The Applegater

Applegater Fall 2020 19 OPINION PIECES AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Opinion pieces and letters to the editor represent the opinion of the author, not that of the Applegater or the Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc. As a community-based newsmagazine, we receive diverse opinions on different topics. We honor these opinions, but object to personal attacks and reserve the right to edit accordingly. Opinion pieces and letters to the editor must pertain to and mention the Applegate Watershed. We encourage authors to include verifiable facts to back up their arguments. Opinion pieces. Limited to 500 words; no images. Opinion pieces submitted by the same person will not be run consecutively. Responses to previously published opinion pieces will not be published. Must include publishable contact information (phone number and/or email address). Letters. Limited to 200 words; must be signed, with a full street address or PO Box and phone number. Only the writer's name and hometown will be published. Anonymous letters and opinion pieces, reprinted articles, press releases, and political campaign articles will not be published. Individual letters and opinion pieces may or may not be published. All submissions will be edited for grammar and length. Email opinion pieces and letters to gater@applegater.org or mail to Applegater, Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc., PO Box 14, Jacksonville, OR 97530. ADVERTISERS! We can help you reach your market! e Applegater is the only newsmagazine covering the entire Applegate Valley. With a circulation of 13,000 and a readership of more than 20,000, the Applegater covers Jacksonville, Ruch, Applegate, Williams, Murphy, Wilderville, Wonder, Jerome Prairie, and areas of Medford and Grants Pass. For more information, contact: Ron Turpen @ 541-601-1867 or ron.turpen@gmail.com Next deadline: November 1 APPLEGATER UPDATE Board members going and, we hope, coming BY DIANA COOGLE It's a legal requirement that every nonprofit organization have a board of directors. The Applegater is fortunate to have a great group of people on its board. However, we find ourselves in a precarious position. Cathy Rodgers has resigned, saying, in a series of poetic explanations, "It seems our world has tilted on the axis of bizarre./ And unplanned personal and family matters/have become unexpected life priorities." We are sorry to lose such a dynamic board member and wish her well. Paul Fattig has also had to resign, saying, in an exasperatingly humorous letter of resignation, "Despite all the countless atta-boys, high-fives and kudos from you fellow board members, it has finally dawned on me: I cannot be tr usted to keep the minutes at the Applegater board meetings. The o bv i o u s p ro b l e m i s t h a t o n c e yo u start adding what you think is a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, there is no stopping yourself. The solution, of course, is to stop cold turkey." Buried in his humor-tangled letter o f re s i g n a t i o n w a s a m o re s e r i o u s reason: "As I grow longer of tooth, I have become acutely—and painfully— aware that my physical abilities are g r ow i n g e v e r m o re l i m i t e d ," a n d , given the books he is writing and other activities, he is having to cut back on commitments. We are sorry to lose such a witty board member and wish him well. Suddenly, then, we find ourselves a four-member board—hard-working and dedicated, but only four. We need at least two more board members. Right away. The commitment is to come to monthly meetings in the Applegate (no chore; lots of fun), help with fundraising, and, as on any board, be willing to do what needs to be done. Anyone who lives in the Applegate can be a board member. We would especially like to have someone from Williams or the lower Applegate at the west end of the watershed. If you think you might be interested in seeing what the position is all about, c o n t a c t m e ( a t o n c e ! ) . Yo u a r e n't making a commitment by inquiring, and (really!) I won't rope you in, out of desperation, without your approval. Diana Coogle, Chair Applegater Newsmagazine 541-846-7447 diana@applegater.org EDITOR'S NOTES You came through—thank you! BY BERT ETLING Wow! We asked, you responded. anks to you, the Applegater is back in decent fiscal health and will be able to publish all four quarterly editions this year. After starting the year normally enough, our fiscal situation went sideways in the March-April period as the coronavirus crisis kicked in. Closed businesses didn't advertise (makes sense!) and people evidently had other things on their minds (COVID-19?) than returning donations in the envelopes included with our spring edition. Our fiscal situation rapidly went from steady-as-she-goes to the worst in five years. We contemplated paring back our already sparse publication schedule or at least saving money by printing fewer pages (not this time) or fewer color pages or a lower quality of paper (a decision still pending at this writing). Ever the community communicators, we sent out an appeal via email in May to existing donors and printed a written appeal in this space in the summer edition that came out in June—and were quickly overwhelmed at the response. Our financial situation is now back on an even keel—not at our strongest, but certainly no longer at our lowest in years. Your support, as always, allows us to continue serving as the voice of the Applegate Valley, distributed free to all addresses in the watershed and available for pickup throughout the area. We hope everyone benefits from our articulation of all things Applegate, but we appreciate that not everyone can afford to support the Applegater. That makes it all the more important for those who can afford it to offer the support you've shown recently. is edition includes a return envelope we're hoping you can return with a donation of the amount of your choice. With or without a donation, we'd also love it if you'd include a note on what you like about the Applegater, what you don't like, and what you would like to see us start doing. (You can also email me at the address below.) is is your paper. We're here to serve you and want to hear what you think about how best to do that. ank you again for all you've done and will do to make the Applegater possible. We're here for you; thanks for being there for us. • • • N e w i n t h i s A p p l e g a t e r i s a n environmental column by Luke Ruediger e n t i t l e d " T h e Si s k i y o u Mo u n t a i n Advocate" (see page 18). Luke grew up in Southwest Oregon and began exploring the region's unique habitat and terrain at an early age. Living with his wife, Suzie Savoie, in a remote, off-grid homestead at the foot of the Siskiyou Crest, Luke is executive director of the Applegate Neighborhood Network (ANN) and conservation director for the Klamath Forest Alliance's Siskiyou Field Office. He has done ecologically based forest restoration and land stewardship work for more than 15 years and is author of the hiking and natural history guide "The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History, and Ecology" (available on Amazon; use smile.Amazon.com and specify the Applegate Valley Community Newspaper as your charity of choice and we get a portion of the purchase price at no extra cost to you!). L u k e's c o l u m n f o l l o w s i n t h e tradition of Behind the Green Door, an environmental issues column by the late Chris Bratt which appeared for many years in the Applegater. In the summer 2019 Applegater Luke speculated about what Chris would say he should write about: "Stick to the issues, protect our environment, and save Wellington Wildlands." We're pleased to be the vehicle for Luke to share his extensive knowledge a b o u t e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s w i t h Ap p l e g a t e r re a d e r s , w h e t h e r a b o u t Wellington Wildlands or any other of the many environmental tipping points we confront. We like to think Chris, too, would be pleased. Bert Etling, Editor in Chief Applegater newsmagazine 541-631-1313 bert@applegater.org Burn reminder Before burning any time of year, check with your fire district to make sure that day is an official burn day and not a NO burn day. Jackson County 541-776-7007 Josephine County 541-476-9663 (Press 3)

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