McKenzie River Reflections

1 week ago | mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com | Isobel Charle

Oregon maintained a troubling ranking, holding at 43rd in the nation for children’s education, according to the 2025 Kids Count Data Book, a national report developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Jenna Marie, data and research manager for the advocacy group Our Children Oregon, said both fourth grade reading and eighth grade math proficiency have hit all-time lows in the state, with only about a quarter of students meeting benchmarks. The numbers are not far from the national average.

1 week ago | mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com | Finn John

Among musicians and fans of old-time string-band music, Benjamin Franklin Jarrell is basically royalty. As a member of one of the most influential bands from the golden age of old-time music — DaCosta Woltz’s Southern Broadcasters — old Ben helped preserve that classic Appalachian-mountain style of fiddle-and-banjo string bands. His son, Thomas Jefferson “Tommy” Jarrell, is maybe the most influential old-time fiddle player even today, 40 years after his death.

1 week ago | mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com | Linda Brewer |OSU Extension

The most consumed drink in the world has more benefits than just keeping us awake. Spent coffee grounds can be used as a soil amendment and compost ingredient, while liquid coffee acts as an effective slug killer. According to various sources, between 400 billion to 1 trillion cups of coffee are consumed around the world every year. No matter the number, that’s a lot of coffee, which means a lot of spent coffee grounds.

3 weeks ago | mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com | Christopher Elliott

I purchased a ticket from SeatGeek to a Remi Wolf concert. The listing on SeatGeek advertised Rachel Chinouriri as the opening act. I was excited to see Rachel Chinouriri perform, and that was the only reason I bought the ticket. Turns out Rachel Chinouriri had dropped out of the lineup before I bought my ticket. SeatGeek never updated its website. I contacted the company and it offered me a $20 promo credit. I appealed and SeatGeek upped it to a promo code worth 100 percent of my ticket.

3 weeks ago | mckenzieriverreflectionsnewspaper.com | Christopher Elliott

I booked a flight from Tampa to San Diego on American Airlines. The day before my flight, I received a notification that it had been canceled due to Hurricane Milton. I requested a refund but American Airlines issued a flight credit that expires in one year. I only booked the ticket the day before, so I feel I should get a full refund. Can you help me get my $321 back? Nathan Ciurzynski, Bradenton, Fla. You should have received a full refund for your canceled flight.