Bend residents frustrated by pieces of pageant history below the surface
Bend’s Mirror Pond lives up to its name on crisp, clear days, reflecting the tall trees, waterfront homes and two of the Three Sisters. But below the surface lie relics from a midcentury tradition in town: the Bend Water Pageant. Dock pilings were installed to hold up grand-scale arches built every year for the pageant, which featured custom floats and swan boats carrying the pageant queen and her court. The final pageant took place in 1965, but the pilings are still there and are only visible when the water level goes down. Mirror Pond paddlers say the pilings are dangerous and need to be removed, but doing so could be a hefty task. (Anna Kaminski/The Bulletin)
Astoria Council hears more concerns about the ‘Goonies’ house
Tensions remain high for neighbors of the “Goonies” house in Astoria’s Uppertown neighborhood. At a City Council meeting Monday, residents again fumed about traffic, illegal parking and bad behavior by some visitors to the house. Councilor Tom Hilton said Astorians and self-identified Goonies both need to behave. “We need to be nice, kind and respectful,” Hilton said. “It’s been overwhelming for that neighborhood for over 30 years. We’re not here to find a solution to that right now — we can’t do that. I mean, other than paint lines and tell people not to come. But that’s not who we are.” (Nicole Bales/The Astorian)
Oregon parks are going cashless to thwart trailhead vandals
It’s a common experience for Oregon recreators to show up at trailheads that require a $5 parking fee only to find there’s no way to actually pay it. Blow torches and crowbars have become common tools for vandals to plunder envelopes of cash from fee tubes, so many parks have removed them. Agencies that manage Oregon’s public lands are increasingly turning to machines that accept credit cards and online reservations to keep money coming in. But that means public lands are increasingly out of reach for people without credit cards or computers. (Zach Urness/Statesman Journal)
You get a seed kit! And you get a seed kit!
The organization behind a statewide seed giveaway hopes to plant some gardening skills in Oregon’s homes and classrooms. The Oregon Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s Food Hero initiative is sending free seed kits to 3,600 households across the state to help people start gardens. “It’s a skill that not everyone just grows up and learns,” said Food Hero coordinator Lauren Tobey. “And so we’re trying to change that as well, and get more teachers onboard and parents, grandparents, to teach our next generation how to feel very confident that they can grow food from seed.” (Jasmine Lewin/KLCC)
Oregon House votes to disband alfalfa seed commission
The winds of change seem ready to sweep away the Oregon Alfalfa Seed Commission, as the crop’s remaining growers cannot sustain the research and promotions program. Assessments paid by farmers have declined too much to support the commission, which the Oregon House voted unanimously to disband on Feb. 7 under House Bill 2411. “We just don’t have enough growers anymore,” said Curt Sisson, president of the Oregon Alfalfa Seed Commission. Fewer than 10 alfalfa seed producers remain in the state, down from about 300 two decades ago, which isn’t sufficient to cover the commission’s required record-keeping costs, he said. (Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press)
