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Library is recovering
BLUE RIVER: The board of directors of the O’Brien Memorial Library reports they are poised to start rebuilding this spring, as soon as they get a building permit. As part of the process, the board...
Time to design
FINN ROCK: Ideas about resurrecting the town of Blue River kept people busy last Saturday during a two-hour community meeting at the old McKenzie High School gym. The discussions were focused on what...
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The recipe for restoring damaged lands is missing one key ingredient: seeds
When the fires die down, the mud stops sliding, the drought lets up or the rain quits pouring, land managers must decide: Can damaged land grow back on its own, or will it need some help? That help of...
Oregon House passes $200 million for housing and homelessness
Oregon is on track to spend $200 million to help homeless residents move into houses, give people who have fallen behind on rent more time to pay, and create new goals for cities to build homes under...
Housing plan gains funds
BLUE RIVER: McKenzie Community Land Trust (MCLT) and DevNW were recently awarded $800,000 from the Lane County Board of Commissioners to support the development of a 6-unit affordable homeownership...
New fire station on track
BLUE RIVER: Contractors, architects, and Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District personnel all stood in the cold mud of a vacant lot on March 6th. They were there to discuss when hammers would...
Wellness group calls for new members
Local nonprofit McKenzie Valley Wellness is encouraging people to join if they haven’t already. Anyone over 18 can for only $10 a year. Everyone who is a member by April 1st will be able to vote in...
Dry forests need fires
Oregon State University research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect – unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot...
$4.1 million more
EUGENE: Some of the $150 million in funding set aside by the Oregon legislature in 2021 will be coming to Blue River, thanks to a vote last month by the Lane County Board of Commissioners. In...
On the lookout
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help in identifying individuals associated with a suspect vehicle that may have been involved in recent thefts occurring in the Vida and Leaburg areas....
Snow has been piling up
Water vapor is continuing to condense around specks of dust to form ice crystals. The resulting falling flakes have built up snow levels to their best levels so far this winter. And, snow at higher...
Legislative proposal would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local school board elections
A new bill facing the Oregon Legislature this session would lower the voting age for school board elections. Other bills this session aim to lower the state’s voting age in various capacities, inclu...
Rescue teams were busy
Technology helped searchers find a motorist stranded in the snow after the vehicle became stuck in an area where cell service wouldn’t connect. Making his situation worse, the Lane County...
Corps recommends draining Cougar's Lake
Salmon and steelhead will be better treated according to changes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is recommending for the 500 trillion gallons of water stored in 13 dams and reservoirs it manages in...
Rural residents asked to update county's natural hazard plan
People who live outside the Eugene-Springfield area are being asked to take a short online survey to help update Lane County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. Lane County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan is updated every five years and aims to...
Forest restoration
The US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region has entered into an agreement for almost $100,000 with Sustainable Northwest to enhance collaborative capacity for forest restoration during the 2023...
Man killed in fall
COUGAR RESERVOIR: A 22-year-old Salem man suffered fatal injuries on February 18th. According to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, a report was received at approximately 4:22 p.m. that a man had...
$3 million available for septic fixes
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has secured over $3 million to help McKenzie Valley homeowners repair or replace septic systems damaged in the Holiday Farm Fire. People who qualify can receive up to $35,000, depending on their type of septic...
Salem man suffers fatal fall near Hot Springs
On Saturday 02/18/2023 at approximately 4:22 pm, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a man had fallen off a cliff located between Aufderheide Drive (USFS Rd. 19) and Cougar Reservoir, near the Terwilliger Hot Springs. First...
Heat dome tree damage more about temperature than drought
Widespread tree scorch in the Pacific Northwest that became visible shortly after multiple days of record-setting, triple-digit temperatures in June 2021 was more attributable to heat than to drought...
New home construction incentives taking shape
Oregon legislators are working on plans to provide more time before evictions, more money for factory-built homes, and new revolving loans to encourage building houses for middle-income families....
Street width clears hurdle
EUGENE: The Lane County Planning Commission’s February 7th meeting had special significance for folks hoping to rebuild fire-destroyed buildings along parts of Blue River Drive. Discussions...
Public Safety on May ballot
EUGENE: At their February 7th meeting, the Lane Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted unanimously to place the renewing the current public safety levy before voters during the May 16th election. Passage of the measure, officials say, would not...
"Fast Tracks" wanted
Imagine community projects that can be turned around quickly. Sounds unlikely? A program that does just that is now open for applications. Started in 2017, the AARP Community Challenge program...
OSP adds to K-9 team
K-9 Scout, along with his handler, Trooper Shae Ross will be following in the footsteps of the first anti-poaching team in Oregon - made up of K-9 Buck and Senior Trooper Josh Wolcott. That news was...
