Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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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...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Details of the U.S. Forest Service’s Tamolitch Draft Decision Notice and Final Environmental Analysis is now up for review. Details of the propopsal include constructed a 3-acre parking lot with 100 spaces. Also in the plan are construction of 4 vault toilets and re-routing 2 miles of the McKenzie River Trail to the east side of the river, including 2 footbridges over stream crossings. A toilet would also be placed at the Tamolitch pool site, along with 400 linear feet of stone barriers. Details of the Draft Decision Notice, EA...
BLUE RIVER: In March of 2021 the Oregon Business Magazine named Orchid Health 29th on its list of the “100 Best Places to Work in Oregon.” The data came from confidential surveys of employees who ranked various aspects of their organizations. As the year came to a close, readers of River Reflections voted Orchid Health’s McKenzie River Clinic as their choice for the Valley’s “Business of the Year.” A flurry of posts on social media this week, though, have been critical of the local clinic’s operations. Some of the harsher comments have...
PORTLAND: Engineers and planners are considering major changes that may impact the continued operations and maintenance of the 13 dams in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Willamette Valley System. As part of developing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the Corps is planning a virtual information session. Prior to the meetings, people can view a virtual room, which contains videos, digital boards, slides and maps that describe the purpose of the EIS and the National Environmental Policy...
LEABURG: On January 6th, at 4:57 p.m., McKenzie Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a house fire just west of Leaburg. Upon their arrival, personnel observed flames coming from the southwest corner of the residence. Based on the alarm details crew members knew there was a high potential that the caller was still inside. The property had several down trees which completely blocked any driveway access, forcing firefighters to use the eastbound lane of Highway 126 for their initial attack. The first crew on scene was able to locate the caller inside...
WALTERVILLE: An out of the ordinary call from the Walterville School last Thursday morning drew McKenzie Fire & Rescue Chief Bucich and Deputy Chief Bart Thompson to the the Walterville School. Springfield Schools District personnel had pumps in place, attempting to divert the water. The fire depatment added two more pumps, then brought more from the Leaburg and Walterville stations. The primary source came from the Twin Firs Road area and one pump redirected that water back into Potter Creek. The others were used to redirect the water that...
For the second year in a row - Melanie Stanley Brite has received the most votes as the Woman of the Year for her continuing contributions. "Mel has been there for us all in the troubling times of attempting to rebuild," was the way one nomination read. Another thanked her for, "Always being there." Each year, The Lane Council of Governments celebrates regional accomplishments for the prior year and recognizes elected officials, public employees, citizens, intergovernmental teams, economic...
BLUE RIVER: The Jones family (owners of the Seneca Family of Companies) has donated 16-acres of land for community rebuilding and revitalization after the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. Blue River community members have asked the McKenzie River Trust to conduct the due diligence needed to accept the donation of land, to be the interim holder of the property, and to manage it while a regional visioning and planning process moves forward. In response to the Jones family's offer to donate the land this pa...
"I'm amazed at all he does," was how the first vote we received started out. "He's a lot older than I am but I look up to the man as a source of inspiration," it continued. Like the other award winners this year, "Walt" too has been on the recovery road after his home and beloved Vida McKenzie Community Center burned. "When you look around you can see him continuing to volunteer with the Bottle Boys, getting the Neighborhood Watch up running again and being part of public meetings," was part of...
Fairly new to the area, the Orchid Health Clinic was wiped out when the leased building that housed their exam rooms and office burned to the ground in Blue River. Nearly 80% of Orchid Health staff had to evacuate, and Dr. Tia Cloke's home burned too. "Tia lost her home but chose to move back upriver and live in an RV for the past year so she could provide care for her patients," a supporter noted. Soon after the fire, Orchid's staff was able to set up makeshift quarters inside the Rustic...
5 was the third year of the restoration work for the volunteer based Friends of the Santiam Pass Ski Lodge (FSPSL), despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year a fully commercial electric system was installed, further structural issues were repaired, windows sashes and jambs were restored, and siding work was initiated. Significant funding was procured , which organizers say puts them in a position to begin other work early in 2022. In early April. according to the FSPSL...
Lisa Charpilloz-Hanson learns best out in the field, which is how the new director of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board found herself, first month on the job, standing over a bridge in Tillamook watching salmon and steelhead swim upstream. In her new role, Charpilloz-Hanson now has a hand in how to spend $170 million each year for projects that improve fish and wildlife habitat across Oregon’s waterways. The money, issued in grants, comes from state lottery profits, the sale of salmon l...
The Holiday Farm Fire burned more than 175,000 acres in and around the McKenzie River Valley in September 2020, displacing more than 1,000 residents and destroying 464 homes, notes Lane County's Disaster Recovery Manager Matt McRae. In a report released last week McRae reported more than 135 wildfire survivors are still sheltered in hotels in Eugene, and less than half of affected property owners have begun rebuilding. "In short, there are hundreds of survivors still dealing with very difficult...
EUGENE: A federal court approved this month details on the “how” of fish passage, drawdowns and spill designed to aid salmon and steelhead passage at Willamette River dams, even as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing a new environmental impact statement for the agency’s 13 Willamette Valley Project dams. Although it has filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Corps already is complying with the U.S. District Court’s injunction for the interim actions that the agency is to initiate while it is completing the EIS...
