Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 901 - 925 of 1818
discuss the Oregon Legislature’s proposed voting maps closed this week. After receiving detailed census data in August, lawmakers released their recommended redistricting maps on September 3rd. They began holding virtual public meetings in the state’s five current Congressional districts last Wednesday, with two scheduled for each district through Monday., followed by a statewide meeting that day. Precious Edmonds, advocacy director for We Draw Oregon, pointed out people of color have seen the...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Organizers of the annual McKenzie River Trail Run faced triple threats this year that could have lead to cancellation of the event. Hurdles to overcome included increased safety requirements related to a rise in COVID infections, closure of half the planned route due to a wildfire near Deer Creek and poor air quality because of intense smoke infusions from other fires. Luckily, on the Friday before last Saturday's race, there was good news. "Despite all odds MRTR 2021 is a go!"...
Last Thursday, Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch (District 5) filed to run for a second term representing the East Lane County district. As Chair of the County Commission in 2020, Buch led Lane County's response to crises on multiple fronts. Through the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating Holiday Farm Fires, Buch notes she ensured her East Lane County district received critical CARES Act and American Rescue Plan funding. She worked with two simultaneous emergency operations centers, and pa...
Wildfire season has obvious effects on air quality outside, but hidden impacts on air quality also are lurking inside some homes. Environmental and health groups - as well as the Oregon Health Authority - are warning about burning natural gas inside, such as from gas stoves. The Oregon Environmental Council's Environmental Health Program Director Jamie Pang-South said cooking with fossil-fuel-based gas appliances releases nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and small particulate matter....
Lawsuits stall debt relief for America's Black farmers; Idaho hospitals using "critical care" protocols; grant money boosts rural towns in Utah and more conservation acreage could protect the iconic sage grouse....
CAMP CREEK: Just before 10 p.m. on September 6th, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office responded to a physical dispute in the 37000 block of Camp Creek Road. Family members had called police after 59-year-old Robert Gutierrez struck another family member. They also said Gutierrez had a gun and other residents of the property said they felt they were unable to leave safely. During a phone call, a deputy made contact with at least one of the family members and developed probable cause that Gutierrez had committed crimes including Menacing, U...
Monday night, September 6, the McKenzie Community came together, impressively, to commemorate the Holiday Farm Fire which burned and overturned our beautiful River Valley and lives. The procession of around 50 emergency and personal vehicles and over one hundred residents, staged at the old Rustic Skillet and Harbick's Country Inn parking lots, just East of where the Fire allegedly first ignited. At 8:30 p.m., around the time last year's Fire started down our Valley, the procession headed west,...
CLEAR LAKE: Volunteers from the Colorado-based HistoriCorps and the Northwest Youth Corps have been busy as summer winds down, restoring a historic picnic shelter at the headwaters of the McKenzie River. Details on the structure date back to the 1910’s, when two companies were competing to build a hydropower site in the area. Although the Forest Service revoked that permit some cabins and outbuildings near the lake were constructed in preparation for the project. During the Great Depression, t...
When is a joke not a joke? When it's a video hoax showing farmers lawn-mowing under crops; young people in Maine are making bank through apprenticeship programs; curbing brain drain in Indiana; and movies that move the environmental justice conversation....
VIDA: Crews from Oregon Woods are taking advantage of clear skies to do work aimed at upgrading the condition of the second longest covered bridge in Oregon. The 237 foot long Goodpasture Covered Bridge was constructed in 1938 at a cost of $13,154. The upgrades now underway will total $641,000. Officials say current construction activity will repair damage to trusses and the roof from both the snow storm of a couple years back that stressed the roof trusses, as well as some issues from the...
"I felt it was a great honor to be asked, and I have always believed that public art has the power to bring people together, and this seemed like a really good opportunity for that potential," explains Jud Turner, a Eugene sculptor invited last winter to create a sculpture for the McKenzie River community by a coalition of groups - McKenzie River Development Council, Love for Lane County and the Arts and Business Alliance of Eugene. Working with people who live in Blue River, Turner says...
Since 2019, Chief Bucich and McKenzie Fire & Rescue have been seeking alternate water sources as some of their regular draft sites became unusable. One solution that came up repeatedly is the strategic placement of water tanks throughout the fire district, especially in areas ways of getting down to the river is limited. The result was a decision to construct holding tanks. The tanks, which hold 15,000 gallons of water, are gravity fed, and designed to be used with minimal personnel, leaving cri...
A new report identifies some of the most ecologically important rivers in Oregon (including the South Fork McKenzie). Conservation Science Partners looked at 54,000 miles of unprotected rivers and streams in Oregon, highlighting watersheds with outstanding water quality, recreational value and that support rare or at-risk species. More than 5,700 river miles were in the range of at least 30 aquatic Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Caitlin Littlefield, lead scientist for Conservation Science Partners, said many rivers are under threat as...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The 544-acre lightning-caused Knoll Fire, located seven miles northeast of McKenzie Bridge was reported as 60% contained this week. Officials say the fire is staying within containment lines, as fire crews continue mopping up and monitoring the fire. Due to fire impacts and safety hazards, four miles of the McKenzie River Trail will be closed until summer of 2022, and possibly longer. The area extends from the Blue Pool/Tamolitch Falls Trailhead south to Deer Creek. The trail...
Work is nearly complete in the first phase of restoration work at the McKenzie River Trust's Finn Rock Reach. The area includes dozens of acres where gravels and large wood sections were added to mimic the effect a big flood could have had on wetlands and stream-side channels before upstream dams were built. The project was designed to benefit threatened and endangered salmon, who use this area for spawning and rearing. To follow progress online, go to: alturl.com/34amm....
Greater buffer zones around bodies of water and more consistent enforcement of water protection regulations are needed to reduce agriculture-based pollution in the Western U.S., a recent review from Oregon State University found. The OSU paper, "Agricultural Effects on Streams and Rivers: A Western USA Focus," reviewed more than 40 case studies on the impacts of agriculture on water quality. Specifically, researchers looked at studies that related agricultural management practices to aquatic...
RAINBOW: First responders from the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District quickly responded last Thursday to the report of a single vehicle accident, with entrapment, at 54947 McKenzie Hwy. According to Lane County Sheriff's Office reports, the driver, 72-year-old Akkiva Vonmendelssohn of Blue River, reportedly fell asleep and struck a guardrail at 3:18 p.m. A witness told investigators that the vehicle had been traveling eastbound at approximately 50 mph prior to the crash....
"The fire isn't completely out until it's black and it's cold," explained Randy Johnson during Monday night's online briefing on fires burning on federal lands near McKenzie Bridge and Oakridge. Johnson, Incident Commander for the Knoll Fire and Middle Fork Fire Complex, told onlookers that the recent clearer weather and winds associated with it were some things firefighters welcomed. The clearer skies provided opportunities to observe fire activities from the air. "It showed us where the fire...
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package recently approved by the U.S. Senate includes a $2.855 billion investment in salmon recovery and ecosystem restoration programs, as well as tens of billions of dollars allocated for water infrastructure. The bill, which has moved on to the U.S. House of Representatives, awaits decisions on final passage this fall. Language in the Senate version includes $1 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a new program aimed at removing,...
EUGENE: Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) and Seneca have announced that SPI plans to acquire Seneca and affiliates, combining two complementary, family-owned forest products businesses with strong historical roots on the West Coast. Founded in 1953, Seneca operates a 175,000-acre sustainably-managed tree farm, sawmills, and a biomass plant in Oregon. SPI, a leading lumber producer that manages over 2.1 million acres of timberland in California and Washington, as well as manufacturing millwork, windows, and renewable energy. Spokesmen for the...
The 2020 Community Rebuilding Fund, a collaborative effort led by the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) in partnership with Meyer Memorial Trust, The Ford Family Foundation and American Red Cross, announced today $4,439,256 in grants to support 40 organizations throughout the eight Oregon counties ravaged by fires. Locally organizations receiving money include $105,000 to the non-profit McKenzie Community Communications group to build a GMRS repeater network and distribute radios that will...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The Knoll Fire, located off Highway 126 to the north/northeast of McKenzie Bridge, was ignited by lightning around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. By Tuesday it had grown to over 59 acres. Officials report firefighters supported by aerial resources are utilizing a combination of constructed fire lines, existing roads, and natural features to limit the spread of the fire. Crews have been reinforcing containment lines by burning vegetation between the fire line and active fire. There are...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The Eugene Water & Electric Board's rebuild of the salmon spawning channel just below Trail Bridge Dam is nearly complete. On Monday utility staff began releasing water into the channel. It was expected the rewatering process would create some minor turbidity in the upper McKenzie River that some people could be concerned it could be related to the two sinkholes discovered at Trail Bridge Dam in June. "That work has been completed and thankfully didn't result in a significant...
The Willamette National Forest has released its Danger Tree Decision Memo and will begin to implement its roadside danger tree reduction project on the McKenzie River, Detroit, and Sweet Home Ranger Districts. The project focuses on improving safety and access to Forest System roads within areas affected by the unprecedented 2020 wildfires. The documents are available for download from the Willamette National Forest website at: https://go.usa.gov/xFNwp. More information about how fires weaken...
