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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 22, 2004 Homeless make Ashland better Most of the homeless in Ashland pass by unnoticed. They shop in our grocery stores and wash clothes in our Laundromats. They work and pay taxes. They do not want to be seen as a problem. They do not want to be stigmatized as homeless or to wear out their welcome. You pass them everyday, often sharing a "hello" or "good-morning," never imagining they are one of us. Many live in their cars or trucks, travelling to the outskirts of town every night to find a place to rest. Many sleep on porches or in backyards or garages. Some walk into the hills and try to hide away in a camp. Part of their job is keeping their homelessness to themselves. Some pay child-support and feel they need to be in Ashland to be close to their offspring. Some just enjoy the unique wonder of our town and are happy to feel themselves a part of it. They want to contribute. They want to be here. The chance of moving into the American dream is often elusive, the odds near insurmountable, but they try. Our proposed homeless village would bring a tremendous relief to these struggling poor, and set a positive example of real possibility to the few scruffy ruffians who claim the Plaza as their own and give a bad name to us all. We only ask the town of Ashland for a piece of land to begin creating this new idea. Land which sits out of sight and unused. Numerous philanthropic organizations are ready to help. Innovative builders and sustainable energy specialists are eager to get involved. Even though this concept is seemingly revolutionary and untried, people from all walks of life are ready to help make it real. This nation was founded by, and built on the backs of the adventurous working poor who just did not quite fit in. We are really not that different from our ancestors, just searching for a chance to make life better for everyone. Please take a closer look at our designs. Together we really can make Ashland an even better place to live. Randy Dolinger Homeless speaker Ashland Peace House worth seeing How much further can the nonsensical be carried? I am referring to the Barickman letter (Dec. 8.) charging that Peace House teaches violence in the guise of civil disobedience. Anybody who has participated in Peace House marches, protests, or programs of any type knows that Barickman's charges are ludicrous. However, could there be a silver lining in Barickman's nonsense? Peace House is always in need of people support; one of its functions is to represent that part of the community who believe in peace, justice, and reason as both goals of action and means of achieving them. So Barickman's letter is an invitation - and challenge - to those in our area not acquainted with Peace House to become so. Peace House is an open house. Go there, you readers of the Tidings letters, join the action, catch the spirit (and in the process, learn just how preposterous is the Barickman essay.) If you are opposed to closure-style, mace-armed government with rank on rank of the helmeted faceless on menace patrol standing between you and government officials, Peace House can help you stand in peace-loving opposition. Or if it's a matter of affirming in action of any type your belief or faith in humanity, democracy, the words of the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, you will find Peace House in support. Hal Jamison Ashland We foul our nest for expansion Stephen Coxen (Dec. 4) applauded ski area expansion on Mt. Ashland, saying he'd bring friends from Portland to enjoy "ski and theatre weekends." Expansion would develop the Middle Fork of the East Fork of Ashland Creek. This roadless watershed hosts old-growth forests and wet meadows of wilderness quality. Rare plants existing nowhere else on Earth and Pacific fisher, a threatened carnivore, dwell in this place. The project requires clearcutting the forest and disturbing fragile granite soil with heavy equipment in wet meadows and stream corridors. Ski area development in 1961-62 spoiled a parallel branch of Ashland Creek, the East Fork of the East Fork. Forty years later, roads and chairlifts bleed sediment into the creek during summer thunderstorms, despite mitigation efforts. The Middle Fork hosts a wilderness ecosystem older than civilization. As we disregard its natural history in pursuit of revenue and adrenaline, we foul our nest and do violence to the land. Jay Lininger Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams