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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 10, 2005 GUEST FORUM Embrace Ashland for what it is now By David Bjurstrom Ashland “I’m here now so close the gate behind me” seems to be such a typical refrain for so many immigrants to Ashland. I have read with dismayed amusement the letters from folks who have lived in Ashland three, four or even five years after moving from the Bay Area or other large and overcrowded places. They extol the virtues of our town that brought them here but now that they’ve arrived, it’s time to do something to keep anyone else from finding Ashland attractive enough to move here. It was absolutely classic to read the comments of Alice Hardesty in a recent article (Nov. 5), who, with her husband and City Councilor Jack, bought property here sight unseen some 17 years ago after reading about our city. I have no doubts about her desire to see Ashland remain as diverse as possible, I completely agree. However, it is absurd for her to now want the “kind of advertisement” that brought her and her husband here, sight unseen, to be changed. In fact, it’s interesting to note that she is on the tree commission which, in a very large part, helps make this city so attractive. Short of increasing the crime rate, shutting down SOU, closing the theaters and art galleries (one of which I own) and cutting all the trees, it seems pretty unlikely that the attraction our city holds is going to disappear. I have lived in and around Ashland now for some 28 years but also lived here from 1963 to 1970. Yes, I too am an “immigrant,” having moved here as a child from Minnesota. I love this city but I have also seen what Ashland was before it was “ASHLAND.” There was a time when the downtown, believe it or not, actually had empty storefronts sitting that way for months and years. This was a pretty sleepy little place. It was a time that this town wouldn’t have made the “top 500” places to retire, let alone the top 5 it now is considered to be among. Yes, it is a tough question to address the needs of lower income residents so that they can remain residents. As an artist, I’m certainly not among the wealthy and I feel lucky to be able to live and do business here. I don’t profess to know the answers to making it easier for those without a lot of money, but I do know that it’s pretty difficult to buck what the market dictates. Ashland is an extraordinarily wonderful place to live, but much of that delight comes from the fact that it is a small town in a lovely setting with great cultural amenities. Land-use regulations (that I completely support) limit the growth, which means that there is little new space to increase housing supply while new folks continue to want to move here. “Forcing” low-cost housing into such a market is a noble idea, but Economics 101 teaches the principle of supply and demand. Such pressures can be nearly impossible to artificially manipulate. Given the choice between being the small, sleepy village Ashland once was and the vibrant and interesting community it is now, I would take today without a question. Because I have a business that is, in large part, dependent upon a somewhat wealthier clientele, I’m probably a bit biased in my thinking, but I do know that turning back the clock is not the answer. Police standards make city safer By Gerald S. Insley Ashland Ashland is not Mayberry and its police force does not need to emulate “Sheriff Andy” and his sidekick “Barney Fife.” We live in a real world, not the utopian creation of television writers thirsting for the portrayal of a community with no problems or crime and the secure comfort of a family of rabbits all snug in their warren. Like it or not, we find ourselves as the first city on the I-5 corridor within Oregon. Felons fleeing law enforcement in California to the south, or Washington and British Columbia to the north, pass up and down our major state arterial. Some stop in Ashland and Jackson County. Because of severe reductions in law enforcement officers at all levels in Oregon, the state is rapidly becoming a magnet for miscreants. One has only to examine the number of meth labs and “pot” farms, financed by Mexican cartels, to reach that realization. We are fortunate to have well-trained police officers in Ashland. Their curriculum at the police academy includes such things as ethical behavior and community relations. They are also taught to make decisions based on both logic and circumstance; many such decisions must be instantaneous. My family moved to this area in 1966, and we have always found our police to be polite, efficient and very much concerned with the welfare of the community. When I need an officer, I want that officer to perform in a professional manner. If the situation demands confrontation, then so be it. What I don’t want is an officer who has to second guess a policy that might incur the wrath and subsequent lawsuit which could result from stepping on someone’s toes or, in the miscreant’s mind, lessen his or her self-esteem. The Ashland Police do a fine job. To institute any policy which has not involved their input to the fullest is fallacious and compromising. They need to work in concert with both county and state enforcement officers. Let our police do what they have done well for many years as solid citizens of our community. They do not need to be hamstrung by a policy contrived by a group who lacks the experience, expertise and “street smarts” necessary to tried and true enforcement. As has often been said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Letters to the Editor and Guest Forums should be e-mailed in text-only format to [email protected]. Please include your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached for confirmation. Submissions cannot have run in any other publication. Letters are limited to 250 words, Guest Forums are limited to 600 words, and may be edited for length, content and clarity. 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