Category Community

SPRINGFIELD – The pandemic has demonstrated that more preparation is needed in instances of sudden change, and Lane County commissioners are evaluating ways to open more housing and recovery opportunities during a crisis. In the past two years Lane County has faced a 50-year snowstorm,…

EMMA ROUTLEY/CHRONICLE PHOTO Dawn Melhert of Springfield worked with her father, a master woodworker, to create positive signs during the pandemic. SPRINGFIELD – At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dawn Melhert began making signs to help herself cope, but mainly to spread encouragement to…

Sgt. Scott Denham, 2019 As a retired Army Veteran and 27-year Los Angeles County and Lane County Deputy Sheriff and Sergeant, one of my favorite days has always been the 4th of July. I love serving in our great country. Prior to my 2012 assignment…

1992 FILE PHOTO Creswell volunteer firefighters and residents check out the new fire engine purchased in 1992. Story By Catherine Russell The Fourth of July has long been a day when we take time to remember where we came from and how we got here,…

CRESWELL – Under the potential threat of a rogue parade, caravan, an unpermitted rally and fireworks show, public safety officials are advocating for a “safe-and-legal” holiday and warning about consequences for illegal activity. The heat, so to speak, is turning up.  With record-setting high temperatures…

CRESWELL – It’s not dead yet, but it’s getting there. After failing to sway his fellow councilors at Monday’s meeting, JoRell Medina will need to come back with a stronger case if he wants Creswell to adopt a resolution that would allow local businesses to…

Small newspapers such as The Chronicle, which serves Springfield, Creswell and Cottage Grove, would be unfairly penalized under Oregon Sen. Lee Beyer’s “Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act” (Senate Bill 582). In the late 1980s, barges of waste were sailing across U.S. waterways with no…

The Chronicle and PeaceHealth have partnered to help answer community members’ questions about COVID-19 vaccines, and other health issues. I recently had the privilege of participating in Lane County Public Health’s “The Doctor is In.” Over several evenings local doctors answered questions from the community…

RON HARTMAN/CHRONICLE PHOTO Comedian Dash Thompson at the Village Green on Saturday night. COTTAGE GROVE — James Blame isn’t joking when he says comedy saved his life. It was 2010 and he had lost his wife to cancer earlier that year. He wasn’t dealing with…