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A whole mountain of trees Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Christopher Sommer of Grants Pass, an employee of the Pecos Pines tree lot, walks through abandoned Christmas trees Thursday at the company�s site on West Columbus and Main streets in Medford. Christmas symbols find new life as electricity, trail cover By Jill Briskey By now, that once beautiful Christmas tree has become a fire hazard waiting to happen. Several agencies are pitching in to take away Rogue Valley residents� crispy, shedding trees over the coming two weekends. North and South Medford high school students from the Medford/Alba Sister City Association will kick off the pickup season Friday and Saturday. Where to take your trees Haven�t received a flier or phone call about disposing of your Christmas tree this year? The following agencies, which all have scheduled tree pickups on Jan. 6-7, will be glad to help: Moose Lodge: Lodge members and other volunteers will pick up trees in and around Medford. To have a tree picked up, call 776-0957. Christmas Tree Recycle Day: Volunteers and Scouts in Ashland and Talent will pick up trees. For tree pickup in Ashland, call 482-0042. In Talent, call 535-2430. Boy Scouts: The Scouts will pick up trees in a number of communities. For general information about the Christmas tree pickup schedule, contact the Boy Scouts main office in Central Point at 664-1444. For information about specific communities, contact: Medford Troop 106, 772-3712; Central Point Troop 61, 664-3712; Gold Hill and Central Point Troop 91-109, 664-0759; Central Point teams 357 and 777, 830-3685; Talent, 535-2430; Ashland Troop 112, 482-0346; White City Troop 121, 826-3357; Grants Pass Troop 77, (541) 476-7761; Butte Falls Pack 64, 865-3287. According to North Medford senior Erin Swartsley, the teens distributed more than 4,000 fliers to homes they will visit in the Medford area. They are requesting a $5 donation for the service. Donations will be used to help send students to Alba, Italy, in an exchange program, Swartsley said. The group picks up trees every other year. Local chapters of Boy Scouts of America will host their annual pickup Jan. 6. Residents are asked to place their trees curbside Friday evening. Trees dropped off after 9 a.m. Saturday will not be picked up. Boy Scouts also have distributed fliers about the service throughout area communities. According to 16-year-old Cole Rothacher, a Scout with Central Point Troop 777, community members are asked to provide a donation for the service. "Our troop, we�re actually buying T-shirts, things like uniforms," he said of the money his group hopes to raise. "We�ll probably use it for things like campouts." Troops also use donations to pay for outings and to attend Makualla, a summer camp at Crescent Lake in Klamath County. The tree pickup accounts for up to 95 percent of many troops� fund-raising revenue. Scouts will take their trees to BioMass One in White City. BioMass One grinds the trees, along with wood chips and sawdust, in boilers that produce steam to generate electricity, said General Manager John Bremerman. Bremerman said BioMass One receives "a whole mountain" of trees from agencies and the public at the end of the holiday season. The agency, 2350 Ave. G, accepts tinsel-free trees from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The service is free. Rogue Disposal and Recycling Inc., 135 W. Main St., Medford, also will take Christmas trees. Residents must call 779-4161 in advance, and trees will be picked up on regular trash days. The agency charges $1.50 for each 3-foot section of tree. This year, the Moose Lodge will host its 47 annual fund-raising tree pickup Jan. 6 and 7 in the Medford area. Administrator Sam Lupini said proceeds will go to Dogs for the Deaf, Southern Oregon Stand Down and the Children�s Advocacy Center. Trees are made into bark and mulch and distributed to members or other agencies, Lupini said. In both Ashland and Talent, Jan. 6 is tree recycling day. Scouts and other volunteers will pick up trees in both cities. According to Ashland volunteer Darryl Grupe, trees are chipped by the Parks Department and used as trail cover in Lithia and Hunter parks. "You know exactly where your tree went as you walk through the park," he said. "For the next month, it�s so fragrant. It�s wonderful to wander down the trails." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.