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Rural Action Team calls for winter help By Jill Briskey Volunteers on Ruch�s Rural Action Team are hoping the community will lend a helping hand to an agency more accustomed to providing support than asking for it. Office Manager Polly Wharfield said the team is facing a financial shortfall because volunteers were unable to hold their annual fund-raising pancake feed in September because of illness among the members. Without those funds, the team has had difficulty paying for heat, electricity and insurance. It also has had difficulty providing for community members in need � which is the whole purpose of the Rural Action Team, she added. "(The team) is there for whatever needs should be filled in the community," Wharfield said. Volunteers operate out of an office at the intersection of Highway 238 and Upper Applegate Road. "Our work pulls a community together, but when there is an emergency, we provide a focal point for all the law enforcement agencies." In order to keep the program alive, the RATs � as they affectionately call themselves � are putting on a holiday raffle. They are raffling off a hand-carved and decorated sleigh donated by Kim Cruz, whose daughter, Kaelin Glazier, disappeared four years ago. Glazier, who was a 14-year-old sophomore at South Medford High School, vanished after visiting her boyfriend�s friend at a home on Haven Road in Ruch on Nov. 6, 1996. Cruz said the RATs rallied behind her the first few months following her daughter�s disappearance, helping distribute fliers and taking phone calls. "They were my support system when I needed them," she said. "This is a chance to give something back." The 10 full-time and eight part-time volunteers of the team operate under the umbrella of the Jackson County Sheriff�s Office. Working from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, volunteers take calls, make referrals and work hand in hand with Deputy Chris Sorensen, who is assigned to patrol the area. The program began in 1994 and has been going strong ever since, Wharfield said. And there�s always a hot pot of coffee waiting for anyone who cares to stop by, she added. According to Ed Temple, crime prevention program manager with the sheriff�s office, the Rural Action Team is an asset the community can�t afford to lose. "That office is made up of the community, and run by the community," Temple said. "Whenever we have any kind of emergency out there, they are our focal point." The RATs provide for 15 families around the holiday season, distributing toys, food, clothing and necessities. During emergencies, agencies such as the Red Cross, FBI and Army Corps of Engineers have used the office and the equipment inside. Local law enforcement, including JACNET, Oregon State Police and California agencies, have all made use of the building and volunteers. From taking hot meals to deputies patrolling the Siskiyous in the winter to bringing supplies to families in crisis, there�s not a lot the RATs can�t handle. "We�ve done everything but deliver a baby," Wharfield joked. There are two other Rural Action Teams operating in the Wimer and Prospect areas. In addition to funding, Wharfield said the team could use donations of warm clothing and necessities such as laundry soap and toothbrushes for the adults and children in need. The following businesses are selling tickets for the sleigh, which will be given away on Christmas Eve: Black Bird, Applegate, Ruch Natural Store, Ruch Country Store, Movie Mouse and Applegate Store. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.