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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
1 Winter 2019 Applegater Photo by Linda Kappen • applegater.org WINTER 2019 Applegate Valley Community Newsmagazine Volume 12, No. 4 Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 13,000 Celebrating Years BLM opens new park in the Applegate BY TOM CARSTENS You might have heard a rumor that Josephine County is opening a new park near Provolt. Well, that rumor’s false. What’s really happening is that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) just opened a new recreation site at the old Provolt Seed Orchard at 14171 Williams Highway. The site lies along the banks of the Applegate River near its confluence with Williams Creek, where Samuel and Mary Provolt settled in 1895. Technically BLM can’t call it a “park”— in the federal system that takes an act of Congress. So BLM is calling it a “recreation area.” (Maybe we can call it a “park.”) Whatever it’s called, the site has been a big hit right from the start. Opening the third weekend in October, the park welcomed over 100 visitors, including a ton of bird watchers. In 1982 BLM bought the 294 acres of farmland to use as a high-quality seed production site to replace Douglas fir and some sugar pine after wildfires and timber harvests. Having fulfilled its purpose, the site was decommissioned after 32 years. In 2016, BLM came out with a big new recreation plan that included the seed orchard property. To its credit, BLM sought advice from the Applegate Valley community. The Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council (APWC) took the lead in marshaling the suggestions that came pouring in. BLM then took these ideas and designed a recreation site to accommodate many types of uses. This year and last, they held several public meetings to further refine the details. In May, after the Grants Pass Field Office signed off on the final plan, BLM employees got to work. Under the direction of Todd Neville, the Grants Pass assistant field manager for recreation, they’ve made a lot of progress to get the site ready for visitors. Trails. Already BLM has converted most of the site’s existing road system to 2.5 miles of beautiful trails for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. River access. Several access points are available for swimmers and anglers, and a nice gravel ramp was built to accommodate paddlers and floaters. Day use. Eight picnic tables have been placed on lovely shaded sites along the river. Portable toilets are strategically located. There are two parking areas. Wildlife watching. The site is rampant with wildlife. Visitors have viewed See PROVOLT PARK, page 15. Top photo, left: Sean Crandall from Murphy fishes for the big one. Top photo, right: The pond at the park is prime habitat for the western pond turtle. It is also for the enjoyment of anglers. (Rumor has it that there are bass in there.) Photos: Tom Carstens. Bottom photo: A trio of equestrians enjoys the trails available for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. Photo: Christina Beslin. A good designer will make your business look good Applegate caterers dish up holiday advice BY DIANA COOGLE BY HALEY MAY PETERSON An essential part of business has always been its “design”— the visuals that present the business to the public. Think about the signs hanging outside English pubs. In days gone by, these street signs were “brand recognition” for places of commerce. Since the emergence of the internet and social media, a business’s website has become that street sign. Businesses seek artists who specialize in online design: websites, social media pages, logos that stand out in a digitized world. Today, says Ann Designers Ann Nguyen and Noel Ruiz, of Idyllwild Studio, Nguyen (pronounced “Win”), at the Oregon Country Fair. of Idyllwild Studio in the Applegate, “websites are the storefront.” Marketing and Design; and Gregg Payne, a Applegate artists who do design— designer and sculptor who lives in Ruch— such as Noel Ruiz and Ann Nguyen of must consider the same kinds of things a See APPLEGATE DESIGNERS, page 22. Idyllwild Studio; Laurel Briggs, of Creative Holidays are of pho (a rich noodle soup) synonymous with food. But and banh xeo (rice crepes between arranging lodging, filled with mung beans, accommodating restricted pork, and shrimp). diets, and struggling But for him, holidays with colds and flus, we are about more than food; sometimes don’t feel like they are about reveling cooking. Luckily, when in togetherness. that happens, we can call on Especially as you get some great catering services older, these times are in our valley. a precious opportunity Chef James Daw to reconnect. Chef James Daw of The Perfect Bite is run This year, he urges you The Perfect Bite. to remember that the meal by Chef James Daw, who believes in fresh food that is “just food” so be kind is full of life, inspired by the Chinese term to yourself! There’s a lot of self-induced “wok hei,” or the “breath of the wok.” pressure, perhaps from television shows Working onsite, he services birthdays, that make cooking look effortless. The real work parties, and buffets, from intimate challenge is time-management, so don’t dinners to weddings. over-complicate. He is always willing to Holidays remind James of his mother’s take a call if you get into a bind. He also See HOLIDAY CATERING, page 4. Vietnamese spread with copious amounts Local Postal Customer Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Permit #125 Medford OR ECRWSSEDDM ISSUE HOLIDAY - ARTS