The Applegater

and helps move dirt. Other people buck downed trees and clean up the wood. Shipley and others convince Paul Korbulic, the parks program director, to enter into a mutual agreement that would permit the community to run the park. Initially skeptical, Korbulic takes a leap of faith and helps draft a memorandum that the county commissioners sign in a park ceremony in the summer of '97. e Cantrall Buckley Park Committee is formed under the aegis of the Applegate Partnership. Korbulic remembers a feeling of "deep relief " that this beautiful park had been saved. Cantrall Buckley becomes the only rural park in Oregon (and probably the nation) entirely managed by an unincorporated community without a supporting tax district. e members of the Park Committee have their work cut out for them. ey hold several community meetings to figure things out and recruit volunteers. A $10,000 grant from the Carpenter Foundation helps them get started. ey hold fundraising events, and donations from the Applegate community pour in. The Park Committee hires a resident park ranger. e following year, the Park Committee finds a more suitable home under a new nonprofit with a tongue-twister name—the Greater Applegate Community Development Corporation (GACDC). By this time, Jackson County has pretty much washed its hands of Cantrall Buckley. Being on the Park Committee starts to feel pretty lonely. A popular program is "Movies in the Park." Applegaters gather every Friday night in the summer to watch a free family- friendly picture show on the big screen. Movies in the Park lasts several years until the copyright fees become too expensive. 2000 - present: Survival and rebirth In 2001 Rick Barclay, a local logger, replaces Terry Mitchell as park ranger. Because he doesn't know anything about running a park, much less one with a shoestring budget, it would be trial by fire for him, and in he leaps! Rick starts things off with a bang when he innocently applies for a septic permit. at's when he discovers the morass of county and state agencies he'll have to deal with. Rick gets a lot of help from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Laird Funk, a retired wastewater manager in Josephine County. In 2004, the Park Committee, under the leadership of Dave Laananen, develops a Park Master Plan, funded by BLM and fulfilled during the next ten with grants totaling over $600,000. Jackson County lends a hand. By the end of 2007, the park has a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment presentable by sponsoring competitions for the kids in cleaning and clearing. He fosters a family atmosphere that endears the park to the community. Families take a lot of pride in the park. The 80s: Park budget gets the ax e park flourishes, but with a reduced budget and reduced patronage. With the completion of the Applegate Dam, the floods stop, but the water released from the bottom of the dam is really cold. People cut back on swimming. Fishermen are happy, though. e trout love that cold water, and the salmon enjoy good water flows. More sites are added to the campground. Money continues to tighten in all county departments. County parks are placed under the Division of Public Works. Political infighting ensues. The 90s: Transition Neil Ledward retires in 1991 after 30 years as Jackson County Parks Director. Soon after, the county initiates wholesale changes to its park system. In a controversial decision, the parks department is placed under the county roads division. Timber sales continue to slacken. The county decides to preserve only a core of parks. Each county park undergoes a review. Cantrall Buckley doesn't make the cut. e park is popular but earns little income outside of gate receipts. e park needs a lot of work, but there is no money in the coffers. In 1996, the county decides to shutter the gates. Embittered park employees describe the closure as heart- wrenching. Some of them lose their jobs. Bud Childers retires. e community has no warning about losing their access to the Applegate River. Residents feel that the county has no idea how popular the park is. Ledward fights the closure from retirement—to no avail. Jack Shipley, who has just founded the Applegate Partnership, decides to organize a contingent of Applegaters to water and mow the grass, pick up trash, clear downed wood, and basically keep the park in shape until they can figure out what to do. e 1997 flood doesn't help. e park is hit hard once again, so neighbors come out in droves to help clean up. e Applegate Lions Club repairs all the picnic tables system. A highlight is the "Vegetative Submerged Bed," or VSB, suggested by DEQ. is cattail "swamp" naturally cleans the park's wastewater before it is pumped back to the campground for irrigation. e next year sees the redesign of the park's freshwater system and new campground restrooms. Dave Laananen, Park Committee leader Rick Barclay, park ranger 2001 - 2018. Jack Shipley, Park Committee 1997 - 2014. 2007 installation of new septic tank. Vegetative submerged bed (VSB), aka "The Swamp." Winefest fundraiser for the park sponsored by AVOVA. Laird Funk supervises installation of new electrical hookups in the campground. Ruch School students spread wood chips for new playground. ATA chair, David Calahan, prepares to lead a trail-work party. Always looking for capital improvement funds to augment gate receipts, the Park Committee holds a variety of fundraisers in the park. Most notable are the riverside wine festivals put on by the Applegate Valley Vintners Association (AVOVA). Other improvements follow, including a new campground entrance road and an Page 3 of 5

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