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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 19, 2006 If only everyone were as interested in solutions From its art scene to its political make-up, Ashland certainly has many things that set it apart from its neighbors. But for more than a week, Ashland’s claim to fame has been its panhandlers. A controversy has ensued in the wake of a regional and statewide media blitz targeting a panhandling couple that frequents Lithia Park and the Plaza seeking donations to care for their three children. A feature story in the Mail Tribune by a Tidings columnist created a stir. Responses ranged from local indifference to Ashland’s former mayor calling for a statewide ban on panhandling during a call-in radio program in Medford. Ironically, a stony silence covers Medford regarding its own panhandlers, which far outnumber that which we see here. Its freeway entrances resemble Easter Island at times, with numerous placard-carrying men and women standing guard, hoping for a buck or two. Medford has its own problems with street crime, meth and broken families. Yet, outrage has developed over discovery that two former drug addicts have cleaned up in more ways than one ... in Ashland. The amount of attention this family has attracted from outside of our local community leads to a simple question: Why? The word “affluent” comes to mind. The couple claim they make $300 on a good day. Obviously, that income isn’t consistent, but it is conceivable that passersby provide them with enough subsistence to pay for lodging and clothes and food. Could the resulting outrage indicate that we prefer our beggars dirty, stinking and rummaging through refuse? The background of this couple shows little difference from the background of most panhandlers — drugs, instability and other bad decisions along the path of life. Surely, other panhandlers make enough to get by. So why target this couple? Children. With three offspring in tow, this couple offered society a voluntary method of making a positive contribution to their lives. Apparently, many of us made such a contribution. All was well, except they made too much money, or at least say they did. And that is the crux of the controversy. But its not the crux of the problem of poverty and homelessness in our city, a place that is known for its humane treatment of those less fortunate. While perhaps some in other parts of Jackson County would prefer judgment, we would prefer a more solution-oriented approach. Outside of Ashland, no one is offering an effective alternative for the family. No solutions can be heard in the cacophony of shrill complaints that charge the couple with everything from tax evasion to child endangerment. But many of our local relief agencies have worked with this family for some time. Locally, they have tried to assist this family with its problems — problems that are very similar to the many other homeless and poor that comprise our city’s population. Our relief agencies are hard pressed with demand. Most would discourage giving to panhandlers, but encourage charitable donations of food, blankets, clothing and money to the organizations trained to assist. One thing is certain: The daily barrage of Medford’s street-corner bums have not elicited an equivalent public disdain to that which has been directed toward the Ashland panhandling family. Which makes us wonder, don’t our neighbors have enough work policing their own backyards? 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 Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams