SOU’s theater program is bursting at the seams
Daily Tidings April 30, 2013
Illegal immigrant will get driver’s license and “full-ride scholarship” to SOU’s Honors College
Mail Tribune May 1, 2013
Conference at SOU will explore generational differences and bias in the workplace
Mail Tribune May 2, 2013
Celso Machado this Saturday in SOU’s Music Recital Hall
Mail Tribune May 2, 2013

Online

SOU recognized for commitment to sustainability
The Siskiyou April 29, 2013
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2013/04/29/sou-recognized-for-commitment-to-sustainability/

Broadcast

SOU Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Development Erin Wilder says preschools need better funding
KOBI 5 April 29, 2013

Raiders

Raiders wrap football practice with annual spring game Friday night
SOU Raiders April 30, 2013
https://www.souraiders.com/news/2013/4/30/FB_0430131412.aspx
Raiders offensive coordinator Ken Fasnacht thinks Tim Tebow still has a career in the NFL
Sporting News April 30, 2013

Full version of print clips

SOU theater program bursting at the seams
Popular program has no problem attracting talented students
By Vickie Aldous
Ashland Daily Tidings
April 30, 2013 2:00 AM
Southern Oregon University’s Theatre Arts Program is garnering praise from theater professionals, even as it turns away students because of a lack of space.
Built in 1982, the Theatre Arts building was designed to accommodate 60 students.
The building now hosts 250 theater majors, said Program Coordinator Deborah Rosenberg.
Each year, 120 students want to get into the program but only 65 are admitted, she said.
“We only have two actual classrooms. We teach in the lobby. Kids rehearse in the bathroom,” Rosenberg said.
The theater program needs $11 million to remodel its building and add classrooms, bathrooms, rehearsal space and other facilities, she said.
But with tight state funding for higher education needs, faculty members and students don’t have high expectations that the money will come through.
The university is also seeking donors for the building remodel, Rosenberg said.
In the meantime, theater professionals in Ashland are praising SOU’s students and a program that turns out well-rounded graduates.
“They are hard-working young people,” said Oregon Shakespeare Festival Director of Company Development Scott Kaiser, who crisscrosses the country scouting universities for theater talent. “Most are putting themselves through school by working. They take classes by day and do shows at night.”
Veteran OSF actor Michael Hume, who has directed students in SOU plays and taught in classrooms, said the students are hard-working, focused and savvy.
Last year, several aspiring stage managers in the SOU program asked him to write letters of recommendation, he said.
“I was able to say, ‘These will be professional stage managers,'” Hume said.
Rosenberg said students are required to study multiple aspects of theater.
“We expect every student to understand all of theater,” she said.
That helps break down the cliques and hierarchy that can develop in a theater company, and also creates multi-skilled graduates, she said.
“We have actors learning to sew for the first time. We have costume designers take acting and understand how scary it is to be on stage,” Rosenberg said.
Some students who come into the program expecting to focus on one area, such as acting, discover they have talents in another specialty, such as costume design, she said.
The students take classes and also work on the six plays that SOU produces each year, Rosenberg said.
In a recent makeup class, aspiring actors, lighting designers, costume designers, technical directors and singers all practiced how to apply makeup to transform themselves into animals.
In a previous class, they became aliens, and in an upcoming class, they will replicate the blood and gore of wounds.
Senior Alex Groveman had dark circles around his eyes and had created the look of fur with makeup. He held up his source of inspiration, a photo of a snarling raccoon.
His classmates offered critiques of the results, with instructor Rosenberg guiding the discussion.
“Good luck with that rabies,” Rosenberg told Groveman.
“Thank you,” he responded. “I’m heading to the vet later.”
Senior Laurel Livezey had given herself a wrinkled muzzle and brow, replicating the look of a pug dog.
She said acting is her main focus, but she’s gained experience in all aspects of theater.
“Theater is so much more collaborative than people tell you,” Livezey said. “You really have to know what each side goes through. I’ve been up in the catwalks adjusting lights. As an actor, I know how much work went into this one light that’s hitting me. I know how much pressure everyone is under. It’s empathy — knowing what everyone is going through and respecting that.”
Senior Delaney Matson had turned herself into a “Planet of the Apes”-worthy chimpanzee.
She said she is learning the intricacies of a variety of jobs, including costume design and stage management.
“I love it here. It’s really great. I like that they’re training us to be professionals, even though we’re students,” Matson said. “They expect us to be just as professional as they are.”
The next productions to take the stage at SOU are “Avenue Q,” from May 16 through June 2, and “The Illusion,” from May 23 through June 2.
Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.

OSF and SOU forge theater links
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University’s Theatre Arts Program have forged a relationship that sends dozens of students and theater professionals back and forth between the two institutions.
Students are funneled into internships and acting roles at OSF, while actors, directors, stage combat experts, voice instructors and others teach classes and help with SOU plays.
OSF Director of Company Development Scott Kaiser — who scouts universities across America for theater talent and also heads OSF’s actor training program — said SOU is unique.
“It’s our local feeder department. We have relationships with schools all over the country, but we have a special relationship with SOU because they’re right down the street,” Kaiser said.
He said he auditions SOU seniors who are ready for a significant commitment to OSF.
Many universities in large urban areas have ties to their local professional theater companies. SOU is able to have ties with a world-class theater company even though it’s not in a big city, Kaiser said.
That ends up benefitting SOU students, he said.
“We’re building a bridge for them between college experience and a professional career or graduate school,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser has directed at SOU, making him one of many OSF company members who has directed or taught at the university.
“Not only do they come to OSF, we go down the street. It goes in both directions,” he said.
OSF actor Michael Hume, who has directed productions at SOU, said in the 1990s, there were only a few SOU students at OSF.
“Now we have 30 or 40 kids down here,” said Hume, noting that they can be found working in stage management, acting, design, dramaturgy, lighting, sound, carpentry, the costume shop and many other areas.
Hume credited the community-oriented focus of OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch for much of the increase.
Rauch became artistic director for OSF in 2007 and is co-leader of the theater company with new Executive Director Cynthia Rider.
Hume said OSF company members enjoy having the SOU students around because of their youthful energy and enthusiasm.
With the two institutions in such close proximity, it makes sense to build ties, he said.
“To me, it’s the perfect marriage,” Hume said.

A license to drive
Driver’s card bill for illegal immigrants passes Oregon House, expected to be signed by governor
By John Darling
for the Mail Tribune
May 01, 2013 2:00 AM
A driver’s licensing program for illegal immigrants that passed the Oregon House of Representatives Tuesday would have been a welcome gift for Luis Ayala of Medford — if it had come a couple of years ago.
Ayala has to walk, take buses and grab rides with friends, but will finally get his license and a small, inexpensive car when he turns 18 in July. At the same time, he will be preparing to start his studies at Southern Oregon University’s Honors College.
A perfect 4.0 student at South Medford High School, he was awarded a full-ride scholarship by SOU. He plans on a medical career and hopes to become an optometrist.
“It’s hard for me to get places. I have to ask for rides. I walk a mile to school. I’m too close for the school bus,” Ayala said Tuesday, following a driving lesson with his cousin. “It’s unfair. A license is a right in this country. It’s like something was taken away from me. I felt less than others.”
Ayala came to America in the sixth grade and, he said, was determined to excel in school, make friends, volunteer and master English in two years. He accomplished all those goals.
“I came here for self-improvement,” he said. “I didn’t have many friends. I put so much effort into the language and school. I mentored and tutored language at Kids Unlimited.
“We come to this country to work and get better schooling, not to make problems — and we need to drive to have a better life.”
Ayala will be able to get a driver’s license this summer, a half-year before the new driver’s cards will be available, because he was accepted into a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a federally authorized pathway to work permits and driving for children of illegal aliens.
The driver’s card bill, which earlier passed the Senate and on Tuesday passed the House, 38-20, is expected to be signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber. It grants driving rights for four years for a fee of $64. Supporters from both parties say it will make streets safer because applicants have to learn the rules of the road and pass a driving test — and the card makes it possible for them to get insurance.
Opponents have said the bill provides a benefit that should be available only to those in the country legally and ignores the immigrants’ law-breaking.
The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2014, opening the way for up to an estimated 110,000 unlicensed drivers to get cards in the first 18 months. Those applying must have proof of residency and have lived here for a year.
The card cannot be used to register to vote, board a plane or purchase a firearm. The restricted driver’s license would be marked “Driver’s Card” to distinguish it from a standard Oregon license.
The driver’s card will guarantee more drivers on the road are trained and insured, said Medford State Farm agent Oscar Rodriguez, a 26-year legal immigrant.
“That’s the big issue, rather than who’s a legal immigrant,” he said. “They have to make sure and pass the tests so they’re going to have to learn to drive properly.”
The bill wipes out the 2008 state rule requiring proof of legal residency in the country for a driver’s license, an act that made it difficult for many immigrant families to get to work, school or shopping, said Dagoberto Morales of Unete Center for Farmworker Advocacy in Medford.
“This is a big relief for everyone,” said Morales. “We’ll be able to get to work and take the children to school. It will be big revenue for the state. People have been driving in fear, afraid to lose their car if they’re driving without a license. … Now, they’ll be able to feel more secure and comfortable. It’s a really good thing for people.”
His wife, Kathy Keesee, a Unete worker, said the 2008 law caused “a lot of suffering,” including deportations. Previously licensed illegal immigrants could not renew or replace an expired or lost license under the law, she said, and some were sold fraudulent insurance.
“Now, hopefully, all this is going to change,” she said.
Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau said illegal immigrants without licenses will continue to be cited if stopped by police until they get driver’s cards in January. Police do not check drivers for immigration status during traffic stops, he added.
All opposing votes on the bill in both chambers were Republicans, though several supported it.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland. “It makes sure everyone on the road in Oregon is licensed, insured and driving legally. It’s been fascinating to see the change of opinion in Oregon, where agricultural interests say they need these people here and they need them driving safely.”
The son of legal immigrants, Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, opposed the bill.
“They broke the law getting in the country, broke the law working, broke the law driving and broke the law by being uninsured. … I don’t see where the card makes them buy insurance. Let’s face the facts. They’re not going to buy it.”
After polling constituents online, Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, said he found himself torn.
“The issue is: Are we promoting illegal action for people who are already breaking the law? It’s not a black-and-white world anymore. You’re dealing with real people with real families, but if they crash (under present law), they’re off the hook and our premiums go up.”
When driver’s cards were made legal in Utah and New Mexico, they chopped uninsured driving by one-half and two-thirds, respectively, according to Richardson’s online message.
Richardson voted against the measure.
Most of the new revenue from driver’s cards — $4.7 million — will go toward hiring six full-time workers and 58 temporary workers to handle applications in the first 18 months.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.

Conference explores generational differences and bias in the workplace
The free, daylong workshop is set for May 10 at Southern Oregon University
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
May 02, 2013 2:00 AM
Melissa Wolff is an astute person who keeps tabs on generational changes and social bias.
After all, she is a member of the Oregon Department of Human Services’ Diversity Committee for Jackson and Josephine counties. She is also the department’s local program manager for self-sufficiency.
But she recently got a lesson in communications etiquette from the younger generation.
“I was informed the other day by one of my children that, ‘Mom, it is so rude that you call me — you interrupt me,’ ” Wolff said. “From my perspective they should pick up the phone right away. From their perspective, they would prefer that I text them when they are in the middle of a college class or whatever.”
The incident illustrates the generational differences we all experience, observed Wolff, 41, a member of Generation X. Her children, ages 18 and 20, are of the text-savvy Millennial Generation.
Those differences are among many issues to be tackled in “Unconscious Bias and Generational Differences in the Workplace,” a day-long conference scheduled for Friday, May 10, at Southern Oregon University in Ashland.
The free event in Stevenson Union will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is from 8 to 9 a.m. that day.
The workshop will feature Carol French and April Lewis, educators and diversity trainers who engage audiences with humor, fun and provide an interactive learning experience, according to organizers.
The morning workshop will focus on unconscious bias, including how to lessen its impact on personal and professional levels. The afternoon workshop will explore generational differences, both personally and organizationally. Participants will learn how to develop strategies for improving inclusion, harmony and synergy in a multigenerational working environment.
The conference is being organized by the Oregon Department of Human Services, ACCESS, Rogue Community College, SOU, United Way of Jackson County, Southern Oregon Goodwill, OnTrack, Jackson County Health and Human Services and RCC’s Diversity Programming Board.
About 400 participants are expected, although there is room for 500, Wolff said.
“We encourage anyone interested in the different generations to attend to learn more about the differences and how unconscious bias plays a part in how we interact with each other,” she said, noting that most workplaces represent a myriad of values, beliefs and work ethics.
A bias against a group of people can be very detrimental in a workplace, she said.
“It is the way we are as human beings to organize information and make decisions quickly based on that,” she said. “It is normal to have bias.
“However, in order to be open to people, we have to be aware we might be acting on some sort of bias that is either conscious or below the level of consciousness,” she added.
Understanding the point of view of others improves workplace efficiency and cohesion, she said.
Events in a person’s life shape that person’s view of the world, she noted.
“If you are working with somebody from a different generation, you need to be aware of that to be able to work effectively together,” she said.
“Let’s say I’m a member of the Silent Generation (those born from 1920 to 1942) and have generalized feelings about Millennials (those born from 1983 to 2000) coming into the workplace who are maybe more collaborative and not as interested in hierarchy as I am,” she said.
“If you develop a personal relationship with somebody from the Millennial Generation, that helps you let go of that bias,” she added.
To register for the conference, call Margaret Wales at 541-776-6172, ext. 705. Although there is no charge for the conference, participants are requested to bring three cans of food to be donated to ACCESS.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or email him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.

Celso Machado at Southern Oregon University
May 02, 2013 10:50 AM
Composer, guitarist and percussionist Celso Machado will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, in the Music Recital Hall on the Southern Oregon University campus, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland.
Machado’s music is a mix of European, African, Portuguese and Brazilian styles of jazz, classical and folk. Rooted in Brazilian rhythms, it also reflects his fascination with other world-music traditions. He finds similarities in the music of southern Italy and northeast Brazil; Egyptian maqsoum and Portuguese baiao; Moroccan rhythms and the Brazilian instrument afoxe and samba dancing. He blends all of these influences into his own sound, creating a unique contribution to the evolution of Brazilian music.
“If there ever was one person who could be described as being music, it is the Brazilian Machado,” wrote Tom D’Antoni, contributing editor for Oregon Music News, about Machado’s 2010 performance in Portland. “He played guitar, ngoni, drums, flutes and other assorted little instruments. “… He created a rainforest in the theater, complete with bird calls and a rainstorm. “… He isn’t a one-man band, he’s a one-man symphony.”
Drawing on his study of classical guitar, Machado composes for solo and ensemble. He has performed in music halls around the world for 40 years.
Tickets cost $15 general admission, are free for students, and may be purchased at the SOU Performing Arts box office on South Mountain Avenue, by calling 541-552-6348.
SOU coordinator: Tebow still has NFL future
Raider offensive coordinator remembers Tebow form high school days in Florida
By Ken Bradley
Sporting News
April 30, 2013 2:00 AM
The New York Jets don’t think Tim Tebow has a future with them, and certainly there are a number of other teams and coaches who feel the same way.
But Tebow has picked up plenty of believers along his career path, and there’s at least one who still thinks the 25-year-old lefty has a future in the NFL: Southern Oregon University offensive coordinator Ken Fasnacht.
“The day I met him and saw him throw the first time — even sitting down for the first time and talking ball with him — I knew he was going to be an NFL football player … at quarterback,” said Fasnacht, who was Tebow’s offensive coordinator at Nease High School.
Under head coach Craig Howard and Fasnacht, SOU led the NAIA in scoring (52.8 points) and total offense (642.0) in 2012.
“I still think he should be a quarterback in the NFL,” said Fasnacht. “I just think that league is spoiled, doesn’t coach those guys. If he’s not ready to go, if they have to work on something, they don’t want to fix anything. They want him already ready to go. I knew he’d play quarterback in the NFL and I still think he can.”
Fasnacht and then-Nease head coach Howard put the St. Augustine, Fla., high school on the map with their high-powered, throw-it-all-over-the-field offense led by Tebow.
Tebow arrived at Nease as a sophomore, and Fasnacht said it was obvious from Day 1 that he was a different sort of athlete.
“The kid wanted to be a quarterback since he was a little kid,” said Fasnacht in an interview prior to Tebow’s release Monday. “Football was not his sport — playing quarterback was his sport. He was a very focused individual.”
Tebow led the Panthers to their first state title in 2005 as a senior. In three seasons at Nease, he threw for 9,810 yards and 95 touchdowns and ran for 3,186 yards and another 62 scores.
Fasnacht says those numbers and those wins didn’t come with luck. He recalled the first time he watched Tebow throw before spring practice of his sophomore season in 2003.
“He’s out throwing balls, having fun, and we have nine kids that think they can play receiver at that point and none of them are very good at the time,” Fasnacht said. “He’s throwing balls, and I remember that I don’t think I saw a kid catch one because they were coming in so hard, zipping in like a real quarterback, bouncing off kids’ chests. I told coach that we needed to find some receivers because this guy can throw it.”
And despite being released Monday by the Jets and traded by the Broncos to make room for Peyton Manning prior to last season, Fasnacht doesn’t think that’s it for him.
“They talk about an elongated throwing motion, and he has a little bit of a pitcher’s delivery, but he didn’t throw like that in high school,” he said. “He was a very tight delivery guy. I think part of it is because (Florida) had an offense where he was such a good runner. He threw for a lot of yards at Florida, too. … Percy Harvin caught a lot of touchdown passes. All those guys caught balls in that system.
“But I think you let bad habits form because he was such a runner and nobody paid attention to coaching him on the passing game and I still think it’s that way in the NFL.
“Part of it, too, is they over-coach it. Leave his throwing motion alone — just make him go through reads and progressions, throw the ball on time and some of that stuff fixes itself. There’s so much attention brought to it that it’s even in his head now. I think if one guy just said, ‘Timmy, you’re going to be a great quarterback,’ he’d be fine.”

Print
‘New direction” sought in SOU program study
Mail Tribune November 15, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121115/NEWS/211150313
Authorities serve search warrant at SOU family housing unit in connection with murder investigation
Mail Tribune November 15, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121115/NEWS/211150309
 
SOU students undaunted by pay scale study
November 13, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121113/NEWS/211130309
 
SOU student Simon Brooks. miraculously survives skateboard accident, urges skateboarders to wear helmet
Mail Tribune November 12, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121112/NEWS/211120304
 
Former Oregon secretary of state to discuss climate change at SOU tonight
Daily Tidings November 13, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121113/NEWS02/211130309/-1/NEWSMAP
Iranian to speak at SOU next week about his country’s future
Daily Tidings November 14, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121114/NEWS02/211140304/-1/NEWSMAP
 
Hal Cloer, SOU emeritus professor of psychology
Daily Tidings November 14, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121114/NEWS14/311149998/-1/NEWSMAP
Broadcast
 
Apartment in SOU family housing complex is searched as part of murder investigation
KOBI 5 November 15, 2012
https://www.kobi5.com/news/local-news/item/3-search-warrants-and-new-life-in-the-david-grubbs-murder-investigation.html
 
SOU Associate Professor of psychology Doug Smith on the problem of bullying
KOBI 5 November 15, 2012
https://www.kobi5.com/news/local-news/item/bullying-part-2.html
 
Raiders
SOU’s football opponent this Saturday has a similar story to the Raiders
Mail Tribune November 15, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121115/SPORTS/211150327/-1/SPORTS
 
 
Full version of print clips
‘New direction’ sought in SOU program study
Faculty, staff to evaluate current offerings with a focus on establishing priorities
By Sam Wheeler
for the Mail Tribune
November 15, 2012 2:00 AM
Southern Oregon University is embarking on a yearlong effort to evaluate and prioritize its academic programs and student support services to take a “new direction” academically and to ensure an optimal future for the institution, according to an SOU official leading the effort.
Two teams of about 20 faculty and staff members are carrying out most of the work, said Dan DeNeui, a psychology professor at SOU who is overseeing the effort.
The plan was announced to the campus community Nov. 6, a day after SOU President Mary Cullinan selected the two prioritization teams, DeNeui said.
The teams are slated to provide recommendations to Cullinan before June, according to a website established to disseminate information about the process to the campus community.
The university is still defining many of the details surrounding the effort, and the teams have yet to meet, said Chris Stanek, director of institutional research at SOU, who is overseeing the effort with DeNeui.
“We’re establishing priorities at the university “… this is not a cost-cutting type of initiative or endeavor,” said Stanek. “It’s a matter of making sure all of the programs that we have are the ones that we should have. “… We want to know where we would best be suited to put our resources in alignment with our new vision.”
The prioritization plan does not rule out cutting programs or services, according to the website.
DeNeui said the effort is a proactive response to the changing landscape of higher education in the United States — the ways in which it’s made available to students, and how it’s being funded.
“We’re consistently confronted with a pretty strong reality that we are going to continue to face budget challenges “… state support is always dwindling,” said DeNeui. “What we’ve decided to do is look at ways that we can transform the university to make us sustainable, and to make us attractive to students.”
Other initiatives that are part of the effort include strengthening ties between SOU and the Higher Education Center in Medford, remodeling SOU’s general education classes, bolstering student job opportunities on campus and developing a new four-year “house,” a program that groups students from their freshman through senior years for collaborative academic work and research.
“We’re trying to take one big look at all of our programs … and we’re going to try to create some consistent metrics to evaluate their relative contribution to the university,” said DeNeui. “We have to look at who we are, what we do and how we can do it better, and what we can do strategically to make the university distinct and recognized nationally, while still serving the needs of our regional students “… we’re breaking down the traditional barriers of higher education.”
Reach Ashland Daily Tidings reporter Sam Wheeler at 541-499-1470 or email swheeler@dailytidings.com
 
Authorities hunt Grubbs’ killer
Tip leads about a half-dozen agencies to search for evidence in David Michael Grubbs murder
By Sam Wheeler
for the Mail Tribune
November 15, 2012 2:00 AM
 
Police served three search warrants in Ashland and on the outskirts of Talent Wednesday looking for evidence related to the nearly year-old investigation into the brutal murder of David Grubbs.
Ashland police Chief Terry Holderness, who is leading the investigation, said police were acting on a tip but declined to say whether they were looking for anything specific or what may have been found during the searches.
Holderness also declined to comment on whether a suspect had been identified in the case.
“We obviously have somebody in mind or we wouldn’t be serving search warrants,” Holderness said.
“Just because we’re searching doesn’t mean the person who did this lives at one of these locations,” he added. “We’ve issued several search warrants in this case already.”
About 50 police and search and rescue volunteers from across the region, using dogs and armed with diving gear and metal detectors, combed over wide fields and thick blackberry patches on an 18-acre parcel at 225 W. Rapp Road Wednesday morning. They searched a home, old barns and sheds, junk piles and an irrigation pond on the property.
Leonard Parrish, who owns the home with his wife, Sally Parrish, wasn’t present when searchers arrived at about 10:30 a.m.
 
“That’s my property, and I don’t have a clue what’s going on,” he said early in the search, adding he was on his way to the property.
Neighbors said the Parrishes were a nice family and cared for grandchildren at the home.
“What I know of them, they are really nice people,” said neighbor Michele Bashaw, 59.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Jackson County Search and Rescue, Talent and Medford police departments, Klamath and Siskiyou county sheriff’s offices, Oregon State Police and FBI agents assisted in the search on Rapp Road, Holderness said.
In Ashland, about a half-dozen Ashland police and Southern Oregon University campus public safety officers searched an apartment at 72 Wightman St., just a few blocks from where Grubbs was murdered, starting just before noon. The apartment is part of SOU’s family student housing complex.
Phone records list Rebecca Jeanne Doran, 44, as a resident at the apartment, which a neighbor confirmed. It was unclear Wednesday how Doran might be related to the Parrishes, but she owns a 2006 Jeep Wagon registered to the 225 W. Rapp Road address, according to Driver and Motor Vehicle records. Phone and court records list her as a resident at the Rapp Road address as recently as 2011.
 
Serving another warrant, police seized a vehicle from the Ashland residence, said Kip Keeton, APD community service officer, but he declined to say who the vehicle belonged to or what type it was.
Grubbs was 23 when he was killed with a bladed weapon on Nov. 19, 2011, while walking home at dusk from his job at Shop’n Kart.
His body was found on the Central Ashland Bike Path near Hunter Park by a passer-by less than 30 minutes after he was murdered, police said.
Reach reporter Sam Wheeler at 541-499-1470 or email swheeler@dailytidings.com. Reporters Mark Freeman and Mandy Valencia contributed to this story.
 
SOU students undaunted by pay scale study
By John Darling
for the Mail Tribune
November 13, 2012 2:00 AM
In a survey of earnings of graduates from 95 West Coast colleges, Southern Oregon University has been ranked near the bottom at number 88, with grads in full-time employment earning an average starting pay of $37,000 and a mid-career income of $67,100.
Scientific and technical schools crowded the top ranks of the survey by PayScale College Salary Report, with Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls at No. 26 with starting incomes of $54,400 and mid-career salaries averaging $86,900.
Unfazed by the ranking, SOU spokesman Jim Beaver said the school attracts its students because it’s not a specialized science school but epitomizes the idea of liberal arts, with students able to get an “accessible and affordable” education at a place that’s “a college for everyone.”
Junior Lily Hammer, a business major, agreed.
Emerging from the Lenn Hannon Library on campus, she said, “I like SOU because it is liberal arts. It’s well-rounded and you can be involved in the community and lots of classes outside your major. It makes you a better candidate for jobs, in my opinion.”
Anthropology sophomore Sarah Lind dismissed the study, saying, “I know I can find a good job with no trouble. I have lots of interviews and volunteer experience and good self-advocacy training.”
Lind says she’s glad her studies are not highly specialized, as at OIT and that “My life is not going to be based on how much I can earn. I want a decent standard of living, where I’m comfortable and don’t have to worry. People with lots of money are not all that happy with their work.”
Chris Stanek, SOU’s director of institutional research, questioned the PayScale study. He said it is not comprehensive, uses “smaller data sets” and samples only those who return the survey, giving it a statistical reliability of plus or minus 10 percent.
“Their charts are plastered with ‘not enough data’ for all the large employers in the Rogue Valley,” he said. “In fact, that seems to be the case for many of the schools’ reports, including OIT.”
Beaver noted that the marketplace skews its financial rewards toward engineering, medical technology, science and math, while teachers are “unfortunately, notoriously underpaid.”
“Not everyone wants to be a med-tech or engineer,” he said. “We offer 36 majors to choose from. Some may not be the best pay, but pay isn’t the only measure of success in life. Happiness and challenge are the best measure of success for lots of people.”
SOU senior Chad Magruder, who is majoring in art, said he came home to Ashland, where he grew up, and gave up his corporate finance studies at an out-of-state university because “it didn’t have that passion and soul that art has.”
“I asked myself where I could get that passion and it’s here,” he said. “I love it and I’m much happier.”
OIT grads earn one of the highest starting salaries in the nation, placing the school 38th among 1,058 colleges in the U.S., with a starting salary of $54,600. That salary is also the highest in Oregon and the fourth highest in the western United States.
PayScale reports that OIT’s mid-career salaries average $86,900 per year, placing it first in Oregon and within the top 15 percent in the nation.
In Oregon, the mid-career rankings, in descending order, were: OIT, Oregon State University, Willamette, Reed, Pacific Lutheran, University of Portland, University of Oregon, Lewis & Clark, Portland State, Linfield, SOU, George Fox and Western Oregon University.
The top 10 majors for earnings were mostly in engineering, with a few in math, computer science or statistics, according to PayScale. The top earners in the nation came from Princeton.
The survey is at www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/west-coast-schools.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.
 
College grads average pay
Rank College Starting Mid-Career
26 Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) $54,400 $86,900
27 Oregon State University (OSU) $47,000 $86,300
33 Willamette University $41,300 $84,800
36 Reed College $44,200 $84,400
37 Pacific Lutheran University $44,100 $83,500
39 University of Portland $47,700 $83,200
58 University of Oregon $39,500 $76,600
64 Lewis & Clark College $35,300 $75,700
82 Portland State University (PSU) $40,300 $69,400
85 Linfield College $45,800 $68,000
88 Southern Oregon University $37,000 $67,100
90 George Fox University $42,100 $65,100
93 Western Oregon University $39,200 $60,800
Chart is based upon PayScale Salary Survey data for bachelors’ degree graduates without higher degrees who are full-time employees in the United States. Salary is the sum of compensation from base salary, bonuses, profit sharing, commissions and overtime, if applicable, but does not include equity (stock) compensation.
 
Skateboarder lives to tell about necessity of helmets
By Greg Stiles
Mail Tribune
November 12, 2012 2:00 AM
 
When Simon Brooks stepped onto the Bear Creek Greenway to run a half-marathon on Sept. 23, he wasn’t just racing the clock.
Every stride the 20-year-old Southern Oregon University sophomore took was symbolic of the great lengths he’s covered in a remarkable comeback from the brink of eternity.
A year and a day earlier, on Sept. 22, 2011, Brooks was the focal point of two other races: One to extend his life after he suffered traumatic head injuries in a skateboarding accident, and the other by family and friends to reach Providence Medford Medical Center from hundreds of miles away before the clock timed out.
Simon Brooks doesn’t remember much about what he was doing on the Wednesday night a week before he was to begin his sophomore year at Southern Oregon University. There’s little doubt, however, that he was partying where alcohol and drugs were involved, obscuring the potential danger when he and a friend, Zach Lough, set off early Thursday morning on their longboards.
As they cruised down Mountain Avenue around 2 a.m., Lough dismounted because of the steep, curving nature of the road as they headed toward North Mountain Park.
“He decided to take it easy and didn’t realize I was less-skilled in my current state,” Brooks said.
Not only was Brooks careening out of control, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. As his friend walked down the hill, “he heard me make some unsettling noises,” Brooks related, as he lay bleeding on the concrete near Larkspur Lane.
Emergency responders took Brooks to Ashland Community Hospital, where triage was performed, but it was quickly apparent his head injuries required a higher level of response.
He was rushed to Providence, where a trauma team, including a neurosurgeon, awaited Brooks’ arrival. Louise Sakraida, who coordinates critical care activity, had just arrived for her shift when Brooks came in.
“It was a devastating head injury,” Sakraida said. “He was almost a certain donor candidate, and it’s not often you feel that certain right off the bat. The CT (computed tomography) scan showed pressures that were incredibly high.”
Initial readings and activity gave little hope to the medical team.
“With his injuries, we did not anticipate he would last more than a few days,” Sakraida said.
State law requires that hospital personnel who believe somebody may become brain dead to begin a review leading to organ donation.
“We did that, and we don’t often do that so early,” she said.
No surgeries were needed, but drugs to reduce swelling were applied, and Brooks was placed on a ventilator.
While the medical team fought for Brooks’ life, other hospital staff tried to reach his family — made more difficult because his cellphone was password protected.
“Three of his friends were there, and they were not able to offer information other than he was from Alaska,” said Alisia Howard, clinical coordinator for the Providence Emergency Department.
Eventually, with help from Ashland police, a Providence chaplain was able to track down Michael and Valerie Brooks, Simon’s parents, in Alaska at 5:30 in the morning.
“We knew when the chaplain called — and not a doctor — it was obviously a clue, but we weren’t told he wouldn’t survive,” said Valerie Brooks.
Was it serious enough for their older son, Andrew, to come? Yes.
Should his sisters in Portland and San Diego come? Yes.
“That’s how we knew it was bad,” she said.
Under the best of circumstances, Ketchikan to Medford is no easy task with iffy connecting flights. Standby flights are even less sure, but the Brookses found friends who were willing to swap out their seats to go standby.
“If we hadn’t made arrangements to trade tickets, we might not have made it that day,” Valerie Brooks said. “That was a marathon.”
Dealing with dying patients whose family members are hundreds of miles away is not unusual for Howard’s staff.
“I’ve held a phone to dying patients’ ears so their family members could tell them goodbye,” she said.
While older patients often have living-will instructions for medical staffs, that’s not the case with younger patients who have suffered traumatic injury.
“We’re using every life-saving measure available to us.” Howard said. “They don’t have a living will, per se, so we do everything.”
By noon, Kathryn, one of Simon’s two older sisters, arrived from Portland. Emily, who lives in San Diego, had hopscotched from Las Vegas to Portland and driven down from there.
Both were at Simon’s side when their parents arrived at 8 o’clock Thursday night.
While the medical staff didn’t share its prognosis with the sisters, Emily Brooks, a registered nurse, was able to size things up.
“She prepared us before we went in,” Valerie said. “It doesn’t look like him with the tubes and alarms. After we saw him quickly, that’s when we were told it was a nonsurvivable injury.”
Over the next couple of days, Simon’s parents faced a decision no parent wants to ponder.
“It’s a terrible process for parents to go through,” Michael Brooks said. “Simon is a strong, young man. If he was going to live, he had to have a chance to live on his own. We told the medical staff to take the breathing tube out.”
That step had to be delayed, however, because the sedatives first had to wear off, otherwise they might have kept him from breathing.
While the Brookses were away from the hospital at a friend’s house, the sedatives wore off, and Simon sat up and started removing his IV and other tubes.
“That was a definite sign things had turned,” Valerie Brooks said. “We had been sitting with the organ donor team all evening. Because he was so severely injured, we were told it could be involuntary sitting up and taking tubes off.”
Even though he wasn’t conscious, there was hope.
“We could clearly see he was attempting a comeback, and they removed his breathing tubes shortly after that,” she said.
In the days after that accident, Simon was attended by a dozen family members and friends. They had put together drawings and Facebook collections.
“The first thing I remember is waking up and looking at a picture my sisters had put on the wall,” he said. “Rodney Manabat, my good friend in high school, showed his graphic design skills when he made a silhouette based on a picture with blue hair and a red hat and ‘Go Simon’ on it.”
It was touch and go at times, but Brooks kept defying the odds. He remained under intensive care until Sept. 27 and left Medford long before anyone expected. By November, Brooks was heading north for rehab at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. What was supposed to be a monthlong ordeal was completed in two weeks.
Brooks returned to school last winter, becoming a creative writing major.
A few days ago, Brooks stopped by Providence with flowers in hand.
“It took a while, but his recovery was beyond anything we could have anticipated; it was off the charts,” said Sakraida. “He brought flowers … he’s back in college, has a job and a girlfriend. He’s totally articulate and can keep you laughing.”
Brooks retrieved his longboard from the police department, but he didn’t ride it. Instead, he parked it beneath his computer. These days he gets around on a Specialized mountain bike that has lights — and he wears a helmet.
There still are aspects of recovery ahead — his sense of smell hasn’t fully returned.
“If he simply would have been a breathing, functional young person,” his mother said, it would have been beyond great.
“The fact that he could be at school and have the wherewithal to train himself and finish a race is really quite incredible. He’s a quiet guy with goofy sense of humor, but he’s really determined. I think the race was indicative of the way he’s going to approach everything in the future. He’ not a perfect kid, but he’s a really good kid.”
Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or business@mailtribune.com.
 
 
 
By Greg Stiles
Mail Tribune
Simon Brooks never gave helmets much thought before his near-fatal accident. Now he is a staunch proponent of helmet safety.
“I’m the epitome of a person who knows the importance of a helmet,” Brooks said. “My parents thought I was dead because of the lack of helmets. I want to tell whoever has the chance to ride a longboard or anything with wheels, they should definitely have a helmet, because there is no seatbelt.”
Last spring, Brooks participated in an Oregon State Public Interest Research Group safety campaign on the Southern Oregon University campus.
“I told the students I could think of only two reasons not to have a helmet,” Brooks said.
“One was a conscious decision not to buy one because they think it’s cooler not to wear one, or they can’t afford to buy one, and OSPIRG is selling discounted helmets.”
Skateboarders don’t like to be considered cowards and take severe risks to prevent that perception, he said.
“Recklessness is brave and cool,” Brooke said. “In my opinion, the most cowardly thing in the universe is disregard. If a person has the ability to easily take measures that can prevent his or her family’s pain and suffering, and these measures are not taken, this person is being really uncool. In society today, maybe we need to be brave against the people who think we are cowards for being safe. It is so much more cowardly to disregard the feelings of our loved ones so that our friends will think we look cool.”
Alisia Howard, clinical coordinator for Providence Emergency Services, has dealt with severe, disabling injuries involving skate- and longboarders in recent years. As a result, she is spearheading an effort by nurses to reach students before they suffer traumatic injuries. She was part of a group trained at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, and hopes to launch a program here early next year, going into classrooms with presentations and videos to share with children.
“Simon has said he would work with us, which is really good,” Howard said. “Because it’s most impactful when it’s coming from someone who had it happen to them.”
— Greg Stiles
 
Former Oregon secretary of state to discuss climate change
Bill Bradbury says he’s seen skepticism diminish over time
By Paul Fattig
For the Tidings
November 13, 2012 2:00 AM
 
Bill Bradbury figures you don’t have to be a climate-change expert to know which way the wind is blowing.
The former Oregon secretary of state, who will discuss “Climate Reality” Thursday evening at Southern Oregon University, said he has seen denial over climate change slowly fade since he began giving talks about it in 2006.
“When I first started giving presentations, it was very normal to have a small group of deniers attending,” said Bradbury, 63. “Now I don’t need to convince anyone that climate change is happening.
“The focus has changed to, ‘OK, so what are we going to do about it?’ ” he added. “There are some who believe there is not much we can do to change the direction we are going. But most believe we can change how we act and effect climate change.”
Bradbury was one of the first 50 people trained in Nashville to spread the climate-change gospel according to former Vice President Al Gore. Bradbury has given about 300 presentations on climate change in Oregon, outlining the need to reduce carbon pollution caused by dependence on oil and coal.
In addition to recent weather extremes, including the fact this past July was the hottest on record for the nation, Bradbury will talk about energy needs in Oregon and strategies to reduce carbon pollution. As part of Gore’s Climate Reality Project, he met with leading climate change scientists this past summer.
Recent nationwide polls indicate that about 70 percent of the population believes the global climate is changing because of human activity.
“Those polls are very encouraging,” he said. “Everyone acknowledges the severe weather we are having, that this is exactly what climate scientists have been talking about. Sandy is just the latest horrible example.”
Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York and New Jersey just before the general election, killing about 90 people and leaving some 7 million without power.
Although climate change was seldom mentioned by either President Obama or Mitt Romney during the presidential race, Obama has demonstrated he wants to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels, Bradbury believes.
“Obama very rarely mentioned the words ‘climate change,’ but if you look at his recovery program and strategies in terms of energy, about 90 percent is the kinds of steps we need to take in terms of reducing climate change,” he said.
“He is very committed,” Bradbury added. “He just has learned politically not to wrap the issue in climate-change paper. He just wraps the issue in energy-independence paper. I’m OK with that.”
Bradbury, who was a Democratic state representative from the Southern Oregon coast for 14 years, including serving as state Senate president in 1993, was appointed to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in 2010, as one of two representatives from Oregon.
Created by Congress in 1980, the council is charged with developing an electric energy supply plan for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Its mandate is to issue a 20-year plan every five years that guarantees adequate and reliable energy at the lowest economic and environmental cost to the Northwest.
He also serves on the board of the Ashland-based Geos Institute, a nonprofit group dedicated to educating the public about climate change issues.
In addition to finding alternatives to power sources relying on fossil fuels, there is a need to cut back on energy consumption, he said.
“The Northwest in general, Oregon in specific, has done more in energy conservation than most of the rest of the country,” he said. “We have become national leaders in terms of energy efficiency.”
However, while describing himself as an eternal optimist, Bradbury sees solving the climate change problem as extremely difficult.
“The challenges are quite daunting, both for the country and the world,” he said, noting that the U.S. uses 25 percent of the energy consumed worldwide.
“There are those in the rest of the world who haven’t enjoyed the economic success the U.S. has had over the years,” he added. “They want a taste of that, too. But the world cannot survive if everybody uses energy like we do. We have to change.”
Bradbury also will give presentations in Grants Pass and Klamath Falls this week.
Reach Mail Tribune reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or email him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.
 
If you go
What: “Climate Reality,” a presentation by Bill Bradbury, former Oregon secretary of state
When: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15
Where: Room 330, Stevenson Union, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland
Cost: Free
Sponsors: Ecology Center of the Siskiyous at SOU, Geos Institute, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Rogue Valley Climate Protection Organization
 
Environment
‘I want my country to be free’
Iranian to speak at SOU about his hopes for that nation’s future
By Teresa Ristow
For the Tidings
November 14, 2012 2:00 AM
Reza Mohajerinejad was a 26-year-old student at Iran’s Tehran University in 1999 when he and a small group of students began protesting the closure of the region’s reformist newspaper.
The newspaper supported the reformist beliefs of the country’s president, and organized opponents of the president had ordered the newspaper closed.
After the protest, more than 300 military opponents of the president came to the Tehran University dorms in response to the demonstration.
“After our peaceful demonstration, the dormitories of Tehran University were attacked by government-backed militia who ransacked the dorms, beating, terrorizing and shooting students,” wrote Mohajerinejad in his 2010 memoir, “Live Generation.”
Because the police and military in Iran are not controlled by the president, but by a greater political organization, similar attacks on universities in nearby cities took place, beginning the region’s first student uprising and showcasing a large divide in the country between Iranian youth and those in political power.
“In my mind, the Islamic regime had sunk to a new low in what they were willing to do to control the people of Iran, and particularly the youth,” Mohajerinejad wrote.
A few days after the original protest, Mohajerinejad was arrested and spent more than four months in prison, where he was tortured and nearly died, he said.
After escaping prison and leaving Iran, Mohajerinejad traveled through Turkey and Germany and sought refuge and protection in the United States.
He has remained in the U.S. since, where he continued his schooling at San Francisco State University, earning a master’s degree in political science last spring.
Mohajerinejad will speak Monday evening at SOU in an attempt to bring awareness to the current situation in Iran and conflicts between the country and the United States in a talk called “The Case for Not Bombing Iran: The Case for Peace.”
Mohajerinejad said though he can’t return to Iran and hasn’t seen his family for more than 12 years, he is determined to spread awareness about the country’s political state and the citizens’ desire for democracy.
Since the original uprising in 1999 and another, more widespread social uprising in 2009, Mohajerinejad said it’s clear that the people of Iran want to change the way the country is operated.
“This new generation showed they wanted a democracy,” said Mohajerinejad, now 40.
Bombing the country would mean that students and all citizens would be legally required to support the government, and acting out against the government or advocating for a regime change would be illegal, according to Kathleen Gamer, an SOU master’s student who helped organize Mohajerinejad’s visit.
“We have so much hype about the idea of bombing Iran,” said Gamer, who founded SOU’s United Nations Club six years ago.
Gamer said that SOU students should be better informed about international issues such as what is happening in Iran, especially because the uprisings there were led by students.
“We’re very far away from what’s really happening,” said Gamer, who lived in Tehran in the 1990s while her parents were in the U.S. diplomatic service.
Hosting a talk by Mohajerinejad shows that students from SOU support the students of Iran, Gamer said.
“We’re backing the students of that country,” she said.
Mohajerinejad said in “Live Generation” that he hopes to one day return to a different Iran than the place he left.
“I want for Iran a world where people don’t live in fear of their government,” Mohajerinejad wrote. “I want a secular, democratic government for Iran. I want to return to my home in Babol. I want to smell the salt air as it blows in from the Caspian Sea. I want my country to be free.”
Reach Mail Tribune reporter Teresa Ristow at 541-776-4459 or tristow@mailtribune.com.
 
If you go:
What: “The Case for Not Bombing Iran: The Case for Peace,” talk and discussion with Reza Mohajerinejad, author and participant in the 1999 Iranian student uprising
When: 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19
Where: Rogue River Room, Stevenson Union, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Admission: Free
 
Harold Angus Cloer
November 14, 2012 2:00 AM
 
Hal Cloer, 89, passed away October 5, 2012. Hal was an emeritus professor of psychology at Southern Oregon University. He resided in Ashland for 56 years. He grew up on a farm in Central California during the Depression. He attended the College of Pacific, joined the U.S. Navy after Pearl Harbor, was sent to the University of Oklahoma to complete a degree in electrical engineering, was commissioned an ensign at the U.S. Naval Academy, was sent to Bowdoin College for additional training in electronics, then served as communications and division officer on an attack cargo ship in the Pacific.
 
After discharge from the Navy, Hal obtained a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and taught electronics at Eastern Arizona Junior College. He later returned to Stanford to obtain a doctorate in counseling and higher education. In 1952, he accepted the position of Director of Guidance Services and Testing at Southern Oregon College of Education. His professional focus was career counseling, social psychology, and adult development. His research in those areas resulted in presentations at regional and national psychology conventions. He attended international psychology conventions in Moscow and in London.
 
Hal spent a sabbatical year in Europe, attending the University of Grenada in Spain, skiing in Austria, and touring Western Europe in a Karman Ghia. He and Barbara Rankin were married in Carmel, Calif. in 1968, and spent a month touring Mexico. After his marriage to Barbara, and for a number of years before they both retired, Hal was a silent partner in Barbara’s gift shop in Medford. The couple made a three-month, 15,000-mile trip around the U.S. in a travel trailer; made six trips to Europe; five trips to Mexico; two to Asia; three to Canada; and cruised the Panama Canal.
 
Hal was president of the Ashland Library Board when it was a city department, then served on the board that set up the county library system. He was interim chairman of the committee of 50 that set policy for the $5.4 million Ashland Redevelopment Project; served on the Citizens Planning Advisory Committee that updated Ashland’s Comprehensive Plan; was a member of the Historic and Planning Commissions; and served as treasurer for several civic funding measures. In 2001, Hal received the Ragland Community Service Award. He was a member of the Ashland League of Women Voters, Rotary Club, and Ashland’s Charter Revision Committee.
 
Surviving are his wife, Barbara Cloer; brother, Bob Cloer; sister, Pat Chambers; sister-in-law, Jean Gorton; stepson, Bill Rankin and wife, Denise; and Rankin grandsons, Brian, Pat, Chad, Craig, and Will. Hal was a humble and kind man, who will be truly missed.
 
No services are planned. Memorial donations can be made to the scholarship funds, Southern Oregon University Foundation, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR 97520, www.soufoundation.org.
 
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SOU’s opponent has similar story
By By Joe Zavala
for the Mail Tribune
November 15, 2012 2:00 AM
 
Southern Oregon’s season-long comeback from unranked and 2-2 all the way to 10th-ranked and playoff bound behind six straight wins is one of the feel-good stories of the NAIA Football Championship Series.
But the Raiders’ first-round opponent — the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees of Davenport, Iowa — has a pretty good story going in its own right.
The eighth-ranked Bees, like the Raiders, suffered a painful double-overtime loss in Week 4, to Grand View, but also like the Raiders won their final six regular-season games to secure a spot in the 16-team playoffs. Now, the two comeback artists will square off in a first-round game Saturday, at Brady Street Stadium in Davenport, Iowa.
“I think it’ll be a very competitive game,” St. Ambrose sixth-year head coach Mike Magistrelli said. “It’s hard to predict, but I know we’ll come out and compete and put our best out there.”
St. Ambrose (9-1), which finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League, was riding high following two straight wins over ranked teams when it hosted then No. 18 Grand View on Sept. 29. The Bees were in good position after Eric Williamson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Zach Grant midway through the second quarter to give St. Ambrose a 15-3 lead.
But Grand View, thanks in part to St. Ambrose’s turnover woes, battled back to take a 26-23 lead with 1:12 to go. St. Ambrose, showing some of the poise that would come to define its regular season, forced overtime when Quinn Treiber drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired, but eventually succumbed in overtime, 29-26.
St. Ambrose ran the table from that point on, dominating most of its opponents with a balanced offense that ranks 13th in the nation in yards per game (437.4). Williamson has been one of the main reasons. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior out of Springfield, Ill., has completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,676 yards and 34 touchdowns with only eight interceptions to rank third in the nation in passing efficiency.
Grant, Williamson’s top target, is also having a banner year. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound freshman out of Rochester, Ill., leads the nation with 87 receptions and ranks fifth with 1,132 yards receiving.
That, combined with St. Ambrose’s more-than-adequate rushing attack — the Bees average 164 yards rushing per game — makes the Bees one of the most difficult teams in the nation to defend.
“We’ll have to continue to maintain some of that balance we have in our passing and running game (Saturday),” said Magistrelli, whose team is scoring 33 points per game. “It’ll be a good matchup for us. And I think Southern Oregon, when they chose to bring pressure (on defense), they do it pretty well. So that’s something we’ll have to be prepared for.”
The Raiders’ defense certainly brought timely pressure last Saturday against Montana Tech, sacking Orediggers’ quarterback Nick Baker six times and forcing several hurried throws under pressure. SOU (8-2), which is surrendering 32.5 points per game, is hoping for more of the same Saturday.
“We’ve watched the film, we’ve analyzed it and we’ve been breaking it down to the point where we can see where their weaknesses are and where our defense can fit and what our strong points will be,” SOU sophomore linebacker Daniel Breaux said. “They’re a run-first team and our run defense has shown lots of prominence in the past. We’re really confident in that. We’re going to try to force them to throw the ball and our secondary will do their best to keep those receivers covered.”
The St. Ambrose defense allowed 16.3 points per game during the regular season and is led by junior linebacker Jeremy Wallace (6-foot-1, 215), who has 123 tackles to rank fourth in the nation.
The Bees appear to be well equipped to deal with Southern Oregon’s high-octane offense, which ranks No. 1 in the nation in both yards per game (657) and points per game (54.4). That’s because St. Ambrose has roughed up opposing quarterbacks to the tune of 27 sacks, good enough to rank 19th nationally.
Not that Magistrelli believes the Bees will be spending lots of time in SOU’s backfield — Raiders quarterback Austin Dodge, the nation’s leading passer, has only been sacked once this season.
“I don’t know that you’re going to sack (Dodge),” Magistrelli said. “He does a really good job getting rid of the ball quickly, so I’d be surprised. But I think what we’ve got to do more is just put pressure on him, make him have to make decisions a little faster than he wants to. At least try and pressure him.”
The Bees will be making their 12th playoff appearance and first since 2008. They last hosted a postseason game in 2006.
The Raiders will be making their first playoff appearance since 2002.
“I don’t think that’s a factor,” Magistrelli said. “We don’t have a kid in our program that’s been in the playoffs.”
There’s no telling how much of a home-field advantage the Bees will have at Brady Street Stadium, a gorgeous 10,000-capacity facility that has synthetic turf. The weather report calls for temperatures in the low 50s and sunny, so SOU’s pass-happy offense — Dodge throws 45 passes per game on average — will likely be unaffected by the elements.
The Raiders will take a charter plane Friday morning and practice at the stadium in the afternoon. To prepare for playing on synthetic turf, which SOU has yet to experience this season, the Raiders have been practicing this week at U.S. Cellular Community Park.
All things being equal, Magistrelli believes that the team that keeps its emotions in check will probably win.
“I think these are two good teams,” he said, “and any time two good teams play like this I think the team that handles some of the highs and lows the best will have an advantage. We talk to our kids about not getting too high and not getting too low and continuing to stay focused.”
 
SOUTHERN OREGON
AT ST. AMBROSE
 

• WHAT: First-round NAIA playoff game.
• WHEN, WHERE: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Davenport, Iowa.
• OF NOTE: This is Southern Oregon’s first trip to the postseason since the 2002 season.

Print
140 years of SOU
Mail Tribune November 4, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121104/NEWS/211040325
SOU students help make a movie
Daily Tidings September 3, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121103/NEWS02/211030304/-1/NEWSMAP
John Thomas ’73, successful local car dealer
Mail Tribune November 5, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121105/BIZ/211050301
 
Online
 
SOU celebrates 140th birthday
The Siskiyou November 3, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/11/03/sou-celebrates-140th-birthday/
 
SOU introduces new smartphone app
The Siskiyou November 5, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/11/05/sou-introduces-new-smartphone-app/
 
Photos from the Raiders’ most recent home football game
Steve Babuljak photography November 1, 2012
https://babuljak.com/blog/highered/sou-football/
 
Broadcast
 
Second half of OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner on Five on 5
KOBI 5 November 2, 2012
https://www.kobi5.com/features/five-on-5/item/george.html
 
Raiders
 
Raiders football tied for #12 in latest national poll
NAIA November 5, 2012
https://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205725518
 
Men’s cross country team ends regular season ranked #1 in nation
NAIA November 4, 2012
https://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205725203
 
 
Full version of print clips
 
140 YEARS OF SOU
The school has seen numerous changes — and name changes — over its proud history
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
November 04, 2012 2:00 AM
 
The Rev. Joseph Henry Skidmore wouldn’t recognize the old place today.
Back on Nov. 4, 1872, the Methodist minister was the president of the Ashland Academy, which opened its doors to provide a place of higher learning in Southern Oregon.
Tuition per term was $4 for primary, $5 for preparatory, $6 for sub-junior and $8 for senior, according to the 2002 book “Remembering: A History of Southern Oregon University,” written by emeritus professor Arthur Kreisman.
The small academy, which also offered language classes for $3 a term back in the day, would morph into what is now SOU, albeit it took more than a century and nearly a dozen name changes. “We’re a wonderful story about a group of people in 1872 realizing they wanted to have higher education opportunities in the Rogue Valley so the residents wouldn’t have to make that long trek up to northern Oregon,” observed SOU President Mary Cullinan.
The school, beginning with only a handful of students in a small building that looked remarkably like a typical Methodist church, now is spread across 175 acres with nearly 7,000 students. There has been a bit of a tuition hike: Full-time undergraduate tuition is $7,521 per term for residents and $20,238 for nonresidents.
While 70 percent of the student body is from Oregon, students from 35 countries are expected come winter term, Cullinan said. The school has 143 international students.
One of seven institutions in the Oregon University System, SOU consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business and the School of Education. It also is the home of Jefferson Public Radio and the public access station Rogue Valley Television.
In addition to the main Ashland campus, classes are available at the school’s satellite campus in downtown Medford, as well as online.
The university, with a total annual revenue of $92.1 million, offers 36 majors and more than 100 areas of study.
“We were founded to train teachers,” Cullinan explained. “That was our original mission. We still train the majority of teachers in Southern Oregon.
“But we also a train a huge number of business owners and bankers — the business community is fueled by our graduates,” she added. “And we are the spirit behind the tremendous arts community in our region.”
 
In 1935, a faculty member named Angus Bowmer created a summer Shakespeare program that blossomed into the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the largest theater companies in America. Since then, the school has helped create the Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Rogue Opera.
Some of the school’s history is just plain unusual. For instance, in the summer of 1953, a butterfly collector — lepidopterist — named Vladimir Nabokov rented the home of SOCE professor Arthur Taylor. When he wasn’t hiking the hills above Ashland in search of butterflies, Nabokov worked on a novel, “Lolita,” which was published in Paris in 1955.
The school’s notable graduates include Ty Burrell, Emmy Award winner for his role as Phil Dunphy on ABC’s “Modern Family”; Paulann Petersen, Oregon poet laureate; Mark Helfrich, offensive coordinator for the University of Oregon Ducks football team; Virginia Linder, the first woman elected to the Oregon Supreme Court; and Michael Geisen, 2008 National Teacher of the Year.
Medford resident Mike Finley, 65, earned a degree in biology in 1970 from what was then Southern Oregon College.
“Several of the professors I had there made a huge difference,” he recalled.
A graduate of Medford Senior High School, Finley chose the school because of its proximity to the apartment he was living in above his parent’s garage in Medford. He drove to school in a 1962 Volkswagen Bug.
“It was local, and I didn’t have a lot of money,” he said. “The cost was only $125 a quarter.”
Finley now is the president of the Turner Foundation Inc., based in Atlanta, and the former supervisor of Yellowstone National Park.
“Over the course of my two careers, I have been engaged in negotiations, court settlements and difficult planning issues with opposing parties, many with degrees from Ivy League and more prominent schools, and I never felt lacking in any way,” Finley said of his college education in Ashland. “I had no trouble understanding any of the issues I’ve faced.”
Flamur Vehapi, now 28, arrived in the Rogue Valley from war-torn Kosovo in 2005 to attend Rogue Community College. He transferred to SOU, where he graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He has since earned a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Portland State University and now teaches at RCC.
 
“I really enjoyed my experiences at SOU, especially because I was very involved with the community there,” said Vehapi, author of the poetry book “The Alchemy of Mind.” He is working on another book of poetry.
Dan Bulkley, 95, who coached track and cross-country at the school from 1950 until he retired in 1979, originally came to the school because of its size.
“It was a small college when I arrived, only about 600 students,” he recalled. “That’s one reason I liked it so much. “We had some great kids over the years — it was a very enjoyable experience,” he recalled. “Every now and then I run into one of my students. It’s always nice to see them again.”
Meanwhile, Cullinan predicts the university will continue to draw students from the region and beyond.
“We are going to continue to grow incrementally,” she predicted. “We have to continue to balance the needs of Oregon students with out-of-state and international students.
“We’ve come a long, long way, but we still have a regional community that understands the importance of higher education,” she added.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or pfattig@mailtribune.com.
 
 
 
A university by any other name
Southern Oregon University started out on Nov. 4, 1872, as the Ashland Academy. The following are the dates of the name changes as the school evolved to become what it is today:
1872: Ashland Academy
1878: Ashland Academy and Commercial College
1879: Ashland College and Normal School
1887-90: Ashland State Normal School
1895-1909: Southern Oregon State Normal School
1909-1926: The school closed because of lack of funding
1926: Southern Oregon State Normal School
1932: Southern Oregon Normal School
1939: Southern Oregon College of Education
1956: Southern Oregon College
1975: Southern Oregon State College
1997: Southern Oregon University
 
Boom town: Ashland sets a cinematic scene
By Sam Wheeler
Ashland Daily Tidings
November 03, 2012 2:00 AM
 
Southern Oregon filmmakers are hard at work capturing scenes at an Ashland retirement home for an independent movie called “Redwood Highway.”
The film follows 75-year-old Marie on her 80-mile walk down the renowned stretch of road to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean for the first time in more than four decades.
“Two sticks “… we need it low,” mutters director Gary Lundgren, motioning to the cameraman before the scene comes together. “Cut! That’s great. … OK, get the leaves “… quick break everyone.”
The whine of a leaf blower drowns out everything until the leaves are rustled to perfection at the entrance to Mountain Meadows Retirement Community, then the actors reset, and the cameras refocus.
“Action!” Lundgren shouts.
Ashland-based production companies Jump Time Pictures, Joma Films and Elsewhere Films are producing “Redwood Highway,” which should be wrapped up and ready for the big screen by July 2013, says producer and co-screenwriter James Twyman.
The crew plans to have a scaled-back version of the full-length film ready in time for April’s Ashland Independent Film Festival, says Twyman, who owns Jump Time Pictures.
Lundgren, who owns Joma Films with his wife, Anne Lundgren, co-wrote the screenplay.
Friday was day nine of a 20-day filming schedule that already has taken the cast and film crew through Talent, Phoenix, Grants Pass and Cave Junction, says producer Gary Kout, who owns Elsewhere Films.
It should be the crew’s last day in Ashland, Kout says.
“The movie is kind of like the greatest hits of the Redwood Highway,” Kout says.
In the movie, the Ashland retirement home will be depicted as being in Grants Pass, where Marie, played by two-time Emmy Award-winning actor Shirley Knight, 76, begins her journey, Twyman says.
The film also will star Tom Skerritt, 79, who is known for roles in “Alien” and “Top Gun.”
Producers would not reveal further details about the movie’s plot.
On Friday, cast members James LeGros and Zena Grey, who play Marie’s son and granddaughter, put in 12 hours outside Mountain Meadows.
“We’ve just discovered that Marie, my mother, is missing,” says LeGros, who lives in both Los Angeles and New York City. “The shoots have been going well, so far.”
LeGros, 50, is a former cast member of “Ally McBeal,” a TV series that ended in 2002.
“This is a beautiful place to shoot,” says Grey of New York City. “I had a chance to take a walk through Ashland. Everything is so colorful right now.”
Grey, 23, is known for roles in “Snow Day” and “Max Keeble’s Big Move.”
Both actors agree now’s a good time to be away from New York, as the city continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy.
The cast includes several actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the crew includes a half-dozen interns from Southern Oregon University who are helping behind the scenes, Kout says.
The movie will be screened in about 2,000 retirement homes throughout the United States and Canada before it’s released,” says Twyman, because the story is geared toward an older audience.
“So often, our older generation gets told they can’t do this, they can’t do that,” Twyman says. “We can all do whatever we set our minds to; your age isn’t important. “… The film carries an important theme for a senior audience.”
In 2009, the Lundgrens and Kout collaborated to produce “Calvin Marshall,” a full-length comedy about an unrefined baseball player, which was shot entirely in Southern Oregon.
“We have very supportive communities around here for filmmaking, which is great because most independent filmmaking happens in public,” Kout says.
The movie “Night Moves,” written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, also is being filmed in Southern Oregon. And Reichardt directed the recent movie “Meek’s Cutoff,” which is set in Oregon.
“This region is becoming known as a premier spot for filming independent movies,” says Twyman. “You have having amazing locations, beautiful scenery, the people are friendly “… it’s everything you could ask for.”
Reach reporter Sam Wheeler at 541-499-1470 or email swheeler@dailytidings.com.
 
Home Grown: Ashland Motor Co.
November 05, 2012 2:00 AM
Editor’s note: This is one in a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon.
What do you do and how long have you been doing it? (John Thomas speaking) We’re a used car sales business. My brother and I have been involved in auto sales for 40 years. I’ve been an auto dealer since 1991, but as Ashland Motor Co. at this current location it will be 10 years in March.
How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley? I went to school at Southern Oregon University, starting in 1969. Then I left the area and moved back in 1985. Bob has lived here for the past 25 years. Bob and I both graduated from South Salem High School.
What inspired you to go into this line of work? Our grandfather was a car dealer in Madras and our dad owned dealerships in Madras, Southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley. My brother and I got into the car business when our dad started a Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealership in Lebanon when we got out of college in 1973.
What decision or action would you change if you could do it again? We probably wish we would’ve done it sooner. We’re happy to be self-employed, and we enjoy being self-employed at this point. But we could have set out on our own sooner.
What’s the toughest business decision you’ve made? For me, it was leaving the security of the family business and striking out on my own in 1985. Part of the motivation was to be on my own and be in a town I grew to love when I was in college. I think my brother had the same motivation, too.
Who are your competitors? We are more designed to be small and have direct interaction as owners with our customers because we don’t have salesmen. We’re an alternative to the very large stores that have a chain of command. With our clientele, we lean toward specialty and imports. … Medford has many independent used car dealers; we’re the only independent lot in Ashland. It was not easy to find a location that worked because new and used car sales businesses are a nonpermitted use in the city of Ashland. Our location is a couple blocks outside the city limits. We had a rough time finding a location, and honestly, it’s the best we could’ve dreamed up.
What are your goals? We usually have an inventory of 35 to 45 cars, but in recent times it has been very difficult to get cars. There are multiple reasons for that happening. Depending on the month, we sell 20 to 25 cars. We’re happy to sell as many vehicles as we can personally to take care of the buyers. The slowdown in the economy affected us, but we’re small enough to adjust to it. It certainly has gotten better in the past year or so. Part of what we like about our size is that we’re able to adapt to what is going on. Eventually, we would like to sell the business and lease the property. We bought this property as undeveloped dirt and designed the lot from scratch.
What training or education did you need? I majored in sociology, so there is no correlation to what we do. For being in the car business — and being self-employed — the best education is being in the car business. We learned the business during our years working at various places, including our father’s.
What’s your advice for budding entrepreneurs? Do a good business plan, really identify what all your goals, challenges and obstacles will be. I would probably start small, so you can have a hands-on approach and not delegate as much so you know what’s going on. It allows you to be more flexible and make changes. It’s probably easier to grow than to shrink. We are sensitive to how stressful it is to look at a car; what we really do is treat people the way we would want to be treated. A vocation doesn’t dictate your character, your character dictates how you run your business.
To suggest ideas for this column, about businesses that are at least five years old, contact reporter Greg Stiles at541-776-4463 or email business@mailtribune.com.
Business card
Business: Ashland Motor Co.
Owners: John and Bob Thomas
Address: 1705 Highway 99 N., Ashland
Phone: 541-482-2600
Employees: Four
Email: ashlandmotorcompany@yahoo.com
Website: ashlandmotorcompany.com

SOU in the News
October 7-10, 2012
If you are unable to access local newspaper content on your computer, scroll down this page to view print clips
Broadcast
Groups protest at SOU
KDRV Newswatch 12 October 9, 2012
https://www.kdrv.com/groups-protest-at-sou/
Online
Churchill Hall and the North Campus Village pave the way to a greener SOU
The Siskiyou October 10, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/10/10/churchill-hall-and-north-campus-village-pave-the-way-for-a-greener-campus/
New student health care plan “breaks down the silos” at SOU
The Siskiyou October 10, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/10/10/new-student-health-care-plan-breaks-down-the-silos/
SOU student government reps and OSPIRG are registering students to vote
The Siskiyou October 7, 2012
https://siskiyou.sou.edu/2012/10/07/assou-and-ospirg-spread-the-word-about-voting/
Senator Wyden will be on the SOU campus tomorrow to speak with nursing students
KAJO 1270 Grants Pass October 10, 2012
https://www.kajo.com/news/local/stories.php?subaction=showfull&id=1349892831&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2
Raiders
Raider QB Austin Dodge named national player of the week
Mail Tribune October 9, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121009/SPORTS/210090326/-1/SPORTS
Full version of print clips
SOU’s Dodge named national player of the week
October 09, 2012 2:00 AM
ASHLAND — After being named Frontier Conference offensive player of the week earlier in the day, Southern Oregon sophomore quarterback Austin Dodge added another honor to his list: national offensive player of the week.
The acclaim for Dodge came in the wake of the Southern Oregon’s 68-22 dismantling of then-No. 22 Eastern Oregon on Saturday at Raider Stadium.
Dodge led the Raiders to a 51-7 halftime lead over the Mountaineers on the strength of 468 passing yards and five touchdowns, completing 23 of 30 pass attempts in the opening 30 minutes.
With SOU holding a 44-point lead, Dodge took a seat on the sideline following halftime to settle for first-half numbers that would put most full-game numbers to shame.
His 468 passing yards gave him the fourth-highest single-game total in SOU history as he helped the SOU offense surpass 700 yards for the first time in team history.
Through five games this season, he boasts 1,922 yards of total offense and 1,860 passing yards and leads the NAIA in passing yards per game (372) and total offense per game (384.4).
He is also completing exactly two-thirds of his pass attempts (140-of-210), and his 17 touchdown throws this season are fifth most in SOU history.
Dodge becomes the ninth Southern Oregon player to be named NAIA player of the week and the first since kicker Corey O’Neill received the special teams honor on Oct. 10, 2008.
In addition to Dodge’s conference honor, linebacker Marquice O’Leary of the Raiders earned the defensive award.
O’Leary tallied seven total tackles and an interception in the Raiders’ win, SOU’s fourth straight over the Mountaineers and the second straight year the Raiders upset a ranked EOU team.
Southern Oregon picked up 18 points in this week’s NAIA national poll and sits one spot outside the Top 25.
The Raiders will look to build on their 3-2 record Saturday, when they visit Havre, Mont., for a conference showdown with Montana State-Northern.

Print
SOU anthropology team discovers location of Battle of Hungry Hill
Mail Tribune September 26, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120926/NEWS/209260321
Archaeologist to determine threats to historical items in Ashland Plaza
Daily Tidings September 26, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120926/NEWS02/209260308
SOU students want to increase voter registration
Daily Tidings September 26, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120926/NEWS02/209260305
New SOU alumni director announced
Mail Tribune September 25, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120925/NEWS07/209250339/-1/NEWSMAP
SOU to host talk on overpopulation
Mail Tribune September 25, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120925/NEWS07/209250340/-1/NEWSMAP
Editorial: Cheers to Eliza Schaff
Mail Tribune September 26, 2012
https://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120926/OPINION/209260309
Broadcast
New college mindset list released
KDRV Newswatch 12 September 24, 2012
https://www.kdrv.com/new-college-mindset-list-released/
Raiders
SOU raising money to help former basketball player Moore
Daily Tidings September 26, 2012
https://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120926/SPORTS/209260311/-1/SPORTS01
Full version of print clips
‘All the dots have been connected’
SOU anthropology team discovers location of Battle of Hungry Hill
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
September 26, 2012 2:00 AM
The location of the Battle of Hungry Hill, the largest clash in the Rogue River Indian Wars of 1855-56, has been discovered after being lost in the dust of time for more than a century.
The site was located this month by a team led by Mark Tveskov, director of Southern Oregon University’s Laboratory of Anthropology in Ashland.
“It’s very gratifying to finally find it — we’ve done a lot of detective work,” Tveskov said, stressing it was a team effort.
The team bushwhacked up and down steep hills and pored over old records, from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to the Bancroft Library in Berkeley, Calif., following every clue during its three-year search.
The historic battlefield was found on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property in an area known as the Grave Creek Hills west of Interstate 5 between Sunny Valley and Glendale. Hungry Hill west of Glendale is not connected with the battle, he said.
“Our search area covered more than 24 square miles,” Tveskov said, noting the exact spot is not being divulged out of concern it could spur illegal artifact hunting.
Two musket balls and other items found at the site, as well as evidence provided by historic maps and documents, nailed down the location, he said.
“All the dots have been connected,” he said.
The site is important because it will undoubtedly shed light on the short-lived war, he said. No detailed, contemporary firsthand account about the battle by an Army officer had ever been found.
Until Robert Kentta, historian and member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, discovered a front-­page article in the New York Herald that was dated Nov. 12, 1855, from Crescent City, Calif., that provided precise information that only an Army officer who was in the battle would have known, Tveskov said. The anonymous correspondent who wrote the article was undoubtedly Lt. August V. Kautz, a survivor of the battle, he said.
Another important new clue was a copy of a battle map drawn by Kautz discovered in the National Archives by retired Army Col. Daniel Edgerton, who had worked in the U.S. Army Center of Military History, Tveskov added.
Others helping in the effort were SOU archaeologist Chelsea Rose, BLM employees, SOU students and tribal volunteers, he said.
“Sometimes when you are out there, walking through the woods and finding nothing, you feel like you are crazy for doing it,” he said. “And we had been doing that for three years.”
They also followed the clues of local folks who searched before them.
In 1934, Richard I. Helms, a reporter for the Daily Courier newspaper in Grants Pass, believed he had found the battle site atop a prominent site in the Grave Creek Hills, Tveskov said.
“We actually looked there and didn’t find any artifacts,” he said.
But historian and pioneer descendant Larry McLane, author of a 1995 book called “First There was Twogood: a Pictorial History of Northern Josephine County,” argued the battle occurred near a site local residents call Bloody Spring, Tveskov said. No evidence of a battle was found at that site by the team, he said.
Armed with the new information provided by Kentta and Edgerton, the team made one last field trip for the summer early in September, he said.
The historic documents indicated the battle began on Oct. 25 at one site, ending on the night of Oct. 31 at another location, he noted.
“Those two locations are described with reference to each other,” he explained. “When we found the first musket ball, which was on the main Oct. 31 battlefield site, then, for me, that meant that the Oct. 25th site had to be over there.”
They went to the other spot where they found the other musket ball, convincing them they had finally rediscovered the battle site, he said.
“We also found a lead stopper to a gunpowder tin which has ‘DuPont’ on it,” he said, noting it referred to DuPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Del. “DuPont was the main supplier of gunpower to the U.S. military in the 1800s.”
An identical lead stopper to a gunpowder tin was found during the team’s archaeological dig at Fort Lane across the Rogue River from the Table Rocks, he added.
“The .69-caliber musket balls we found were the same that had been found at Fort Lane,” he said. “That was the standard long arm for the Dragoon from the fort — the model 1842 Springfield musketoon.
“The Army officers say the Native Americans had better guns than the dragoons,” he added. “In some of the written accounts about the battle, they talk about better arms among the Indians was one of the reasons the soldiers got pinned down.”
Neither of the musket balls had been fired, he said.
There were some 300 Army and militia on one side with about 200 Native Americans, including women and children, representing the remainder of the participants, Tveskov said.
“There were 39 casualties on the (Army’s) side, including 10 who died on the battlefield,” he said. “A number of people died later. On the Native American side, 16 dead on the battlefield seems to be the number people can agree on.”
Despite being outnumbered, the Native Americans won the day, he said.
“From a tactical point of view, the Army and militia were routed,” he said.
The battle was “the worst defeat, particularly in terms of the total number of casualties, suffered by the combined force of U.S. Army and Oregon Volunteers in Oregon during the Indian wars,” Edgerton said.
The battle was triggered by the Lupton massacre in which more than two dozen Indians were slain in a village near the Table Rocks on Oct. 8, 1855, by vigilantes from Jacksonville, Tveskov said. The fleeing Indians split into at least two groups, with one seeking protection at Fort Lane while the other, led by Chiefs George and Limpy, headed down the Rogue River, killing several settlers en route, he said.
The battle delayed the end of the Rogue River Indian War until summer 1856, he said.
“It was an attempt by Capt. (Andrew Jackson) Smith from Fort Lane and the volunteer militia to end the Rogue River Indian War just as it was getting started,” he said. “It was a tactical victory for the Indians but it sealed their fate.
“It ultimately led to the removal of Indians from Southern Oregon to the Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations,” he said.
With the discovery of the battle site, the team will be working with the BLM, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians to conserve the battlefield and learn more from it, he said.
“We want to go over this with a fine-tooth comb,” he said. “We want to be able to tell a story about how the battle progressed.”
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or email him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.
Archaeologist to determine threats to historical items in Plaza project
Work cost estimated at $170,000; archaeologist cost not yet known
By Sam Wheeler
Ashland Daily Tidings
September 26, 2012 2:00 AM
Ashland will have to hire an archaeologist to study whether a redesign of the Plaza would threaten artifacts buried nearby before construction can proceed.
Once it has the archaeologist’s report in hand, the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office will determine which areas of the redesign might threaten artifacts and what the city should do to recover them or make sure they’re not disturbed, said Dennis Griffin, state archaeologist for the historic preservation office.
The city will be required to dig small test pits in some areas and deeper test pits in others to help the SHPO determine whether artifacts are present within the project area, he said.
“Other portions of the project will probably only require a professional archaeologist to monitor ground-disturbing activities,” Griffin said. “An archaeologist now will assist the city in determining where which strategy will work the best.”
The city is searching for an archaeologist to conduct the survey, said city planner Amy Gunter.
“We will be waiting to find out what an archaeologist discerns from the documents we have collected “… the state will let us know what needs to be done,” she said.
The cost of the archaeological work has not been determined, said Scott Fleury, the city’s project supervisor.
“It seems like overkill for what we plan to do,” said City Administrator Dave Kanner. “Of course we will comply with whatever SHPO asks of us “… but does this mean we have to contract with an archaeologist every time we replace a sidewalk, dig a utility trench, or replace a tree in the downtown area?”
Before the state issued its recent decision, Kanner said he doubted a survey of the site for traces of American Indian and settler artifacts would be required, because most of the original topsoil there has been covered by several feet of fill dirt since Ashland was settled in the mid-1800s.
“I don’t think we will be disturbing anything,” he said.
There are known archaeological sites that could be affected by the redesign work and specifically the planned tree removal, which would extend to a depth of about three feet, Griffin said.
Two archaeological surveys have been conducted along Ashland Creek upstream from the Plaza, and uncovered large quantities of Native American and settler artifacts, said Mark Tveskov, Southern Oregon University associate professor of anthropology and director of SOU’s anthropology laboratory.
In 2002, Tveskov led a limited survey along the creek that uncovered remnants of an ancient fireplace, a glass bead, arrow heads, pieces of stone tool and several chips of worked stone, he said. That work was intermingled with the city’s effort to extend a utility trench of Winburn Way.
Another unofficial survey was conducted in the 1980s on the grassy area at the entrance to Lithia Park, but was never finalized in an official report, Tveskov said.
That dig, where the former Ashland Flour Mill stood, was led by then SOU professors Nan Hannon and Rich Olmo and revealed hundreds of Native American and settler artifacts, Tveskov said.
Tveskov said he is not familiar with the intricacies of the Ashland Plaza redesign or its proposed impact, and he is uncertain whether the project warrants a similar survey.
The redesign calls for removing several large trees on the Plaza that are suffering from ground compaction above their root systems. They will be replaced with tree species more suited to tight urban environments.
The estimated cost to carry out the Plaza redesign is $170,000. The city plans to use lodging tax revenues set aside for downtown improvements and economic development.
“Our office looks forward to working with them as they move forward toward development of their project,” Griffin said.
Officials typically don’t reveal the exact location of defined archaeological sites, because people have been prone to looting them.
Reach reporter Sam Wheeler at 541-499-1470 or email swheeler@dailytidings.com.
Why Vote?
Students, officials work to increase voter registration
By John Darling
For the Tidings
September 26, 2012 2:00 AM
It’s not as exciting as 2008, but this year’s presidential election is swelling the voter registration rolls in Jackson County — and bringing out cynicism about voting in others.
Registration here went past the 117,000 mark Tuesday on Oregon Voter Registration Day and, said County Clerk Chris Walker, may slide past the 119,664 mark set in the November 2008 presidential election.
Students stopping by a voter registration table in Southern Oregon University’s Stevenson Union on Tuesday all said they planned to vote, most of them mentioning “defunding of education” as a big reason, but many mentioned they had friends who weren’t interested.
“I’ll register, but I’m real busy with school and athletics,” said SOU wrestler Taylor Johnson. “I have a pile of friends who aren’t going to vote and don’t really care. It’s kind of the scene with this generation.”
Senior Mallory Crocker said she’d vote “because the system isn’t going the right way, but my vote probably won’t make a difference. I have quite a bit of friends who say their vote makes no difference.”
“I’m registered and I’ll vote, if I get around to it,” said freshman Marshall Miller as she studied in the autumn sun on the quad. “I’m angry about the Electoral College, though. (The Electoral College gives all of a state’s votes to the candidate supported by the majority.) Honestly, I have to ask if my vote makes a difference. But it’s worth a try and you hope for the best.”
Connor Wilkes, an Ashland High School graduate who went on to Portland Community College, said it’s hard to trust politicians, as they haven’t followed through on their promises — and he feels his vote for president is diminished by the Electoral College — but “I still might vote.”
Wilkes added, “I don’t really put my faith in any politician anymore. You can’t know their real intent and if it’s really benefiting the country or just their selected group.”
Leading the voter-registration drive on campus, SOU Associated Students President Joshua Danielson said they hope to register 1,300 students this year, compared with about 1,000 four years ago.
“We tell students it’s very important for us to get together and be able to tell legislators we have lots of students registered and that we want a stop to the continual disinvestment in higher education,” said Danielson.
An obstacle, he notes, is that many students are from other states and attend SOU on a Western Undergraduate Scholarship and would lose residency in their home state if they vote in Oregon.
State Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, who recently spoke to the Oregon Student Association at SOU, said he’s heard comments from young voters that they didn’t get what they wanted from the last presidential election.
Nevertheless, he said, “I feel the turnout is going to be close to 2008 because there’s so much energy from the economic collapse plus all the damage done to the country in the eight years before that. There’s a strong desire to get people out to vote.”
State Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, said he thinks there’s a high level of interest in this election.
“People are very much engaged in the election,” Richardson said, “and concerned about what the future holds for their children.”
Allen Hallmark, former chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Central Committee, said he’s disappointed in President Barack Obama’s performance on his promises but, unlike many of his friends, he does not plan to vote for a third-party candidate.
“The main thing is that people ought to vote,” said Hallmark, “and learn the issues and candidates. They have the freedom to vote or not, but it doesn’t take that much time to get up to speed — and we’d get a lot more of what we want and the country would work a lot better if they did.”
Secretary of State Kate Brown visited upstate high schools Tuesday to encourage voter registration, which can now be done online at oregonvotes.gov and takes only 10 minutes, according her website. She offered to send a five-minute video to schools, detailing how to register and vote.
Local high schools didn’t have any events for Oregon Voter Registration Day. Todd Bloomquist, director of secondary education for the Medford School District, said the subject is covered in social science classes and that registration “is up to the individual and is not a function of public schools.”
The deadline for voter registration in Oregon is Oct. 16.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.
New SOU alumni director announced
September 25, 2012 12:00 PM
Southern Oregon University’s new alumni director is an alumnus himself, as well as a graduate of Eagle Point High School.
Mike Beagle, 49, was a member of the Southern Oregon State College Raiders football team in the mid-1980s and a three-time all conference defensive back. He graduated in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in history, according to an SOU news release.
Beagle also served in the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis as a field artillery officer and received a master’s degree in history and government from the University of Portland in 1993.
Beagle has worked recently with the Raider Booster Club, Raider Red Zone and Trout Unlimited.
Southern Oregon University has 29,275 living alumni, and more than one-third of them live in Southern Oregon.
SOU to host talk on overpopulation
September 25, 2012 12:00 PM
Southern Oregon University will present a talk on global population growth and its challenges at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the SOU Science Building Auditorium, Room 118.
The talk, “Beyond 7 Billion: The Challenges of Global Population Growth,” is free and open to the public.
Stacie Murphy, public policy associate with Washington D.C.’s Population Connection Center, will lead the talk. She will discuss the history of population growth and the social, environmental and political challenges a rapidly growing population presents.
Cheers and Jeers
Thumbs down to the NFL’s mess; thumbs up to a woman’s write of passage
September 26, 2012 2:00 AM
Jeers: To the National Football League for the replacement ref debacle that is unfolding before the nation’s eyes.
OK, we feel a little guilty piling on this one, but it’s hard to look past the Monday night game in which the Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw, as one pundit put it, the only winning interception in the history of Monday Night Football.
For those of you who may not have seen the game or the endless coverage that followed its bizarre ending, the “interception” on the last play of the game — and in the end zone — was declared a touchdown, allowing the Seahawks to defeat the Green Bay Packers 14-12.
It was far from the only bad call of the night, with Seattle also getting stuck with a few critical referee mistakes, but this one decided the game and was so egregiously wrong that even the Seahawks fans on the Mail Tribune editorial board concede it was an error.
The NFL compounded that error Tuesday by saying the refs made the correct call. Sorry, guys, but you must have forgotten that several million people were watching and saw the interception. It was laughable, if you weren’t a Green Bay fan.
The NFL is a multi-billion dollar operation. The $18 million the league pays the refs is a relative pittance — not enough green bills there to cover the embarrassment of Monday night.
Jeers: As long as we’re on football, the viewing audience would be better served in almost all NFL games, and in many college games, if the football were just placed at the 20- or 25-yard line instead of going though the charade of kickoffs into and out of the end zones. Rule changes that moved the kickoffs farther upfield have also benched one of the most exciting plays of the game. Borrrrring.
Cheers: To Eliza Schaff, who is headed back to the college classroom after being shown the door in 2010. Schaff, who has Down syndrome, was asked to leave a Southern Oregon University class because the instructor felt that she required too much individual time. While there’s no doubt that crowded public universities don’t have the luxury of providing much individual attention, the ham-handed expulsion angered many in the community.
Now Eliza is enrolled at Highline Community College near Seattle, Wash., which has a program specifically for developmentally disabled students. It seems like a good fit and good news for Eliza, her parents and her many supporters.
Cheers: Posthumously, to Patricia Ann Mills-Spencer-Bemis-Adams, who penned her own obituary, filling it with humor, hope, a few frank details and a lot of personality. Ms. Mills-Spencer-Bemis-Adams died Aug. 27, but, save for the date, had written her own obituary before passing. It was published in Sunday’s Mail Tribune. If you missed it, it’s worth digging out your Sunday paper to read, or check it out online at www.mailtribune.com/obituaries.
Hmmm: No cheers, no jeers for incoming District Attorney Beth Heckert, who along with her husband owns some low-income rental units in Phoenix. It’s unfair to label them slumlords, as the tenants and city officials our reporter talked with had no complaints. But Tuesday’s story included these descriptions of the units: patched windows, old pipes, tattered siding, peeling paint, water damage and mold. And a photograph showed a front door on one of the units that was beyond repair.
Credit to the Heckerts for fixing things up, including replacing the door; but it’s worth noting the repairs are being done in the wake of a TV news story prompted by complaints.
Hmmm.
SOU raising money to help former basketball player Moore
Moore confined to wheelchair with life-threatening disease
September 26, 2012 2:00 AM
Former Southern Oregon men’s basketball player Erion Moore is in need of financial assistance as he battles Systemic Scleroderma, and the SOU athletic department is teaming up with criminology professor Lore Rutz-Burri and others who want to help Erion raise the funds needed for his treatment.
Moore played basketball for the Raiders from 2005-07 and was one of the more popular student-athletes to attend SOU before graduating with a degree in criminal justice. In February 2009, at age 26, he was diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma, a chronic connective tissue disease that affects the skin, esophagus, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, heart and other organs.
Moore contracted the most severe type of the disease and has been confined to a wheel chair for the past year. His disease is rapidly progressing and life-threatening, and he can no longer care for himself either physically or financially.
He is scheduled to have a stem cell transplant at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital to reverse the symptoms. While Medicaid is covering the cost of the operation, Moore will have to stay in Chicago for six weeks while he undergoes chemotherapy and radiation treatment to prepare for the transplant. Friends and fans of Moore are hoping to raise enough money to cover the $15,000 expected costs for his time in Chicago.
A “donative account” has been set up at Umpqua Bank under the fund name “Erion Moore II Scleroderma Fund,” and checks can be made out to “Erion Moore, II, Scleroderma Fund” and sent to the SOU athletic department for deposit into the account. The department will also be taking donations at the annual men’s basketball Alumni Game, scheduled for Oct. 20.
Playing primarily as a power forward, Moore provided added muscle to a 2005-06 Southern Oregon Raider squad that advanced to the NAIA Division II national tournament. Earlier that season, Southern Oregon ran off 15 straight wins.