The Applegater

Applegater Spring 2019 1 Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Permit #125 Medford OR ECRWSSEDDM Local Postal Customer SPRING 2019 Volume 12, No. 1 Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 13,000 Applegate Valley Community Newsmagazine Celebrating Years ~25~ Photo by Teya Jacobi applegater.org BY CATHY RODGERS See CANTRALL BUCKLEY PARK, page 10. See HEALTHIER LIFEST YLE, page 12. Searching for a healthier lifestyle? Applegate businesses can help BY DIANA COOGLE Cantrall Buckley Park Example of community collaboration Merete's Cove—an Applegate legacy BY TOM CARSTENS See MERETE'S COVE, page 24. A re yo u d e p re s s e d ? Ha ve yo u experienced a recent death? Do you feel fat, need exercise, suffer from tension or anxiety, seek spiritual direction? Or maybe you just want to become a calmer, more empathetic person. Whatever your mind or body needs, there is someone in the Applegate to help. Massage. Haley May of May Massage Arts says massage is especially helpful for someone undergoing a big life event (losing a job, getting a divorce) or stressful times (planning an event, hosting a holiday). Massage lowers blood pressure and increases circulation by relieving stress. It also provides a needed sense of touch and connection. Yoga. Besides improving flexibility and increasing muscle tone, energy levels, and focus, "yoga helps calm your mind and body and balance every aspect of your life," says yoga instructor Teri Becker. "And when you feel better mentally and physically, you have more energy and patience." Cassidy Gepper t says yoga "is healing in that it helps me become fully comfortable in my own skin," but as a yoga instructor she is interested in "changes on the awareness level: How we relate to the rest of the world." Meditation. Barrett Gifford, who leads Zazen meditations, calls Zazen, "a nonreligious philosophy" and meditation "an opportunity to practice insight and contemplation into the workings of your own mind. It actually rewires the neural networking of the brain," she says, "and teaches us how to act from a place of compassion," addressing tendencies to be anxious, depressed, or angry. Nutrition. The Hawthorn Institute, a school for herbal medicine and Ayurveda (a traditional Hindu system of medicine), has two guiding principles: "The body and the mind are one, and nothing has more power to heal and transform the body than the mind." Their Foundations Program, for instance, encompasses place-based herbalism, lifestyle, yoga, Ayurveda, sustainable farming, diet, and nutrition. Yoga instructor Cassidy Geppert believes yoga is healing. C a n t r a l l Bu c k l e y Pa rk , w h i c h celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has become a prime example of private and public partnerships collaborating for the common good of the community. Much has been accomplished at Cantrall Buckley Park in the last few months, and many exciting projects loom on the horizon. Solar array O n e o f t h e m o s t n o t e w o r t h y improvements is the installation of the Solar Array. A Greater Applegate (AGA), in collaboration with Jackson County Parks, received an $89,000 grant from Pacific Power's Blue Sky program to install a 23.4 kilowatt solar array. The array is now generating electricity for the park and sends any surplus electricity back to the county power grid. This array helps Jackson County Parks become a more sustainably operated county park system, while also providing a welcome shade structure for park users. Incorporated into the space is an educational component, enabling guests at the park to learn about the benefits of sustainable solar energy. Park supporters are grateful for the funds provided by the Blue Sky program that helped to make this project a reality! Steve Lambert, Jackson County Parks program manager, says, "My thanks to AGA for all the assistance in the creation and installation of the educational display kiosk." Sundial Complementing the solar array is the newly installed sundial. Modeled after ancient sundials, it uses the same scientific principles applied by the Greeks, Babylonians, and Egyptians thousands of years ago. The interactive sundial engages park visitors as gnomons— the projecting pieces of a sundial that The newly installed solar array at Cantrall Buckley Park. Photo: Cathy Rodgers. show the time by the position of their shadows—as they cast their own shadows onto locally positioned numeric tiles. The accompanying educational pedestal and sign offer fun facts, information, and instructions on how to use the sundial to tell time. The design, constr uction, and installation of the sundial were made possible by generous donations from the Oregon Community Foundation, the Carpenter Foundation, private donors, and the time and talent of our local artists and volunteers, including Audrey Eldridge, Lydia Shockey, Jeremy Criswell, Cathy Rodgers, and Bert Bouler—all under the leadership of Janis "Keith, you've got to do something!" In h e r Da n i s h a c c e n t , Me re t e ( p ro n o u n c e d " Me r i t a" ) We t l e s e n encouraged her son, Keith, to purchase and reopen the wayside park adjacent to the Applegate Store. To her chagrin, the park had been closed for several years due to problems with vagrants. Back in the day, Keith Wetlesen spent his boyhood summers swimming in the Applegate River. He enjoyed the challenge of mastering those rapids just upriver from the swimming hole. In fact, Keith credits these experiences with giving him the confidence to handle himself in the water. He had a chance to put that know- how to the test when he was in the navy. In 1978, Keith's ship was hit with an off- target bomb and began taking on water Mock Orange sculpture, first of 11 sculptures by artist Cheryl Garcia to be installed along the "Art in the Park" walk. Photo: Cathy Rodgers. Keith Wetlesen, owner of Merete's Cove. Photo: Tom Carstens.

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