Cooperator’s Update Monday 19th October

Nancy Schwan-Howard – Clinic Manager Orchid Health McKenzie River Clinic

Nancy reported that the clinic is still working out of the quilt shop, but they are unsure at the moment whether that arrangement will be extended or if it might move to the Basketball Academy location (USBA). Once negotiations are concluded (hopefully within the next week) we will update further.

Orchid Health is also moving forward with securing their mobile clinic setup. This week they are working on determining what supplies are needed in order to get it stocked and ready, but the plans for where it will be deployed have evolved since the last discussions. In order to serve residents who were evacuated to the west as well as those who have returned, they are thinking of having to have the clinic be upriver 3 days a week and on the west side, parked at the Trillium Building (probably on Mondays). Historically, the Blue River clinic had been closed on Fridays, but that may change depending on need and feedback from the community.

John Carlile – UMCC

John is working out logistically, with Madison at the Blue River Relief Center, what their hours need to be moving forward so they can serve everyone as efficiently as possible. Looking ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas (yes, it will be upon us before you know it…) they are already thinking of what that will look like for families in the area and how best to support them over the holidays.

Both relief centers are also working on the strategic cache stores (also known as “Oh Crap! Boxes”) to build resilience for inclement weather situations that may cut off residents from vital supplies in the coming winter months.

Starting the first Friday in November Rainbow Relief Center and the BR Relief Center will have a representative from the County (Lucy Zamarelli and Laural O’Rourke) who will be a Q & A person for a few hours at each location regarding resources available including information about taxes, benefits, etc. There are many different resources available to residents, so people are encouraged to have a talk with them even if they already explored some of them.

They are also working with the CDC to get some additional shelving in the UMCC to free up some space where residents, including kids and parents, could log onto the wi-fi for school or work, and generally access the Internet out of the cold as the temperatures drop in the weeks to come.

Shane Kamrath – Forest Service

Snow is on the way, and firewood permits are now available. Additionally, lawn debris may still be dropped at Stroube Flats, but bear in mind the site will be very busy with logging trucks bringing in burned danger trees. There are signs up for the public and maps on the billboards at the relief center.

This is also the beginning of rifle elk season in the Cascades, so we’re expecting lots of extra traffic. Kudos to the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife who have recognized the impacts of the fire and offered to replace the archery tags from earlier for free.

Patence Winningham – Emergency Program Manager at Lane County Government

Debris management should be on the ground next week. The ROE (Right of Entry) were extended. The push for the 16 was intentional so they could group and coordinate their assets without going back and forth up and down the river.

Communications is a hot topic, and the valley has been very proactive in putting together temporary connectivity solutions while they wait for commercial providers to get their stuff together. CenturyLink will be a while if at all and Spectrum is working hard on their build-out, but they are also limited by the fact that many of their lines are hung on utility poles that are still down.

If utility providers such as Lane Electric abandon their poles and go underground, then the telecommunications companies will become responsible for those poles. CenturyLink currently owns 119 poles between UMCC and town and if they decide not to rebuild, what does that mean for Spectrum and their rebuild? So, it is clear that a united and coordinated approach is needed here, where all three companies (LE, Spectrum and CenturyLink) actually work together and have those conversations about who is paying for what in order to get things up and running in the valley sooner rather than later. Those conversations are apparently happening now, so watch this space for further updates on that.

It has also been confirmed that Verizon assets, T-Mobile assets, as well as AT&T will NOT leave until we have some sort of comms up and running. Verizon is anticipating having Mt Hagan up by the end of November (that was the tower that provided cellular coverage all the way upriver prior to the fire). Patence will work on getting a Verizon hot spot for McKenzie General Store for student access and Wi-Fi access.

Dish has done POS for local stores to get their credit card systems up and running. If there is any other business that needs POS access, they should get their information to Patence (or her colleague Eli Davis while she is on vacation starting this Wednesday) who will work so she can get them hooked up. We will also have the VAL, volunteer agency liaison, roaming around as well as Laurel and Lucy.

George Letchworth – McKenzie Community Track and Field

The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) Meyers and the Ford Family have already committed to stage 2 and 3 funding, more details on how these will be deployed to follow. A 22 ft RV that has also been donated.

Alyssa Brownlee – Housing

Families with kids need better connectivity as they head back upriver, and Alyssa has been sending more and more people to work with Laural on finding suitable solutions. Spectrum lead, Rod Justice, has communicated they may be three weeks out or longer to set things up (see above for broader comms update).

Al Artero – Blue River Water District (BRWD)

Al reports that control systems are now in place, meter for power should be in and they are making good progress by the way. We’re expecting a more comprehensive Water District update in the next week or so, and this will be published here on the CDC site as soon as it becomes available. Al is also among the volunteers that will be helping out with kids education during study hall settings.