The 54th annual Talent Harvest Festival — the city’s biggest event of the year — kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, featuring live music across six stages, family-friendly activities, and a “Wheely Fun Parade.”
Events Sunday in Ashland and Friday in Phoenix mark the International Day of Peace and the closing of a “Week of Peace.” Sunday’s event at the Thalden Pavilion marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) features Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey as keynote speaker and music by the Ashland Peace Choir, all by the world’s only solar-powered World Peace Flame, a living symbol of unity, hope and environmental stewardship.
The Ashland Community Food Bank doubled its volume in August, reflecting a troubling trend fueled by inflation, job loss and tightening access to food assistance programs. Executive Director Amy Broeker warns the level of need could soon become the norm as food bank faces shortfalls in funding and more competition for scarce local grants. Broeker and other leaders are calling on the community to step in.
The 2020 Almeda Fire destroyed 144 homes at the Mountain View Estates. Five years later, the manufactured home park for people over 55 has rebuilt 90 “firewise” homes and last year was recognized nationally as the area’s first firewise community.
As Talent and Phoenix mark five years since the devastating Almeda Fire, Talent Maker City, a local nonprofit, will host several events, including workshops to preserve dozens of murals around Talent and an event on pet preparedness.
Nearly five years after the Almeda Fire, the communities of Phoenix and Talent are steadily rebuilding. From new housing and city infrastructure to maintaining school enrollment, signs of resilience are everywhere. Local leaders say the recovery is ongoing — but progress is undeniable.
Classes aren’t back in session just yet, but there were lessons learned this week at Talent Middle School and Phoenix High School. A training exercise on Monday was months in the making, involving Phoenix, Talent and Ashland police departments and upwards of 100 volunteers, including Phoenix High School football players and students, staff and parent volunteers.
Through a partnership with Jackson Care Connect, Phoenix-Talent School District is hosting its first Healthy Start Block Party at Phoenix High School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. The free community fair will offer a wide range of free resources to local students and their families, including from Talent and Ashland.
As the fifth anniversary of the Almeda and South Obenchain fires approaches, Rogue Action Center will host a two-day community story-sharing event for those affected by the 2020 fires from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, and Friday, Aug. 22, at the Talent Community Center.
The Jackson County Animal Shelter announced that the shelter near Talent will offer reduced and waived adoption fees through Aug. 17. Dogs who have been at the shelter for 75 or more days are available with all fees waived. All other dogs are available for 50% off regular adoption rates.
John Paul Valdez: The necessity for service model reform in Jackson County is starkly illuminated by the failure of the centralized system to recognize the organic, effective mutual aid operating within sparse communities.
Michael O’Looney: President Donald Trump’s relentless name-calling of those he regards as his adversaries in politics and the media has become something more than a feeble attempt at conjuring up innocuous nicknames. Besides being childish and unimaginative, his slurs have become methodically vicious.
Public hearings on a pair of projects, one in a quiet residential neighborhood along Scenic Drive and the other in a busy commercial area near Shop’n Kart grocery market are set before the Ashland Planning Commission Tuesday, Dec. 9.
The Ashland City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 2, took steps to repurpose two city-owned properties — the 846-acre Imperatrice property and the 380 Clay St. parcel — as part of a broader effort to rein in city finances.
Concert violinist Carla Ecker moves in a steady triangle between Phoenix, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the Rogue Valley — performing opera, symphony and chamber music.
Don’t miss your chance to experience the Ashland High School production of “Wizard of Oz” in its closing weekend.
(It’s free)
