Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 951 - 975 of 1818
THe Tokatee Golf Club issued this statement today: After much thought, we have made the decision to cancel the Firework Show tonight. We still will be celebrating! Come on out for food trucks, a beer garden and live music from @benruemusic...
RAINBOW: Readers and library supporters are invited for a ceremony when the ribbon for a temporary replacement for the O’Brien Memorial Library is cut on July 5th, at 1 p.m. People are invited for a tour of the newly remodeled space, and sample light refreshments, There will also be opportunities to choose from extra books to keep, check out other volumes from the library and learn how to use the computers to access books for personal use or making copies. Organizers say there will be a small b...
A group of private timberland owners decided on Monday to close public access to their lands. Seneca, Lone Rock Resources, Giustina Resources, Campbell Global, and Giustina Land & Timber Company combined own around 600,000 acres, in Western Oregon. With drought conditions and above-average temperatures, Oregon is already experiencing a bad fire season. The number of fires so far this year is already 1.5 times higher than the 10-year average, and the acreage affected has been more than four times greater than the ten year average. The landowners...
Five federal closure areas were announced this week by the U.S. Forest Service, that include all developed recreation sites, roads, and trails within the areas, except: Forest Roads 15, 19, 1900410, 2618, 2618305, and 1510, as well as the Bruckart Bridge Boat landing. The boundary for Closure Area 1 begins at mile marker 40 of Highway 126, south of the McKenzie River. It follows the National Forest System (NFS) land boundary south, then east, then south, then northeast then back south. The...
The Willamette National Forest is moving to HIGH fire danger level today. Unattended campfires are likely to escape and fires may spread rapidly. Please use extreme caution with fire and extinguish all fires with water until they are cold to the touch. Public use restrictions may change quickly....
A pair of unlikely partners agree on at least one thing: two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydroelectric projects in the Willamette River basin should no longer generate power. The Native Fish Society and the Public Power Council now say that deauthorizing the dams' requirement to produce power would help restore fisheries in the basin and could reduce Bonneville Power Administration wholesale power rates. The PPC, which represents community-owned customers of the Bonneville Power Administration...
It’s going to be a scorcher out there, and fish will be feeling the heat, too. Fish early in the day when water temperatures are cooler. * Look for trout in deep, high elevation lakes or shaded streams near headwaters. These places are often cooler. More tips on the high lakes fishing * Warmwater fishing is also a good choice right now, see ODFW’s guide https://myodfw.com/articles/warmwater-fishing-oregon-introduction * Use your judgment. If conditions, where you want to fish, seem especially severe (low, hot water), consider fishing som...
Historic heat forecasted for Lane County this weekend may degrade air quality. The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) expects higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, or smog, around the Eugene/Springfield metro area. Air quality may reach levels of 'Moderate' and potentially 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' on the Air Quality Index. "Lane County is fortunate we don't have the ozone concern that more densely populated portions of the Willamette Valley do," said LRAPA spokesperson...
The 2021 session of the Oregon legislature voted to approve more than $600 million for communities impacted by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. In the McKenzie River area, six grant requests were endorsed for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and General Fund (GF) monies. They include: $903,520 GF to McKenzie Fire & Rescue for a Disaster Relief Logistics Center $2,100,000 GF to the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District for facility and equipment replacement $325,000 ARPA to the Eugene Water...
With a combined timberland acreage of around 600,000 acres, a group of private timberland owners consisting of Seneca, Lone Rock Resources, Giustina Resources, Campbell Global, and Giustina Land & Timber Company, closed public access to their lands today, June 28th. Due to drought conditions, and above-average temperatures, Oregon is already experiencing a bad fire season. The number of fires so far this year is already 1.5 times higher than the 10-year average, and the acreage affected has been more than four times greater than the 10-year...
LEABURG: Utility rates and the fate of a dewatered canal proved to be on the minds of people who showed up for last Wednesday's Eugene Water & Electric Board meeting. Answers to the questions they asked may take some time. Water was drained from the Leaburg canal in late 2018. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it can't be refilled until safety-related leaks are repaired. "Based on cost estimates it's abundantly clear that the investment required in terms of canal...
MCKENZIE PASS: The McKenzie Highway (OR 242) is now open for the season. It opened at 8 a.m. on June 21st. The Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) advises people to contact either the Willamette or Deschutes National Forests to learn about the status of campgrounds, trailheads, and other facilities. The Old McKenzie Highway closes annually from mid-November to mid-June. The earliest opening is the third Monday in June. Some years, that date may be later, depending on weather and road...
FINN ROCK: Lane County officials came with good news but had to field a number of complaints when they spoke at a public meeting last Wednesday. On the good news front was the passage of Oregon Senate Bill 405, according to the county's planning director, Amber Bell. Sponsored by senators Prozanski and Girod, the bill applies to property owners who want to replace a "non-conforming" structure that had been destroyed in a wildfire. "What it means is if the structure was built lawfully but at...
An international field of runners will be returning to McKenzie Community Track on June 22nd at 7:30 pm PDT for an event dubbed, "the McKenzie International." Through a partnership between Portland Track and Project OVERCOME, a US Ignite-funded program, the meet will be streamed live on the portlandtrack.com website for $5.99. Net proceeds from the event will be donated to McKenzie Track and the Oregon Community Foundation, Community Rebuilding Fund, to help restore Blue River's local community...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is launching a new program and accepting applications for grants to improve rural economic development by helping rural communities create high-wage jobs and accelerate the formation of businesses. The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Program is intended to help economically distressed rural communities identify and maximize local assets, support workforce development, spur job creation, and connect to regional networks and...
The McKenzie Highway (OR 242) is now open for the season. It opened at 8 a.m. on June 21. The Oregon Dept. of Transportation advises people to contact either the Willamette or Deschutes National Forests to learn about the status of campgrounds, trailheads, and other facilities. The Old McKenzie Highway closes annually from mid-November to mid-June. The earliest opening is the third Monday in June. Some years, that date may be later, depending on weather and road conditions. ODOT posts signs and...
VIDA: The Goodpasture Covered Bridge, one of the most iconic in Lane County has been fixed. During an inspection earlier this year workers discovered spots of rot in the stringers that support that the wooden roadway inside the structure. They then moved quickly to come up with a plan for repairs. The process included cutting through the deck at night to remove the rotten beams, placing and securing new supports, and replace the deck planks. "Our team worked quickly and they were able to open...
As recovery work continues from last year’s record fire season, federal land managers and fire, fuels and aviation officials in the Pacific Northwest say they are concerned, but well-prepared, for the 2021 season. The 2021 fire season is busy, already. Crews had responded to nearly 600 fires by the end of May, compared to 396 at that time last year, and 271 by the same point in 2017. Prescribed fire is increasingly important in reducing risk to natural resources and communities. During the cooler weather months, fire and fuels managers worked c...
With the recent designation as a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a grant from the Chamber of Commerce, the McKenzie Community Communications (MCC) group says it’s ready to move forward. In April the MCC took over a free access public wifi spot in Rainbow that had been established by volunteers from the Oregon Internet Response (OIR) team after the Holiday Farm Fire. “Thanks the McKenzie Chamber, we’re now planning to set up another public access site in Blue River or McKenzie Bridge,” according to MCC president Ken Engelma...
BLUE RIVER: "Today is truly a special delivery day for Blue River. And in true Oregon fashion, it doesn't happen by osmosis." With those introductory words Ron Wyden went on to congratulate both community members and the U.S. Postal Service, saying he, "Put my stamp of approval on this very special occasion." Wyden, Oregon's senior U.S. Senator, was speaking at Last Wednesday's dedication ceremony of the Blue River Post Office, which burned in 2020. Also speaking from the dais was Senator Jeff...
“I’m very thankful to the McKenzie Chamber of Commerce for approving my request for a grant to help the Indigo Cafe rise from the ashes.” Cafe owner Linda Chmiel said the $3,000 will allow her, “To begin the process of getting the Cafe up and running so that I can continue to serve this community and its visitors healthy, delicious food.” Chmiel wasn’t alone in getting good news last week as the McKenzie Chamber announced the first round of dispersing $35,000 worth of economic recovery aid. The money was part of what Lane County received vi...
Tuesday, June 15, is the final day for outdoor burning for most Lane County residents until October. The spring burning season, which runs from March 1 to June 15, will conclude as scheduled. Yard debris may not be burned during the closed season. However, removing overgrown vegetation is important work to defend against wildfires. Lane Forest Products, Rexius, or Lane County’s transfer stations and dumpsites are resources available to the community to dispose of debris. Composting and chipping are also encouraged. LRAPA has published a f...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is accepting applications for grants from qualified nonprofits and tribes to create loan funds to help rural homeowners finance household water and septic systems. The Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program does not provide funding directly to individual homeowners. Instead, qualified nonprofits and tribal lending institutions may use the grants to establish revolving loan funds that provide affordable loans to homeowners that...
COUGAR LAKE: Forest Service Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) remains closed to thru traffic near milepost 52 due to continued safety hazards. The cliff adjacent to the road has not yet been stabilized and rocks are continuing to break loose. Please respect the closures, as it is dangerous to be near this actively shifting area - rocks as large as two feet in diameter have fallen on the road. Contractors will complete rock bolting and install a rockfall mesh to safely reopen the roadway, which is...
