Wednesday

Dec. 30, 2009 - Making the Best Of It: Bean Counting


Jared Rennie, co-owner of Noble Coffee in Ashland, samples the effects of different roasting methods on green beans in the roasting room Tuesday. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in a six-day series on ways local residents are reinventing themselves in hard times.

Step inside Noble Coffee Roasting in Ashland's historic Railroad District and lines sometimes stretch to the door as customers happily part with $2.25 for a cup of java.

Opening a business in the middle of a recession is risky, but starting this high-end coffee shop last May with big-city pricing seemed even riskier.

"It's an affordable luxury," said co-owner Jared Rennie, who started Noble as a roasting business out of his garage two years ago and often mans the espresso machine in the coffee shop at 281 Fourth St.

Judging by his patrons, the coffee is more of a necessity than a luxury.

"I have the curse of seeking quality," said 28-year-old Ashland resident Nick Roberts. "They go above and beyond anything else in town."

Roberts said he's not well off, but he just can't abide bad coffee. He often savors two or three cups of his preferred brew while he works on his Apple computer.

"If the price seems high to you, you can go to a grocery store and get some Yuban," he said.

His girlfriend, Zoe Samczyk, said she likes the environmental ethic of Noble, which buys organic, fair trade coffee and offers only cane syrup and organic milk products.

"Everybody I know who makes coffee at home buys from these guys," she said.

Unlike her boyfriend, Samczyk limits herself to one cup of coffee but was sipping on tea during her visit Tuesday.

When the owners — three couples — first started planning the coffee shop in 2007, the economy seemed healthy. But by the time they opened last May, the recession hit hard and Rennie, who is a former teacher, and his partners wondered whether their idea would work.

"At that point we were already in it," he said. "You make a decision and ask yourself, 'Gosh, do we think our idea is good enough to open up in any given time?'"

Many businesses base pricing on what the owners think the market can bear, then go out and find the cheapest products to create as much profit as possible, he said.

But 33-year-old Rennie and his partners decided to gamble on a different approach: Buy the best quality beans, roast them on site, then brew the coffee in a French press. If it isn't drunk within 45 minutes, throw it out.

Rennie said the partners decided to find out how much it would cost to pour the perfect cup of coffee, then add a little extra on to make a profit for the owners.

They also gambled on the location, a side street away from downtown that was relatively quiet before they opened the doors.

As a result, they had to turn the coffee shop into a destination, which Rennie describes as modern, sleek and cozy. A bookstore, the Palace Cafe and other businesses also moved in this year, and the formerly empty street is crowded with cars.

"There's a renaissance in the Railroad District," Rennie said.

Many of his customers treat the coffee shop as a second office. Rennie points to two men working on computers who have been developing an Internet-based company.

From the first day of its opening, Noble hasn't lacked for customers. The number of employees has increased from five to 15 since May.

"It's beyond amazing," co-owner Kelly Sacks said.

Most of the customers are locals, said the 44-year-old Ashland resident, but sometimes a tourist on Interstate 5 will call looking for directions to make a quick pit stop for coffee.

Other owners include Carolyn Rennie, Steve Sacks and Caleb and Libby Peterson.

Jared Rennie started Noble out of his garage, selling beans online and to local businesses.

He speaks Spanish, so he's able to contact farmers directly in Costa Rica or Nicaragua. One of the premier beans he now sells is produced by a woman farmer in Costa Rica, Francisca Cubilla. Sacks of beans imprinted with her name, phone number and e-mail address sit on a pallet waiting to be roasted. Rennie said it is unusual to find a woman coffee grower in Latin America.

If you think $2.25 is a lot for a cup, try the $4 siphon pot brewing method that resembles a chemistry set and works on a vacuum system to filter the coffee from the grounds.

The siphoned version on Tuesday featured Cubilla's Costa Rican roast, which is also the top selling bean, costing $18 for a 12-ounce bag.

Rennie and roaster Sam Sabori demonstrated a process known as "cupping," in which they sample the effects of different roasting methods on green beans.

Customers can view the roasting through windows and watch as Rennie and Sabori almost stick their noses into a cup or loudly slurp a sample of coffee.

"Oh my God, that's strawberries," exclaimed Rennie, describing the taste of a blend of Sumatran and Ethiopian beans.

Sabori, who laboriously logs every roasting in a three-ring binder, said Noble tries to determine the roasting method that brings out the full flavor of the beans, which often contain subtle or pronounced berry flavors.

"We're trying to let the beans do what they want to do," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Monday

Dec. 28, 2009 - New law expected to curb metal theft


Michael Melton, general manager of White City Metals and Supply, stands next to bins of scrap wire. A new law requiring a state certificate to haul scrap metal will take effect Jan 1. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

If you're going to haul away scrap metal from your yard, be prepared to get a state certificate Jan. 1 or you will be breaking the law.

Senate Bill 570 requires everyone transporting metal to get the certificate or risk a fine of up to $1,250 or a maximum 30 days in jail.

"What I'm encouraging people to do is to have the certificate — you can print it off the Internet, said OSP Sgt. Stephanie Ingraham. "Save yourself some trouble — just have it."

The certificate will require identifying where the metal was obtained, which doesn't sit well with people who routinely go to scrap yards.

"It seems like a big hassle," said Cory Corbett, a 23-year-old White City resident who works for a refrigeration company.

He brought a load of old refrigeration equipment, motors and condensers that he figured would fetch about $200 or $300 to Schnitzer Steel in White City.

Corbett said it would be difficult to figure out where everything came from, saying the motors were salvaged from 60 different stores.

Bobby Maley, a 31-year-old White City resident, said, "It's going to me a mess."

Maley goes around neighborhoods, knocking on doors, looking for scrap wherever he can find it. Maley said he will have to keep a log of where he gets the metal before he fills out the certificate.

If a person is stopped by law enforcement and doesn't havethe certificate, it would benecessary to prove ownership of the metal as a defense against any possible penalties.

The new law is designed to help law enforcement better track shipments of metal to crack down on the growing problem of metal theft.

Scrap metal yards will be required to inspect the metal transportation certificate and report any suspicious behavior.

Any attempts to alter metal so that its original ownership cannot be detected also is against the law.

Michael Melton, general manager of White City Metals and Supply, said the new law is an expansion of another law that took effect last Jan. 1 and requires his company to take a picture of the scrap sellers, their vehicles and the materials they bring in. In addition, a copy is made of the driver's license.

Many people burn off the insulation surrounding copper wire, but Melton no longer can accept it even though it is worth more money by the pound as bare wire.

Previously, he paid cash for many small transactions, but the state will be requiring a check. The check, however, will have to be held for three days before the seller can receive it.

Some sellers would bring in as little as 63 cents worth of metal, but Melton said he will have to institute a $15 minimum because of the extra paperwork for the checks.

He said the new procedures will be a hassle mostly for the sellers, but not for his company, which already has instituted about 90 percent of the new regulations.

"The big thing is getting people trained because it has been a free-for-all for so long," he said.

Melton said he has seen his fair share of suspicious activity over the years.

A woman was bringing in enough telephone cable each night to pocket $300 to $400. This went on for about four months in 2008 and 2009 before someone saw the woman with a telephone company logo on her shirt. An investigation ensued and the woman was arrested, he said.

One of Melton's employees was arrested in 2007 for stealing wire and hiding it in a lunch pail, then selling it later at Schnitzer Steel.

High prices for metal encourage thievery. Bare copper has been selling for $2.54 a pound and aluminum brings about 40 cents or more a pound, depending on quality.

Even with the new law, Melton said criminals will find a way to make money illegally.

"People are relentless in their pursuit of finding something to steal," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Sunday

December 20, 2009 - Road warriors


Sue and Dan Young stand on the portion of Millers Gulch Road they own off Rogue River Highway near Valley of the Rogue State Park. The Youngs have been locked in a legal dispute over turnouts on the roadway with a silica mining operation up the road. -- Jim Craven


By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

Litigation and bad behavior have become a way of life on Millers Gulch Road outside Rogue River, where an easement dispute between the property owners and a mining operation has dragged on for more than three years, sometimes turning violent.

"Somebody's going to get killed over this road," said one of the neighbors, Bob Caldwell Jr. "That's how bad it is."

The first mile of Millers Gulch Road, which is off Rogue River Highway near Valley of the Rogue State Park, traverses property owned by Dan and Sue Young. The couple have been locked in a legal battle over turnouts on the roadway with Magma Gold Inc., the owner of the Bristol Silica Quarry at the end of Millers Gulch. The Youngs, who have owned the property for 18 years, also have denied road access to nearby neighbors who don't have easements.

Neighbors came to blows in 2007, leaving one with a cracked skull and another with an arm gouged by gardening shears. Shots allegedly have been fired. And there have been confrontations with trucks using the road to get gravel from the quarry.

Disputes over road easements in Jackson County flare up frequently as questions arise over boundaries or vague agreements that may have been made a 100 years ago.

Most of the time they are settled, county officials say. But sometimes, as in the case of the Youngs versus Magma Gold, they must be resolved by the courts. According to the Jackson County District Attorney's Office, two or three cases in which a civil property disagreement turned criminal pop up each month.

"I think disputes over easements are very common," County Surveyor Kerry Bradshaw said. "You hear about them weekly."

Decades ago, the exact location of an easement wasn't that important for a couple of friendly landowners.

"It used to be just a handshake," said Bradshaw. "Now, it's got to be very black and white."

In the past, landowners often would move roadways regardless of easements because the rains would wash out the old tracks.

Bradshaw recalled one Phoenix property owner who wanted to develop a portion of a public right of way that was originally designated for an extension of Valley View Road. When the survey was conducted, the right of way was actually 200 feet from the existing roadway, Bradshaw said.

Property disputes tend to occur more often in rural areas, Bradshaw said.

"In urban areas, they don't get too upset about things being a half-foot off, but you get out in the country, and they will fight over an inch in a half-mile-long boundary," he said.

Who's at fault on Millers Gulch is still being played out in the courts, as the Youngs contend the mining operation has illegally widened an easement on their property. They also have warned nearby property owners who don't have an easement not to ride their horses or motorcycles on the road.

The Youngs face misdemeanor charges for various disorderly conduct and reckless driving incidents this year. They say the charges are based on overblown and unfounded statements and that initial misunderstandings with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department unfairly led to the charges levied against them.

They note a 2007 incident in which they said a front-end loader from the mine crashed into their truck. The court, however, found the Youngs' truck crashed into the loader, a ruling they continue to dispute.

"My husband's been beat up, arrested, shot at and run into," said 53-year-old Sue Young. "What's next — oh, yes, he's been sued."

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Mark Schiveley has ruled in favor of Magma Gold's right to various turnouts along the road. Schiveley walked the roadway in an attempt to determine its boundaries, then ordered a survey.

In a Nov. 24 opinion, Schiveley said based on the Youngs' actions over the past year, he would have granted Magma Gold's earlier request for an injunction against the couple preventing them from interfering with the mining operation.

The Youngs' attorney, Mark Haneberg of Medford, will attempt to change the judge's mind about the turnouts when he appears in court Monday. If that isn't successful, the Youngs have vowed to appeal because they see the judge's decision to allow Magma Gold to access the turnouts as an unfair taking of their property.

Legal debates over Millers Gulch can be traced back to 1976, when a judgment was rendered affirming the center line of the roadway, but no clear determination was made at the time about the width of the road.

Haneberg said the roadway width has changed over time through various court decisions. One portion was 23 feet in 2002, then a court judgment in 2008 ruled it was 30 feet and now it is 38 feet wide, according to a survey last June.

Haneberg said the dispute over the easement on Millers Gulch has become obscured by neighborhood confrontations and other side problems that have erupted.

He said the basic issue is the mining company has taken more of the roadway than it should be entitled to according to the 1976 survey.

"In any case you've got this conflict that has turned bloody, even deadly," Haneberg said.

He said his clients got off on the wrong foot with the sheriff's department because deputies thought the private road was a public right of way.

"Somehow the police have made these people outlaws," said Haneberg, who has posted no-trespassing signs along the roadway. The signs have been defaced, he said.

His clients' blunt, no-nonsense demeanor hasn't helped the situation, Haneberg said. "They failed the attitude test with the sheriff's (deputies)," he said.

Haneberg said he was reluctant to take on such a complicated case initially, but when he saw the damage to the truck, he concluded it couldn't have run into the front-end loader. The damage was to the driver's side fender, not to the front of the truck, which sits in the Youngs' driveway. That kind of damage couldn't have been inflicted by a truck ramming a front-end loader, Haneberg concluded.

Dan Young said disputes over the road with neighbors below him led to the fight in 2007, which landed him in bed for a week after he was punched and fell to the ground, cracking his skull.

At first he didn't think he was badly injured, but ultimately he sought medical care. "If I hadn't gone to the hospital, I would be dead," he said.

"It sounds like a bad movie," Sue Young acknowledged, adding it probably didn't help when she called deputies "Nazis" when they surrounded her house.

Kendell Jackson, a Grants Pass attorney for Magma Gold, said neither she nor her clients would comment on the case.

In a court affidavit filed in June 2007, Janice Perttu, who leases the mine along with her husband, Rauno, stated the easement is about one mile long and averages about 20 feet wide, with three turnouts.

Perttu described various attempts by the Youngs to block access to the turnouts and confront customers with vulgar and profane protests.

"I am afraid if defendants persist, their behavior will become more violent and someone will get hurt," Perttu stated.

Sheriff Mike Winters said his deputies have responded to multiple complaints on Millers Gulch over the years.

In his years of experience, he said some property owners continue to think they control the road even though easements have been granted.

"The thing people can do is use your attorneys and use the court system and don't take the law into your own hands," he said. "Don't let anger cloud your judgment."

Winters said he doesn't know all the particulars of the Youngs' situation, but he said anyone who uses the court system over and over should review their own behavior.

Deputy District Attorney Laura Abraham said the charges against the Youngs are not major crimes, but involve such allegations as spraying someone with a high-pressure hose and throwing gravel at a car.

Generally in property disputes, Abraham said, it's one incident that erupts, leading to a charge filed against a property owner. In this case, there are seven separate charges against Dan Young and two against Sue Young.

"It's a strange situation," she said. "It's an example of where a civil problem can become criminal when people take things into their own hands."

Caldwell, a neighbor who said he saw the fight between Dan Young and another neighbor, said he didn't want to take sides in the controversy, but he believes the dispute has turned ridiculous.

"I think it is at the point that both sides have decided that no matter what the cost they are going to be the victors in this," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.


Dan Young shows a sign his attorney posted that was vandalized in the Millers Gulch Road dispute near Rogue River. -- Jim Craven

Monday

December 14, 2009 - Fighting for free speech


An Oregon Supreme Court ruling in 2006 determined a 1971 law limiting billboards outside of commercial or industrial areas was unconstitutional, allowing the Online Auction sign off Interstate 5 north of the Blackwell Road exit to remain. Alan Herson of Jacksonville was the winning attorney in the case.
--Bob Pennell


By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

A landmark legal battle in Oregon that resolved a billboard dispute at Callahan's Restaurant has boosted a Jacksonville attorney's career and renown as he fights sign ordinances in dozens of cities and counties.

Alan Herson has been in the national spotlight lately in an ongoing legal battle to allow a new sign in San Carlos, Calif., that depicts Sarah Palin and supports her bid for the presidency in 2012. A federal judge ruled in October that the city should stop enforcing part of its sign ordinance because it restricts free speech.

Herson, 63, is fond of taunting government bureaucrats by paraphrasing the famous Superman quote, "I'm fighting for truth, justice and the American way."

"It gets the opponents really upset when I say that," he said.

Herson said many of the more than a dozen cases he's filed in California and Oregon have been settled because it is difficult to craft a sign ordinance without stomping on the First Amendment's right to free speech.

In Jackson County, Herson fought for Callahan's right to erect an illuminated sign off Interstate 5 near the Siskiyou Summit, which was opposed by county officials and the state of Oregon.

"If he hadn't have stepped in, we wouldn't have had any sign," Callahan's owner Ron Bergquist said. "We wouldn't have been in business."

The Oregon Supreme Court in 2006 determined a 1971 law limiting billboards outside of commercial or industrial areas that advertise something not available on the premises was unconstitutional.

Bergquist, who started his fight in 1996, said he built the sign without permission after the county rejected it. At the time, he said he vowed to fight against any government entity that threatened to take it down because it would violate his free speech. "We will protect our property with firearms if necessary," he said.

Bergquist said he pays $30,000 a year in taxes on his property, zoned interstate commercial, so he thinks that should have given him more sway with government officials when he erected a sign designed to attract visitors from the freeway.

While he thinks sign ordinances conflict with free speech, Bergquist said he's conflicted himself about the idea of allowing billboards everywhere in Oregon.

"I value the beauty of Oregon," he said. "I don't want to see freeway billboard signs every 100 feet."

Herson himself lives just outside of Jacksonville, which is not known for a proliferation of signs.

His latest battle is in San Carlos, where he has been fighting for the right for his son to erect a billboard. The city has banned billboards since 1991.

The suit has drawn national attention because the billboard owner wants to put up a Sarah Palin-for-president photo in a liberal area.

Herson said he believes he will prevail in San Carlos because sign ordinances face an uphill battle against free speech.

"Governments tend to be restrictive and order people around, and they shouldn't," he said.

Contrary to the naysayers, getting rid of Oregon's sign law hasn't led to a flood of new billboards, Herson said.

"Oregon survived the overturn of that law," he said.

Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, said it has been difficult to craft a state law that could address billboards without infringing on free speech in light of the Supreme Court ruling, but that the Legislature likely will keep working on it.

Though some billboards have sprouted up in Oregon since the Supreme Court ruling, Buckley said, "It has not resulted in an explosion of billboards."

Bernie Zieminski, a property owner who has an "onlineauction.com" sign near Gold Hill, said he doesn't know Herson personally, but the Supreme Court ruling meant that he could keep his billboard.

"That pretty much shut everybody up," he said.

Both the county and the state wanted Zieminski to remove it before the ruling. Recently, Zieminski had the sign replaced because the old one was fading.

"After we kicked their butt, they've stayed out of our hair," he said.

Reach Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.

Thursday

December 10, 2009 - Price for Medford I-5 work balloons

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

The south Medford interchange, the largest road construction project in Jackson County since Interstate 5 was built, costs $20 million more than previously reported, a disparity that has caught local officials by surprise.

"My jaw dropped," Commissioner Dave Gilmour said. "That is a lot of money."

On its Web site and in other discussions, the Oregon Department of Transportation has said the project costs about $70 million — but that number is three years out of date.

"From the beginning, we should have gone back and revisited that number," ODOT spokesman Gary Leaming said. "It should have been updated to reflect ongoing material costs and change orders and the scope of the project."

The actual cost is $91 million, according to the latest ODOT numbers, which includes $75 million for the interchange, $12 million for two bridges over Bear Creek on the interstate, $3.2 million for reconstruction of the freeway and $489,000 for work on the Greenway.

The extra projects, which were bundled in with the south Medford interchange project, together amount to $15.7 million. Most of the money to pay for them came from a state bridge renovation fund and interstate maintenance dollars.

All these projects have been referred to by ODOT as being part of the south Medford interchange project, even though they were paid out of other pots of money.

"In our conversations we kind of lumped everything together," Leaming said.

In addition, there have been increased fuel, asphalt and material costs and change orders.

The largest chunk of money for the interchange went to contractor Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene, which was awarded the bid of $59.6 million, $45 million of which was specifically for the interchange. When Wildish got the bid in 2006, it was also going to build a portion of the Bear Creek Greenway path, rebuild two bridges over Bear Creek and rebuild the Barnett Road bridge over Bear Creek.

Since then, material cost increases and change orders put the total construction amount at $71 million, which also includes the reconstruction of the lanes on I-5 from the interchange to the viaduct. Another $20 million purchased land for right of way.

Estimates for the south Medford interchange went up and down during the design phase. At one point, ODOT thought the project would cost $83 million in 2005, but it was later revised down to $70 million. About five years before the project started, ODOT estimated the interchange would cost about $50 million.

When cost projections escalated in 2006, Gilmour and other local officials objected to ODOT using about $13 million for the interchange from an account that had been earmarked for the Highway 62 bypass, which is now a front-burner project.

ODOT has been asking the county's support to build the bypass, but commissioners haven't embraced it yet.

Gilmour said the interchange is costing so much more than original estimates it makes him wary of endorsing the bypass.

"This is far and above what you'd expect from cost overruns," he said.

He said borrowing money from the bypass set a bad precedent that could harm future road projects, particularly if costs escalate.

Leaming said confusion over estimates for the south Medford interchange project has taught ODOT to be more conservative.

"It shows that the department needs to really sharpen its pencil and factor these costs out," he said.

Medford Mayor Gary Wheeler, whose city contributed $15 million toward the interchange, said he didn't know the cost had jumped.

"I'm not familiar with that kind of cost level," he said. "I haven't heard that figure."

Ernie Garb, a Medford resident who was heavily involved in transportation planning when the south Medford project was proposed, said he remembers when cost projections were $35 million, reported in 2001.

He said he was dubious about the estimates ODOT provided back then and suspected the cost of the project would get out of control. He said he's not so much surprised at how much the project is now costing, but angry.

"For me, that is outlandish," he said. "The original cost projections weren't even close to the target."

If people knew the south Medford interchange would be close to $100 million, Garb said the opposition would have been formidable.

Garb said that with the interchange almost completed, he still doesn't understand the logic of building it in the first place.

"This history of it is really a rotten history," Garb said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Tuesday

December 8, 2009 - Homeless struggle to find warmth


Cary, a homeless man who didn't want to give his last name, tries to warm up in the morning sunlight of Medford's Hawthorne Park Monday after spending the night outdoors.
--Bob Pennell

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

A recent cold snap has sent the shivering homeless searching for a better place to sleep than bedding down on the ground.

"That's dangerous for anybody to sleep outside," said Emilio Murillo, a Medford resident who has been struggling to find a job.

The 52-year-old joined other homeless people at the Medford Gospel Mission as temperatures plunged into the teens at night. "Nobody really wants to be here, but they have no choice," Murillo said.

On Monday the mission at 125 W. Jackson St. allowed more people than normal to spend the night because of the cold weather expected for the next few days. The First Presbyterian Church at 1615 Clark Ave., Ashland, will open its doors every night at 8 as an emergency shelter through Thursday.

Murillo, who works in construction, said he occasionally finds work that gives him enough money to stay in a cheap motel for the night, but has found himself at the mission from time to time. "The last five or six months have been rough for me," he said.

Some homeless people say they don't like the cold but don't want to adhere to shelters' policies of no drugs or alcohol.

"I almost froze to death last night," David McManus said. "I use alcohol to stay warm."

The 55-year-old Medford resident, who was in Hawthorne Park exhaling frosty air while warming himself in the sunshine, said the mission allows him to stay for 10 days, then he has to wait 30 days to return.

He didn't want to reveal where he bunks down, but McManus said the trick is to keep the location clean so you don't attract attention.

Mission Executive Director Bill Gourley said his organization decided to temporarily set aside the 10-day rule because of the cold. He invited five or six men who otherwise wouldn't qualify to spend the night Monday.

"When it's like this we don't count it against them," he said.

He said his operation has 76 beds if needed, but it also can put out mats.

So far, he has been averaging about 50 people a night, but expects more will arrive once the word gets out.

Many homeless people choose to sleep outdoors or in their vehicles. Some are well-prepared, with donations of high-quality sleeping bags or lots of blankets, he said.

"But who wants to crawl out of a sleeping bag when it's 19 degrees?" he said. "I've done it myself when I was deer hunting."

At the mission, Justin Green said his feet and toes would get very cold when he slept outdoors. He tried to find a place to bunk down that had a little shelter from the wind and rain.

He expected to spend his third night in a row at the mission Monday.

"I don't really have a place to stay," he said.

Ruth Coulthard of the United Church of Christ said 10 people showed up Saturday at her church when it was turned into an emergency shelter. Five showed up at the First Presbyterian Church Sunday night when the shelter was moved there.

She said anytime the forecast calls for 20 or below, the emergency shelter is opened.

"It's definitely a severe cold snap," Coulthard said.

The Medford mission's Women and Children's Shelter at 534 N. Bartlett St. hasn't seen any surge in activity because of the cold.

"Women don't really sleep out on the streets like the men do," said Nancy Satterly, resource manager. The women generally qualify for grants to get housing, she said.

Satterly said the organization averages 30 to 35 women a night, with four or five kids, but could easily handle more.

"We don't turn them down," she said. "We find a place for them."

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Saturday

December 5, 2009 - Klamath pact creates concern


Pear grower Ron Meyer walks by a holding pond at his orchard in Talent. The debate among farmers, ranchers and American Indians over Klamath Basin water has raised concerns that Jackson County farmers could lose access to water that is piped in from the Klamath River.
--Jim Craven

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

An intricate network of lakes and canals brings water from the Klamath Basin to the 14,000 pear trees that Talent orchardist Ron Meyer calls his "pampered darlings."

Meyer thought his right to that water was secure because Congress authorized the Bureau of Reclamation in 1954 to improve the Talent Irrigation District. Three hundred miles of canals provide Klamath Basin water to Jackson County farmers and orchardists, but they fear their supply of that water may be affected by complicated negotiations about where the water will flow in the future.

"If we were cut dramatically, we would have to do something else," Meyer said. "The water rights are precious."

The much-debated Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement could lead to the removal of four dams, and it outlines water allocations among a variety of interested parties. The agreement could be signed in 2010.

More than half of the water that flows through the TID canals comes from the Klamath side, filling reservoirs such as Howard Prairie, Hyatt and Emigrant. Jackson County orchardists and water managers are concerned that the agreement could reduce their Klamath water or turn off the tap completely.

Jim Pendleton, TID manager, said that in general about 15,000 acre-feet of the district's water is from the Rogue River basin, while 20,000 to 24,000 acre-feet flow from the Klamath.

"We don't want to lose it," Pendleton said. "We don't want to just give it away."

If the Klamath water supply to Jackson County was stopped, it would cripple the water district, Pendleton said.

"A few drought years would put us under quickly," he said.

Much of the Klamath water serves the Talent district, but it also feeds the Medford and Rogue River districts' canals.

Jeff Mitchell, a lead negotiator for the Klamath tribes, said local farmers shouldn't be worried, that the water diverted to Jackson County is not in contention as various parties work through the complicated restoration agreement.

"It's not a lot of water in the big picture," Mitchell said. "I do understand that to folks over there (their share of the water) is the big picture."

He said the agreement that is being worked out is more concerned with preserving or improving fisheries and sharing resources.

"At the end of the day, I don't see anybody giving up their rights," he said.

He said rumors that the agreement could have an impact on Jackson County farmers are just part of what he sees as an effort to undermine the ongoing discussions.

"That's the fear-mongering that goes on by certain people," he said.

But others say tribal authorities have made no such promises on paper and that, regardless of the intentions of current tribal leaders, future decision-makers could change course and close the valves.

Medford resident Larry Nicholson, who has a ranch in the Klamath basin, said he's worried the agreement will ultimately give American Indians total control over the water used by local farmers.

"It gives the Indians all the water rights without any due process," he said.

For orchardists like Meyer, an adequate supply of water is essential to raising fruit that will sell in today's demanding market.

The right combination of water, labor and chemicals means that 80 percent of the pears he grows are the right size for market, he said.

When the family orchard started 100 years ago, Meyer's grandfather got by with dry farming, but the pears were smaller than what will sell today, he said.

In the early 1900's, there were 400 pear growers in the Rogue Valley; currently there are just 15, he said.

Meyer said he already tries to maximize the water efficiency of his orchard. He uses a sprinkler system that operates in two-week cycles to provide the right amount of water to size his fruit for the market.

Meyer said he's not sure about all the legal debates over the Klamath water, but he does know that local orchardists won't give up their share without a fight.

"If there is going to be pear orchards and farming here, we need the water," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Wednesday

December 2, 2009 - County will take a look at medical pot gardens

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

Jackson County commissioners headed into potentially controversial territory Tuesday to pursue land-use regulations that could curb large-scale medical marijuana operations.

Responding to complaints from neighbors of medical marijuana gardens, the commissioners directed planning and legal staff to craft an ordinance that would regulate traffic, noise, smell, visibility of the gardens and lights used for growing and prohibit cultivation within 1,000 feet of a school.

County legal counsel Frank Hammond told commissioners a local ordinance may be legally feasible because state law regulating medical marijuana doesn't address land-use issues with gardens.

But there likely would be legal challenges from marijuana advocacy groups, he said.

"One of my points is this whole thing would be very controversial," he said.

Some of the concerns could be addressed in Initiative 28, an effort that would regulate growers in Oregon and subject them to state oversight, said Rep. Peter Buckley, an Ashland Democrat.

Buckley said Initiative 28, which has about half the signatures necessary to put it on the November 2010 ballot, could end the problems associated with fly-by-night growers.

Buckley is a strong supporter of state medical marijuana laws, but he said he is also concerned about the behavior of some growers.

"It is extremely frustrating for me when people who are involved in the program as growers don't behave like responsible citizens," he said.

Buckley said the Legislature isn't likely to deal with land-use problems associated with medical marijuana when it convenes in February for a limited session.

With 2,418 medical marijuana cardholders, Jackson County has the third highest number of patients using the drug behind Multnomah and Lane counties, according to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.

A caregiver can grow up to six mature plants and 18 starts and seedlings per patient for up to four patients.

The county cannot create an ordinance that contradicts or is more restrictive than the state medical marijuana law, Hammond said.

He suggested commissioners consider regulating marijuana cultivation as an agricultural use.

The county leaders wondered whether the nonprofit marijuana gardens could be treated as a small business.

Commissioner Jack Walker likened them to an operation that wanted to open a rock quarry.

Hammond said that under state law, growers can be reimbursed for expenses but can't make a profit like a regular business.

Commissioner C.W. Smith said he is concerned that growers are banding together to create large operations that increase traffic and cause other issues in neighborhoods.

"It is a quasi-commercial event, even though it is not a profit-making one," Smith said. He noted that he doesn't have a problem with people who have medical marijuana cards.

Smith said the state should have more oversight of marijuana since it is still considered a controlled substance.

Commissioner Dave Gilmour said some of these gardens are a nuisance in some neighborhoods, and he thought it appropriate to have some restrictions.

Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization that has sought to decriminalize marijuana, said most of the conflicts with medical marijuana have arisen over dispensaries, not the gardens.

In general, he said his organization doesn't have a problem with reasonable laws that deal with neighborhood nuisance problems that might arise from marijuana gardens.

"There may be some things not solvable by the law," he said. "Living with other people in society requires dealing with some level of nuisance."

For instance, a homeowner who lived next to oil fields couldn't shut down production just because he didn't like the smell, Mirken said.

He said commissioners are confronting the kind of neighborhood concerns local governments face every day.

"They are trying to find a way to solve legitimate legal concerns," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.