Applegater Summer 2017
3
Community Inventory Report
Wanna go for a ride?
from the Little Applegate Valley BY BRYAN HUNTER
BY MEGAN FEHRMAN AND TOMI HAZEL
In the spring of 2014, a couple of
neighbors met to plan a series of community
meetings to map our resources using ideas
based on exercises called Community Asset
Mapping and Scenario Practices—that is,
setting up a session to record information
about the strengths and resources of a
community and then envisioning solutions
to challenges and brainstorming how to
move beyond imagined constraints. Once
community strengths and resources are
inventoried and mapped, the group can
more easily think about how to build on
their assets to address community needs
to improve the health of particular places
and environments.
Thirty folks from various neighborhoods
and farms in the Little Applegate attended
the first meeting. We recruited a local
farmer to emcee the meeting, while Megan
Fehrman and Tomi Hazel facilitated the
group process. Tomi Hazel hung up some
posters on systems and talked the group
through the concept and procedure. We all
agreed that none of the data or information
was to be photographed or posted online
and that this was just a pen-and-paper
exercise for our community.
Everyone went to work as we began
the first of two poster-making sessions. In
the first round, groups worked together by
place—each farm or homestead teamed
with neighbors to jot down, on the ten
posters, resources they had, thus starting
to map the assets that the community held.
They had five minutes per poster, and the
categories ranged from local businesses,
nonprofits and community organizations,
skills and knowledge, equipment,
natural resources, transportation, and
communication
systems.
In the second
session, we broke
into groups
based on interest
areas, with each
group analyzing
just one of the
pos t e rs . Folks
began clumping
the information
into bubbles
on a new piece
of poster paper
and then looking
to see how the
bubbles related
to each other. Lines were drawn between
bubbles, with action words on the lines or
where the intersection of bubbles suggested
places of overlap and collaboration. We did
all this in about two hours.
Two months later we gathered again.
We hung the 20-plus posters in two
parallel lines so that folks could tour the
first meeting’s work. Then we brainstormed
what was missing—were there other
categories that seemed crucial to have on
the map? What actionable projects leaped
out of the information? Where could we go
from here? Several committees formed to
work on new categories or to move forward
with the obvious projects. A bulletin board
at Buncom, a bus stop at Crump, and a
farm store at Yale Creek Ranch made the
agenda. Several small businesses in our
valley talked about sharing bulk buying
and about recycling by-products between
operations. We could share event calendars
and set up better communication systems.
There was a lot of enthusiasm for this
community inventory process, and some
of the projects have seen some progress. We
are now planning our next meeting for late
spring or early summer of 2017.
Talking about this experience with
folks from around the Applegate generated
interest from other neighborhoods. We
hope that this report encourages and
enables other community inventories or,
at the very least, encourages some mutual
exchange among residents in the various
drainages of our eclectic valley.
Megan Fehrman
mefehrman@gmail.com
Tomi Hazel
tomihazel@earthlink.net
■ ED REILLY
Continued from page 2
efficiency, analytically unpacking tough
issues, pragmatically solving problems.
Sharing recipes and travel stories,
trading gardening tips and produce,
talking art and ecology—these are some
of my favorite memories with Ed. With
confidence, I know this perspective is not
uniquely mine. What a treat, what an
honor, to have known you, Ed. You will
be missed.
Jena Volpe • jvolpe@blm.gov
it was the mid-1990s), maps showing
ownership of all the government agencies
and industrial and private properties did
not exist. Nor were there maps showing
all roads, streams, riparian areas, proposed
timber sales, etc. These maps were a
wealth of information to those who were
interested.
My many conversations over the years
with Ed started with me requesting maps
or articles I hoped to get from him for
the paper and often ended talking about
music. He was the only person I knew who
was into the band Government Mule more
than me—Ed had seen them in concert
multiple times. Ed was the man, and I
know he’s still rockin’.
J.D. Rogers
541-846-7736
Ed Reilly was the man I’d go to at
the US Forest Service for detailed maps
of the Applegate watershed to run in
the Applegater. Before that time (I think
— A P O L O G I E S —
Melvin Guches, younger brother of the late Chuck Guches,
should have been mentioned in the obituary that ran in the spring Applegater.
We apologize for the omission.
Wanna go for a
ride…on your bike?
Now that spring
is here, you may
enjoy some pedaling
pleasures—around
the block, on
nearby mountain
trails, or across
town. The simple
joys of coasting
d ow n h i l l s a n d
cruising through
the landscape are
a delight for us all.
But be careful—
cycling can be
dangerous! Cars and
trucks driven by distracted folks don’t mix
well with two-wheelers, partly because
we’re not all aware of some of the “Rules
of the Road.”
I’ve recently learned two unobvious
legalities regarding cars and bikes. First,
when passing a cyclist, the car driver is
required to stay six feet from the bicycle
rider (I think it’s so that if the rider falls
over, the car won’t run over the rider).
“Hold on,” you may say, “to do so would
make me cross the double yellow line
and that’s illegal!” Which brings me to
the second Road Rule: when passing a
cycler, pedestrian, horse, etc., you need
to maintain that six-foot clearance so you
are allowed, in fact required, to cross the
double yellow line when safe and oncoming
traffic permits. Astonishing, right?
Did you know that bicyclists are
forbidden to ride against traffic, on
sidewalks, and in crosswalks? And, of
course, when we’re on our bikes, we must
abide by all traffic laws. Given the laws of
momentum, gravity, and inertia, it can be
difficult to adhere to the nuances of stop
signs and red lights, but they’re important
signposts for safety and civility. And at
night, please have lights front and rear!
Some years ago, at sundown in Williams,
I was struck from behind by a beater car
with one misaligned headlight (and me
with no bike lights…). I miraculously
■ RAT RACE
Continued from page 1
room, plenty of parking, lots of landing
going on (depending on the task for the
day), and, of course, wine.” He adds that
the organizers of the event try to keep
bystanders at only those mentioned places
“due to potential traffic-accident issues and
massive overcrowding and transportation
issues at top launch.”
So choose your spot and take a folding
chair, your favorite smart device, and this
issue of the Applegater to reference the
following:
• For local event information: facebook.
com/RatRacePG/
• Fo r a l i ve b ro a d c a s t o f t h e
event: mphsports.com/media/ustream.
html. This site may have live updates on the
track logs from the GPS tracking devices
the paragliders use.
• For a live view of the race: xcfind.
paraglide.us/map.html?id=59. Typically
many of the pilots also have their GPS
device postings here. You can view their
routes overlaid with geographical imagery
and the roads to get your bearings.
• For past photos: Go to Flickr and
search for “Rat Race Paragliding.” This
URL will get you started: flickr.com/
search/?text=rat%20race%20paragliding.
Norm explains that the event is judged
by several criteria, including hitting
waypoints, coming in first to the goal
location, and not jumping the start
Bryan Hunter and daughter Hazel across from
Williams Store in downtown Williams.
survived with limited injuries. A perfect
storm of ignorance and poverty, I suppose,
when I failed to glance back at the jalopy
or move farther away into the gravel.
Some 15 years have elapsed, and I’m
still riding, now with lights and extreme
caution, enjoying the thrill evermore. Most
of the time cars are respectful of me in the
road, but it only takes one time to wind
up splattered. And while most of the roads
are safely navigable with the shoulder, there
are some treacherous spots!
So, a handful of us have embarked on
the process of attaining some bike lanes
in our Williams Valley. Our first phase
will connect our downtown area from
the post office/general store to Williams
Elementary School, a distance of two-
tenths of a mile. We envision a lane for
biking, walking, horses, and more on
each side of the street. We’re working on a
number of feasible designs in conjunction
with Josephine County Public Works,
Oregon Department of Transportation,
and other bicycle advocacy groups.
Stay tuned for our progress as we
turn the wheels of safe and enjoyable
nonmotorized travel. And keep your eyes
alert for those of us not in solid metal one-
ton vehicles with seat belts!
If you’ve a passion for bike lanes in
Williams, join us.
Bryan Hunter • 541-846-9443
Rat Race photo by Julie Gever, flickr.com.
cylinder before the race begins. All this
information is officially judged once
contestants have uploaded their tracks
from the GPS devices. “No maneuvers
are encouraged,” Norm says. “That sort
of thing occurs at Lost Creek Lake during
the later summer months and involves tow
up by boat to maximize altitude, then,
after release from the tow line, acrobatic
maneuvers during the free flight down.”
Some paragliding trivia: (1) Paragliding
was developed and named by NASA. (2)
The oldest female paraglider, according
to Wikipedia, is Peggy McAlpine from
Northern Cyprus, who took to the sky at
the age of 104 from a 2,400-foot peak. (3)
Paragliding is not hang gliding (framed-
wing design) or parasailing (a parachute).
(4) It is not as dangerous as it looks as
long as the paraglider avoids bad weather
conditions. But Norm admits that, if your
gear fails, the thing to do is “throw your
laundry [reserve parachute]…and pray.”
David Dobbs
LDDobbs@yahoo.com
