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Protests heating up By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Protests sparked by the invasion of Iraq have reached a new level of intensity in Southern Oregon, with demonstrators blocking traffic for hours in Ashland and two peace activists arrested in Medford. A noon protest on the Plaza Thursday started off tamely enough with more than 300 people milling about, some drumming, watching children's street theater, making anti-war placards and listening to a guitar-led sing-along to Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind." "I think this is what Ashland is all about," Mayor Alan DeBoer said, watching over the proceedings. "I really appreciate the respectful way they're doing this." Ashland police officer Mike Vanderlip helps a motorist turn around Thursday at the corner of Oak and Main streets after it was blocked by protesters. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA No sooner were the words out of DeBoer's mouth than the mild protest singer was replaced by a bandana-masked activist calling for a march to the nearby Exxon gas station on Lithia way. There were yells of "Take the streets!" and a large contingent made its way up North Main Street, down Oak Street and across Lithia Way, paying no heed to traffic, with the mayor following along grumbling, "at least leave a lane open for traffic." At the gas station, protesters circled the gas pumps, threw fake blood on the pavement and chanted, "No blood for oil." "They're blocking my island and keeping people from coming in," Exxon Manager Floyd Spradlin said. "I need them to get out of there." Standing over splashes of red on the ground, DeBoer attempted to address the protesters. "I'm asking you not to block the streets �" he started, but was shouted down by angry yells from the crowd. "Don't give your ear to the rich man," someone bellowed at the mayor, who owns Town & Country Chevrolet. "Car salesman, SUV salesman!" The mayor protested the response and accused the crowd of being unfair by not listening to his speech, saying "Oh, it's not my place to speak today?" but was quickly drowned out. The group stayed for about 30 minutes, turning cars away from the small Ashland business and blocking northbound traffic on Lithia Way by walking slowly back and forth in the crosswalk at Oak Street. There were no attempts by police to break up the crowd, instead focusing their efforts on detouring traffic off Lithia Way at Pioneer Street. "We're diverting traffic so nobody gets hurt," Ashland Police Chief Scott Fleuter said, adding that he had no plans to hinder the protest, "as long a folks are relatively compliant." The crowd parted momentarily to let an ambulance with flashing lights down the street, but then shut traffic down again. "They were bringing a patient down with chest pain from a call up Highway 66," AFR Capt. Bob Cockell said, "In our book, chest pain is serious. Five or ten minutes (stuck in traffic) is a long time." Soon after that, the crowd headed back toward the Plaza, spending two hours shutting down traffic in a similar manner at East Main and Pioneer streets, annoying many drivers, but not all. "Everyone needs to be heard," an Ashland man calling himself simply "John" said after being forced to wait nearly 20 minutes. Another, more angry driver yelled out "The F***ing war's started - get over it," but most gave friendly honks and flashed the peace sign to the protesters. To ensure peace at the protest, some residents took it upon themselves to act as unofficial monitors, wearing identifying armbands and just keeping an eye on things. "I'm expressing my dismay at my country attacking another country, but I'm also committed to being present here and reminding people, let's be aware of each other," monitor JoAnne Eggers said. Throughout the event, activists hung banners from trees and lamp posts, climbed on telephone booths and trees and played music. The crowd bristled with camcorders and cameras to document the actions of activists and authorities. In Lithia Park, Peace House set up a "comfort zone" with areas for free massage, counseling, prayer and meditation to help people process their reactions to the onset of war. ""I'm here to try to achieve inner peace and to share that with friends and neighbors," meditator Matt Meyers said. "And to send loving kindness to all beings on this planet." No arrests were reported in Ashland, but in Medford, two anti-war protesters were arrested for trespassing at U.S. Rep. Greg Walden's office, said police spokesman Lt. Tim George. Between 10 and 15 activists had hung a large banner on top of the building, George said. Two of the activists refused to leave and were arrested, he said. "We offered them a chance to be escorted from the building and be cited for criminal trespass, but they wanted to be taken into custody, so we gave them their wish," George said. The Associated Press contributed to this story. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -