Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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I have tried to get the members list to McKenzie Valley Wellness, it is information that all members should have access to. I have been provided the meeting minutes, but for some reason, the member list is not being released. To be a member you must have volunteered, or been part of the clinic situation, or been a patient. We have been all of that - helping remove debris after Snowmagedon etc, for the clinic. Valerie Rapp, MVW president, has refused to give me the list, even after providing the minutes of meetings. So how does one get the...
Thank you for the recent article, March 17th edition of the McKenzie River Reflections, regarding our local clinic and McKenzie Valley Wellness. As a member, donator, and supporter of the clinic for a number of years I am very interested in and have a vested interest in the success of the clinic. The recent article, though informative, left me with a number of questions regarding funds and funding. With, as stated in the article, a triple net lease from Orchid and the insurance from MVW, why would fundraising be needed? If the MVW and Orchard ...
If all goes as planned, the track in Blue River will be hosting the track team from Ireland this summer as they prepare for the World Track and Field Championships in Eugene this July. Conversations between Athletics Ireland and the McKenzie Community Track and Field have been ongoing and it is hoped an agreement will be forthcoming. Track board vice-president Michael Bergmann has been leading the effort to attract a team to use the McKenzie River location as a Team Camp venue prior to the start of the games at Hayward Field on July 16th. The I...
Interesting things are happening in Oregon’s Willamette River basin when it comes to salmon and steelhead recovery. Maybe even a little overlooked for their significance. An Oregon federal judge is running the river, issuing significant directions for how federal dams and reservoirs should be operated to benefit fish. And that’s what happens when populations of naturally producing salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act start approaching extinction. Entities worried about the decline of the fish sue. And they win. Then wha...
Alan Dowd chronicles the Russian threat to world peace in the February 2022 edition of The American Legion Magazine. I quote and paraphrase from the article. From its beginning in 1918 the Russian Communists led by Lenin and then Stalin sought to achieve power and control populations by intimidation, brutality, and death. “Lenin murdered 6 million people and Stalin three times as many. During Stalin’s reign from 1925 to 1953 Communism spread to Eastern Europe, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. President Reagan referred to the USSR as the...
Swampytonk is a blend of backyard blues, Americana, and jazz. Sound interesting? This is what is in store for those who attend the free-will donation concert on March 5th at 7 p.m. concert at McKenzie Valley Presbyterian Church. The Henry Cooper Trio will delight you with this most interesting blend of musical genres and their musicianship is of the highest caliber. Henry Cooper is a seven-time winner of the Washington Blues Society’s “BB Award” for Best Slide Guitar and his trio is well worth a listen. This concert benefits the rebui...
Vida McKenzie Community Center is almost $2,000 closer to opening its doors this Fall after hosting a Valentine’s Dinner at McKenzie Valley Presbyterian Church on Saturday, February 12th. The room was abuzz with animated conversation and everyone left with their appetites quenched. Many people took their meals “to go.” Some supporters even left “tips” (aka donations) to help rebuild the Center more quickly. Auto Craft donated funds to cover a large portion of the food items, Thurston Florist donated some of the flowers and OroWheat Bakery do...
Since everyone wants more salmon, the question “Are there too many salmon in the North Pacific Ocean?” might seem odd. However, it is worth considering the potential effects of healthy and abundant salmon populations that often migrate thousands of kilometers at sea where they intermingle and compete with distant depleted populations for prey. It is not surprising that fishery managers are primarily concerned with maintaining those populations that return to regions they manage with little consideration for how these populations might adversely...
Alan Dowd documents some problems with China in The American Legion Magazine of December 2020, and I liberally quote from the article. The COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted the adverse impact on the world attributable to China's domination of the production of medicines, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies. Prior to the pandemic China produced " 35.9 percent of America's antibiotics, 49.8 percent of our medical bandages, 71.7 percent of our facemasks and 77.2 percent of our plastic gloves. During the pandemic China "...
I read the recent article that raised a question about the future of McKenzie River Clinic with some degree of concern. Since McKenzie River Clinic is the only health provider for much of the McKenzie River Valley it would be great loss to the community if they went away. I was surprised to learn that some clients had complaints. We have been regular patients at McKenzie River Clinic since moving here in December 2021 and have always found them to be friendly, responsive, and very professional. I am a volunteer firefighter with the Upper...
As the anniversary approaches of the Jan. 6th storming of the nation’s Capitol, and as the omicron-related spike in Covid cases spreads nationwide, we will be hearing a lot in the coming weeks about disinformation. Mounting evidence suggests that disinformation played a critical role in both the ongoing pandemic and in ongoing support among some Americans for the attack on the capitol. Disinformation is a serious blight on our country’s ability to agree on basic facts and to conduct ourselves like a rational society. But it isn’t the only...
Our 2021 McKenzie rafting season has drawn to a close, and we’re all cleaned up and packed away. As promised, a portion of all rafting receipts was donated to two non-profits (McKenzie Community Development Cor-poration and McKenzie Locals Helping Locals) working with our valley’s residents as they continue to recover and rebuild from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. We are excited to share that each organization received a check for $1,375! The guides and I want to thank folks for joining us on the river or encouraging others to. We hope to raf...
You’ve probably seen some pretty far-fetched online deals. Some say, “New Honda generators for $99,” or mobile phones, video game consoles, laptops, and jewelry “that was over-ordered and has to be sold because of a lack of storage space.” Those ads have always intrigued me so I thought I’d give this one a try and see what happened - a Canon XA50 video recorder for $49. When it didn’t arrive I contacted the seller who claimed it had been delivered. They even gave me a U.S. Postal Service tracking number to prove their claim. That stumped me wh...
It is with saddened hearts that we postpone the community Thanksgiving meal until 2022. McKenzie Fire & Rescue began serving a community family-style Thanksgiving meal in 2018. As we are all aware, the 2020 pandemic halted many community events. We want our communities to be healthy and strong. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the Thanksgiving meal until a time when we can gather face-to-face and share a meal. Until then, be safe and stay healthy. Chief Daren Bucich McKenzie Fire & Rescue...
Significant reforms in areas like healthcare and environmental protection will be impossible to achieve until big money is removed from Oregon politics. Despite the fact that voters supported Measure 107 and it was declared constitutional, the legislature has yet to impose any limits. Campaign finance reform is needed to ensure that our elected officials are representing the interests of the people who elected them, not the interests of wealthy individuals and businesses who gave large sums of money to their campaigns. Patrick Starns has made...
Our rivers are a powerhouse for every living thing. But for how long? With high demand for water and most of Oregon experiencing drought amid a warming climate, the future of our rivers is threatened. This year, the Deschutes River experienced the lowest period of natural flow since irrigation districts began using Wickiup Reservoir to store water in 1949. In addition to water supply becoming less reliable over time, we also have the inflexible legal tangle that is Western water law — which varies state by state. Western water law is a...
Significant reforms in areas like healthcare and environmental protection will be impossible to achieve until big money is removed from Oregon politics. Despite the fact that voters supported Measure 107 and it was declared constitutional, the legislature has yet to impose any limits. Campaign finance reform is needed to ensure that our elected officials are representing the interests of the people who elected them, not the interests of wealthy individuals and businesses who gave large sums of money to their campaigns. Patrick Starns has made...
As a result of climate change, the United States experienced a particularly dangerous and hot summer this year. New record highs were set all over the country and the Pacific Northwest was particularly hard hit. As of September 2021, according to the National Weather Service, the state of Oregon had a record 88 days over 80 degrees (considered the high heat threshold for our state) and suffered through three triple-digit heat domes. In June, temperatures reached 124 degrees and more in some...
For those of you, that don’t know me, I am Patence Winningham, a resident of McKenzie Bridge, formerly a Blue River brat from the 70’s and 80’s. And as of 2019, Emergency Manager for Lane County. I still can’t believe I actually moved into a job that would position me to support and coordinate efforts, in my own community, OUR community’s worst day. When the “Locals helping Locals” group asked me to speak, I really had to think about what direction I wanted to take this speech. My First thought, was to write this stuff down because If I...
Growing up, my older brother, Frank, reminded me of Dick Tracy. No, he didn’t have a wristwatch phone but he was the only teenager I knew of in the Sixties who could play records in his ‘57 Chevy as he drove down the road. There were other indicators that previewed he’d go on to pursue a career in electronics. Sneaking into his basement workshop allowed me to twist knobs on his oscilloscope without knowing anything about what the squiggles on the screen meant. I also found the “secret” telephone he’d wired inside his bedroom closet so he could...
The Walterville Grange would like you to join us at the 70th annual Walterville Community Fair on September 11 from 7 AM to 4 PM. The Walterville Waddle will begin at 8 AM (signup is online or morning of the race starting at 6:45 on location). Fair entries (your canning, baking, garden produce, arts/crafts, photography, antiques, flowers, sewing, and handcrafts) should be brought to the hall from 7:30 to 9:30 AM and judging will start at 9:30 AM. The flag-raising will be held at 10 AM by the Boy Scouts. The parade will begin at 11 AM (contact...
Note: Zybach wrote this a year ago, following the Labor Day fires in Oregon. The most deadly, destructive, and widespread catastrophic wildfires in Oregon’s history erupted on Labor Day this year, driven by strong east winds. But unless we change how our national and state forests are managed, these events will be just another chapter in this age of predictable, increasing, and ever-greater firestorms. I spent my career studying forest fires and forest health. For example, my doctoral dissertation from the OSU College of Forestry was titled, Th...
A little-noticed initiative by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR and five other senators would boost local jobs, accelerate sales and improve economies. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, S. 2434, is designed to help local news media support their newsgathering missions. One provision goes far beyond offering aid to community newspapers, local news websites and other news- gatherers. It would help small businesses to dig out of the economic doldrums by supporting their advertising costs in local news outlets, which in turn...
hat today we must share with you the loss of our beloved father, and your beloved small town cartoonist, Barry McWilliams. Barry passed away a few days ago from a sudden heart attack at his home in Pipestone, Montana. One might say his decades of relentless deadlines may finally have caught up to him. But as many of you know and appreciate, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. To have lived to be “almost 80,” and still be so passionate about his work, at the very top of his game after 43 years in the cartoon biz … it was exactly how he dreame...
ad an opportunity to chat with several fellow Veterans, Service Members, Military family members, and Gold Star families. It is beyond the obvious in saying that the past few days have been extraordinarily difficult for those with a personal connection to our mission in Afghanistan. My wife Tiffany and I are no different. Earlier this week, a CNN reporter broadcast from a base in Andar, Afghanistan – this was a base that my soldiers and I built, it’s the base where I was wounded in 2006. Seeing it on the screen brought back a lot of mem...
