Sep 7 2020 thru Sep 13 2020

The new donations drop-off location at 2699 Roosevelt Boulevard in Eugene will open to receive donations on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and keep those hours each day. Donations should no longer be taken to Silke Field.

The Bank Building in downtown Cottage Grove is offering free office workspace for those recently evacuated from their homes or have lost power as a result of Oregon’s unprecedented wildfires.

Lane County Waste Management has temporarily closed several of its waste transfer stations due to hazardous air conditions, including the Creswell, London Road and Dexter sites.

The emergency response center at Springfield High School needs volunteers to help evacuees and victims of the wildfires.

This is a compilation of regularly updated, free Chronicle news coverage surrounding the McKenzie fires and available resources collected from verified sources. If you have resource information to add, please email [email protected] Stay safe.

Due to the Holiday Farm fire, school districts across the Creswell, Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill and Springfield are delaying the start of its school years, and rescheduling technological and material distribution.

Holiday Farm fire, at a glance (as of 10 a.m. Sept. 10): Estimated fire size: 144,695 acres; Containment: 0%; Expected containment date. Oct. 29, 2020; Structures threatened: 17,732; Structures destroyed: Unknown; Personnel deployed: 207; Injures on incident management team: 0

Due to a facility closure at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center, the Senior Meals Program will suspend service of both Café 60 meals to go and Meals on Wheels routes on Friday, Sept. 11.

Several rumors around the McKenzie River fires, including fire marshal impostors encouraging people to evacuate their homes, and looting of evacuated homes, we cleared up Thursday by Springfield Police.

Due to the continuing hazardous air quality and wildfire activity, PeaceHealth will close most of its Springfield, Cottage Grove and Eugene PeaceHealth Medical Group clinics from noon today through the weekend. Here are the few clinics that remain open:

Rumors that people can return to the fire area along McKenzie Highway to check on homes or look for animals are incorrect, Lane County officials say. Areas under a Level 3 evacuation notice, including the roads within those areas, are closed to the public.

Many people in our community are without power, internet, and computer access. The Chronicle has opened its office for public use as necessary.

We’ve just celebrated Labor Day. I hope you found a way to enjoy the holiday in this different time we are navigating. In our region this month will mark our annual return to the school year. Some of you may not be impacted other than tales from the grandkids about first days back in school. Many of you are more intimately connected to this annual rite of passage either as teachers or as parents, and more and more as parents who are also teachers ... got stress?

Aussie-born blues artist Anni Piper’s rebellious spirit seems like a nice fit here in Oregon. “People in the Pacific Northwest don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks, and I love that,” Piper said, moments after headlining the inaugural Village Blues Festival at scenic Village Green Resort.

Life skills are key part of return of sports

Suicide prevention part of overall wellness program for area districts

Lane County Youth Farms is celebrating 25 years of helping provide food for the Lane County Food Bank and help set up low-income teenagers with jobs. Even though the farm had to cancel its reunion and 25-year celebration, Youth Farm coordinator Ted Purdy has said they will hold it next year. Like most businesses, that’s not the only change that has been made due to COVID-19. Now they’re selling food online.

Even in the current environment, Creswell High School athletics continue to “Just Do It” – in typical Nike fashion. Literally. Brandon Standridge, assistant principal and athletic director at Creswell, said the school has formally entered into a deal with Nike. “We are excited to begin a five-year partnership with Nike to help provide uniforms for varsity sports,” he said. “It will bring in $37,500 over five years that we can use for apparel or equipment in conjunction with our uniform rotation.”

On the cusp of a new school year unlike any other in modern times, parents, teachers and students across the southern Willamette Valley shared an array of emotions – ranging from uncertainty and stress to excitement and wonder. Creswell and Springfield schools will start comprehensive distance learning Monday, Sept. 14, and the South Lane School District is scheduled to start a week later on Sept. 21. Pleasant Hill’s school year started Sept. 1.

Labor Day was smokey and grey outside while my partner and I visited Bend this weekend. These face masks are proving to be useful beyond the Coronavirus, and I kept mine on to avoid breathing in the poor quality air whenever I had to be outside. These details aside, I still didn’t think that traveling home to Eugene that night was going to be impossible.

The Leaburg Dam and the Leaburg Canal Project, built by the Eugene Water and Electric Board during the 1930s, have been a presence in Lane County for almost 90 years. The canal’s power generators produced the electricity that was an important part of building Eugene into a thriving city with its own dependable sources of electricity and drinking water that it is today.

Residents and city leaders reacted quickly to a social media post that stated a Black Lives Matter rally was scheduled for City Hall, 13 S. 1st St., on Sept. 27 from 5:30-8 p.m. The Chronicle unsuccessfully attempted reach someone with the account – Eugene Antifa – by email and Facebook.

Dec. 31, 1966 - Aug. 21, 2020

Feb. 11.1937 - July 26, 2020

March 12, 1940 - Aug. 21, 2020

Aug. 12,1955 - Aug. 21, 2020

Dec. 6, 1930 - Aug. 4, 2020

April 18, 1940 - Sept. 3, 2020

Doctors and respiratory experts from PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center urge residents to stay indoors, wear high-quality masks outside, on low air quality days.

Thousands of Oregonians have been evacuated due to wildfires, and those who fled to safety are in shock from the loss of their homesteads, their pets, and their missing neighbors and loved ones. “In a half an hour, we went to 20-foot flames in front of our house and up against our windows, running from the flames that were chasing us,” said Blue River resident Rikki Estrada.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from Blue River, as the McKenzie River fire engulfed 55 miles overnight, affecting over 3,500 acres in the area while still moving westward.