Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Oregon taxpayers have spent tens of thousands of dollars paying senators who are participating in the GOP-led Senate walkout. And their salaries and per diem are just part of the cost of the stalled session. Since May 3, most Republican senators and an Independent senator have boycotted Senate floor sessions, denying the upper chamber its two-thirds majority needed to conduct business. Senators face no financial consequences for failing to show up for floor sessions: They get paid their salary...
The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who posted highly classified documents on social media should not have received a top-secret security clearance or any security clearance based on his terrible background. He discussed violence and murder and the use of an assassination van on social media. He also looked up mass shootings and government standoffs on his government computer. He was suspended from high school for discussing the use of Molotov cocktails and other weapons and making racial threats. Why didn’t an FBI background check, w...
Each April Fools’ Day, you might brace yourself for tricks from friends and family and on social media. With all the swirling in our information universe, it can start to feel like April Fools’ Day all year long. The skills you use each April 1 can be used year-round to fight the onslaught of junk media content in our media-saturated world. If you are feeling overwhelmed by your daily dose of media, even when it’s not April 1, know you aren’t alone. This is a longstanding challenge of navigating the environment created by a free press. George...
The results of this election and the renewal of the Lane County Public Safety Levy show that this community remains committed to our safety. I am very thankful that Lane County residents recognize the need for a functional jail system including local jail beds to help hold those accused of violent and dangerous crime accountable. Renewal of this levy will allow the Lane County Jail to continue to operate with a minimum of 255 local jail beds, as well as 8 youth detention beds and 8 youth treatment beds at Lane County Youth Services. Renewal of...
Many veterans struggle with substance use and mental health disorders, often leading to overdose and suicide. On Memorial Day, millions of Americans will take time to honor the memory of those men and women who lost their life while serving in the U.S. military. Outside of this day, we must never forget the veterans who lost the battle against addiction and mental illness and the many more who are still struggling. Fortunately, there are supports and ways families can help. In Oregon are over 280,000 veterans. Most of these vets are wartime vet...
When then meets now. The morning of May 21, 1998, seemed like most others. Inside the Whitewater Cafe in Blue River, the regulars had ordered their regulars, and the small talk was flowing. Until someone said, “Turn that up.” Those words came from someone pointing to the black and white TV screen in the cafe. On it was an image with the words, “Thurston, Oregon.” At first, all of us were bemused to see a local place appearing on a national TV network. But our bemusement was quickly dashed - turning to horror and disbelief. What we were watchin...
Small businesses play a critical role in creating jobs, driving economic growth, and contributing to the overall well-being of rural communities. In many areas, they are the backbone of the local economy, providing essential goods and services. Spring offers a good reminder of the importance of these entrepreneurs’ contributions, with National Small Business Week, Small Business Month, and other recognitions celebrated in May. For consumers, it’s a great time to research what’s available in their community, instead of hitting the road to shop...
Now that we are past the pre-election discussions surrounding the election for our local school board candidates, and voting has begun, I’m wondering if our community, based on our recent experience, can come to some agreement about how we might improve the process for future elections. What have we learned from this McKenzie School District Board of Directors election? We’ve learned that it would have been more helpful to have been able to see statements from our candidates in the Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet. Not all states enjoy this aspec...
No one has filed for Position 5 for the McKenzie Fire and Rescue Board. I would like to suggest David Rose as a write-in candidate. He is a relatively new resident to the river, but not inexperienced in the fire service. He has been a firefighter for 29 years, was a Captain in his past district, earned a fire suppression degree at Chemeketa College, and is an EMT and Emergency Room RN. He has a great deal to offer the community and would be an asset. Please write him in to be your representative. Ann Penny Springfield...
I have lived for 45 years on the banks of the McKenzie River, and therefore witnessed, and voted in, dozens of local elections for school boards, school levies, fire district boards, and fire district levies. Fortunately, I have never witnessed anything remotely resembling the refusal of one half of the candidates to attend the candidate forum sponsored by the McKenzie Education Association. Ironically, the no-shows each trumpeted their commitment to “transparency” in the Voters’ Pamphlet. I have never equated a refusal to appear with trans...
I was disappointed to see that half the candidates did not show up at the McKenzie School Board Forum on April 28th. This was a great opportunity for the candidates to help us become informed voters in what is often an uncontested election. What I did see at the Forum were thoughtful and well presented answers to relevant questions, and a very polite and supportive audience as befits our small community. Voter pamphlet statements are intentionally vague; each of the missing candidates promised transparency and yet none pro-vided even a written...
In the grand scheme of things, giving drivers the ability to pump their own gas may not seem like the most pressing issue facing the Oregon Legislature this year, but for small businesses like ours, it’s a matter of survival. It’s time for lawmakers to provide critical relief to gas stations and allow drivers the choice to pump their own gas if they want to. House Bill 2426 would let drivers statewide pump their own gas – a choice already available to Oregonians in many counties today. The bill would not get rid of gas station atten...
A Letter to the Editor was going to be printed in this space. In it the writer had included these words: “On my routine drive over the Santiam Pass this weekend I was horrified at the political signage insulting my eyes and our beautiful roadway. Overdone to say the least, and totally inappropriate on our beloved scenic highway.” During the Wooden Boat Show on Saturday, a couple of other people came up to me to express similar opinions, like “Don’t they know it’s Earth Day.” Those reactions caused me to check in with ODOT to see what sort of re...
On April 22nd we celebrated Earth Day, but unfortunately, our earth is in serious trouble. The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an accelerating rate due to the increase in global temperatures caused by Carbon emissions blanketing the atmosphere, and due to deforestation. The average temperature in the world is increasing by 3.2 degrees centigrade compared to the goal of 1.5 degrees centigrade to sustain a livable planet. From 2011 to 2020 3.5 trillion tons of the Greenland ice sheet has melted, and at that pace, sea levels could rise by one...
Marijuana is legal in Oregon for medical and recreational use. 4/20 celebrations are large events promoting the industry and its products. Cannabis companies use this day to market and sell their products, similar to alcohol companies using The Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day. The recreational marijuana industry has grown significantly, and its marketing has evolved. 4/20 events like The Cannabis Cup are ideal opportunities to sell and market products. Celebrities, influencers, and businesses p...
State economists sounded the alarm recently about a slight but sudden decline in Oregon’s population, warning of a potential drag on an economy that has benefited from steady in-migration for more than three decades. For business leaders in Portland and budget watchers in Salem, this decline was another warning signal that Oregon should get its economic act together or prepare for tougher times ahead. But, for Oregonians generally, the idea of slower population growth is hardly a cause for concern. For many, in fact, it may represent a m...
This year marks a half-century since Oregon Gov. Tom McCall signed into law Senate Bill 100 requiring comprehensive planning, which warned: “uncoordinated use of lands in this state threaten the orderly development, the environment of this state and the health, safety, order, convenience, prosperity, and welfare of the people of this state.” Back then, the concern was about urban sprawl and haphazard development that would scar the state and disrupt traditional farm and timber economies, and...
VMCC has been hard at work to ensure there are adequate funds to rebuild the Center’s beloved meeting space, destroyed in the Holiday Farm Fire. Through individual donations, grants, in-kind services and fundraising events, VMCC’s goal is within reach, and we want to thank everyone for their generous support over the past 2+ years. But, as difficult it is to lose those last 5 pounds in time for swimsuit season, VMCC struggles to raise a few more dollars before it opens its doors this summer. Here is how you can help VMCC reach its goal and hav...
In the current legislative session, as is the case every session, corporate lobbyists are hard at work trying to procure new tax breaks for their clients. These lobbyists representing many big corporations are going around waving a corporate-funded study claiming that business taxes in Oregon are too high. If you are a lawmaker, you lack a key piece of information to decide whether the claims of the corporate lobby are true: how much big corporations like Amazon, Walmart, Nike, and the like pay in income taxes to Oregon. Neither lawmakers nor...
For Devon Lawson-McCourt the answer is yes. He’s the sophomore class president at the McKenzie River Community School who strongly supports three bills up for consideration by Oregon legislators. House Joint Resolution 20: “I believe that every citizen, should have the opportunity to shape the future of our community through their vote. By allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to participate in elections, we can encourage our youth to become more engaged in the political process and to take an active role in shaping the decisions that will impact their...
Artificial intelligence – a major force in media and technology – is at the center of hot new discussion these days about its potential impact on the arts, and literature and whether AI expression is protected by the First Amendment. “AI” can range from another name for the algorithms that make a zillion decisions a day on social media sites to apocalyptic creations that someday soon will reach self-awareness and surpass their human creators. Advocates would say AI can boost human creativ...
The time is now for farmers and ranchers to apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) working lands conservation programs. Additional funding for programs—including the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)—has been made available from the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This means interested producers are more likely to receive funding to support new conservation efforts than in years past. The USDA’s working lands programs provide financial and technical assistance for farme...
At times, it is most tempting to censor speech or to call for the censorship of speech we don’t like, but before engaging in those impulses, we should consider Justice Brandeis’s time-honored message of “more speech, not enforced silence.” A natural human response to harmful speech is to punish, silence, or censor the speaker. After all, who wants to hear speech we consider overtly offensive, heinously hateful, or insensibly ignorant? But when the government acts as a punisher, silencer, or censor, the First Amendment acts as a strong bulwark...
Many of Oregon’s rivers are drained every summer to support the agricultural industry, but fisheries, wildlife and the water quality itself is hurt in the process. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the archaic notion that Oregon’s rivers are nothing more than a faucet for the ag industry. Last fall here in Bend, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife have died or been threatened. Good people have tried to save fish stranded in pools of water. I do not want to denigrate their...
I have been hunting and fishing on public land in the West for over 20 years, and I can tell you through experience that where there are cows, the quality of fishing and hunting has been severely impacted. Where there is no domestic livestock, there are many more trout, elk, deer, and moose. Cows and sheep are invasive species and ecological misfits in the arid West. Bovines were first domesticated in southeast Asia and were exported to the European continent where the climate was wet and the...
