Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Last Friday, May 14th, lawyers representing 70 property owners filed a lawsuit against the Lane Electric Cooperative and Eugene Water & Electric Board seeking damages from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. On Labor Day, the wildfire destroyed approximately 430 homes, killed one resident, and burned 173,393 acres. In their 55-page complaint, the Salem Fire Lawyers group asks for $102,544,945 in restitution based on individual property losses ranging from $250,000 to $2.5 million, as well as twice the...
The US. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making priority funding available for National Scenic Areas and other rural communities that have been devastated by wildfires. In all, $2 million will be made available under the Rural Business Development Grants program for eligible projects in rural communities located on a river or ocean coastline, with priority given to projects on National Scenic Areas impacted by wildland fires. Applications are due July 6, 2021. For more information go to:...
Monthly estimates of available water supply in the Columbia River basin are continuing to drop after a month of record low rainfall in April. Eugene, Portland, and Lewiston, ID, all recorded their driest April on record, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And, in some basin areas, May is also on track for near-record low precipitation. Meanwhile, remaining snowpack across the region is a mixed bag, with much of the region under drought conditions, yet with some...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: People have probably noticed the large, green reflective address signs on many properties along the McKenzie Highway. While they are very helpful for visitors unfamiliar with the area, they're even more important for emergency responders to arrive on site quickly. The Upper McKenzie Rural Fire District Public Education Division is now creating new signs for people who don't have one or had one destroyed in the Holiday Farm Fire. Residents of the rural fire protection district...
WALTERVILLE: The Eugene Water & Electric Board started diverting less water into the Walterville Power Canal last Thursday afternoon. The change was aimed at increasing McKenzie River flows in the bypassed reach of the river to improve fish migration and water quality. Under the utility’s federal operating license, the Walterville hydroelectric project is allowed to divert up to 2,577 cubic feet per second (cfs) into the canal during normal operations. The license requires EWEB to maintain minimum instream flows of 1,000 cfs in the bypassed r...
It was greeted as good news locally when the Lane County deputies assigned to the McKenzie Valley arrested two suspects connected to thefts on fire-impacted properties in January. “The McKenzie District deputies serve the community members in the McKenzie River Valley using a community policing model, which allows deputies to provide enhanced police services in addition to the services they already receive as Lane County residents,” Lane County Sheriff’s Sergeant Carrie Carver said at that time. She added, “This theft was able to be investi...
RAINBOW: "Being born and raised here I've seen a lot of things in the last year and a half that I can't just sit back and watch without stepping up and trying to carve a new path." Those words, Darin Harbick says, are key to his decision to announce plans to become the next governor of Oregon. Some things that triggered his decision include restrictions imposed for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. "I just feel we're losing more and more of our freedoms," Harbick feels. "There are mandates...
May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and the western United States is preparing for an active year. Coming off a severe wildfire season where nine Oregonians were killed and 40,000 were displaced, preventing fires is on the minds of many in the state. Kristin Babbs, president and CEO of Keep Oregon Green, said prevention is key. “Over 70% of Oregon’s wildfires are started by people, and that places the power of prevention squarely in our hands,” Babbs contended. “Public lands saw large crowds...
Lane County's Bridge Crew was busy last week replacing about 80 damaged deck boards throughout the Goodpasture Covered Bridge. Increased traffic there had caused accelerated wear and tear. The work was done to help protect the stringers underneath (which support the bridge deck) and help keep the structure in good repair. (top photo) The other part of the Bridge Crew was busy replacing guardrails along Blue River Road, leading to the Blue River Dam. Existing guardrails there were fire-damaged...
Since 1978 McKenzie River Reflections has been focused on serving the McKenzie River Valley’s nine unincorporated communities - for local news and information on area activities, recreation resources and history. Originally produced using a typewriter to set copy that was then waxed onto layout sheets, production methods advanced to Compugraphic typesetters in the following decade and computer/laser output soon after. In 2013 the newspaper’s first website was created as an expanded platform opt...
U.S. Forest Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) remains closed to through traffic entering the area off Hwy. 126 due to a rockslide. McKenzie River Ranger District officials say the cliff adjacent to Road 19 has a high risk of falling rocks and debris that pose a danger to public safety. Terwilliger Hot Springs, also known as Cougar Hot Springs, is still accessible from the Westfir side where snow in the Box Canyon area was cleared. Because the drive from Westfir to Terwilliger Hot Springs is nearly a...
LEABURG LAKE: After five days of helping build a McKenzie River drift boat, Tom Clawson says he still has a steep learning curve ahead. He tells people he expects it will be, “Like learning to drive, but in a Ferrari.” It’s not that Tom is unfamiliar with maneuvering his way through stretches of whitewater. After all, he’s been a professional river guide for 25 years. The difference is his prior time came at the oars of larger inflatable rafts. He, like the others who signed up for Oregon...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The public is being asked to comment on plans aimed at dealing with overcrowding at the Tamolitch Falls/Blue Pool area of the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail. Under consideration are projects that call for the trail to Tamolitch Pool to be re-routed from the west to the east side of the river by decommissioning approximately two miles of trail and constructing approximately three new miles of trail. In addition, Tamolitch Pool would be closed to all swimming to protect...
The Blue River Post Office, destroyed in the Holiday Farm Fire, resumed normal operations on Monday with Postmaster Henry Brown manning the front desk. A planned Grand Opening and ribbon cutting ceremony had to be delayed after Lane County went back to Extreme COVID related restrictions last week. The office is now open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m, with a half hour lunch break at noon, five days a week. The lobby area is open for Post Office box holders 24 hours a day, seven days a...
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The McKenzie River Ranger District has a number of projects up for consideration for the future, ranging from work along Deer Creek to improvements at the Clear Lake Resort. At Deer Creek the project calls for re-routing the McKenzie River Trail out of the floodplain, using the 761-spur road and a installing new hiking bridge over the McKenzie River. It would also involve placement of boulders in strategic locations to protect riparian/wetland resources and limit vehicle access. Along Forest Service Roads 1501 and 1500104...
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more. "We need to use all available tools to get 100% of us connected in this country and this program is an essential part of making that happen." Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel The Emergency Broadband Benefit will...
"This is going to be directly infused into the community on the fire department's behalf," said Upper McKenzie Fire Chief Rainbow Plews. She was commenting after accepting a $150,000 check to help rebuild after the Holiday Farm Fire. "We are going to be looking at a long-term recovery effort starting with land acquisition in Blue River to start a new station," Plews added. "We lost everything there and this is going to go directly to that effort." The money was part of what Lane County agencies...
The Vida McKenzie Community Center is putting its fundraising efforts in high gear by inviting locals and “not so locals” to support the VMCC’s efforts to rebuild after the Holiday Farm Fire. From now until May 1st, people can order Butter Braids for $14. What does the money buy? According to organizers Gerry Aster, Walt Wilson, Tammy Pelton, Sherry Jones, Kim Esser or Kelly Gustafson you’ll receive a frozen pastry to rise at home, then bake and feed up to twenty people. The patries come in various flavors and can last in a freezer for up to s...
With juvenile chinook and sockeye salmon, as well as juvenile steelhead, beginning their migration from the Northwest tributaries and hatcheries, but with very low water in the river due to a late spring runoff, salmon managers have asked for augmentation flows. The managers asked hydro operators at the April 21st, interagency Technical Management Team meeting to raise flows from Chief Joseph Dam, just downstream of Grand Coulee, to 90,000 cubic feet per second beginning Monday, April 26th, through Saturday, May 2nd, to ensure the speedy outmig...
SANTIAM PASS: Snow, ice and poor rock were blamed for trapping a man attempting to scale the South Sister last Monday. According to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, the 49-year-old Beaverton man was climbing alone up the north side of the South Sister when he found himself in a precarious location. Stephen Lamb told the 911 operator he was unable to either continue up and or climb back down the mountain. Snow, ice and poor rock were preventing him from move away from a small ledge in very...
FINN ROCK: A 33-year-old Portland man was arrested last Friday after Oregon State Police and Lane County deputies were dispatched to McKenzie High School when a stolen vehicle was reported nearby. After an OSP Trooper cleared the area, he was contacted by school staff who had reviewed security footage and noticed the adult male associated with the stolen vehicle had earlier entered the main hallway of the building. Several staff members also reported seeing the subject wandering around the...
FINN ROCK: Students from McKenzie School District have partnered with Sheds of Hope, Lane Education Service District, and Northwest Youth Corps to build replacement sheds for people who lost a structure in the Holiday Farm Fire. The students will earn graduation credit in math and fine arts (construction). Now, nine students are working on the 8-foot x 8 foot sheds assembled as kits at the McKenzie River Community School shop. When completed, the sheds will be delivered to a property site for...
Groups are urging Northwest leaders to act on U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson's infrastructure and Snake River dam proposal. The plan would breach the four lower Snake River dams to help salmon, whose numbers have dwindled for years. It aims to restore what American Rivers calls in a report out this week, "the most endangered river in the country." Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, said Northwest lawmakers are in leadership positions in Congress and the Biden administration...
EUGENE: In a five to zero vote last week, the Lane County Board of Commissioners moved to not collect permit fees for people rebuilding after the Holiday Farm Fire. The fee waivers will be in effect for five years. In explaining the waiver program, Land Management Divis-ion manager Keir Miller said, “The permits that would be waived would include all building permits, including electrical inspections, mechanical permits, anything associated with replacement of a dwelling, as well as associated septic permits for on site sanitation systems t...
“I’m feeling fantastic,” was Richard Hiatt;s reaction shortly after getting his second dose of the pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. He added that, “I’m pretty excited to be able to come to my own community to get it,” after having to go to Eugene initially to get his first shot. Julie Felix, a retired RN working at the Finn Rock site said, “This was a great opportunity to put my nursing skills to work again.” She and her husband, also a retired nurse and a Search & Rescue member both volunteers, alo...
