Beneath the Wraps

            Yesterday Richard decided he wanted to drive to Ashland to take some watches to a vendor – though I didn’t think it necessary to make a special trip.   I told him we should pray about the decision to go – afterall the nation is experiencing untamed weather, we are still not receiving local news and perhaps we should remain at home.              I took the closed pumps as a sign.   We had gone to four different gas stations before finding one that still had gas.   They expect they will run out today.   Oh, my word!   I feel like I’m living in a Sci-Fi.   It’s been raining non-stop.   It’s a wonder that we don’t have a lake in our backyard.  On the plus side our grass is very green.

        Each month this year has brought up a new set of challenges – most which still exist.         January – Australia caught on fire         February – Chinese citizens post videos of the effects of COVID19 – I never imagined it would become a world wide thing         March – Several states go into a lockdown.   For Jenna the pendemic started Friday the 13 th .   The 18 th shakes Utah (where we came from and family members live) starts a chain of earthquakes and aftershocks         April – nation is short on supplies – items such as face masks, hand sanifizer, ventilators and toilet paper.   Only those working front line have jobs.   People feel more exposed to risk while working front line.   People without jobs are financially worn out. May – Rumor of Murder Hornets.   Not im...

            As a child I remember hearing idioms such as "a penny for your thoughts", "too big for your breeches", and "you can't go home again".   What????   I thought adults were such morons.   First of all, I was always certain that my thoughts were worth more than just a penny.   "breeches" was a term we hadn't used and so I had no idea what that was.   And "you can't go home again"?   Of course, you can.   In my childish mind, I took the phrase literally.   If I went to a neighbor's house, for instance, I was expected to come home.   Even as a college student I knew that I'd be going home again.   It wasn't until many decades later that I finally figured it out.             "Home" is not necessarily a residence and family.   The "home" referred to is the past.   It's not just time that has put the dista...

                We ended up NOT going to McMinnville.   Air quality has shifted.   Yesterday we were at a Very Unhealthy and McMinnville was moderate.   Now we're at Moderate and McMinnville as at an Unhealthy level worse than Roseburg - which seemed more breathable the last time I was there.   And forget Eugene.   As there is no direct line from Myrtle Creek to McMinnville, we'd have to take I5 and through Eugene - which may have been worse off than South Umpqua all along.                 This morning I read that I84 was/is closed due to the smoke ( here ).   That's crazy.   We are stuck . . . fires north of us (Washington and Canada) fires east of us (Idaho) fires south of us (California) fires to our West (Oregon) Schools have closed or are on delay due to the smoke.   Jenna had school.   That floors me.   I...

Here is Carisa's article in News Review: Children, adults enthusiastic at Myrtle Creek Library reopening CARISA CEGAVSKE Senior Staff Writer The News-Review Carisa Cegavske Jul 3, 2017 MYRTLE CREEK — On the Myrtle Creek Library’s reopening day Monday, Tanner Reed, 5, was enthusiastically transforming a Minions T-shirt into a book bag that he could use to take home a pile of books about dinosaurs, unicorns and monsters. Tanner didn’t like to think about what would happen if the library closed again. “I’d feel really sad,” he said. Tanner was one of a dozen kids who turned up for the first day, not just of the library’s summer reading program, but also of its reopening after a three-month closure. Like the other smaller library branches of the former Douglas County Library System, Myrtle Creek’s doors were shut April 1. It’s the fifth to reopen, and it’s operating with an all-volunteer staff. The kids were thrilled to have books to check out and fun a...

Myrtle Creek Library reopens Monday CARISA CEGAVSKE Senior Staff Writer The News-Review Carisa Cegavske Senior Reporter published June 30, 2017 Top of Form Bottom of Form The Myrtle Creek Library will reopen Monday with an all-volunteer staff, and kick off its summer reading program right away. Like many of the smaller branches of the former Douglas County Library System, the Myrtle Creek Library has been closed since April 1. Sutherlin, Oakland, Riddle and Reedsport have since reopened their libraries. The Myrtle Creek Library is unique in the county in that it is now managed not by the local city council, but by the nonprofit Friends of the Myrtle Creek Library. "We're very excited," said Friends Treasurer Julienne DeMarsh about Monday's opening. DeMarsh said the group has about 80 people on a list of potential volunteers or donors, with a group of 21 that has passed background checks and plans to volunteer thro...

More from The News Review – representing Douglas County Riddle Library to move forward with plan for checking out books CARISA CEGAVSKE Senior Staff Writer The News-Review   May 9, 2017 Riddle is moving forward with a plan to reopen its library and even check out books. The smaller branches that were once part of the Douglas County Library System shut down April 1, victims of the financial crisis faced by county government. While the county’s Library Futures Task Force continues to search for a long-term solution, many cities have come to the conclusion their best bet, at least for now, is to take charge of their own libraries. Previously, libraries had been told by the county they could reopen, but only as reading rooms. Under that model, county-owned books would remain with each branch, but would have to be read on site and couldn’t be checked out. The county would no longer provide a computer catalog. But Riddle began looking into a way around that. ...

"As a result of declining timber receipt and dwindling reserve funds the Board is tasked with making very difficult decisions to ensure that basic public safety needs and other essential services for the community are met." stated County Commissioner Chris Boice. Those are the last words found on the Douglas County Library home page.   The web page may appear to offer more   options, but they are no longer linked to anything.   It's a dead page. This was the caption on November 30, 2016 Charlotte Herbert wrote the following letter to the News Review Editor:   Stop the talk, vote for the library           " How can anyone think library supporters have not thoroughly explored ALL funding solutions? Library staff and supporters have been thinking about alternative funding for 20 years. Ever since 1996, when repeated budget cuts made our libraries fall below minimum standards.      ...