Spring cleaning

The McKenzie Community Track and Field in Blue River is making an appeal for people power to help with a spring clean up at the Blue River facility. The track was fortunate and received only minimal damage during the wildfire. The track was a sheltering location and the valiant efforts by firefighters spared the building and possibly several lives were saved. Grants and insurance coverage provided the track with needed repairs for the electrical damage to the septic system controls and inside cleanup from smoke damage. A grant has made it possible for the AMJ Building to be equipped with a propane powered generator to enhance it’s capability to serve as a shelter during any future emergencies. Although the track saw very little sporting activity over the last year, the McKenzie Community School did have limited team practice sessions and a running group from the Portland area used the track for a qualifying event. Our high quality track surface continues to serve as an ideal walking, jogging and running location for all wishing to use it. We also provide on site toilet facilities and water fountain for community use. The expenses to maintain our non-profit facility can be quite high and thanks to a very generous community we have managed to meet most needs. One important aspect of our continuing success has been the reliance on volunteers responding to our call for help. Our spring clean-up event is planned for this Saturday, May 15 with a goal of clearing the grounds of weeds, blackberries and some fire debris. We also will be moving pole vault and high jump mats and hurdles for storage. The activity will all be outdoors and safety protocols will be followed. We are needing folks with weed eater equipment to spend a few hours Saturday morning helping us tidy up our grounds before some planned summer events.

The Gravel Grinders Bicycle Group will be using our facility once again this year as an overnight camping site in June. The runners from Portland may be interested in returning to our track this summer and we hope to welcome these groups to a well maintained facility. The track is also looking forward to hosting the Locals Helping Locals people for a commemorative event to be held over Labor Day. Another planned event is the dedication of a memorial plaza surrounding the flagpole. Donors have been purchasing engraved paver blocks which will create a suitable location for ceremonies such as the dedication on Veteran’s Day, Nov 11. The Board of Directors of the MCTF is determined to continue providing our community with an outstanding public use facility and hope those in our community will become stakeholders and help us meet this goal.

The McKenzie Community Track Spring Clean-up....Sat. May 15 ....9am... Blue River.