Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) articles from April 2001

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) archives from April 2001

Merlin, Ore., Resident Puts Photographic Experience on The Internet.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 3--Even with his recently launched Web site showcasing a massive collection of 2,000 photographic images, Scott Frazeur maintains he is not an artist. "Photography is an art," Frazeur says. "But I'm not an...

Oregon Fruit Farmers Fear Arctic Weather.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 4--Commercial and amateur orchardists alike will be keeping close watch on fruit trees as cool Arctic weather threatens this summer's crop of peaches, pears and apples. Warm spring weather has coaxed...

Eagle Point, Ore., Council Denies Cell Phone Tower Proposal.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Melissa Martin Apr. 4--EAGLE POINT, Ore.--Sprint Wireless will have to find a new place to put a cell tower after the City Council voted against renting space on the "E Hill." The council denied Mericom Corp.'s proposal to put...

Medford, Ore., Interior Designers Look to Beautify World `One Room At a Time'.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 4--Concrete pigs and chandeliers don't faze interior redesign specialists Patty Surowski and Beth Day. In fact, the bigger the challenge, the more excited they get. "I'm an activist," Surowski said. "I...

Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., Business Briefs Column.
April 8, 2001... Apr. 6--COPIER MARKETPLACE INC. UNDERGOES NAME CHANGE: Copier Marketplace Inc. has changed its name to Northwest Business Systems to better represent how the company does business. "When we started more than 20 years ago, we were mainly in...

Medford, Ore., Officials Look to Close City Coffee-Cart Loophole.
April 8, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Apr. 6--It could get a lot more expensive to set up an express espresso stand in Medford. Trying to close a loophole in local planning policies, city staffers are drafting an ordinance that would require owners of...

Art Marketer Boosts Mail-Order Business with Limited Public Stock Offering.
April 8, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 8--Northwest's Best Ltd. is ramping up its mail-order business with a limited public stock offering. The chance to own a piece of the Northwest's Best Ltd., which markets the creations of Pacific Northwest...

Outdoorsmen Sue U.S. Parks Service over Jetboat Use on Oregon River.
April 8, 2001... Byline: Paul Fattig Apr. 6--A coalition of river recreationalists and an environmental group is suing the U.S. Forest Service to force the agency to reduce jetboat use on the wild section of the lower Rogue River. The lawsuit, expected...

Personal Coaching Emerges As Support for Professionals' Career, Private Lives.
April 8, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Apr. 8--ASHLAND, Ore.--If you could find someone to help pin down your goals and the steps needed to accomplish them, it could be useful in business, sports or life in general. An emerging discipline -- personal...

Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., On the Move Column.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 10--NEW BUSINESS OFFERS MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE: Douglas B. Croskell recently opened a business management and consulting practice in Medford after more than 20 years in San Diego. Croskell's projects have included business analysis,...

Oregon Program Aims to Boost English, Tech Skills of Latino Orchard Workers.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 11--A pilot program co-sponsored by Bear Creek Corp. and Rogue Community College has given about 35 Hispanic orchard supervisors the opportunity to improve basic work skills, improve their English and learn to...

Ashland, Ore.-Based Collective's Program Aims to Retrain Loggers.
April 11, 2001... Byline: John Darling Apr. 10--ASHLAND, Ore.--Forests thrive on diversity, and so do foresters. That's the philosophy of Lomakatsi Restoration Project as it launches its $9,000 Multicultural Workforce Training program, teaching workers...

Company Resigns from Oregon National Parks Concession Position.
April 12, 2001... Apr. 12--CAVE JUNCTION, Ore.--The Oregon Caves Company has given up the helm as concessionaire at the Oregon Caves, a position the company has held at the monument since 1976. The National Park Service has contracted with New York-based...

Two Oregon Hotels Take Different Paths to Development.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Buffy Pollock Apr. 13--CENTRAL POINT, Ore.--Of two hotels planned near the Interstate 5 interchange, one is right on schedule; the other has seen more detours than construction workers. A three-story, 68-room Fairfield Inn and...

Oregon Conference Offers Information on Labor Law.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 13--A consortium of government agencies came under one roof Thursday during a farm/forest reforestation labor and wage conference at J. Herbert Stone Nursery in Central Point. The conference offered Southern...

Ashland, Ore., Officials Seek Ways to Make Affordable Housing Available.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Apr. 12--ASHLAND, Ore.--Escalating real estate prices have sent the town's Housing Commission back to the drawing board to come up with affordable housing in a community that some say is in danger of gentrification. ...

Boise, Idaho-Based Lumber Company Optimistic Despite Loss.
April 14, 2001... Byline: Scott Smith Apr. 14--BOISE, Idaho -- Boise Cascade Corp. reported a $35.5 million loss in the first quarter of 2001, but company officials say they see the end of a cyclical downturn in the wood products industry. Excluding...

Medford, Ore., Trolley Firm Executive Treats Financiers to Tour of Operations.
April 15, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 15--It's not often that business owners get the opportunity to dazzle their bankers. This week was John Hagler's chance. President of Classic Trolley Inc. of Medford, Hagler treated representatives from...

Greensprings, Ore., Rancher Strives for Ecological Balance.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Paul Fattig Apr. 16--GREENSPRINGS, Ore.--Rancher John Ward likes running cattle on his small spread. He also likes to see nearby Tyler Creek running cold and clear with healthy green vegetation along its banks. "There are...

Family Opens Central Point, Ore., Skateboarding Shop.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Buffy Pollock Apr. 16--CENTRAL POINT, Ore.--After half a decade of serving as the town's hardware store, the historic Brown's Ace Hardware building will soon offer all things skateboard. The Skate Asylum, scheduled to open...

Medford, Ore.-Area Highway's Realignment Threatens Businesses.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Apr. 17--Five businesses may close and access to 23 others will change under a state proposal to realign Highway 62, one of the region's busiest and most congested roadways. In a draft Environmental Assessment...

Medford, Ore.-Area Schools Try New Teaching Methods as Textbook Alternatives.
April 18, 2001... Byline: Damian Mann Apr. 17--Textbooks -- long the standard educational tool in classrooms -- eventually may go the way of the horse and buggy. But educators disagree on precisely when or if textbooks will be relegated to the dustbin...

Medford, Ore., Karate Academy Offers More than Just Kicks.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 19--Lindsay Fry learned early how to throw a punch. Without the restraint developed through self-discipline, she found her fighting skill was a two-edged sword. Fry has much better control today, thanks...

Medford, Ore.-Area Jobless Rate Falls Drastically.
April 21, 2001... Apr. 21--Unemployment figures released Friday show a slight improvement in the Rogue Valley job market, but they're a dramatic change from last year even as the nation's unemployment rate inches upward. Jackson County's unemployment rate...

Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., Business Profile Column.
April 22, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 22--Helen J. Wallace is a visionary and a believer in human potential. Wallace took the helm of SOWAC Training and Lending Center in December as the executive director of the agency predominantly concerned...

Oregon Uses Investment Earnings from Abandoned Safe-Deposit Boxes for Students.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 25--Forgotten or abandoned bank safe-deposit boxes yield the strangest things. Sometimes sentimental -- yellowed love letters, photos of great-grandparents, inaugural ball invitations, birth certificates and...

Ashland, Ore.-Area Rest Stop Gets Financial Green Light from State.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Apr. 24--State transportation officials have lifted a stay put on a plan to build a freeway rest area south of Ashland. Working with Sen. Lenn Hannon and other local legislators, the Oregon Department of...

Stalled Telecom Bill Pleases Ashland, Ore.-Based Fiber Optics Network.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Apr. 25--ASHLAND, Ore.--Ashland Fiber Network subscribers have dodged a rate increase proposed in the Oregon Legislature. A bill that would make it harder for Oregon cities to develop telecommunications networks and...

Talent, Ore., Plans Multimodal Transportation Depot.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Meg Landers Apr. 24--TALENT, Ore.--Residents of Talent are one step closer to having a multimodal transportation depot. The Oregon Department of Transportation approved a $177,000 grant to help build a transit center downtown....

Abandoned Safe Deposit Boxes Become Treasure Trove for Oregon.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 24--Forgotten or abandoned bank safe-deposit boxes yield the strangest things. Sometimes sentimental -- yellowed love letters, photos of great-grandparents, inaugural ball invitations, birth certificates and...

Telecommunications Bill Stalls in Oregon House, Delays Possible Rate Increase.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Apr. 26--ASHLAND, Ore.--Ashland Fiber Network subscribers have dodged a rate increase proposed in the Oregon Legislature. A bill that would make it harder for Oregon cities to develop telecommunications networks and...

Medford, Ore., Online Motorcycle Accessory Retail Site Succeeds.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 27--Don Becklin didn't set out to build his interest in motorcycles into a burgeoning dot-com business. It happened anyway. What started out as a "hobby Web page" has evolved into a mega-online...

Pear Market in Northwest U.S. Collapses.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Shari Downhill Apr. 27--Each morning Ron Meyer makes his way through the 115 acres of pear orchards he and his wife, Lana, have been nurturing for the past 30 years. Until recently, the vein of agriculture has run through...