6 Winter 2017 Applegater
— Applegate Library —
To our regret, Lisa Martin, our
Applegate librarian, has resigned.
Over the years, so many of us have
grown more deeply connected to our
library, which is clearly the center of our
rural Applegate community. In large part
thanks to Lisa, it has become our safe,
warm, inviting home away from home,
a place to pick up books and movies,
spontaneously chat with friends, use the
computers, attend an event, or be greeted
by familiar, forever friendly, smiling faces
behind the library counter or inside the
wee office.
Library patrons will miss Lisa’s genuine
greeting that was her gift to each one
of us at first sight: her bright, shining
energy, creative spirit, and assertive, yet
gentle, larger-than-life countenance. It is
an understatement to say that she will be
sorely missed.
And our Friends of the Applegate
Library meetings will lose something
terribly important without Lisa’s presence:
her ideas—for holding more events, for
raffles, for many library activities.
But beyond all, we will miss her
exuberance and honest opinions. She
deeply touched our rural community
with her inimitable humor and goodness,
this young, smart, classy woman, whose
presence we shall never forget.
A couple of months ago, Lisa attended
a class in learning to play the ukulele in
Salem and signed up our library to obtain
a ukulele learning kit, with a booklet of
instructions, a tuner, and (can you believe
it?) a ukulele! We are sharing the cost with
the branch manager in Medford to bring
the ukulele teacher from Salem to teach a
workshop in Applegate. We will advertise
the dates of the workshop and when the
ukulele learning kit will be available to
check out.
Mark your calendars for Sunday,
February 11, 2018, at 2 pm for a poetry
reading, “For the Love of Poetry,” in the
meeting room. It will last as long as the
poets can sustain their readings. There will
be refreshments and a book table featuring
works by Applegate poets.
Keep in touch with the Applegate
Library on Facebook. We will add the
programs and dates for you to share. And
join us in wishing all the best to Lisa.
Applegate Library is located at 18485
North Applegate Road, Applegate, and is
open Tuesdays and Fridays from 2 - 6 pm
and Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10
am - 2 pm.
Kristi Cowles
Joan Peterson
Friends of Applegate Library
joanpete5317@gmail.com
— Ruch Library —
Welcome Bret!  We now have our
own tech support hanging out in our
library. On Tuesdays from 10 am until
12:30 pm, Bret Fearrien is at your service,
with knowledge about tablets, smart
phones, computers, e-readers, and other
devices. Call Ruch Library to schedule an
appointment or stop by on Tuesdays. The
best kind of question is one that is asked.
Do not hesitate to call on him!
Celebration of Mind. Mark your
calendars for Saturday, October 13,
2018, when we will once again celebrate
the birthday of Martin Gardner, famous
mathematician, logician, and master of
mind games. This October we had such
an excellent program, presented by Krista
Kohler, in harmony with celebrations
throughout the world heralding this
ingenious man. Krista had activities for
people of all ages, with plenty of activities
to stump the chump. Who knew math
games could be so much fun? You will not
want to miss this next year!
The library is hopping on Tuesday
and Thursday afternoons when all eight
classes at Ruch Community School visit
the library. In an effort to acquaint the
children with the available resources,
technology, and programs, at least one visit
a month will include an activity to support
science, technology, engineering, arts, and
math (STEAM) skills. The children will
repurpose some books, create self-portraits
— Josephine Community Libraries —
Williams branch chess club
and storytime
The Williams branch of Josephine
Community Libraries hosts a chess club
every Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 5
pm. All ages and skill levels are welcome.
Chessboards and pieces are provided.
Registration is not required.
Bring the whole family to the weekly
children’s storytime and craft at 3:30
pm every Wednesday. Registration is not
required.
The library is located at 20695 Williams
Highway in Williams and is open Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 1 to 5
pm. For more information, contact branch
manager Evelyn Roether at 541-846-7020
or eroether@josephinelibrary.org.
Property owners outside
new library district can opt in
This October some property owners
saw a new tax rate on their annual tax
bill—for Josephine Community Library
District (JCLD)—at a rate of $.039 per
$1,000 assessed value. Voters approved the
formation of a library district in May 2017
for Grants Pass, Williams, Wolf Creek, and
Illinois Valley. The new tax rate is assessed
at a total of $1,358,236 for the library
district, which will allow the four branches
to stay open additional hours and improve
materials in early 2018.
Because the new library district area
is now smaller, some residents might not
see the library district on their tax bill. To
find out if your property is in the district,
visit josephinelibrary.org or co.josephine.
or.us to access the district’s interactive map.
Taxpayers who would like to add their
property to the library district may do so
through the annexation process and should
call the library to be added to the “opt in”
list for next steps. Residents of properties
within the library district do not have to
purchase a library card for full borrowing
privileges. The explanation regarding the
process for withdrawing from the district
can generally be found in ORS 198.870
to 198.882. The process requires that an
individual property owner within the
district be included for the first two years
before requesting withdrawal.
For more information about the tax
statement, call the Josephine County
Treasurer at 541-474-5235 or the
Josephine County Assessor’s office at 541-
474-5260. To be added to the library’s
annexation “opt in” list, call the Grants Pass
branch at 541-476-0571 or email info@
josephinelibrary.org.
For more information about Josephine
County libraries, contact Brandace
Rojo at 541-476-0571 x112 or brojo@
JosephineLibrary.org.
or shadow boxes about themselves, write
poetry, revisit some of the math puzzles
we shared during our Celebration of Mind
program, go on library scavenger hunts,
enjoy book and author talks, and more.
Soul Box Project.  We know that art
helps heal and can promote social change.
In November at the library we created
small origami boxes, each  to represent a
victim of gun violence such as the recent
tragedy in Las Vegas. Soul Box Project, a
national organization, will be displaying
the collection of boxes across the nation
to represent the number of victims since
2014, which is 119,833. It is hoped
that the visual displays will encourage
conversations on gun safety at home and
support strategies nationally to reduce this
tragic loss of life. Community members,
staff, and schoolchildren folded the simple
boxes with pictures from repurposed
books, sheet music, and an atlas. (For more
information about the Soul Box Project,
visit soulboxproject.org.)
Holiday book sale in the Community
Room. We are holding our Annual
Holiday Sale, with books that just might
be the perfect gift for family and friends,
on December 5, 7, and 9. It’s a wonderful
way to purchase great books without
breaking the bank and a great time of
year to introduce others to a new author,
holiday stories, decorating tips, recipes,
gardening ideas, inspiration, humor, and
more. There might even be a few stocking
stuffers and holiday treats. Plus, you are
helping to support your library and its
community programs and services. Raffle
to be announced. The sale will be open
Tuesday, December 5, from 10 am - 5 pm;
Thursday, December 7, from 1 - 7 pm; and
Saturday, December 9, from 11 am - 4 pm.
Storytime. We offer preschool story
time and a craft each Tuesday at 11:30 am.
For those children 0 - 3, we have Babies
and Wobblers, an early literacy program
that keeps the little ones dancing and
singing. It starts at 10:15 am on Tuesdays.
Bring your small friends and join us for
these fun storytimes!
Ruch Library is located at 7919
Highway 238 in Jacksonville (Ruch) and
is open Tuesdays from 10 am to 5 pm,
Thursdays from 1 to 7 pm, and Saturdays
from 11 am to 4 pm.
For more information, contact branch
manager Thalia Truesdell at 541-899-7438
or ttruedell@jcls.org.
For the Love of Poetry
A Reading by Applegate Poets
Sunday, February 11, 2018
2 to 4 pm
Book table featuring works
by Applegate Poets.
Refreshments provided.
Applegate Library, 18485 North Applegate Road, Applegate