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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Little Yaretzi is county's first baby of 2015 Emergency services A memorable year Unnatural corridor 5 Things to do This Weekend Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Community blog: Mentoring=Crime Prevention Two Eagle Point men charged in Lake Creek Road poaching case MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash Drug raid in Rogue River leads to two arrests Politics and Elections Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change Education Traveling artist sets the stage for Ruch School amphitheater Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament Environment Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams State News Oregon fans get married Rose Bowl parking lot Earthquake off coast shakes Humboldt County Stranded sea turtle recovers at Oregon aquarium Oregon minimum wage rises to $9.25 Storm brings snow, cold to West Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Dr. Kenneth Emerson Janet E. Leonard Lyle Roberts Death Notices Sidney A. Stitt Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? Sports Latest Stories Rose, Bulls down Nuggets One to go Capitals top Blackhawks 3-2 in Winter Classic LeBron to miss two weeks with injuries Arizona at top of Pac-12 Varsity 541 College Sports One to go Arizona at top of Pac-12 No. 16 SOU aims to slow Northwest Christian, Corban 15th-ranked Raiders look to keep rolling No. 6 TCU crushes No. 9 Ole Miss in Peach Pro Sports Rose, Bulls down Nuggets Capitals top Blackhawks 3-2 in Winter Classic LeBron to miss two weeks with injuries Ravens head of security charged with sex offense Lions’ Suh refuses to talk about incident Community Sports Business Latest Stories Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Milken economist headlines Southern Oregon Business Conference Ride & Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Silvio Calabi: Infiniti Q50 offers business-class driving Real Estate News Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate More sales, but no change in residential housing median price People In Business People in Business, Dec. 3 Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Agriculture Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Opinion Latest Our View: Help clear the air for the new year Letters to the Editor, Jan. 1 Dana Milbank: America's Slacktivist generation George Will: A strike against rent-seeking Granlund cartoon: Resolutions redux Editorials Our View: Help clear the air for the new year Our View: Caves expansion worth the wait Other Views: Oregon incomes still lag behind Our View: Council is barking up the right tree Other Views: Roseburg VA director sets the right goals Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Jan. 1 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 30 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 28 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Lifestyle Latest stories Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health Mark L. Hopkins: New Year’s resolutions and more HealthStyle: New year, new you Food Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Food for Thought: Tips for cooking when you have food allergies Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Kitchen Call: The comfort of creamy soups Community blog: Baking contest finalists combine cookies, candies Home and Garden Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Dear Monty: Can a rookie real estate agent be a good choice? Bathtub or shower: What’s best for you? Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season How NOT to install drywall Health Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health HealthStyle: New year, new you Health Watch: Build up your glutes in the off-season Dr. Jeff Hersh: What's a monoclonal antibody? Dr. Murray Feingold: Have a happy and stress-free holiday Hiking Biking Faith (No heading) Churches, synagogs host seasonal events Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Milestones and Achievements Little Yaretzi is county's first baby of 2015 Local landowners see no public good in proposed pipeline Pear Blossom queen has open heart surgery Hundreds enjoy Christmas dinner, gifts at St. Vincent de Paul SinceYou Asked: SBA would work with Mt. Ashland Ski Area about loan Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer Top 10 CDs of 2014 Ring in 2015 at a New Year's celebration near you Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Theater Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning Music The Farr Side: Top 10 album count-up for 2014 Top 10 CDs of 2014 A tribute to Joe Cocker Ring in 2015 at a New Year's celebration near you SugarBeats headline an all-ages dance party at Historic Ashland Armory Community Events New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Dancing People Company celebrates the solstice Dining Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Coffee shops roll out holiday-inspired drinks Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Unnatural corridor ... Our View: Help clear the air for the new year ... Two Eagle Point men charged in Lake Creek Road poaching case ... Unnatural corridor ... Our View: Help clear the air for the new year ... Two Eagle Point men charged in Lake Creek Road poaching case ... SESSIONS OTHERWISE UNAFFORDABLE Ink Out provides inexpensive tattoo removal for those trying to move on Comment By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Sep 13, 2014 at 12:10 AM By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Sep 13, 2014 at 12:10 AM » Social News When she was 15 years old, Seralynn Neal, an aspiring tattoo and piercing artist, ordered a do-it-yourself tattoo kit on Amazon and tattooed a large black widow on her left forearm. “I was in a stage where black was all the rage,” she said. “I had piercings all over my face, and I thought I was the coolest thing on this side of the sun. A black widow seemed dangerous.” In the years after, Neal continued to add ink markings to the canvas that was her body. She tattooed “Drop Dead” across her knuckles, an elaborate cross on her left hand, a heart on her ankle and a rose on her stomach. She also had someone else tattoo the Godsend symbol on her back and “Princess” across her knuckles over the text that was already there. Then last year, while living at Hearts with a Mission, she decided she wanted to work toward becoming a probation officer. That meant her visible tattoos would have to go. “It’s not that it would be difficult to get the job with my tattoos,” she said. “I just don’t want this to be the image kids get from me.” She called tattoo removal services to get an estimate and learned it would cost her $300 a session per tattoo and each tattoo would require six to 10 sessions. Over the summer, Neal was connected with Jay Tapp, a local business executive and former Kids Unlimited board member who sympathized with her situation and offered to help her out. Tapp said he's worked with faith-based and community organizations in California and Southern Oregon and has seen people try to hide their tattoos, either because they were ashamed of their poor lifestyle choices or haunted by the memories associated with it. The tattoos could reference hate, drugs, violence, gangs or other criminal activity, or name an abusive ex-husband. “Sometimes the tattoos are right out in the open and when people see those they make snap judgments,” he said. “It’s tough to get employment if they are visible, and it’s tough to deal with the general public and family members. You constantly have to explain yourself for something you've left behind.” Earlier this year, Tapp purchased a state-of-the-art tattoo removal laser, costing more than $80,000, and teamed up with Valley Immediate Care to establish Ink Out and provide free and low-cost tattoo removal for at-risk youth, like Neal, and victims of domestic violence. Tattoo removal is available for $79 a session four days a week at VIC’s South Medford location at 235 East Barnett Road. One day a month, Ink Out provides free or $25 tattoo removal to qualifying candidates referred by the Juvenile Justice Department, Oregon Youth Authority or local organizations such as Lithia Springs, Hearts with a Mission, Community Works and Southern Oregon Youth for Christ. Tapp said that the candidates must demonstrate that they are committed to the process, because tattoo removal can take between six and 12 sessions, depending on the color of the tattoo, who applied it and whether it’s a cover-up tattoo. Sessions also can be painful. The pain, Neal said, makes her squirm but not cry. She compared the pain to having a sunburn snapped by a rubber band. Tapp said they treated eight qualifying candidates at the last Ink Day, Sept. 9, and expect twice as many next month. “There’s one individual with ‘pure hate’ across his knuckles and that’s not him anymore but he can’t hide that or wear gloves every day,” Tapp said. "Because of his tattoo, he can’t advance at work and his kids are asking why he did it.” Brent Kell, CEO of Valley Immediate Care, said the clinic has two trained laser technicians on staff. “Right now, it’s just available once a month, but we are committed to taking whatever the demand is, so as we see the need we’ll keep expanding.” In the past, Oregon Youth Authority has transported kids to Portland for this service. Matt Sweeney, director of juvenile justice ministries with Rogue Valley Youth For Christ, connected Neal and two others with Ink Out. “For most of the kids that I deal with, the home life they come from — normal for them — is dysfunctional,” Sweeney said. “Normal is a relative term. My normal is not someone else’s normal. You get someone growing up in a gang world or an addiction world who considers that normal. They can’t afford to buy their own food but they can afford a tattoo and in their economy and logic that is sensible. That is cool.” Sweeney said that sometimes it’s not until after kids graduate and start looking for jobs that they realize how much their tattoos affect their ability to make a living or interact in the community. Sebastian Pineda, 37, has had three treatments and is already starting to see his tattoos fade. Pineda joined a neighborhood gang in Pomona, Calif., when he was 15 years old. Less than a month later, Pineda was shot nine times in a drive-by shooting. One of the bullets severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. Pineda got his first “Mi Vida Loca” tattoo, three dots typically associated with Mexican gangs, when he was 10. Now, he has eight tattoos,including several “Mi Vida Loca” tattoos visible on his face and hands, as well as his ex-wife’s name on his chest. Since he’s in a wheelchair, Pineda said, he’s limited to desk jobs, and he wants to have his gang-affiliated tattoos removed to make him more marketable to future employers. “The memories of the gang and living that lifestyle, I want to erase that,” he said. “I know I can’t get rid of the memories but at least I can erase the look.” Reach reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt. By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 11, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Sep 13, 2014 at 12:10 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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