McKenzie Bicentennial Spring Day

• Event: May 20, 2012
• Times: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Location: Various locations around Blue River

Enjoy a variety of events to celebrate the Bicentennial of the McKenzie River Valley. Come out for live music, food, numerous highland games demonstrations, Model-A Ford displays, learn map making and compass/GPS skills,  pan for gold, climb a tall tree, learn about the early fur traders and view U.S. Cavalry and American Indian artifacts, vendors, history presentations, exploration treks and more!

The Scottish Camp will be at the Community Track and Field near the McKenzie School (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.); the Fur-Traders Camp will be at the US Cavalry and American Indian Museum, (52281-B McKenzie Hwy, MP 42) (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.), and the Trading Post swap meet will be at Reservoir Dawgs, in “downtown” Blue River (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.).  Free to all.

Make history come alive. Discover McKenzie River! For more information and a list of future events, go to www.McKenzieChamber.com

Two hundred years ago Donald Mackenzie arrived at the river that would later be named for him. This year volunteers and businesses are working hard to make the McKenzie River Bicentennial a memorable and exciting year.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), together with the OSU Extension Service, the McKenzie Watershed Council, and the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) is hosting an ‘educational series’ on sustainable landscaping and home maintenance.  Three informational classes will be held in Leaburg during May and June on the following topics: creating healthy riparian areas, healthy lawns and weed and pest management, and home maintenance, septic systems and hazardous waste disposal.  These classes are loosely based on the OSU Extension Service’s sustainable landscaping series but will be shorter and more focused on issues related to the McKenzie and on rural living.  They will cover topics including learning about addressing invasive species on your property, planting appropriate native species, the importance of riparian buffers to water quality, reducing pesticide and fertilizer use, enriching soil quality through composting and mulching, weed and pest management, managing moss, creating wildlife habitat, properly maintaining septic systems, and how/where to dispose of household hazardous waste.  More efficient use of resources can lead to lower power, water, and waste bills.

The schedule of classes is as follows:

Wednesday, May 16^th:  Healthy Riparian Areas: where your land meets the water

Wednesday, May 30^th:   Healthy Lawns; Weed & Pest Management

Tuesday, June 12^th:   Home Maintenance, Septic Systems & Hazardous Waste Disposal

All classes are free of charge and will be held from 3pm to 5:30pm at the Leaburg Training Center.  There will be a short open house afterwards where people can talk to staff from each agency/organization and obtain additional information.  Pre-registration is requested but not required.

These classes are designed to promote sustainable landscaping and water quality protection throughout the McKenzie Watershed.  Resources and financial incentives will be available to homeowners wishing to pursue these practices on their properties.

For more information, please contact Nancy Toth (541-685-7438) or Karl Morgenstern (541-685-7365).

The 7^th Annual McKenzie River Wooden Boat Festival on April 28^th, 2012 at the Eagle Rock Lodge was a huge success!  What a fun way to visit with friends and neighbors.  The weather was fantastic and the setting was ideal.  If you were there you know it was a great turnout, lots of beautiful boats on display, delicious food and drink available and informational booths. If you didn’t make it this year – I hope to see you next year!  Thanks to Randy and Debbie Dersham for creating and hosting this annual event for the benefit of the community.  Posters are still available through the Eagle Rock Lodge for $12.50 each – Contact Debbie Dersham at 541-822-3630 or email info@eaglerocklodge.com

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.