Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 1812
WALTERVILLE: The Eugene Water & Electric Board plans to start generating electricity from the Walterville Hydro plant as soon as possible, “but we need to ensure it is done safely and by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) dam safety requirements.,” according to utility communications specialist Adam Spencer. EWEB dewatered the Walterville Canal in February after receiving an automated alert from a water seepage monitor. The detector, near the Walterville Powerhouse, monitor...
Oregon is in the upper echelon when it comes to the number of women in higher office. Four of the five statewide elected positions in the state are held by women, including Tina Kotek in the governor’s office. It is a rare achievement. Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics, said the national average for women in statewide elected offices is about one in three. However, the number of women in the top positions in Oregon is guaranteed to go down in November, with m...
Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan reports that on Sunday, September 1st, dispatch received a report of an injured backpacker at Duffy Lake. The patient was a 16-year-old male from Portland who sustained a broken leg. The patient’s mother had sent a nearby backpacker to hike out and call 911. The good Samaritan made it to Maxwell Butte Sno-Park and contacted Linn County Dispatch at 4 p.m. Duncan said the Linn County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (SAR) immediately began to mobilize a ground...
VIDA: Passports affirming visits to over 40 countries have helped Tiff and Scott Haugen record some memorable moments. Both spent years as teachers in Alaska and Indonesia - before settling down where they grew up - in Walterville. Both have shared their experiences in books and videos since then, developing full-time careers in the outdoor industry. Last Saturday, Scott detailed some of the action behind the scenes of those stories during a slide show at the Vida McKenzie Community Center....
As Oregon heads into another hot weekend, Oregon House Republicans are calling on the state Legislature to reform forest management and logging policies they say would prevent large fires from starting and spreading. In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican Reps. Jeff Helfrich of Hood River, Ed Diehl of Stayton, and E. Werner Reschke of Klamath Falls said lawmakers should roll back regulations and conservation plans to allow more logging on state forests, limit liabilities for volunteer...
LEABURG: “Our goal is to educate several generations to become stewards of the river,” was the message Gene Jones delivered at the August meeting of the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce. He went on to explain that the McKenzie River Discovery Center (MRDC) would not only be “an education destination but also a stepping stone for economic development.” Located on the curve around Leaburg Lake, proponents of the MRDC received good news last Monday when the county okayed a special use permit...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reminding people their Willamette Valley reservoirs are once again asking for your (emotional) support – they miss you and want to see you. According to the Portland District’s chief of reservoir regulation and water quality (so, basically, the smartest person in our district when it comes to reservoirs), the Willamette Valley reservoir levels are “fantastic” this year for recreation while also meeting objectives for endangered species-listed fish. And, th...
Visitors encouraged to stay safe, avoid wildfire areas and campfires Grab your bow for big game as the archery season for deer and elk began on Saturday, August 31st, in the Willamette National Forest. Some popular hunting areas are near wildfires with closure areas that will affect the hunting season. There are fire-related closures in place that primarily impact the Santiam Unit (16), the McKenzie Unit (19), and the Indigo Unit (21). Some roads and sites also remain closed from past wildfires...
Oregonians are likely to see more money back on their state tax returns in 2026 as tax revenues continue to exceed forecasters’ expectations. The state’s latest quarterly economic forecast, released Wednesday, anticipates a personal income tax “kicker” of $987 million. Oregon’s unique kicker law requires that when the income tax payments are at least 2% higher than budgeted, the excess revenue is sent back to taxpayers. Meanwhile, lawmakers are expected to have $676 million more available...
The federal government will move ahead with plans to kill tens of thousands of barred owls in Washington, Oregon and California to protect threatened spotted owls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a decision on Wednesday to adopt a controversial barred owl management strategy that calls for lethal removal of the birds by shooting them with shotguns and, in some cases, capturing and euthanizing them. Barred owls are native to the eastern U.S. but began expanding their range in the...
BLUE RIVER: Over 650 firefighters are using firelines to control the spread of the 3,000-acre Ore Fire. On Tuesday, the fire was 25 percent contained. Despite a little over 3/4 of an inch of rainfall recorded at the Cougar Dam weather station last week, officials say pockets of heat from dense fuels remain within the fire interior and increased fire behavior will be possible as skies clear, temperatures rise, and humidities drop, causing fuels to begin to dry. A slow warming/drying trend is...
EUGENE: Supporters have described it as “potentially the most technologically advanced waste processing facility in the country.” Opponents, though, say the $150,000,000 waste sorting facility is “a massive project that will increase costs of living for all Lane County residents.” At issue is the CleanLane Resource Recovery Facility (previously known as IMERF) the county plans to build in Goshen. An August 20th Lane County Board of Commissioners’ vote to approve it was a replay of December...
With climate change driving hotter, drier summers across the West, the intensity of recent fire seasons is outpacing workers’ ability to track and analyze fires with traditional methods. “There simply aren’t enough boots on the ground, or eyes in pairs of binoculars to cover the base and the extent of what we’ve been dealing with and that’s been true across the western U.S. and the world,” said Sarvesh Garimella, the chief scientist and chief technical officer at weather app MyRadar. Ho...
After last year’s success, they had to do it again. The Army Corps Of Engineers has released its 2024 giant Cats and Infrastructure calendar. Last year it was an internet sensation, going beyond being viral to being featured on TV talk shows. This year they decided to time the release of their calendar with National Cat Day and it appears to have a gentler approach, compared to last year, when giant cats appeared to be trying to destroy infrastructure. Also new to this year is a dog calendar. T...
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,...
