Heroes of Our Valley

HEROES OF OUR VALLEY DECEMBER 27, 2020

Recognizing those who have been on the front lines and behind the scenes through the traumas of the past year

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Two Jackson among the late County residents are st novel coronav cases in Oregon of the irus according to pub known as COVID-19, lic health offi cials.

The two locals tified by author — who were not idenitie same household s, but do live in the — are among fou r new

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Call Mail Trib une publisher Ste ve Saslow at 541-776-444 1 or send an email by 11 a.m. to deliveryiss ues @rosebudmedi a.com.

Jackson Count y

TBREAK ■ Health: The lastest events nationally and delays in the abroad, inclu U.S. in procurin ding g proper test ■ Local: Fire ing kits. Page fighters trip A6 to Seattle post ■ Sports: Team pon ed. s begin dealing Page B2 with repercus sions. Page D6

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pat ien ts acr oss the stat e tha t wer e flagged as pos itiv Laboratory, Dr. e at the Oregon State Jim Shames wit son County Hea h lth and Human JackServices said Saturday at a press con ference The cas es, wh ich brin g Ore . gon ’s

The two Jackso n residents did no County t need to be hospitalized, are isolating themselves in their and are fully coo home with public hea perating lth officials.

total to seven, are considered sumptive,” bec “preaus awaiting confirm e health officials are ation from the for Disease Con Centers has been linked to resp iratory illness trol while travelin The two locals, in Washington. g with ages betw according to Sha outside the country, and 74, were een 55 mes. exposed to the virus that SEE COVID19,

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The coronavirus panThe fires that ignited demic that began in Asia, lifting up, reaching out, Sept. 8 forced thousands LOCAL spread across Europe and18-year-old cha extending the charity of the from homes and businesses rged with drive-by shooting then targeted the United they would never see again. heart.

States hit Jackson County in Individual acts of bravery Heroes. early March — separated us have been recounted, folIn the pages to follow, physically and politically, lowed by the selflessness we are presenting a small shut down our businesses, of legions of volunteers sampling of “Heroes of schools and arts and finally, attending to the emotional Our Valley,” individuals as you read this, took the and everyday torment and groups whose actions lives of our families, friends scorched in the aftermath of throughout the pandemic and neighbors. the flames. and the fires are emblematic “The earlier we Local events an Regardless of how we n conn Whycado some choosed outo treach help pre ect pareso of more in a battle childmany ren — and pa with them rents — for kin individually view COVIDrgarten ... the more danger to keep walk toward that we understand deto be prepared the I 19, there should be no child spreading? it from Why do and family ongoing, even as it leaves its will be to make disagreement over the that transitio they quell the n fires, heal the imprint on our future. in the fall.” admiration and respect our sick, keep the peace, tend to It’s an attitude best community has for those on the afflicted and then clear expressed by Jonatan Reyes, a the medical front lines; the the of Fucharred ll of souremnants nd and fury, a Phoenix High School student caregivers who tend to the destruction? ccowho mplilost shin his pet g home ... notand muhis most at-risk among us; and ch In the emerging restoration dogs in the Alameda fire. so many others in the public of Talent and Phoenix and “Stay united,” he said, and private sectors whose other impacted areas, in the creativity and commitment advent of a vaccine, through while visiting with other fire victims sheltered at The have given us avenuesREofFRESH. REthe smoke and ash, the ST OR E. RE PE AT . continuity on the roadJUST toCALL THE Mdebate and misinformation, $ Expo. “Help each other out.

AIDS. Don’t give up.” recovery. the answer becomes clear.

We might want to forget We adapt so that we may Why? Because there is no 541-241-8 009 the 2020 as soon as clocks MAIDS.com move forward and, in that other option. strike midnight.

But we atmosphere, heroes emerge And, as we rebuild, a quieventually might come in the headlines and behind eter heroism takes shape. to see it as a moment that the scenes.

It’s one carried out by our taught us once again about Then five months later, family, friends and neighas we began to adjust to bors a step, a decision, a day the heroism required to forge a community. wearing face masks, work- at a time.

Stay united. ing from home and joining It’s not about seeking Help each other out.

Zoom gatherings, we were praise or compensation; struck again.

Don’t give up. satisfaction comes from A Medford youn g adult is in the Jackson County Jail on charges he fi red a stolen gun from a car in a South Medford neighborhood.

Jaime Arturo Fletes, 18, was arrested on a felony theft and misdemeanor weapons char ges stemmin g from a non-inju ry drive-by shooting in the 600 block of South Holly Stre et, according to a release issu ed by Medford police. At abou t 4:58 p.m., a witness reported shots fired in the area and saw a silver Volkwagen Jetta spee d away. Officers flocked to the area, secured a perimeter, and found the sedan parked in the 900 bloc k of Kenyon Stre et with three occupants in the car. While Matthew Robe police were mak rtson, left, Laci ing contact, Robertson, Lena Fletes allegedly Robertson, 5, fled on foot and Jessica Robe to a residence rtson attend a nearby. After Kindergarten a Launch at Jewe standoff lasti JAMIE LUSCH tt Elementary ng about an hou / MAIL TRIBUNE School Tuesday. r, Fletes left the Kenyon Street home without further incident and was take n into custody.

Police said they recovered a spent casing in an alley near where witnesse s reported the

By Kaylee Torn shot was fired, ay but no victim Mail Tribune or damage caus for myself, bec ed by the gun ause this is suc shot.

The firearm belo h a huge change.” nged to a because she’s family member our baby, and n the cafeteri Lena, their 5-y of Fletes, and it’s been five years sinc a of Jewett Elem ear-old daught police believe e we’ve done tary enwho Fletes used the School on Tue er, was hug-wrestl this. So we hav sday evening, weapon with ing Jess wit ica h out the relative’ her older two e a pretty big gap between and Matthew sister between .” s the Rob them knowledge or erts , is on one the sat at of several long second permission. As child the couple But row that s of Saturday even of will ’s tabl exa hav dozens of oth e seen off to kindergarten ing, charges er families, fidd es with was at Jewett ctly why the family have not yet come next fall. a green registra six months befo ling with with been filed by But ano firs tion re the ther Len t day pap a’s new Jackson County . er and a handstudent comes ful of personal District Attoruncertainties, new doc The Kindergart ney’s office in from what thei “It really hit me uments. en Launch eve the case. Flete r will be like to nt was today knowin s is being held how she’ll feel teacher designed to replace trep we were going Teresa Slater, g that in jail without idat abo bein ion ut faci info to g in the new env with litator, rmation, equippi bail on Medford Jessica Roberts come do this,” said ironment.

Early Learning ng parents wit police’s felony “She’s our mor knowledge to on. “It makes Hub h charge of first-d set me emotional, it mak egree theft and I’m not nervou e outgoing child, so long-term suc their children up for es me nervou misdemeanor s, for her, s for that reas cess from thei counts of men on,” Jesr first day sica Robertson in kindergarten acing, reckless said . . “I’m just ner ly endangering vous another pers STATE LEGISL on and unlawfu SEE STUDENT, lly ATURE possessing a A9 firearm.

FROM CHILD TO

Classifieds ....C6 -7 Obituaries ........

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A7 Opinion ........ B2 Local ............. . B4-6 B1-3 Nation/World...A4- Sports ...........D1-6 5 West..............

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114th year, No. 32 pages, 4 sect 346 ions

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By Hillary Borr

OregonLive.com

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Ore gon ’s Leg sup pos ed to isla tur e was me wee ks. But thr et for five ee wee ks in, Republicans walked out and day after day, , stayed away.

Unable to pas ocrats gave up s bills, DemThursday and abruptly adjourn ed the session.

Republicans walked out to

accomplish one Democrats’ car thing: to kill Senate Bill 1530 became bon-capping officlimate bill. cial . “In the “Our office is Mis having converplished, at leas sion accom- will be taki com ing day s, I sations The just-conclu ng executive acti t for with the Dep artm ded 32-day on It’s dead, althoug now. to lower our greenhouse gas of Justice to ensure the ent ses sio n cos t an est h Gov. Kate Brown is said gov- $48 emissions.” ima ted ernor acts as to be readying 5,0 00 acc ord aggressively a draft of an exe The as she spe can Legislative Fisc ing to the cifi cutive order to Bro wn wil cs of the ord er utes,” within Oregon statena ct som e, al Office, and said Kate Kon if legislators pas l issu e are n’t day sed bill’s measure not all of the known. yet en, onl a spo y three keswoman for s.

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Heroes.

In this day and age — with our desire for instant analysis, our need to rank accomplishments, and our fervor to argue over the merits of those we only “know” through our screens — it’s a label that is applied too often and seen too rarely.

That is, until tragedy derails our 24/7/365 ... and we are reminded once again as to what distinguishes honest heroism.

As much as the residents of Southern Oregon would like to wake up Jan. 1, and discover that 2020 was nothing more than a bad dream, we will not be that lucky.

DID YOU REMEM

BER? Daylight Saving Time began this morning. If you forg an hour later tha ot, it’s already n you think.

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

CONTENTS

HEROES OF OUR VALLEY 3

LOCAL HEROES: The COVID-19 pandemic and the September wildfires reminded us of the many ways we can be heroic.

18

A COMMUNITY GARDEN FOR THE COMMUNITY: Providence Medford Medical Center continues its Garden of Giving to aid local food banks.

6

‘OUR HOUSEKEEPERS ARE ROCK STARS’: The pandemic put an emphasis on hospital cleaning crews to eliminate spreading the coronavirus.

22

A TEST OF WILL: Asante specialists have battled the elements outside (and inside) their suits to check to see whether patients have the virus.

8

HOW TO TURN 3 MONTHS INTO 20 YEARS: The director of Medford’s Kid Time museum found new ways to keep house-bound children active.

26

‘HE WAS ALWAYS MY HERO’: Family and friends remember a Phoenix resident who gave his life helping others escape the Almeda fire.

10

‘I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT SHE HAS DONE’: A Central Point volunteer worked to make sure the city maintained its sense of community.

28

DISPATCH FROM THE INFERNO: A volunteer firefighter recounts the drama of being called into action at a moment’s notice.

13

YOUR HEROES OF OUR VALLEY: Readers cite first-responders, public servants and others who came to the forefront in time of crisis.

33

‘I’M JUST GLAD IT’S STILL STANDING’: Managers of a Talent apartment complex describe what it took to keep the flames from burning it down.

JAMIE LUSCH PHOTO / MAIL TRIBUNE

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

Wishing you hope and good health in 2021

As we look back on a year of unprecedented challenges, Providence is deeply grateful for our community and our caregivers. Through the toughest times, you have all been heroes, supporting one another with courage and compassion.

Now we look to the new year with hope. In partnership with our community and with our 110-year Mission in southern Oregon at the heart of all we do, we’re dedicated to caring for people in need, especially those who are vulnerable and underserved.

From all of us at Providence, we wish you well, now and throughout the coming year.

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

‘ALL OUR HOUSEKEEPERS ARE ROCK STARS’ So that they keep patients and staff in a safe environment, Asante cleaning crews need to be nimble, well informed

By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune

A

daptability and time management are pressing concerns for Molly Hoover, a housekeeper at Rogue Regional Medical Center who works to keep the facility sanitized as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

“Things can be changing every day, hour to hour. You have to be on your toes, go with the flow,” said Hoover, who works on one of three floors at the center where workers are required to don masks, face shields and gowns.

Environmental

services, which tackles the cleaning, has about 125 employees who work in three shifts. They are responsible for clearing the entire RRMC building on Barnett Road, as well as the Smullin Center and Asante Imaging.

“It takes a little bit more time to make sure you are gowned-up with your mask, your face shield,” said Hoover.

“There’s also more time to figure out time management.”

Extra attention and effort impacted all workers, as the entire unit was suddenly faced with new challenges in early March.

“For a while we were working seven days a week, long hours, to get all this figured out,” said Judy Abbott, environmental services manager. “Lately, it’s kind of leveled off. When we first went into the COVID pandemic we were changing frequently, we went along with Oregon Health Authority mandates.”

Some older employees, deemed to be at higher risk, took leaves of absence in the early days, but all those individuals have returned to work.

“Everyone is coming to work. Everyone is showing up. They are not afraid to be here,” said Abbott.

SEE ROCK STARS, PAGE 12

“You’re doing extra wipe-downs of surfaces, making sure that you have a four-hour waiting period after your first cleaning. You have to clean each room once and go back and clean again.”

Molly Hoover, a housekeeper at Rogue Regional Medical Center

Sunday, December 27, 2020 | 7

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

HOW TO TURN

3 MONTHS INTO 20 YEARS

Kid Time Director Sunny Spicer still navigating the ebbs and flows of changing needs

By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune

S

unny Spicer, director of Kid Time Children’s Museum in Medford, never envisioned herself as a champion for early childhood development.

By the time she was recruited in 2002 to “help out for three months,” Kid Time had existed since establishing nonprofit status in 1998.

With a background in campaigning and nonprofits, the Oregon native planned to follow in the lawyerly footsteps of her dad. Hired to help with grant writing and to organize events to rally community support for a discovery museum, Spicer had no idea she would see the effort through to fruition — much less be the virtual “glue” of the organization nearly two decades later.

“I like to joke that this has been the longest three months of my life,” Spicer said.

“I was going to jump in and then leave. I didn’t know anything about children’s museums at the time, so I set out to learn more and realized how much of a need there was for this place that was being dreamed up. It was so important.”

Kid Time, which closed March 13, in response to the novel coronavirus, also committed to helping families

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Sunny Spicer walks through a new kindergarten space at the new Kid Time location in downtown Medford.

Kid Time, which closed March 13, in response to the novel coronavirus, also committed to helping families that are sheltering at home with the “Kid Time: Home Edition” initiative, a program that includes videos and activities to keep kids engaged at home. that are sheltering at home with the “Kid Time: Home Edition” initiative, a program that includes videos and activities to keep kids engaged at home.

“This past year has brought

us so many trials and tribulations. Challenges we never thought we would face. Yet through it all, the kids still bring so much love and enthusiasm to all that they do,” Spicer said. “Their

resilience, their compassion for each other, their ability to look past the things that don’t matter will be one of the driving forces that inspire me and so many of us through the next phase of Kid Time’s evolution.”

Imaginative activity, dubbed “free-play” by scientists, is a vital component in proper brain development, Spicer explained, actually changing the way the brain is wired.

“It’s long been proven that kids who engage in free-play build a foundation for success not only in school but,

ultimately, for their entire life,” she said.

“So we built something that was definitely nontraditional by way of children’s museums, but also that would fit our Rogue Valley.”

Founded by a board of directors in the late 1990s, Kid Time supporters rallied for four years to create an operations plan and establish community partnerships.

When it was time to hit the road and share Kid Time with future patrons, Spicer contributed everything from vision and manual labor.

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

9

While the Kid Time Children’s Museum in Medford has been closed during the pandemic, it has scheduled several events for kids to enjoy at home ... such as a virtual Polar Express Adventure, complete with “elf-made” gift bags, which was held in the days before Christmas.

“In 2003, my husband and fatherin-law built some exhibit samples that would fit in my mini van. I would take them to community events and other locations throughout the region, meeting people, showing them what a children’s museum could be for their children,” she recalled.

“By 2005, we secured the former Moose Lodge (on Ross Lane and McAndrews). Over the course of six weeks, my husband and I, some volunteers, and our board members turned a nonprofit bar into the first version of Kid Time. ... Our plan was to open for three months, then close to launch a big capital campaign for permanent exhibits. The demand to stay open was huge — so we kept going.”

Kid Time would evolve, moving into a vacant portion of the SOHS History Center in 2011, adding some muchloved exhibits from the former museum space. Learning Loft preschool — now ranked among the top preschools in the state — launched with 12 part-time students in 2014, expanding over the past half-dozen years to include satellite locations at elementary schools throughout Southern Oregon.

Ever-changing, the latest evolution of Kid Time is 20 years in the making, with a regional play facility and preschool offerings. Despite changes to operating hours and other services brought on by the pandemic, Kid Time most recently, thanks to a 50-year, $1-per-year lease by the city of Medford, moved into the historic Carnegie Building.

MF-00132553

“Kid Time has shown me that a group of kids who have never met, from diverse backgrounds, who may not even speak the same languages, can become best friends, can build a fort, create beautiful art, or even run a business of their own creation — in just a few hours, through the power of play.”

Sunny Spicer, director, Kid Time Children’s Museum

A capital campaign launched in 2019, coupled with a $2 million grant from the Legislature this summer, is allowing for continued renovations and expansion.

Kid Time founding board member Andy Batzer credited Spicer’s unwavering passion for Kid Time with its ongoing success.

“The whole key in work and in life is to be passionate about what you’re doing and being committed to make that decision that you’re going to do something ... and do it the right way. And that’s Sunny,” Batzer said.

“She has been a driving force, and she has brought together an incredible staff of like-minded people and board members that believe in the same vision.

That’s what attracted me to want to be

involved. If we are going to look at the problems we’re facing as a society — every problem that we have is somehow tied to early childhood development and developmental trauma — then we need to start as early as we can.”

Longtime supporter and former teacher Melissa Alexander said Spicer was the lifeblood of Kid Time.

“Sunny has made it her life’s work to create a safe, engaging and family-friendly place in the Rogue Valley.

She has kept Kid Time operating through some extremely trying circumstances where other people in similar circumstances might have given up,” Alexander said.

“She, seemingly magically, continues to find resources and people to not only continue on with her original vision but to create even better programs, ideas, activities and exhibits to benefit the community. She’s now working on her

third physical location of Kid Time, and each building and the operations within become more amazing than the last.”

Not one for accolades, Spicer credits her staff, volunteers and community support for the success of Kid Time.

While she admittedly stuck around longer than “three months to help out,” she’s happy to hold on for the ride.

At the end of the day, the simplest interactions and opportunities for the youngest community members, she said, are at the heart of everything she and others will continue to strive for.

“Kid Time has shown me that a group of kids who have never met, from diverse backgrounds, who may not even speak the same languages, can become best friends, can build a fort, create beautiful art, or even run a business of their own creation — in just a few hours, through the power of play,” she added.

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

‘I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT SHE HAS DONE’

By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune

C

Debbie Saxbury sets the tone for kindness with her volunteer efforts in Central Point

entral Point native Debbie Saxbury has spent a lifetime serving as the example of community advocacy.

Those closest to her rattle off lists of ways Saxbury has impacted the town she has loved for as long as she can remember. Pulling off project after project and countless 11th-hour solutions, Saxbury has a knack for helping and unifying those around her.

Hew McElroy, who runs Crater Café with his wife and co-owns the Point Pub and Grill, called Saxbury “the embodiment of the spirit of Central Point.”

In addition to sponsoring “cash mobs” to keep small businesses afloat, Saxbury helped initiate a gift card program that funded nearly $20,000 in meals to help families — and businesses — impacted by the pandemic.

That is in addition to “her amazing civic contributions to the community, including the Blue Light project (for local police),

coordinating holiday events and overseeing projects to help the less fortunate among us,” McElroy said.

“Debbie has been instrumental in the survival of Central Point small business. She is a rock star!”

A longtime city parks advocate, she worked for decades in various capacities to promote historic preservation, holiday events and park projects, including the city’s first fireworks show over a quarter century ago and a Fourth of July car cruise to help residents enjoy a socially distanced Independence Day. The daughter of the late Central Point mayor William Saxbury, the 64-year-old cut her teeth on good deeds.

She watched years ago as her parents, who ran downtown clothing and furniture stores, offered everything from advice or a helping hand to cash loans for high-schoolers to attend the weekend dance. When a community member’s home burned down, her father delivered free bunk beds for the family’s children.

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Debbie Saxbury, shown in downtown Central Point, has worked for decades in various ways to promote historic preservation, holiday events and park projects.

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

11

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Easter eggs on the windows of Mary’s BBQ Place were part of a virtual egg hunt in Central Point, one of the holiday events in the city that Debbie Saxbury had a hand in organizing to help residents remain social during the pandemic.

“Dad couldn’t even afford it at the time, but he couldn’t bear seeing the kids without beds,” Saxbury recalled.

“I guess those are the kinds of things that stick with you. I always wanted to make my parents proud, and I knew how important the community was to them. They taught me that. If we don’t help each other, why are we here?”

Following in her parents’ footsteps, Saxbury started young.

“When I was in junior high, I remember rounding up some friends, skipping school and grabbing our wagons. We went door to door on a food drive during the holidays,” she said.

When her son started kindergarten, she befriended a single father of a young girl, offering advice and helping with school clothes over the years, eventually finding donations to fix up the family’s old double-wide and the girl’s bedroom.

As an adult, Saxbury rounded up volunteers to plant flowers downtown, coordinated murals for several

building walls and founded an annual river float for Crater High alumni.

After a homeless man was found frozen to death in December 2009, Saxbury worked with a local church to help establish one of Southern Oregon’s first attempts at a warming station for homeless people.

In more recent years she pooled donations to fund hotel rooms during a cold snap to get homeless community members into dozens of paid-for hotel rooms.

Formerly homeless, Sams Valley resident Johnathan Sanders said Saxbury helped him change the course of his life.

“She was volunteering her help at the church I was going to when I was homeless. She did a lot of amazing things for me and a lot of amazing things for other people. She would always bring us clothes, give us rides if we needed it. I even went to court and she had gotten me clothes for court and gave me a ride,” said Sanders.

“I will never forget what she has

done for me and everybody else. I’ll forever be grateful of that. She has a heart of gold.”

In recent years, Saxbury has utilized social media — hosting four different community pages — to help even more. Weekly posts on her Facebook page run the gamut from a homeless man with a vet bill to helping collect donations for fire victims.

Central Point resident Patricia Alvarez said Saxbury sets the standard of kindness, “always doing something for Central Point.”

“She’s the one who helped get that statue in front of Premier West Bank, she started an adopt-a-neighborhood cleanup, has been a longtime advocate for the senior center. I’m sure she does a ton that we never even hear about,” Alvarez said.

“Debbie just does a lot of good and inspires others to do good, too. Anybody who needs anything, if she’s able to figure out how to help, that’s what she does.”

Alvarez recalled a community member battling cancer, looking

for an affordable recliner with “lift” capabilities.

She added, “I put it out to Debbie, and within two hours we had one for them. It was almost brand new and it made such a difference for that person. You just mention somebody is in need and Debbie’s there.”

Matt Samitore, city of Central Point parks and public works director, calls Saxbury “a local treasure” with “an unwavering love for Central Point and its history and its future.”

Saxbury counts herself the lucky one, to have the chance to make the town she loves the best version of “small-town American” that it can be.

“Literally, every day, I think, ‘What can I do to make my community better?’ I live and breathe that statement night and day,” Saxbury said.

“I feel lucky to be able to figure out ways to help. I just truly love people and I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that most people are good.

Sometimes you just have to remind them.”

“I guess those are the kinds of things that stick with you. I always wanted to make my parents proud, and I knew how important the community was to them.

They taught me that. If we don’t help each other, why are we here?”

Debbie Saxbury, speaking about her volunteer efforts in Central Point

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

Crater Chain Saw

We want to take this opportunity to

Environmental services, which tackles the cleaning, has about 125 employees who work in three shifts.

Staff members are required to wear gowsn, masks and face shields before beginning their duties.

ROCK STARS From Page 6

There were concerns at first, but some workers, including Hoover, said they wanted to stay on their floors even though it meant extra precautions due to heightened risk.

There have been changes to established procedures. Now if a patient has breathing treatment, such as respiratory therapy, there’s a twohour wait time before entering a room to reduce the risk of encountering an airborne virus.

“You’re doing extra wipe-downs of surfaces, making sure that you have a four-hour waiting period after your first cleaning,” said Hoover. “You have to clean each room once and go back and clean again. It’s added protection during the pandemic.”

Asante’s infection prevention department passes information to the unit on how to best handle operations. Those directives come from the Oregon Health Authority, which in turn relies on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The biggest challenge is to make sure everybody is on the same page and that we are dealing with the latest information,” said Abbott. “We communicate every shift any changes, what is new for the day. We do that in person. We have three supervisors for each shift and six coordinators who help with the supervision.”

Huddles are held at the start of each shift, said Kathie Pasckvale, coordinator of hospitality services who conducts some of the training sessions that are held in addition to the daily information sharing.

“Most people right now are concerned about what is going on. Our housekeepers want to stay up on

Asante’s infection prevention department passes information to the unit on how to best handle operations. Those directives come from the Oregon Health Authority, which in turn relies on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. things,” said Pasckvale. “For the most part people feel secure. If we can’t give them an answer to the questions that are asked, we try to find it.”

Multiple levels of oversight are built into the unit.

“We make certain that everyone feels comfortable in the situation to follow through with the training,” said Sherri Peterson, a daytime shift coordinator.

“All our housekeepers are rock stars.

They not only protect our patients by sanitizing the rooms, but they are also protecting the doctors, the nurses, anyone else in the hospital.”

“If anyone is having concerns they can come and talk with me,” said Marabeth Jones, a shift supervisor.

“I’d rather be here in the hospital because I know it’s cleaner than out in the community.”

Asante hired additional workers at first, and some of those have been kept on, primarily to work on cleaning surfaces, while the regular staff tackles the more involved cleaning regimens. Because staffing is at a good level, there has been little need to ask employees to work extra hours.

Cleaning techniques really haven’t changed as everything was cleaned top to bottom using approved agents before the pandemic, said Abbott, but there is more frequency.

THANK

our first responders and our every day essential workers.

Our community needs you & appreciates you.

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Sunday, December 27, 2020 | 13

YOUR HEROES OF OUR VALLEY Over the next few pages, readers offer their own suggestions of people and organizations that have shown themselves to be local heroes through this year’s turmoil

My daughter, and other parents, are heroes My daughter KELSEY ALLEN has worked as a respiratory therapist at Rogue Regional Medical Center for 10 years. She is a hero during this time because she continues to work full time, 12-hour shifts, to care for our community.

She believes all of her education and experience has led to this, and she is dedicated to her career.

When not at work she is home-schooling her two sons, Killian, 8, and Koah, 6.

The fourth member of the family, dad Mark Johnson, is a nonessential worker. Mark’s place of employment is closed due to the pandemic, so Mark is now the CEO of the household and taking great care of the boys.

Kelsey Allen As with all of the parents in the Rogue Valley, Mark and Kelsey are given the additional task of home-schooling the boys. The Medford School District has done an amazing job of getting Chromebooks and assignments into the homes of the students.

My daughter’s family is representative of many in the Rogue Valley.

There is purpose in social distancing. This pandemic is giving us all a reset in our daily lives, showing us what is most important, being together even though we’re apart.

I am the grandma who is retired and calls and FaceTimes with those I love.

— Julie Brown

Nurse practitioner went all out No one who knows my sister-in-law ANNETTE BATZER will be surprised to learn she has used her incredible resourcefulness to keep us healthy through the COVID-19 crisis.

A nurse practitioner at Rogue Regional Medical Center’s advanced wound center, Annette is an essential worker whose job puts her in a high-risk group. In addition, Annette’s father is in his 90s and relies on caregivers who come into his home on a 24-hour-a-day basis, so he cannot self-quarantine.

Concern for her co-workers and for her father prompted her to seek a way to procure the hard-to-obtain face masks that prevent the wearer from getting the nasty virus. Annette and her sister, Debora McCready, decided they would make them.

Annette Batzer Annette wanted to learn how to make a mask that would both reliably protect the wearer and could be made from readily available materials. She enlisted the help of her daughter Rachel, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, to research the science aspects. Then, Annette’s Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol buddies volunteered to become part of the research team.

Annette sewed a variety of styles and tried them out. She paid close attention to important considerations like the fit of the mask and scientific concerns like the amount of air-filtered versus the amount of air-leakage. Annette decided on a “duckbill style” made from pipe cleaners and hair ties, and, most importantly, filter fabric usually used in furnaces — much more effective than cotton for stopping transmission of the virus.

— Anne Batzer

14

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

YOUR HEROES OF OUR VALLEY

ROGUE VALLEY MANOR STAFF KEPT US WELL It is remarkable that we have been and still are all well. That is because of this amazing group of people taking care of us.

We love our RVM team.

By Maria-Cristina Page

P

eople working at Rogue Valley Manor and at local nursing homes in this valley deserve to be named local heroes.

It is because of their dedication to their work that our beautiful Rogue Valley has not seen the devastation we have read affecting nursing homes in many other parts of the country.

I would like to honor as my local heroes every employee at Rogue Valley Manor who has been working hard to keep us residents healthy. We are around 970 people, from independent living to the most vulnerable, living at this campus.

It is remarkable that we have been and still are all well. That is because of this amazing group of people taking care of us. We love our RVM team.

They have inspired us with their dedication to make our lives inside campus pleasant and worry-free.

RVM has been proactive from the beginning. In late February, our campus was closed to all nonessential visitors. When the governor declared the state in lockdown, checkpoints

SUBMITTED PHOTO

A banner outside Rogue Valley Manor displays the appreciation of the residents.

were placed at the two main entries to campus. New safety protocols were put in action, group activities were canceled and we started isolation in our own units.

Employees were reassigned, some

keeping the entire campus sanitized and clean at all times. Cleaning of individual units was done following safety protocols. Food was delivered to our doors every day; this was a huge new task, requiring logistics and

coordination from food preparation to delivery.

Employees came day after day to their new work chores. Before their shifts, each one was screened and provided with mask and gloves to wear at all times while on the campus.

Gardeners, cooks, cleaning, laundry personnel, food deliveries, technicians, janitors, maintenance, every single worker on the campus had to follow the same strict safety protocols, and we have not been aware of any complaints.

Every one of these individuals is my hero. Because of their dedication and hard work, we have stayed healthy and safe during this pandemic.

Maria-Cristina Page lives at Rogue Valley Manor.

A heartfelt

Thank you!

To all

ESSENTIAL WORKERS From first responders to doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers who are working tirelessly as our first line of defense during these tough times.

You are our heroes.

Rick E. McClure, DPM, FACFAS

Medford Foot & Ankle Clinic, P.C. MF-00133044

Jeffery D. Zimmer, DPM

Michael A. DeKorte, DPM, FACFAS

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Sunday, December 27, 2020 | 15

YOUR HEROES OF OUR VALLEY

This amazing group every day puts aside their own anxieties, worries and stress that we all are feeling and focuses on caring for our patients.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

VALLEY FAMILY PRACTICE TEAM DESERVES PRAISE

By Cindy Konecne

I

would like to highlight and honor all the employees at Valley Family Practice.

Because of their commitment and dedication to our patients, we have been able to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusting how we give care as needed.

This amazing group every day puts aside their own anxieties, worries and stress that we all are feeling and focuses on caring for our patients.

Starting with the reassuring and familiar voices of Debbie and Ashley on the phones, to Justine, Daisy and Rachael greeting everyone on arrival to our clinic with a smile, gently

reminding everyone about social distancing.

There’s also the behind-the-scenes work of our biller Sonja, helping us all through the insurance maze, and Marie who can do anything you ask of her always with a smile.

Joey and Chrisy, our lab and X-ray staff, give gentle, caring service, along with Hayden, our IT expert, with his mischievous, subtle humor.

Our providers: Scott making us laugh at just the right time; Karen with her quiet demeanor keeping the calm; Sita looks out for us all and the environment too; Christy, quick to break a smile showing off those granddaughters; Monique, our consummate decorator even during a pandemic; Mike being there for his

patients, always listening. All are exceptionally dedicated to their patients and our staff.

The same is true of our individual medical assistants: Taylor, who has four boys so she knows how to be efficient; Danielle with her quiet humor; Tonya, dedicated, authentic and fun; Jessy, creative, compassionate and hard-working; Cari loves her babies (dogs and grandchildren); Melissa, a needed calming, reliable force.

Our office manager Dena makes it look so easy. She’s smart, sassy, outspoken, a needed leader.

These unsung heroes are devoted, loyal, dedicated to our community of patients not only during this historic time but at all times.

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

YOUR HEROES OF OUR VALLEY

He saves lives & teaches others how to do it too

‘We’re lucky’ our voices are heard in Salem

Going above and beyond the call of duty

Rethinking the Y to care for kids of essential workers

By Marc Bayliss

By Anna Beauchamp

By Jenny Marie

By Hugh Anderson

SCOTT DARLAND is an EMT/ paramedic for Mercy Flights. He is caring, compassionate, skilled and dedicated to helping everyone.

He wades into trouble spots and transports the sick and injured, calms their fears and starts them on the way to recovery.

He cannot talk a lot about his work — too many HIPPA rules. He is also a teacher, providing expert classroom instruction at College of the Siskiyous to EMT/paramedic students about intravenous intubation for first-responders.

He takes the time to visit (if he can) with responsive patients and always finds a way to make them feel hopeful and grateful.

It is his secret skill. He touches his patients in a human, compassionate way, but most of all he saves lives.

PAM MARSH has stood up for Southern Oregon every day of her tenure in the state Legislature.

She works tirelessly for solutions to our wildfire and smoke problems, our economic difficulties, and to make sure our voices are heard in the more populated parts of the state.

She listens to everyone and is always looking for ways to make a difference for all of us.

Her friendly, thoughtful and downto-earth style of hard work (often behind the scenes) should be a role model for all legislators.

We are lucky to have Pam Marsh working for us in Salem.

TAMARA NICHOLS is the janitor at Southern Oregon Linen Service, which services local hospital linen.

She goes above and beyond her job to keep the place clean and sanitized for the safety of the company.

When COVID-19 started, the company laid off many of the workers, but Tamara was one who was an essential due to her job role to the company.

She has always gone above and beyond with her work, and during the pandemic she really shined.

The Rogue Valley YMCA had to close down due to COVID-19 restrictions back in March. However, the Y did not go away.

Under the leadership of Executive Director BRAD RUSSELL, and along with a fantastic staff, the Y (in partnership with school districts) began child care services for essential workers.

People in the medical field, including police, firefighters and other first-responders, who had children who normally would be in school were pressed to find child care so they could be at their jobs.

Some 90 to 100 children per day were cared for by the Y staff under Russell’s leadership. This program was a model for other YMCAs around the country. With the Y slowly reopening, this program will continue along with the Y’s normal programming. Russell is providing the leadership needed for all of this to happen.

MF-00132950

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

MF-00133967

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18

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

A COMMUNITY GARDEN

FOR THE COMMUNITY

Sunday, December 27, 2020 | 19

Providence hospital garden keeps giving in pandemic times

By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune

P

rovidence Medford Medical Center employees already on the front lines during the pandemic are stretching a little more to continue the Garden of Giving, an effort on the campus to provide fresh produce to vulnerable members of the community that is in its sixth year.

“It’s just a matter of wanting to give back to the community, especially this year because of the pandemic,” said organizer Lila Farney, a Providence caregiver in the new patient call center. The garden produced more than 540 pounds of produce for donations in 2019. It looks like that number will be exceeded this year.

Early in the pandemic there were thoughts of not doing the garden, but not for a lack of desire, said Farney.

There were concerns about worker and recipient safety, but Jackson County Public Health advised the organizers that as long as they socially distanced in the garden and wore gloves

when picking produce, they could go ahead.

“It started basically as a community garden for employees to plant and harvest and do that for local charities,” said Farney, who took over management of the garden when her supervisor moved away last year.

Both Farney and Donna Bachek, supervisor of dietary services, say there seems to a greater outpouring of effort by Providence employees, likely sparked by the increased community need due to the pandemic.

Access Food Pantry and Hearts with a Mission have been regular produce recipients. New recipients for 2020 include an Access Food Pantry in Gold Hill, a small food pantry at the Odd Fellows Hall in Gold Hill and Compassion Highway Project.

The Maslow Project has been a recipient in the past.

“I’m just constantly looking for partners to take our vegetables,” said Farney. Among the most common produce items are tomatoes, squash, cucumber, eggplant, kale, onions, peppers and green beans.

The garden has 12 raised beds that measure about 6 by 12 feet each. A drip irrigation system provides water for the plants.

Fry Family Farm has been a regular donor of starts. Several vendors at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market provided starts this year, including Beebe Farms in Central Point and Round House Farms in Gold Hill.

SEE GARDEN, PAGE 20

The community garden produced more than 540 pounds of produce for donations in 2019.

It looks like that number will be exceeded this year.

20

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

GARDEN From Page 19

Wandering Roots Farm in Gold Hill donated seeds for future gardens, and Grange Co-op donated money to help purchase supplies.

The overriding goal for Farney early in the season is to make sure everything is moving forward, that beds are ready and starts get in the soil.

“After that is just making sure to connect with the people involved in wanting to know what is needed,” said Farney.

There’s a closed Facebook group at Providence that helps keep employees informed and features pictures of the garden.

Farney has also worked with Providence communications personnel to boost the internal information efforts.

“As the garden is right outside where I physically work, it’s easy for me to just go outside on lunch and breaks and work in the garden,” said Farney. She was furloughed from her position during spring but continued her garden efforts. That included enlisting her children in propagating starts that went into the garden.

A corps of volunteers keeps things going, joined by others, said Farney. Among them is Bachek, who Farney calls her go-to person for questions and right-hand helper.

“I am not a gardener. I lean on people who know what they are doing,” said Farney. Other regular supporters include Julie Laferriere, a surgical technician from Maternity Services, Mitch Stephens, a certified medical assistant, and Jessica Bray, a staffing supervisor who helps Farney with organizing and scheduling.

Family members and friends have also come out with the volunteers at times of major work such as preparing the beds and planting. At other times it’s just Providence workers at the site during daylight hours.

A break area is near the garden, and Bachek said it’s not unusual for employees to stop by during their breaks and help harvest and fill buckets that Farney leaves out for the produce.

“Folks will harvest some vegetables or pull some weeds. That seems constantly to be an issue,” said Bachek, who has worked on the garden since its creation in 2015. Harvesting usually continues until late September, she said.

COURTESY PHOTOS

“As the garden is right outside where I physically work, it’s easy for me to just go outside on lunch and breaks and work in the garden,” said organizer Lila Farney, a Providence caregiver in the new patient call center who was furloughed from her position this spring but continued her garden efforts.

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22

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Tiffany Kampstra prepares for COVID tesing at the South Medford drive-thru location.

A TEST OF WILL

Asante lab workers battle the elements, in and out of their protective suits, to screen patients for COVID-19

By Tony Boom

for the Mail Tribune

A

sante lab workers have stood outside in snow, rain and 90-degree heat to collect specimens for COVID-19 testing at the drivethru testing facility set up in March off Center Drive in south Medford.

There’s now an RV located at the site where workers can retreat for shelter from the elements. By July 28, 6,054 specimens had been collected at the drive-thru.

In all, 14,749 samples had been collected and tested across all Asante

locations, including one located off Black Oak Drive on the Medford campus.

Phlebotomist Tiffany Kampstra has spent up to six hours at a time in a PAPR suit that encloses the entire body and features a powered, air-purifying respirator attached to a hood.

All drive-thru workers gathering specimens wear the suits.

“They are not air conditioned, so it’s blowing in the outside air. It can be up to 115 degrees inside the suit,” said Kampstra. After each patient is seen, the suits are wiped down with bleach before another is served.

Beside the suit regimen, Kampstra has put in some longer days. Even

though the facility closes at 4 p.m., anyone in line then will be tested.

Phlebotomists are trained to administer the nasopharyngeal test, which is conducted by inserting a cotton swab on a stick into the nose, running it up to the sinuses and rotating to collect samples for analysis to detect the virus. Some find the test irritating, said Sherry Sorenson, manager of Asante Laboratory Outreach Services.

Asante had the drive-thru running March 13, just two days after it was proposed. In the early days over 200 patients were there per day.

SEE LAB WORKERS, PAGE 24

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

Our dedicated staff have displayed courage, kindness, and loyalty during a difficult year.

THANK YOU to all the Co-op staff for ensuring our community has access to healthy food!

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23

24

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

“We have what we call our work family. We are giving each other a lot of breaks.

But we feel really safe because of all the protective equipment. If there are concerns to make the job better, they are right on it getting us everything we request.”

Tiffany Kampstra, Asante phlebotomist

LAB WORKERS From Page 22

That slowed to around 50 in May, but has increased lately up to 120 per day.

“This was Asante saying, ‘we are going to have a need here. Let’s get it done and see what we can do for the community,’” said Sorenson.

Staffing at the drive-thru usually numbers three or four, although there were more in early days when up to 40 cars lined up at times. Patient surges usually occur at the start of the day, around the lunch hour and again at the end of the day, said Kampstra.

Patients must have a doctor’s order for the tests.

At the Black Oak lab there are seven workers.

Phlebotomists at the lab wear a gown on top of a lab coat, with face shield and mask. “It’s a lengthier procedure than what we normally do … but it is really important,” said Courtney Johnson.

Administering the swab tests is not a new procedure, said Johnson, but the workers are now performing a lot more. Besides patients referred by their doctors, tests are now being required for other undertakings, such as educational camps, sports teams, businesses testing employees who have traveled out of the area, and those going to destinations that require tests.

“We clean every surface that a patient could touch and also in between patients,” said Johnson, who has been a phlebotomist for 17 years. “It’s really important to be thoughtful and do the same thing every time so you don’t miss anything.”

Morale among workers seems to be good, and interviewees said they feel protected from the COVID virus in their environments.

“We have what we call our work family. We are giving each other a lot of breaks. But we feel really safe because of all the protective equipment,” said Kampstra. “If there are concerns to make the job better, they are right on it getting us everything we request.”

Johnson said she feels safer at work than she does in a grocery store. She also said patients are understanding about the need for tests and when procedures take longer than anticipated.

“It takes a toll on workers and being around their families. You have a constant push-pull. You are scared of bringing something to them,” said Johnson. Her husband is also a health care worker, and both live with the realization they could infect each other.

Johnson usually works four 10-hour shifts per week, but those get extended regularly if there are still tests to be administered. Keeping up on the latest guideline’s is also critical.

“We have to check our emails constantly. Procedures can change depending on what will be best at the time,” said Johnson.

“We have a lot of discussions, a lot of huddles,” said Sorenson, about both locations. “They kind of keep an eye on each other. The stress isn’t about the COVID itself. The busier the day they have, the

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Tiffany Kampstra prepares for COVID tesing at the South Medford location. “ It can be up to 115 degrees inside the suit,” she says.

more accomplishment they feel. They really understand they are fulfilling an important service.”

Phlebotomists are in demand nationally to conduct the testing, Sorenson said, and Asante is looking to hire more but at the same time asking staff to work more hours. The Black Oak lab is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Besides the lab and drive-thru, Asante has a mobile van, which Kampstra sometimes staffs, and which can go to retirement homes, skilled nursing sites and people’s homes.

The van serves a really fragile population that Asante doesn’t want coming to the drive-thru or a public location, said Sorenson.

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25

26

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

‘HE WAS ALWAYS

MY HERO’

By Buffy Pollock

for the Mail Tribune

W

hen the Almeda fire roared toward Talent and Phoenix the afternoon of Sept. 8, high winds and a lack of warning for the thousands of homes tucked between Highway 99 and Interstate 5 created a life-threatening disaster in mere minutes.

Donald Schmidt, an Army veteran and Phoenix resident who perished in the fire after helping to evacuate friends and neighbors, sent his wife and two of the couple’s dogs to get away from the smoke and danger after his stepson called to warn of a large fire getting dangerously close to their home.

Zach Bulebar of Central Point remembers feeling immediately concerned when he heard reports of the fire that began near the southern end of Ashland. Like many in Southern Oregon, he said he had been shocked at the devastation of the Paradise fire in November 2018, which killed 86 people and destroyed over 18,000 structures.

“I saw what happened in Paradise and just remember thinking, ‘Wow.’ We all saw the devastation there and never, ever thought something like that could happen here. It’s really still hard to believe it actually happened,” said Bulebar.

While no emergency alerts went out from Jackson County via cellphone or on television, he urged his parents to evacuate, “just to be on the safe side.”

“I had been kind of following the fire pretty early on through social media. A local news channel had a webcam that was kind of looking down. I thought it had to be farther down at Talent when it had actually made it all the way to Phoenix pretty quickly,” he said.

Almeda fire victim Donald Schmidt perished in Phoenix after helping friends and neighbors escape the charging flames

“I called my mom and asked if she’d heard about the fire. She said she had wondered about all the smoke. I told her it looked like there was a fire coming and that it seemed to be approaching pretty quick.

She wanted to wait for the 4 o’clock news — this was at 2:45 p.m. She said, ‘Everything seems pretty normal, and we haven’t had any warnings or anything like that.’

“But at that point I was telling her, ‘No, this seems like something bad is happening and I think you need to get out.”

Unbeknownst to Bulebar, his stepfather stayed behind to keep an eye on things and prevent spot fires around the couple’s home inside Bear Lake Estates. Less than an hour after his mother, Lisa Schmidt, left the park, flames reached the community.

Schmidt tried to call her husband around 3 p.m.

“When her call went straight to voicemail, that was our first indication that something was not good. Don had had a stroke before and was having some issues,” said the son.

“I think everyone was kind of hopeful he got out and just hadn’t contacted anyone yet.

“We called all the hospitals and went to The Expo to look for him. Don would have called pretty soon after the fire to let her know he was OK. We thought he could have been injured and maybe he just couldn’t talk. Your mind goes through all the scenarios.”

Within days of the fire, Bulebar said, local police and FBI visited the park and located Schmidt’s body in his burned-out home.

By his side were the remains of his 16-year-old German shepherd mix, a rescue dog named Roxanne who was the lone survivor when she and her littermates were thrown off a bridge at a few weeks of age.

As word of Donald Schmidt’s death began to spread, neighbors reached out to tell stories of the chaotic moments when the fire destroyed the community along I-5. First responders reportedly arrived as flames reached the park and stayed until the entire 210-unit community had become completely engulfed.

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This drone photo shows Bear Lake Estates in Phoenix, where Donald Schmidt lived, in the aftermath of the Almeda fire, during which he perished after helping neighbors evacuate.

As word of Schmidt’s death began to spread, neighbors reached out to tell stories of the chaotic moments when the fire destroyed the community along I-5.

First responders reportedly arrived as flames reached the park and stayed until the entire 210-unit community had become completely engulfed.

Neighbors said Schmidt and a few others helped evacuate neighbors on scooters, golf carts and on foot while dousing flames with garden hoses.

“My mom is completely devastated. It’s all been very emotional. She felt like, ‘I could lose my home but I can’t lose my best friend and the love of my life at the same time,” said Bulebar.

“She felt like everything would be OK if she still had him. They’d been together for 15 years.”

Lisa Schmidt, in a written statement, said she was not surprised to hear that her husband spent his final moments helping to save lives.

“We had a house fire three years ago and he saved it, got it out with the hose. He was always my hero,” she said.

“Before we knew about this fire, Zach called me and said he wanted us to leave, and Don said for me to go and he would stay and defend our home like he did before, if he had to. Never thought right?

“That is what it came to ... he was helping out his fellow neighbors. He was generous to a fault, always there to help anyone in need.”

Bulebar said stories offered by neighbors

“Don was an incredible guy who went out of his way to help anybody he could that needed help, even at his own expense. He had a lot of humor, lots of jokes, just loved to have a good time.”

Zach Bulebar, stepson of the late Donald Schmidt have been a small comfort to the grieving family.

“I almost cried tears hearing about that yesterday when I found out but it also kind of made more sense because we could see Don doing that,” he said.

“Maybe he saw how serious the fire was going to be and he saw people trying to get out. He risked his own life to help them, but we’re thinking maybe he ran to get his dog out and the smoke got to him.”

Bulebar said the family hopes to share Schmidt’s story and to find out why emergency alerts had not gone out before the fire reached their community.

Schmidt, who was 55, is remembered as a caring and funny man who loved to laugh and joke around.

“Don was an incredible guy who went out of his way to help anybody he could that needed help, even at his own expense. He had a lot of

humor, lots of jokes, just loved to have a good time,” Bulebar said.

“It’s been really rough trying to cope with things as best as possible. A lot of people lost so much. We’re trying to be there for my mom as she rebuilds her life without Don.” Bulebar said the family hopes to find answers about the shortcomings with the regional EAS system.

“The emergency alert system is designed to warn people to be able to get out of harm’s way, and it seems like it wasn’t utilized. We need some more answers on that, and we’d like to hear how we’re going to prevent something like this from happening again,” Bulebar said.

“I don’t want to see what happened to my mother, and to Don, happen to somebody else.”

Friends started a GoFundMe page for Don Schmidt’s family at https://bit.ly/30fCMMo

27

28

| Sunday, December 27, 2020

On social media, people are posting, “Where are the firefighters?” The comments sting.

I know that the men and women working this fire wish they could be everywhere at once, saving every single building. But that isn’t possible. For those of us working the fire, saving property isn’t the priority.

DISPATCH FROM THE

INFERNO

JULIET GRABLE PHOTO

The night sky is illuminated as the Almeda fire rages through the southern part of the Rogue Valley Sept. 8.

A volunteer firefighter gives an insider’s view of the Almeda fire knocking on our door. It’s busted through and wreaking havoc.

At 11:40 a.m. Sept. 8, our pagers ou think, “It won’t happen tone out: Grass fire. Butler Creek here.” You’ve seen the footRoad, Ashland. age of Paradise, or Santa Rosa, or My husband, Brint Borgilt, and Mendocino, and you think, “Oh, I are volunteer firefighters for the those poor people.”

Greensprings Rural Fire District, 20 But it did happen here. miles southeast of Ashland.

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the Almeda Occasionally, we provide mutual fire began tearing through the Rogue aid on fires outside our district. But Valley in Southern Oregon, not far why are we being called to a fire that from where my husband and I live. is at least 45 minutes away?

Within 24 hours, whole sections I call our chief, Gene Davies, to of two towns were obliterated, hunmake sure. dreds of homes were incinerated, “Are we rolling?” I ask. and tens of thousands of people “Yes.” His voice sounds strained, were displaced.

The climate crisis is not just urgent. “Get here. Now.”

By Juliet Grable

Y

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliet Grable is a freelance writer based in Southern Oregon, and a volunteer firefighter for the Greensprings Rural Fire District. This article was originally published by Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club. Online: sierramagazine.org.

Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

The day before, Chief had sent out an alert about a rare wind event that was expected to kick in during the night. Winds were shifting to the east, gusting to 40 miles per hour. The gale, combined with relative humidity in the single digits, make for potentially disastrous fire conditions.

Nine of us head to the fire. Brint and I roll out in our wildland rig. Our water tender and Type I engine follow. On the way, we listen to the scanner. A computerized dispatcher calls out structure fire after structure fire.

We understand two things: This is not just a grass fire, and it’s bad.

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I’ve seen this before

e are assigned to an area east of Interstate 5 between Ashland and Talent, a rural residential neighborhood with some small farms and orchards.

Already, houses and barns and vehicles and fields have burned. Many houses stand unscathed but threatened.

Adrenaline slams through me. I try to focus on the tasks at hand: Deploy hose; start the pump.

To the northwest, above Talent, billows of smoke metastasize.

Our job is to try to protect the houses that are still standing. At some residences, we close garage doors and any windows that may have been left open. We drag patio furniture away from siding and sweep leaves and debris away from foundations. We drag the hose around a kid’s table and chairs, toys, around potted plants. We spray water on burning fences and blackberry brambles. At one place, we cool down junk piles next to a barn. Two hours later, when we drive by, the barn is gone.

Locals appear from nowhere and follow us around to try to talk to us while we’re working. A woman tells us that all of the houses but one on Ashland Lane have burned. At one corner, a man in shorts and a T-shirt brings us

“The fire started north of Ashland, went up the I-5, Highway 99 corridor and just took out communities, businesses, infrastructure, utilities all the way through Talent, Phoenix and up to the south end of Medford.”

Rich Tyler of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office bright-blue Gatorade in plastic red cups and points to the rare Jeeps he lost to the fire.

In between assignments, we take breaks at our staging area at the Comfort Inn. I pull out my phone. News is fragmented, outdated or nonexistent.

Still at it, I text my friends and stepdaughters. Don’t worry.

At some point between midnight and dawn, our chief shows me a video he took on his phone on a patrol through Talent. I’m shocked. Half the town is gone.

The Rogue Valley runs northwest to southeast. The wind is blowing from the southeast, exactly the wrong direction. The flame front roars up the Bear Creek drainage. Firefighters fall back, ceding entire neighborhoods to the fire.

There’s an irony to the fire’s path. In the past decade, residents have done much ecological restoration work on Bear Creek, removing blackberries and trash and planting native vegetation to cool the creek for salmon.

I’ve spotted chinook redds from the Bear Creek Greenway bridges; I’ve birded at Ashland Pond. Now, that same creek canyon has become a corridor of destruction.

“It’s the whole 13-mile swath,” Rich Tyler of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office tells a reporter for the Redding Record-Searchlight.

“The fire started north of Ashland, went up the I-5, Highway 99 corridor and just took out communities, businesses, infrastructure, utilities all the way through Talent, Phoenix and up to the south end of Medford.”

This was not merely a wildland fire, he stresses. “It was a conflagration of this house burning, which caused more houses to burn, which caused more houses to burn.”

The fire leaves rows of concrete slabs in its wake — the gravestones of people’s homes, stone chimneys like mausoleums. Shadows of ash mark the outlines of former mobile homes.

Steel staircases stand alone, rising to nowhere. Engine blocks have melted and pooled beneath the husks of vehicles. In some places, drops of fire retardant have painted red swaths on an otherwise monochromatic landscape.

Oddly, trees next to the incinerated structures are still standing, leaves alive and green.

I’ve seen this before: in photos and video footage of the Camp fire in California, which destroyed the town of Paradise.

Fire Marshal spokesman Tyler compares the two fires, the wind conditions, the breathtaking speed of destruction. “There are a lot of similarities,” he says. “This would be the Oregon version of [Paradise].”

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‘It’s so hot, so hot’

rint, another firefighter named Kyle Miller, and I save a trailer park in Talent. Just beyond the creek and across the road, the fire is consuming houses, clumps of trees, everything.

The dull roar of wind and flame is punctuated by the sound of propane tanks exploding.

SEE DISPATCH, PAGE 30

JULIET GRABLE PHOTO

Firefighter Kyle Miller cools down debris near a burned structure between Ashland and Talent.

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

DISPATCH From Page 29

We try to work upwind, but it’s not always possible. I try not to think about the sweetly noxious odor clinging to us.

I’m used to the smoke from wildland fires, which is acrid but recognizable, like an especially intense campfire. The fumes coming off these fires are a toxic brew of vinyl siding and plastic car parts, couches and patio furniture, kids toys and fencing, and BBQs and kitchen appliances. I realize we may be breathing in the cremated remains of people’s pets.

Within hours, my lungs hurt. My hair is as coarse as nylon rope, and my lips are cracked and peeling.

Late Tuesday night, after the fire front raged through Talent, a man named Bow Shaban DeBey pedals his bike along Talent Avenue.

On the east side of the street, homes flame and smolder. On the other side, houses are mostly untouched.

Bow shoots video with his phone and narrates as he pedals. He checks addresses for friends who want to know if their houses are still standing.

“The police told me I’m not supposed to be here, but they don’t seem to care,” he says. “It’s so hot.

So hot.”

Embers rain down from the air. The wind is still gusting.

“God, there’s the strangest sounds that come out of these houses that are burning,” Bow says.

The street is eerie. An emergency response vehicle speeds by; otherwise, it’s just Bow, his bicycle, and burning houses.

JULIET GRABLE PHOTO

Firefighter Brint Borgitt mops up a fire near East Valley View Road and West Butler Creek Road east of Ashland.

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Stretched to the limit

n social media, people are posting, “Where are the firefighters?” The comments sting.

I know that the men and women working this fire wish they could be everywhere at once, saving every single building. But that isn’t possible. For those of us working the fire, saving property isn’t the priority.

During a press conference, Charles Hanley of Fire District 5 explains: Firefighters are focused on helping people evacuate, not protecting buildings.

“Firefighters are here to fight fire — to put out that grass or put out that structure. When [we] come upon a community that’s ablaze, we don’t get

to do the things we usually get to do, which is what the public expects.”

It’s not that our local agencies were caught unaware. In fact, they had used an emergency recall to pull in all available personnel ahead of the wind event. But resources everywhere are stretched to the limit.

I’ve been working on the fire for many hours when Gov. Kate Brown declares the Almeda fire an emergency conflagration, an action that authorizes the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal to send help.

Only there aren’t any resources left to mobilize.

Normally, the fire marshal would send at least 40 personnel to lead the effort fighting a fire like this.

Now, they can send only five. Instead of a task force of eight to 10, they send one. There are so many fires in Oregon right now, there are no personnel remaining to deploy.

Shortly after sunrise Sept. 9, we finally have a decent break. Back at the command post, a few of us lie in the grass next to the lobby entrance. Chief Davies gives us bad news. There’s no one to relieve us. We will have to keep going.

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People want to help

oFundMe pages spring up for families who lost their homes. Donations of food, clothes, diapers and toiletries pile up at churches, the Elk’s Club, Walmart, the Jackson County Expo.

Restaurants offer free meals. People make food and bring it to first responders. On Facebook, people post pictures of cats with burned noses and bandaged limbs, lost animals that local vets are treating at no charge.

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Households double up, taking in friends and family and even strangers who have lost homes, or who will be without power and water for god knows how long.

Evacuation orders will remain in place for days in parts of Medford, Phoenix, Talent and Ashland.

People are angry that they can’t reach their homes, but there are too many hazards: downed power lines and ruptured gas mains and toxic debris.

Roadblocks keep cars out but not bicycles. A woman pedals through the smoking ruins of neighborhoods, putting out bowls of water and food for any pets that may still be alive. A bicycle brigade forms in Ashland as dozens of cyclists deliver water, food and other supplies to people who are stranded in their homes in the evacuation zone.

Several of the mobile-home parks that were clustered around Bear Creek are destroyed. Many of the homes were not insured. When they burned, the families lost everything. Some are undocumented families who may be too scared to ask for fire assistance.

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Oregon is fractured

n Thursday, Gov. Brown addresses the people of Oregon.

“I think there’s no question that the changing climate is exacerbating what we are seeing on the ground,” she says. “I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to be aware that climate change is going to impact how we live, our economy, our culture and that we all need to be making changes accordingly. It is going to continue to challenge Oregon, the country, and the world.”

Brown vows to sign executive orders that will reduce carbon emissions, joining Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a West Coast bloc sounding the alarm for climate action.

But Oregon is hopelessly fractured politically, with urban progressives pitted against rural conservatives. The urban centers of Portland, Salem and Eugene have the numbers. The vast rural counties resent it and don’t feel represented in the state capitol.

In February, Republican state senators walked out of the legislative session to avoid voting on a cap-and-trade bill that would have established step-by-step caps on CO2 emissions and required certain economic sectors to purchase emissions allowances. Democrats accused their colleagues of abandoning their duties as elected officials; Republicans claimed they had no choice, that Democrats have ignored the concerns of their mostly rural constituents.

The political divide is reflected in rumors about the fires. Right-wingers accuse black-clad Antifa of touching off fires across the state. A post, made to look like an official notice from the Medford Police Department, goes viral. The heading under the mugshot reads, “Five Proud Boys Arrested for Arson.” Medford PD reposts the notice, adding FALSE in big block letters across the mugshot.

Local officials beg residents to stop spreading misinformation.

A man named Michael Jarrod Bakkela is arrested in Phoenix for deliberately setting a fire behind a

house. This fire merged with the fire that originated in north Ashland. Bakkela is charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Bakkela is neither a Proud Boy nor Antifa.

His record includes many previous felony convictions related to methamphetamine possession.

I

‘The entire West is burning’

t’s mid-afternoon Wednesday before the Greensprings volunteer crew is finally relieved. We still have to drive the rigs back up the hill and make sure they are topped off with water and gas. Brint tells me I look like Alice Cooper, with my red-rimmed, soot-mascara’d eyes. But we get to take baths and sleep in our own beds. Many others aren’t so lucky.

Everyone wants to know: How many homes lost?

How many acres burned? How many people displaced? At first, it’s chaos. No one knows anything.

Eventually, numbers start to trickle in. Fifty

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At least more people are wearing masks now. Air quality began deteriorating as soon as the wind died down. By Friday, a thick orange pall descends on the valley.

The Air Quality Index spikes to 400, 500, and beyond. Anything above 300 is considered hazardous. People are urged to stay inside, but many are without electricity and can’t filter the air.

“Ugh, worst ever,” my friend Dale posts on Facebook, when the index climbs to 519 in Ashland.

“Get out!” another friend urges.

But there’s nowhere to go. The entire West is burning.

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Rebuilding could take years

follow my U.S. senators on Facebook, where I see that Sen. Jeff Merkley is visiting the Rogue Valley and posts a short video tour of the devastation.

“We will rebuild. We will recover,” he writes. “And we must act to curb the climate chaos that is fueling these historic disasters.

Please know that I will continue to fight for resources immediately, and for bold change in the future.”

There are hundreds of comments.

People have dug into their usual ideological positions. Progressives applaud Merkley’s vow and urge him to champion the Green New Deal. Rightists scoff at the notion that climate change has anything to do with the fires.

The acrimony on both sides leaves a taste in my mouth more bitter than the smoke.

There is a sense that this fire will be a permanent marker for Oregon, that everything before and after will hinge on this horrible event.

The word unprecedented keeps coming up.

An editorial in the Mail Tribune quotes Doug Grafe, the Oregon JULIET GRABLE PHOTO Department of Forestry’s chief of fire protection, who called the combinaAbandoned vehicles sit burned to the rims east of Ashland. tion of high winds, dry fuels and heat people missing. Six-hundred homes lost in Talent. “the worst fire conditions in state history.” The One thousand buildings in Phoenix. Eighty percent editors warn that recovering from this unprecof Phoenix’s elementary-school children are now edented disaster will require “massive federal homeless; in Talent, it’s 50%. School was supposed assistance” and “a great deal of time.” to start Monday.

In a press conference, fire chiefs warn that My friends are doing a tally of the mobile-home the process of rebuilding could take years. Chief parks. They are concerned that fire destroyed or Hanley urges people to pull together. damaged the majority of the 1,700-plus mobile “We will work in every way to prevent or mitihomes and RVs within the fire footprint. gate these kinds of events from occurring,” he says.

I check Inciweb, the interagency map of fires. It’s “It’s no longer something you see on YouTube or clotted with icons. In Oregon, at least 15 major fires TV. The only way we’re going to fix this is by workare burning. Over a million acres are on fire. More ing together.” than 40,000 people have been evacuated. Some I try to reconcile this message of cooperation half a million people — 10% of Oregon’s population and solidarity with the vitriol over climate change.

— are under an evacuation order or warning.

It’s just a few Facebook users, I tell myself. It’s not I text my friend Shirley, who is evacuated from representative of how we are, of who we are. the Obenchain fire. She and her husband and llamas As I watch the recorded press conference, I and dog are camped at The Expo. “Smoke bad but receive a Citizen Alert notification. All of Jackhave N95s as of this morning,” she texts back. son County has been placed on Level 1/Get Ready Shirley’s husband has a medical condition, so they evacuation notice because of red flag weather are extra careful about COVID-19. conditions. Strong, gusty winds are expected out of I think about all the people crowded into The the southwest.

Expo, all of the people sheltering with friends and If we can get past these days, the weather is supposed to shift. A cold front. There is even a chance acquaintances, all the people exchanging food and of rain. clothing and supplies. Will we see a dramatic spike At this point, all we can do is pray. in COVID cases in the coming weeks?

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

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Sunday, December 27, 2020 |

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ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Ross Munro, maintenance manager for the Anjou Club Apartments, talks about some of the damage caused by the Almeda fire.

‘I’M JUST GLAD IT’S STILL STANDING’

Talent apartment managers lauded as heroes for action as Almeda fire came near

By John Darling

for the Mail Tribune

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hile businesses burned madly on three sides, Ross Munro, assistant manager of Talent’s 181-unit Anjou Club Apartments, and his wife, Lisa Joss, fought encroaching flames through the night, fetching water from the swimming pool in five-gallon containers and driving them to hot spots around the perimeter, putting them out by hand.

“Afraid? No, I wasn’t afraid. I had way too much adrenaline pumping through me,” said Munro, an Ashland

resident whose daughter and granddaughter live at Anjou. “I’m just glad it’s still standing.”

Munro described the night as an epic struggle against extreme heat that was setting fire to shrubs and trees along Valley View Road and later along the northwest corner of Anjou, overlooking the giant Oak Valley conflagration. That blaze crept up an embankment and singed a half-dozen Anjou units, which were put out by firefighters who soon left to handle gigantic flames on Talent Avenue.

Especially upsetting, he said, were explosions of propane tanks and

bullets across the street. He even found a bullet shell on Anjou grounds.

To residents commenting in a Facebook thread, Munro was recognized as a hero. Leah Cates, who took the couple to lunch to thank them, said, “He saved a lot of homes. They deserve hero medals. I am absolutely blown away by the heroes in our community.”

Shanti McGinley said the couple should get gift certificates for dinner, spa day and flowers, adding, “This warms my heart immeasurably.”

SEE APARTMENT, PAGE 34

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| Sunday, December 27, 2020

APARTMENT From Page 33

“He put a pump in the pool and they carried buckets by hand,” Cates added. “They stomped out live embers that had caught fire around the complex. They kept an eye on things for nine days until the evacuation was lifted. Our car that was left behind was fine, my bike was still sitting on the back porch.”

By dawn the next day, the couple were exhausted and hungry, but the flames were out and, with help, they would battle smoldering embers for days. Looking around the intersection of Highway 99 and Valley View Road, they saw Suntym Pools, Julek’s Polish Kitchen and Oak Valley 55+ Planned Community reduced to ashes.

Cates noted that the Anjou apartment manager “emailed us all daily about updates and what was going on. She sent us pictures of our apartments standing. She evacuated the whole complex an hour before the sheriff got to us.”

Lessons have been learned from the fire, said Munro, starting with keeping a defensive barrier around the complex. That means cutting tree branches up a dozen feet and using gravel in flower beds instead of bark dust.

“It was quite an adventure,” Munro said. “A lot of people are suffering. It’s so sad. But we definitely dodged a bullet. All the tenants have been very thankful and appreciative.”

ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE

Ross Munro, maintenance manager for the Anjou Club Apartments, talks about the efforts he and his wife, Lisa Joss, made to save the Talent property during the Almeda fire.

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