2 Spring 2015 Applegater
Hurrah! McKee Bridge
is restored!
by RobeRT e. van heUiT
The restoration
of McKee Bridge was
completed in the middle of
February. The bridge is now
open to pedestrians who can
better observe the beautiful
Applegate River from its
interior. The 98-year-
old bridge underwent a
facelift, structural repairs
and improvements that
will extend the bridge’s life
for a considerable number
of years.
The restoration
The restored McKee Bridge is now open to pedestrians.
effort began after an
inspection of the bridge by Oregon Bridge necessary funds in hand to proceed with
Engineering Company (OBEC) in the the restoration.
fall of 2011 found that a portion of the
When the final plans were completed,
north truss that supported the bridge had though, the total cost exceeded the amount
begun to fail. After meetings with OBEC, of available funds. MBHS and the county
Jackson County Engineering, McKee frantically looked for additional funding
Bridge Historical Society (MBHS) and the and found that the Oregon Transportation
Oregon Department of Transportation, Enhancement Fund might provide it. A
McKee Bridge enthusiasts decided to apply successful application for a $62,000 grant
to the federal government for a grant to was made, and MBHS was able to raise
restore the bridge.
the $6,200 in required matching funds in
In August of 2012, the federal short order.
government awarded a grant to Jackson
The Board of Directors of MBHS
County (the owner of the bridge) in the wishes to thank all of the members and
amount of $547,048. MBHS agreed to friends of McKee Bridge for their support
raise the required $56,202 in matching and generous contributions that enabled us
funds and did so with major assistance to restore the bridge. Without your help
from Preserve Oregon and the Kinsman and support we could not have completed
Foundation, which provided grants of the project.
$20,000 and $10,000, respectively. The
Robert E. Van Heuit, President
remainder was raised with contributions
McKee Bridge Historical Society
mostly from local friends of McKee Bridge.
541-499-6132
By the end of 2013, MBHS had the
rvanh2000@yahoo.com
The Applegater welcomes
two new board members:
Richard Goodnough and
Heather Murphy
such names as Slagal (sic) and Kubli. A
baby, Richard’s grandmother, was born
to the preacher and his wife on April 4,
1885, giving Richard pioneer roots in the
Applegate Valley. One month later the
three of them continued on their trek.
Richard Goodnough
Born and raised in Lakeview, Oregon,
Richard Goodnough earned a BS degree in
applied science at Southern Oregon College
(now Southern Oregon University). In
1973, he moved to his current location
on Humbug Creek, making kitchenware
pottery in winter and fighting fires and
doing controlled burns for the US Forest
Service in summer. At some point he tired
of being a poor artist and started doing
handyman work and residential building
contracting in the Applegate.
Richard has served as a firefighter
and EMT for our local fire department
for over 30 years and served on its board
for ten years. He was also a member of the
board of Headwaters (an environmental
organization dealing with local forestry
issues) for around five years.
After having lived here for some
time, Richard learned through his family
that his great-grandfather, a traveling
preacher, wintered at Missouri Flat on his
travels from Idaho to southeastern Oregon.
While here, he performed marriages for
Heather Murphy
Heather Murphy, a native of
Pennsylvania, has been calling the
Applegate home since 1993. She studied
literature and the craft of writing at Penn
State University and currently facilitates a
weekly writers’ workshop at the Applegate
Library that is open to the public.
Heather is also a member of a poetry
group, the Applegate Poets, which was
assembled by Oregon’s fifth poet laureate,
Lawson Inada. The Applegate Poets
perform public readings on a regular basis
at local venues.
Heather resides with her family on
Thompson Creek Road.
(Don’t miss Heather’s article about
the history and controversy of “open range”
on page 5 of this issue.)
Coho extinCtion risk
increased algae blooms and decreased
oxygen in the water. Clear-cutting in
the 1970s and 1980s sent large plumes
of sediment into the waterways, further
degrading water quality. Finally, Applegate
Dam was built with no passage for salmon,
cutting off 96.12 miles of the highest
intrinsic potential habitat for coho.
All of these physical, biological
or chemical stresses are identified in
the Final SONCC Coho Recovery Plan,
and they have had the cumulative effect
of weakening the Applegate’s coho. We’ve
pushed the coho to their limit, and without
addressing these problems on a large,
watershed-wide scale, we can expect these
fish to disappear from our region. The good
news is that these are on-the-ground issues
that we can work to fix, and the majority
of these issues are on private land. This
means that the coho are reliant on us, not
the government, to fix up their creeks.
Many times, making small
from page 1
changes in your land management
around the water can have big impacts
for the wildlife that relies on it. If you
own property along the Applegate River
or any of its tributaries and want to
consider what you can do to improve coho
habitat, give me a call, and we can walk
your stretch. The Applegate Partnership
& Watershed Council is nonregulatory,
nongovernmental, and nonprofit. Often,
we can apply for grants to help fund habitat
restoration work or connect you with a
local contractor. If you live here because
of this valley’s beauty, consider doing what
you can to protect it.
Jakob Shockey • 541-890-9989
Riparian Program Manager
Applegate Partnership & Watershed Council
riparianprogram@apwc.info
Note: For a map of the current extinction risk
of coho salmon in our region, please go to the
home page of our website at www.applegater.
org (under “Latest Issue”).
Get published—
and support a good cause!
The literary arts are flourishing in the
Applegate Valley. Have you noticed? Vibrant
library programs, books being published by
Applegate authors, well-attended prose and
poetry events, readings by the Applegate Poets
group, working writers’ groups, a new showcase
of books by local writers at Art Presence Art
Center in Jacksonville with readings by featured
authors at the opening art reception—there’s
a lot going on.
Taking notice of all that, the Applegater
hatched an idea. We want to publish a book
of Applegate authors, called From the Heart of
the Applegate: Essays, Poems, and Short Fiction
by Applegate Valley Writers. The purpose is to
publish a rich, interesting anthology of works
by literary masters in the Applegate.
So we’re looking for submissions.
Interested? Here’s the scoop:
• Writers must be current Applegate Valley
residents.
• Submissions can be in three categories:
poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction.
• Writers may submit up to three poems and/
or one prose piece. Prose pieces should fall
between 800 and 2,500 words.
• Submissions should include an author’s bio
and photo.
• Photographs to accompany the submission
may be included but are not required.
• Photos must be of commercial print quality
(high resolution).
• There is no restriction on the topic.
• Previously published works are not eligible
for inclusion.
• Copyright reverts to the writer after
publication.
• Send submissions to gater@applegater.org.
• Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2015.
All proceeds will help support the
Applegater. If you have any questions, please
email gater@applegater.org. We look forward
to receiving your submissions and getting this
unique book out to the world!
Handcrafted ‘Applecrates’
for sale
The Applegater has a trade secret that we are about
to divulge. No, we not announcing a revolutionary
patent, but we have developed and organized a
manufacturing process to market a product. We’re
hoping our idea will bring some much-needed cash into
our nonprofit coffers to help fund the production and
distribution of the Applegater newsmagazine.
Our plan is to build beautiful planter or multi-use
boxes called “Applecrates,” using donated local small-
diameter wood and volunteer labor. All proceeds from
sales will help sustain the Applegater.
You can see these beautiful, sturdy, useful and
long-lasting Applecrates at Applegate Valley Realty at
935 N. Fifth Street in Jacksonville. We are looking for
additional outlets in the valley to display and sell our
Applecrates and for customers to buy or order them.
Check the Applegater’s Facebook page and website for
outlet updates.
The price of a stock planter box (see photo), which
is 12” wide x 24” long x 12” deep, is $60. Applecrate
designs can also be customized. To purchase one, get
more information, or volunteer to help, call Chris Bratt
at 541-846-6988.
Handcrafted Applecrates
available for
purchase now.
Introducing…
Greeley Wells, moviemaker
As Greeley’s involvement in time-consuming video projects
expands, he has had to relinquish other activities. So it is with regret
at his departure and gratitude for his service that the Applegater
Board of Directors accepts Greeley’s resignation from the board
to allow him to focus on his latest artistic endeavor. (To view his
videos, visit www.greeley.me.)
The Applegater board salutes Greeley, our first chairman of the board, with undying
thanks and kudos for all that he accomplished during his long reign from 2008 to 2015.
Greeley will still write his popular “Starry Side” articles and continue his association
with the Gater’s editorial committee.
Thank you, Greeley—we wish you great success.
The Applegater Board of Directors