Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 701 - 725 of 1812
Lane County Commissioners, McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce board members, business leaders and area residents all joined in at Hendricks Park last Thursday to celebrate start of construction for two "McKenzie Gateway" signs. The signs - at each end of the Valley - were designed to help the McKenzie area as a tourism and business hub and help in the revitalization of the area after the Holiday Farm Fire in September 2020. For the past several years, the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce Touri...
The Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife has announced leftover tags will go on sale on July 1st at 10 a.m. Tags can be purchased via the online licensing system at https://odfw.huntfishoregon.com/login. However, hunters who drew a controlled hunt must wait until July 2nd at 10 a.m. to try to exchange it for a leftover tag. Also on July 2nd., leftover tags can be purchased through a license agent in addition to the online sale. Officials say an existing tag already purchased or a controlled hunt win for which people haven’t yet purchased the tag c...
EUGENE: "This is probably the biggest decision you'll ever make on this board unless we have to hire another general manager," was the advice Eugene Water & Electric Board president John Brown had for the utility's commissioners on June 16th. Echoing that assessment at last week's meeting, John Barofsky said he wanted at least four hours blocked out in December for discussions that will determine the future of the Leaburg Canal. At the core of those talks will be four options. At one end of the...
VIDA: After many months of enthusiastic fundraising efforts, Vida McKenzie Community Center is breaking ground on the new Center building. Increased building costs have resulted in a funding gap of approximately $250,000. Fundraising will continue during the build with the next event being an amazing, family-friendly concert on June 26th from 1-5:00 p.m. at Gate Creek (the big red barn) on Hwy. 126 in Vida. Tickets are available at the door but pre-purchase is suggested from...
VIDA: What started as casual brainstorming among friends for ways to bring neighbors and tourists together has become Caddisfly Concerts, and the first show is slated for Sunday, June 26th. Three local bands will perform, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Gate Creek Ranch in Vida. Concert goers can expect high energy, family-friendly fun, and a variety of musical genres, organizers say. "Most folks in the McKenzie Valley had to bug out during the fire of 2020," according to Paul Dage. "Most are back to...
Cultural resource specialists with the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have finalized an agreement that will enhance the protection of historic and cultural resources across the Willamette Valley, where the Corps manages 13 dams and reservoirs in addition to thousands of acres of land. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider any potential impacts their projects may have on historic properties. The new 10-year document, officials say, goes a step further by...
BLUE RIVER: In documents issued in May, the Oregon Dept. of Justice has requested all information involving the activities of McKenzie Valley Wellness (MVW) and the Orchid Health Clinic beginning in January 1st, 2017 related to the operations of charitable trusts or a nonprofit corporation. Several different areas are coming up for review. MVW has been ordered to produce all records related to the activities of its board of directors, its bylaws, and membership lists, as well as financial transactions and passwords to electronic bookkeeping...
WALTERVILLE: On June 6th at 4:18 p.m., the Springfield Police Department responded to a report that a male suspect had unsuccessfully attempted to abduct a child in the area of South 48th Street near Daisy Street in Springfield. The caller provided a description of the suspect's vehicle and the direction they were headed. Officers from the Lane County Sheriff's Office and State Police responded and located the suspect and his vehicle, aided by the caller's testimony. In the interim, police...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: It’s critical that all subscribers who receive this newspaper via the US Postal Service send their email addresses to [email protected]. Oregon Web Press (OWP), which has printed McKenzie River Reflections for three decades, informed publishers last week that they will retire their newsprint press line on July 1st. As a result, they will no longer be printing newspapers. That’s very bad news for about eight Oregon weeklies and more than a dozen monthly school and university publications that were printed at OWP’s Albany, Oregon...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The planned reopening of the Old McKenzie Pass is set for the third Monday in June, which this year would be on the 20th. Bicyclists and pedestrians have been enjoying the route for the last few weeks before it is again open to motorists. (Vehicles longer than 35 feet are prohibited from using the highway.) The first route over the Mc-Kenzie Pass, known as Craig's McKenzie Salt Springs/Deschutes Wagon Road, was completed in 1872. Crews rebuilt sections of the road in the 1920s...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Access to the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail and Roads 2654-2655 will be affected from June 13th to July 22nd. The U.S. Forest Service and the McKenzie Watershed Council have partnered on a restoration project on the lower portion of Deer Creek. Work there was designed to restore natural processes that create and maintain diverse habitats for fish and wildlife. To date, officials say, the project has been successful, and Phase Four of the project will be implemented...
LEABURG: People might feel what it's like to almost fall in love in Paris, nearly tumble to their death in Berlin, or barely escape from a Sahara sandstorm. Others could gain insights into how civilization was carved into the surface of America's western frontier. Experiences like those can come to mind by picking up the "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz or "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner. Both books are among a multitude of Pulitzer prize winners on the shelves of...
VIDA: What was once a turn-of-the-20th-century stagecoach stop will now be a place to stop again – for live musical performances. Chris and Leian DeLeon, owners of Gate Creek Ranch in Vida, and their daughter Jesslin DeLeon are building a large wooden stage on their property (known for its big red barn) which also houses their businesses - Blue Sky Trees, Inc. and a social event venue. "We've always thought it would be great to have live music here," says Chris DeLeon, who is milling lumber for...
New Central Cascades Wilderness permits for day use opened up over the weekend for the Deschutes Willamette and Deschutes National Forests. It began on June 15th and ends on October 15th, annually. Beginning June 13th, at 7 a.m., the reservation period for two-day advance day use permits will open on Recreation.gov for the permit system. Day use permits will continue to be available in ten-day and two-day rolling windows throughout the permit system season. Day-use permits are only required on 19 of the 70 trailheads within the Mt. Jefferson,...
Lane County residents with curbside recycling carts and customers at all Lane County transfer stations can add #1 and #2 bottles, jars, and jugs to their recycling. This expanded list of items—which must be clean, dry, and larger than a tennis ball—rejoin the recyclable materials stream after being excluded in 2018, following a global recycling market crisis. Since then, the market and sorting process has improved, according to Lane County Waste Reduction Program Supervisor Angie Marzano. “Since the crisis, local material recovery facil...
Fire recovery work on Forest Service Road (FSR) 19, also known as Aufderheide Drive, was completed this week and the road is now open to thru traffic from Highway 126 to Highway 58. Recreational day-use sites and campgrounds, including Terwilliger "Cougar" Hot Springs, are now accessible from Highway 126. Fire recovery work and safety mitigations included the removal of hazardous trees, rock scaling, and the replacement of guard rails. Maintenance work on FSR 19, such as road paving and...
Many wildlife rehabilitators are currently not accepting waterfowl due to the spread of avian flu in wild birds. Because they can carry the virus without showing symptoms, allowing them into rehabilitation facilities can put all the birds at the facility at risk, officials warn. Goslings, ducklings, and adult waterfowl can all carry the virus. If people find healthy ducklings or goslings without a parent nearby, they’re asked to leave them alone and allow the parents to find them. If not, they can be released at the nearest waterway. Injured d...
Fishing will be free in Oregon this weekend - on Saturday and Sunday, June 4th and 5th. Everyone can fish, clam and crab for free in Oregon those two days. No fishing/shellfish licenses or tags are required for those two days for either Oregon residents or nonresidents. It's also free to park and camp at Oregon State Parks on Saturday, June 4th. All other fishing regulations apply including closures, bag limits, and size restrictions. Check the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife's Recreation...
SISTERS: The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has identified a body discovered by a small group of mushroom hunters. The man’s remains were found near the snow gate on State Highway 242 (the Old McKenzie Pass Highway) west of Sisters on the afternoon of May 21st, and a subsequent investigation has found no signs of foul play, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies reported last Monday. The man has been identified as 44-year-old Marcus Ryan Kawano. Sgt. Doug Sullivan said Kawano was a transient who moved around the area “quite a bit,” but last...
The OnPoint has announced the three winners of the 2022 Educator of the Year Award who will have their mortgage or rent paid for an entire year and receive $2,500 for their school: The winners are Jennifer Krebs, a kindergarten teacher at Marcola Elementary School; Emmanuel Aquino, an 8th grade English - Spanish immersion teacher at Beaumont Middle School in Portland; and Jesse Bolt, a 9th to 12th grade English, reading intervention, and braille teacher at the Washington State School for the...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Last Tuesday volunteers from the Scorpions were busy restoring areas hit by 2021's Knoll fire on the McKenzie River Trail - between Deer Creek and the Trailbridge Reservoir. They joined a McKenzie River Ranger District crew about 2 miles downstream from the dam that was repairing fire-damaged sections of the trail. The work included restoring the tread on sections that were damaged by slides, trees, rock falls, etc. Last Tuesday they focused on a section with a very steep side...
The amount of money politicians raised to gain votes in Oregon’s 2022 Primary Election has been released. Assembling the largest campaign war chest, according to recent filings, was U.S. Senate Democratic winning candidate, Ron Wyden - with $8,098,290. Second place finisher William Barlow reported no campaign contributions and won 18,193 votes to Wyden’s 255,056. In the Republican U.S. Senate Primary Jo Rae Perkins raised $26,155 and won the race with 114,341 votes. Second place finisher Darin Harbick of Rainbow raised much more - $278,335 - b...
Oregon streams, wetlands, and prairies will get $1.65 million in federal funds to restore wildlife habitat, the state's senators announced this week. The money is part of the $26 million the U.S.Bureau of Land Management will spend nationally this year to restore ecosystems and comes from last year's bipartisan infrastructure law. "Most Oregonians will tell you that our forests, coastline, rivers, mountains, high desert, and more are what make this state such a special place to live," said Sen....
SISTERS: On May 21st, Deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a report of a deceased male near the eastern snow gate of Hwy. 242. The corpse had been located by a mushroom hunter around noon. Detectives and a Deputy Medical Examiner from the Deschutes County Medical Examiner's Office arrived on the scene to assist in the investigation. They found no evidence of foul play., according to Sergeant Jayson Janes of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. DCSO is still...
Recently, some people have been wondering why what they thought were dead geese on utility lines weren't decomposing. Instead what they've observed is a Eugene Water & Electric Board program to discourage ospreys from building nests atop power poles that might cause fires or outages, as well as increase electrocution risks for the birds. Birds remain committed to their sites year after year, which utility officials say can lead to very large nests that exceed the weight capacity of the pole and...
