Pepper Trail: “This stretch of Interstate-5 in Southern Oregon is a known killing field for wildlife and dangerous for motorists. The highway cuts through a critical connection for wildlife moving between two mountain ranges and home to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which is the only national monument specifically established for the protection of its rich biodiversity.”
Matt Witt: “Consumers could make it a point to patronize local stores and food producers, and also ask why a company like Costco can afford to set its minimum wage at $17 an hour when Walmart says it can’t.”
Pepper Trail: “I’m not ready to declare myself a citizen of the post-apocalypse. We don’t have to live there. Instead, let’s accept that humanity and the whole planet are ‘apocalypse-adjacent.’ The apocalypse is before us and we can see it clearly. But the world is not yet ruined.”
Matt Witt: “Communities in the rural West can stand up to giant outside gas companies, if they work together despite their differences. That’s how the Jordan Cove gas pipeline project was finally killed in Oregon by a coalition of conservative ranchers and farmers, climate activists, Indigenous tribal leaders, anglers and coastal residents.”
We have unleashed the fire-predator through our own choices By Pepper Trail The grizzly bear. The wolf. The cougar. These magnificent creatures, apex predators, how can we not admire them?
Community adults who would like to pass on knowledge and skills to others for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s spring term are invited to submit course proposals by Friday, Dec. 15.
Reader photos: Friday evening, on the second night of Hanukkah, some 70 people gathered on Ashland Plaza to hold a vigil for a permanent Gaza cease-fire in the light of newly lit menorah candles.
Ashland Parks & Recreation Commissioners listened to a litany of mostly good news at their regular business meeting Wednesday, including a new PVC liner for the Daniel Meyer Pool at a cost of $61,000 and opening a new mountain bike trail.
Obituary: Margaret McCartney died Dec. 4 at 83. Memorial services are planned for 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N. 2nd St., Ashland.
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has announced plans to offer free opioid overdose reversal kits to middle and high schools throughout the state. Ashland Superintendent Samuel Bogdanove shared his support for the increase in availability of Narcan, the brand name for a device that delivers naloxone, to Oregon schools, including in Ashland.
With local rescue groups still overflowing with cats and kittens, those wishing to bring home a new family member for the holidays will have opportunities to do so on two upcoming December weekends. On Saturday, Dec. 9, Ashland-based Friends of the Animals (formerly Friends of the Animal Shelter) will partner with Feral Cat Advocacy (FCA), Melly Cat Rescue, and Hero Tails Animal Sanctuary for a Feline Fair at the Rogue Valley Mall.
(It’s free)