Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Research led by Oregon State University shows that fires are more likely to burn their way into national forests than out of them. The findings contradict the common narrative of a destructive wildfire igniting on remote public land before spreading to threaten communities, said Chris Dunn of the OSU College of Forestry. The study, which looked at more than 22,000 fires, found that those crossing jurisdictional boundaries are primarily caused by people on private property. It also showed that...
BLUE RIVER: Interest in plans to rebuild the Blue River Park appears to be strong, judging by the 80 responses received to an online survey. Answers to some of those comments were the focus of a Zoom meeting hosted by the park board last Saturday morning. During the meeting’s introductions, park board treasurer Tony Casad explained that it will take many years before the thick, forested park people were familiar with would be restored. Since the Holiday Farm Fire swept through the area, Casad s...
FINN ROCK: Last Monday night, Lane County staffers fielded questions about economic development and zoning regulations. In the more than hour-long session in the McKenzie Schools gym questions ranged from general topics to specific details that could impact individual business recoveries. A topic in that second category concerned re-placing business structures that had been lost in the Holiday Farm Fire. Asked if a different type of business could replace one that burned, Maryanne Note, the...
Over 100 neighbors showed up for the Community Chili Feed last Friday at the Walterville Community Center. Besides serving dinner to all those numbers, the Grange sponsored event also generated 50 pounds of canned goods for the valley's Food Pantries. Proceeds from the dinner will go for Community Service Projects in the area....
PORTLAND: Oregon will remove general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31, state health officials announced last week. By late March, health scientists expect that about 400 or fewer Oregonians would be hospitalized with COVID-19, the level of hospitalizations the state experienced before the Omicron variant began to spread. Mask requirements for schools will be lifted on March 31. However, state health officials say Oregon needs to keep mask requirements in place for now as COVID-19 hospitalizations crest and...
House Bill 4130 would allocate $5 million for wildlife crossings in problem spots across the state. In Oregon, there are about 7,000 collisions with deer each year, costing Oregonians $44 million in total. State Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, a chief sponsor of the bill, said there's broad support for wildlife crossings, including some Republican co-sponsors. "These types of projects are not partisan," he said. "We've got Republicans and Democrats, senators and House reps on the bill already. It'll...
EUGENE: In a unanimous vote last Tuesday, the board of commissioners approved hiring more police and fixing Lane County's most dangerous roadway. With money that comes from the extension of federal Secure Rural Schools Act, the Sheriff's Office will add five deputy sheriffs, two detectives, and one sergeant. Public Works will receive money earmarked to deal with a 28-mile stretch of deteriorating pavement along Territorial Highway. During the February 1st virtual meeting, county administrator...
BLUE RIVER: People are invited to take part in a community discussion on plans for redeveloping the Blue River Park, which was severely damaged by the Holiday Farm Fire. Details of what may be possible are included in a 15-page master plan for the property developed by Audret Rycewicz, a student with the Masters of Landscape Architecture course at the University of Oregon. The Blue River Park Board says it will the virtual open house to learn gain more public input and "help redesign the park...
COUGAR DAM: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will delay refilling Cougar and Fall Creek reservoirs and conduct spill operations at Foster Dam because of recent litigation. The delay will impact boating and recreation activities. "However, because annual water year forecasts have high variability, it will be difficult to predict with certainty all potential impacts until later in the spring," according to a spokesman. "Every year, we strive to meet the public's expectations surrounding...
CAMP CREEK: A poacher fled the scene leaving behind both the buck deer he shot on private property, and the head he had just cut off the animal as a trophy. Oregon State Troopers are now asking the public to be on the lookout for a vehicle related to the December 9th incident. Troopers describe the subject as about 5'1" tall, with brown hair and a brown beard. He left the scene in a late 1990's white Chevy flatbed pickup. The truck is likely a 3500 diesel and a witness reported seeing several...
SOUTH SISTER: The U.S. Geological Survey has detected movement again at an uplift area on the South Sister, known as the "Bulge." Satellite data from June of 2020 through August of 2021 showed uplift grew by 0.85 inches. A number of small earthquakes have also been recorded in the 12 mile wide area which located about 3 miles west of the relatively dormant South Sister volcano. The area gained its nickname about 25 years ago when the upward growth was first recorded. Between 1995 and 2020,...
BLUE RIVER: 60 billion gallons of water is a lot. That's how much flows over Niagara Falls in 24 hours. It's also the volume in the reservoir formed by Cougar Dam. "If Cougar were to completely fail, that water would rush 60 miles down the McKenzie River, washing away everything in its path, until it reached the Eugene and Springfield area," according to Tom Conning with the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That image, and the desire to do everything possible to keep...
BLUE RIVER: Orchid Health McKenzie River Clinic has hired Elizabeth Cramer, MSN, FNP-C as their new health care provider. She is scheduled to start at the clinic on Monday, February 7th. Elizabeth and her family recently moved to the McKenzie River Valley after living and working in Kansas. Prior to Orchid Health, she worked at the Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital where she helped out in urgent care and the family practice. Elizabeth has been working in healthcare since 2008, starting as a...
Oregonians can get free help with their income taxes once again this year. However, as in recent years, the pandemic is changing what the assistance looks like. Typically, the AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide program happens in-person, focusing specifically on people over age 50 or those who have low to moderate incomes. Kathy Goeddel, assistant state coordinator for the AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide program in the Portland Metro area, said the recent surge in COVID-19 cases means protocols are in place...
The Eugene Water & Electric Board has received an "Outstanding" performance rating from the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Services. To qualify for this rating, the health authority conducted a comprehensive on-site review of EWEB's drinking water source (the McKenzie River), treatment and storage facilities, distribution system, operation and maintenance procedures, and the utility's water quality monitoring program to evaluate EWEB's capability of providing safe water to the people of...
Recent data on ocean conditions could be good news for struggling salmon in the Northwest. But advocates for the species warn this isn't enough to stop their alarming slide. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expecting ocean waters to remain cold and more food abundant for the fish along the West Coast. However Miles Johnson, senior attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper, noted this doesn't necessarily mean better conditions for a crucial part of their lives - in the rivers...
SALEM: Last Thursday the Oregon Transportation Commission began to consider options for allocating the $412 million of flexible funding that is part of the $1.2 billion in new transportation funding allocated to Oregon by the federal infrastructure package. Under consideration are investing in ADA accessibility, road repair and maintenance, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and public transportation, as well as highway enhancements. Officials say the commission will use the scenarios to seek public comment and determine the best ways to...
Healthcare workers at an Oregon hospital have achieved what they say is a "win" after several strikes in recent months. Nearly 300 workers and members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield are celebrating increases in their pay, their health subsidies and education fund. Aaron Green, a certified nursing assistant at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and a member of SEIU Local 49, was among those who went on strike in Octobe...
"To the hands that made this bird quilt and to the kind donator and everyone who participated in this raffle with the intent of supporting fire survivors, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It will hang in the stairwell of the home I am rebuilding. Thank you so much (I am a bird lover!)." Those are the words of Lesa Henson, a Holiday Farm Fire survivor who received a very special gift in time for the holidays last year. That gift - a hand-made quilt featuring all 50 state birds – was the r...
The Oregon Health Authority has awarded $1 million to two University of Oregon health experts to expand their innovative COVID-19 containment program statewide. Psychology professor Jeff Measelle and Angela Long, of University Health Services, in July 2020 launched Corona Corps, a COVID-19 response effort that worked in close partnership with Lane County Public Health by enlisting students to help the county with case investigations, contact tracing efforts and case management. The program has...
The Willamette National Forest has withdrawn plans to log fire damaged trees along federal roads. Last August, the Willamette 2020 Fires Roadside Danger Tree Reduction decision had authorized the felling of fire-killed or injured trees which the agency said posed a danger to roads and people traveling along them across about 404 miles of road affected by the Holiday Farm, Beachie Creek, and Lionshead fires that occurred in 2020. Officials said the purpose of the project was to provide for access and improved safety along Forest System roads...
The Oregon Department of Forestry recently approved its first Climate Change and Carbon Plan, to embrace climate-smart forest management in the state. The Board of Forestry unanimously approved the plan last month. Danny Norlander, forest carbon and forest health policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the plan has three legs: adaptation, mitigation and a social dimension, focusing on communities and local economies. He explained adaptation is looking at how forests can adapt...
WALTERVILLE: For the second time in over 20 years, flooding has closed the Walterville Elementary School, Unlike the high water event that occurred in 1996 this year’s flood has resulted in extensive damage. On site inspections have shown that up to 6 inches of water pooled in the building, mainly in the office, administration area, library and some classrooms. During their January 16th meeting, the district school board voted unanimously to approved a request for a formal Declaration of Emergency to restore the school. Examinations of the d...
The 2022 Oregon governor's race promises to be one of the most important in recent Oregon history with several high-profile candidates and a state reeling from the pandemic and political divides. A group of news organizations and nonprofits in Oregon have teamed up to hear what voters want to know about their candidates for governor in 2022, by hosting a series of virtual listening sessions called "Let's Talk." Voters will join others within their region via Zoom to share what information they want to know about the candidates ¬– and what th...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of transferring the fire-damaged Leaburg trout, salmon, and steelhead hatchery it had scheduled for closure to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. Both the Corps and ODFW have confirmed that the Leaburg Hatchery on the McKenzie River, currently owned by the agency, will be transferred from federal to state ownership in the near future, perhaps as soon as this year. The transfer of ownership will come at no cost to Oregon, other than...
