Jan. 24, 2010 - Medical pot a growing presence

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

Next to the federal courthouse in downtown Medford, medical marijuana patients pass in and out of a nondescript building where cannabis is smoked, grown and exchanged between patients.

In the lobby, something that looks like driftwood sits on a desk. It's the stump from a massive marijuana plant that produced 16 pounds of dried bud in a growing climate that many growers say rivals Northern California.

It's no accident that Southern Oregon NORML moved into these offices, where its volunteers have windows that overlook the courthouse parking lot used by judges and sheriff's deputies unloading prisoners for trials.

"The fact that the federal courthouse was here is the icing on the cake," said Mel Barniskis, information manager.

SO NORML is one of eight businesses that have sprung up in the Rogue Valley in the past two years to help patients with the complicated process of getting a medical marijuana card and connecting with a grower who can provide the medication allowed under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act of 1998. In 2006, Senate Bill 1085 increased the number of plants and quantity of dried marijuana a patient could possess to six mature plants, 18 immature seedlings and 24 ounces of usable cannabis.

Cannabis advocates hope setting up SO NORML's operation next to a courthouse sends a message that the medical benefits of marijuana are more widely embraced, laws are relaxing and the stereotype of "Reefer Madness" is fading away.

Jackson County has the third-highest number of medical marijuana cardholders of the 36 counties in the state at 2,931, according to the latest figures from the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Both Jackson and Josephine counties have the highest number of cardholders per capita in the state.

Barniskis said SO NORML, where the smell of marijuana is sometimes evident upon entering the lobby, makes every effort to follow the law and get along with its neighbor, the federal government, which still classifies marijuana in the same category as heroin. The federal government in October agreed not to arrest patients who comply with state laws allowing medical marijuana.

"We have to be operating within the law or we're the biggest idiots in the world," Barniskis said. "We're not the biggest idiots in the world."

Marijuana-related establishments such as SO NORML are part of a growing cottage industry allowed under Oregon's medical marijuana law. But both advocates and opponents of medical marijuana want to change the law, which many think is vague and lacks adequate oversight.

Marijuana proponents' goals range from fully legalizing the drug to classifying it as a prescription medication available at drugstores.

Opponents, particularly law enforcement, want more restrictions and regulation, saying current laws open the door to more cannabis production, which they fear will lead more people into a world of drugs.

Medford Deputy Police Chief Tim George said lax marijuana laws have led to a boost in pot seizures.

His drug unit confiscated 5 pounds of dried marijuana in 2008 and 108 pounds in 2009. "We expect our numbers to be off the charts in 2010," he said.

George criticized current laws that allow a cardholder to possess up to 24 plants and 24 ounces of processed marijuana, the most of the 14 states that have medical marijuana laws.

Medford Police Chief Randy Schoen said marijuana clinics such as SO NORML generate very few complaints, but if problems arise he will consult with the Jackson County District Attorney's Office to help determine whether they are operating within the law.

He said he would wait until a specific case arises before commenting on the legality of these operations. "We have our opinions whether it is legal or not," said Schoen.

In addition to SO NORML and three others in Medford, medical marijuana clinics have opened in Ashland, Rogue River and Grants Pass. Not all have been without incident.

Brenda Thomas, manager of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation in Grants Pass, was arrested in November after law enforcement agents alleged she and others had 200 pounds of marijuana.

SO NORML's offices are just a few blocks from the Medford police station, and Barniskis said she and the rest of the staff welcome the police and anyone else who wants to take a look at their operation.

Far in the back of the building, SO NORML has a smoking lounge for people with medical marijuana cards, who can exchange marijuana to find out which strain provides the best treatment for a variety of medical problems. This is one of the few areas that are off-limits to the general public.

She said the operation is self-policing, booting out any member who tries to sell marijuana or does anything that conflicts with the law. About 350 members pay a $100 annual fee, or $35 if they are considered low-income. Some 250 growers are part of the organization, many of whom also have medical marijuana cards.

Sometimes problems do arise, she said. A grower might tell a patient that the plants got ripped off, only to turn around and sell the marijuana for top dollar on the black market.

"You're always going to have somebody abusing the system," Barniskis said. "We as an organization are attempting to weed that out as much as possible."

Local police agencies have been cracking down on medical marijuana growers who exceed the limit allowed by law. On Monday, a marijuana grow site was raided in Gold Hill for allegedly containing 80 pounds of processed marijuana, far more than the legal limit of 12 pounds for the site, which had two registered growers. Police arrested Tommie Dean McIntosh, 37, on manufacturing, possession and distribution of marijuana, as well as being a felon in possession of a handgun.

Medical marijuana users face other dangers, as well. On Friday night, the Josephine County Sheriff's Department reported that two armed men staged a home invasion robbery at the home of a Cave Junction man, stealing his medical marijuana and leaving the man with a fractured skull and two broken fingers.

Barniskis said law enforcement needs to better understand how pot is smoked, ingested and grown before concluding that the six mature plants and 18 immature plants allowed per patient are too much. Indoor operations produce only a few ounces per plant, while outdoor grow sites can develop several pounds of marijuana from a single plant. Outdoor cannabis sites are subject to thievery, bug infestations and mold that can kill a crop, she said.

A marijuana cardholder herself, Barniskis said some patients get better relief from ailments by taking tinctures or eating marijuana, rather than smoking it. But eating marijuana requires more plant material to get the full medicinal benefit, she said.

Barniskis ingests about an ounce of marijuana a week to treat neuropathy, which has caused extreme pain, swelling and bruising in her feet. A former 9-1-1 dispatcher in Alaska, Barniskis said she's tried traditional pain medications to no avail.

Ingesting marijuana is more preferable for Barniskis than smoking because it doesn't produce the buzzy head high.

Patients often try different strains of marijuana to treat different ailments. Barniskis likened choosing the right strain of marijuana to finding the right medication for a headache. And discovering the most effective dosage is like adjusting to high-blood-pressure medication, she said.

Getting a medical marijuana card isn't always a certainty, Barniskis said. SO NORML asks potential patients to look over the list of approved health problems that can be treated with medical marijuana. If they don't have a malady that fits, they are told they won't qualify.

"You can't get a casual pot card in Oregon," she said.

If a potential patient does appear to qualify, he is told to go back to his regular doctor. If the regular doctor won't sign the recommendation for the card, there are up to 24 local doctors who will review medical history before signing the form for a fee. One Medford clinic charges $175 for a consultation.

Rita Sullivan, director of the treatment recovery program OnTrack Inc., said the biggest problem she has with Oregon's medical marijuana laws is monitoring.

The marijuana laws also make the drug more available locally, she said.

Sullivan said prescription drugs have been a problem for those with addictive behavior, but recent Oregon laws now mean these medications are more closely monitored.

She said marijuana appears to be effective in certain medical situations. The list of medical problems that can be treated with marijuana seems acceptable, but "severe pain" is the most common complaint and can be the most subjective, she said.

In some instances, OnTrack clients have tried to use medical marijuana after getting a state-issued card.

Sullivan said that in general her organization doesn't allow it because these clients have shown a propensity for using other drugs.

"We don't want to play Russian roulette with the people who do use drugs," she said.

On occasion, OnTrack has allowed clients who have advanced AIDS to use marijuana if they are very ill, but it is a very uncomfortable decision for her organization. "It puts these people in a tough spot," she said.

Mark Huddleston, Jackson County district attorney, said he hasn't received any criminal cases so far involving clinics or businesses related to medical marijuana in this county.

He believes most people involved in Oregon's marijuana program are following the law, though he thinks the way it is written invites abuse and doesn't have enough monitoring.

"Enforcement is difficult under the medical marijuana act," he said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

Jan. 20, 2010 - Stink grows over pot control

Lori Duckworth, executive director of Southern Oregon NORML, shows a nursery of cloned marijuana plants being nurtured for patients in Medford. NORML, or the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, opposes Jackson County commissioners’ concept legislation that would limit the amount of marijuana grown and possessed for medicinal use. --Bob Pennell

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

Jackson County commissioners Tuesday decided to prod legislators for a solution to neighbor complaints about legal marijuana gardens rather than pursue local controls.

Commissioners said it would be too complicated to enact a local ordinance to deal with odors, traffic, lights and other issues that have been reported over pot gardens in rural areas.

"Quite frankly, smell would be difficult to regulate," said Kelly Madding, director of Development Services.

She said the legal gardens are considered a not-for-profit agricultural crop, so they don't fall under the same constraints as a business.

Madding said a local ordinance, which likely would be challenged in the courts, would require a significant increase in the cost of code enforcement.

Commissioner Jack Walker said the current law is difficult to enforce because of the way it's written.

"No way in the world can you regulate it," he said.

The county drafted a concept law and sent it to legislators asking for more regulation of medical marijuana grow sites, including alerting law enforcement about new gardens.

Legislators might not carry the bill forward for the county until they see how voters respond to several initiatives regarding medical marijuana that could be on the November ballot.

Mel Barniskis, information manager for Southern Oregon NORML, a cannabis resource and information center at 332 W. Sixth St., Medford, criticized the tenor of the county's proposed legislation.

"It seems to serve the purposes of law enforcement, but doesn't address the welfare of patients," she said. "It seems to put more hardships on patients."

Commissioners propose limiting the amount of marijuana on hand at any one time and restricting patients to possessing one ounce. Instead of six plants for a patient, commissioners propose allowing only two mature plants plus two seedlings.

"Allowing so much marijuana provides a clear opportunity for abuse," the concept legislation stated.

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.

Under current law, a grower can have up to six mature plants and 18 starts and seedlings per patient for up to four patients.

Barniskis said the concept legislation shows a lack of understanding about the way medical marijuana is grown and used.

Barniskis said there is a big difference in the amount of marijuana that can be grown indoors versus outdoors. An indoor plant generally produces several ounces, while an outdoor plant can produce a couple of pounds, she said. Having additional plants helps ensure a grower won't experience a complete crop failure should bug infestations or mold occur.

Patients' needs for the medication vary wildly, she said. Some ingest the drug because they can't or don't like to smoke it, which requires more plant material to produce the medicinal effect, she said. Some patients require more than an ounce a week to deal with a particular health problem, Barniskis said.

Patients sometimes drive long distances to obtain their medication, so limiting them to just one ounce would also be a problem, she said.

Commissioners want to prohibit grow sites within 1,000 feet of a school. Barniskis said her organization encourages renters who want to grow medical marijuana to move to a different area. In other cases, where someone owns a house, she said NORML strongly advises the growers who are near schools to make sure the plants aren't visible and to take precautions to reduce the smell.

Commissioners acknowledged that initiatives in the works could change Oregon's marijuana laws.

In particular, Initiative 28 proposes creating a regulatory process through the Oregon Department of Human Services to keep better track of growing operations.

John Sajo, executive director of Voter Power, an organization backing Initiative 28, said if voters enact the initiative, it would create more regulatory authority and would resolve some of the problems such as large gardens.

He said the initiative would provide a role for county government to potentially enforce zoning restrictions on marijuana gardens.

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

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.

November 15, 2009 - Foreclosures Hit Home

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Sammie Pakros, her 2-year-old grandson and her ex-husband have been living on borrowed time.

In March 2008, the 53-year-old couldn't make her $1,400 mortgage payment on her east Medford home after losing her job as a dental hygienist.

Pakros hasn't made a payment since.

Like many Jackson County residents forced into foreclosure proceedings because of the recession, she has been coming to terms with the day she must leave her home of the past 25 years.

"If they call me tomorrow and tell me to move out, I will cry, but I will move on," she said.

Since the recession began in December 2007, lending institutions have foreclosed on 1,718 homes in Jackson County. A third more mortgages went into default during that time, according to county statistics.

This year alone, 919 homes have been foreclosed on and 1,855 property owners have received notices they are at least 90 days behind in their payments, according to data compiled by Rogue Federal Credit Union, based on county information.

And it's only expected to get worse.

Some 2,500 adjustable rate mortgages countywide will automatically ratchet to a higher interest rate beginning next year, which will put more families at risk of losing their homes, local real-estate experts said. One expert said he knows of a loan that will rise from $1,400 a month to $2,100, and the homeowner is out of work.

Stemming the tide of foreclosures has been the goal of ACCESS Inc., a nonprofit that provides food and housing assistance, and Building Hope, an alliance of businesses and organizations spearheaded by Rogue Federal Credit Union and the Home Builders Association of Jackson County.

But keeping up with the demand for assistance has taxed these agencies, which spend considerable time wading through the complicated financial situations and loan problems of local residents.

They have been helping residents make the tough decisions to scale back on expenses and find other income sources, while considering the harsh realities of whether they have the financial wherewithal to keep their homes.

Pakros said though she has a dog-washing business, Dirty Dogz, she can't generate enough income to even consider refinancing options. Her bank has been more understanding than most, offering her a three-month reprieve on payments that would be tacked onto the end of her loan.

Because the downturn in the economy has meant people are putting off their teeth-cleaning, Pakros has had difficulty finding a job. And for the first time in her life, she's had to get food stamps, she said.

She fears that when the time comes to leave her home, she won't have the money to pay rent for an apartment for her, her grandson A.J., and her 61-year-old ex-husband, Alden Pakros, who is disabled.

"I'm just living with my ex platonically," she said. "We're just there to support each other to get through this."

It's an all-too-familiar situation to Pete Cislo, who has devoted two hours a day to Building Hope. The organization has provided educational classes and counseling to 600 families since it was founded a year ago.

Cislo said he has advised some people to stop making their mortgage payments because they have run out of money.

A Medford architectural designer, for example, came to him and said his work had dried up because of the collapse of the construction market. His wife was pregnant and they had only $6,000 left in savings.

"I never expected to be in a public situation telling people not to make house payments," said Cislo, who works for Leave Your Mark landscaping supply.

Cislo said he first encourages people who are behind in their house payments to contact the lender. They might find, like Pakros did, that the lender is in no hurry to get them out of the house.

Or they might find their lender difficult to deal with, as did one Medford woman who was short $160 on her $1,800 house payment. The lender refused to accept the partial payment, Cislo said.

Medford resident Fred Burnhart, in a desperate battle to save his home from foreclosure, spent the better part of this year getting bounced from banks to refinance companies as he tried to renegotiate his loan.

He said he was barraged with paperwork, misinformation and offers to refinance at a monthly rate higher than he paid before. He said he received 15 different answers from 15 different people about his loan modification.

"They don't give a damn whether you keep your house or not," said Burnhart, who is struggling with declining income from his business.

Eventually, Burnhart managed to get his loan renegotiated with help from ACCESS Inc., but is still worried about a second loan and the possibility he could still lose his house.

ACCESS Inc., on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis, has only two full-time employees to help 80 families figure their way out of foreclosure.

"We are over our limit as to how many cases we can handle," said ACCESS Housing Director Cindy Dyer, who said she has been referring callers to Building Hope.

Each case her organization confronts is unique, requiring a great deal of staff time to sort through.

ACCESS doesn't want to shut the door to people seeking help, but Dyer said the need is overwhelming.

She said a year ago ACCESS was helping people who had taken out bad loans. Now, many of the people coming to the organization have lost their jobs and are running out of money.

"It's now an unemployment issue," she said.

Kerrie Davis, community education and outreach coordinator for the not-for-profit Rogue Federal Credit Union, said she expects commercial loan foreclosures to follow on the heels of residential defaults if the economy doesn't improve.

"I think we've got 2010 to go through," said Davis, adding she hopes to see signs of improvement in 2011.

Davis, who speaks at seminars designed to help residents survive foreclosure, said she's noticed many of the participants enjoyed a middle-to-upper-class lifestyle and had never been in serious financial trouble before.

Some who were strong supporters of nonprofits never imagined they would need support themselves.

"I told them don't forget about getting your food stamps — there was a look of shock," said Davis. "Somebody said this was their American dream. These people are paralyzed."

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

September 30, 2009 - RCC Enrollment Soars In Sour Economy

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

A sagging economy and a surge in financial aid have swelled the student ranks at Rogue Community College by 29 percent this fall term.

"There's plenty of money out there for people to get their hands on for school," said Phoenix resident Ryan Tuff. "If it wasn't for these opportunities, I wouldn't be in school right now."

Tuff, 18, who also works part time, is studying human services and substance abuse issues with hopes of getting into a career as a police officer. He helped boost the number of students, both full and part time, at the college to 9,947, which is 2,215 more than last fall.

RCC's Table Rock Campus, which offers more technical and vocational training, saw a 63 percent jump, with 1,116 students registered, compared with 686 a year ago.

The number of full-time equivalent students stands at 1,453 so far this term, compared with 1,134 last fall, a 28 percent increase. A full-time equivalent is determined by one or more students who take a total of 510 classroom hours a term.

RCC credits the increase to students looking to improve their skills in a region hit by high unemployment and pay cuts.

For January through mid-September, RCC has awarded $32 million in financial aid to nearly 12,000 students. Almost as many students signed up for financial aid in the first nine months of this year as in 21 months in the previous period.

Even with more students and increased financial aid, the school has seen its funding from the state shrink, making it more difficult for students to find the courses they need.

"A lot of classes are full," said Margaret Bradford, spokeswoman for RCC. "The student may have to take a class at a time they don't want, or a class that they don't want."

Cory Sweet, who returned to RCC this fall after last taking classes there in 2000, said he was told to register as soon as possible to get the classes he needs.

The 27-year-old engineering student said he got everything he wanted, but other students weren't so lucky, ending up choosing less popular classes that didn't have waiting lists.

Sweet works part time in a sales job and said he is at a better age to determine his educational goals than he was nine years ago.

"Now I have life experience to say this is where I need to apply," he said.

Sweet said grants are allowing him to take 13 units while continuing to work part time to pay his bills.

Kelly Gray, who held his 6-month-old in his arms, said he was returning to school after going from a high-paying job to minimum wage in the midst of a very tight job market.

"I'm moving out of state — there's no work here," said the 34-year-old father of four. "I'm going to lose my house, probably."

Gray, who lives in Medford, said he plans to major in business, and hopes one day to get a law degree. He said he plans to stay in the Rogue Valley until he can find a job elsewhere.

Sara Secor had worked at a local hospital, but watched her hours steadily dwindle, making it a struggle to raise her 2-year-old, Joseph.

To speed up her education as a physician assistant, the 22-year-old Central Point student is taking 21 credits, funded by financial aid and student loans.

As she walked around campus, Secor said her story is one shared by many classmates.

"I hear a lot of students saying they've had pay cuts, or had their hours cut or they lost their jobs," she said.

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

September 29, 209 - Ruling Puts Brakes On Hyatt Resort Expansion

By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune

A Jackson County hearings officer has ruled against expansion plans at Hyatt Lake Resort in a decision that could lead to the removal of cottages, a restaurant and other improvements.

In a 53-page decision mailed out Friday, Donald Rubenstein concluded that small cabins referred to by the resort owner as recreational vehicles are in fact dwellings that potentially pose a fire danger for the resort and the surrounding forest.

He said the resort 20 miles east of Ashland resembles a high-density residential development with some units only 7 feet apart.

Rubenstein concluded county planners erred in allowing 22 of the cabins at the resort. He rejected a request to add an additional 13 spaces.

Rubenstein acknowledged that his decision, which is subject to appeal, could be an economic blow to the developers of the resort.

"The owner finds himself in an unenviable position having invested large sums of money and effort which are jeopardized by this decision," he wrote.

Neighbors had appealed Jackson County's approval of a limited expansion at Hyatt Lake Resort, which is operated by the same group as nearby Campers Cove. Owners of the resort, known as Campers Cove Resort LLC, also appealed a county planning decision, saying they were entitled to additional changes they've requested. Rubenstein reviewed more than 900 pages from the two sides and the county.

Bob McNeely, one of the resort owners, said previously that he had already sold units that look like cabins on the 22 recreational vehicle sites and was in the process of selling four more on 13 additional sites when he was ordered to stop by the county.

McNeely has 21 days to appeal Rubenstein's decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. He was not immediately available for comment Monday. His Coos Bay attorney, Jerry Lesan, declined to comment, and his land-use consulting company, CSA Ltd. of Medford, didn't respond to a phone call.

Pam Hardy, a Bend attorney representing the neighbors' group, called Southern Oregon Citizens for Responsible Land Use Planning, said, "Obviously, we're pleased with the decision, and we're anticipating an appeal."

Sandy Speasl, a member of the land-use planning group, said she thought the hearings officer did a very thorough job. She said she hadn't known what to expect going into the land-use challenge, but was happy with the results.

"To me it means that sometimes the little people have a voice in things," Speasl said.

The resort owners wanted to install recreational vehicles that resemble small cabins on 35 spaces, but county planners determined they were legally entitled to only 22 spaces that can have water, electricity and sewage hook-ups. Those spaces have what the owner refers to as park models.

But Rubenstein wrote, "Park models are not recreational vehicles for purposes of land-use planning, and the staff erred in finding otherwise,"

He added that crowding the cottages together with 120-gallon propane tanks next to each unit posed a significant fire danger.

"The absence of setbacks and other standards that are conventionally applied to high-density residential developments substantially increases the likelihood that once the unit is substantially involved in a fire, nearby decks, cabanas, and park models will ignite as well," Rubenstein wrote.

He also found the cottages would generate more sewage than typical recreational vehicles.

Other improvements to the property — including construction of 30 recreational sites without water and sewer, a cabin, a workshop and a restaurant — will require approval by the U.S. government because some of the development falls on federal land, Rubenstein wrote.

The opinion said the disputed cabins are permanent or semi-permanent buildings, as opposed to recreational vehicles which are temporary. The park models also have structures such as garages or cabanas that aren't typically built next to recreational vehicles, he wrote.

Referring to the Web site of Nor'wester Industries Inc. of Washington, which produces the cabins, Rubenstein noted the manufacturer refers to the units as "destination vacation homes" rather than recreational vehicles.

Glenn Munsell, who lives on Hyatt Prairie Road, said he agreed with Rubenstein's decision but wasn't ready to celebrate because it could be appealed.

"We're just kind of waiting to see what happens next," he said.

Munsell said he had maintained all along that McNeely has built a high-density residential park that goes well beyond the original idea of the resort.

"It's really not an RV park," Munsell said. "There are cabins or houses and the density is terrible."

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

March 8, 2009 - Closure

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

The dismantling of the last large-scale sawmill in Jackson County has hit White City residents hard as they watch equipment being hauled away, entire buildings being gutted and a way of life rapidly disappearing.

"I've been watching the demolition of this mill for the past couple of months," said Ann Hathaway, 65, who lives a little more than a mile from the former mill that turned logs into lumber at Agate and Antelope roads. "It just makes me want to cry."

Its contents auctioned in December, Boise Cascade's sprawling sawmill is vanishing, with gaping holes in the sides of buildings to remove equipment.

The mill began closing in January 2008, with 32 of 59 workers losing their jobs. Boise closed its other sawmill in north Medford in 1998 after a fire, and announced in January it is shutting down its White City plywood mill and will lay off 110 workers March 13.

Over the past 25 years, Jackson County has seen at least 17 mills close their doors.

Last week, a huge metal shearer tore into a roof at the Boise sawmill while salvage crews separated materials for recycling. Other metal buildings have been sold off, and workers removed lights and sprinkler systems and stacked up siding. Once the work is completed, only a few of the dozens of buildings that produced millions of board feet of lumber on the property will remain.

"How many more jobs are we going to lose?" asked Hathaway. "It's like a ghost town."

For many Jackson County residents, the mill along Highway 62 near White City's business district is a landmark. The property will continue to store stacks of logs that will be used to make other wood products.

When the mill used to operate three shifts a day a decade ago, it produced up to 50 million board feet of lumber annually, enough for the equivalent of 3,000 homes.

Boise isn't sure what it will do with the property in the long-term, but officials say they may eventually consider selling off the industrial-zoned land. Boise will continue to operate a veneer mill and engineered wood products plant in White City and a plywood mill in north Medford.

Jackson County Commissioner C.W. Smith said the closure of the sawmill means the valley no longer has sufficient production facilities to process raw timber from local forests when the economy turns around.

"We are not only losing jobs, but we're losing the infrastructure, as well," he said.

The closure of other mills in recent years has devastated an industry that supplied high-paying jobs and will make the economic recovery in the valley all the more difficult, said Smith, who has lobbied at both the federal and state level for increases in logging on federal land.

"That's six or seven mills in White City that don't exist," he said.

The economy has been a major factor in the downturn, but Smith said lawsuits and pressure from environmental groups have meant less logging in federal forests in recent years.

Boise officials decided to permanently close the sawmill rather than mothball it because the amount of lumber flowing out of local forests has slowed markedly. Boise needed sufficient quantities of Ponderosa and sugar pine, which was processed at the sawmill then sold to companies that made doors, windows and other finished wood products.

"This is the last of an era — it really is," said Dave Schott, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association.

He said a large-scale sawmill is still in operation in Josephine County and another in Klamath County.

Across the country, the wood products industry is struggling because demand has declined sharply.

"We have a very soft, actually a no-demand, economy right now," Schott said.

In addition, the timber industry is nervously eyeing the long-term prospects for timber harvest in Southern Oregon, particularly on federal land.

Schott said that in recent years, 85 percent of the wood used in Jackson County has come off private lands, but in years past 85 percent came from national forests.

Bob Smith, human resources manager for Boise Cascade's Western Oregon Region, said the economy has dealt a crippling blow to his industry.

In 2005, the country recorded 2,068,000 housing starts, according to statistics he released. In 2008, that number slowed to just 904,000 starts. According to a comparison over the past 50 years, 2008 was the worst year on record for housing starts.

Bob Smith said Boise hopes to reopen the White City plywood mill when the economy rebounds, but the future looks less certain for the sawmill.

"We didn't anticipate a renewal of the timber supply to allow us to operate again," he said.

He said there are no immediate plans to sell the sawmill property.

A plant in north Medford will handle all Boise's plywood needs for the near future.

"We don't have any plans to close (the Medford plant)," he said.

Joseph Vaile, campaign director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, said conservationists don't want to see the timber industry decline.

"We don't want to see a loss of this infrastructure," he said.

Vaile said a vital industry is needed locally to handle what he expects will be an increasing demand for thinning of forests, though some plants may have to retool to handle smaller diameter trees.

Vaile disputes claims the environmentalists are causing some of the mills to shut down, pointing out there is a backlog of small-diameter thinning and timber sales that haven't found buyers.

"You can blame the environmentalists all you want, but the economy is having the effect of shutting these folks down," he said.

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

January 25, 2009 - A Crisis of Need

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Five-week-old Robert eagerly suckles on a bottle of formula, while his brother and two sisters look on hungrily.

His whiskers glisten white as he bites down playfully on the tip of the bottle, to the delight of a teenage girl who's passing by.

Robert and his siblings are orphaned kittens who depend on KMR milk replacement, containers of which were recently donated by generous families throughout Jackson County to Committed Alliance To Strays.

"This will really help," said Jan Whetstone, CATS director. "The number of kittens being born will hit us very hard in the next month."

CATS and other organizations are more dependent than ever on donations of everything from pencils and office furniture to canned foods and pet food as they struggle to meet the growing demand of families hit hard by difficult economic times.

Whetstone said she appreciated the donation drive at the local Democratic headquarters in Medford as part of Barack Obama's call for a national day of service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dozens of phone cards were collected for veterans, and the Southern Oregon Humane Society received enough pet food to feed animals for a month and a load of gravel to repair the driveway. Local residents cleared out their closets and brought in blankets, clothing and even new socks still in the original wrapper for the Salvation Army.

Many organizations are seeing donations decline while demand increases as people lose their jobs and their homes. Families struggle to pay the utility bills or squeeze out enough money for food.

At CATS, the news has been both bad and good, Whetstone said.

In December, 100 cats and kittens were adopted out, the largest month ever. So far in January, 38 cats and kittens have found new homes, which she said is a good start for the year.

On the down side, donations are off roughly 10 percent for an organization that exists on a budget of $198,000 a year, Whetstone said.

In addition, the number of cats abandoned has risen. "We're still getting calls from Realtors finding cats in foreclosed homes," she said.

Whetstone said her organization has a policy of taking pets back if a family can no longer afford them. Last week, three cats were returned by people who lost their homes.

CATS also is seeing more felines brought in from abusive family situations as the economic downturn worsens, said Whetstone.

"An abusive person goes after the animal more times than you would believe," said Whetstone. "People don't realize that the abuser will take on an animal."

Gary Miller, executive director at ACCESS Inc., which provides food and assistance to low-income families, said he has seen demand escalating and donations increasing.

During the holidays, ACCESS had 261 first-time donors.

At the same time, for the first two weeks in January, people needing energy assistance increased 20 percent over the previous year. ACCESS received 795 inquiries from people needing help to pay utility bills.

Looking ahead, Miller said his organization is concerned about donations declining during the next six months.

"We're all on pins and needles," he said.

At the Salvation Army on Central Avenue in Medford, donations to the store are down.

"What we're really hurting on is the larger items," said Debbie Hopkinson, director of the three Salvation Army stores in the county.

She said the big-ticket items help pay for the overhead on the stores, which have to pay at least minimum wage to its employees. She said a room would normally be filled with couches and tables, but she had only two couches available on Friday.

Her shelves also are barer than she would like.

"We just have less items," she said. "We have more people coming in needing things and less to give them."

In addition to the stores, the Salvation Army has a charitable outlet that gives food and clothing to low-income families free of charge.

Other organizations also are feeling the effects as families cut back.

Jamie Kaufman, program director at Kids Unlimited, said she has noticed more parents withdrawing children from after-school programs at the popular youth organization in Medford.

"I hear daily about a car that broke down, or someone moving in with a relative because they can't pay the rent," she said. "Every day there is a new story."

Families are getting overloaded and don't take advantage of volunteering their time or applying for scholarships to offset the $30 a month fee for the after-school program.

"For us it's trying to get creative about what to offer," she said. "We can suggest payment plans or suggest someone carpool with another family to offset the cost of gas."

Dee Anne Everson, United Way of Jackson County executive director, said nonprofits exist on the generous donations from businesses and individuals.

Her office, for example, is outfitted with hand-me-down furniture from other businesses.

"Nonprofits need people, money and stuff," she said. "Generally, many people have enough for themselves, and they even have some to share."

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

September 10, 2009 - U.S. Economy 'Isn't Getting Better Here'

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Time has run out for 153 Jackson County residents who exhausted their unemployment benefits last week.

The residents are part of the first wave of 3,000 Oregonians who have no extensions left after losing their jobs about a year and a half ago, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

The Employment Department estimates 500 Oregonians will run out of benefits each week, though they will get a three-month reprieve when another extension approved by the Legislature kicks in on Oct. 4.

Dempsey Haller, who was looking for jobs at the Medford employment office Wednesday, calculates he's only got a month left before his benefits run out.

"It's sad," he said. "But I know I'm not alone."

Haller said he's received only a few responses to dozens of resumes he's sent out since he lost his job 18 months ago as an executive director at a Chico, Calif., veterans housing facility.

The 58-year-old Medford resident said it's difficult getting any interest in the applications he's sent out, a sentiment shared by others at the employment office.

Waving his resume in the air, Steven Johansen said, "Nobody will look at this."

The 51-year-old Medford resident said he's sent out more than 300 resumes in just over a year since losing his job at a health care company.

He said he wants to work and doesn't like being unemployed, adding this is the first time in his life he has received the benefits.

"It gets to be really discouraging," said Johansen. "You just keep putting in applications."

Craig Spivey, spokesperson for the Employment Department, said those who are without benefits can continue to use the resources of his department to look for a job. They also can go to the www.worksourceoregon.org to find information about shelters, food banks and other services.

The Employment Department and the governor's office are attempting to get further extensions in January to help unemployed workers.

"We are trying to raise awareness at the federal level," said Spivey.

Currently, an unemployed person could get up to 79 weeks of benefits if they qualified for all the extension programs offered, he said.

Employment officials say Oregon needs additional help because its unemployment rate is 11.9 percent. Jackson County's rate is 13.2 percent and Josephine County's is 14.9 percent.

In July 2008, Congress passed the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which added 13 weeks of benefits on top of the 26-week regular claim. Since then, further additions to the EUC program, plus Oregon's continued high unemployment rate, meant unemployed Oregonians could receive a total of 79 weeks of benefits. On Sept. 5, those who qualified at the beginning of the extension programs exhausted all benefits.

In 2009, the Oregon Legislature passed the Oregon Emergency Benefits program to add 13 more weeks of benefits for those who have exhausted all extension programs. The program however, does not go into effect until Oct. 4.

With the clock ticking, many of Jackson County's unemployed worry about how they will pay their bills.

Larry Stauth said he's not sure about all the extensions the Employment Department has available to him, but he thinks he's only got another eight or nine weeks of benefits.

"I was told that after that, it is done," the 41-year-old Medford resident said.

He's worried that his $600 a month temporary health insurance program is about to expire and he will have to pay a higher rate.

"The cost will go up and the coverage will go down," said Stauth, who lost his job as a shipping and receiving clerk for a parts and service company for semitrailers.

His wife, Sherri, lost her job six months ago as an insurance agent.

Stauth said they need to have insurance because his wife has diabetes. His 20-year-old stepson works at Jack In The Box, but had his hours cut.

Stauth said he's been trying to juggle a part-time job as photographer at the Ashland Daily Tidings to supplement the $300 a week he receives from unemployment.

With so much at stake for his family, Stauth said he's particularly worried about running out of unemployment benefits with no signs the job market is improving.

"Everybody's saying it's getting better, but it isn't getting better here," he said.

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

September 6, 2009 - Cycle Oregon Spins Back South

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Debby Richter has practiced for months in anticipation of this year's Cycle Oregon, riding about 400 miles in one week over some of the toughest terrain Southern Oregon and Northern California have to offer.

"I turned 50 and said, this is your present to yourself," said the Medford resident.

Richter is one of 2,200 riders from 40 states and 10 countries who have paid $850 to participate in the Cycle Oregon tour that begins and ends in Medford Sept. 12-19.

The 2009 ride will take cyclists down Highway 99 over the Siskiyou Summit and dip down to Yreka and Happy Camp in Northern California, then head up to Grants Pass and swing through Glendale before finishing where it started in Medford. This is the first time the tour will head into Northern California and is being billed as a ride through the mythical State of Jefferson, referring to the failed separatist movement in this area.

Riders will climb a number of mountain passes, offering a new challenge each day while traveling through local communities such as Jacksonville and Wimer.

"It's a pretty challenging route in some places," said Richter, who last rode in Cycle Oregon about 10 years ago. "I think some people will be surprised how many hills we have in Southern Oregon."

While many riders will be taking the roughly 70 miles a day at a leisurely pace, Richter said she expects some elite riders will use the tour as a training exercise.

Cycle Oregon is more than just a ride. On the first and last night, many cyclists will camp in Fichtner-Mainwaring Park in Medford, where they will receive food and entertainment. Other riders will stay in local hotels or eat at local restaurants.

"Our mission is economic development in rural communities," said Jerry Norquist, ride director for Cycle Oregon. "We will bring cyclists into Southern Oregon for the first time, and many of them will return year after year."

A shuttle service will ferry riders to downtown Medford while they're here, and they can participate in wine-tasting events at RoxyAnn and EdenVale wineries, where they also can sample local cheese and chocolate.

Cycle Oregon will spend $125,000 to set up the event and handle everything from food to camping to portable toilets and showers.

Cycle Oregon's last ride through Southern Oregon, in 2004, was marred by the death of a West Linn woman who lost control of her bicycle on a twisting mountain road near Williams. It was the first death since the ride began in 1987.

Tara Corbin, community relations and logistics director for Cycle Oregon, said this year has been the most popular yet for the ride.

"We sold out in the fastest time ever this year — in less than four weeks," she said.

Most of the vendors are from out of town, but teams of local volunteers will be helping out all week long, Corbin said. Crater FFA students will handle baggage, for example, and meals will be served by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and the Southern Oregon Visitors Association. The Britt Festivals will take care of entertainment.

Cycle Oregon has teamed up with local Lions Clubs to put on a barbecue, providing those organizations with money they will use for projects that will benefit the community.

Corbin said the route chosen this year is completely different than in 2004 and will require riders to head down a portion of Interstate 5, from about Hilt to Hornbrook, Calif.

Sue Stephens of the Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau said Cycle Oregon is hoping local residents turn out to cheer the riders on as they leave town and when they return.

"We would like this to be a great opportunity to showcase our area and to hopefully create the potential for many of these visitors to return," said Stephens, who has been instrumental in bringing the ride back to Southern Oregon.

Local businesses and volunteers are preparing to help with the ride, though in some cases not directly.

Dave Patterson of Marty's Cycle & Moore in Medford said he will be assembling a couple of bikes sent from riders on the East Coast before they arrive next week.

"Then when they're done, we box them up and ship them back," he said.

Mike Smith, president of the Siskiyou Velo Club, said he will be volunteering to help feed riders.

On Thursday, he will be in Wimer helping dish out beverages and snacks during a rest stop for the riders.

"That sounds pretty hilarious to me," he said. "That's a pretty sleepy community to me and in comes 2,200 riders in their finest Spandex."

On Saturday, he will be helping the Lions Club pass out food. His organization will get about $50 per man for volunteering, but he said the money will be used to help fix up the Bear Creek Greenway or benefit a helmets for kids program.

"It's kind of fun being there with the music and people to talk to," he said.

John Ford, owner of Bear Creek Bicycle in Ashland, has had a lot of inquiries about the ride, but the question he's received the most is how will cyclists ride over the Siskiyou Summit.

"For almost $1,000, to ride on I-5 is strange," he said.

Ford said he knows of only one Ashland man who will be making the ride. Ford said his store installed new tires for the man's bicycle.

"It's pretty expensive, and it takes quite a bit of time," he said.

Debby Richter said she doesn't think it strange to ride on I-5 for a small portion of the tour.

"It's actually got a fairly wide shoulder and it's a pretty easy part of the ride," she said.

She said she is familiar with most legs of the tour.

"I've ridden on about 90 percent of it at various times," she said.

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

December 4, 2008 - Gas Below $2 and Falling

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Motorists in most of the country have cheered as they filled up for less than $2 a gallon recently, but Medford is only just starting to join the party.

The average price for regular is $1.80 nationwide, but hovered at $2.03 in Medford on Wednesday, according to AAA. Many stations in the area are starting to post prices below $2, although others remain higher.

This is the only urban area in the state that still has an average price above $2 a gallon, leaving many motorists asking: What gives?

Elaine Frost said she wonders why most stations charge so much while Costco in Medford has posted prices as much as 40 to 50 cents lower over the past few weeks.

"I was thinking the other companies were being a bit greedy, other than Costco just taking it in the pants," said the 44-year-old Central Point woman.

When many stations were selling gas for $2.25 a gallon a couple of weeks ago, she said she found it at Costco for $1.80. Frost doesn't always shop there, however, frustrated by the 20-minute waits and the traffic on Highway 62.

She said she's just happy watching gas drop to $2 from $4.38 on July 11 — the highest price ever recorded locally.

"At $2, it's a fair price to pay," she said.

On Wednesday, Costco charged $1.79 for a gallon of regular as cars lined up to fill up.

Danelle Romain, co-executive director of the Oregon Petroleum Association, said that based on her knowledge of the industry there can be only one reason why Costco is so cheap: "It's a loss leader."

Romain, whose company represents service stations and heating oil businesses, filled up at a Costco last week for $1.71 a gallon in Portland, then went into the store and bought an exercise bike. She suspects Costco counts on many of its customers filling up on cheap gas then shopping inside.

She said gas stations and Costco all buy from the same sources, so the price should be about the same from the distributor.

A lot of independent stations in the state have been going out of business because it is so difficult to make a living out of selling gas, she said.

Romain said she doesn't know why gas is more expensive in the Medford area, though transportation and remoteness could be factors.

She pointed out that even Costco's gas is cheaper in Portland than Medford. And Eugene's average price of $1.89 is still less than Medford's, even though that city has a 5 cent-a-gallon city tax, she said.

Bob Nelson, vice president of finance and investor relations for Costco, said his company isn't using gas as a loss leader.

"The primary thing is we are willing to make less," he said. "We are not greedy."

Nelson said the company typically makes a 1 to 14 percent profit on everything it sells.

"We're just prepared to make less than all our other competitors," he said.

The savings in gas at Costco depends on what part of the country you're living in, he said. In some parts it's 3 or 4 cents, in other parts it can be as high as 40 or 50 cents, he said.

"The delivered price depends on where it comes from and the taxes," he said.

Nelson said that when gas prices were high, motorists would typically fill up at Costco for a few cents cheaper per gallon than other stations. But with prices falling, the difference often has been greater, he said.

Marie Dodds, spokeswoman for AAA, said gas stations have different philosophies and different business pressures that dictate price.

"I don't think greed plays a part in it," she said. "It depends on when a station's gas is purchased. If it was purchased last week, the price has fallen quite a bit since then."

Last week, gas sold for $2.21 a gallon in Medford.

In general, gas costs more to ship to Medford than other urban areas of the state, said Dodds. The proximity to California, which has typically some of the highest gas prices in the nation, has an effect on what local motorists pay at the pump.

The cost of gas also is dictated by corporations that provide the fuel to stations.

Some gas stations sell at lower prices but offer a convenience store that helps improve profits, said Dodds.

Overall, the price of fuel is at levels not seen for almost four years.

Oregonians last saw the average price of a gallon of regular go below $2 in February 2005, said Dodds.

In the Medford area, pump prices were $2.08 a gallon on Feb. 2, 2005, and $1.99 on Feb. 15, 2005, she said.

A representative from Colvin Oil Co., which supplies the gas to many local stations, could not be reached for comment this week.

Robin Lebovitz, a spokeswoman for Shell Oil Co., said 90 to 95 percent of the Shell stations are independently owned and operated.

She said the owners set the prices at the pump.

Louie Webb, a trucker working for Harris Transportation, unloaded more than 11,000 gallons into tanks at the Costco station Monday.

He said he delivers to all sorts of gas stations, including those at supermarkets such as Safeway.

"There's no difference in the gas now," he said, adding that there are some additives in some brands that might make a little difference. "You might as well buy it as cheap as you can."

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

October 5, 2008 - Memories of The Fall

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

In the midst of the Great Depression, Dolores Schwalb's mother urged her and her sisters to put on their prettiest dresses and squeeze some fresh lemonade.

A man was coming to shut off the water at their Central Point home after they couldn't pay the bill. Her mother wanted the family to look its best and to be as polite as possible.

"We gave him the lemonade and he turned the water off," Schwalb recalled.

But he left something behind — a tool that allowed them to turn the water back on.

"People back then helped each other," she said.

Like many Americans, Schwalb has been nervously watching the news as banks close, real estate prices plunge, jobs are lost and the stock market tumbles.

It's a scene financial analysts have said is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression that started when the stock market crashed 79 years ago on Oct. 29, 1929.

"It's pretty shocking for those of us who have been through it," the Medford resident said.

Schwalb and other members of the Medford Senior Center last week shared their reminiscences of the Great Depression, a time of both hardship and camaraderie among family and neighbors.

While they see similarities between then and now, they hope this generation will be smarter and prevent the country from sliding into further financial crisis.

"People are wise enough that it is never going to get that way," Schwalb said.

As unsettling as the current financial crisis is, it still pales in comparison to the 1930s, when the unemployment rate reached 25 percent. Oregon's unemployment rate today is 6.5 percent; nationally it's 6.1 percent.

Even if the world found itself plunged into another depression, Schwalb said she would survive.

"That training that we went through when we were children means that we know we could get what we need," she said. "Not what we wanted — what we needed."

Schwalb, who is writing her memoirs, said money dried up in the 1930s after the banks closed, so people resorted to bartering for goods. The mills closed in Jackson County and her father lost his job.

But everyone had their own gardens and made their own bread and butter, she said. And every woman had a sewing machine to darn socks and repair clothes.

After the Depression, Schwalb helped operate an egg farm for a few years in Pennsylvania and ran a training facility for handicapped children in Medford, eventually adopting two of the children.

Now an art restoration expert, Schwalb said she is not concerned about her own financial future. "I'm concerned about the young people and the business people," she said.

Hardship would be more difficult on a younger generation accustomed to owning so many gadgets and having so many conveniences, she said.

Martha Kaufman

For some survivors of the Depression, the current financial collapse is more than unsettling.

"It's a sad, sad time," said Martha Kaufman.

The 89-year-old who has lived in Medford since 1979 grew up in Kent, Ohio, and was 10 years old when the Depression began.

While the economic downturn hasn't affected her yet, Kaufman worries it could cause suffering for many if it continues.

She said her son bought a house a couple of years ago in Boulder, Colo., with a no-down-payment loan. He's doing fine, but needs roommates to pay the mortgage. "He'll do all right as long as he has a job," she said.

Running out of money is nothing new for Kaufman. In fact, it is one of her earliest memories.

Before the Depression, Kaufman had saved $300 from raising celery, a substantial sum in those days.

When the bank closed, she couldn't get her money out. When it reopened, it would only lend her the $300.

"I basically lost it," she said.

Because she lived on a farm, she had plenty of food. Kaufman remembered walking down the street one day and seeing apples selling for 5 cents apiece — a lot of money, she thought.

She said everything was traded or grown on the farm and few people received paychecks.

"We had food in our bellies, but no stuff called money," she said.

Occasionally men would knock on their door asking for a handout or a meal.

"There were lots of hungry people," she said. "My mother always had something for the vagabond to eat."

Stories of people jumping out of windows in New York after losing all they had remain vivid in her mind. As do the lean Christmases during the Depression.

"The main thing I remember was Santa Claus didn't bring any presents under the tree," she said.

With more people out of work and struggling to survive, she said, "I wonder what Santa Claus will bring this year.

"It does not look good."

Iris Glanzman

Iris Glanzman said she wasn't too aware of the Great Depression when it rolled through South Dakota.

"I don't think it affected me too much because everybody was in the same situation," said the 89-year-old Medford resident. "I remember the banker suddenly disappeared. I remember reading about all the suicides."

Her father was a teacher who was paid in warrants, which soon lost their value. Warrants were like checks, but they cleared only if the funds were available in the account.

The only place in town that would accept her father's warrants was the general store, where her family could get dry goods.

Neighbors all had big gardens and her mother canned the vegetables for winter. But her father sometimes found their situation difficult to bear.

"He said he would not be able to take care of his family," Glanzman said.

The financial troubles that have stricken the country today seem different to her, but are still worrisome, she said.

She said she receives regular calls from her financial adviser. She had some money in financially shaken AIG, but her adviser told her the principal is safe.

Even though she heard encouraging news about the rescue of the financial markets, she wondered how long the economy could survive with so many struggling companies.

"How safe is safe?" she said.

May Harrison

May Harrison recalled a time of sparseness and making do with what you had, when you couldn't buy just anything you wanted.

The 96-year-old Medford woman, who married at age 16, said she's not as concerned about her own survival during these tough economic times as she is for the younger generation.

"Teenagers now wouldn't be able to stand it," she said.

There are some similarities today with the Great Depression that give her pause.

"It borders on it, but it's not the real thing," she said.

When the Great Depression hit, her family had to move from the city to a farm to survive.

Harrison remembered her sister's surprise when they arrived at a farm 30 miles outside Muskogee, Okla., and it didn't have all the conveniences they were used to.

"She said, 'Where is the bathroom?' " Harrison said. "It was funny now, but it wasn't funny then."

Being a worker all her life, Harrison developed a good memory for prices. When she was young, a gallon of gas cost 9 cents, a dozen eggs 10 cents.

Trouble was, no one had the money to buy anything. "You didn't have the 9 cents," she said.

Harrison had to leave school as a teenager so she could work, but she eventually graduated in 1960 in Medford.

She credited the government programs during the 1930s with helping bring the country out of its financial crisis. She also said the leadership of the president was extremely important for her.

"Franklin Roosevelt — I would vote for him again," she said.

Her memories of the Great Depression have had a strong impact on her through her adult years.

"It stays with you all your life," she said.

Edgar Lupton Sr.

Even though Edgar Lupton Sr. survived the Depression, he is dismayed by the current financial crisis.

"I think it stinks," said the 94-year-old Medford resident.

He's not sure the $700 billion bailout, signed by President Bush on Friday, will be enough to prevent the country's economy from sliding further.

Born in 1914, Lupton said times were particularly tough in New Jersey, and he remembered his father always working to make sure food was on the table.

His family was among the lucky ones.

"I would see a lot of people walking on the street looking for something to eat," he said. "You couldn't get a cent, though."

He tried to join a government work program but didn't qualify because his father was working at the time.

Lupton comes five days a week to the Medford Senior Center for what he describes as the best meal of the day. He said there was nothing like the food he gets for lunch available for elderly people during the Depression.

Now, as he hears about more layoffs, he hopes there won't be a repeat of the 1930s and the deprivation that ensued.

"I'm just wondering about my Social Security," he said.

Marcia Skinner

The current financial crisis is all too familiar to Marcia Skinner, who lived through the Depression.

Born in Central Point, she has lived in Medford all her life. Her father lost his savings when the financial institutions collapsed in 1929, but a garden, a cow and a lot of perseverance helped her family survive without too much suffering or wanting for food.

With memories of her father's savings still in her mind, she wonders about the security of her own retirement account.

"Now it's scary," she said. "Most of us have worked hard to take care of our old age."

Apart from her few memories of the Great Depression, Skinner said, "In my lifetime I have never seen such fear."

She said it is dismaying to watch Washington lawmakers handle the crisis.

"It doesn't seem like we have any solid statesmen," she said. "It's a crazy time. It makes you sick because it can go downhill in such a short time."

Even though the financial institutions have been reckless in recent years, so have individuals who took on risky investments or signed no-interest loans.

"It seems we brought it on ourselves," Skinner said.

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

July 7, 2008 - Room At The Top

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Gazing over the valley 1,000 feet below, Barney Spera feels like he's found his dream home.

"I'd never leave this place, if I could buy it," said the 77-year-old Rogue River bachelor.

Before his dream can come true, Spera must scrape together enough money to bid in a Thursday auction for this new, multimillion-dollar, craftsman-style home with 118 windows and a man-made waterfall that he says is about as close to heaven as you can get in Ashland.

"To swing this deal I'll have to get some kind of loan, unless I have the cash — and I don't," he said.

In the ultra-high-end home market, people are still shelling out millions of dollars even as the real estate market remains in a funk. The most expensive currently on the market is an $8.6 million, 10,500-square-foot estate on Valley View Road in Ashland.

Since January 2007, 35 prestigious homes have sold for more than $1 million in Jackson County. Sixty percent were in the Ashland area, 25 percent in Medford, and the remainder in Central Point, Jacksonville, Gold Hill, Talent and Rogue River. There are more than 50 of these luxury estates still for sale in the county.

Even in this rarefied world, the economy has left its mark as prices have dipped and sellers and real estate agents use every avenue to market these dream homes. Financing can also prove more difficult in these tough economic times.

"You have to be realistic in your pricing," said Barbara Allen, a broker for Windermere Van Vleet & Associates. She said she has seen a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in the high-end market from a few years ago.

Despite the greater wealth of the buyers, Allen said they often have the same concerns as many other home buyers. They want to know how much does it cost to heat the house, or they want to be closer to town to save on gas. "More often than not they have a Prius in the driveway," she said.

Pricing is a complicated process that takes into account location, views, acreage, quality of house, proximity to downtown, the neighborhood and other amenities. Because there are relatively few homes that have actually sold in any particular neighborhood, it's sometimes tricky coming up with a price that reflects current market conditions.

Don't expect these properties to sell overnight, either, though some have been snapped up in less than a month.

While many homeowners sell for close to their list price, others must significantly drop their prices after homes have sat on the market for too long.

An elaborate house on Granite Street with an entertainment room larger than most people's living rooms sold recently for $2,601,829, making it the most expensive of the high-end properties sold since last year in Jackson County. The list price was $2,980,000 when the previous owner, Sid DeBoer of Lithia Motors, changed brokers this year to Barbara Allen and Melanie Mularz, who represented both the sellers and the buyers.

First listed in March 2004 with another real estate company, the craftsman-style home with copper gutters, an elevator and pool was originally put on the market at $3.3 million, so the final selling price represented a 21 percent reduction, or about $700,000. Even though it is a relatively new house, the owner wants to change a few things. New beams will replace those that were found defective in the house, which has an elevator, exotic hardwood floors, copper gutters and elaborate grounds.

Two other properties on Granite have pending sales after being on the market for about a month. One is for $1.8 million, the other for $1.95 million.

Spera, who does his homework before going to auctions, said he didn't want to disclose how much he would bid for the 260 Skycrest Drive house, but expected stiff competition during an auction that most likely will be over in a matter of minutes.

"I think somebody who is very wealthy is just going to come in and write a check," said Spera, who was a purser for United Airlines but has invested heavily in real estate over the years.

Even though there is no minimum bid required, Spera believes the house won't be sold cheap. To attend the auction, Spera said, participants must bring a $50,000 certified check to show they've got the right financial chops.

Originally on the market for $3.4 million, Spera said the price was dropped to $2.9 million before the owner decided to go through the auction company.

Spera will show up at 11 a.m. Thursday as the house, known as Ashland Manor, is sold through Alabama-based company J.P. King Auction. Company officials said it is not a distress sale and the owner just wanted to move back to San Diego, Calif.

The 4,500-square-foot home comes with all furnishings and other amenities, including Brazilian cherry floor, a hand-made front door, two dishwashers, a warming oven and a Viking commercial-style range, not to mention a 900-square-foot slate tile deck and porte cochere. "I'd keep it just the way it is, except I'd bring in my baby grand piano," said Spera.

Like most people, Spera also worries about how much he will have to pay in property taxes, which could cost in excess of $40,000 annually, he said.

While Spera considers a brand new house, there are also many vintage houses on the market for more than $1 million.

Down the hill from Skycrest at 165 Almond St. is an 1888 Victorian home just put on the market by Vava and Ron Bailey, who've lived there for 15 years. On a double lot, the home also comes with a separate two-story carriage house and shop.

The Baileys both turned 65 and have decided to sell because they want to move closer to their family, which lives in the Bay Area.

The wavy glass, the French doors and the veranda that wraps around the house are like a trip back in time. With a formal living, dining and family room, the 3,078-square-foot house looks like it might have in the 1880s when it was owned by a prominent local banking family.

"The house is pretty much historically intact," said Vava.

Their house recently put on the market, the couple is optimistic about selling the property despite the real estate downturn.

"We're not actually worried about it," she said. "It's unique."

Ron Bailey owns his own business, California Functional Foods, which requires he make frequent trips to Japan.

Like most people, the Baileys don't like wasting energy, closing off doors to other rooms in the winter to keep the library warm where they spend most of their time. Shade trees mean the couple rarely have to turn on the air conditioner in the summer.

"My thing is not how big your house is, but how careful you are about how you live in it," Vava said.

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