Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) articles from July 2001

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) archives from July 2001

Ashland, Ore.-Based Darex Hones Focus with New Industrial Drill Bit Sharpener.
July 3, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 3--ASHLAND, Ore.--Darex President Gary Varney recalls employees asking "What are we doing?" while the company took three years and spent $400,000 to develop a $14,998 industrial drill bit sharpener. Now they...

Long-Standing Ashland, Ore., Home Furnishings Store to Close.
July 3, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 3--ASHLAND, Ore.--Provost Home Furnishings' final "unofficial" sales day will be Friday. The official final day was June 10. The store at 357 East Main St. will open one last time from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to...

Medford, Ore., Census Data Indicate Increase in Hispanic Home Ownership.
July 3, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Jul. 3--Gladys Rivas, a Guatemalan native, wouldn't give up on her dream of owning a home in Medford. One of a growing number of minority homeowners nationwide, Rivas recalls being told in the early 1990s that she...

Ashland, Ore., City Council to Consider Tighter Tobacco Rules.
July 5, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 5--ASHLAND, Ore.--Most of the city's residents support smoke-free bars and restaurants, according to surveys. But owners and patrons of some establishments think imposing regulations might hurt business and infringe...

Developers to build 200 More Hotel Rooms in Ashland, Ore.
July 10, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 10--ASHLAND, Ore.--Nearly 200 hotel rooms are being added over the next year to 1,200 already available in this tourist destination. Developers of three new properties all admit that the rapid growth could create...

Central Point, Ore., Lumber Mill Comes Down.
July 13, 2001... Byline: Buffy Pollock Jul. 13--CENTRAL POINT, Ore.--All that will remain of Central Point Lumber by late August will be the ground on which it stood along North Pacific Highway. Jeff Remington, purchasing manager for parent company...

Central Point, Ore., Lumber Mill Closed, Slated for Dismantling.
July 14, 2001... Byline: Buffy Pollock Jul. 14--CENTRAL POINT, Ore.--All that will remain of Central Point Lumber by late August will be the ground on which it stood along North Pacific Highway. Jeff Remington, purchasing manager for parent company...

Oregon Public Employees Union Pushed for Strike.
July 17, 2001... Byline: Damian Mann Jul. 17--SALEM, Ore.--Leaders of an Oregon public employees union, which represents 428 state workers in Jackson County, decided Monday to push for a statewide strike after rejecting a wage and insurance package. A...

Medford, Ore.-Area Loan Pool To Receive $500,000 Grant.
July 19, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 19--A revolving loan pool that has enhanced the region's small-business base for the past six years will today expand by a half-million dollars. Lynn Schoessler, state director for U.S. Department of...

New Owners of Ashland, Ore., Furniture Store Aim for Upscale Audience.
July 19, 2001... Byline: John Darling Jul. 19--ASHLAND, Ore.--The Furniture Depot is not for everyone. Its owners, Loren and Cheryl Clear, are aiming at a clientele that knows Craftsman, Mission and Shaker styles, loves solid wood and doesn't mind spending...

Ashland, Ore., Men Co-Author Book on Internet Security for Macintosh Users.
July 19, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 19--Home computer users with permanent connections to the Internet might be more vulnerable to hackers than they realize. Even users who don't keep their checking, credit card and other financial information on...

Net Income Increases for Medford, Ore.-Based Bank.
July 20, 2001... Jul. 20--PremierWest Bancorp announced Wednesday an 8 percent increase in net income for the second quarter. Net income increased to $696,000 before a $96,000 goodwill amortization charge, compared to $647,000, before $883,000 of one-time...

Developers Propose Mixed-Use Project for Ashland, Ore., Site.
July 20, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 20--ASHLAND, Ore.--City officials next week will study a mixed-use development at the Croman mill site that could help ease a local crunch on affordable housing and commercial space. A church, school, tourist...

Department of Agriculture Gives $500,000 to Oregon Small Business Loan Fund.
July 20, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 20--A revolving loan pool that has enhanced the region's small-business base for the past six years will today expand by a half-million dollars. Lynn Schoessler, state director for U.S. Department of...

New Books, Software Help Home Internet Users Make Computers More Secure.
July 20, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 20--Home computer users with permanent connections to the Internet might be more vulnerable to hackers than they realize. Even users who don't keep their checking, credit card and other financial information on...

Qwest Makes Call to Stop Paying Medford, Ore.-Imposed Phone Fees.
July 21, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Jul. 21--Qwest Communications International stopped payment Friday on fees charged by Medford for use of public rights of way. Citing an April decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the local phone...

Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., On the Move Column.
July 24, 2001... Jul. 24--GORDON BERTELSEN of Medicap Pharmacy in Talent has been inducted into the Master Capsule Club by Medicap Pharmacies Inc., of West Des Moines, Iowa. TREVON BACON has joined Oregon Pacific Financial Advisors Inc., as a financial...

Meat Boosts Ashland, Ore., Grocery's Sales.
July 24, 2001... Byline: Dani Dodge Jul. 24--Some of its vegetarian and vegan customers would say that the Ashland Community Food Store has sacrificed a sacred cow to meat eaters -- it now sells hamburgerized Bessie for $3.49 a pound. But the store's...

Ashland, Ore., Housing Efforts Gain Funding.
July 25, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 25--ASHLAND, Ore.--Two groups working on affordable housing got a boost last week when the City Council approved spending $45,000 for staff assistance. Neither group had assistance previously. The money could...

Ashland, Ore., Emerges from Power Crisis as Prices Level Off.
July 25, 2001... Byline: Tony Boom Jul. 25--ASHLAND, Ore.--Skyrocketing electric rates are leveling off here as concern over a West Coast power crisis wanes. Ashland residents and businesses won't see a previously projected 30 percent increase in...

Medford, Ore.-Based Automotive Company Produces Record Sales.
July 26, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 26--Lithia Motors Inc. avoided a slowing economy in the second quarter as recent acquisitions helped produce record sales, while finance and insurance transactions boosted total revenues to a new high. Lithia...

Medford, Ore.-Based Community Bank Achieves High Ratings.
July 26, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 26--People's Bank of Commerce has one office, doesn't flood the Medford market with advertising and doesn't pretend to be everybody's bank. Nonetheless, after less than three years of operation, the Biddle...

Construction Project Gives Medford, Ore.-Area Medical Center Room to Operate.
July 26, 2001... Byline: Bill Kettler Jul. 26--Richard Dumanowski beams like a boy with three new toys when he talks about the new operating rooms at Providence Medford Medical Center. "There's room for so much stuff," he says, showing off three new...

Medford, Ore., Mall Theater to Go Dark.
July 29, 2001... Byline: Greg Stiles Jul. 29--Nine days after Rogue Valley Mall opened to great fanfare in October 1986, Movies 5 opened with "Crocodile Dundee," "The Boy Who Could Fly," "Soul Man," "Tough Guys" and "The Color of Money." Come Oct. 31...

Oregon's Applegate Valley Sees Worst Drought in 70 Years.
July 30, 2001... Byline: Paul Fattig Jul. 30--UPPER APPLEGATE, Ore.--Third-generation dairyman Bob Straube is caught squarely on the horns of a dilemma. Straube, whose family farm has Applegate River water rights going back to 1892, normally banks on...

Medford, Ore., Business Recruiter Has Yet to Produce Results.
July 30, 2001... Byline: Jessica Smith Jul. 30--The city's new economic development office hasn't produced much development in the past year. Though there are no new business recruits for coordinator Bill Hoke to hang his hat on -- nothing he can point...

Study Shows Medford, Ore.-Area Runway Long Enough For Future Growth.
July 30, 2001... Byline: Jill Briskey Jul. 30--A recent study shows that the newly expanded runway at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport will carry the community well into the future without any major changes. That's good news for airport...

Well Drillers Swamped With Work as Jackson County, Ore., Faces Drought.
July 30, 2001... Byline: Damian Mann Jul. 30--Well drillers are punching holes through Jackson County bedrock at a breakneck pace this summer as the drought, new construction and a dose of panic have primed the demand for water. "It's definitely...