Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 826 - 850 of 1812
A project first proposed in June came to life last week. Fifty larger-than-life candy canes were be delivered and installed around Blue River just in time for Christmas. "Before the fire, the Blue River community would come together to decorate one of the large trees in town," said McKenzie Valley Long Term Recovery Group Board Member Sarah Koski. "This is our way of helping to bring some of the traditional cheer of the holiday season to the community while they are still working to rebuild and...
Almost three Oregon dozen waterways tested this year have microplastic contamination. They include rivers that flow through the state's biggest urban centers to treasured resources like Clear Lake. The findings are outlined in a new report, released last Monday by the Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center (EORPC), "The results of this study should set off alarms for all Oregonians who love our state's rivers and lakes," said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, state director with EORPC. "The...
BLUE RIVER: Homes for Good (HFG), Lane County's housing agency, has purchased 7.35 acres of the former Lazy Days Mobile Home Park. Located on the north side of the McKenzie Hwy at 52511 McKenzie River Highway, the facility was completely destroyed in September of 2020, when a wildfire ravaged the area. Homes for Good purchased the property on December 6th for $703,800.Rebuilding of the site could start as soon as Spring of 2022 if we are able to secure financial commitments, according to HFG...
BLUE RIVER: The fate of a 47-year-old Blue River man missing since November 2nd remains a mystery. An initial 911 call reported Shane Sprenger was believed to have been in the Blue River Reservoir area, possibly picking mushrooms. The next day, a family member said they‘d been able to talk with him at approximately 7:30 a.m. the next day. At that time, they advised Sprenger told them he’d lost the keys to his truck and needed a ride home. On November 4th. family members found his abandoned silver 2009 GMC Sierra near U.S. Forest Service Rd....
OREGON CASCADES: The Lane County Sheriff’s Office received information Monday morning that five overdue subjects, including a 6-year-old, were missing. The group included 37-year-old Jobee and 33-year-old Renell Baumgardner, their 14-year-old son Caleb, 6-year-old Colton, and 14-year-old Thomas Blanton. The group left the Springfield area Sunday at about 10:30 a.m. to go play in the snow. They planned to return by 8 p.m. The Baumgardners had said that they’d likely be going to the area of HooDoo (On Hwy. 20’s Santiam Pass) or the Salt Creek...
U.S. Forest Service Christmas tree permits are available from local vendors, via phone from a ranger district, or via Recreation.gov. Permits are primarily being sold online at Recreation.gov, Fourth-grade students who have an Every Kid Outdoors pass can apply for a free Christmas Tree permit through the online system with Recreation.gov by entering their voucher or pass number when prompted. Visit the Every Kid Outdoors website at www.everykidoutdoors.gov. Tree permits are not for sale in any...
The winner of Sunday's McKenzie Holiday Light Business Parade was Ike's Pizza in Leaburg designed by Tina, an employee. Runners-up were the Leaburg Fire Station, Craig's Lucky Logger Restaurant, and the Walterville Grange. Despite the rain and cold, about 65 people showed up to enjoy bonfires, hot chocolate, cookies, and lots of other treats, according to McKenzie Chamber of Commerce president Nadine Scott; "The businesses all did a great job of displaying the Holiday Cheer," she said. "And it...
Where two million gallons of water is going remains a mystery for the Blue River Water District. The suspected leak, however, wasn’t behind the water board‘s vote to charge residential customers a $25 monthly fee in addition to $3.50 per thousand gallons for the water they use. Although the missing amount might seem alarming, it’s down a million gallons from a year ago thanks to improvements made to the system. In fact, Blue River isn’t alone, according to Jason Carman, with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation. Carman told the board i...
CLEAR LAKE CUTOFF: An accident last Friday near Milepost 13 sent two people tp hospitals. Oregon State Police reports say a Toyota Yaris traveling eastbound shortly after noon made a quick left turn and was t-boned by an eastbound Chevy Tahoe that was attempting to pass. The driver of the Toyota, 66-year-old David Babb, was transported to St. Charles Hospital in Bend by Lifeflight with serious injuries. A passenger in the Toyota, 68-year-old Penelope Scott of Walterville, was transported by...
With the majority of dangerous trees now removed, plans are moving ahead to invite people back onto the grounds of the Blue River Park. At last week’s meeting of the park’s board of directors, the consensus was to keep vehicles out but let people in - as soon as informational signs are in place. The signs, now on order, are intended to make people aware of newly planted delicate trees and shrubs. On November 6th over 70 volunteers spent the day establishing over a half dozen varieties including Oregon grape, salal, wild roses, and huc...
FALL CREEK: State Representative Dr. Cedric Hayden (R-Fall Creek) announced this week that he will be seeking election to the newly-configured Senate District 6. The district is comprised of many of the Lane County communities Hayden currently represents, including the McKenzie Valley, Cottage Grove, Fall Creek, Oak Ridge, and Creswell. Additionally, the new district adds other Lane County communities like Junction City, Coburg, and Springfield, while also drawing in significant communities in...
THURSTON: For Jen Nimmo, the month that's often been on her mind when looking at a calendar has arrived. Inside her Thurston Pack N' Ship store the reason for her interest in December is clear as a variety of people approach her counter. It's hard to predict what might be inside the packages they're carrying. Quite often it could be a golf bag. Depending on the season, some of the outgoing shipments have included a variety of foodstuffs - like blueberries, salmon, rhubarb, or tuna. "And just the...
How much and how long a severely burned Pacific Northwest mountain landscape stays blanketed in winter snow is a key factor in the return of vegetation, research by Oregon State University and the University of Nevada, Reno shows. "Assessing the Role of Snow Cover for Post-Wildfire Revegetation Across the Pacific Northwest" can be found here. "As wildfire activity continues to increase and intensify in the Northwest, understanding what shapes revegetation on severely burned forested landscapes...
BLUE RIVER: The search is still on for a man missing since November 3rd. According to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office Shane Sprenger, 47, was believed to be picking mushrooms near Blue River Reservoir when he disappeared. That morning, around 7:30 a.m., he told a family member he’d lost the keys to his truck and needed a ride home. Cellphone pings indicated Sprenger had been in the Blue River Reservoir area, but his phone was turned off on November 4th. The next day family members found his...
EUGENE: One of two suspects connected with robberies com-mitted during the Holiday Farm Fire evacuations of 2020 has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. Appearing in Lane County Circuit Court on November 3rd Lorrie Marie Hockerd was convicted of Burglary in the First Degree and sentenced to 30 months prison with 3 years post-prison supervision. She was also convicted of Theft in the First Degree (3 counts) and Mail Theft (2 counts). She was sentenced to 13 months prison on each count of...
VIDA: Over a half-dozen, new homes near the Goodpasture Covered Bridge have been generating a lot of interest, along with false assumptions. "The majority of people who stop in think we're a sales lot," says Steve Shefcheck with a laugh. Instead, the eight factory-fresh manufactured homes he and his wife, Diana, bought are key to the couple's plans to restore some rental options to the McKenzie River area. From the time he was 21 until his mid-40's, Steve owned an insurance agency in...
LEABURG: Operations weren't normal for the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife teams counting salmon at Leaburg Dam this year due to a camera malfunction that lost some of the early data from March. In addition, the fish ladder was shut down a good portion of the summer when fish sorting was underway, causing all the fish to go through the left bank ladder. During June 1st to mid-September, "We passed through somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 wild fish upstream through the fish sorter and were ab...
MARCOLA: Two armed robbery suspects were taken into custody by a Lane County Sheriff's Deputy on Saturday. According to Sheriff's Office reports, the theft victim alerted police at 10:51 a.m. that he'd just been confronted by a man and woman at the Hayden Bridge Boat Landing. The male pointed a handgun at his head and struck him with it. The pair who committed the crime left the location in separate vehicles. The deputy located both suspect vehicles together in Eugene at about 12:16 p.m, near...
LEABURG: What some call "That god awful sound" did its job last Saturday when an emergency alert went out to mobile phones and landlines during a test conducted by McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Lane County Emergency Management, and Central Lane 9-1-1 conducted in the McKenzie Valley area. In addition text messages were also part of the practice exercise. Apparently, it worked, with 1,615 people responding. "Within the first hour after the test, we had more than 1,300 of those responses, According to...
Supporters of the Build Back Better Act are touting the benefits it will bring to families in Oregon and across the country. A number of provisions in the legislation would directly help families, such as extending the Child Tax Credit. The credit went into effect during the last round of pandemic aid from Congress, providing cash directly to families monthly. Loren Naldoza, legislative and communications manager for Neighborhood Partnerships, a housing and economic policy organization in...
After nearly ten months of negotiations, a last-minute agreement last weekend between conservationists and owners of private forest will significantly change Oregon’s 1971 Forest Practices Act and add new protections for sensitive fish and wildlife species on over 10 million acres of private forest land in the state. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced an agreement Sunday, Oct. 31, that she had brokered between private forestry representatives, small forestland owners, conservation leaders, and fishing organizations. The proposal, according to a...
South Dakota foster kids find homes with Native families; a conservative group wants oil and gas reform; rural Pennsylvania residents object to planes flying above tree tops; and poetry debuts to celebrate the land....
MARCOLA: A Marcola woman with a gunshot wound is fighting for her life in a Portland hospital this week. Lane County Sheriff's Office deputies, Oregon State Police backup troopers, and paramedics responded to the 39000 block of Woods Road shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Friday after 911 dispatch received a report from a man advising that a female had been "inflicted with a gunshot wound." Steven Illmann, 57, made the call and reportedly told dispatchers his wife had shot herself. When police arrived...
The flight to rural America could cause housing headaches; better broadband is coming; children's advocates campaign for free school lunch post-pandemic; and a wily turkey escapes the Thanksgiving platter....
