An Interview with David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst at Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.    Rogue Valley Messenger: The Waste Prevention Strategy was adopted in 2007. Can you talk about how this plays out in southern Oregon?  David Allaway: The 2007 Strategy was an early document, and has since been

Rogue Valley Messenger: Your organization indicates that birds are indicator species. What are birds in southern Oregon currently telling us?   John Alexander: Results from our long-term monitoring and research show that many western forest birds are in decline, likely as a result of intensive forest and river management, including fire

Rogue Valley Messenger: Sanctuary One takes care of cats, dogs, horses, rabbits and even alpacas. What is the oddest animal you have been requested to take care of? Megan Flowers: We bring in companion and farm animals, but recently someone asked us to take in a buffalo. Unfortunately, we weren’t

Rogue Valley Messenger: The adage is never act with dogs or kids! Can you make a good counter-argument?    Yes! Especially if you’re working with a kid who is pretending to be a dog, then you get the best of both worlds. Okay, we can’t really speak to the dog

  Rogue Valley Messenger: Where does one start when talking about Southern Oregon Jobs With Justice? The organization works on many fronts. How about, what is the biggest threat right now to job security for many of the people you work with? Jason Houk: We organize our marginalized communities, labor

Sarah Kreisman is Executive Director for Rogue Valley Mentoring. In this edition’s Public Profile, she talks about the impact from positive mentoring.

Rogue Valley Messenger:  Is there a specific story or incident that has most surprised you to learn about the history of southern Oregon? Kira Lesley: The influence of the Rogue River Indian Wars and the Modoc Wars in regional historic memory is larger than I realized. I was born and

Rogue Valley Messenger: Do you remember your first pet? Karen Evans: My first pet was a Collie named Lassie. My parents got her for me when I was very young. She quickly became my best friend. We were inseparable. I believe she is the reason for my lifelong love of

Re-elected by a slight majority, pulling in 51% of the vote over two challengers, Stephen Jensen is returning to Ashland City Council this January. Rogue Valley Messenger: Why did you return to city council? Unfinished business? Stephen Jensen: I was appointed for six months to fill out a term and

Although the recent confirmation hearings for Supreme Court placed bipartisan pressures on the judiciary, it is not common that judge elections are highly political events. Often judges for circuit courts run unopposed, as is the case with five of the seven elections for judges represented on the upcoming Jackson County