The highway is expected to be closed for several hours. A detour is being established.

We have a crew on the scene and will bring you more information as it becomes available.

Janet Marie Elgabry fell and hit her head when she was hit by a car backing up through the lot. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.

The driver of the SUV was not injured. Eugene Police are currently investigating the crash.

If you witnessed the crash and have information, please call Eugene Police.

EUGENE, Ore. — A local radio station is getting ready to air its award winning Memorial Day broadcast.

It’s called Nam Rock The Sound Track Of the Vietnam War. The special airs Monday, Memorial Day at 1:00 p.m. on KKNX Radio 840.

The station started airing the special about 7 years ago and each year it changes. It features music from that time period even interviews with soldiers that wrote the music.

There are also some local people involved and you’ll hear programs from the Vietcong. The station’s owner is also a Vietnam veteran and says this is a realistic representation of what happened.

“This is not a reporter saying this is what i think and this is what I have learned or garnered it is actually guys who were there did it said ok walked back home and said wow and there was still 58,000 that didn’t make it back,” said John Mielke, KKNX Owner.

The broadcast is also a permanent part of the Smithsonian Institute’s – exhibit of music and folklore of the Vietnam War.

Click here to hear the broadcast live

EUGENE, Ore. – Since January 1, 7.51 inches of rain has fallen in Eugene, which is 15.06 inches below normal.

The low levels could lead to possible restrictions on water use this summer. The heavy downpours on Tuesday and Wednesday may be good for the grass, but it hasn’t made much of an impact on our waterways. With a very dry start to the year and a quickly depleting snow pack, there’s bound to be some effect on water totals.

Last year the Willamette Valley was dealing with too much rain, causing major flooding; but this year the concern is not enough of it. River levels are low and keeping experts on alert

“This year the natural stream flows are around 40 to 70 percent thus far, and most of the regulation that I do is to protect in stream flows,” said Watermaster Michael Mattick, Oregon Water Resource Department.

Mattick, the watermaster for Linn and Lane counties, is in charge of regulating and restricting water use

“Normally my regulation period begins in late August, but in a dry year it could start in mid July,” Mattick said.

2013 has been dry, the driest start to a year in western Oregon on record. The lack of rain has shrunken streams and there isn’t much back-up in the reservoirs to revive them.

“This reservoir, Cottage Grove Lake, is just below five feet full, and we’re not sure it will be able to fill up this year,” said park ranger Christie Johnson, Army Corps of Engineers.

The reason, reservoirs in the Willamette Valley rely on heavy spring rains to stay full.

“Snow pack does help sustain water levels at some out our higher reservoirs, but the reservoirs down here in the valley really need rain to fill,” Johnson said.

But even though the nearly 8 inches of rain we’ve received since January 1 seems like a lot, it might not meet the water demand.

“So there’s a lot of different demands on the water, so we do have to balance different needs, recreation, fish, hydropower, irrigation; this water is used for a lot of different things,” Johnson said.

Released water is important for endangered fish such as the Winter Steelhead and Chinook Salmon, but the fish aren’t always the top priority.
“So when we are deciding where we release the water from, we do take in consideration the recreation needs; specifically which lake and where the needs are the most,” Johnson said.

But what will make any decision easier, is more rain.

“If we get a little bit of rain through the summer the stream flows will recover and I might not have to do much regulation,” Mattick said.

We’ll only have to wait until summer to see.

To put it into perspective, it would take 15.06 inches of water for the reservoir levels to hit normal and we’ve only received .71 inches during the past 48 hours.

For more information on water levels and restrictions, click here.

Oregon State Police say around 12:10 p.m. a SUV pulling a trailer was passing a truck, when the trailer began to fishtail.

The truck driver noticed that the trailer was beginning to fishtail and began to move towards the right shoulder; that’s when the trailer struck the side of the truck.

The trailer flipped on its side before coming to a rest in the right southbound lane. One lane was blocked for several hours, causing a significant back up.

The driver of the SUV, Jennifer Geho, 53, of Roseburg was transported to the Mercy Medical Center with minor injuries. The truck driver was not injured. Both were wearing seat belts.

OSP later cited Geho for failing to drive within a lane.

Photo courtesy of Oregon State Police.

This is the second fire bond residents voted down in the past two years, and some who voted ‘no’ blame poor planning.

The bond measure would have gone to replace the fire station and also some fire trucks, but voters decided not to support that measure in Tuesday night’s May Special Election.

This is the second time the Pleasant Hill Fire District has asked for support from its community. Last time, the measure missed the mark by just 21 votes. This time the margin was 128.

Skeptics had a handful of reasons for not voting the bond through. Many said they didn’t feel enough research was put into what the district needed and how the money would be spent.

Alongside the bond measure, residents voted on three new board members, who they hope can find a successful strategy as to not see funding fail a third time.

“I think we really need to get some community involvement and get some buy-in and get some support because two times is a lot to fail when you’re asking a community this size for money,” said Mark Allen, Fire Board Member.

Those in favor of the measure say it’s undeniable that this station needs a remodel, if not a complete rebuild–and they’re disappointed to find out they’ll have to wait even longer.

Fresh faces on the fire district board will mean a new way of looking at how to get the fire district what it needs while spending the community’s money wisely.

EUGENE, Ore. — With a nearly two-to-one vote against Eugene’s service fee, city leaders say they heard voters loud and clear. With no plan B, the city says it’s back to the drawing board.

It was a tough night and morning for all the folks who supported the fee, especially for those back on the chopping block.

While the news of the failure stung, the future remains uncertain and the real pain is yet to come for police, fire, library and pool services.

“Most of the things that are on this current list we have been talking about for years,” said Jon Ruiz, Eugene City Manager.

While that may be true, those who could be affected say it doesn’t make the cuts any easier.

“If the fee had passed, it would have preserved library services…so a yes vote would have been very reassuring to come in and talk to staff about,” said Connie Bennett, Director of Library Services.

But voters didn’t give the fee a yes, rather a resounding no.

“I think the message for me that I heard loud and clear was that the public prefers we balance the budget by making cuts and not trying to find additional revenue,” said Chris Pryor, Eugene City Councilor.

And it looks like that’s what the next step is–up to $6 million worth of cuts.

“I’ll make a presentation. I’ll propose a variety of things in the budget. The budget committee will have a conversation about that. They’ll choose to make recommendations on the total budget. It may look the same or different, and ultimately the city council will make a decision,” Ruiz said.

So while the fee’s failure is definitive, the cuts aren’t quite as clear just yet. For now, the people on the chopping block can only hope the financial picture will change in their favor, encouraging citizens to make their voices heard during the upcoming budget process.

“If people have things they want to share with the budget committee or their city councilors, it’s always a good opportunity because the council is very responsive to what the community wants,” Bennett said.

ROSEBURG, Ore. — An elementary school in Roseburg will shut its doors in the fall.

Rose Elementary parents, teachers, and administrators say they’re disappointed that the bond measure did not pass.

For the school board and even the district superintendent, the failure of the bond levy came as a bit of a surprise.

“We’re obviously disappointed with the bond levy failing,” said Steve Patterson, Roseburg School Board Chair.

“This was really important to us and I was extremely disappointed that it didn’t pass,” said Larry Parsons, Roseburg Schools Superintendent.

“I think a lot of people don’t want to pay extra taxes, and I understand that and we’re just coming off of a economic depression, and so I realize that people don’t have funding,” said Jeff Plummer, Rose Elementary Principal.

Although the school board voted to close Rose Elementary earlier this year, the board always said if the bond measure passed Rose Elementary would be saved. And so many parents and administrators rallied together to try to save the school. But in the end, the majority of voters in Roseburg voted against the measure, meaning major changes are coming for students who go to Rose Elementary.

“Most of them will go to three other schools in our district. But there is a kid, at least one, that’s going to go to every single of the other eight schools in our district,” Plummer said.

“There will be a reboundary. The boundaries are going to change and there’ll be kids in each school that’ll most likely. Their enrollment may change. They may be going to a new school,” Patterson said.

All teachers from this school will transfer to different schools within the district.

Early numbers showed 56 percent of voters were on board with the tax that will support jail beds and youth services.

John Aarons at the John Serbu Juvenile Detention Center says after all the hard work during this campaign, staff can’t wait to show the county what they can do with their support.

“I think staff are excited. People are looking forward to the next steps and excited about continuing the work we are so passionate about,” Aarons said.

Youth services portion of the levy will double the center’s detention beds and treatment beds for at-risk youth in Lane County.

EUGENE, Ore. — It’s never been easier to eat locally in Lane County, whether growing food, supporting area farmers directly or eating out.

The most bountiful time of the year for local produce is coming up. It’s the time when all the plants that were sprouting in greenhouses a few weeks ago thrive, bloom and produces a bounty of food.

“People talk about the Willamette Valley like it’s the garden of Eden. This is an amazing agriculture area that has more or less limitless potential to grow its own food,” said Micah Elconin, Sprout! Program Director.

Shoppers will be able to find just-picked produce at local farm stands and farmer’s markets.

But every farm offers a different approach; there’s on-the-farm butchering at Lake View Farm.

“Run ‘em through the scalder, pluck ‘em and then they’re eviscerated and there’s a whole crew that final finishes them, looks for anything that you wouldn’t want to put in your pan to eat,” said owner Andy Walton, Lake View Farm.

At Wintergreen Farm, the three families that co-own it focus on biodynamics, basically looking at the farm as a living organism.

“The result is food that’s very nutritious with very high quality in terms of flavor, appearance, fragrance, storage capability. All of that is enhanced,” said co-owner Wali Via, Winter Green Farm.

The largest aquaponic farm in the country calls southern Oregon home. It marries aquaculture with hydroponics.

“It’s a food production mechanism that produces good quality food with less resources and what more can you ask for?” said Olivia Hittner, Farming Fish Partner.

Living Earth Farm is the only predator-friendly certified farm in the state.

“Predator-friendly certification means your farm is not killing predators, not calling in government trappers to kill predators and taking measures to protect your livestock without using lethal means on the predators,” said owner Sharon Blick, Living Earth Farm.

For those who know where to find those local goods, there’s a way to make them last all year with a little help from the OSU Extension Service’s master food preservers.

Laura Hinrichs is a canning connoisseur.

“I think making things at home gives you a sense of what you’re eating. You know what’s in that jar or in that frozen package. You avoid additives, you avoid preservatives, you have just food. To me, that’s really wonderful and important,” Hinrichs said.

Another way to eat local all year, know which products are made here. Fern’s Edge Dairy milk and cheese is in grocery stores around the area.

“Made by hand, bottled by hand, packaged by hand, it’s very labor intensive and it’s very good,” said owner Shari Reyna, Fern’s Edge Dairy.

For pickled veggies with a kic, watch for this family’s recipe.

“There’s nothing quite like it available. Our products are fresh. We process them the next day from when they’re harvested. We’re able to create a crunchy pickle without adding chemicals or additives, which other mainstream companies would use,” said co-owner Matt Kurzhal, Kickin’ Pickles.

Feeling nutty? Pick up some of Honor Earth Farm’s organic hazelnuts.

“I think that’s my personal belief that agriculture should be done that way,” said owner Linda Perrine, Honor Earth Farm.

Plenty of local restaurants hold the same belief, like Party Cart and the Party Downtown. Almost 100 percent of the food there is locally sourced.

“We knew we wanted to use all local ingredients because that’s how we like to eat and that’s what we like to do,” said co-owner Tiffany Norton, Party Cart.

All these local eateries get at least 50 percent of their menu’s ingredients from our area and are the highlights from the past year of Sustainable Table.