Volume 4, Issue 3 // February 2 - February 16, 2017 NEWS Actually Good News: Stopping Mining! Pg. 7 SOUND The Juniper Berries Rocking New Album Pg. 20 SPORTS Skiing Before Walking! The Next Generation of Skiers Pg. 26 BEST OF THE ROGUE VALLEY VOTING HAS BEGUN! Vote for your favorite businesses and services in the valley now! Pg. OUR SIZZLING HOT RESTAURANT ISSUE 2 Interviews With Local Chefs 2 / WWW.ROGUEVALLEYMESSENGER.COM 3 MARCH 3RD • 4TH • 5TH 2017 BEST OF KICK-OFF EVENTS FRIDAY - MARCH 3RD 5:30PM TO 7PM Social Hour in the Stardust Lounge at Ashland Hill Hotel THE ROGUE VALLEY live music, chocolate sculpture assembly, beer & appetizers 6:30PM TO 9PM Chocolate Maker’s Dinner at Ashland Springs Hotel FESTIVAL DAYS issue of the year! SATURDAY MARCH 4TH SUNDAY MARCH 5TH Our BIGGEST 11AM TO 5PM 11AM TO 5PM Chocolate, Wine & Beer Tastings, Charlie’s Chocolate 5K Run/Walk issue of the year! Chef Demos, Best in Show Contest, Chocolate, Wine & Beer Tastings, Our most POPULAR Workshops, Spa Party Workshops, Chef Demos ” in the Rogue Valley! AT ASHLAND HILLS HOTEL The best “BEST OF Ticket $20 • Two Day Pass $30 Children 8 and under free OregonChocolateFestival.com IT’S TIME TO CAST 541.482.8310 • 2525 ASHLAND STREET, ASHLAND 10% of festival proceeds will support Children’s Miracle Network and the ASANTE’S Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, in Medford. YOUR VOTES! Helping premature babies thrive! SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE SOU CREATIVE ARTS FACULTY EXHIBITION LOCAL BUSINESSES AND Complementing the Southern Oregon University Center for Humanities Campus Theme VOTE TODAY! ART SHAPES OF CURIOSITY On View January 27 – March 11, 2017 • Open Mon – Sat, 10 AM – 4 PM of FEATURING David Bithell • Cody Bustamante • Garrick Imatani HOW DO I VOTE? Miles Inada • Kyle Peets • Max Reinhardt It’s easy! Just visit our website at Margaret Sjogren • Robin Strangfeld • Summer Ventis Curated by Kelly Worman www.roguevalleymessenger.com to find your ballot. Fill in your favorite OPENING RECEPTION January 26, 2017, 5 – 7 PM business, service or person for each category and submit your ballot. MUSEUM For information on Tuesday Tours, First Fridays, and FREE Family Days, visit us online at sma.sou.edu DON’T DELAY! Voting begins on the February #ShapesOfCuriosity @SCHNEIDERMoA 2nd and ends on the 22nd! VOTE TODAY! 1250 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 541-552-6245 email: [email protected] • web: sma.sou.edu www.roguevalleymessenger.com Image: Max Reinhardt, Nightmarks, 2016, digital print, 30” x 40”, detail SCHNEIDER FEBRUARY 2 – FEBRUARY 16, 2017 / THE ROGUE VALLEY MESSENGER / 3 The Rogue Valley Messenger PO Box 8069 | Medford, OR 97501 CONTENTS 541-708-5688 page roguevalleymessenger.com PUBLIC page GO HERE [email protected] A romantic date THE BUSINESS END OF THINGS PROFILE “Nobody would be here 9 doesn’t have to break 26 SALES MANAGER Katie Ball without the river,” explains the bank. Our Outdoor SALES REPS Tuula Rebhahn, Jody Guion Robyn Janssen from the Expert Mike Dickenson WEB MASTER Tammy Wilder Rogue Riverkeeper, an provides a chocolate SOCIAL MEDIA WIZ Alex Sophia box of outdoor OUR FINANANCIAL WIZARD Sara Louton, Advanced Books organization that works to DISTRIBUTION Alex Sophia, Olivia Doty protect our waterways. Our romantic outposts in OUR WORDSMITHS reporter Charles Fischman the surrounding area. catches up with the PUBLISHER & EDITOR Phil Busse Southern Oregon native. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sara Jane Wiltermood MUSIC EDITOR Josh Gross PRODUCTION MANAGER Katie Ball CALENDAR EDITOR Jordon Lindsey ROAMING REPORTERS page page Hannah Jones SOUND page ART CRITIC Jordan Marie Martinez SCREEN OUTDOOR EXPERTS Jeanine Moy, Mike Dickenson Wild, reckless and a bit Organizers for the Siskiyou COLUMNISTS Rob Brezsny, Shannon Wheeler, crazy are compliments in 20 FilmFest are aware that x27 Deborah Gordon, Dan Smith some corners of country the event has a built-in FREELANCERS Tyrell Trimble, Tuula Rebhahn, music. Our new music Erin Zelinka, Melissa Haskin, Julie Gillis, Charles paradox: To promote Fischman, Anna Diem and Josh Davis reviewer Josh Davis tries to wild, outdoor places, they GET IN TOUCH lasso some answers from want people to spend a EMAIL [email protected] outlaw country artist Darci long weekend afternoon MUSIC [email protected] Carlson, who plays Johnny gathered in an auditorium, EVENTS [email protected] B’s for the first time. watching films. ADVERTISE [email protected] SALES DEADLINE: 5 pm Thurs EDITORIAL DEADLINE: 5 pm Thurs Sound 20 Don’t Shoot the Messenger 4 CALENDAR DEADLINE: 12 pm Thurs Letters 5 Food & Drink 23 CLASSIFIED DEADLINE: 4 pm Thurs Deadlines may shift for special/holiday issues. News 7 Culture 24 Sports & Outdoors 26 ABOUT THE COVER: Public Profile 9 Feature 11 Screen 27 OWNER AND CHEF NEIL CLOONEY OF Our Picks 13 Wellness 28 SMITHFIELDS RESTAURANT & BAR AND Free Will Astrology 29 SMITHFIELDS PUB & PIES Live Music and Nightlife 14 Weed Garden 30 Events 16 Photo Taken By: Melissa Haskin Rec Room 31 Your Local Solar Company. True South Solar is Southern Oregon’s largest and most experienced solar panel installer. When you couple renewable energy tax credits and cash incentives with our region’s exceptional solar resource, going solar is easy. Call us today for your free site assessment 800.947.1187 truesouthsolar.net 4 / WWW.ROGUEVALLEYMESSENGER.COM PARENT DON’T SHOOT education THE MESSENGER at The Siskiyou School 631 CLAY STREET, ASHLAND On The Social Inclusion and the New Rites of Passage Sunny Presented by Kim John Payne, Author of Simplicity Parenting Side Monday, February 13, 6-9 pm Without Lex Luther, Clark Kent was just a $20* in advance / $25* at the door mild-manner newspaper reporter (although we’d *Reduced ticket prices are available to ALL who need them. Please contact The Siskiyou School! like to think that a mild manner newspaperman is Purchase tickets at www.siskiyouschool.org something powerful as well). And, with that in mind, as America has adjusted to a new president over the Kim John Payne, consultant to 230 independent and public schools, is returning to give an inspiring and informative talk on Social Inclusion. past several weeks, we have been encouraged and impressed by Kim will share his insights on ways to combat the problem of isolation the superhero alter egos millions of Americans are displaying, Visit that is a growing part of the experience of many children today. as millions (and, yes, literally and factually millions) of citizens simplicityparenting.org Developed over 24 years with children from almost every continent, are flexing their political muscles. From street protests the day to learn more. this approach gives practical school and home based tools to work after Donald Trump’s inauguration to smaller gestures like with social exclusion issues and promote tolerance among our children. donations to organizations protecting immigration, free speech and choice. However, narcissists win, in part, because they can suck all the oxygen from the Tuesday, March 7, 6:30-8 pm, FREE room. The news feeds in the country have been dominated by the scatter shot of Parenting Essence: Working with Childhood Temperaments policy changes from the White House, and while we agree that now is an important Presented by Nina Gallwey, Educational Support Teacher time to voice concern, we also want to score our own minor victory by focusing and Through lecture and discussion, Nina will provide a thorough look at the profiling what is good and exciting in the Rogue Valley, and controlling our own four temperaments and the ways that we can work with our children so they can blossom in our care. conversations. Towards that end, this is our Restaurant Issue, and we are so proud and impressed Wednesday, April 12, 6:30-8 pm, FREE by how the American dream is playing out; each restaurant is an individual’s dream, Just Say Know: A Pragmatic Discussion About Substance Use and its own community of servers, patrons and food suppliers. Truly, within each Presented by Matt Vogel, Health Promotion Specialist & Instructor for Department of Psychology at SOU restaurant, the American dream is on full display, and that alone deserves recogni- In this interactive presentation, Matt will explore historical and current tion and celebration. drug trends, how to approach the topic with young folks, and special Our oh-so-wonderful food reviewer Melissa Haskin has been busy these past few considerations based on our community dynamic in southern Oregon. weeks. She has been visiting and talking with chefs in the area as they prepare for Ashland Restaurant Week. Her interviews are published in this issue’s feature (page 11), and we hope that better understanding the people who prepare your meals make that dining experience more interesting and profound. Also, Melissa visited Si Casa Xpress in Grants Pass for her regular column, Cheap Join us for our Eats (page 23). And yes, it is worth pointing out here how much food is one of the strongest representations about how much this country is built on immigrants, and FREE their unique cultures. Our food “reporting” for this issue is rounded out by our writer Charles Fischman who talks with Jefferson Public Radio about their 36th annual wine tasting. Again, in how many ways can we identify the various threads and connections that build a community: This is an event about celebrating a local radio station that brings so much information and entertainment to the region, with about three dozen vine- yards from the area, and layered on with about a dozen Rogue Valley restaurants (page 23). And, moving from food and drink to news, we are pleased to report on a new radio station in Cave Junction (page 8). For the past few years, residents there have been gathering funds and equipment to launch a radio station that will be truly locally-grown.