Rebuilding Our Valley

APRIL 25, 2021

REBUILDING OUR VALLEY

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4/13/2021 3:10:51 PM

SHELTER

TIPPING POINT for HOUSING NEEDS Projects are taking shape to put roofs over peoples heads in the Rogue Valley

By DAMIAN MANN

E

Mail Tribune

fforts in recent years to provide shelter for homeless and lower-income people lost hard-earned ground last year after many local residents found their fortunes altered by the fires and the pandemic.

Jackson County is still reeling from the Almeda fire, which destroyed a large amount of affordable housing in the valley, leaving more people living on the edge and looking for food, warmth and shelter.

“We’ve gone backwards because the numbers are increasing,” said Chad McComas, executive director of Rogue Retreat, which houses 300 homeless people JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE on any given night in facilRogue Retreat announced plans this winter to convert the Redwood Inn in ities ranging from tiny houses and tents to a group Medford into 47 suites with kitchens for use by Almeda fire survivors and shelter in downtown Medford. people vulnerable to COVID who need to isolate.

Some 2,500 homes were destroyed during the Almeda fire, and many of the mobile home parks that burned have not been rebuilt.

Apartments were hard to find even before the fire because the vacancy rate is so low, and the rents are so high that many residents who lived in mobile homes can’t afford them.

Local and federal officials responded by JULIE BROWN, Jackson County Continuum of Care board of directors providing short-term space at hotels and at Southern Oregon RV Park as a temporary measure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency installed 89 trailers at the RV park.

“A lot of people were staying with other people on couches.

Now they’re being moved out.

Now they need to find a place to stay.”

SEE TIPPING

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4/13/2021 3:11:01 PM

SHELTER

Our Valley 2021 REBUILDING OUR VALLEY Our Valley is an annual publication focusing on life in the Rogue Valley.

This year’s theme is “Rebuilding Our Valley,” a look at efforts to recover from the twin disasters of fire and pandemic that struck in 2020 and altered life in ways we will be coming to grips with for years to come.

PUBLISHER Steven Saslow OUR VALLEY EDITOR David Smigelski JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

The Kelly Shelter in downtown Medford is one of the efforts overseen by Rogue Retreat to get people off the streets.

FROM TIPPING

POINT, PAGE 4

An eviction moratorium in Oregon that will last until July 1 is designed to Rogue Retreat opened an urban help deal with COVID-19 issues. campground last year off Biddle Road “There will be a tsunami of homein north Medford that has 60 camplessness when they start evicting sites for homeless people. people,” McComas predicted.

The organization A rental assistance was looking for a new According to FEMA, program run by home for the campACCESS saw a 200% more than 2,000 fire ground, because with 478 survivors moved in with increase, Rogue Retreat leases families seeking help the land from the friends and family, and in 2020 compared to property owner. about 790 were in hotels. 146 in 2019.

Rogue Retreat plans “As time goes Others were either to open Foundry by, the need is only Village in Grants unsheltered or living increasing,” said Pass, as well as Heart in RVs and campers, cars, Melanie Doshier, Village in Medford. support services group shelters, tents, They both will offer director at ACCESS. tiny houses to shelter damaged houses, at work Julie Brown, who is homeless people. on the Jackson County or in houses of worship, McComas estiContinuum of Care mates he would need according to October data. board of directors, to open about five said the Almeda fire additional shelter operations in the has presented other challenges. region to handle a majority of the In March, 807 people displaced by the homeless population. fire were living in hotels, an increase of He said that he sees more difficulalmost 700 from a month earlier. ties ahead that would increase the SEE TIPPING POINT, PAGE 8 number of people who are homeless.

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SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR Scott Sussman GRAPHIC DESIGN Robert Galvin PHOTOGRAPHERS Jamie Lusch Andy Aktinson Denise Baratta CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vickie Aldous Tammy Asnicar Tony Boom Allayana Darrow Jim Flint Mark Freeman Sarah Lemon Damian Mann Nick Morgan Rhonda Nowak Ryan Pfeil Buffy Pollock Joe Zavala

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4/13/2021 3:11:10 PM

SHELTER

MAIL TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO

The Inn at the Commons is being converted into a 132-unit apartment complex, one of several projects underway in the Medford area that may help to ease the local housing crunch.

FROM TIPPING

POINT, PAGE 6

“A lot of people were staying with other people on couches,” Brown said. “Now they’re being moved out. Now they need to find a place to stay.”

She said a great deal of effort was put into getting FEMA trailers installed in Phoenix and Talent, the two communities that sustained the most damage from the Almeda fire.

According to FEMA, more than 2,000 fire survivors moved in with friends and family, and about 790 were in hotels.

Others were either unsheltered or living in RVs and campers, cars, group shelters, tents, damaged houses, at work or in houses of worship, according to October 2020 data.

An estimated 255 people had found a new temporary rental, 60 found a new permanent rental, 42 were in a secondary residence such as a vacation cabin, and 14 had bought a new home by the end of October 2020.

While affordable housing will remain a problem in the near term, especially for fire survivors and others already facing homelessness, a number of projects are in the works to ease the housing crunch for low-income people as 2021 unfolds.

The Phoenix-Talent School District is working with partners to create a housing site on property it owns along Colver Road.

With help from a $250,000 grant from the People’s Bank of Commerce Foundation, the Talent Urban Renewal Agency announced in January it’s working to create transitional

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JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Rogue Retreat provides temporary help for the homeless at an urban campground off Biddle Road in Medford.

housing on land it owns at the corner of Highway 99 and West Valley View Road.

Rogue Retreat is working on a proposal to buy The Redwood Inn at 722 N. Riverside Ave., for $2.35 million and convert it into 47 suites with kitchens.

In March the project received a $2.55 million grant through Project Turnkey, a $30 million grant program passed by the state Legislature designed to aid fire victims in Oregon.

Rogue Retreat planned to put prefabricated kitchenettes in 31 units. The remaining 16 units already have kitchens.

“A lot of pieces have yet to come together, but it’s exciting to see what’s coming on the horizon,” said Matthew Vorderstrasse, Rogue Retreat development director.

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SHELTER He said his organization was pushing for an accelerated timeline to get fire survivors into the converted motel by summer, or fall at the latest.

He said the goal was to put fire survivors in rooms as quickly as they can be remodeled.

The units would have a mix of fire survivors who got burned out of their homes, and homeless people who were displaced by the fire. Up to 100, including couples and small families, could be housed in the renovated motel, he said.

“It would be the biggest project we’ve ever been involved in,” Vorderstrasse said.

The units will be rented on a sliding scale based on residents’ incomes.

Vorderstrasse said the two-story motel is in generally good shape, but it will need improvements such as disability access, flooring and other upgrades.

Harry Weiss, director of MURA, said in January that Jackson County doesn’t have enough housing for people in various socioeconomic levels.

“Unfortunately, the Almeda fire helped us hit a tipping point,” he said.

While Jackson County could use more emergency shelter beds for homeless people, it lacks sufficient transitional housing, which would be the next step beyond the shelters.

“There is no place for those people to graduate to,” said Weiss, who added that hotel conversions are happening throughout the country.

For instance, The Inn at the Commons is going to be converted into a 132-unit apartment complex.

The Oregon Legislature set aside $65 million for Project Turnkey, and $30 million of that is earmarked for counties and tribal communities impacted by the 2020 wildfires.

The money is specifically for the purpose of acquiring motels and hotels for use as shelters for people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness.

A 50-room Super 8 motel in Ashland will be converted into an apartment complex for fire victims after Options for Helping Residents of Ashland received a $4.2 million grant from Project Turnkey.

Even though the county already received one grant, state Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, said in January the Redwood Inn project should receive considerable support.

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“Jackson County is a place of high priority,” said Marsh, who helped push for Project Turnkey. “We know we have a crisis on our streets.”

The Medford Urban Renewal Agency was working on several projects that could help address the housing crisis as part of its efforts to further downtown revitalization.

Keeping track of all the projects almost feels like playing a game of Monopoly, with three hotels potentially being transformed into apartments, one new hotel in the works, low-income housing and other smaller proposals.

“There is a lot of positive momentum right now,” said Eric Stark, MURA board chair.

One project was the potential conversion of America’s Best Value Inn from a 74-room motel into small apartments at 518 N. Riverside Ave., near the Redwood Inn conversion being pursued by Rogue Retreat.

Fortify Holdings, which was planning to convert the Inn at the Commons into 123 apartments, was also working on the America’s Best project.

The Liberty Park neighborhood is being teed up for a number of projects thanks to an almost $18 million catalyst from MURA. MURA has been buying up some properties in the Liberty Park neighborhood, hoping to help spark a transformation of the area, which is also going to get various street improvements.

MURA was in negotiations with a developer to transform a 45-space parking lot at Eighth and Holly streets into a housing project of up to 50 units, similar in scale to the 50-unit Concord, a four-story low-income apartment complex behind the Mail Tribune building off Grape Street.

Another parking lot on Jackson Street could also be converted into a 12-unit complex.

“This is quite a moment for moving forward with projects,” Stark said in March. “They’re not just ideas. They are coming to fruition.”

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-7764476 or dmann@rosebudmedia.com.

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4/13/2021 3:11:20 PM

REAL ESTATE

A LONG REBOUND

A chronic housing shortage was made much worse by twin disasters in 2020, and the short-handed construction industry can’t keep up prices climbed due to weaker supply, but sales finished strong in Jackson County despite the lack of inventory.

Benefiting from the trend were sellers who saw increased value from their homes, although they he COVID-19 pandemic hit both the supply faced the prospect of buying and the demand sides again in a higher-priced market, of the Jackson County houssaid Cheryl Faria, a principal ing market in 2020. Then the broker with Windermere Van Sept. 8 Almeda and Obenchain Vleet in Medford and president fires destroyed an estimated of the Southern Oregon Multiple 2,800 residences, putting even Listing Service. more pressure on prices and Buyers seeking a first home availability. were disadvantaged by the trends Homes are the centerpiece for as price increases made it harder the American family, says Brad for them to compete for the few Bennington, executive officer units available, said Faria. On of the Builders Association of some days in early 2021, only Southern Oregon. But as the around 250 homes were for sale pandemic unfolded in 2020, conin all of Jackson County. tractors who address the supply “I don’t see anything changCHERYL FARIA, president, side of the dream built about 25% Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service ing in the near future,” said fewer new homes than in 2019.

Faria. “Given everything that Those who handle the demand was thrown at us, we have still seen a consistent side, Realtors, saw a decline in sales when the market with lower inventory.” pandemic first hit, with sellers holding back and

By TONY BOOM

for the Mail Tribune

T

“I don’t see anything changing in the near future. Given everything that was thrown at us, we have still seen a consistent market with lower inventory.”

SEE REBOUND, PAGE 12

leaving fewer homes available. For 2020 overall,

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

The number of homes for sale plummeted during the pandemic.

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WE ARE HERE FOR YOU

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REAL ESTATE FROM REBOUND, PAGE 10

BY THE NUMBERS

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

James Hawk of Hawkeye Construction works on the roof of a home being rebuilt in Talent after the Almeda fire.

HOUSING FIGURES FOR 2020

HOUSING FIGURES FOR 2019

UNITS SOLD 3,746

UNITS SOLD 3,777

YEAR-END INVENTORY 260

YEAR-END INVENTORY 671

MEDIAN PRICE $343,000

MEDIAN PRICE $312,900

AVG. DAYS ON MARKET 36

AVG. DAYS ON MARKET 55

NEW BUILDS +/- 300

NEW BUILDS +/- 400

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Faria said that more than 20 years in real estate keeps her from making predictions about the market long term. She’s seen run-ups in prices and then the large devaluation and lack of loan funding that followed the Great Recession of 2008.

If concerns about the pandemic ease, 2021 could be a good year with perhaps more homes appearing on the market, said Rogue Valley Association of Realtors spokesperson Colin Mullane, during an early-year press conference to announce 2020 real estate numbers.

Historically low interest rates would need to remain in place, sellers would need to feel safe letting potential buyers in their homes, and sellers would need to be more comfortable about moving, Mullane said. That might put more properties on the market in the second half of the year.

Sales for both existing and new homes in the county were just 31 residential units behind the numbers seen in 2019, with 3,746 sold in 2020.

Inventory declines started in March with a 25% drop and accelerated to the point where inventory on Dec. 31, 2020, was 39% of the total seen at the end of 2019, with 260 homes on the market versus 671.

The median home price throughout Jackson County was up 10%, from $312,900 in 2019 to $343,000 last year. Days on the market for existing homes saw a decline from 55 days in 2019 to 36 in 2020. Buyers need to move quickly as homes are seeing multiple offers, said Mullane. Most homes are selling at or near 100% of asking price.

A lack of inventory first appeared in 2019, even before the twin disasters of pandemic and fire, said Mullane, who is broker/owner of Full Circle Real Estate in Ashland. A more normal local market has anywhere from 800 to 1,100 homes available at any one time.

In 2019, 400 new homes were constructed, said Bennington. That was with about 25% of the contractors and subcontractors — including electricians, cabinet makers and others — who were working prior to the Great Recession. There are also fewer skilled laborers available, he said.

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“The industry was running at 100% and not keeping up with the market,” said Bennington. “We just don’t have the resources we need to do what we have to do.”

New home construction for 2020 might have hit 300 units with the pandemic slowing production. Safety precautions to slow the spread of the virus caused part of the decline, but there were delays in getting materials as major producers also experienced pandemic-induced delays, said Bennington.

Work by planning departments and building inspectors has also slowed, he noted.

“We are highly regulated. We can’t outrun the paperwork,” said Bennington. “If I were going to guess, it will be closer to five than three years to see 400 homes again.”

As of late February, Bennington said he was aware of just 36 home rebuilds from fire losses. Those were mostly people who had their own lots cleaned of fire debris instead of waiting for the free FEMA help.

Mullane said rebuilding of burned units will cut into new home output.

Estimates of stick-built home losses are in the 800- to 900-unit range, he said, or about three years of building at the current pace.

Realtors adopted new practices and expanded others to handle sales during the pandemic. Use of virtual tours of homes increased substantially. Buyers were asked to view homes online and drive by before seeking visits. Masks were required, gloves worn and other sanitation practices employed.

“I think since the pandemic, it has caused all of us to switch our businesses to be more mindful of other people and how they are reacting. We have adjusted to keep people safe,” said Faria, who expects many of the practices to remain.

Open houses have returned, but with limitations on numbers, said Faria.

Some are conducted in empty houses where owners have already moved on.

As the pandemic spread and people learned they could work from home, some people decided to leave major metropolitan areas for more remote homes, said Faria.

Those who came to the Rogue Valley were looking for a house with a fourth bedroom that could become an office.

If they wanted rural property, they needed to consider the strength of broadband availability, she said.

Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com.

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING

the

WAITING W GAME

By TONY BOOM

for the Mail Tribune

Trailers and apartments are coming ... but rental market will be tough for a while yet

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Reconstruction was underway at a Talent apartment complex in November.

“I think we will come back stronger.

I think it’s going to be a bit of a slow road at first. It’s going to be a slow process, but I’m optimistic.”

DAVE WRIGHT, president, CPM Real Estate Services

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ith the median home price in urban areas of Jackson County at $345,000 at the end of January, many Rogue Valley residents are getting priced out of mortgages, forcing them into rentals and manufactured homes.

The September 2020 Almeda fire, which destroyed nearly 2,500 residences from Ashland to south Medford, tightened an already tight rental market and burned an estimated 1,748 manufactured houses, most located in trailer parks.

It’s made finding housing an even more difficult process, with low vacancy rates and a lack of available trailer spaces.

Dave Wright, president of CPM Real Estate Services, which manages rental properties, and Lora Hawk of Holton Creek Homes, which sells new manufactured homes, both see signs of optimism, but they say things won’t move quickly.

ALMEDA FIRE EFFECT ON RENTAL/SALES MARKET BEFORE FIRE

AFTER FIRE

RENTAL VACANCY RATES

2-3%

1%

RIVER VALLEY HOMES SALES

50-60/YEAR

FEW LISTINGS

MANUFACTURED HOMES

$10K/2010

$30-40K/2021

1970s DOUBLE-WIDES

<$50,000

>$100,000

4/13/2021 3:11:41 PM

AFFORDABLE HOUSING “I think we will come back stronger,” said Wright. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a slow road at first. It’s going to be a slow process, but I’m optimistic.”

Hawk has already taken orders for manufactured homes from people burned out in Phoenix’s Creekside Estates and Mountain View Estates in Talent.

She noted that park owners are making plans to get them rebuilt and occupied again.

“We are hoping by next year that we will be going back into some of the parks,” said Hawk. “It’s looking positive in that direction for the communities.”

Rental vacancy rates were running in the 2% to 3% range prior to the Almeda fire, said Wright. After the fire, vacancies fell into the 1% range.

“It’s definitely tighter than it was before COVID and the fires. I’d say we are close to 1% vacancy,” said Wright.

“There are still some vacancies. We are renting units, but it has been fewer than before COVID.” Wright’s firm manages 2,100 rental housing units and also handles 800 trailer spaces in manufactured home parks. The company has offices in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass.

Wright said he’s seen increases in rental rates. Some property owners are looking at the market and adjusting to that, he said. “It’s difficult because there is very little out there. The availability is limited on the rental and the sales side.”

Given the tight market, renters may not always get what they want.

“I do know that tenants are having to be a little more flexible on where they locate and what the property is in this type of market,” said Wright. “Single-family homes are hard to find right now. Since the fire people have been looking for homes versus apartments.”

Despite the tight situation, Wright said there are some optimistic signs for the future.

Some bigger apartment complexes will be coming online.

A 100-unit apartment is being built in Medford, and plans to convert the Inn at the Commons to studio and one-bedroom housing units have been announced.

The state has money it would like to commit in the Phoenix and Talent areas to create affordable housing, he

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said. Wright’s firm, which also handles land and real estate sales, has been contacted about land for housing.

“I’m getting more interest in multifamily housing (land) than I have ever seen. That’s a good sign,” said Wright.

“I think there’s a lot of people in the community wanting and trying to help. It’s definitely a confusing process going through something like this that no one has gone through in our area.”

Owners of four mobile home parks where Wright was doing management have plans to rebuild.

River Valley Homes had been selling from 50 to 60 used manufactured homes per year before 2020, said Mike Raade.

Homes are selling as fast as they come on the market, and the firm’s website had only a couple of listings in early February.

“There are not very many lower-end homes as far as prices go. Homes selling for $10,000 10 years ago are now getting $30,000 to $40,000. I think it has to do with supply and demand,” said Raade.

Some extreme price increases have appeared since the fire, Raade said. That includes older 1970s double-wides that were previously under $50,000, with asking prices of more than $100,000.

Even before the fire he had a couple of used manufactured homes that sold for $129,000 each, one in Jacksonville and the other in the Applegate. Location, such as a desirable park with a clubhouse and condition of the unit can affect the sales price, he added.

“Like real estate, this last season was good, but after the fire, in October, everything we had sold,” said Raade.

Agents are making extra efforts to ensure that safety precautions for the virus were made during the showing process.

While the supply of used trailers may be limited, Hawk said there is no supply problem in getting new homes.

“I think the timelines are going to work well considering the situation.”

Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com.

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4/13/2021 3:11:43 PM

WINE INDUSTRY

VINTAGE ADAPTABILITY

Rogue Valley wine makers hope 2020 changes will make them stronger in the years ahead

By JIM FLINT for the Mail Tribune

W

ine growers in the Rogue Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) always have experienced challenges operating in a truncated season — plenty of daylight hours in the summer, low light in the fall, and frost in the shoulder seasons.

However, the resultant wines, more European in weight with less fruit-forward aromatics, have found a following.

Then a series of events made things even more complicated, to say the least.

Summers got hotter and drier. Wildfire smoke

drifted in more frequently.

And then, in 2020, COVID-19 depressed tourism and closed tasting rooms, a double-whammy with significant economic consequences.

The Rogue appellation is composed of three valleys — Bear Creek, Illinois and Applegate, the latter of which is a sub-AVA. Although the valleys are contiguous, their climates are different.

Bear Creek is warmer and drier with less average annual rainfall than the other two. The Illinois is wetter and colder. The Applegate occupies the middle ground with cooler nights and soil that is loamy and clayey.

PHOTO COURTESY DANA CAMPBELL VINEYARDS

Dana Campbell Vineyards owners Paula Brown and Patrick Flannery share wine and a view at their tasting room near Ashland.

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4/13/2021 3:11:45 PM

WINE INDUSTRY U.S. wine consumption had already slightly decreased in 2019 for the first time in 25 years, according to IWRS Drinks Market Analysis, posting a volume loss of 0.8% from the year prior.

So, even without the coronavirus curtailing away-from-home consumption, the wine industry faced some hurdles.

Winetourism.com in November conducted a worldwide survey of wineries that found:  The pandemic had an extremely large impact on wine tourism.  The majority of wineries expect that wine tourism will return to pre-COVID levels no earlier than 2022.  More than 80% of wineries expect that wine tourism will grow in their region

PHOTO COURTESY TROON VINEYARD

Troon Vineyard, pictured at harvest time, received the Demeter Biodynamic certification in 2020. This year’s estate wines will carry the Demeter logo.

during the coming 10 years.

These sentiments are echoed by Rogue Valley vintners.

For Grizzly Peak Winery, 2020 became the year of curbside pickup.

“We implemented a lot more email campaigns than ever before,” said Naomi

Fuerte, marketing director. She is the daughter of owners Al and Virginia Silbowitz, 1998 Bay Area transplants.

Another daughter, Sarah Silbowitz, is the resident enologist at Pallet Wine Co., which handles the custom crush for Grizzly Peak.

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“The option of ordering online and picking up at the door has become routine,” Fuerte said.

“We also implemented a paddle for wine tasting at the table rather than at the bar. This has worked out very well, and we will continue to use it in the future.”

Fuerte said hiking and biking trails, rafting, a nearby national park, and outdoor activities continue to draw new visitors to Southern Oregon.

“We’re optimistic that as the days get longer and the weather warms, wineries such as ours will be a magnet for people wanting to get back into the swing of things safely,” she said, adding that she expects wine tasting to remain outside for a while in 2021.

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4/13/2021 3:11:49 PM

WINE INDUSTRY

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANCIN VINEYARDS

DANCIN Vineyards looks forward to once again hosting its annual two-night winemaker and ballet dinner.

In addition to pairing wine and food, fully choreographed ballet numbers are featured at the event.

FROM VINTAGE, PAGE 17

cases at deep discounts, and offered free delivery within the Rogue Valley.

Grizzly Peak went forward with some “We are cautiously optimistic about outdoor events.

2021,” Brown said. “We grew our vine“Rogue Theater Company held a yard and built the tasting room to be a number of outdoor play readings last relaxing experience. We are ready to summer and will present outdoor perbring that back.” formances this year beginning in May,” The owner of Belle Fiore Winery, Fuerte said. “And we Edward Kerwin, hopes continued our summer In his review of the that 2020 challenges concert series, albeit on will help businesses past year, Troon a smaller scale.” become stronger going General Manager Patrick Dana Flannery forward. and Paula Campbell “Our winemaker, Rob Craig Camp offered Brown, owners of Dana Folin, is all smiles when this pithy but succinct tasting our Belle Fiore Campbell Vineyards, are hopeful but realistic 2020 and 2019 charcomment: “Well, going into 2021. wines,” Kerwin that was interesting. donnay “There is no sugar said. “The best wines coating it,” Brown said.

Goodbye, 2020.” really do emerge under “This past year has been stressful conditions.” tough. Our business suffered financially, Belle Fiore managed to retain most of and our staff suffered financially and its staff with the help of PPP loans last emotionally.”

April and in January.

On the tasting room’s last day open “Our tasting room servers, hosts, in March of 2020, a full house enjoyed a events staff and managers are all raring fun round of trivia. “We haven’t had that to go, once reopening can start,” Kerwin sense of fun since,” she said. said.

A summer of limited indoor tasting and Like most wineries, Troon Vineyard more outdoor seating helped keep the shifted to outdoor tastings when the business going. Dana Campbell used the pandemic hit. But that becomes a probinitial PPP loan program to keep its staff lem in the winter. Nobody wants to sit of four whole. But after the December outside in the rain in 39-degree weather. “freeze,” the winery shuffled schedules In his review of the past year, Troon and went to just one staffer per day.

General Manager Craig Camp offered To counter the loss of foot traffic, Dana this pithy but succinct comment: “Well, Campbell discounted several wines, sold that was interesting. Goodbye, 2020.”

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4/13/2021 3:11:52 PM

WINE INDUSTRY “On the marketing side, we’ve He actually had been looking forward increased visibility, momentum and to the year. excitement for this region as a wine “It was going to be a benchmark year as, after three years of intense effort, we destination,” Marca said.

He visualizes a thoughtful and gradwere going to receive our full Demeter ual return to normalcy throughout the biodynamic certification,” Camp said. new year, believing that many of the Demeter USA is the only certifier operating procedures mandated by the for biodynamic farms and products in virus will remain in place for a period America. Troon indeed achieved the after restrictions are eased. coveted certification in 2020, and this year will release its first estate wines It wasn’t just the economic impact of that carry the Demeter logo. the pandemic that was difficult. It also During the pandemic, Troon expanded was the uncertainty of how long it would its email list for stronger sales campaigns last and what the future would hold. and enhanced its social media presence.

It didn’t take long for DANCIN “We are continuing these strategies,” to shift gears when the coronavirus arrived. he said, “and “When the continue to first COVIDimprove our 19 impacts content and were clear,” messaging.”

Marca said, Most of its “within 24 sales are outhours our side Southern team was Oregon. Troon able to pivot worked with its distribPHOTO COURTESY OF GRIZZLY PEAK from a seated wine and food utors in This pre-pandemic gathering occurred during a summer experience Portland and concert at Grizzly Peak Winery. From left are co-owner out-of-state Virginia Silbowitz, Sherry Kronman, sales rep Kurt Kronman, for hundreds of wine club markets to try Phil Kavanagh, Doris Dare and co-owner Al Silbowitz. members to a to make up drive-thru event.” for its losses in local restaurant sales. It That involved erecting tents, hooking will continue to try to build retail sales up temporary power and Wi-Fi, and through that network.

One bright spot for Camp: throughout relocating point-of-sale and refrigeration systems. Freshly prepared meals the pandemic, the farming continued. initially intended to be served tableside “Actually, the work in the vineyard was a comforting thing,” he said. “With became take-and-bakes, complete with instructions and, of course, wine. the world in an uproar, the quiet and DANCIN had a solid online presence beauty of the vineyard was calming.” pre-pandemic, but increased it considDan and Cindy Marca established DANCIN Vineyards in March of 2008. In erably during first quarter of 2020.

“As a result, we were able to expand May of 2012, a grand opening of its newly our contacts database, grow wine constructed tasting room was held. The occasion celebrated the launch of its first club membership, increase referrals, and welcome new customers through vintage, the 2010 “Adagio” pinot noir e-commerce,” Marca said. made exclusively from the fruit harOnsite, DANCIN developed a new vested in 2010 from its first planting. covered outdoor seating area. “That Things are not so celebratory these really enhanced our al fresco tasting days. However, Dan Marca said the and dining experiences,” he said. best of human kindness he witnessed gives him hope for the future.

Most wineries have seen their turnover “Despite all the craziness, I’m optinegatively impacted by the pandemic. mistic about the future of Southern In dealing with the challenges, however, Oregon, especially Rogue Valley wine some wineries and growers developed country,” he said. practices and innovations on which a He pointed to the continuing more solid future can be built. improvement of grape-growing What they learned can help make practices and winemaking as positive them less susceptible to external shocks developments. in the long term.

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LIVE SHOWS

SETTING the STAGE for a COMEBACK L

ive theater, an industry full of optimists, has wrestled with some wrenching questions about the post-COVID future: When will people want to be in a dark room full of strangers again?

Will physical distancing rules force them to sell fewer, and thus more expensive, tickets?

If theaters are fragile coming back, will they be more cautious, more risk-averse?

The pandemic forced Rogue Valley theaters to close their doors in early March of 2020. The cost of going dark was significant, not only for

theaters, but also a 99% reduction for the tourist in revenue in the economies they past 15 months, support. after nearly $22 The Oregon million of earned Shakespeare Fesincome in 2019. tival, the largest “We were arts organization totally hamin the region, is mered,” said a big driver of CJ Martinez, COURTESY PHOTO tourism. The OSF lighting designer Michael Maag, seated, OSF director of festival and area works with a crew member pre-pandemic communications. hotels, restauWalking into in the Elizabethan Theatre. Festival theater rants, B&Bs an OSF theater seats have been empty for more than a year, and retail busitoday is like but a reopening is planned for this fall. nesses comprise discovering a a complicated and interconnected time capsule — from before the lockdown, before face masks and physical economic ecology.

How bad was it? OSF experienced distancing.

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By JIM FLINT for the Mail Tribune

4/13/2021 3:11:58 PM

LIVE SHOWS The theaters are frozen in time, in the moment before everything changed. Sets decorate the stages and dressing rooms stand ready for actors.

Businesses everywhere shifted into survival mode, and theaters were no exception. It was a community effort, with government, chambers of commerce, businesses, nonprofits and residents working together.

After layoffs and cost-cutting, most theaters developed online content to stay connected to patrons and to create some revenue.

As the pandemic curve alternately flattened and spiked, some venues opened and closed in fits and starts, depending on state guidelines and the size of the venue.

Even though smaller The Oregon Ca baret launched theaters were nimbler its 2021 season onstage are Ca PHOTO BY JU Feb. 26 with th rr ie Lyn Brandon, STIN WAGGL in that regard, 2020 e musical “The E Mariah Lotz, M Sp itfire Grill.” From arla Rymer an was a year of financial left d Matthew Stal ey. and emotional pain for all.

In addition to financial reactions p.m. Thursday through Sunday, May to the pandemic, theaters scrambled 6-16, with cellist Michal Palzewicz directed by Michael J. Hume; to find the best artistic response. performing at 1:30 each day.

“Mala,” Oct. 7-17, a one-woman Some managed a few coronaviOSF actors Robin Goodrin Nordli show featuring Vilma Silva and rus-compliant productions. Others and KT Vogt join Oregon Stage directed by Penny Metropulos; and a used limited outdoor venues.

Works founder Peter Alzado and Shakespeare study series of six sesWith the coming of spring, garCollaborative Theatre Company sions with Barry Kraft, Sept. 7-23. dens are abloom and so are spirits veteran Hazel James in the Caroline “Live theater has been hit hard,” Shaffer directed play. as the number of vaccinations rises “We were set to go into rehearsals Sage said, “but artists are resilient, and pandemic numbers decline. passionate and strong.” for ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2’ when Theaters are focused more on the COVID hit,” Sage said. future and the possibilities of 2021.

Where RTC will perform indoors In the beginning, RTC’s plays were when permitted is up in the air.

Here is a lineup of what to expect performed in OSF’s Black Swan Theonstage at Rogue Valley theaters “Before the pandemic, I was in conatre and the Bellview Grange. this year: versation with OSF about renting the Six months into the pandemic, Black Swan on a regular basis,” Sage Rogue Theater Company sensing people were craving theater said. “We’ll see what happens when Founded in 2019 by artistic director and wanting it to be safe, RTC perthey reopen. For the time being, we formed two sold-out play readings Jessica Sage, the company will open love performing outdoors at Grizzly outdoors at the winery. its new season May 6 with the Tony Peak Winery.”

Other RTC offerings in 2021 Award-nominated comedy-drama For more information and tickets, include “Tiny Beautiful Things,” “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” outdoors see roguetheatercompany.com.

July 14-25, with Renee Hewitt, and socially distanced at Grizzly Peak Mia Gaskin and Rigo Jimenez, Winery. Performances are set for 2 SEE COMEBACK, PAGE 22

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4/13/2021 3:11:10 PM

LIVE SHOWS FROM COMEBACK, PAGE 21

Randall Theatre Company

Holly Story,” July 1-Sept. 5; “Poirot, Murder on the Links, Sept. 30-Nov. 7; and “Christmas, Contigo,” Nov. 18-Dec. 31. The Cabaret will fill in with two-nights-only shows throughout the year, with music and comedy performed by Cabaret favorites.

“Theater may have been on a hiatus,” Rachelle said, “but we believe it will slowly make its return.”

See oregoncabaret.com for more.

The Randall not only is promoting a new season, it has a new home. In 2020, the Randall took over the former Howiee’s location at 115 E. Main St., in Medford, creating the Ghostlight Playhouse. It also had its eyes on the empty Howiee’s space on the Front Street side, and now that section has been incorporated into the Randall’s new venue.

Collaborative Theatre Project “We have added the 16 N. Front space onto our existing CTP at the Medford Center was able to produce some lease,” said John Wing, executive director. “We will use the live theater last year until Nov. 18, utilizing a combination space for a restaurant and bar, managed by the nonprofit.” of indoor and outdoor venues as well The restaurant side will open in as livestreaming — “to keep the lights phases. When the kitchen is ready, on,” said Susan Aversa Orrego, manplans are to offer to-go orders and aging director. serve Playhouse guests on the patio.

After the state lowered the risk Wing expects that to happen in May. level in Jackson County last month, The Randall has expanded its focus CTP was able to mount “Around as well. The new venue will feature the World in 80 Days” in March and live bands, comedy acts, karaoke “The African Queen,” a Radio Days nights, movie nights, live podcasts, show, in mid-April. and more — in addition to Randall “We anticipate doing small-scale Theatre Company productions. operations at first, depending on the Randall launched its 2021 season status of vaccines and using common in March with “Traveling Through sense,” she said. “Sitting next to a Broadway,” performed live with stranger in a theater is going to take limited seating and livestreamed for some getting used to.” in-home viewing.

Other shows planned for 2021 With dates subject to change, the include “The Breeches,” “Radiance: lineup for the rest of the year includes three concert-style revues: “Back to The Passion of Marie Curie,” “The Broadway - the 1970s,” June 11-27; Book of Will,” “Great Expectations,” “Grand Dames and Divas,” July and for the holidays, “The Lion, 30-Aug. 8; and “Broadway’s Best Bad Witch and the Wardrobe.”

The Radio Days shows are fully cosGirls,” Sept. 3-19.

PHOTO BY DREW AVERSA tumed.

The format features performers COVID guidelines permitting, the Jeff Ripley and Kate Sullivan perform in ColRandall will present “Waiting Star” in laborative Theatre Project’s “African Queen,” working behind their own mics. CTP November. The romcom musical, in a Radio Days production with a two-weekend has a state-of-the-art theater. The children’s shows are performed on a the style of Broadway’s Golden Age, run that ended April 25. portable stage outside the venue. is inspired by characters in Shake“We hope that soon we’ll be back with complete prospeare’s three plays about Prince Hal, with the rascally ductions,” Orrego said. “It’s really difficult to set dates Falstaff in a featured role. when the target keeps moving.”

For updates and tickets, see randalltheatre.com.

For more info, see ctpmedford.org.

Oregon Cabaret Theatre

The Oregon Cabaret Theatre, fresh off a successful run of the hit musical “The Spitfire Grill,” will open its second production of the year April 29. “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” an irreverent comedy with show-stopping musical numbers, will play through June 20.

“The Cabaret is lucky to be a small venue,” said Valerie Rachelle, co-owner and artistic director. “We are able to stay alive through the support and love of our patrons.”

After being forced to furlough 90% of its staff in 2020, the Cabaret began rehiring before the launch of “Spitfire.”

With cabaret-style tables and chairs, the theater is able to maximize safety. Every table is at least six feet from another, and patrons are 13 or more feet from the stage.

Other productions scheduled are “Buddy, The Buddy

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Camelot Theatre Camelot Theatre in Talent hopes to kick off its 39th season with a hybrid production in June featuring The Rogue Suspects, a popular Southern Oregon band. A limited number of seats will be sold, and the concert will be livestreamed.

“If possible, we also will run our conservatory program for kids 7-19 this summer,” said Dann Hauser, executive director.

Meanwhile, Camelot is working on launching a Spotlight series in the fall, featuring tributes to Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin, and the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A holiday show will cap the year.

For updates, see camelottheatre.org.

4/13/2021 3:11:14 PM

LIVE SHOWS Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Jacksonville’s Britt Festival hill, quiet in 2020, is expected to be filled with fans in 2021, pending the lifting of restrictions for outdoor gatherings.

COURTESY PHOTO

Britt Music & Arts Festival The Britt Music & Arts Festival 2021 season is tentative, subject to state guidelines on large outdoor gatherings.

“We are preparing to hold a season,” said Mike Gantenbein, director of marketing. “We will announce concert dates via our website, social media and news outlets.”

The festival is preparing to produce performances by the Britt Festival Orchestra and for the Britt Presents series.

Check britt.org for news and updates.

Livia Genise Productions Livia Genise Productions is working toward opening its 2021 season with a summer production of “Finks,” Joe Gifford’s play about the McCarthy era. A pandemic casualty, it originally was scheduled for last July.

Genise is a former artistic director of Camelot Theatre in Talent and a former Broadway and television actor. She founded LGP in 2016 to present staged readings and concert versions of inspiring plays and musicals.

OSF launched its first combined digital and live season March 1.

In the offing for 2021 are streaming favorites from OSF’s archives, original works on digital platform O!, and four plays onstage at OSF’s Ashland campus in the fall and winter. Live performances will extend into January for the first time.

The Green Show stage will come back to life with free concerts, dance and community performances, outdoors in the festival courtyard. The schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

All live performances will be subject to state and county guidelines and restrictions.

Onstage programming planned for fall includes a repertory of four productions: August Wilson’s “How I Learned What I Learned,” the West Coast premiere of Mona Mansour’s “Unseen,” the American Revolutions world premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s “Confederates,” and OSF’s first winter special, “It’s Christmas, Carol!” by Mark Bedard, Brent Hinkley and John Tufts. The zany OSF trio also will appear in the play they wrote collaboratively.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and uncertainties associated with it, OSF will delay announcing specific dates and ticket sales for onstage productions until there is more clarity regarding reopening, gathering and social distancing guidelines. All onstage events are subject to change.

For tickets, information and updates, see osfashland.org.

Reach Ashland writer Jim Flint at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.

The Craterian The Craterian Theater in Medford hopes to announce its schedule in late May, with tickets going on sale in June and July.

“Of course, as we’ve all learned, today’s plans could go out the window tomorrow,” said Stephen McCandless, executive director. “But the roster we’re working on reflects our commitment to variety.”

Because of the lead times, he expects the 2021-22 season to include fewer tours than usual. However, in addition to being a road house, the Craterian also produces local shows with Teen Musical Theater of Oregon and Next Stage Theater.

“Giving to the arts is down, and we have no operating income,” McCandless said.

“How long it takes for both to reach a critical mass again is the biggest challenge we face. I believe that humanity will always find its way to both sides of the footlights.”

Go to craterian.org for updates.

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4/13/2021 3:11:17 PM

MUSIC SCENE

‘MUSIC is ALWAYS HERE FOR US’

By ALLAYANA DARROW

A

Ashland Tidings

fter more than a year of disruption, Rogue Valley musicians and industry professionals are preparing a dazzling and interactive summer season.

The Ashland World Music Festival is scheduled to proceed this Memorial Day weekend with a virtual mainstage performance and curated “soundwalks,” which combine the experience of sound compositions with a walk in the outdoors, said Ana Byers, programs and communications manager for Rogue World Music.

Artists are changing the rules and creatively redesigning how to proceed with concerts, events and educational

opportunities in the world today, Byers said. “(Last year) everyone was mourning what couldn’t happen — mourning these lost plans and goals. We have been through that process,” Byers said, adding that she feels prepared to use pandemic-era tools and “unexpected boons” to present a worthwhile festival experience.

With a year to get their feet wet in the virtual world, Byers said, Rogue World Music has furthered organizational goals under a deeper sense of service to the community — continuing a mission to offer cultural experience and understanding through music and dance to those who might not otherwise seek it out.

SEE PERFORMERS, PAGE 26

Rogue Valley performers and venues ramp up plans for return of live shows

Above: Grant Ruiz has used his computer to play shows from his Ashland home during the pandemic.

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Jamie Lusch photos / Mail Tribune

4/13/2021 3:11:28 PM

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MUSIC SCENE FROM PERFORMERS, PAGE 24

“Sometimes it’s what you aren’t looking for that resonates the most with you,” Byers said.

Musicians in the festival are “culture bearers” — people who were either raised in the culture or sought education about the technical and cultural context of their performance style, she said.

Context and cultural insight breed connection across language, circumstance and occupation, said Grant Ruiz, a self-employed musician in the Rogue Valley since 1997.

Ruiz relocated from the Bay Area and initially found himself alone studying and playing flamenco here.

Still, he was quickly welcomed into a circle of talent and interest, which grew into multi-style collaborations and a successful solo career.

“There’s no sense of competition or territoriality — people don’t come here to make it, they come here for the quality of life,” Ruiz said.

Throughout the pandemic, Ruiz has taken virtual weekly singing lessons with a musician based in Seville, Spain — a man considered “flamenco royalty.”

In 2015, Ruiz and his flamenco troupe were scheduled to perform at Umpqua Community College, just days after 10 people died in a mass shooting on campus. The group debated the propriety of continuing a performance at that time. When they arrived at the venue, the mood was somber, Ruiz said.

“The sense in the industry from all the managers and booking agents — I can just feel them moving.

They’re pushing, they’re out there, and they’re trying to make things happen.”

JACQUELINE AUBERT, director and co-founder, Ashland Folk Collective

He took the stage and said something he didn’t expect to say, “music is always here for us.” Ruiz recalled feeling the room shift and each person lean in for more. Energy in the room lit up, with “ole!” shouted from every direction.

Per the Spanish tradition, if an audience member hears something they like, the custom is to shout “ole!” If a sound touches the heart, letting the performers know fuels them even more, Ruiz said. Music is uplifting and serves as a reminder of our best selves, he said.

The peak career experience was transformative and confirmed his belief that music heals, Ruiz said.

Facing a different form of hardship, COVID-19 brought a frustrating predicament for many musicians — jamming online is all but impossible. Internet connection delays limit the ability to pick up on where another musician is headed with their tune.

Ruiz found his own ways around the issue and maintained six professional collaborations and regular teaching sessions throughout the pandemic.

The advantage of accessibility

PHOTO BY DENISE BARATTA

Peia & Travis perform from the back of a trailer in July 2020 as part of the Ashland Folk Collective’s traveling mobile show in Ashland.

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online may keep the format alive in some form permanently, he said. At the same time, a ravenous desire for live, in-person performances is only growing.

Rogue Valley wineries led the charge to be open and host musicians during the pandemic whenever possible, Ruiz said.

Another spotlight music venue, Fry Family Farm, is slated to host a packed concert series June through October, according to Jacqueline Aubert, director and co-founder of the Ashland Folk Collective.

Musicians are preparing to tour this summer, she said.

Pandemic letups may have permitted a return to work or more frequent visits to the grocery store, but life-giving and “soul nourishing” experiences associated with art have not come back in full yet, Aubert said.

Still, Ashland Folk Collective has filled every concert at La Baguette Music Cafe in Ashland to maximum capacity without any publicity, only outreach to its email list.

Aubert said hosting a concert for 50 people doesn’t bring in much money, but grant opportunities and community donations keep their pursuit to offer live music in a time of difficulty alive.

Looking ahead, Ashland is ideally situated between San Francisco and Portland to draw in artists who need a place to stop when tours resume, she said. Aubert aims to vitalize the area as a strong music scene overall, not just for folk musicians. Success within her own organization could inspire other music groups to branch out and plant roots here, she said.

“The sense in the industry from all the managers and booking agents — I can just feel them moving,” Aubert said. “They’re pushing, they’re out there, and they’re trying to make things happen.”

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

“Wide-open spaces and great outdoor recreation is a huge plus. We rarely have issues of overcrowded facilities, so the public feels safer when visiting.”

BRAD NIVA, executive director, Travel Southern Oregon

PHOTO COURTESY TRAVEL SOUTHERN OREGON

Whitewater rafting is a big tourist draw to Southern Oregon. Operators adjusted to the pandemic with distancing and food-handling changes.

KEEPING the ‘BUBBLE’ AFLOAT Industry places hopes on pent-up demand for returning to tried-and-true

0425_A_28_OV____.indd 28

By JIM FLINT

D

for the Mail Tribune

espite the devastating economic impact on many tourism-related businesses, Southern Oregon appears to be weathering the COVID-19 pandemic better than the rest of the state, according to Brad Niva, executive director of Travel Southern Oregon.

“We’ve been in a sort of bubble,” he said, “seeing above average visitors from August through December of 2020 — in many cases up over the same time of previous years.”

That said, it’s still been a pretty tough year for the industry.

Niva’s assessment is based on hotel occupancy data, which show some areas doing better than others.

4/13/2021 3:11:40 PM

TRAVEL & TOURISM What gives him optimism about the future are data that show many Californians and Oregonians have preferred Southern Oregon for vacations during the pandemic.

He believes those new visitors will return.

“The idea of wide-open spaces and great outdoor recreation is a huge plus,” he said. “We rarely have issues of overcrowded facilities, so the public feels safer when visiting.”

Hotel occupancy is just one element of the tourism picture. It doesn’t reflect the economic health of performing arts organizations forced to shut down. It doesn’t correlate with food sales for restaurants trying to survive with curbside pickup and delivery.

And visitors who come to hike, bike and explore the outdoors might not be the ready customers of galleries and specialty retailers like those who attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival or Britt Music Festival.

Niva sees the public’s yearning for travel and live entertainment as a plus going forward.

“Southern Oregon has a rich history of hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to OSF, the Britt and other live theater venues,” he said. “Some of

COURTESY PHOTO

Above: Business at Winchester Inn in Ashland was down more than 50% in 2020 due to the pandemic, but owners are optimistic about a renewed interest in traveling in 2021.

Below: Bed-and-breakfast establishments like Ashland’s Iris Inn weren’t as nimble as hotels in dealing with physical distancing during the pandemic. B&Bs are configured for intimacy.

PHOTO BY CORNELIUS MATTEO

that will be launching in the second half of 2021, so we realize that doesn’t catch the summer traveler. But we feel

confident that we’ll have good visitation numbers due to the pent-up demand.”

One of the unexpected

positive outcomes of the pandemic related to tourism is that local residents, restricted in their travel options, have done more exploring of their own backyards in 2020.

“We now have a far more educated population who can share what we have to offer,” Niva said. In addition, those “staycations” have benefited local businesses.

Southern Oregon led the way with setting up “parklets,” outdoor dining areas in downtown corridors designed to support restaurants.

“Grants Pass was the first to adopt this program,” he said. “We saw Ashland, Medford, Klamath Falls and other cities follow suit.”

Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA in Oregon and Idaho, agreed that pent-up demand may provide a boost for tourism as restrictions are lifted.

“This is something we often see after a period of rough times,” Dodds said.

“We saw this after 9/11, and again after the Great Recession of 2008-09.”

The pandemic pummeled those who serve the traveling public, and the AAA Medford Service Center was no exception.

It began feeling the effects in March of 2020.

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“With our rebranding in 2021, we will be able to attract more new visitors,” she said. “We are keeping close watch on travel sentiment. We think confidence in traveling safely will return as vaccinations roll out.”

The rebranding will come out of data produced by a visitor research and analysis study that also will examine competitive markets.

“It will give us an idea of how best to leverage our assets,” Cato said.

Airport traffic, another indicator of tourism vitality, was down in 2020 at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport.

“Our airport experienced a 53% decrease in passenger traffic,” said Jason Foster, the airport’s air service and economic development manager.

Hoteliers in Ashland can testify how the pandemic’s impact can be “As cruises, trips and flights were significantly different in a commucanceled, AAA Oregon worked with nity so dependent on a single tourist our members to help them get home attraction. safely and/or cancel and rebook Karolina Lavagnino, director of vacations and trips,” Dodds said. sales and marketing for Neuman “We also put plans in place to make Hotel Group, said the company was sure we could continue to provide “hugely impacted,” especially at the our roadside assistance. Vehicles still beginning of the pandemic. break down during a pandemic.”

“We had to let go more than 250 Even though travel was down as employees across our hotels, restaumuch as 90% compared to 2019, rants and spa,” she said. “In April AAA continued to see an interest in 2020, we closed Ashland Springs travel and booking trips.

Hotel, Inn at the Commons and both “With many travel providers waivLarks restaurants.” ing or relaxing change or cancellation Events, conferences, weddings, policies, there were opportunities to meetings and social gatherings were purchase future trips with flexibility either canceled, postponed to later to change or cancel if necessary,” in the year, or moved to 2021. OSF Dodds said. playgoers also either canShe believes the first type celed or rebooked for later. of travel to come back will The company fought be road trips. back.

It developed new “It makes sense,” she ways to reach customers said, “because travelers and tried to be nimble in the have great flexibility in way it did business. planning itineraries and It offered its restaurant activities, and can pack their patrons to-go, pick-up or own food and supplies.” delivery options. It incorDana Preston, Ashland porated room service from Chamber of Commerce its restaurants at Ashland membership and business Springs and Ashland Hills development chair, and Hotel & Suites.

Katharine Cato of Travel And in Ashland it shifted Ashland praised locals and its hospitality focus to indiAshland’s visitor base for PHOTO COURTESY TRAVEL SOUTHERN OREGON vidual travelers and small showing up in a big way Grapes ripen under the sun in vineyards near Talent. Wine has family groups. during the pandemic. become an integral part of the region’s travel industry in recent years.

With OSF closed, the “A number of businesses Neuman Group targeted who forecasted being down “But we did have some wins in new audiences. over 80% observed better revenue 2020,” he said. “We added a second “We reached out to younger than anticipated by the end of the travelers ready to do road trips, year,” Preston said. “Others encoun- passenger boarding bridge, Alaska (Air) began flying to LAX again, and developed overnight packages tered growth and some experienced Allegiant began direct service to designed to encourage visitors to their best years ever by maximizing San Diego and began flying direct to experience our great outdoors,” technology and refining services.”

Lavagnino said.

Cato is optimistic about the future. Orange County/John Wayne Airport on Feb. 12. MFR maintained every “We launched new programs at She said the Rogue Valley is part one of its direct flights and added our restaurants, including weekend of a key West Coast drive market, two additional routes in 2020.” take-and-bake meals from Luna attracting outdoor adventure tourFoster said there’s a lot of uncerCafé and meal kits from Larks. And ists and culinary travelers, a group tainty about when air travel will we partnered with local wineries and skewing younger and more active. rebound. “It depends on the resump- Ashland on a Plate to promote culiShe sees Southern Oregon as a tion of in-person business meetings, nary tourism.” desirable rural destination with conferences and vacation spots In January, the company announced its established assets such as opening up again,” he said. it was selling its Medford property, trail systems, outdoor recreation He is confident, however, that air Inn at the Commons, to Fortify Holdopportunities, award-winning passengers will return quickly when ings, which plans to repurpose the inn wineries, talented chefs and cultural as an apartment complex. experiences. the pandemic is under control.

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4/13/2021 3:12:59 PM

TRAVEL & TOURISM She said the pandemic has taught the Newman Group to stay agile and look for new opportunities.

“Years of ‘coasting’ and relying on ‘same old, same old’ are over,” she said.

“I am optimistic that Ashland and the Rogue Valley will welcome many new travelers.”

The key, she believes, is promotion of the area’s assets on a year-round basis.

Vicki Capp, innkeeper at The Iris Inn in Ashland, said small bed-andbreakfast operations like hers found it difficult to adjust to social distancing during the pandemic. They’re configured for intimacy.

“My business was off 73% compared to 2019,” Capp said.

The inn hosted more young travelers in 2020, who came to enjoy the area’s outdoor activities. That was a plus, she said.

“Most of my longtime guests rolled over their 2020 reservations to 2021,” she said. With OSF probably not offering live plays until later in the year, she anticipates more cancellations.

Capp, who has operated the business since 1982, said she enjoys meeting and getting to know the people who book stays at the inn.

COURTESY PHOTO

Ashland Springs Hotel operators hope that pent-up demand for travel will provide a boost for the hospitality industry in 2021.

“They are truly the reason I have been in business for 39 years,” she said.

“How can I not have them in my life?”

Rebecca Doran, general manager of Ashland’s Winchester Inn, is tentatively hopeful about what is to come in 2021, but the hotel and its Alchemy Restaurant have seen an “overwhelming decline” in business.

“The impact has been catastrophic,” she said. “The hotel was down 56% in sales for 2020.”

Like other hospitality establishments, Winchester Inn has been gratified by the support of its regular customers.

“In normal times, the majority of our return guests visit Ashland because of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,” Doran said. “The few return guests who decided not to cancel their 2020 reservations discovered other aspects of Ashland and the Rogue Valley.”

Perhaps partly because there were vacancies, unusual in a normal year, the inn saw an increase in the number of first-time visitors.

“These people fell in love with the area and promised to return,” she said.

The restaurant is a popular destination for special occasions and holidays.

But as a fine dining establishment, Alchemy didn’t fit so well with takeout, curbside pickup or delivery options that more casual eateries offered.

“Our annual Dickens Feast in December was scrapped for the first time in 38 years,” Doran said. “We hope to bring it back in 2021.”

There are lessons to be learned from surviving a pandemic.

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4/13/2021 3:13:02 PM

FIRE PREVENTION

AP PHOTO / NOAH BERGER

An aerial image taken with a drone shows homes leveled by the Almeda fire at Bear Lake Estates in Phoenix. As four structures per minute burned during the fire, water poured out from pipes that were severed by the blaze, leaving firefighters without water to fight back.

FREAK EVENT or RECURRING NIGHTMARE?

Preventing Almeda II: Officials say we need to do three things immediately to lessen our vulnerability

By TONY BOOM for the Mail Tribune

T

he right set of conditions, especially an extreme wind event, spread the Almeda fire, which destroyed more than 2,800 homes and business from Ashland to Medford — and fire experts say it could happen again unless steps are taken.

“Any way you slice it, this is a very rare event. You have to have a confluence of conditions,” said Nick Nauslar, a predictive services meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

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“We were out-gunned and we will continue to be that way until we make some significant changes.

Without resources it’s just waiting for another wind event or lightning event to occur.”

CHIEF CHUCK HANLEY, Jackson County Fire District 5 MAIL TRIBUNE / JAMIE LUSCH

A street in Talent is stained red from fire retardant dropped to fight the Almeda fire.

4/13/2021 3:13:07 PM

FIRE PREVENTION “We were out-gunned and we will continue to be “Even folks with 40-years-plus service had never that way until we make some significant changes,” said seen anything like it,” he added.

Winds gusting at 50- to 70-plus miles per hour occurred Hanley. “Without resources it’s just waiting for another wind event or lightning event to occur.” from southwest Washington to central California, said State and federal fire agencies follow a practice known Nauslar. Other critical conditions were an extremely dry as mutual threat zones, which are common in California environment and fires already on the landscape.

Nauslar said only the Big Blowup of 1910 appears similar but haven’t been set up locally. Agencies pre-commit to in scope. That too was triggered by high winds — of hurri- a certain number of resources that mobilize for threats. cane force — and burned 3 million acres in Idaho, Montana, “When extreme weather events are predicted, a fireWashington and British Columbia. It came in August of an fighting force needs to be in place, ready for action,” said extremely dry year and destroyed seven towns.

Hanley. Weather forecasters gave enough notice for such action in the Rogue Valley before the Sept. 8 firestorm, Cleanup and rebuilding from the Almeda fire began almost immediately and was gaining speed in early 2021. but there was no locally organized large-scale strike force.

But questions remain, including how handling of the District 5 has only limited crews on hand at any one time. emergency might be improved and what might be done For the entire state of Oregon, there are usually only about to better prepare for the future.

880 firefighters on duty at any one moment, said Hanley.

Jackson County has hired the consulting firm Inno“A combination of mutual threat zones and having vative Emergency Management (IEM) to assess what more people on duty daily, that’s how you are going to happened in the fire. Until that report is out and get a handle on a big lightning breakout, or these big reviewed, County Administrator Danny Jordan said it wind events,” said Hanley. would be premature to specuA redundant water supply would late on what type of actions the be the second element. As four county might take in similar structures per minute burned situations in the future. during the Almeda fire, water poured out from connections that “A lot of people have made a were severed by the blaze. lot of critical judgments about what the county did and didn’t “It’s a massive drain on the water do,” said Jordan. “Each city supply,” said Hanley. “We didn’t is individually responsible for have the ability to shut down every managing emergencies in their single house. You can’t do it if we boundaries. Each city has their are all fighting the fire. It’s part of own emergency operating plan.” hardening the community, having PHOTO COURTESY DESERET NEWS an emergency water supply.”

Jackson County doesn’t Three essential elements to deal with a blaze like the control the water resources or One possibility is to tap the Almeda fire, says fire Chief Charles Hanley: sufficient water available in irrigation disthe firefighting agencies that responded to the conflagration, firefighting forces to jump on outbreaks immediately; trict canals. But pumping from an ways of making water and foam more available; and Jordan noted. open ditch is too time consuming. hardening communities to resist conflagrations.

Jackson County Fire District Instead, powered pumping staNo. 5 Chief Charles Hanley saw tions above ground that could refill the fire rip through the heart of his district, which covers water tenders and engines need to be established. the south county area including Talent and Phoenix.

Greater resources for using foam to slow and fight Before coming to Southern Oregon in 2017, Hanley had fires are also needed, including larger rigs. Foam will 30 years of experience in the San Francisco East Bay area leave a barrier in the wind. Three-thousand gallons and in Santa Rosa. of foam is equal to 15,000 gallons of water in terms of Hanley says given droughts that the West Coast has stopping infernos, Hanley said. seen for a decade, large-scale fires are something for Installation of hardscape to prevent fires from spreading which Jackson County communities will need to prewould be a third element, said Hanley. “The community pare. Similar fires have hit other West Coast locations, would have to want to harden itself.” including the Camp fire in 2018 that wiped out the After the Almeda fire, officials found that homes surtown of Paradise, California, and the Carr fire, which rounded by green lawns or rock were not as susceptible to spawned fire tornadoes in Redding. fire. More problematic were drought-resistant landscapes “We have to acknowledge a massive problem that with bark, pampas grass and other plants that spread threatens our lives, our livelihood and our communiflames, said Hanley. Using treated waste water for lawns ties,” said Hanley. would be one way to create a greener landscape barrier.

Three essential elements will need to be in place to Yet another option for hardening would be low-scorch deal with events that could rival the Almeda fire. Those burns around population centers, said Hanley. “We are sufficient firefighting forces to jump on outbreaks need to get black lines around the communities and I-5.” immediately, ways of making water and foam more “These are not new concepts. These are things that available for fighting fires, and hardening communities need to be done by our lawmakers. We can’t make it by to resist conflagrations. ourselves, but would by working together,” said Hanley.

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4/13/2021 3:13:08 PM

TELEHEALTH

VIRTUAL MEDICAL VISITS HERE to STAY TELEHEALTH

BY THE NUMBERS

A pandemic helped doctors and patients see the value in remote appointments

15 (+/-)

for the Mail Tribune

Asante monthly virtual vists before pandemic

11,173 Asante virtual visits in April 2020

Ø La Clinica virtual visits barely existed in 2019

18,000 La Clinica virtual visits for all of 2020

By TONY BOOM

A

s the COVID-19 virus changed society in 2020, medical visits via electronic media went from almost nothing to the thousands for two local health care organizations — and they expect the practice will remain even when the pandemic recedes.

Asante Physician Partners had been doing 15 or fewer telehealth visits per month since 2018, but it suddenly jumped to 11,173 in April 2020, reported Lee Milligan, senior vice president and chief information officer for Asante Health System.

“It zoomed up. Everyone wanted to be seen with telehealth and nothing else,” said Milligan.

For La Clinica, which had the capability, telehealth basically didn’t exist in 2019, said Brenda Johnson, chief executive officer. For all of 2020 it logged over 18,000 video visits with practitioners. La Clinica saw the largest numbers of virtual visits during June and July.

But telehealth hasn’t totally supplanted the in-person clinical appointment with practitioners. Johnson estimates that about 10% of all La Clinica visits in 2020 were done with telehealth.

“The doctor is going to be very attuned to where you are best cared for. If another venue is more appropriate based on their diagnosis, they will initiate that direction.”

LEE MILLIGAN, chief information officer, Asante Health System PHOTO COURTESY AMERICANHEALTHCARELEADER.COM

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4/13/2021 3:13:10 PM

TELEHEALTH People were still coming in when ill, injured or for routine procedures such as ultrasounds during pregnancy and wellness checkups.

“We always had in-person visits. We sustained that as much as we possibly could, but also augmented with virtual and telehealth visits,” said Johnson.

The vast majority of physicians and advance care practitioners in Asante Physician Partners do telehealth, said Milligan. All of the more than 40 medical providers at La Clinica use the distance connections.

Asante and La Clinica use a telehealth system developed by Epic, which provides patient virtual access via a MyChart app and also access to records and other medical communication via MyChart. The virtual visits can be done on computers or smartphones.

“We had to equip our clinics with video cameras, our providers with laptops,” said Johnson. She said staff was resilient, creative and innovative in adopting new practices brought on by the pandemic.

Most doctors had no experience with telehealth, and there was a fair amount of reluctance initially, said Milligan.

“I think this is a big ‘ah-ha’ moment for doctors. They came to a collective realization that there really is an appropriate place for telehealth and value when applied correctly,” said Milligan. He is a physician who still practices, and virtual visits help him stay connected to what the other doctors are experiencing.

Asante hired a full-time person to staff the MyChart help line to help people get signed up and navigate the system. The tools have gotten much more user-friendly and intuitive, which has been a big driving force in making use as seamless and easy as possible, Milligan said.

La Clinica didn’t have the resources for a help line hire but worked with its call center personnel to provide instruction and guidance for consumers.

“We also got better at texting to our patients. We hadn’t had the system completely developed prior to COVID,” said Johnson.

“Most challenging for us was the issue in dental. As you can imagine, it’s all face to face,” said Johnson, who is a nurse.

The opposite was seen with mental and behavioral health, where virtual visits “took off seamlessly,” she said.

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Telehealth visits via phones, laptops and other electronic means soared during the pandemic, and local health care providers don’t expect the practice to go away when the pandemic ends.

“For some folks who struggle with anxiety or depression, the benefits in being able to be in their homes have meant they kept appointments more often versus spending half a day traveling to us,” said Johnson.

“A lot of what it takes to diagnose is done via talking to the patient, and taking a history,” said Milligan.

A significant part of many appointments is visual observation, which can often be handled in virtual visits.

“The doctor is going to be very attuned to where you are best cared for. If another venue is more appropriate based on their diagnosis, they will initiate that direction,” said Milligan.

That happens in a very limited number of cases, he said.

La Clinica initially developed protocols for when virtual visits should result in an in-person examination.

But in late summer it was decided that practitioners were in the best position to make those decisions, said Johnson.

Both Johnson and Milligan think telehealth is here to stay.

“For sure, it is hard to say it will be a significant portion of how we deliver care. The numbers will probably drift down a little bit, but maintain a very solid base,” said Milligan. In December there were 8,602 visits, and there has been a gradual decline since the April high point.

Johnson said she would expect virtual visits to remain around the same level as 2020. “We do think there will always be something that is a mix.

Some people prefer a telehealth visit.”

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4/13/2021 3:13:16 PM

COVID-19 VACCINE

ROLLOUT PICKS UP the PACE D

By VICKIE ALDOUS Mail Tribune

emand far exceeded supply in the first several months of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Jackson County.

But local medical and public health officials said they were heartened to see strong demand for the vaccines.

Some remain hesitant to receive vaccines developed less than a year after the pandemic triggered widespread shutdowns across the United States.

But public health officials say the vaccines were extensively tested and have a high efficacy rate when it comes to preventing hospitalization and death.

They’re also urging the public to get vaccinated to stifle the virus’ ability to spread and mutate into potentially more dangerous varieties.

The rollout started in mid-December when Asante and Providence workers who could be exposed to the virus on the job started receiving the first coveted shots.

“This is an exciting time. We know that COVID-19 vaccines have shown to be 95% effective. They’ve undergone rigorous testing. The vaccine arriving in Oregon gives us hope. It’s hope that the pandemic will end,” Holly Nickerson, vice president of quality and patient safety for Asante, said at the time.

By January, the vaccination rollout was picking up steam. Jackson County Public Health, Asante, Providence, the Oregon National Guard, paramedics, a small army of volunteers and other partners staged a mass vaccination drive-thru event at the Jackson County Expo.

JAMIE LUSCH PHOTOS / MAIL TRIBUNE

Organizers said that an event at The Expo in January could have immunized 4,000 people a day if there had been enough vaccine.

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4/13/2021 3:13:21 PM

VACCINE ROLLOUT They delivered shots to 7,300 people with ties to health care, education and nursing homes during the three-day event in January.

In February, they delivered thousands of second doses at a follow-up drive-thru event.

In the first months of the rollout, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were available.

Those required two shots to become fully effective.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which arrived in March, is a single shot.

Organizers of the drivethru events at The Expo had the process so honed down they estimated they could deliver 4,000 shots per day — if there had been enough supply.

Vaccine shipments from the federal government to the states were slower than predicted in the beginning.

After getting vaccine from the federal government, the state

of Oregon sends vaccine shipments to local communities.

People who got shots during the drive-thru events at The Expo praised the effort.

“This is an incredibly welloiled machine. I’m impressed.

It’s amazing. All they need is enough vaccine for everyone,” said one woman who got her first and second shots at the drive-thru events.

Oregon’s vaccination strategy has faced criticism, especially from senior citizens. In an effort to get kids back in school, Gov. Kate Brown put educators in line ahead of older people.

Senior citizens have suffered the most COVID-19related hospitalizations and deaths, both in Oregon and across the nation.

Doctor’s offices, pharmacies, nursing homes, health clinics and some unlikely organizations have helped with the vaccination effort.

Southern Oregon Head Start, which provides early learning opportunities and child care for low-income families, held a February drive-thru clinic to vaccinate its workers. The move helped ensure that kids could keep coming to Head Start schools and parents would get the child care they need to be able to work.

In March, Asante, Providence and Jackson County Public Health announced they had partnered to launch a high-volume vaccination clinic capable of giving shots to up to 1,000 people a day five days per week, depending on vaccine supplies.

They created a phone number at 541-789-2813 for people to book appointments, and hired 20 people to answer the phones.

Many people had expressed frustration about spending hours on the internet or being

put on hold on the phone as they searched for vaccination opportunities scattered around the community.

Providers were also struggling to handle the flood of phone calls and emails from people desperate to get vaccinated.

“Creating this clinic means the people in our community no longer need to worry about how or where they can get vaccinated,” said Dr. Jim Shames, medical director for Jackson County Public Health. “Once they’re eligible, it will simply be a matter of scheduling an appointment.”

The high-volume clinic created a convenient option for many.

But as the vaccination effort continues, a wide variety of providers and pharmacies in the community will keep helping to deliver shots — bringing hope for an end to the pandemic.

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4/13/2021 3:13:28 PM

FIRE PREVENTION

ASSESS YOUR HOME IGNITION ZONE

This is the area where homeowners should focus their attention to lessen their wildfire risk

By RHONDA NOWAK for the Mail Tribune

“W

e may not be able to stop wildland fires from occurring, but we do have a choice about whether our homes will survive a wildfire — and the steps we need to take to protect our homes are surprisingly simple.”

I’ve been participating in the OSU Land Steward Program, and this statement came up during a lesson about wildfire preparedness for home and land owners. I was watching video footage that showed how a test structure, built and landscaped like a typical home, responded when embers came into contact with it.

According to Jack Cohen, a research physical scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, studies on home survival or destruction during wildfires indicate that embers and small flames are the primary causes of home ignition.

The video showed that once embers were blown toward the test house by huge fans simulating winds at 10-20 mph, it didn’t take long for dry vegetation in the roof gutters to catch on fire.

The vinyl gutters melted quickly and dropped to the ground, where pine bark mulch and landscape

PHOTO BY RHONDA NOWAK

Fire-resistant plants along a walkway or path can act like a firebreak.

plants soon flamed up around the perimeter of the house. From there, it wasn’t long before the wood siding caught on fire and the entire structure was engulfed in flames.

For me, the main takeaway from the video and wildfire preparedness lesson was the importance of assessing the vulnerability of my home from a nearby wildfire.

Living in the Rogue Valley means living with wildfires, particularly under current conditions created by climate change, severe lightning storms, drier summers, and the buildup of fire fuels in wildland areas.

Wildfire is not our enemy; in fact,

wildfires provide essential ecological services such as reducing fire fuels, cycling nutrients and creating wildlife habitat.

Before our valley was settled, wildfires occurred frequently but they were not very severe. Over the past 150 years, residential and business development has created more ignition fuel for wildfires, increasing their severity.

The OSU Extension Service says Oregonians began putting out wildfires around 1900, with the unintended consequence of allowing fire fuels to build up from dead trees and understory shrubs.

Before our valley was settled, wildfires occurred frequently but they were not very severe. Over the past 150 years, residential and business development has created more ignition fuel for wildfires, increasing their severity.

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4/13/2021 3:13:32 PM

FIRE PREVENTION Now, when wildfires occur, they burn extremely hot and are difficult to manage. It doesn’t take long before wildland fires reach residential communities where structures and landscape vegetation “add fuel to the fire.”

We must see our homes and businesses as a potential fuel source for fire. Our goal is to reduce as much combustible material as possible, starting from the house and extending out 100 to 200 feet.

Cohen calls this the Home Ignition Zone; it’s where homeowners can most effectively change conditions so fire can’t continue to burn.

Cohen says, “Fire doesn’t spread like an avalanche or a flash flood.

It spreads according to meeting the requirements of combustion — a chemical process that requires oxygen, heat and fuel. Remove any element, and the fire cannot continue.”

The combustion zone consists of three areas: Zone 1 includes the house and attachments and extends 30 feet out in all directions. Zone 2 reaches from 30 to 100 feet from the house, and Zone 3 extends 100 to 200 feet from the house. Most urban homeowners have control over conditions in Zone 1, but probably share responsibility for conditions in zones 2 and 3.

Within Zone 1, evaluate the area beginning with the house and moving out to your yard and surrounding landscape. The most vulnerable part of the house for potential ignition is

the roof, so check whether your roof is made from combustion-resistant material.

Also see if 1/8-inch screen is used to vent the attic where flames can enter the interior of the house, and whether you have double-paned windows that are more fire-resistant than single panes. What is the home exterior made of? Fiber-cement siding and stucco resist flames better than wood or vinyl siding.

Metal roof gutters don’t melt like vinyl gutters do. Also check if your roof and gutters are cleared of dead leaves and other debris.

Are decks, awnings and fences attached to your house made of fire-resistant materials? According to Chris Chambers, Forest Division chief for Ashland Fire and Rescue, wooden fences were a big factor in whether homes burned in the Almeda fire last September. Wooden fences can be treated with fire retardant to make them less likely to ignite and spread fire to the house.

Observe whether you have a fire-resistant area within five feet of the house or deck. Firewood should be stacked outside of Zone 1, rather than under the deck or against the house. Trees and woody shrubs should not be grown against the house, and tree limbs should not overhang the roof.

Chambers noted that bark mulch used for plantings close to the house was a frequent source of home ignitions during the Almeda fire.

PHOTO BY RHONDA NOWAK

Wooden fences, common in the Rogue Valley, burn easily and can carry fire right to your house.

0425_A_39_OV____.indd 39

Compost, disintegrated granite and decorative rocks are more fire-resistant than bark, wood chips or straw.

Plantings within Zone 1 should be primarily herbaceous annuals and perennials with high-moisture content. Irrigated grass lawns are one example of low-growing vegetation that provides an effective firebreak, deterring flames from spreading to the house. If you have converted all or part of your lawn to garden space, then you’ll be glad to know there are many herbaceous plants that can serve as firebreaks.

Native plantings, in particular, are well suited for fire-resistant gardens because they are adapted to our dry summer conditions.

The OSU Extension Service provides a free guide called “Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes” (2006) at https://catalog.extension. oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/ project/pdf/pnw590.pdf. Check to see how many fire-resistant plants you have in your HIZ. Herbaceous plantings must be watered regularly and well maintained to provide an effective firebreak for your home. Be sure to remove dead plant material and debris during the dry season. Bordering the garden with rocks, grassy paths or walkways made with pavers also provides good firebreaks.

The OSU guide includes a list of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees that are suitable as fire-resistant plantings. Avoid planting trees and shrubs with high resin, oil or wax content.

Some common examples of highly flammable shrubs/trees are juniper, cypress, arborvitae and yew.

As you assess your landscape, you may find that some of the fire hazards you identify are shared with or by your neighbors. This is particularly the case with adjacent structures, fencing and overhanging tree limbs.

Reducing fuel sources and improving fire resistance within your shared HIZ could become a common goal.

Rhonda Nowak writes the Mail Tribune’s weekly Literary Gardener column. Email her at Rnowak39@ gmail.com.

4/13/2021 3:13:37 PM

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION

PHOTO BY BOW DEBEY

Homes in Talent burn the day of the Almeda fire. Residents had scant warning about the blaze due to a failure of the emergency notification systems.

THIS IS AN ALERT:

By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune

L

The Almeda fire showed the need for a reliable way to alert residents

ast summer’s failure of a cellphone emergency notification system during the Almeda fire prompted complaints from many survivors.

Emergency service providers are still weighing their options to alert people by cellphone going forward.

“Our emergency alert system could be better,” Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler said.

The county has hired the consulting firm IEM to review its disaster preparedness to see what needs to be changed or enhanced.

While cellphones are one way to alert people in an emergency, police and fire had a more boots-on-the-ground approach to warning

people on Sept. 8, 2020, when the Almeda fire roared to life.

Police and fire from multiple jurisdictions went door-todoor helping people evacuate.

“We had a good 150 people out there going into neighborhoods,” Sickler said. “We had everybody in our department there, except for the deputies at the jail.”

Other police and fire agencies in Medford, Jacksonville and surrounding communities rushed to help as the fire destroyed 2,500 residences.

Sickler said he’s looking forward to the analysis by the consultant, and he said he favors multiple systems rather than just relying on one.

In February, the Oregon Legislature held an online public hearing to learn about the Almeda disaster, and the failure of the alert system was one of the topics on people’s minds.

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4/13/2021 3:13:40 PM

Like many who testified, James Williams said the emergency alert system failed to warn most people of the oncoming Almeda fire. He had six minutes to get his dogs and flee the Bear Lake Estates manufactured home community in Phoenix, which was leveled by the blaze.

“I still wake up at night sweating, having nightmares, terrors about being trapped in a house and burning alive.

It’s hard to get past,” Williams said.

During the hearing, Kathy Kali, the manager of a manufactured home park that burned, called for an improvement to the emergency alert system. She said sirens could do a better job of warning people to evacuate.

“If this had happened at night we would have had major loss of life,” Kali told legislators.

The county uses an automatic alert system provided by Everbridge, which was set up in 2011 after the fast-moving Oak Knoll fire destroyed 11 homes in August 2010.

The system requires people with cellphones to sign in on the Jackson County website, and many residents haven’t taken that step.

The sign-in requires filling out a

A World Away from the Every Day!

short form at member.everbridge.net/ index/1332612387832182#/signup.

Around the time of the fire, 83,226 land line phone numbers automatically enrolled in the Everbridge system along with 54,246 mobile phone users.

In the days after the Almeda fire, 41,911 residents enrolled in the alert system.

Sickler said another alert system that is sent out through the media can be problematic because it is distributed over a five-county area.

“When we put out an alert to evacuate Shady Cove last year it was basically an invitation for burglars and thieves in the five counties,” he said.

“People get pretty pissed when their house gets broken into.”

While the Everbridge system can send out alerts to a given community, cell towers could be put out of service in a fire or other emergency.

Sometimes an alert can cause other problems.

In Central Point, an alert was issued last summer when a fire erupted near Costco, and the roads got jammed with vehicles, preventing people from leaving and preventing emergency vehicles from entering, Sickler said.

While three died during the Almeda

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION fire, loss of life could have been far worse.

Because most residents didn’t receive the alerts, the roadways remained open and allowed people to escape and gave emergency crews access to neighborhoods, Sickler said.

“It could have been way more tragic,” he said.

Jackson County Commissioner Rick Dyer said he’s hoping to get better clarity about the county’s alert system once the IEM report is completed.

“There is a lot of considerations,” he said. “Three deaths were tragic, of course. The fact that there could have been more is very real.”

Dyer said roads did get choked during the Almeda fire, but it could have been far worse.

He said the IEM analysis is contacting the 150 police and emergency groups who responded to the Almeda fire.

Dyer said the county does operate under an emergency plan and he anticipates there will be changes.

“Maybe we are going to tweak it, and maybe there are some enhancements that we need to make,” he said.

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HOME CONSTRUCTION

BUILD WITH FIRE IN MIND

Roofs of houses built in wildfire hazard zones in Medford must have shingles made of asphalt, slate, tile, clay or concrete. On houses in wildfire hazard zones in Medford, rain gutters must be “provided with a means to prevent accumulation of leaves and debris in the gutter.”

123RF.COM IMAGES

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By RYAN PFEIL Mail Tribune

W

hen it comes to making homes safer from wildfires, officials have detailed recommendations for how to create a defensible space, which lessens the risk of flames pushing through the terrain toward your home.

But fire planning doesn’t stop with the landscape.

A variety of improvements are available that make it harder for your house to burn, too.

“Anything attached to the house (decks, porches, fences and outbuildings) should be considered part of the house,” says an article on the Ashland Firewise website entitled “Guidelines for Fire Construction.” (www.ashland.or.us/ Page.asp?NavID=17762) Metal screening can be installed on rain gutters and spaces below houses to prevent falling embers. But other parts of the main structure, and those adjacent to it, should also be taken into consideration.

Noncombustible fence attachments made of metal, and fences built with fiber cement board can help. That material tends to smolder rather than ignite, said Katie Gibble, Ashland’s Fire Adapted Communities coordinator.

Those who wish to keep their wood fences can treat the wood with a substance called intumescent paint, a coating that makes the wood flame-resistant.

“Instead of the wood burning, it would char and turn black,” said Mark Northrop, deputy fire marshal for Jackson County Fire District No. 3. “It doesn’t last forever, but it would slow it down.”

Using the right materials can save your home from fire

4/13/2021 3:13:55 PM

Northrop said the paint is expensive — a quick Google search shows a 5-gallon bucket runs for hundreds of dollars — and must be reapplied regularly.

Effective fire-resistant siding includes stucco and fiber cement board, popularly known as Hardie Board.

Decks should be built with similar synthetic products, with elevated decks skirted so embers and debris can’t get underneath, said Mark Shay, deputy fire marshal for Medford Fire-Rescue.

Boxed or enclosed eaves are encouraged, as are double-pane windows, though many newer homes have them.

Making newly built structures more fire-resistant has been a key focus for Rogue Valley government and fire officials in recent years.

In October 2019, Medford City Council voted to follow new state building codes intended to make houses in wildfire hazard zones

more resistant to flames and embers. The new regulations, part of the Oregon Residential Specialty Code, require increased use of noncombustible and fire-resistant building materials in wildfire hazard areas within the city limits, primarily in neighborhoods close to Roxy Ann Peak.

“Medford was the first community in the state to adopt that,” Shay said.

In March, the city of Ashland had the same standards under consideration.

The new requirements are already standard on most new homes. Under the code:  Shingles are to be made of asphalt, slate, tile, clay or concrete. Untreated wood shingle and shake roofs are not permitted when the site is in a wildfire zone.  All vents are required to have screening made with “corrosion-resistant metal wire mesh,” with screening between 1/16-inch and 1/8inch “designed to resist the

intrusion of burning embers and flame, or other approved materials or devices.”  Rain gutters must be built with non-combustible materials “provided with a means to prevent accumulation of leaves and debris.”  Exterior walls or wall coverings must be made with noncombustible or ignition-resistant material, heavy timber or log wall construction assembly. They need to extend from the top of the foundation to the roof and “terminate at 2-inch nominal solid blocking between rafters at all roof overhangs, or in the case of enclosed eaves or soffits, shall terminate at the underside of the enclosure.”  Deck, porch and balcony walking surfaces greater than 30 inches and less than 12 feet above grade, or the surface below, must be built from exterior fire retardant treated wood or another noncombustible material.  Overhanging features

HOME CONSTRUCTION such as balconies, carports, decks, patio covers, porch ceilings and unenclosed roofs and floors less than 12 feet above grade or the surface below must be covered with either noncombustible or ignition-resistant material.  Exterior windows, skylights and windows within exterior doors must be made with tempered glass, multilayered glazed panels, glass block or have a resistance rating “of not less than 20 minutes.”

Details can be seen at oregon.gov/bcd/codes-stand /Documents/17orsc-wildfire -mitigation-insert-pages.pdf.

A 2019 housing cost impact statement from Oregon’s Consumer & Business Services Building Codes Division found the provisions would add $2,500 to $3,000 to construction costs “of a typical 1,200-square-foot detached single-family dwelling.”

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NEIGHBORHOOD FIRE PREVENTION

BUFFER ZONES of YOUR OWN Work from your house outward to build a fire-resistant buffer

By RYAN PFEIL

W

Mail Tribune

on terrain between five and 30 feet out, and the extended zone looks at 30 to 100 feet and beyond, according to the Fire Adapted Ashland website, www.ashland.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=17985.

“There’s a lot in each zone that the occupants need to focus on,” says Mark Northrop, Jackson County Fire District No. 3 deputy fire marshal.

hen it comes to landscaping that can help protect your home and outbuildings from an approaching fire, Katie Gibble has a basic rule: Start close to the structure, then push outward.

It’s the best approach for creating defensible Immediate zone space, or landscaping tailored for fire defense around a structure, says Gibble, fire adapted The top recommendations for the immediate communities coorzone start with the dinator for the city of structure itself, fire Ashland. officials say.

Start small, she Property owners says, then expand. should pay attenIf done properly, tion to spaces the completed where embers from property and strucan approaching tures have a better fire could fall, and chance at enduring remove debris such a blaze on the scale as leaves and pine of the Almeda fire, needles from those the wind-whipped spots. This includes 3,200-acre blaze that rain gutters and destroyed more than roofs, particularly in 2,500 structures corners or pockets between northern where debris can Ashland and southaccumulate.

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE ern Medford Sept. 8.

“That’s an excelKatie Gibble, with fire adapted communities, says homes such as this one “We really drill lent spot for embers in Ashland that use lava rock instead of mulch can help reduce fire danger. to start a fire,” that into people: If you want to protect Northrop says. your structure, start at the structure and work your Air vents underneath the house and on the eaves way out,” Gibble says. also need to be kept clear. Officials recommend Like any sizable task, mitigating the wildfire installing 1/8-inch metal mesh. danger on your property can be made less daunting “The mesh vent covers is a really big one,” by breaking the work into sections. In this case, there says Mark Shay, deputy fire marshal for Medford are three zones residents interested in transforming Fire-Rescue. their properties into fire-resistant spaces need to Homeowners who have difficulty keeping gutfocus on: immediate, intermediate and extended. ters clean should consider installing gutter guards The immediate zone concerns anything within five to limit the number of times clearing is necessary, feet of the building. The intermediate zone focuses Gibble says.

“ If you want to protect your structure, start at the structure and work your way out.”

KATIE GIBBLE, Ashland’s fire adapted communities coordinator

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4/13/2021 3:14:05 PM

NEIGHBORHOOD FIRE PREVENTION Bark mulch and other mulches that are flammable should not be within the first five feet of the home — not just raked away, but eliminated completely. Nonflammable alternatives such rocks are preferable.

Wood and other plant debris piles should be placed at least 30 feet from structures. Noncombustible fence attachments should also be considered. Wooden fences were a main way the Almeda fire spread, officials say, with embers landing near or on fences.

“They were landing everywhere,” Gibble says.

Sometimes those embers can make their way into knot holes on the fences, too. Property owners are advised to replace wooden fence attachments with corrugated metal or fiber cement boards, which are half cement and half wood pulp. It’s ignition-resistant and tends to smolder rather than catch fire, Gibble says.

Fences attached directly to a building should have a break to stop a fire’s path.

Intermediate zone The spacing of plants — and making sure they are fire-resistant — is key to the zone five to 30 feet from the structure, officials say.

Trees should be limbed six to 10 feet up, and bushes should be trimmed to ensure they aren’t tall enough to carry fire into the trees above.

“Fire works like a ladder. It starts on the lowest rung,” Northrop says.

Think of vegetation spacing

horizontally and vertically, Gibble says, making sure smaller plants don’t aid the spread of fire into the trees.

Lawns should be properly irrigated and cut down to four inches or lower. Flammable plants such as lavender, rosemary and juniper should not be in this zone.

“Get rid of that juniper,” Gibble says. “And if you’re really sold on keeping it, keep it isolated.”

Alternatives include rhododendron, coffeeberry and spirea, Gibble says.

A complete list of firewise plant recommendations can be found online at www.ashland.or.us/SIB/ files/Firewise_Plant_List_2020.pdf Limited use of bark mulch is important in the intermediate zone, as embers that fall into it can help “preheat” plants, Gibble says. Rock, including decomposed granite and flagstone, is a preferred alternative.

Considering “urban fuels” is also important in this zone, Northrop says. This includes items that are part of a home’s landscape that aren’t flora, such as trash cans, wood piles, plastic patio furniture and cushions.

“We like to see that stuff at least 30 feet away or put away inside of a shed when you’re not using it,” Northrop says.

Extended zone The extended zone, which targets terrain 30 to 100 feet from the home and beyond, is the area where a fire should be prevented from moving across the landscape.

IMAGE COURTESY OF KS WILD

A new guide by the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland offers tips for creating defensible space around homes and other steps to prepare for fire season. The guide can be downloaded for free at kswild.org/forest-fire-toolkit.

0425_A_45_OV____.indd 45

This can sometimes extend as far out as 200 feet, according to “Ready, Set, Go,” a fire preparedness informational resource from Medford Fire-Rescue.

Property owners in rural areas should get rid of any “understory brush” such as manzanita and poison oak, and space trees at least 10 feet apart. Like in the intermediate zone, trees should be limbed six to 10 feet from the ground. Small trees should be removed.

Like in the two closer zones, clear excess brush.

“You need to develop as park-like of a landscape as you can,” Gibble says. “You want to be able to walk through it.”

Don’t think of a golf course, Gibble says. Rather, consider Lithia Park in Ashland, where young trees have been cleared out, making it more difficult for flames to climb up into the higher tree canopies.

Firewise communities Local fire officials continue to push the concept of “firewise communities,” or neighborhoods where at least eight properties receive fire-resistant makeovers.

“They set a plan, they set, essentially, a budget, and they agree on work they’re collectively going to do around their homes, and they move forward with that,” Shay says.

In early March, the Oregon Department of Forestry announced that five new neighborhoods in southwest Oregon had achieved that distinction, “the most (new Firewise communities) of any region in Oregon.”

They included Glenn Vista Estates and the Mill Pond Homeowners Association in Ashland, the Jackson Oaks Neighborhood Association in Central Point, the Timber Ridge Homeowners Association in Jacksonville and Deerfield Park in Shady Cove.

But there’s always more to do. Local fire departments offer free property assessments, and the more neighbors on board, the better. More information is available online at firewise.org.

“Together you can create a very safe and well defended neighborhood,” Northrop says. “I think it honestly just starts with neighbors talking to neighbors.”

4/13/2021 3:14:07 PM

P-ersonal P-rotective E-quipment

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Jill Hersch works on a homemade medical gown for Rogue Valley health care providers at her office in Ashland.

SUPPLY vs. NEED

“The supply chain is still broken but is much better.

We are getting enough to keep a 30-day supply on hand, which is what the state has asked us to keep.”

BRIAN MURPHY, materials management director, Asante

0425_A_46_OV____.indd 46

Prices of gloves, masks and gowns have risen, but availability problems have started to ease

By TONY BOOM for the Mail Tribune

PPE

became an abbreviation people learned a year ago as the COVID-19 pandemic spread and altered everyday life. In spring 2020, personal protective equipment needed by doctors, nurses, dentists and many others was in short supply as organizations ramped up consumption to protect their workers from spread of the virus.

A year later, the PPE supply is more stable, but still not optimal, according to a health care materials director and a hospitality industry representative. Both report that the extremely tight supply has eased, but prices have increased.

“The supply chain is not like it used to be, but not as unsure as it used to be

eight months ago,” said Brian Murphy, materials management director for Asante. “The supply chain is still broken but is much better. We are getting enough to keep a 30-day supply on hand, which is what the state has asked us to keep.”

The hospitality industry was already using gloves and cleaning supplies to maintain sanitation standards, but masks became a new requirement when the pandemic emerged, said Terry Hopkins, regional coordinator for the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, who covers nine counties in southwest and Central Oregon, including Jackson County.

“We definitely went through a period for a time back in the beginning when the availability was a challenge. It has gotten a little bit better,” Hopkins said in early March.

4/13/2021 3:14:10 PM

“Pricing has been a challenge. We have seen a dramatic increase in the price of gloves and cleaning supplies,” Hopkins added.

“Actually, right now it’s not as much of a concern as in the beginning of the pandemic. Masks have followed the same basic trends as gloves and supplies.”

Asante had contracts in place that called for regular delivery of PPE. Those contracts also helped hold down prices. Cost of some items in the market increased as much as tenfold, said Murphy.

“Fortunately, we had been through versions of this in the past; the swine flu event and the Ebola scare a few years ago,” said Murphy. “Each time we saw a dramatic spike in supply orders of PPE, especially around N95s.”

Spring 2020 brought a change to the usual status.

“It was tight. I think it was more the unknown early on.

It was hard to get a sense of

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Dee Anne Everson, CEO of United Way, sorts through handmade donated masks at her office.

how dangerous this is. What we thought we needed varied from week to week,” said Murphy. “We didn’t run out of anything. We had to substitute. We certainly went into conservation mode.”

As PPE concerns arose, the local community responded.

A group called the Skunkworks Team was formed by

35 engineers, doctors, makers and others to figure out how to address the crisis. One outcome was that nonprofit Talent Maker City was able to produce thousands of pieces of PPE on both its own 3-D printers and those of volunteers in the community.

“They were awesome,” said Murphy. This spring Talent Maker City was able to produce a valve used in PPE protective gear.

Citizens were responsive to Asante’s needs, said Murphy. People were going into their own supplies and donating them to ensure worker safety. Chambers of commerce, including those in Jackson and Josephine counties, were involved with getting PPE for hospitality workers, Terry said.

Surgical masks and gowns are in good supply now, reports Julie Wurth with La Clinica. Gloves are still hard to find, but the organization is getting enough, while sharps

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P-ersonal P-rotective E-quipment containers to hold needles are in short supply, she reported.

Asante had been using disposable isolation gowns, but those became hard to keep on the shelves as the pandemic evolved. In June the organization used 75,000 of them, all of which went into landfills.

A purchase of 1,000 reusable isolation gowns, each one of which can be used 75 times with cleaning, was made. The gowns have tags that can be marked after each cleaning. “It’s a cost savings and savings to our landfills,” said Murphy.

State law requires that employers provide PPE for their employees.

“What I have been learning the last eight months is to be honest about our situation without creating panic, not to be overly optimistic or overly pessimistic,” said Murphy.

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BECOMING FIRE SMARTER

‘WE LIVE IN WILDFIRE COUNTRY’

MAIL TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO

A firefighter keeps a lookout for spot fires on Chrome Ridge while crews burn out lines on the northeast end of the 2002 Biscuit fire in Josephine County, the largest wildfire in Oregon history.

Klondike, Chetco Bar, Taylor Creek, Biscuit — giant conflagrations have plagued Josephine County for years

By TAMMY ASNICAR

A

for the Mail Tribune

t 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 2, 2018, multiple fire agencies responded to reports of a blaze along Hugo Road, northwest of Grants Pass. High winds had blown a tree into a power line sparking a wildfire that had Rural Metro Fire of Josephine County racing against the clock.

In the first hour, the quick-moving fire threatened 30 homes. More than 100 homes and other structures, including Josephine County Airport in Merlin, sat in the line of fire as flames shot through dry grass and timber.

Rural Metro — Josephine County’s private fire rescue company — worked hand in hand with units from Medford and Ashland Fire and Rescue, Jackson County Fire District No. 3 and No. 4, and the Oregon Department of Forestry under extreme conditions — erratic fire behavior, 20 to

0425_A_48_OV____.indd 48

30 mph wind gusts, steep terrain and dry fuels throughout the fire zone.

Law enforcement and citizen alerts notified residents of a Level 3 “Go” evacuation, while others in Levels 1 and 2 zones were on standby.

Fire crews battled the flames well into the next day, finally containing the fire at just under 200 acres. Fortunately, there were no injuries and only two homes were lost.

In an interview after the incident, Austin Prince, Rural Metro’s operations chief, said the Hugo fire was the largest fire to strike in and around homes locally in more than 40 years.

“It just boggles our mind that we were able to keep it to the size that it was,” he said.

Southwest Oregon has the highest concentration of communities at risk of wildfire in the state due to the wildland/urban interface where residential neighborhoods like those in Hugo and Merlin butt up against timber and brush.

4/13/2021 3:14:18 PM

BECOMING FIRE SMARTER A 2018 study listed Merlin as the No. 1 community in Oregon at risk of exposure to wildfire, and Grants Pass and four other local communities were in the top 15.

A review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived at similar conclusions.

For those who have lived in southwest Oregon for any length of time that’s not breaking news.

The reality is: “We live in wildfire country,” said Tyler Averyt, coordinator of the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Firewise program for Grants Pass and Josephine County. “But it does come as sticker shock to those new to the area.”

Southwest Oregon’s steep, forested terrain with wet winters followed by extremely dry summers set the stage for potential devastating wildfires every year in Josephine and Jackson counties.

In 2018, the lightning-caused Klondike fire was the largest in Oregon at 175,258 acres.

At one point that blaze merged with the Taylor Creek fire burning west of Merlin, and the two fires charred 227,538 acres over a steep, heavily forested terrain.

For several weeks, residents in these fire zones were at high alert, ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

The long, hot 2018 fire season was a pivotal moment in Josephine County.

SEE FIRE

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SMARTER, PAGE 50

DOUBLE TROUBLE

In 2018, the lightning-caused Klondike fire (above) was the largest in Oregon at 175,258 acres. At one point that blaze merged with the Taylor Creek fire (below) burning west of Merlin, and the two fires charred 227,538 acres over a steep, heavily forested terrain.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KLONDIKE FIRE INFORMATION

4/13/2021 3:14:27 PM

BECOMING FIRE SMARTER FROM FIRE

SMARTER, PAGE 49

Coming on the heels of the massive Chetco Bar fire in 2017 — and with the monstrous Biscuit fire of 2002 still in the rearview mirror — emergency preparedness was stepped up.

“We have been working toward community preparedness for a long time,” said Sara Rubrecht, Josephine County emergency manager.

The city of Grants Pass contracts with Josephine County for Emergency Management services.

Together, “we are constantly learning from incidents in our own community as well as those around us to improve our preparedness and communication strategies,” said Rubrecht.

After the 2018 fire season, Josephine County designated additional general fund dollars to hire a full time emergency preparedness education and outreach coordinator.

After 190 days, the 2020 fire season finally ended Nov. 6. The season began with dry conditions May 1, prompting the earliest start in recent memory. It was the second-longest fire season on record in the Southwest Oregon District, only nine days shorter than the 1988 fire season.

On Sept. 8, in an unprecedented weather event, the Almeda and South Obenchain fires in Jackson County and the Slater fire in Josephine County broke out seemingly simultaneously. Fueled by an east wind, low humidity and extremely dry fuels, the catastrophic blazes claimed lives and destroyed thousands of homes and commercial properties.

Like a fire-breathing dragon, the Slater fire gobbled up chunks of rural settlements in the Happy Camp, California-area before racing over the mountains and threatening the town of Cave Junction and surrounding rural communities. Many residents were forced to evacuate, while others were told to get ready to go. The widespread evacuation orders marked the fifth time in four years that Josephine County residents had to flee wildfires, including the Chetco, Taylor Creek, Klondike and Hugo Road blazes.

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The Chetco Bar fire started in Josephine County and spread nearly to the Oregon Coast in 2017, incinerating nearly 200,000 acres in the process.

USFS PHOTO

Those previous incidents set the stage for Josephine County to “maintain a robust alerting system countywide for our citizens,” said Rubrecht.

“We have created a ‘Get Ready Rogue’ campaign, which includes preparedness academies (preCOVID), presentations and a preparedness website (www. rvem.org),” she said. “We are also in the process of updating our Family Emergency Preparedness Handbook.

Rubrecht described the various tools employed by the Josephine County Emergency Notification System: Everbridge Citizen Alert contains all landline telephone numbers as well as citizen-entered cellphone and email information, which is used to warn residents in a designated area.

Emergency Alert System is a national level system that sends alerts to TV and radio in southwest Oregon.

This type of alert can be used for very large events that may affect the region.

Wireless Emergency Alerts is a system that utilizes Amber Alerts sent to cellphones. This type of alert can be used for a chosen geographic area and uses cellphone towers within that area to send alerts to all cellphones within their range. These alerts can be heard even when a cellphone is set to silent.

All preparedness and evacuation information is posted to the Josephine County Emergency Management Facebook page, which is also streamed to the front page of rvem.org for those who don’t have a Facebook account.

Law enforcement, search and rescue, and fire personnel will make door-to-door notifications of “any imminent threat if it is safe for them to do so and if time allows,” said Rubrecht.

Because the city of Grants Pass and surrounding rural communities are situated in an area where wildfire poses a clear and present danger, the Firewise program is gathering steam in neighborhoods committed to working to prevent catastrophic wildfires as witnessed in recent years.

4/13/2021 3:14:30 PM

Averyt said it’s important to “change the mindset” of those who think “wildfires” occur only in remote areas. The next wildfire could be as close as one’s own backyard, without aggressive fuel reduction projects in the urban landscape, such as those in the Firewise program.

Josephine County added three new Firewise communities, including Board Shanty south of Grants Pass, Hugo/ Hidden Pine, and Woodson Drive off of Northwest B Street, bringing the total to 20 — which represents 500 homes.

Averyt said five more communities are working on achieving certification.

With 182 Firewise communities statewide, Oregon ranks second nationally.

(Jackson County currently has 57 such neighborhoods.)

In his five years at the helm of the local program, Averyt has seen a “pretty consistent” uptick in neighborhoods pooling their resources, equipment and manpower to mitigate fire danger.

“It’s pretty gratifying to see the domino effect,” Averyt said. “There is power in numbers when homeowners take ownership and are proactive.”

Neighborhoods in Cave Junction, Wilderville, Murphy and Williams have recently taken advantage of a Defensible Space Grant, which allots a rebate of $500 per acre to property owners who have hired a crew or done the work themselves as prescribed by foresters.

Many large-scale fires “don’t start with a ball of fire,” Averyt said. “Tiny embers blown into fuel beds in and around homes can spark a chain reaction.”

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners appointed a Fire Protection Committee. The committee is campaigning to create a taxpayer-funded fire district in what the state has classified as “unprotected” areas in Josephine County.

If the proposed rate of $ 1.74 per $1,000 of assessed property value is approved by voters May 18, the new Rural Fire Protection District may generate improvements such as a fire station in Hugo, two fire prevention specialists for Firewise and other fire and life safety programs, and implement a “Fire Safety Fuels Reduction Program” for people who have neither the financial or physical ability to create defensible space.

The biggest reasons to form a fire district is to improve response times, say proponents, and change the state’s classification of “unprotected,” which would provide benefits for the county in the way of insurance and fuel reduction grants.

Reach Grants Pass writer Tammy Asnicar at tammyasnicar@q.com.

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GROCERIES

STRETCHING the SUPPLY CHAIN

Pandemic hoarding eases, but changes in the way food stores operate will continue

says Ames. “We The Medford Co-op, wasn’t ready for were constantly that.” owing to its local adjusting to buy On the opposite where we could and relationships, could end of the invenwhen.” tory spectrum from do what most grocery Sherm’s, Medford

By SARAH LEMON Sherm’s massive for the Mail Tribune freezer warehouse Food Co-op’s model giants couldn’t. It can hold 90 truckbased on rapid sourced directly from is ive warehouses in downtown loads, which turnover, says genMedford represented one primarily constilocal farmers and food eral manager Anne major retailer’s insurance policy tuted meat sourced Carter, adding that producers, which against the pandemic’s panic throughout Oregon, the larger grocery purchasing. could supply product industry typically Washington and Sherm’s Markets managed to California, says guards against the same day. avoid many grocers’ empty shelves, Ames. The company overstocking. which laid bare the weaknesses in a has a dairy warehouse downtown The Co-op’s single store, opened nationwide supply chain woefully and another just for paper proda decade ago, operates within 9,000 unprepared last spring for conucts, which afforded enough to square feet and relies on an even sumer response to the coronavirus. keep Sherm’s four stores — two in smaller back stock area, says Carter.

Significant storage space close at Medford and one each in Roseburg The simple lack of space challenged hand allowed Sherm’s to increase and Klamath Falls — flush with toilet the Co-op to meet double the its purchasing last year and send its paper long after other stores had demand during some of the panfleet of eight trucks on extra runs washed their hands of trying to keep demic’s early days, she adds. for products in high demand, says it in stock.

“We’d never done this before,” general manager Bob Ames.

“The toilet paper was one I says Carter, “and then every other “I think our warehouse was one of still don’t quite get,” says Ames. store looked the same way.” the things that kept us in business,” “Unfortunately, the supply chain Items that disappeared most quickly included flour, rice, beans, canned tomatoes and soups and some types of frozen vegetables.

Imposing a 5-pound limit on bulk goods couldn’t conserve enough to keep the Co-op’s bins full, says Carter.

And by May, the store was substituting nonorganic products in some categories and encouraging customers to place special orders and purchase some items by the case.

“There was plenty of food in the area,” says Carter. “Just some people got more of it than others.”

And the Co-op, owing to its local relationships, could do what most grocery giants couldn’t.

It sourced directly from local farmers and food producers, includANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE ing Salant Family Ranch beef and Stafford Smith restocks paper products at Sherm’s Food 4 Less in Medford early in the panRise Up! Artisan Bread, which could demic. Sherm’s was better able to keep its shelves stocked because of several large supply product the same day, says warehouses that allowed it to store goods for fast turnover.

Carter.

F

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4/13/2021 3:14:36 PM

GROCERIES

“The toilet paper was one I still don’t quite get.

Unfortunately, the supply chain wasn’t ready for that.”

BOB AMES, general manager, Sherm’s Markets

Why paper Why toilet is toilet was wiped paper wipedout out?

Here’s all you ever wanted to know about toilet paper during a pandemic:

it in short supply?

Why was is it in short supply?

• One reason is because people are hoarding. Some were stockpiling last month toilet paperinin advance of city and state lockdown orders.

Many shelves at the Walmart store in south Medford were empty in March of 2020.

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

By contrast, wholesale warehouses were putting order limits on retail stores.

“I also think we have a better awareness of the complications in the modern food supply chain,” says Carter, adding that, while vital, the local food economy remains “relatively small.”

And although shelves, for the most part, are full again, says Carter, stores still feel effects from events of more than a year ago.

Fewer crops typically planted in spring and early summer created a shortage in some categories of canned goods, says Carter.

There are still fewer selections, says Ames, among some types of paper products and cleaning supplies. Anticipating the possibility that shoppers could begin hoarding again, both managers say their stores are doing a little hoarding of their own.

“We’re buying a lot more meat and putting it into the freezer,” says Ames. “We will buy things when they are at a good price and hold ’em.”

The Co-op has focused post-pandemic on building a heavier inventory, particularly of shelf-stable goods, says Carter. The store also reevaluated its top sellers in every category and composed a list of substitutes.

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A few 25-pound bags of rice and beans in the bulk section are testaments to customers’ inclination to empty out the Co-op’s bins, which is still a concern as shoppers continue to limit their trips to the store and stock up when they do, says Carter.

“How long are these behaviors going to last?”

Volume at Sherm’s Markets, including Food 4 Less on Biddle Road and Thunderbird on West Main Street, is still up over previous years, says Ames. Shoppers have increased their quantities by about 30% per trip, he says.

Other customers, says Ames, did “move away” from Sherm’s stores during the pandemic in favor of other retailers, including the Co-op, that offer online ordering and parking lot pickup. But after evaluating the feasibility of that model, he says, Sherm’s has no plans to institute remote shopping, so the company can continue offering groceries at the best prices.

“2020 was a challenging year,” says Ames of the grocery business. “But it was a good one.”

Reach freelance writer Sarah Lemon at thewholedish@gmail.com.

• Toilet paper is bulky and not very profitable, so retailers don’t keep a lot of inventory on hand.

• Some experts believe it’s a common reaction in times of a crisis, when consumers feel a need for control and security.

Can't companies just make more?

• The companies are trying to increase output by making fewer varieties of toilet paper.

Can supplies be redirected to households instead of businesses?

• No. Commercial toilet paper uses a different kind of pulp and is produced on different machines. Many institutional rolls are intentionally larger, so cleaning staff don’t have to refill them as often.

Are there ways to cut down on toilet paper use?

• U.S. searches for “bidet” reached an all-time high in March, according to Google Trends.

Source: AP Graphic: Staff, TNS

4/13/2021 3:14:41 PM

RETAIL SHOPPING

COURTESY PHOTO

A fresh look and stylish signage welcome visitors to the south entrance of The Village at Medford Center, where retail, food and entertainment combine for a unique shopping experience.

REINVENTION of the MALL Will food and entertainment become the new anchors?

By JIM FLINT for the Mail Tribune

W

ith rare exceptions, the coronavirus pandemic has been a major shock to retail business. Stores large and small dealt with rolling closures, drastic reductions in staff and plummeting sales.

Malls and shopping centers felt the squeeze as well. Already feeling the pressure of e-commerce and decreased foot traffic, they faced some very tough questions during the pandemic: How do we cope with COVID-19?

How do we bring people back safely?

Have we lost some customers forever?

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Providing a diversified mix of shopping options while finding ways to enhance the mall experience may be the best solution.

What do we need to do to survive?

In the search for answers, “reinvention” has become a buzzword in the industry, producing even more questions.

Will food replace fashion as the new anchor? Will entertainment become more important in the mix? Will there be more stores-within-stores?

(Think Starbucks inside a Safeway, or a bank branch inside a department store.)

As entertainment becomes a main attraction at many shopping centers, it won’t be limited to movies, arcades or kiddie rides.

There will be comedy clubs, mirror mazes, go-kart raceways, laser tag, skate parks, rock-climbing walls and more.

Reinvention itself is tricky. Creativity, use of technology and innovation may be more effective than radical transformation. You can reinvent a pizza into a cheeseburger, but it’s no longer a pizza. In other words, is it a mall or is it an amusement park?

Providing a diversified mix of shopping options while finding ways to enhance the mall experience may be the best solution.

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RETAIL SHOPPING One thing is certain.

Sales associates are becoming more fully versed in the products and services they’re selling so they can find solutions for customers’ needs.

And digital technology, increasingly used by retailers to connect with customers, is seeing increased use in-store these days and will likely expand in the future.

With digital tools, clerks can retrieve pre-identified customer needs and preferences, look up product information instantly, develop recommendations on the fly based on customer reactions, finalize orders and make delivery arrangements.

Historically, malls devoted up to 60% of retail space to fashion merchandise. There is a trend toward more restaurants and food kiosks. Recently that shift has not been to a tired and often broken food court model, but rather to a new generation of mall food options, featuring rising chefs and clusters of restaurants in common areas, some sharing ghost kitchens behind the scenes.

Food is already a star at The Village at Medford Center, which will continue to focus on the gastronomic experience, according to

210 E California St

www. laspalmas.casa

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COURTESY PHOTO

Tolman Creek Plaza near I-5’s exit 14 is anchored by Albertsons and Rite Aid with clusters of independent and franchise service and retail businesses. Owner Tom Becker said outside entrances to all stores were an advantage during the pandemic.

David S. Goldman, managing partner of LBG Real Estate Companies, the center’s owner.

“Food and the experience of gathering and dining will continue to be an important driver for shopping centers,” he said.

“At Medford Center, we have 11 restaurants or fooduse tenants which offer a combination of indoor, outdoor and courtyard dining, as well as curbside and takeout options.”

Goldman believes shopping centers will thrive if they incorporate

entertainment, compelling experiences, and food into the mix of great retail.

“We’re social creatures and will continue to gravitate toward enjoying shared experiences,” he said.

Medford Center has a multiplex theater, a live theater, and areas for gathering and dining.

“They all help connect The Village at Medford Center with its customers, and illustrate what successful post-pandemic retail is all about,” he said. “These are experiences you can’t replicate online.”

Malls and shopping centers are already embracing technology. Medford Center and its tenants use social media such as Instagram and Facebook to promote their brands.

“Over time, customers will gravitate toward properties that provide curated, concierge-like experiences,” Goldman believes.

He said smart retailers know online shopping is not going away. Most shopping centers continue to integrate their online and physical presences.

SEE MALL, PAGE 56

Jacksonville 541.899.9965

4/13/2021 3:14:48 PM

RETAIL SHOPPING with nearly 100 experiences you simply “There are some stores. The mall is can’t get through a “Many, if not all, of Medford services and a two-level, clidigital platform,” he Center’s retail tenants are digitally mate-controlled, said.

“You can’t get a experiences you savvy,” he said. “Their operations indoor center, haircut online.” clearly reflect the continued imporsimply can’t get anchored by Services are as tance of merging bricks and clicks.”

Macy’s, JCPenney important as retail at through a digital Medford Center has some big news Kohl’s. AdjaTolman Creek Plaza, for 2021, with new tenants slated to platform. You can’t and cent are several offered by businesses open in the center this year. get a haircut online.” detached major such as H&R Block, the “Burlington will add its first and retailers that, UPS Store, Siskiyou only store between Salem and SacTOM BECKER, owner, together with the Cellular, and the Sudsramento here at Medford Center,” Tolman Creek Plaza in Ashland mall, form a major Ur-Duds laundromat, Goldman said. “TJ Maxx also will retail complex near North Riverside to name a few.

Becker said they also open a new store at our center in and I-5. help draw customers to the center.

2021, and soon we will add sevRVM digitally connects with its Tolman Creek was fairly nimble in eral additional new tenants to our customers through Amazon Alexa meeting physical distancing guidecollection.” and Google Assistant. Customers can lines during the pandemic because Twenty miles south, Ashland’s get instant information with their of its configuration as a collection of Tolman Creek Plaza has been holding devices. Here are some typical uses businesses without a common indoor up well during the pandemic. It is a of the services: “Alexa, ask Rogue corridor. collection of small independent and Valley Mall what their hours are “Our shopping center provides an franchise businesses, anchored by today.” Or, “Hey, Google, ask Rogue open-air layout that is spacious,” Albertsons and Rite Aid. Valley Mall where I can charge my Becker said, “naturally allowing “These anchors help attract cusphone.” ample distance between visitors. tomers to our shopping center,” said The economic effect of pandemic Customers can park in the lot and center owner Tom Becker, “because restrictions hurt RVM businesses no walk directly into a business.” they provide fundamental needs.” less than it did neighborhood stores.

What does the future hold for The center is composed primarThe women’s clothier Chico’s, a Tolman Creek Plaza? ily of smaller businesses — unique Rogue Valley Mall tenant for 16 years, “We foresee more office-style shops, eateries, a pet store, and a found the pandemic to be a challenge. salon — that provide a one-stop units, medical offices and pop-up “Last year was difficult,” said Chishopping experience. Becker notes retailers,” Becker said. “We are co’s manager Vickie Osborne, “but that many of those kinds of busialways eager to take on tenants who we’re moving forward. We’re seeing nesses thrive in a face-to-face offer value and interest.” environment.

The largest shopping center in the positive movement in sales and looking forward to a better 2021.”

“There are some services and area is Medford’s Rogue Valley Mall Even with CDC guidelines in place, customers were able to try on clothes, she said. The store has been using online platforms to connect with customers.

At the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Bed Bath & Beyond reduced staffing, but brought employees back as restrictions eased, “though still not at pre-pandemic levels,” said Christina Hand, one of the store’s managers.

“Curbside delivery will probably continue post-COVID,” she said, “as a convenience for customers.”

The internet helped fill the gap, she said, when supply chain issues depleted store inventories. During that time, customers were able to get orders fulfilled online when MAIL TRIBUNE / DENISE BARATTA items weren’t in stock in-store.

Last year was difficult for retailers at Rogue Valley Mall due to a decline in foot traffic from The good news: “Sales have been the mall, but traffic has picked up since then. picking up,” she said.

FROM MALL, PAGE 55

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4/13/2021 3:14:55 PM

RETAIL SHOPPING Small outlets in RVM like Cricket Wireless depend in part on business from mall patrons who stop in as they stroll by the store.

Cricket sales associates said foot traffic has increased in recent days, but expect it will be weeks or months before it reaches pre-pandemic levels.

RVM has several food tenants plus a food court, but no movie theater.

Other amenities include a children’s play area, bank ATMs, guest Wi-Fi, and a mall walker program when not restricted by COVID guidelines.

Northgate Marketplace is another major shopping center in Medford, encompassing 40 acres of diversified retail business. It has a unique mix of key retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marshalls, REI, HomeGoods and Petco.

Located not far from Rogue Valley Mall near three major traffic arterials, Northgate has 30 spaces, with only four vacant at this writing.

There are many other shopping centers in Medford and Ashland, most of them small collections of service and retail businesses, some anchored by a supermarket or other big box retailer.

All have felt the sting of the pandemic.

Some have lost tenants because of it.

During the pandemic struggle, most malls and shopping centers nationally posted substantial earnings declines, and some were forced to close. In some regions, department store anchors closed. With them went many in-line tenants.

Mall owners were forced to reconfigure those large empty anchor spaces and try to back-fill vacated in-line stores as well.

But amidst all the doom and gloom predictions, there are signs that as the pandemic burns out, malls and shopping centers can have much brighter futures — especially those that best address customer needs and give people things to do besides shop.

In the Rogue Valley, shopping center owners seem prepared to meet those challenges and take advantage of the pent-up demand for consumer goods and social interaction.

As marketing guru Ethan Chernofsky told Forbes Magazine in a recent interview, “Too often we forget what makes malls special, as a place to walk around, see things, do things, discover new things, while picking up something in a store.”

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ESSENTIAL WORKERS

FOOD on the FRONT LINES Grocery workers became some of the most important people in the world, risking their health for low wages so the rest of us could eat

By SARAH LEMON for the Mail Tribune

A

mericans assign more importance to food than almost any other consumer commodity.

Cultivating, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting and selling humanity’s calories, however, rank among occupations with the lowest levels of prestige. Then the coronavirus pandemic brought the roles of these critical workers into focus.

“Getting food from the farm to your table involves a lot of people,” says Anne Carter, general manager of Medford Food Co-op.

The pandemic propelled those people into the ranks of professions considered “essential,” just a step behind front-line medical workers and others employed in health care facilities. Reeling from business closures and travel restrictions, consumers turned to panic purchasing, and many retail workers emerged as the pandemic’s unlikely heroes.

“We are critical workers to the community,” says Carter. “Overwhelmingly, our regular customers have been really appreciative.”

The same sentiments were echoed at Sherm’s Markets in Medford, Roseburg and Klamath Falls, says general manager Bob Ames.

“So many customers would tell our staff, ‘Thank you for being here.’”

But economic evidence doesn’t accurately reflect anecdotal

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JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

An employee at Ashland’s Shop’n Kart wears a mask while checking out customers.

expressions of consumers’ gratitude toward workers and their industries.

The retail sector is poised to recover late from the pandemic, or possibly never return to prepandemic levels, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, which is projecting out to 2024 and beyond.

Food manufacturing is positioned slightly better but still doesn’t look to fully recover until late in 2024, according to the office’s modeling.

“I really think of the pandemic as a trend accelerator,” says Guy Tauer, regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department’s workforce and economic research in Jackson, Josephine, Coos and Curry counties.

The trend toward online purchases of retail goods, including food, already had started. Then

the pandemic pushed shoppers out of physical stores and onto virtual platforms, years before the shift otherwise may have happened.

Indeed, if there are further gains to be made in e-commerce, the sector — like health care — is modeled for an “early recovery,” according to state economic analysts.

That growth arguably encompasses the trend of purchasing groceries remotely for parking lot pickup. Customers accustomed to this new convenience during the pandemic may continue to shop without human interaction, changing the way stores operate and who they employ. Embracing online sales nearly a decade after opening its doors, Medford Food Co-op unveiled its purchasing platform at the height of the pandemic.

4/13/2021 3:14:43 PM

“The grocery stores kind of pivoted … for this higher demand,” says Tauer.

Wages followed, as some employers, including Sherm’s Mar- ESSENTIAL WORKERS kets, provided “hazard pay” at unions’ behest. Nationwide, businesses were paying more competitively for retail workers, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s Beige Book, says Tauer.

And some employers have reported difficulties obtaining qualified workers, evidenced by a significant number of job postings in the region, says Tauer.

“I think there’s some challenges in filling some of these positions.”

The risk of exposure, before the coronavirus vaccine is universally available, is one factor. Carter agrees the perception of “risk” involved with checking groceries or stocking store shelves certainly has changed.

And because the Co-op makes every effort to keep customers socially distanced, says Carter, it also keeps all its checkout ANNE CARTER, lanes open, general manager, although that Medford Food Co-op approach potentially exposes more employees.

“There are very few of us who don’t end up checking,” says Carter. “Basically, we’re all in this together as a team.”

“Amazed” at how the Co-op staff responded, Carter says only a couple of workers were unable to cover shifts during the pandemic while assisting family.

At Sherm’s, employees were encouraged to stay home to quarantine and care for members of their households, although staffing shortages arose in late spring and early summer, says Ames.

The few workers who contracted the coronavirus were “mildly sick,” and there were no outbreaks linked to the stores, says Ames.

“Our employees really stepped up there,” he says. “There was a lot of overtime by a lot of people.”

“There are very few of us who don’t end up checking.

Basically, we’re all in this together as a team.”

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4/13/2021 3:14:48 PM

WORKING FROM HOME

PHOTO BY KEN OGDEN

Robert Begg of Asante works from his home. At one point during the pandemic, Asante had 800-900 people working remotely, and many will continue to work from home even after the pandemic is under control.

REMOTE CONTROL

Some businesses plan to continue having their staff out of the office

By VICKIE ALDOUS Mail Tribune

S

ome businesses have decided that remote work is here to stay even after the COVID-19 pandemic fades.

Asante is among those allowing many of its employees to continue working from home.

“We’ve emptied out several office spaces with the intention of never going back. We’re identifying which individuals and positions are more effective working at home,” said Robert Begg, vice president of human relations for Asante.

Asante put some of that empty office space to use

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“There definitely are some employees who, if given the option, would have been working from home all the time. They feel more efficient and productive.

We’re finding they’re actually more focused on work, especially people who were in a cubicle.”

ROBERT BEGG, vice president of human relations for Asante

delivering COVID-19 shots during the vaccination rollout, he said.

In the long term, freeing up office space will save Asante money. Workers will also save on the time and expense of commuting, Begg said.

Some health care industry jobs had been done remotely before the pandemic, including medical transcription and medical bill coding.

Other positions don’t fit well with the remote model, including jobs where people provide direct care to patients.

But during the pandemic, Asante found many varieties of jobs could be done well from home.

4/13/2021 3:14:51 PM

WORKING FROM HOME When state pandemic safety said employees have proved they Working from home during COVID-19 canHework restrictions hit in March 2020, Asante productively at home, leading Among employed adults who say that, for the most part, the moved hundreds of its 6,200 employ- responsibilities of their job can be done from home, % saying to a mindset change among managers they all or most of the time ees to remote work, Begg said. who had doubts. Productivity has gone “We had 800-900 people at one up, in part because employees have cut Would want to Currently are Worked from point working remotely,” he said. out their commute. work from home working from home before the after outbreak ends home coronavirus Most of those workers were able to The downside to virtual work is outbreak do their jobs well from home. some people feel disconnected from “There definitely are some employtheir co-workers. Technology plat20% 71% 54% ees who, if given the option, would forms like Microsoft Teams and the have been working from home all the Zoom videoconference service can time. They feel more efficient and help bridge the gap, Hoefling said.

Among employed adults who are currently working from home productive. We’re finding they’re Erick Barney, owner of the e-Lure all or most of the time, % saying that, since the coronavirus outbreak, each of the following has been for them actually more focused on work, espeDigital marketing agency, sold his cially people who were in a cubicle. building in Medford after finding out Very/Somewhat Very/Somewhat difficult easy People like the flexibility of remote that his five employees are just as work. Their quality of life goes up. productive working at home.

Having the technology and equipment they need to do their job 13 87 They’re able to spend time with their Barney is saving money on the mortfamilies or walk the dog,” said Begg. gage and the utilities for the building, Meeting deadlines and completing projects on time 19 80 and everyone is saving money as they Some employees struggled to be productive at home. Asante asked spend less on gas to get to work.

Having an adequate workspace 23 those workers to return to the office They all stay in touch via instant 77 if they could do so in a way that kept messaging, Zoom meetings and other Getting work done without their risk of COVID-19 exposure low. modes of communication. interruptions 32 68 He estimated about half of employ- Feeling motivated to do their “They know they need to be availees who worked remotely during the able during work hours,” he said.

64 work 36 DN/NA not shown pandemic might continue to do so.

So far, Barney said he’s enjoying the Source: Pew Research Center Graphic: Staff, TNS Asante is trying not to force anyone flexibility of being able to work from into working at home if they don’t home. His only concern is that over want. Some have situations, such as young children in the time, he may begin to miss seeing other people. house, that make it difficult to focus on work, while others To keep his team connected, they meet every other Friday like the social engagement of being in the office. at Barney’s home for a meeting with coffee and bagels.

“It will be a bit of a dance. Some folks want to be in the When it comes to tips for other businesses that may let office and see their co-workers,” Begg said. employees continue working remotely, Begg from Asante At First Interstate Bank branches in Southern Oregon, said companies need to make sure they’ve provided the bank tellers and others who directly serve the public stayed technology workers need. Most have already provided lapat work, although the bank moved to a half-on, half-off tops and other tools during the pandemic. approach to lessen the density of employees in the branches He said there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for who when COVID-19 risk was high. It continued to pay employshould work from home and who should return to the office. ees during that time off, said Aaron Hoefling, retail hub “Really listen to the people you’re affecting,” Begg said. manager for Southern Oregon.

“Really try to hear them and what they need to be successRemote work is a better match for other positions, includ- ful. Really listen to what each person’s circumstance is and ing mortgage officers and business banking officers, said whether they want to continue working from home or come Hoefling, who has moved to a hybrid work schedule himself. back to the office.”

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SCHOOLS

PASSING the TEST

Some of the high-tech tools unleashed during the pandemic might become old school even when COVID-19 is under control The platforms

By JOE ZAVALA

T

Mail Tribune

he COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost everything about daily life, from eating out to public gatherings, but few institutions were impacted as much as education.

Across the country schools began closing in March of 2020 with little warning, and in Jackson County most schools remained closed for most of the past year.

While the vast majority of local schools — and all local public schools — were closed to all but what has been dubbed limited in-person instruction, or LIPI, new words and phrases entered the lexicon with which parents have become intimately familiar: synchronous and asynchronous learning, cohorting, comprehensive distance learning, Canvas, and on-site and hybrid schooling.

While some of these changes will likely disappear with the virus, others may remain and find a permanent place in a COVID-free school system.

“In short, there is a national conversation on how the tools used for distance learning will add to brick-andmortar programs after the pandemic,” Ashland Superintendent Samuel Bogdanove said. “Many of

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MAIL TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

Above: Liam Lusch works on online educational material provided

by Griffin Creek Elementary School from his home in Medford.

Below: Third-grader Ayden Handegard works during a math class math at Washington Elementary School in January.

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

the tools used in distance learning offer exciting ideas for use in traditional classrooms that can make instruction more universally accessible to a range of learners and provide flexible learning environments in-person and online. We are engaging in those conversations

locally to keep the best of distance learning practices as we return to on-campus learning.”

How might those formerly necessary education patches be utilized in a post-COVID world? In a variety of ways, local educators said when posed that question.

Charles Hadley, a fifth-grade teacher at Central Point Elementary, started using Google Classroom about five years before the pandemic hit and raves about the time benefits and its flexibility. Students access Google Slides, input their answers and turn in the assignments digitally to Hadley, who can then make comments on the slides as he checks their work.

If a concept isn’t quite clicking with a student, Hadley can take another crack at breaking it down and shoot that explainer back to the student immediately.

Before he adopted a technology that most teachers were forced to learn during the past 12 months, that hypothetical student would have had to wait a day to receive that feedback in class.

“A lot of that stuff is sped up,” Hadley said.

“That feedback is almost instantaneous. If I’m watching them input the answers, I can hit something with them really quickly.”

Synchronous/ asynchronous A year ago, few would have been able to define these words, at least in terms of how they may apply to the classroom. Now, they’re both elementary.

4/13/2021 3:15:01 PM

SCHOOLS Synchronous refers to remote learning that’s happening in real time, such as a live Zoom session with a classroom full of students. Asynchronous lessons, on the other hand, are pre-recorded. And both can be organized using platforms like Canvas and Google Classroom.

Now that teachers and students have necessarily become Zoom savvy, is it only a matter of time before virtual class meetings are added to schedules on days when it’s convenient? It’s not difficult to imagine a scenario for which synchronous learning could be a temporary solution: a particularly nasty flu bug sweeps through a school, a bomb threat, a winter storm.

Maybe, says Medford Superintendent Bret Champion.

“Our comfort level with how we can use technology in less traditional ways is certainly something that will come out of this, and it could look like a variety of things.”

For instance, Champion said, busy administrators could knock out a quick meeting over Zoom. He also contemplated more collaborations between North Medford and South Medford high schools, and an overall better educational experience for students limited to what is traditionally known as home-bound instruction.

“What does that look like?” Champion said. “I think that we now know that there are some best practices that we can follow that would be helpful to kids in that environment. … There may be some things that get a lot better because we are so much more comfortable with using this technology in a different way than we’ve used it in the past.”

Does that mean that snow days may soon become a pre-COVID relic? Not so fast, Champion says.

Administrators could knock out a quick meeting over Zoom. He also contemplated more collaborations between North Medford and South Medford high schools, and a better educational experience for students limited to what is traditionally known as home-bound instruction.

“That would be a possibility,” he said. “I also think that when there’s a snow day, if it’s a one-off, two-off thing, there’s something to be said for the excitement and kids getting to be kids.”

There are plenty of other practical applications, however. Central Point Elementary Principal Walt Davenport, who will succeed Samantha Steele (retirement) as the district superintendent July 1, pointed out that when substitute teachers take over a class they receive a lesson plan and detailed instructions from the regular teacher.

But what if a teacher built up a base of digital files to pass on to the substitute, a cache that could include asynchronous lessons?

“They would be able to tell the substitute teacher, ‘Hey, access my video where I teach this concept in math, play it for the class and help them with the assignment or the application,’” Davenport said. “That is a big switch-up that I think will be something we consider for the future because that is the teacher’s own instruction happening. You know,

there’s a lot of different ways to teach math so they could actually prerecord some of their lessons for the substitute, and that would be a higher degree of continuity of instruction.”

Safety precautions Oregon’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners (RSSL) guidance, released before the 2020-21 school year, included a laundry list of “key practices for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in schools” that have made school buildings nearly as safe as hospitals: physical distancing, increased emphasis on hand hygiene, cohort, face coverings, improved ventilation and air filtration upgrades, disinfection of “high-touch” surfaces and the isolation and quarantine of those who are exhibiting symptoms.

How many of these precautions will still be in place in two years may depend on the powers that be in the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority, but what if those decisions end up falling to local school districts? Champion said it’s probably too early to predict what schools will look and feel like years from now, but for now the state’s guidance is considered mandatory and will be followed locally.

“For the foreseeable future, yes,” Champion said, “because all we have to work with is the (RSSL) guidance from ODE. The guidance itself is an ODE, OHA thing, so there’s not been a signal that that’s lessening. We do have regular conversations with the ODE looking for ways to make sure that we’re being safe but also providing the highest quality education we can for our students.”

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4/13/2021 3:15:02 PM

HOME-SCHOOLING

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Melissa Moody teaches her daughters, Emma and Aylah, inside their Phoenix home.

‘Do I need to call you teacher?

Or can I call you Mom?’

By JOE ZAVALA Mail Tribune

F

After remote learning took a turn for the worse, a Phoenix parent took over her daughters’ instruction

or Melissa Moody, home-schooling was never really part of the plan. A mother of two sets of twins, her 15-year-old boys had been successfully traversing the public school system for most of their lives, and heading into this school year there was no reason to believe her then-6year-old daughters would be any different.

Then COVID-19 restrictions forced local schools to distribute their entire curriculum remotely, and Moody soon realized that for Emma and Aylah, comprehensive distance learning just wasn’t going to work.

For Aylah in particular, the boxed-in, digitized nature of CDL became a source of dread each morning.

“We were having a lot of push-back, a lot of meltdowns,” said Moody, whose daughters were attending Talent Elementary. “It was not going well.”

Desperate to help her first-graders get the most

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out of their education, and worried that they might come to resent rather than enjoy cracking open a book, Moody decided to take a leap of faith.

She had friends who home-schooled their own children who could help with the transition, and it just seemed like the time was right.

“I never in a million years thought I would be home-schooling because I just never felt called to it,” Moody said. “But I really struggled with this.

I thought, this is not working for her, I need to do something.’”

That was in October of 2020. Now, as Moody and her girls, who recently turned 7, head down the home stretch of their first home-school year, she says it has gone even better than she had hoped. Her original plan was to get through the school year and re-enroll the girls into Talent Elementary full-time once everything returns to normal.

It’s gone so well, though, Moody’s revised plan is to stick with home-schooling for the foreseeable future.

4/13/2021 3:15:04 PM

HOME-SCHOOLING

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animals, which include three goats, 36 chickens, two ducks and a baby lamb.

Her husband, Zac Moody, has pitched in by leading the girls through a meteorology unit study.

And best of all, says Melissa Moody, is the ability to bring God into the classroom.

“I just love the fact that I can be open with the girls about our faith, which was huge,” she said.

“I remember the first week we were doing school, the curriculum had talked about God’s promises and (Emma) said, ‘Oh, my gosh, this talks about God.’ It was very surprising for her to put school and God together. I love that.”

Moody says the experience has given her a newfound respect for teachers, what they do and how they do it, especially those who spent most of the past year teaching elementary students remotely.

For the Moody family, settling into a routine has been one of the biggest keys, but Moody admits that even the most well thought-out itinerary can

amount to very little if you’re having one of those days.

On those days, she says, it may be best to “wave the white flag” and move on to another subject.

Moody’s advice for parents who are considering taking the same leap: Be easy on yourself and listen to those who have done it before — it won’t be a perfect school, but it will be your school.

“And most all of (my friends) just said, you know what, it’s OK if you have these days and it’s not working for you, it’s OK if every day is not perfect,” Moody said.

“And just having that sense of, it doesn’t have to look like school because school looks so different for so many home-schoolers.

“I can’t know what’s going to happen in the future. We’ll hit the middle school thing when it comes, but for right now I really feel that this is the best thing for them.”

Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-8210829 or jzavala@rosebudmedia.com.

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Moody is hardly the only parent to make that decision in the wake of the pandemic.

According to a national survey by the EdWeek Research Center released in November, 9% of parents who weren’t home-schooling their children last school year said they planned to home-school them at least some of the time this school year.

That represents close to a six-point increase from a typical year (3.3% of children in the United States were home-schooled in 2016, according to the National Center for Education Statistics).

Most parents who home-school their kids would probably recognize the perceived barriers Moody was hesitant to scale as she weighed her options.

She didn’t feel she was equipped to take on such a critical job. What’s the best curriculum for her kids?

How would she choose from so many options? What if a concept wasn’t clicking with one of the girls? Where does one even start?

Then another home-schooling mom said something that stuck with her: You are the one setting the rules now, and you set the priorities, and when it’s not working, don’t force it. That put Moody at ease, but the first day of her new home-school was still somewhat surreal.

“Initially, we sat down, and I had their stuff in front of them and I’m like, ‘OK, here we go,’” Moody said.

“And Aylah looked at me and she’s like, ‘Do I need to call you teacher? Or can I call you mom?’”

The answer was mom, and the magic word for Moody turned out to be structure.

They start at 9 a.m. and will typically finish around noon. At first, the school day seemed to be a little too short, but Moody took her friend’s advice and also learned to take cues from her daughters.

If they were struggling in one area, that meant that perhaps that would be a focus on that day.

Maybe that meant that something else would get bumped, and that was OK. The perks were many, she discovered. They do school outside when the weather’s nice.

They incorporate their farm

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SCHOOL MEALS

FOOD for THOUGHT

The pandemic and fires showed how important schools are in feeding children ... and families

By SARAH LEMON

A

for the Mail Tribune

s classrooms closed amid the coronavirus last spring, local schools sprang into action — feeding not just kids who were missing cafeteria meals, but entire families who had lost employment.

“There were lines of hundreds of people coming to get food,” says Sheila Foster, executive director of Rogue Valley Farm to School. “My immediate reaction was, ‘What are we going to do?’”

It didn’t take long for local school districts, partnering with Rogue Valley Farm to School, to “double down” their food service, says Foster. Local farmers pledged their produce, procured with grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and community groups, including Kiwanis, pitched in money and volunteers, says Foster.

Public perception of schools’ role in nutrition and food security also started to solidify, she adds.

“It’s really lit a fire under us that this work is vitally important.”

JAMIE LUSCH PHOTOS / MAIL TRIBUNE

Central Point Elementary School serves breakfast and lunch.

Serving school meals — to go — for carryout. “At this point, I think sparked the creativity of food service we now know we can do anything.” staff at Central Point School District And families responded with their 6. And providing a week’s worth own can-do attitude, says Leavens. of breakfasts and lunches at a time Handed a big bag of fresh produce, inspired workers to cut preparation they incorporated it into their meals. hours by sending larger quantities They made applesauce from whole — entire bags of carrots and gallons apples, even yogurt and cottage of milk — home with families. That cheese with excess milk, says Leavstrategy freed the district’s food ens, adding that she occasionally service department to refocus on the sends out recipes at families’ request. logistics of packaging and storing food The fringe benefits of school meals for 2,000 students, says nutrition ser- taken to go is that kids can’t skip the vices supervisor Anne Leavens. day’s fresh vegetable or decline the “It took us a weekend,” says Leav- milk, says Leavens. District 6 has ens of reconfiguring the cafeterias been spending a significantly larger portion of its $2.3 million annual budget on fresh produce, she says, and is cooking many more recipes from scratch, rather than reheating processed food.

“Everyone’s getting every single serving that they’re supposed to have,” says Leavens.

And more fresh produce than before came from the region’s farmers, paid by the federal government through the schools. A $900,000 USDA grant awarded to Rogue Valley Farm to School launched a partnership with Medford’s Fry Family Farm and Eugene’s Organically Grown Company to fill boxes with fresh produce for 2,000 local families, says Foster.

Colin Grant loads a school bus with sack lunches at Central Point High School.

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4/13/2021 3:16:25 PM

“Farmers were hurting,” says Foster, “and we saw families needed food.”

Through 12 school distribution sites, the program served 2,000 families each week beginning in May and ultimately nourished 8,000 people every day with 240,000 pounds of food, says Foster. Rogue Valley Farm to School even provided some employment opportunities for packing its boxes, adds Foster. The program was renewed on a smaller scale for families of Phoenix-Talent School District following September’s Almeda fire, she says.

“Food is such a basic thing that we can provide as a community — that’s what we learned.”

Kids Unlimited Academy learned years ago that feeding its students freshly prepared, top-quality food was among its chief responsibilities, says Executive Director Tom Cole. The coronavirus pandemic, he says, reinforced the lesson that — faced with countless factors beyond their control — the school at least could control access to food.

“So many of our families were the first to lose their jobs,” says Cole, whose charter school serves Medford and White City. “The next impact is hunger.

Food obviously became a huge priority.”

SCHOOL MEALS

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Theresa Pearson, Student First bus driver, hands out a sack lunch to Christa Price, Sidra Price, 10, and Jubal Price, 4, in front of Washington School in Medford.

Reallocating grants earmarked for activities to food service, Kids Unlimited Academy also reassigned some instructional staff to coordinating meal sites, says Cole. Changes in federal funding opened some doors for distributing food to the larger community, he says.

“They removed a lot of the barriers,” says Cole of the USDA. “But it also demonstrated how great the need was.”

For Kids Unlimited Academy, he says, the need was “overwhelming.”

The school responded by scaling up

its food service almost immediately to serve more than 5,000 meals per day over the summer, compared with 1,500 before the pandemic, says Cole.

Recipients weren’t just students and their immediate households, he says. Extended families and neighbors flocked to Kids Unlimited Academy’s meal sites, as staff relayed by radio to workers on a food assembly line how many meals were needed per car, recalls Cole.

“It became a community provision.”

Kids Unlimited Academy staff even delivered meals to families who couldn’t afford transportation, says Cole, explaining how economic disparities were starkly magnified by the pandemic.

“Our work has always been about relationships and the social and emotional development of kids.”

Cole and Foster say the problem still facing Americans since the pandemic is “equitable” distribution of that food and its positive impacts.

“Our children need us to commit to making these changes,” says Foster.

“It’s doable. We just need to do it.”

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4/13/2021 3:16:30 PM

DINING

‘PEOPLE STILL GOTTA EAT’

Sit-down restaurants still face pandemic headwinds, but food carts have exploded during the pandemic

By SARAH LEMON for the Mail Tribune

R

simply weren’t equipped to offer their menus to go.

“We struggled trying to figure out what would be a good takeout option,” says Gibbs, whose family operates Alchemy Restaurant & Bar and Smithfields Restaurant & Bar. “This is not food that travels well. We were just breaking even.

“It’s hard to keep the lights on when you sell like four burgers a day.”

Gibbs, with parents Michael and Laurie Gibbs, decided in November to turn out the lights, lay off staff and lock their doors for about four months after riding the past year’s roller coaster of restrictions on Oregon restaurants.

The decision came less than a year after the family had purchased Smithfields — just across South Second Street from the Inn.

While the pandemic compelled many eateries to put on the breaks, food trucks hit the throttle, says Chad Petersen, environmental public health manager for Jackson County Health & Human Services, characterizing their growth as “off the charts.”

enewing a prescription for carryout cocktails, says Drew Gibbs, would soothe Oregon restaurants’ ailments since the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would love to just be able to sell cocktails-to-go in perpetuity,” says Gibbs, whose family owns Ashland’s Winchester Inn and two nearby restaurants.

“We were so excited.”

But like so many changes at Oregon restaurants over the past year, cocktails-to-go ultimately didn’t ease much of the pandemic’s pain.

The temporary change in the state’s liquor laws didn’t allow restaurant customers to simply order mixed drinks for takeout without also purchasing a substantial food item, says Gibbs. And his restaurants

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Freddie Lee Dunbar and Dakota Anderson cook meals inside the Freddie Lee’s Seafood Smorgasbord food truck in Central Point.

0425_A_68_OV____.indd 68

4/13/2021 3:35:00 PM

DINING “It was really weird to just put everything in stasis,” “We’re opening new mobile units every week,” he says Gibbs. “We’re here; we’re stickin’ through it.” says.

Embarking on their 38th year of operating the Inn, Of the county’s 145 licensed mobile food units, 20 Gibbs and his parents never second-guessed staying the opened in 2020, about 14% growth, says Petersen. course. They continued to host overnight guests, many Geared for takeout, many mobile units also advertise committing to longer stays. They hired a new chef from delivery through online ordering platforms. And when Los Angeles to helm Alchemy. And when Jackson Counindoor dining was banned statewide last winter, many ty’s diminishing coronavirus infection rates allowed food trucks and trailers could offer customers an outindoor dining at 25% capacity, they banked on expansive door perch, even if it was just on a nearby curb. outdoor seating at both restaurants — amid spring’s “People still gotta eat,” says Freddie Lee Dunbar, who left warmer weather — to ensure a critical mass of customers. employment at Costco to open his Freddie Lee’s Seafood “I feel like there’s going to be this exuberance,” says Smorgasbord in Central Point last summer. “We gotta feed Gibbs of more freedom for dining out. our soul — our stomach — and we gotta feed our hearts.”

Yet constraints on restaurants likely will continue for Specializing in fish ’n’ chips, fried chicken and burgmonths to come, says Gibbs, explaining that hospitality ers, Freddie Lee’s has seen sales both inexplicably soar might feel “a little sterile.” Sanitation requirements for and plummet throughout the pandemic. But Dunbar restaurants did not change during the pandemic, largely upholds the importance of interacting with customers because measures already were aimed at preventing foodto fill the void so many people felt. The truck’s phone borne illness and the spread number rings to his perof pathogens, including the sonal cellphone, which coronavirus, according to receives business calls at county restaurant inspectors. all hours of the night, says The most visible regulaDunbar. He’s committed, tion, mask wearing, also has however, to working seven been the most variable over days a week and reinvestthe past year. ing all his profits into the “The face-covering policy business. has changed many times,” “I was totally scared; says Chad Petersen, enviI thought, oh, my God, I ronmental public health opened at the worst time manager for Jackson County ever,” says Dunbar, recallHealth & Human Services. ing last summer’s business Servers and other staff climate. “I put everything I likely will continue to wear had into this.”

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE masks, if not in compliance As Dunbar and many A to-go order is prepared at Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine in Medford. with state regulations, in food-service compatriots response to customers’ put their all into the industry, comfort levels, says Gibbs. Packing in late-night crowds kitchens and dining rooms across the country lost many at bars and taverns will be taboo for a while longer, he workers, some for good, says Gibbs. Although longtime says. And self-service models, such as buffets, likely staff could bide their time on the reassurance that Alchemy will take much longer to resume, he adds. and Smithfields would reopen, says Gibbs, newer hires and While self-service soda survived the pandemic, salad part-time staff decided not to return, either to relocate bars did not, confirms Petersen. He theorizes that or pursue other employment. He acknowledges that it’s salad bars should be easy to restructure without cusparticularly challenging for tipped employees to make an tomer contact, citing Subway and MOD Pizza as prime income when restaurants are at less than half capacity. examples.

“It’s a restaurant — you pack as many people in as Some iconic buffet chains, namely Sizzler, might not possible,” he says of the typical approach. have the appeal, post pandemic, to stage a comeback, And customers, accustomed over the past year to says Petersen. Although Home Town Buffet in Medford sidestepping the wait for on-site restaurant service, are had closed prior to the pandemic, its building on Barnett likely to continue choosing curbside pickup and delivRoad was on the radar of Golden Corral, another nationery more often than before the pandemic, says Gibbs. wide chain specializing in buffet and cafeteria-style The coronavirus, however, clarified for customers and service, before it was announced in April that plans were workers alike that the role of restaurants, says Gibbs, far underway to turn the site into a Discount Tire store. surpasses putting a meal on a plate.

While the pandemic compelled many eateries to “It’s more than what’s in the box.” put on the breaks, food trucks hit the throttle, says Reach freelance writer Sarah Lemon at thewholedish@ Petersen, characterizing their growth as “off the gmail.com. charts.”

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4/13/2021 3:16:33 PM

MEAL DELIVERY

PHOTO BY DENISE BARATTA

Noah Werthaiser picks out carrots from a vendor at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market in Ashland.

HOME PLATES

By ALLAYANA DARROW

N

Ashland Tidings

oah Werthaiser strolls the wide aisles of the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market in Ashland, prepared with a list of the ingredients he needs for the week’s meals — eyes open in search of high-quality produce and colorful garnishes.

For tonight’s menu, he visits several vendors and packs his reusable bags with pea shoots, Beech mushrooms and five hearty beets. These mushrooms spell gourmet, with a firm texture, delicate sweetness and nutty notes.

By evening, one of Werthaiser’s customers will toss the mushrooms with pancetta or bacon, peas, egg yolk, Parmesan and cream, fold it together into a nest of scratch pasta and tuck in.

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From their kitchen to your door: Food-prep business cooks during pandemic

Werthaiser is the chef and owner behind “Food; With Pride,” a meal preparation and delivery business serving Ashland. Jackson County residents have the option to order meals for pickup directly from the kitchen.

Werthaiser attended culinary school at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

When Werthaiser founded Food; With Pride in August 2018, he held a job waiting tables until the business model became sustainable. About five families consistently ordered prepared

meals every week until March 2020. In the two months that followed, his client base quadrupled.

Werthaiser transitioned from cooking out of his home to an industrial kitchen on Siskiyou Boulevard, with the capacity to handle feeding up to 40 households per day.

As of March 2021, Werthaiser said he serves 110 different families on various meal ordering schedules.

A single employee helps with dishes and minor prep work, and Werthaiser’s partner helps deliver meals on busy days. Otherwise, it’s a one-man show.

“Out of a lot of misfortune for a lot of people, including me, I was able to work around it and use it as a tool,” Werthaiser said of the unexpected boon brought by the pandemic.

4/13/2021 3:16:35 PM

MEAL DELIVERY Word of mouth is key.

His client lists often spread throughout a neighborhood once one person gets hooked on the menu. Werthaiser estimated about 20% of his business comes through references from Anne Bellegia, Ashland Senior Services Advisory Committee chair.

Bellegia, who uses the service, said meals are consistently high quality and delivered on time, and portions allow for a leftover lunch the next day. Apart from reducing her trips to the grocery store, ordering meals from Food; With Pride has notably decreased her stress level when it comes to deciding what to do for dinner, Bellegia said.

She avoids facing choices on an online restaurant menu at 6 p.m. when she’s “ravenous and cranky,” and simply chooses yes or no for each weeknight meal scheduled through the delivery service a week ahead of time.

Based on his own customer surveys, Werthaiser said he is confident his business will continue to grow as the pandemic eases. The majority of patrons have said they will keep ordering meals from him as old eating routines become available again, he said.

“It means that it’s not so much a pandemic-dependent business — that I can expect

to still have suppliers are a job in two well stocked. years,” WerMealy, refrigerated thaiser said. tomatoes are Some off the menu clients order for this time dinner meals of year, but for every the market weekday; is full of seaothers just one day per sonal produce week. About with the qualthree-quarity, texture and flavor ters of his that live up to customers Werthaiser’s order meals standards. for two to “Providing three days a PHOTO BY DENISE BARATTA support for week. When a new client Noah Werthaiser’s Food; With Pride anything local meals are created from ingredients is a huge prisigns up, he finds at the Rogue Valley Growers ority for me,” Werthaiser begins with and Crafters Market. he said. a get-toNext comes know-you phone call or email history — what customers correspondence to identify liked and didn’t like, based on allergies, food sourcing prefwhat gets reordered week by week. erences and meal goals.

Werthaiser’s clients are Each meal is delivered in often people who don’t have a reusable container with a the time to prepare a meal menu item card and instructions to put the meal together. ahead themselves — they hit the 5 o’clock hour with Werthaiser creates his no dinner plan or an empty menus one week ahead. pantry and have to run to the Anything he can’t find at the store on an empty stomach, farmers market goes on the he said. Ordering ahead takes list for Shop’n Kart, where one thing off their plate for organic foods are available the day. Others aren’t comto substitute, he said. Seafortable entering spaces like sonality guides the menus. grocery stores or restaurants He knows large bunches of during the pandemic. carrots won't be available in Witnessing an appreciative March, but the microgreen

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customer remember they have BBQ brisket or pasta carbonara coming to their door keeps his passion for cooking alive. His motto: “Keep the ego out of the kitchen, and the soul in the food.”

Werthaiser worked in kitchens before and after culinary school before realizing the hierarchical structure and distance from the consumer didn’t suit his passion.

“I know that I love cooking and that if I didn’t work at it as my profession, I’d still be in the kitchen everyday cooking my own stuff,” Werthaiser said. “Working in a restaurant, if you’re in the kitchen, you rarely get to see a patron’s experience, which I think is half the fun.”

Werthaiser plans to construct a new kitchen to handle the pace of a growing business. For now, he’s drafting a cooking course for next season’s offerings at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Southern Oregon University.

“Especially starting with the pandemic and hopefully after it as well, it will allow people to realize that they can get that feeling of hospitality without having to go and spend a significant amount at restaurants and bars,” Werthaiser said, “and can spend time with their family or friends at home and get a similar quality meal.”

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4/13/2021 3:16:39 PM

RELIGION

PHOTO BY LARRY STAUTH JR.

First United Methodist Church Pastor Ben Devoid chats with parishioners during a drive-thru communion service at the church in Medford.

TENDING to the FLOCK

By NICK MORGAN Mail Tribune

A

Churches, synagogue will continue their online efforts after pandemic

s cars lined up outside Medford First United Methodist Church in early March and a masked string quartet played behind him, Pastor Ben Devoid struck a careful balance between his congregation’s desire for personal connection and its needs for safe distances.

Wearing a mask and a purple stole, Devoid exchanged pleasantries as each parishioner rolled up outside the church before delivering communion to the comfort of their car at a March 7 service near the corner of West Main and Mistletoe streets at the Medford church.

Drive-thru holy communion has been a monthly occasion since the spring of 2020, according to Devoid, and was among the church’s earliest adaptations to the pandemic.

Devoid and leaders of other Southern Oregon

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houses of worship described dramatic digital growth over the past year, and all said they plan to maintain their electronic progress after the pandemic ends.

The pandemic forced even one of Jacksonville’s oldest churches — the 1853-built St. Andrew’s Anglican Church — to begin livestreaming services this year.

Father Chris Smith, who leads St. Andrew’s, admits he did so reluctantly. Prior to the pandemic, the most advanced Smith would get was using a digital voice recorder to post MP3s of his sermons.

Smith said he balances his congregation of fewer than three dozen with a day job working for FedEx. “I’m a truck driver, I don’t do any of that stuff,” Smith recalled of video-streaming technology.

He found the motivation to learn how to livestream on YouTube after his third canceled worship service in a row last spring.

At that time we were like, ‘We’re going to have to do something,’” Smith said.

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On a given pandemic Sunday, St. RELIGION Andrew’s YouTube channel gets about a dozen live viewers, but rises to about 50 by the end of the week. For comparison, online formula that worked, using tools “a good Sunday” prior to the pandemic such as Google Slides to put relevant would be about 30 to 35 people inside a text on screen at appropriate times, sanctuary rated for 75 people.

Zonnenschein said, and these days the “A lot of our congregation is older, synagogue is “paying more than we ever so they don’t feel comfortable coming did” for musicians. back,” Smith said.

The Havurah is now in the planning The Havurah Synagogue in Ashland and fundraising process for a system has touched lives across the United that will allow the synagogue to conStates and has even reached people in tinue its livestreaming services even Israel through its carefully prepared after in-person services resume.

Zoom services, according to Havurah “We will never go back to what was Executive Director Ayala Zonnenschein. before the pandemic,” Zonnenschein Zonnenschein said that at the start of said. “We will not backtrack.” the pandemic, she was concerned that First Presbyterian Church in Medford the video-streaming platform would is also starting to plan its transition back be a “cold and impersonal” format, and to in-person gatherings without sacrithat videoconferencing couldn’t capture ficing the strides in video quality it has the emotion or musicality of the synamade over the past year, according to gogue’s in-person worship services.

Rev. Murray Richmond.

She rememRichmond drew bered wanting from his expeto do a monthly rience in Alaska Zoom service, public broadbut Rabbi David casting and input Zaslow recomfrom his choir mended “a shift director, Tony in gears” and Chunn, to assemoffered the Zoom ble prerecorded worship services services when weekly. the pandemic “We have to go made in-person online, and we ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE worship services unsafe for the have to do this Pastor Jim Durham talks to the faces of parishioners majority of its every weekfrom the pulpit at Grace Point Fellowship in downcongregation. end because town Medford during the taping of online service in The services people are going the early days of the pandemic. come together to be isolated piece-by-piece, similar to how a televiand alone and scared,” Zonnenschein sion broadcast comes together. recalled.

The growing availability of the vac“We could become very present with cine, however, brings about another each other,” Zonnenschein said. reinvention.

Things particularly clicked last fall “It’s becoming more possible to start during the Jewish High Holy Days, thinking about public gatherings,” according to Zonnenschein.

Richmond said. “Now we have to learn Prior to the pandemic, Yom Kippur how to do a whole new thing — how to would involve “being in the synagogue do blended services.” all day.” When gathering in person The pandemic forced changes to the wasn’t an option this fall, the Havurah church’s outreach efforts to low-ininstead kept a Zoom room open all day come and homeless people. from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The church continues to offer free bag “I got so many incredible responses lunches primarily geared toward homeafterwards,” Zonnenschein said, less people in downtown Medford, but describing feedback about how Zoom in order to limit contact, church staffers allowed the congregation to be presset bags on a table. ent and relaxed as they recognized the “We lose some of the personal touch Jewish day of atonement in the comfort of their own home. “They felt like it was with that,” said Richmond, who is looking forward to it becoming a more personal an incredible way of connecting.” service again. “For some people it may be Zonnenschein and Zaslow spent the only smile they get that day.” “many, many hours” developing an

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OUTDOOR RECREATION

When parks and beaches reopened last May, people flocked to the outdoors, causing parking problems at popular getaways like Cannon Beach.

AP PHOTO

A packed parking lot was common at Silver Falls State Park last summer.

OREGON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

A BACKWOODS EXPLOSION Even out of the way destinations are seeing record crowds

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Well, nothing about the past year has been typical. And the zest to steer clear of each other and hit the backwoods for a COVID-19 respite has made outdoor reche so-called “Four Corners” parkreation one of the biggest blowouts during ing lot in the Ashland Watershed is the pandemic. well known, it just always wasn’t always “I don’t know how any of us could have well used. seen this coming,” says Donna Mickley, the This backwoods crossroad in the Rogue Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Wild River-Siskiyou National Forest just outRivers Ranger District ranger, who overside of Ashland typically houses three to sees the Ashland Watershed. five vehicles used by weekday hikers and When Dr. Anthony Fauci and Oregon mountain bikers looking to get away from Gov. Kate Brown told people to mask up, the hubbub below. keep social distances and do their recreatBut this past year, the little pullout has not ing outside, they more than took that last only been full almost daily, it is often surrecommendation to heart. rounded by cars lining the skinny roadway, with 10 times the users on a typical Tuesday.

SEE DESTINATIONS, PAGE 76

By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune

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FROM DESTINATIONS, PAGE 74

OUTDOOR RECREATION

Everyone from public land managers “Our biggest challenge now is finding and fishing licensing entities to outand getting product,” says Strahan, a door-related industries are reporting 40-year veteran of the trade. “It goes major boons in business and interest. The out the door as fast as it comes in.” outdoors have been the go-to destination That creates a good bottom line, but for those battling cabin fever and gloom not always good feelings. over Zoom meetings and other new “It’s a double-edged sword,” Strahan norms for keeping safe from COVID-19. says. “I feel good, to a degree. I know a The zeal to get outdoors in Oregon lot of people in other industries who are has led to an 18% spike in fishing license hurting and suffering.” sales and a 6% hike in hunting licenses The challenge will be to see whether in 2020, reversing a decade-or-more these new anglers remain in the fold or decline in license sales, according to the revert to their old leisure activities once Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. the pandemic has waned, Strahan says.

As a result, those who supply people “We’ve had a lot of new anglers come looking to get outside have seen busiinto the sport,” Strahan says. “We ness skyrocket as they hope they continue struggle to keep up The Rogue-Siskiyou when things return to with demand they havnormal, whatever the National Forest saw en’t seen in decades. new normal will be.” skyrocketing sales Pre-COVID, David But folks just needing Lopes kept his “The of Christmas tree to get out of the house Bike Guys” bike shop without a rod or gun permits and has in Central Point open has spurred a major seen a major spike in spike in backwoods use. perhaps a day or two each week, with more Mickley says the people simply driving interest coming from Rogue-Siskiyou the backwoods and appointments. But the National Forest saw pandemic has changed camping in forest lands skyrocketing sales of that approach. outside of conventional Christmas tree permits In late February after has seen a major campgrounds, including and the second round of spike in people simply relief checks hit Amerthe Butte Falls and driving the backwoods icans’ bank accounts, and camping in forest Prospect areas.

Lopes had a Saturday lands outside of conwhere business went off the charts, ventional campgrounds, including the selling more bikes and totaling more Butte Falls and Prospect areas. revenue in one day than he’s ever seen.

“Any road you can get down without “I don’t know whether it’s the stimtoo much snow has tire tracks on it on ulus checks, COVID or people just tired the High Cascades Ranger District,” of sitting down,” Lopes says. “It’s like Mickley says. the perfect storm for a bike shop.”

The Illinois River corridor, where COVID-laden wholesalers have yet to parking is controlled, usually sees illekeep up with this new demand, Lopes gal bumper-to-bumper parking during says. If you haven’t bought your new summer weekends, Mickley says. That bike or gel seat by now, chances are you over-use spilled into weekdays during won’t be seeing one soon. the pandemic, she says.

“I’ve had basic stuff, simple stuff, Mickley says the huge influx of easy stuff on back order for nine outdoor recreators to national formonths,” Lopes says. “It’s scary.” ests makes these lands more akin to Lopes’ conundrums are industry-wide. National Park Service lands — major Dave Strahan, a Grants Pass-based destinations for visitors not seen fishing tackle wholesaler and board previously. member of the Northwest Sportfishing That leaves land managers having Industry Association, says sales of fishing to plan for visitors in myriad ways. tackle and gun accessories have doubled Not just hiking and mountain biking amid the pandemic and show no sign of trails, but parking options and other slowing down. January’s sales were 105% amenities. of average for an industry scrambling to “It’s like city planning taken to the keep hooks, weights and lures on shelves forest,” Mickley says. “We’re moving into a park-like status.” to meet the steady demand.

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RELATIONSHIPS

Dating was difficult enough to navigate before the pandemic

By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune

A

s if dating wasn’t difficult enough in the best of circumstances, navigating social media, dating apps and the like during a pandemic — with limited options for real-life social interaction — is a near-instant buzz kill when looking for love.

Medford resident Shandra Ann, 43, who wasn’t a big fan of the dating scene prior to the appearance of COVID-19 last year, said the pandemic had done away with anything that was even remotely palatable about dating.

The good old days of meeting for coffee lost a certain appeal with restaurants shuttered and faces covered by masks, she noted. Beyond texting, video chat and online interactions, most social options have been largely taboo over the past year.

“I haven’t had much of a dating life since COVID. I’m already not huge on the ways that most people go about dating nowadays, and I’ve never been a huge fan of all the dating apps. It’s just not been my jam,” she said.

“I still have yet to experience Tinder, even though one of my friends has been trying to get me on there.

At one point, I signed up for the paid version of Match.com, thinking it would weed out some of the weirdos and be a step above the free version … yeah, not so much.”

A trail runner and fitness buff, Ann said the outbreak of COVID-19 last year mandated a choice between loneliness and creativity.

“Since the pandemic, if you do put yourself out there, you have to figure out what to do since everything is closed and you can’t leave your house,” she said.

“Things are finally opening up a little, which is great, even though it’s still kind of weird with the masks. When you couldn’t go to restaurants or anywhere like that, your options were that you could basically go for a hike or go to a park … and stay six feet apart. I guess if we don’t get shut down again, maybe it will slowly get a little better.”

Gwen Rogers, a Medford mother of three, said it took deliberate effort to continue her dating efforts once the pandemic began.

KISSING DURING COVID

SEE KISSING, PAGE 78

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Diane Waters, left, and Shandra Ann, seen along the Rogue River at TouVelle State Park, said a lot of dating activity during the pandemic had to take place outdoors.

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4/13/2021 3:16:58 PM

PANDEMIC DATING FROM KISSING, PAGE 77

you’re doing it, but you can get a cider or beer and take your mask off to take a drink,” she said.

Perhaps most notable about dating during COVID, she While hope is on the horizon, Waters admits that it’s said, was that social distancing has caused a lot of single hard not to think about a year’s worth of virus concerns. people to progress beyond formalities more quickly than Any instance of past dates “giving a heads up” that she was up for. they’ve had a cold or been tested for COVID definitely “People have lost their humanity, being isolated and prevents throwing caution to the wind. scared by COVID. That’s what I see the most. Also, I’ve “It’s fun to just get out and meet people and talk, but noticed that people are afraid of being alone, so they’re it’s hard not to have COVID in the back of your mind. I less particular about the situations they’re willing to end had some guy from Portland. He invited me to drive up. up with,” said Rogers, 35.

He said, ‘Things are open here, you want to come up?’

“There’s almost this sense of urgency. One guy who I thought, ‘No, I don’t want to drive to a different city was interested in me, but just never asked me out, with COVID going on,” she said. “And the whole kissing suddenly, he asked me over to his house to … ‘hang out.’ thing is just … oh, my gosh. You catch yourself thinking, The back-and-forth convo stopped when I replied back ‘He’s not about to lean in for a kiss, is he?’ And all you and told him that I want to be taken on a date not invited can think is, ‘Oh, no, what if they have COVID?’” over to ‘hang out!’”

Not willing to give up the An added pitfall of dating good fight, or lose hope, during the viral outbreak, local singles will persevere.

Rogers said, was the politiWhether she stays single cal aspect and divisiveness or meets someone great, on topics such as vacciAnn said she’ll continue to nations, masks and social “At one point, I signed up embrace whatever comes distancing.” her way. for the paid version of “I had a guy that lives on “I think we all miss those the coast who was really Match.com, thinking it would days when you could go out interested in me. … We in a social gathering and weed out some of the weirdos were getting to know each have fun and meet different other. He sent me presand be a step above the free people — to find somebody ents. All of a sudden he was new or just to hang outside version … yeah, not so much.” insulting me on my peryour usual wheelhouse sonal Facebook page over SHANDRA ANN of people. Since COVID, my thoughts and scientific everyone just sort of stays facts I posted on masks, flu, in their own little pod, or viruses, herd immunity, they’re married or they etc.,” Rogers added. already were seeing some“I messaged him and was body,” Ann said. nice, but we haven’t mes“There are definitely saged much since.” people who jump into more Medford resident Diane serious things because they Waters, 48, said she tried just don’t want to be alone, to remain optimistic on the but it’s also not OK to settle. dating front, pandemic be I’m over here like, I’d rather kick it alone or spend time darned. in the woods on trails with trees than to settle for less “The pandemic definitely slowed down the dating than what I want!” world, but it didn’t stop me completely. There definitely To provide a touch of humor, Ann wears a mask aren’t a lot of options — you have to meet either at a park, and the weather is cold, or it’s like, ‘Let’s go hiking but labeled “Censored” when she goes out. stay six feet away, and wear your mask!’” Waters said.

“I get either people that say something like, ‘Oh, I “I did have quite a few dates where we would meet didn’t know you could speak since you’re censored.’ Or at a park and grab coffees to go — because let’s be real, I get people who laugh because they absolutely love it,” everything has been ‘to go.’”

Ann said.

With restrictions lifting ever so slightly, Waters said “I just want to portray who I really am, COVID or not, it was fun to return to a level of social interaction that which is a mixed bag. No matter how crazy the world might not previously have been considered too much of seems, I want to be genuine about who I really am and a date. what energy I’m putting out there. That’s all any of us “Things are starting to open up slowly, which feels can really do.” hopeful. I had a date recently, throwing axes, so that was cool. I mean, you still have to wear a mask while Reach writer Buffy Pollock at buffyp76@yahoo.com.

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