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Greenway link dedication set Celebrations planned in Ashland, Talent A celebration marking the completion of the two-mile trail link between Talent and Ashland on the Bear Creek Greenway is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. The dedication will take place at the Ashland trailhead behind the greenhouses at Nevada and Helman streets, near the dog park. After the ceremony, friends of the Greenway and Isabel Sickels are invited to Lynn Newbry Park in Talent as a portion of the trail is named for the former county commissioner and community activist. An avid birdwatcher, Sickels worked with great dedication for the Greenway while she was a county commissioner, said Karen Smith, who oversees the Greenway for Jackson County. "It was a favorite stretch of hers," she said. "She was out there at least twice a week walking with her dogs." Shortly before she died last year, Sickels donated $40,000 to the greenway. A plaque noting her varied contributions to the greenway will be installed at the ceremony. The Central Point/Medford trail section of the Greenway, 5.75 miles, and the Talent/Ashland trail section of 5.25 miles provide a separate bike and pedestrian trail for travel between communities. The Greenway Foundation is now raising funds to close the 6.25-mile gap between Medford and Talent. Efforts to acquire land next to the water and and build an 18-mile trail connecting cities along Bear Creek have been under way since the early 1970s. For more information on the foundation, call Lee Mills, 772-7123. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA