for full-time employment, hopefully with LCSO! Although being a Cadet is not a pre-requisite to becoming a Deputy Sheriff, we want to offer you every opportunity to gain experience and be successful in your c...
Feller bunchers, dozers, water tenders, and other specialized equipment play a key role in the initial attack and suppression of Oregon’s wildfires. Much of that equipment is provided by local operators under a contract agreement with the Oregon Department of Forestry. “One piece of equipment can do the work of a 40-person crew,” said Craig Pettinger, Oregon Department of Forestry’s interim district forester for its South Cascade district. “It’s not just the equipment but the experienced...
Persistent drought in the West over the last two decades has limited the amount of electricity that hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions of dollars in revenue. The sector lost about 300 million megawatt hours of power generation between 2003 and 2020 due to drought and low water compared with the long-term average, researchers from the University of Alabama found. That equals about $28 billion in lost revenue. Half of the drop in power generation was due to...
WALTERVILLE: The “custom” in Curanns Custom Taxidermy is something his clients have come to rely on. Earlier this month a lot of other people had the chance to see an example of his work when he drove the result of a major reconstruction project to its new home in Veneta. Standing 10 feet, 2 inches tall, the giraffe on Curran’s trailer made quite an impact on unsuspecting motorists when it came into view. Some were distracted to the point it made traffic merges challenging and one, Curran said,...
EUGENE: While discussing rate changes, Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners considered how these adjustments might influence Eugene businesses and residents to move toward more eco-friendly power and water alternatives that could improve the overall community. “We want people to use less energy and electricity, and no matter what happens it will always be beneficial for us to use less electricity,” said Commissioner Mindy Schlossberg. “It takes a while to build habits in people, even though we might not need to do it right now, I think...
Of forest properties burned in the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire, estimates are approximately 144,000 of that amount were on U.S. Forest Service land, 8,000 acres within Bureau of Land Management boundaries, and around 20,000 acres of private forest land. More than 1 million acres were impacted around Oregon in that year - close to 3% of the state’s forestland. Almost all of it was on the west side, where the industry is centered. Of private owners, Weyerhaeuser was the hardest hit - reporting t...
The U.S. men’s eight rowing team is coming back home with a bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, a group that includes Grant High School alumnus Pieter Quinton, second from right. Like jigsaw puzzles? See how quickly you can rebuild this one and help the rowing team stroke their way to the top of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Go to: tinyurl.com/c4dzs9aj Block Party Springfield’s “The Block Party,” now in its fifth year, exists to celebrate Springfield on one magical night, Downtown, from 4 to 9 p.m. This year’s beverage garden, s...
The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) has lifted the air quality advisory for eastern Lane County that has been in effect since July 26, 2024. After 17 days of heightened concern due to wildfire smoke, a shift in weather patterns has brought a welcome improvement to air quality in the region. A persistent northwest airflow across the state has been instrumental in clearing smoke from the area. While this is good news, LRAPA reminds residents that wildfire season is not over, and conditions can change rapidly. For the next few days,...
Supporters of a ballot measure that would establish an independent commission for setting the pay of elected officials have launched a campaign. If passed in November, Measure 116 would set up the Independent Public Service Compensation Commission - to decide salaries for elected officials including the governor, state lawmakers, judges, and district attorneys. Robin Ye is the political and strategy director for the organization East County Rising, which is supporting the measure. “It’s abo...
The wildfire season in Oregon has likely not yet peaked and already 1.3 million acres have been blackened or are ablaze, with 34 large fires burning. And five of them have spread over 100,000 acres each. “We are on a trend of possibly setting a record in the state of Oregon for the number of acres affected by fire,” Carol Connolly, a spokesperson for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which coordinates fire resources, told the Capital Chronicle. “Typically the Northwest peaks aroun...
FINN ROCK: Many of today’s McKenzie Valley residents have heard of recent riparian restoration efforts in the “Finn Rock Reach” near Milepost 38 of Hwy. 126. Fewer, though, recall the former Finn Rock Logging Camp which had long roots, stretching back to 1890, and a sawmill in Rosboro, Arkansas built by Thomas “Whit” Whitaker Rosborough. After Rosborough’s honeymoon itinerary swung through the Pacific Northwest, he’d always had a longing to return. He did in 1939, moving to Springfield,...
The Lane County Sheriff's Office marine patrol wants to alert boaters that a downed tree is almost a complete river blockage just above Belknap Hot Springs Resort. It is only passable on river right and is visible from upstream. Hazard signage has been posted upstream at Frissell and Olallie boat launches....
The Ore Fire is one of ten being managed by the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 - all on Willamette National Forest lands. Fire suppression work is continuing on the Ore Fire, burning seven miles northeast of Blue River. By Tuesday, the fire had continued to slowly grow, covering 2,001 acres at a 29% containment level. Officials report workers have been strengthening primary and contingency lines around the northwestern and northeastern sides of the fire using heavy equipment...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Work continues on Hwy. 126 from the Linn County line to the Old McKenzie Highway - along a section known as the Clear Lake Cutoff. There will also be 48-hour closures from August 20th to the 22nd., in addition to the current schedule of half-day closures from August 1st through 8th, - Sunday through Thursday nights - from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. (with Fridays and Saturdays excluded). Besides repaving the roadway, three bridges in the section are also being resurfaced as part of the...
Bus registration for Springfield School District students is now open. In addition to enrolling for school each year, students eligible to ride the bus will need to be registered to ride the bus for each school year. The district provides transportation services for elementary students who live more than 1 mile from their schools and for secondary (middle and high school) students who live more than 1.5 miles from their schools. Many students with special needs qualify for special...
As Oregon is seeing its first major heat event of the summer, some simple tips can help you keep your home cooler. Most of Oregon was under a heat advisory over the holiday weekend. And with summer just starting, Cameron Starr - senior operations customer experience manager with Energy Trust of Oregon - said more hot days are likely ahead. He said one recommendation is to keep out heat by pulling down window shades during the hottest part of day, and open windows when temperatures cool down....
New research suggests humans aren’t the only ones experiencing negative effects from wildfire smoke. Researchers are studying Ponderosa pines, which inhabit much of the western United States, and they’re finding that smoke may be affecting trees and many more kinds of plants - including food crops. Research co-author Delphine Farmer, a chemistry professor at Colorado State University, said they don’t yet know the full extent of the effects of wildfire smoke on plant life, but they do know it can...
Officials with the Oregon Department of Transportation say they will have to slash more than 1,000 jobs if lawmakers don’t address the agency’s financial woes during next year’s legislative session. Transportation leaders painted a grim picture of what faces the state’s road system during a Thursday meeting with the Oregon Transportation Commission, during which commissioners “reluctantly” approved ODOT’s budget request for 2025-2027. Among the budget’s most glaring problems, according to ODOT:...
Wildfires have burned across Oregon this year, but a few tips could help people protect themselves against their damaging impacts. Fires have burned more than a million acres so far this year, in what has become an annual occurrence for Oregon. Scott Leonard, a program manager with Energy Trust of Oregon, said smoke from wildfires has consequences for people’s health. He said it’s important to keep unhealthy air out by closing gaps around windows and doors and sealing around air con...
