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Event falls on Jewish new year TALENT -- For 25 of the past 26 years, the Talent Harvest Festival has packed the town's streets on the second Saturday in September. This year the traditional festival date falls on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. That's a concern for at least one Talent resident, Cheryl Nadler-Voss, who'd like to see the date changed. "This is more than just the Sabbath,' said Nadler-Voss, a parks commissioner with a reputation for her passionate demeanor. "It's a heavy-duty holiday." Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the Jewish high holy days. It is a time of introspection for devout Jews who spend the day praying. Nadler-Voss, who is Jewish, compares its importance to the Christian holidays of Easter or Christmas. "We wouldn't have a meat and spaghetti feed on Good Friday. It's just not kosher," she said with a laugh. At her request, the City Council recommended that the organizers of the festival consider moving the date. If that's not possible, the council asked that they keep it in mind for the future. While the harvest festival isn't an official city event, the city is a sponsor and it's being organized by Talent's police reserve officers. According to Police Chief C.W. Smith, they aren't inclined to move the date. In addition to the fact that all the brochures have already been sent out, the following Saturday is Phoenix's city celebration, he said. "We are such a diverse community. ... There are religious holidays all over the schedule," said Smith. "Yeah, we would like to be as sensitive as we can about these things. But where does it end?" Controversy over a similar scheduling conflict with Yom Kippur in 1997 prompted the Lithia Springs Rotary Club to postpone its annual computer swap one week. Nadler-Voss says the same conflict happened three to four years ago with the harvest festival, but the council at the time wasn't as sympathetic. "I would like to have it changed, but really ... we just need to be sensitive and accommodate if we are able." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA