Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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RAINBOW: For people attending the Elemental documentary event on September 30th, a cautionary warning might be needed for some. The movie includes images of homes being destroyed by flames and the radio chatter of first responders, which could be unnerving, especially to those who have lived through an evacuation. “It is real footage and it is real people’s stories,” explains Michael Sherman who is also a filmmaker. Sherman, a McKenzie High School graduate who grew up in the area, has been...
People heading out to do some wild edible foraging are being cautioned to keep safety at the forefront of their plans while mushroom hunting. With an eye toward reducing missing person reports, the Lane County Sheriff's Office is reminding people to develop a plan to avoid getting lost as well as returning home safely. In the past, we've seen several mushroom pickers go missing around this time of year, including Shane Eldor Sprenger, who is still missing. The 47-year-old man was was last known...
WALTERVILLE: The "Gateway sign" at the western entrance of the McKenzie Valley was being readied for completion by workers last week. Supporters of the project, like the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, say it was originally designed to welcome tourists by now will "have even greater significance as a way to help encourage and give hope to communities and residents as they rebuild following the devastating Holiday Farm Fire." A similar sign will be installed near the Hwy. 20/Hwy. 126 to...
RAINBOW: Civilian, conservation, and corps were the 3 C's of the New Deal work relief program that left its mark locally by constructing trails and structures that are still in use today. Challenging is a word often applied to health care in America. In rural areas, it has become even more appropriate. Over the few years in the McKenzie River Valley, that word has sometimes felt inadequate. Optimism was high in 1977 when a nonprofit named the McKenzie River Clinic began offering primary health...
The Vida McKenzie Community Center wants to again thank all its friends, members, and donors for making it possible for the construction of its new building to begin. The first visible activity on the Thompson Lane site began with concrete forming on October 26th. By September 5th the footings were poured and by the 14th, construction of the foundation walls was on its way. Concrete will be poured this week for completion of the stem walls and our building will really start to take shape. To...
The Oregon Conservation and Recreation Advisory Committee is pleased to announce the opening of a funding for conservation and recreation projects in the 2021-2023 biennium. The Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund is a new way for Oregonians to support projects that protect and enhance the species and habitats identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy. Funds of up to $50,000 are available to create new opportunities for wildlife watching, urban conservation, community science, and...
LEABURG: Early in 1927, when the Eugene Water & Electric Board decided another power source was needed it didn't plan 10,000 years in advance. Nor did the utility have to consider what natural disasters might occur in the next million years. Today, though, potential seismic or mega-flood events are part of the design requirements mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 2022 marks 95 years since EWEB made the decision to build the Leaburg hydroelectric project. It is also a t...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: On Sunday, at approximately 8:18 am, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a raft had overturned in the McKenzie River near Paradise Campground. Paradise campground is located just upriver from McKenzie Bridge. While en route, deputies learned that one of the three involved rafters was unconscious and CPR had been performed by bystanders and paramedics. At 9:14 a.m, paramedics at the scene advised the involved male had died. Lane County Sheriff’s Sergeant Tom Speldrich said deputies arrived on the scene and...
Nearly 20 years ago the Biscuit fire burned across half a million acres in Southern Oregon. It also exposed a college sophomore to the controversy, science, and politics at play during and after the blaze. That student was Trip Jennings who assembled a team to grapple with the complex debate around the fire and worked with scientists, advocates, and local citizens to capture the story in a documentary. More than a decade later, the Eagle Creek fire ignited the Columbia River Gorge, a scenic...
Why are there dead salmon in the river? If you live close to a river or stream in the Willamette Valley, you might come across salmon carcasses or see ODFW staff and volunteers slinging carcasses into the water during September and October. In September, salmon will begin the end of their life's journey in Willamette Valley rivers as they gather to spawn and die. Historically, thousands of adult salmon spawned and died in these rivers and streams, supplying essential nutrients to fuel the...
Labor Day this year was celebrated by gathering together. On the 2nd anniversary of the Holiday Farm Fire, hundreds of people did just that at the McKenzie Track & Field....
The Walterville Waddle, Parade and Fair set for is September 10th has been cancelled due to the extreme fire hazard conditions over the weekend.There are no plans to reschedule for this year but the events will return in 2023....
The planned U.S. 20 construction closure east of Sweet Home has been delayed until Sunday, September 11 for traveler safety. The road will be open Friday and Saturday. Drive carefully and be prepared if you travel this weekend. Hot, dry winds may prompt power line shutoffs to prevent fires. Treat traffic signals without power like a four-way stop. Trees and vegetation may be on the road. In dry conditions, be careful parking to prevent vehicle-sparked fires. Visit TripCheck.com for the latest traffic conditions....
Due to the extreme risk of wildfire in our service territory and continued forecast of potentially strong winds, Lane Electric Cooperative will implement a public power safety shutoff starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 9 through the evening of Saturday, September 10. This outage will impact nearly all members, with the city centers of Oakridge, Lowell, and Veneta remaining powered to provide key services. This decision was made after carefully considering current wildfire risk, predicted weather forecasts, consulting emergency officials,...
RAINBOW: When the voting was over on August 30th, three members had been elected to the board of directors of the McKenzie Valley Wellness nonprofit. With 80, 73, and 72 votes respectively, Val Rapp, Kelly Shaw, and Jane Wilson were the winners. Several people who attended the annual meeting at the Upper McKenzie Community Center said they were pleased the process ran smoothly. But Shaw has confirmed she decided on September 1st to resign. So did Joshua Cloke - who was to appear in an upcoming...
AUFERHEIDE DRIVE: Last Friday Forest Service Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) has been closed from Milepost 20 (just east of Kiahanie Campground) to Milepost 35 (south of the Roaring River Campground) due to the growth of the Cedar Creek Fire. The closure area includes the Box Canyon Campground, Box Canyon Staging Area/Horse Camp, and Skookum Creek Campground, as well as all the surrounding dispersed camping areas. Under the Level 3 closure, people are told to not take time to gather things because of immediate and imminent danger. On Tuesday, offic...
HWY. 20: A total closure of U.S. Route 20 - from Milepost 54 to 57 - is scheduled for September 9th to 22nd. The $4.96 million Oregon Dept. of Transportation project is designed to make the area safer by building a retaining wall, realigning part of the road, and repairing damage from a landslide. ODOT investigated a portion of U.S. 20 east of Sweet Home and along the South Santiam River to decide the best solution to mitigate the slide movement. The recommended repair for the Double Gate and...
A federal program that provides up to a year of free access to National Forests, National Parks, and other public lands for fourth-grade students and their families. As of September 1st, fourth graders, parents, and educators could visit the Every Kid Outdoors website at www.everykidoutdoors.gov and learn more about how to obtain free entry to all federal lands, for fourth graders and their accompanying family members. Students can obtain passes individually by completing a brief online...
Crime rates among young people have dropped dramatically in recent decades - despite media coverage pointing toward a supposed "crime wave" led by youth. That's the finding in a recent report from The Sentencing Project, which shows the share of overall arrests of people younger than 18 was cut in half between 2000 and 2019. Deena Corso is the juvenile services division director for Multnomah County. "The trend very much for juvenile crime nationally - and then it's mirrored here locally - has b...
BLUE RIVER: A new clinic to replace the one lost to the Holiday Farm Fire might range in size from 2,050 to 2,827 square feet. Those sizes were among the alternatives Katie Hall with Pivot Architecture of Eugene presented to the McKenzie Valley Wellness (MVW) board last Monday. Specific costs - as well as design details - are still in flux and no decision on the proposals was reached. The size of the building had been reduced from what was first envisioned as a 4,000-square-foot replacement....
VIDA: Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a two-vehicle crash on Hwy 126 last Friday. According to OSP reports, the accident involved a passenger car hitting a building contractor’s trailer at 7:40 p.m. on August 26th. Police said 37-year-old Juan Carbajal Rodrigues was driving a black Chevrolet and backing a flatbed trailer loaded with construction material into a driveway. While using the eastbound lane to back up, a construction worker was flagging traffic when an eastbound Acura TSX, operated by 40-year-old S...
WALTERVILLE: The Oregon State University Extension Service will hold a free well water nitrate screening at Herrick Farms this Friday. The testing is related to the wildfires of 2020 and the possibility many domestic wells and septic systems may have been damaged in different ways. Damage to water systems could compromise their ability to work properly in addition to testing for contaminants that may cause harm in the future. Nitrate in groundwater can cause health issues. It is not naturally...
McKenzie River Trust's Restoration Projects Manager, Christer LaBrecque, has received the Riparian Challenge Award on behalf of the Finn Rock Reach restoration projects team. The Riparian Challenge Award, from the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society, encourages the conservation and sound management of riparian habitats in the western United States. Each year, the WDAFS recognizes outstanding achievements in riparian management by bestowing "Excellence in Riparian Management"...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: A reported house fire around 6:30 last Sunday afternoon was luckily limited to about 1/10 acre of vegetation between 2 residences. "No structures were involved, but damage to a cedar fence between the houses was noted," according to Dirk Rogers, Assistant Chief of the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire District. Besides forest vegetation, some piled branches and stacked logs cut to firewood length caught fire. The Upper McKenzie RFPD and the Oregon Department of Forestry were the initial...
The Forest Service's mission focus is sustainability, and timber is a result of sustainable forest management. Timber sales are a tool of sustainable forest management, serving as a means to restore overgrown forests prone to devastating wildfires into healthy fire-adapted woodlands. Additionally, timber sales create jobs and economic opportunities in rural communities where other sources of income might be few. An internal regional review of the Flat Country project file is currently underway that includes evaluating changed conditions. We...
