Thurston High School

On May 21, 1998, 15-year-old freshman student Kipland "Kip" Kinkel, opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle in the cafeteria of Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, United States, killing two of his classmates and wounding 25 others. He had killed his parents at the family home the day before, following his suspension pending an expulsion hearing after he admitted to school officials that he was keeping a stolen handgun in his locker. Fellow students subdued him, leading to his arrest. He later characterized his actions as an attempt to get others to kill him, since he wanted to take his own life after killing his parents but could not bring himself to. During the year prior to the shooting, Kinkel's increasingly aberrant behavior and fascination with weapons and death had led his parents to take him to a psychologist, who diagnosed major depressive disorder. After he appeared to respond to Prozac, treatment was discontinued and the prescription expired. But Kinkel's parents had not disclosed histories of mental illness in their families, and Kinkel himself had not told anyone about having heard voices urging him to violence since he was 12, out of fear of being ostracized or institutionalized. Since the shootings he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and takes antipsychotic medication; his sister and one of the victims believe that better awareness of mental health issues might have averted the shooting. Kinkel pled guilty to murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole; a sentence upheld on appeal. He is currently incarcerated at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem. The shooting made national news, as the latest in a series of school shootings over the previous year. Kinkel's was seen as more egregious than the earlier ones before since he had gone into a crowded internal space and indiscriminately opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. President Bill Clinton spoke at the high school a month later about the issue. A memorial outside the school memorializes the two students killed.

Thurston is a neighborhood in the eastern part of Springfield, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 126. Before being annexed by Springfield, it was formerly an unincorporated community with its own post office. The earliest land claims in the Thurston area by white settlers were in 1851. A small crossroads community, including a general store and a blacksmith shop, formed at the corner of Thurston Road and 66th Street. The settlement was named for pioneer George H. Thurston, son of Samuel Thurston. Thurston post office was established in 1877. The ZIP code for Thurston post office boxes is 97482. The ZIP code for delivered mail is 97478.Thurston Community Hall was built in 1912. It was the first building in Oregon that was constructed using curved laminated beams. Now known as the Thurston Grange Hall, it is still in use today.

The Jacob Clearwater House in Springfield, Oregon was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. It was home to the Clearwater family who transited the Oregon Trail and homesteaded 320 acres (1.3 km2) in 1865 along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. It was built in 1874 and is one of only four houses from 1874 or before in the Springfield area.It is a Gothic Revival-style house.The listing includes 43 acres (17 ha) of land containing the house and a historic water tower. The water tower is 10 by 10 feet (3.0 m × 3.0 m) in plan.

Yarnell is an unincorporated historic locale in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It was located about 5 miles south of Mohawk, in the Mohawk Valley.Yarnell was a station on the now-defunct Marcola line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was established in 1901, and was likely named for Jere Yarnell, a local resident listed as living in the area in the 1880 census. There was a Yarnell covered bridge about a mile north of the station that carried Hill Road over the Mohawk River. The bridge was built in 1916 and demolished in 1958. In 1915 there was a Yarnell School.

Jasper is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is southeast of Springfield on Oregon Route 222, at the confluence of Hills Creek and the Middle Fork Willamette River. Jasper was the site of a siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascade Line (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad), which was named for local resident Jasper B. Hills, the son of Cornelius Joel Hills, who settled at the locale in 1846. The Jasper post office was established in 1884.Jasper State Recreation Site, a state park, is south of Jasper. Jasper is served by the Pleasant Hill School District.

Mount Pisgah is a hill in Lane County, Oregon, United States, rising 1,060 feet (320 m) above the surrounding Willamette Valley to a maximum elevation of 1,531 feet (467 m). It was named after the biblical Mount Pisgah. It is situated between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette River, two miles (3 km) southeast of their confluence. Springfield is immediately north of Mount Pisgah, and the city of Eugene is a few miles west. It is the site of the 2363-acre (956 hectare) Howard Buford Recreation Area as well as the non-profit Mount Pisgah Arboretum at its base.

The Mohawk River is the largest tributary of the McKenzie River, approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, in west central Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the foothills of the Cascade Range on the southeast end of the Willamette Valley northeast of Springfield. It rises in northern Lane County, approximately 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Springfield. It flows generally southwest and enters the McKenzie from the north on the north side of Springfield. The river's valley is known as the Mohawk Valley.The Mohawk River was probably given its name by Jacob C. Spores in 1849. Spores was a native of the Mohawk River region of New York, and the Oregon river's valley reminded him of the Mohawk Valley in his home state. In turn, the Oregon river gave its name to the Mohawk River band of Kalapuyan Native Americans who inhabited the river valley in the 19th century. They are not related to the Mohawk tribe in the eastern United States. Current and former settlements in the Mohawk Valley include Mabel, Marcola, Mohawk, and Wendling. Named tributaries from source to mouth are North Fork Mohawk River and South Fork Mohawk River followed by Log, Bette, Drury, Shotgun, Polly, Mill, and Cartwright creeks. Further downstream come Parsons and McGowan creeks, then Alder Branch followed by Spores, Stafford, and Sister creeks.

The Mount Pisgah Arboretum (85 ha / 209 acres) is a non-profit arboretum and botanical garden located within the Howard Buford Recreation Area (930 ha / 2,300 acre), between the Coast Fork of the Willamette River and the slopes of Mount Pisgah near Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, United States. The Friends of Mount Pisgah Arboretum was established in 1973 when it began to construct trails, build bridges, remove invasive species, and publish newsletters. Wildflower and mushroom shows were first held in 1981; staff hiring began in the early 1980s. The arboretum's original mission was to have international plantings, however most of the early international donations were moved off site. This has changed to maintaining Pacific Northwest plant communities, offer environmental education programs, and provide for public enjoyment of its site.The arboretum includes 7 miles (11 km) of riverside trails with 23 bridges, riparian meadows, evergreen forests, a rare section of preserved oak savanna, Douglas-fir and incense-cedar forests on hillsides, a water garden, wildflower meadows, a wooded picnic area, and restrooms. The White Oak Pavilion took the place of the deteriorating quonset hut shelter in 2005. The arboretum's habitats are home to many species of native mosses, lichens, ferns, shrubs, and wildflowers. 67 families, 231 genera, and 339 plant species have been identified on the site. Wildlife includes bats, deer, coyote, foxes, and other small mammals, the endangered western pond turtle, the sensitive species red-legged frog, tree frogs, gopher and garter snakes, and lizards. Birding is a popular activity in the arboretum, which is home to a variety of migratory and resident songbirds, raptors, and waterfowl. The arboretum publishes a bird checklist, as well as a plant checklist, to aid visitors in identifying the local species. Parking is $4 per car and permits can be purchased at a self-service pay station.

Pine Ridge Golf Club is a golf course in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Mohawk Valley about eight miles northeast of the Eugene-Springfield area. Part of the course is located along the Mohawk River. The 18-hole course is just over 6500 yards.

Jasper State Recreation Site is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

Emerald Christian Academy, originally called Emerald Junior Academy, is a private Christian school in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, United States. It is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Children from kindergarten to eighth grade may enroll. The first through fourth graders are enrolled in the Accelerated Reader system, and sixth through eighth graders may participate in MathCounts competitions. The school has been accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED) as part of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools since 1994.

McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is an acute care hospital located in Springfield, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1955, it serves the Lane County area. McKenzie-Willamette is investor-owned, and accredited by the Joint Commission. Licensed for 114 hospital beds, the facility was the only hospital in Springfield until the Sacred Heart facility at RiverBend opened in August 2008.