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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2011)
10 Winter 2011 Applegater Become a Master Recycler Applications due Friday February 4 Applegate Library Come one, come all to our Friends of the Applegate Meeting in the Applegate Library Meeting Room on January 11, 2011, at 5:00 pm. We have a lot of plan- ning to do for the new year. If you have suggestions for programs, we will welcome them and put them on our schedule. If you have any other suggestions for the library, this is the time and place to bring them to the table. We are a friendly group and welcome new faces, and may even have some cookies to share at the meeting. On November 14, Thalia Truesdell presented a spectacular program on recy- cling. If you missed it,we may have to ask her to bring it to us again this coming year as a reminder of how essential it is for all of us to be recycling our plastics, glass, paper, metal, etc. It is not only economi- Pass the Book In Spring 2010 the Storytelling Guild distributed 4,974 new and gently used children’s books to 19 agencies in Jackson County. Every child in Head Start in two counties received a book to own. Every child who visits the Children’s Advocacy Center, La Clinica del Valle’s three health clinics, and the three Com- munity Health Centers is invited to take a book. Books are distributed to children at the Dunn House, Kids Unlimited, the Magdalene Home, On Track, the Boys and Girls Clubs in Phoenix, Talent, and White City, and the North Medford High School Child Development Cen- ter. Children in foster care receive books through DHS. Books are delivered to the Family Nurturing Center, the Juvenile Detention Shelter, the Juvenile Detention Hall, Access, Inc. and Healthy Start. The Butte Falls Community School Partner- ship received books for their preschool program and for their weekly “Nature Friday” program. Where did these books come from? They were donated by generous Jackson County citizens to the annual “Pass the Book” drive held in January. Collection bins were located at all 15 Jackson County Libraries and 8 branches of the Umpqua Bank in Jackson County (631 books). The free performance of “Rumpelstiltskin” was held on January 17, 2010 by the Tears of Joy Theatre at the Craterian and collected 787 books, Other donors and purchases at yard sales contributed an additional 234 books. For the month of January 2011 Jackson County Recycling Part- nership and OSU Extension Service invite residents and business represen- tatives to become Master Recyclers, gaining a broad understanding of waste prevention, recycling, the local solid waste infrastructure, hazardous waste avoidance, and composting. Join a 11-week training course that offers an extensive training manual, discussion-based classes, presentations from local and regional experts and field trips to relevant sites, including the regional landfill, waste-to-energy plant, composting facility and waste cally important, but also, important to our health and welfare. Thalia also has skills in raising worms for compost. Just ask her! We would like to thank the Apple- gate community 4H club for their hard work in setting up the book sale that began on November 30 and lasted until Decem- ber 4. They did such an excellent job of selling the books on a donation basis and collected almost $500 for the Friends of the Applegate Library. What a great bunch of young people! We are so fortunate in the Applegate to have such a dedicated tribe of young folks. Thanks to all you 4Hers! CRITICAL Storytime continues to be at 4 pm on Tuesdays. Come in and enjoy the sto- stations, in order to ensure an adequate response. ries, puppets, and flannel boards. Our volunteer firefighters are Our display case becomes more and more interesting every month. Even trained to put out house fires and wildfires, if you’re not looking for books, it’s worth perform water and rope rescues, and pro- a trip to the library just to see what’s new vide emergency medical care until an am- bulance arrives. (One even delivered his in the display case. Don’t miss it! own son in a car on the way to the hospital Joan Peterson 541-846-6988 several years ago!) When thunderstorms hit parts of our valley on hot summer days they are found working elbow-to-elbow with state and federal firefighters to keep collection bins will once again be in all 15 our homes safe. These volunteer firefighters are folks Jackson County Libraries and all 9 branch- es of Umpqua Bank in Jackson County. who have gone through various degrees of Books are needed for all age groups, from professional training, and now volunteer babies (board books are very welcome) to their time and expertise to take care of their teens and all ages in between. Teen books community when the 9-1-1 tone sounds. are especially needed. Share your love of Their training is top-notch and provided books and reading: donate children’s books free; their equipment is up-to-date safe, to the Storytelling Guild’s “Pass the Book” and their hearts are in their work 110%. But their numbers are starting to seriously program. The Storytelling Guild is a group decline. The AVFD started up thirty years of volunteers dedicated to serving the community by providing opportunities ago in 1980, and there are 5 volunteers that for children to be exposed to the magic have been with the District for at least 25 of books and the joy of reading. “Pass years. Historically, AVFD has always had the Book” is just one of their programs. an extremely high average tenure for its They also present an annual “Book Walk” volunteers; right now it’s over 9-1/2 years! fashion show of books to third graders, Wow, you say?! That sounds good, right? present a weekly preschool storytime at What’s the worry? Today AVFD has about 37 vol- the Medford Library Wednesdays at 11:30 am. Additionally, they sponsor a free show unteers, down 10 or so from a couple of at the Craterian each January, provide 24 years ago. This number varies as folks join hour access to Dial-a-Story at 541-774- up, retire, or move out of the area; many 6439 in both English and Spanish, and are now retiring or simply due to age are provide a scholarship to an RCC (Rogue no longer able to perform at the required Community College) student passionate level. (Nationally, the number of volunteer about early literacy and/or early child- firefighters has been declining and the aver- hood education. The Storytelling Guild age age is climbing, which is no surprise is best known for the annual Children’s to those of us in the Applegate.) So while Festival. Planning has begun for the 45th the need for new volunteer firefighters Children’s Festival at the Britt Grounds in has always been constant, I’m writing this Jacksonville in July 2011. Exact dates of article because it’s now “critical” per our the three-day festival will be announced Fire Chief. Fire Chief Fillis feels that adequate in January. More information about the Storytelling Guild is available at www. response times for the Applegate and Pro- volt areas are reaching critical conditions storytellingguild.org. due to low volunteer numbers. Other Anne Billeter • 541-944-2802 regions within the District are follow- billeter@entwood.com ing close behind. Even though the total number of volunteers may pencil out, the number of volunteers at each station and time availabilities of each do not. Observe: this is not the usual “Janu- ary Firefighter School – Come Join Us” article. This is for real. We desperately need more volunteers to sign up for train- ing to become firefighters, because given the size of our District, hiring more paid employees is not a viable solution. Bottom line? Without these invaluable volunteer firefighters responding to the emergency needs in all areas of our District, our re- sponse times will lengthen significantly, and eventually someone is going to lose. water treatment plant. Master Recyclers are required to give 40 service hours to support and expand local waste diversion programs and projects. Weekly classes will take place on Thursday evenings, March 3–May 12, 5:30–8:30 pm at the OSU Extension auditorium, 569 Hanley Road. Ap- plications are due Friday, February 4, 2011 and are available online at www. jcrecycle.org. For more information, contact OSU Extension Service at 541-776-7371 FROM PAGE 1 So, can you be a volunteer fire- fighter? Do you have good people skills? Do you enjoy problem-solving? And wouldn’t it be great to know and work with dedicated, caring people who honestly give a darn? In the past, some residents have thought that if they were over fifty, they might not be able to be volunteers. Chief Fillis told me that some of the best volunteers he has are in their fifties and sixties! (This undoubtedly depends on an individual’s physical condition.) Why do they do it – make such a volunteer commitment? Is it the challenge of problem-solving their way through such a wide variety of calls? Is it the quality of training received? Or, is it that people just love their community and want to give of themselves in some way? Yes, yes and yes. From my past interviews with our AVFD folks, I found that the single most common reason they sign up and volunteer their time is “to give back to their community.” Isn’t that what rural living is all about, to take care of your own? While this might sound like a lot of work, perhaps even daunting, every volunteer that I’ve ever spoken with has said that the real meaning behind working with this Fire District is being a part of the “family.” Creating bonds with the other volunteers and staff, receiving top-notch training, sweating and solving problems together, that’s what it’s all about. AVFD is holding its next training for new recruits this coming February, and we need to have a full class that will help fill in those weak areas. Classes will be held on the weekends. Once you’re accepted into the program, the initial 5-week (free, in-house) training course familiarizes you to the organization, its protocols and safety practices; you become a basic firefighter upon completion. There are many options available beyond this, such as moving into the First Responder medical level or EMT, learning to operate the heavier vehicles such as a water tender, search and rescue, wildland fire training, and also command and control positions. Something to pique just about anyone’s interest! Have we piqued yours? I sincerely hope so, because we’re at a critical point right now. Our rural fire district is vital to our well-being and that of our loved ones, but they can’t operate without dedicated volunteers. Give either Brett Fillis or Chris Wolfard a call at 541-899-1050 and see if this is a fit for you. It might change your life, and could save the life of someone you know. Sandy Shaffer 541-899-9541 AVFD Budget Committee sassyone@starband.net
