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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2012)
4 Winter 2012 Applegater Remembering Karen Salant BY PRISCILLA WEAVER, mATT EPSTEIN, ALISON BAKER-RILLING, mARY FERRELL, PHIL LONG, DENISE mCCOLLUm, BRUCE ROBERTS, JANIS SHADE, THALIA TRUESDELL, mARK WISNOVSKY AND mANY OTHERS Ruch, the Applegate Valley, and all of Jackson County have lost a no-nonsense, fierce advocate for kids and schools with the passing of our friend Karen Salant in late December. Her keen insights, dogged commitment, gravelly laugh and willingness to work tirelessly for children are the embodiment of community. Karen and her husband Peter chose to move to the Applegate Valley in part because they believed it a good place to raise their daughter Carly. From the moment she arrived, Karen devoted herself to two key components of that belief: libraries and schools. A woman of few words, Karen’s unique style was strikingly effective: “Through all of these endeavors, Karen exuded hope and enthusiasm for the possibilities that success could bring, thoughtfully looking out for the best interests of our community. I will fondly remember her persistently positive advocacy for doing things better together.” In 2000 Karen joined forces with many others to gain voter approval for new community-centered libraries capable of providing essential educational, economic development, and cultural services to every city and hamlet in Jackson County, including Ruch. “During strategy meetings on the library levy issue, Karen always looked vaguely amused at the antics and machinations and personalities in the room. At points of high tension, her quiet voice and extremely sensible solutions moved us forward.” Karen’s special talent for finding creative ways to maximize educational resources is literally set in stone—the handmade tile path she dreamed up to link Ruch School with the new Ruch Library. Once she got Lilli Ann and Marvin Rosenberg involved, the project became the artistic and functional glue joining Ruch’s two singular educational institutions. Dozens of tile steps created by Ruch students, teachers, and staff, as well as Karen’s own tile, are silent but powerful testimony to her “footprint” on the community. When the issue of safe school structures came to the fore several years later, Karen once again jumped into the fray. “Her willingness to voice support for safer school buildings all across the Medford School District encouraged many others to step up and pass the bond measure.” “She always moved the discussion in a thoughtful, progressive way. Karen taught me that the quality of the group is more important than the quantity.” Karen’s influence on our schools extended well beyond bricks and mortar. She chaired the Ruch PTO and the school site council, and spearheaded the Artist in Residence program in Ruch. She beat her own well- worn path to South Medford High to participate in its Aspire Program, working closely with students whose parents did not go to college, serving as their mentor in traversing the college admissions process. The story of the entire Ruch community banding together in 2004 to keep the Ruch School open is the stuff of legend. Karen often expressed her conviction that saving the school, and taking it to new levels in the process, was Karen Salant, 1941 - 2011 a defining community moment. “She was a tireless, boots-on-the-ground, behind- the-scenes researcher and campaigner,” working ferociously to make it happen, cajoling her neighbors for financial analyses, looking for any data she could identify as concrete evidence to bolster the moral arguments. “Without hard data, it was all going to be adjectives on both sides. When you have strong facts, as we did, use them!” As another observer noted, “Throughout the potentially divisive and traumatic experience, Karen played a key role in keeping the focus on building a stronger community.” Most recently Karen became deeply involved with the Maslow Project, the capstone of her lifelong civic engagement. She guided the Maslow leadership in becoming an independent nonprofit organization and then served as its founding board president. “Karen recognized the critical need to expand offerings to homeless children in our area. She had absolute resolve and faith in Maslow and our mission. She believed all children should have the possibility for a better life. When she saw a young person overcome adversity and go on to be successful, she was the first to exclaim with a passion, ‘Go get ‘em!’ She was Maslow’s champion, cheerleader and friend.” Vibrant libraries, artistic pathways, safe schools, mentoring aspiring collegians, practical help for homeless children— Karen did it all. She had an uncanny ability to cut through the unnecessary drama and politics of teenagers and adults alike. Her motto was, “People are people and you can’t do anything about that. But here’s what we can do.” Karen touched so many lives in such a special way. She helped advance the livability of the Applegate Valley and southern Oregon and has changed our lives forever. For more information, please contact Priscilla Weaver at 541-899-1672 or priscilla@saltmarshranch.com. Acupuncture for recovery from trauma BY ELLEN LEONARD Tim Franklin 1964 - 2011 Tim Franklin died in an automobile accident on Upper Applegate Road on October 30, 2011. Manager of Yale Creek Ranch, Tim was part of the Applegate Watershed Council, was active in the organic farming community, and was a long-time contributing writer to the Applegater newspaper. Melissa Matthewson wrote an essay in 2005 about Yale Creek Ranch and Tim and Beth Franklin. You can find it on our website at www. applegater.org. Advertisers ~ Contact: Sally Buttshaw 541-646-8418 sallybuttshaw6984@ hotmail.com Have you recently been through the experience of caring for an ailing loved one or the death of a family member or friend? Have you had a car accident or house fire or the loss of your job? Are you fighting depression due to early retirement or foreclosure on your home? Are your children coming home with signs of stress and anxiety due to difficulties at school? Have you recently returned from a military tour and are having trouble adjusting back into your life and family or struggling with an addiction of one kind or another? Surprisingly, acupuncture can help. Acupuncture is well-known as a treatment for aches and pains, but did you know that it is also extremely effective for anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress, among many other conditions? It is currently being used all over our country, as well as the rest of the world, to treat both victims and first responders in areas of natural disasters. It’s gaining popularity and momentum because it works, and the only “side effects” are better overall health and emotional well-being. Every Friday morning for the last three and a half years, I’ve held a Military Stress Recovery Clinic for veterans who are struggling with post-traumatic stress difficulties such as flashbacks, anger issues, insomnia, and nightmares. Most are veterans of the Vietnam War, which means they’ve been struggling with their pain for over 40 years. These vets have continued to show up every week for the entire three and a half years because they have seen marked improvements in their emotional well-being and quality of life. One vet says, “It has taken me to another level of consciousness,” and another says, “Acupuncture has demystified my own mysteries and brought them into focus. It’s remarkably comforting.” I have several teenage patients who are struggling with emotional issues. These young people respond quickly and very well. I have also seen several W ithout intervention it can be a dangerous and unhealthy downward spiral. patients who were so depressed they couldn’t get out of bed and were on one or more antidepressants. After a series of treatments, many have been able to get off their meds and return to their normal lives. And what about the strain of caring for an elderly parent? The relentlessness of the constant care of a healthy parent, let alone one with Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia or physical ailment, is grinding, to say the least. Without some form of support, the caregivers soon become ill themselves. And then there are the effects of the recession. How many of us have had to take things out of our shopping cart and put them back on the shelf because we didn’t have enough money in our wallets to buy them? How many have lost jobs, homes and cars and, as a result, the sense of ourselves, our dignity, and our place in the world? These are all on the hit list of top stressors in life, and many in our community are experiencing all of them at the same time. As a result, we experience trauma and post-traumatic symptoms— insomnia, loss of appetite, weight gain, fits of rage, excessive reliance on tobacco, alcohol, prescribed and recreational drugs, food—all in an effort to “self-medicate” in order to make it through. Without intervention it can be a dangerous and unhealthy downward spiral. Acupuncture can break the cycle and put you back on your feet so you can cope with whatever hand life is dealing you in a healthy and productive way. Acupuncture not only treats physical and emotional pain and disease, but also prevents it. One of its greatest strengths may well be its ability to keep us healthy. Most insurance policies cover at least part of the cost of a visit because they are realizing it’s a much less expensive way to get and keep their clients healthy. But as my vets are fond of saying, it’s hard to explain the depths of the benefits if you haven’t experienced them yourself. So go ahead. Call an acupuncturist near you and let them help you through these hard times. Remember, you can’t help the people who depend on you if you’re not healthy yourself. Ellen Leonard, L.Ac. 541-474-1974 Ellen Leonard is a nationally and state-licensed acupuncturist in Grants Pass, Oregon. She has a masters in acupuncture and has been practicing for over ten years.
