Document text
http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend December 31, 2006 The intensity of heat from the Callahan�s Siskiyou Lodge fire on Saturday afternoon kept firefighters well back. The 59-year-old landmark burned to the ground. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) The Top Stories Of 2006 The elements stranded families on backroads. Fires took homes, lives and a landmark restaurant. Residents approved millions for schools, but were outraged by 'affluent beggars.' And, in one Medford neighborhood, gloves were mysteriously disappearing. With plenty of big stories on the pages of the Mail Tribune in 2006, we asked readers to help us choose the year's top stories. The newsroom selected 10 contenders and posted them in a ballot on the Mail Tribune's Web site, www.mailtribune.com . Participants also nominated their own favorites. Here's the list, ranked according to the votes of roughly 240 readers. San Francisco family lost on remote road to coast James and Kati Kim and their two daughters, Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months, took a wrong turn driving between Portland and Gold Beach Nov. 25 after a Thanksgiving trip to Seattle. They got lost on a web of remote rural roads off Bear Camp Road just as a winter storm swept in. After a week in which they used all the gas in their Saab to stay warm and burned the car's tires, James Kim set off to find help. Advertisement About 100 searchers, including helicopters hired by Kim's father, combed the area on the ground and in the air. A private helicopter spotted Kati at the car Dec. 4 and she and the girls were rescued. The frantic search continued for James Kim, who had left the road and hiked into a rugged canyon. His body was recovered Dec. 6. 'Affluent beggars' raise money, ire in Ashland Elizabeth Johnson and Jason Pancoast supported their three children, 6-year-old Seth, 3-year-old Adrianne and 3-month-old Synclair, by panhandling in Ashland. The couple claimed they could raise up to $800 on a good day, enabling them to stay with their kids in a motel. After a January news story on their life attracted attention from across the country, they left the area. Loss of federal timber payments spurs cuts Federal subsidies designed to compensate for the loss of timber harvests on thousands of acres of publicly owned land expired in 2006. The program delivered $24 million last year to Jackson County for sheriff's patrols, libraries and schools. County commissioners and local congressmen lobbied for the program to continue. Anticipating the demise of the subsidies, the county sought a five-year tax levy to keep all 15 Jackson County libraries operating, but in November, voters said no. This month county officials unveiled a series of deep cuts that could be needed, including the closure of all county library branches and the elimination of $2 million out of the sheriff's budget, $1 million out of Community Justice and $4 million from county road maintenance. Three South Medford grads killed in crash Kyle Charles Ross, David John Bergin and Jonathan Marshall Thibeault, all 18, died June 20, just 10 days after high school graduation, when Ross lost control of his 1994 BMW 740 sedan while traveling at least 80 mph on Highway 238 near Ruch. The teens had been camping in the area and had consumed alcohol brought by friends who had convinced adults to buy for them. The man and woman who bought the alcohol were each sentenced to jail time and fined. Callahan's Lodge destroyed by fire An afternoon kitchen fire leveled the Rogue Valley landmark over Labor Day weekend, but the owners have vowed to rebuild the popular lodge. Voters pass $189 million bond measure for school buildings Months of study by the Medford School District resulted in a request on November's ballot for $189 million to refurbish or replace 18 campuses. The plan called for building a new South Medford High at Columbus and Cunningham avenues and replacing Lone Pine Elementary. North Medford High, Jackson, Oak Grove, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools would undergo major remodeling, and the district's other 10 campuses would receive repairs and upgrades, such as air-conditioning and asbestos removal. A close count on election night kept officials on edge, but by the time results were certified, the issue had passed by 313 votes. A Rogue charmer steals gloves, hearts Rocky, a cat burglar with a taste for gloves, roams an east Medford neighborhood, snitching handwear of all sizes and styles. His doting family has a clothesline in the front yard so neighbors can get their hands back on their gloves. The thieving tabby's tale didn't make the list of top stories compiled in the Mail Tribune newsroom, but he had stolen readers' hearts, garnering enough votes to push him into the top 10. 'Ecosaboteurs' arrested on federal arson charges A Federal Bureau of Investigation case linked a group of environmental and animal-rights activists, including several from the Rogue Valley, to eco-sabotage fires across the West between 1996 and 2001. The arson targets included ski resorts, slaughtering plants that processed horse meat, a university horticulture center, and lumber companies, including U.S. Forest Industries in Medford. Local suspects included Jonathan Paul of the Greensprings and Suzanne Nicole "India" Savoie of Williams. The 10 people convicted are set to be sentenced in the spring. Duplex fire kills mother and son An early morning fire Nov. 14 at a duplex at 432 S. Columbus Ave. in Medford killed Tomas Aguilar-Valle Jr., 11, and his mother, Kathy Marie Davis, 37, and critically burned Davis' other son, Alberto Aguilar-Valle, 10. Davis' daughter Rosa Palomino, 13, and friend Marjanique Ashworth, 16, escaped, along with Rosa's cat. Fire officials noted a simultaneous fire across town had divided their forces, which they said were insufficient to fight two blazes at once. Neighbors worried that the dilapidated condition of the duplexes, where numerous code violations had been reported, might put them at risk, too. Investigators determined a candle probably accidentally started the fire. Family stranded for 17 days in RV on back road to coast Pete and Marlo Stivers and their two children, 9-year-old Sabastyan and 8-year-old Gabrayell, of Ashland, piled into a motor home owned by Pete's mother and stepfather Becky and Elbert Higginbotham for a trip to the coast in March. However, a wrong turn on a treacherous back road left the family stuck — first in mud, then in a spring snowstorm. Hunkered down in the RV, they watched news stories about the search for them, then decided to hike out for help. The search and rescue garnered media attention from all over, which then led to Arizona authorities tracking down the Higginbothams on methamphetamine-related charges. Kyle Singler signs with Duke In late October, South Medford basketball standout Kyle Singler agreed to take his game to Duke University. After months of the most intense recruitment of a high school athlete in Medford history, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward, who had received attention and accolades from around the country, announced that he would play for the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C., upon graduation. A handful of other stories also garnered a vote or two from readers. Several people picked the ongoing conflict in Iraq as the top story, even though it's not local. Other nominees included the Democratic party taking back the Oregon Legislature, tui chub eradication at Diamond Lake, and plans to deal with traffic flow on Highway 62. Sports fans nominated the Crater High School's boys cross country team bringing home its first state championship and the school's football team winning the Southern Sky Conference-championship. Cascade Christian's football team's journey to become the Class 2A state champ also got a vote. -- Compiled by Anita Burke Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com