2 Fall 2013 Applegater
Start winter dreaming
by maRCUS SmiTh
Mark your calendar for this
year’s 15 th Annual Master Gardening
symposium on November 2.
Curious about home winemaking?
How about raising chickens in your
own back yard? Want to grow your own
mushrooms or make your own artisanal
cheeses?
How does climate change affect
my home garden? What’s the best way
to collect the rainwater that falls on my
property? Can I catch and use the gray
water my household produces?
These are just a few of the many
questions under discussion at this year’s
Choose from four 90-minute classroom
sessions, plus a catered lunch
to chat with the experts.
Rogue Community College/Southern Oregon
University Higher Education Center, Medford.
Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens
Symposium sponsored by the Jackson
County Master Gardeners Association.
Now in its 15 th season, this daylong event
brings the region’s leading authorities
together for a lively exploration of topics
and issues that challenge gardeners
throughout southern Oregon.
For many area gardeners, Winter
Dreams is the most eagerly anticipated
educational experience of the year—a
meeting of the minds with offerings
for gardeners at any level of expertise.
In addition to learning from scholars,
researchers and practitioners, the
symposium is a great opportunity to rub
shoulders and swap ideas with fellow
gardeners.
You’ll be immersed in a unique
learning environment where science-based
practice and state-of-the-art thinking
are seasoned with priceless hands-on
experience and local garden lore.
Enrollment includes your choice
of four 90-minute classroom sessions,
plus a catered lunch where you can chat
informally with the experts and other local
gardeners.
It’s as easy as it is rewarding: Choose
the topics of interest to you, then reserve
your spot by calling 541–776-7371 or
emailing robert.reynolds@oregonstate.edu.
Summer Dreams takes place at the
Rogue Community College-Southern
Oregon University Higher Education
Center in downtown Medford and parking
during the event is free. For detailed
class descriptions, visit http://extension.
oregonstate.edu/sorec/gardening.
Marcus Smith
marcus@mind.net
What: The 15 th Annual Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens Symposium
When: Saturday, November 2, 9 am – 4:30 pm
Where: RCC/SOU Higher Education Center
101 South Bartlett Street, Medford, Oregon
Cost:
$40 fee includes four 90-minute sessions plus lunch.
Downtown Medford parking is FREE.
A warm welcome to three new
Applegater board members
It’s official! Please welcome our new board members, who already have made
significant contributions to the Applegater and are dedicated to the paper’s ongoing
presence in the Applegate Valley. With their wisdom, creativity and energy, we look
forward to publishing for at least another two decades.
Chris Bratt
Chris was born and raised in San
Francisco, California. After earning a BA
in industrial arts from San Francisco State
University, he started a family and began a
career as a union carpenter. For many years
he was a partner in a building contracting
business in the San Francisco Bay Area as
well as a teacher of carpentry and industrial
arts. Upon moving to Applegate, Oregon,
in 1976, Chris continued working as
a building contractor and manager of
his family’s small woodland farm on
Thompson Creek in Applegate. He is a
founding board member of many local
environmental groups including the Geos
Institute, and was a founding member
of the Applegate Partnership/Applegate
River Watershed Council. He is a lifetime
member of the United Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners of America. His
special interests include improving the
environmental integrity of the Applegate
watershed and seeking better utilization
of small-diameter trees for building
and manufacturing purposes. Chris
believes the Applegater newspaper is an
invaluable means of getting local news
and independent thought out to all
residents. He calls on all of us to help
produce an even more creative, innovative
and unique community newspaper.
Debbie and Don Tollefson
The Tollefson met and married on
the Monterey Peninsula in the early 1970s
where both their daughters were born in
the early 1980s. They owned restaurants
and a trucking company, Don did real
estate and Debbie taught art at Monterey
High School. After moving to the San
Diego area, Debbie taught art at Mt.
Carmel High School and later ran galleries
in Rancho Santa Fe and Las Vegas. In the
1990s Debbie managed the La Jolla store
of Draper’s and Damon’s and organized
over 200 fashion shows in San Diego
and Los Angeles. During that time, Don
was a building contractor, then opened a
number of stores in San Diego County
while in management at Home Depot.
In 2004, Don and Debbie found a new
home on Thompson Creek in Applegate,
where Don joined Oregon-Land in 2006.
Debbie joined him in 2007, and together
they opened Applegate Valley Realty
in 2010. Because Don and Debbie are
grateful for the way Applegate residents
have welcomed them and supported their
business, they give back to the community
whenever possible. Among other activities,
Don joined the Board of Directors of the
Children’s Advocacy Center in 2011, and
now they are both excited to be part of the
Applegater newspaper team.
Thanks to our
retiring board members
Undying appreciation is due our outgoing long-time board
members Linda Fischer, Joe Lavine, Hal Macy and Paula Rissler
for all their contributions over the years. We are grateful that Joe
is staying on as our webmaster, and that Paula will continue with
behind-the-scenes activities as well. The Applegater would not be
here today without them.
Technical and financial assistance
available for landowners
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Jackson County
offers technical and financial assistance to landowners of private nonindustrial
forestlands. They are now accepting applications for the 2013 Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for forest health and fuels-reduction projects
in the Applegate Community Wildfire Protection Plan area. Cost-share is available
for eligible practices including thinning, pruning, and slash treatments. Program
incentives are also available for development of a Forest Management Plan. Priority
will be given to applications within the Thompson Creek watershed.
If you have questions regarding the program or the location of your property,
or would like to apply, please contact Erin Kurtz, district conservationist, Medford,
Oregon, at erin.kurtz@or.usda.gov or 541-776-4270 ext. 108, or Peter Winnick,
soil conservationist, Medford, Oregon at peter.winnick@or.usda.gov or 541-776-
4270 ext. 109.
Additional Links to the Oregon NRCS website:
EQIP Program: http://www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/index.html
All Programs: http://www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/
