Blacksmith, harness shops provided essential services
Blacksmith and harness shops were as essential 100 years ago as auto mechanics and service stations are today. In Yreka, California, they included the Swan & LeMay Carriage Making and Blacksmith...
View ArticleAs It Was: School building serves as church rectory
Soon after its founding in 1883, the Medford community needed a school for its children. The first school was a one-room building on South Central in Medford, a subscription school that cost $5 to...
View ArticleBureau of Reclamation rescued Bear Creek irrigation
Three irrigation districts in Southern Oregon first realized in the 1930s that their infrastructure was deteriorating. Founded years earlier as private companies, they also realized they couldn’t...
View ArticleGood coffee comes to the Rogue Valley
It used to be hard to get a good cup of coffee in the Rogue Valley and the rest of Oregon. That's all changed. Said one aficionado, "Coffee was watered down ink when I left in the late 1960s. When I...
View ArticleAs It Was: Central Point vs. the Railroad
First it was the Oregon and California Railroad that chose to run its tracks straight as an arrow through the Bear Creek Valley, bypassing the tiny town of Central Point, Oregon, by a half mile in...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Happy returns; embrace our differences
It is Saturday morning as I write my first Council Corner. A fresh cup of coffee and a fresh, brand-new day. I love mornings, often getting up at 4 a.m. to prepare for the day.I am happy and grateful...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Excerpt from the State of the City 2017
Here is a sequence of six propositions, each of which builds on the ones before it, that concerns the curious relationship between survival and opportunity in these tumultuous times:1. This...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Ashland’s climate action plan
For many in Ashland and further afield, this has been a frightening start to 2017, with the change in priorities of the current administration and the effect this change may have on the elimination of...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Welcome to Ashland — it's complicated
I've said before that I sometimes think on our “Welcome to Ashland” signs, our town slogan underneath should read “It’s Complicated.” That seems to embody what it is like to deal with the myriad issues...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Reasons to be optimistic
There is a lot of angst and frustration with government right now in our country and our communities. Times are challenging, resources constrained and expectations often out of sync with limited...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Getting acquainted with Traci Darrow
Since this is my first Council Corner after being appointed to the City Council on Feb. 21, I thought I should let readers know more about me.Who is this person? Where did she come from?I was born and...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: It's April 12 — do you know what your community is doing?
It has been five months since the fall elections. For many of us these five months have felt like a revolution. Personally, my appetite for the crises of the day is waning. I've come to the conclusion...
View ArticleExplaining my vote on social grant funding
At our last City Council meeting, we were asked to affirm recommended social service grant funding put forth by the Health and Human Services Commission. At the meeting, I suggested that the...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Decision-making and transparency
Being on the City Council, I have learned that decisions come from a group process and things don’t always go the way you might want.We are a diverse group of councilors with different life...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: Addressing affordable housing
Can we really achieve affordable housing in Ashland?There is definitely a need for housing affordability in Ashland. Housing in Ashland costs more than in many of the surrounding communities.On one...
View ArticleCouncil Corner: The view from inside the eye of the storm
There’s a lot of swirl out there right now, in case you haven’t noticed. National politics is beyond what we might call “interesting," and here in Ashland we are grappling with weighty issues, trying...
View ArticleNo family? Resources still available for aging seniors
Not a month goes by when I don’t hear from someone who wonders how to plan for their needs as they age if they have no adult children or other close family members and friends. This is not an isolated...
View ArticleAging Happens: Taking steps to avoid falls
It’s been said that falling is a game-changer for older adults. This is not meant to describe a change for the better, either. Here are some facts from a local organization, Age Friendly Innovators...
View ArticleParkinson's presentation coming up
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while a tremor...
View Article'Prepare for Care' forum coming May 7
If you’re convinced you might be aging, then you might also consider that the time will come, ready or not, when you might need care. Or you may be called upon to provide care for another. This topic...
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