Make the McKenzie Connection!

Articles from the March 17, 2022 edition


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  • McKenzie River Discovery Center gains $3 million in lottery funds

    Mar 17, 2022

    LEABURG: Dreams of a state-of-the-art interactive visitor center moved closer to reality during the Oregon legislature's 2022 short session. Their approval of a $3 million lottery fund package was earmarked for the development of the McKenzie River Discovery Center (MRDC). "The board of directors sin-cerely thanks the legislature for this vote of confidence," said Shirley Braunstein, treasurer of the MRDC. "We appreciate the near 50 letters of support from community leaders, business and...

  • Wet storm took out powerlines

    Mar 17, 2022

    Worries about fire weakened trees and sloughing hillsides became realities Saturday night when high winds and heavy rains hit the McKenzie Valley. In addition to knocking down power lines serving Lane Electric and the Eugene Water & Electric Board, trees also impacted highway travelers. First responders answered a 911 call shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday when a report came in that a 10-inch diameter tree was blocking the McKenzie Highway near milepost 31. The caller also said the tree had fallen on a vehicle whose two occupants were "out,...

  • State funding gave a lifeline to clinic

    Mar 17, 2022

    BLUE RIVER: The Holiday Farm Fire raged through the heart of the McKenzie Valley in 2020. It left behind some sobering statistics: 173,000 acres burned, one fatality, 431 homes, and 24 structures lost, along with a $103 million lawsuit seeking damages from two utilities. Destroyed as well was a 1970's era medical clinic in Blue River. McKenzie Valley Wellness (MVW), a local non-profit, owned the building and had operated it as the McKenzie River Clinic until 2019. That year MVW sold the medical...

  • Electric Truck Hydropower?

    Mar 17, 2022

    Mountain regions have a large potential for hydropower that cannot be harnessed effectively by conventional technologies, says the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. IIASA researcher Julian Hunt and an international team of researchers developed an innovative hydropower technology based on electric trucks that could provide a flexible and clean solution for electricity generation in mountainous regions. In the transition towards a more sustainable future, hydropower will...

  • Letter to the Editor

    Mar 17, 2022

    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...

  • JP Doodles

    Barry McWilliams|Mar 17, 2022

  • Sheriff's Report - March 17

    Mar 17, 2022

    Feb. 27: 4:15 p.m: Suspicious Conditions - 35200 block, McK. View Dr. A caller reported that their girlfriend will be moving out and was making strange statements. Deputies made contact and determined no crime had occurred and the caller just wanted the incident documented. March 1: 1:12 a.m: Shots Fired - 44000 blk, McK. Hwy. 4:34 a.m: Assist, Information - 47200 blk, McK. Hwy. 9:00 a.m: Burglary -87000 blk, Cedar Flat Rd. A caller reported that someone broke into his house and squatted there for a while when he was out of town. 9:24 a.m:...

  • McKenzie Fire Report - March 17

    Mar 17, 2022

    March 7: 16:00: 45000 block, McK. Hwy. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. March 8: 6:44: 43000 blk, McK. Hwy. Public Assist. Lift-Assist Only. 12:19: 7000 blk, Thurston Rd. Disregarded on scene. 15:088: 87000 blk, Cedar Flat Rd. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 18:15: 40000 blk, McK. Hwy. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 19:08: 43000 blk, McK. Hwy. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 18:20: 88000 blk, Ermi Bee Rd. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. March 10:...

  • Upper McK. Fire Report - March 17

    Mar 17, 2022

    March 3: 23:06: Medical – 49000 block, McK. Hwy. Female, Conscious, Breathing. March 5: 13:04: Medical - 91000 blk, Mill Creek Rd. Female, Conscious, Breathing. March 6: 20:51: Motor Vehicle Accident - McK. Hwy./Milepost 43. Single vehicle accident, now smoking. March 8: 06:36: Medical – 91000 blk, Dearborn Island Rd. Male, Conscious, Breathing. March 12: 21:06: Motor Vehicle Accident - McK. Hwy.//Mp. 31. 10-inch dia. tree fell on vehicle. Tree is across both lanes. March 14: 06:42: Fire Alarm – 57000 blk, McK. Hwy. Smoke fire alarm...

  • Oregon's Chautauquas: Summer camp for grown-ups

    Finn J.D. John|Mar 17, 2022

    In the decades before the First World War, an organization called Chautauqua arose that was something like a summer camp for grown-ups. People would take vacation time and travel to the Chautauqua center and stay there in tents, either brought from home or rented on-site, for a week, or two weeks, or even longer. There, they'd take classes, attend lectures, listen to band concerts, play baseball, and generally try to make up for the previous year's intellectual deprivation. In Chautauqua's...

  • Old-fashioned sweet peas fill the garden with fragrance

    Kym Pokorny, OSU Extension|Mar 17, 2022

    Sweet peas are a classic flower in English gardens since they were introduced in the 17th century from southern Italy and have transplanted well to all parts of the world, including climate-friendly Oregon. The first sweet peas had relatively small flowers but possessed a powerful and attractive fragrance. Sweet pea flowers naturally self-pollinate while still in bud, and it would seem that their color and perfume are there to please the gardener more than the bee. Shorter bush or dwarf varietie...

  • Direct Answers

    Wayne and Tamara Mitchell|Mar 17, 2022

    She still calls my husband when I am not at home. She seems to want nothing from him, but she is calling, calling, calling. They have little to talk about. He never confides in her, and he never calls her. She calls three times a month just to ask how his life is going. This is getting on my nerves. I have nothing against this lady, and if she wants to be a family friend, that is fine with me. When I discussed these calls with my husband, he didn't seem eager to change the situation. It seems...

  • PROBLEM SOLVED

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 17, 2022

    When Mayank Kumar gets into an accident in his Avis rental car, he does everything in his power to return the vehicle to the company. But nothing seems to be working, and now Avis is asking about its car. I rented a vehicle from Avis in Seattle recently and had an accident while visiting Mount Rainier National Park. A local towing company towed the vehicle away. I reported this to Avis and gave them the towing company's contact number and address. An Avis representative said they would work...

  • TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

    Christopher Elliott|Mar 17, 2022

    When Betsy Bair's husband loses his job, they cancel their Vrbo rental. Are they going to lose all their money even though Vrbo offered them a refund? My husband unexpectedly lost his job last year. We had to cancel a two-day vacation rental through Vrbo. I spoke to a Vrbo representative, who agreed to issue a partial refund of $751. I waited a month but did not receive anything. I called Vrbo and the company told me it approved the refund, but that I would need to contact the property owner...

  • Mar 17, 2022