Discrimination has been common against both indigenous people and people who identify as LGBTQ or queer. Imagine the challenges for people who identify with both groups.
Southern Oregon University's curriculum includes a course in Queer Indigenous Studies, which culminates in the annual Queer Indigenous Gathering, the 5th of its kind, on March 11th. Course instructor Brook Colley and Veronica Green visit with details of the event and what it represents.
Dark Sky Week: The world's largest Dark Sky Sanctuary is in Oregon
Apr 17, 2025
Dark Sky International’s world-wide celebration of dark skies and the need to preserve them from light pollution, known as Dark Sky Week, is April 21-28.
Bob Hackett, Executive Director, Travel Southern Oregon, and JPR Host Mike Green.(JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay)
Joining the Exchange to discuss places in Oregon for Dark Sky viewing is Bob Hackett, Executive Director of Travel Southern Oregon.
Southern Oregon has two premiere Dark Sky places, as certified by Dark Sky International. Lake County is home to the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world, the Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary, certified in March 2024. And the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve has become the Northwest’s first federal park to designated a Dark Sky Park (February 2025).
Travel Southern Oregon has been leading the way, with Travel Oregon and Dark Sky Oregon, in elevating the conversation about this unique regional resource.
This Dark Sky map timeline compares the changes in light pollution at night since the 1950s.
SOU offers new resource for students experiencing gender-based violence
Apr 17, 2025
Southern Oregon University has a new resource to support students and employees who have experienced gender-based violence such as stalking, sexual assault and domestic violence between intimate partners. Community Works, a Medford nonprofit, is offering free on-campus sessions two days per week with a specially trained confidential advocate.
SOU and Community Works recently signed a memorandum of understanding to make the advocacy services available, as required by state law.
Joining the Exchange are two guests:
Dawn Burks is the Community Advocacy Services Manager at Community Works.
Hannah Neudorfer is the Sexual Assault Lead Advocate at Community Works
Dawn Burks (L) and Hannah Neudorfer (R) from Community Works, join JPR host Mike Green in the studio on April 17, 2025.(JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay)
“We are only in our first few weeks of this partnership, so only a small handful of individuals have been referred – but we certainly hope it will make a difference for the campus community. (The confidential advocate’s) services are open to any member of the SOU community – student, staff and faculty.”
Hannah Neudorfer is available to meet with students or employees on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in the Dean of Students Office, at Room 321 of the Stevenson Union. Hannah can also be reached during business hours at (541) 951-3406 or hneudorfer@community-works.org.
All incidents of discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct should be reported via online form to SOU’s Office of Equity Grievance and Title IX. Members of the university’s Equity Grievance Team will respond to and manage all such reports, contacting involved parties and enforcing university policies.
SOU has a long history and national reputation for effectively addressing instances of sexual harassment and violence through its Office of Equity Grievance. The university also offers a wide range of in-person and remote counseling options for both students and employees.
The Dean of Students Office offers a website full of resources for survivors of sexual violence. Counseling for any mental health crises or other concerns is available to students through the La Clinica Student Health & Wellness Center; in-person or remote sessions can be scheduled through the online health portal or by calling the SHWC at (541) 552-6136.
On-demand, no-appointment sessions by phone or chat are available to students at any time through SOU’s affiliation with TELUS Health Student Support, at (866) 743-7732. Assistance is also available from the SOU Care Coordinators Office.
SOU employees can seek guidance through SOU’s employee assistance program, Canopy (formerly Cascade Centers), by calling (800) 433-2320 or visiting the organization’s website.
Under terms laid out in the memorandum of understanding, Community Works will also help with training and prevention programming at SOU. The university will help prepare the organization’s confidential advocates to support clients through potential campus processes, in addition to their typical work with supporting clients through criminal proceedings.
Title IX – a federal law that in part prohibits exclusion or harassment based on sex – applies to all educational institutions, both public and private, that receive federal funds.
Earth Day Weekend Restoration at Yreka Creek seeks volunteers
Apr 16, 2025
Pictured next to flyer: Christy Wheatley, the Yreka Watershed Stewards Program Corpsmember.( Christy Wheatley)
There's a tiny creek in Yreka that has a huge responsibility in the ecosystem: it is a spawning ground for Coho Salmon. The babies leave the creek and make their way to the ocean. Then they make the journey back as adults to spawn. But the creek has fallen into ecological trouble. Efforts to restore it are underway.
Joining the Exchange is Christy Wheatley. She's the Watershed Stewards Program Corpsmember for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Yreka.
(Yreka Watershed Corps)
ABOUT The Watershed Stewards Program, CDFW, and California Trout are hosting a volunteer restoration day at the Lower Yreka Creek Side Channel Project.
Volunteers will plant native species and pull invasive plants on April 19th from 10am to 2pm. This work will benefit native biodiversity, salmonids, and water quality. For directions, more information, and to RSVP, visit YrekaCreek.Eventbrite.com.
Surprisingly the Yreka Creek is a spawning ground for anadromous (go to the sea and come back) like the Coho Salmon. Restoring the creek will provide additional habitat, for juvenile coho salmon in the summer and good spawning grounds for mature Salmon. Travel to and from the ocean from the creek via the Shasta and Klamath rivers. The creek and other tributaries provide safer and more sheltered spawning areas than the larger rivers, especially when there is a lot of rain. The fish go up the creek as far as they can to find gravel, which can have good places to leave eggs etc. Restoring the creek will also benefit other fish and animal species as well as humans.
'License to Kill' - California reissues licenses to drivers responsible for multiple deaths
Apr 16, 2025
(<a href="https://calmatters.org/investigation/2025/04/license-to-kill/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1744745828101,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1744745828101,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Photo Illustration","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2025/04/license-to-kill/","_id":"00000196-3af4-deb9-a1d7-3ffc76240000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000196-3af4-deb9-a1d7-3ffc76230000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Photo Illustration</a> by Gabe Hongsdusit and Larry Valenzuela / <a href="https://calmatters.org/investigation/2025/04/license-to-kill/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1744745867457,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1744745867457,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":" Calmatters.org","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2025/04/license-to-kill/","_id":"00000196-3af5-d1e1-a59e-3bfd16250000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000196-3af5-d1e1-a59e-3bfd15710000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}"> Calmatters.org</a>)
The California DMV routinely allows dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to operate on our roadways. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again.
Robert Lewis is a reporter on the CalMatters investigations team. He joins the Exchange to talk about the Calmatters investigative series titled "License to Kill" and offer insight into this ongoing systemic problem in California.
Example: Josh Daugherty has a driver's license. His record shows that a 16-year-old girl died in his vehicle after he lost control and flipped it. In a separate driving accident while under the influence of marijuana, his 25-year-old girlfriend was killed when he crashed again. Josh's story is indicative of many others in California who are still licensed to drive.
EXCERPT FROM THE SERIES "The cases we reviewed cut across demographics and geography. Defendants include farmworkers and a farm owner. They include off-duty police officers and people with lengthy rap sheets, drivers who killed in a fit of rage and others whose recklessness took the lives of those they loved most — high school sweethearts, siblings, children. The tragedies span this vast state. From twisty two-lane mountain roads near the Oregon border to the dusty scrubland touching Mexico. From the crowded streets of San Francisco to the highways of the Inland Empire. From Gold Country, to timber country, to Silicon Valley, to the almond capital of the world. So much death. More people than are killed by guns."
32 years old, Uncle Food's Diner still hosts free community meals in Ashland
Apr 15, 2025
Uncle Food's Diner is a program in Ashland hosting free weekly community meals for all comers(<a href="https://peacehouse.net/uncle-foods-diner/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1744313925572,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1744313925572,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"<bsp-line>Peace House / Uncle Foods Diner</bsp-line>","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://peacehouse.net/uncle-foods-diner/","_id":"00000196-2136-df15-a796-ef3722ee0001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000196-2136-df15-a796-ef3722ee0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Peace House / Uncle Foods Diner</a>)
Each Tuesday, Uncle Food's Diner serves meals at Trinity Episcopal Church Parish Hall in downtown Ashland from 4-6 pm. In addition to 100 hot meals served each week, Uncle Food's Diner distributes excess donations to community partners. It is also a platform for emergency care.
Joining the Exchange to discuss the iconic local food program is Elizabeth Hallett from Peace House.
Elizabeth Hallett, Director of Peace House in Ashland, with JPR Host Mike Green(JPR Senior Producer, Natalie Golay)
The full-service dinner program, known as Uncle Food's Diner began in response to an emerging need in the Ashland community to provide a hot, nutritious meal and help fill the gaps in food security in a compassionate environment where all are welcome and valued.
Over the past three decades, Uncle Food’s Diner has taken a variety of forms in response to shifting needs of hungry people in the Rogue Valley.
For more than 15 years, the United Methodist Church in Ashland hosted the meal in their Wesley Hall, where on average 100 people gathered each Tuesday. The Tuesday Community Meal included a full dinner menu, as well as fresh produce, and social services including faith leaders, health care workers, and cooks offering a comfortable respite service for those in need of support.
In 2020-2021 when COVID shut down many food programs and isolated individuals and families, Peace House provided a crisis response in coordination with partners, and delivered hot meals to five locations across Ashland, seven days a week. During this phase, Uncle Food’s employed five full time cooks, purchased a delivery van, and provided full-day meal bags for approximately 100 people a day, four days per week.
When the Almeda fire displaced thousands of people, Uncle Food's Diner contributed meals to fire survivors housed in local hotels and campgrounds and supported emergency workers when needed.
Food insecurity in the Rogue Valley is growing
Apr 15, 2025
(Ashland Food Bank)
Amey Broeker is Executive Director of the Ashland Community Food Bank. She joins the Exchange to provide an update on the current state of food insecurity in the Rogue Valley. She's joined by Amber Ferguson, Executive Director of Rogue Food Unites.
Amber Ferguson, Director of Rogue Food Unites and Amey Boeker, Director of the Ashland Community Food Bank, join JPR Host Mike Green.(JPR Senior Producer, Natalie Golay)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently canceled $500 million in food deliveries across the country, according to The Washington Post. That follows an announcement that the USDA would be cutting more than $1 billion in funding for local food banks and schools by eliminating two programs: one that pays for schools and food banks to be able to buy from local farmers and another centered on deliveries of food.
Last month, the President of the Oregon Food Bank said the state is seeing the worst rates of hunger since the Great Depression, according to OPB reports. The FISH of Roseburg Food Pantry, which offers emergency food for people in Douglas County, revealed that in the past year they’ve gone from serving more than 750 families per month to over 1,000. It receives no federal funding. But due to cuts in federal funding to various other programs, the trickle down effect has exacerbated hunger and increased the traffic at the FISH.
Us and them and why: closing learning gaps in American high schools
Apr 14, 2025
Funding, staff shortages, literacy, safety and more are on the minds of students, families and educators as they head back to school. Pictured: Students in the hallways at Cedar Park Middle School in Beaverton, Ore., Feb. 22, 2023.(Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB )
The more academically rigorous courses in any high school tend to be composed of few, if any, students from Black and/or low-income households.
Reid Saaris noticed this when he was a high school student, and he noticed it even more when he became a teacher. So he set up a national nonprofit, Equal Opportunity Schools, to challenge the status quo and make good educations available to more people.
Southern Oregon University hosts the 32nd Annual Powwow at Lithia Pavilion. Lower right: Image from 2024 Powwow at SOU(<a href="https://ashland.news/thousands-turn-out-for-31st-annual-sou-powwow-returns/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1744224626622,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1744224626622,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Ashland.news","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://ashland.news/thousands-turn-out-for-31st-annual-sou-powwow-returns/","_id":"00000196-1be3-df15-a796-dfe795c60000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000196-1be3-df15-a796-dfe795c50000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Ashland.news</a>)
The Lithia Motors Pavilion on the campus of Southern Oregon University is the venue for the 32nd Annual Powwow, produced by the SOU Native American Studies Program.
Join the Exchange are two guests:
2025 SOU Powwow Student Organizers Demetrius Davis-Boucher, Luke Wolgamott and JPR Host Mike Green.(JPR Engineer Andrew Crackle)
Demetrius Davis-Boucher is a Senior at SOU, majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Digital Cinema. He is a reconnecting descendant of Cherokee Nation and serves as Co-chair of the Native American Student Union.
Luke Wolgamott is an enrolled member of the Shawnee tribe and Osage nation. He serves as the Cultural Preservation Officer for the Native Nation's Office at SOU.
What do you say when kids ask, 'What kind of bird is that?'
Apr 10, 2025
( Daisy Yuhas)
Daisy Yuhas joins the Exchange to offer parents help in teaching themselves and their kids about the wonderful world of birds. Daisy is the author of "Kids' Field Guide to Birds," which won the National Outdoor Book Award for Children's Books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daisy Yuhas is a science journalist based in Austin, Texas. Her love of birds led her to follow Swallows in Alaska and Argentina, count Kestrels in Pennsylvania, boat out to Penguin and Puffin colonies, and seek Dickcissels with physicists on the Illinois prairie. She writes for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times for Kids and Scientific American.
What happens when local media disappears?
Apr 09, 2025
(<a href="https://strippedforpartsfilm.com/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1744133938303,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1744133938303,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Stripped for Parts Film","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://strippedforpartsfilm.com/","_id":"00000196-167b-d844-a3f7-b6ffc69c0001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000196-167b-d844-a3f7-b6ffc69c0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Stripped for Parts Film</a>)
On today's Exchange we're reminded of Joni Mitchell's song from 2002, "Big Yellow Taxi." The lyrics in the refrain are "Don't it always seem to go ... that you don't what you've got till it's gone ... they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
We're talking about the April 10 screening of a documentary film at Southern Oregon university titled, "Stripped for Parts: Journalism on the Brink" It's free and open to the public. Venue: SOU Music Recital Hall. Time: 6:30pm. Learn more.
Joining the Exchange is David Sommers. He's a board member at Ashland.news and one of the panelists discussing the film at the screening.
David was the inaugural publisher of the Rogue Valley Times and Chief revenue Officer at EO Media Group, which published more than a dozen newspapers around Oregon. His career covers a long list of leadership at various media organizations in Oregon and California.
Hedge fund Alden Global Capital is quietly gobbling up newspapers across the country and gutting them, but no one knows why– until journalist Julie Reynolds begins to investigate. Her findings trigger rebellions across the country by journalists working at Alden-owned newspapers.
Backed by the NewsGuild union, the newsmen and women go toe-to-toe with their “vulture capitalist” owners in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism in America. Who will control the future of America’s news ecosystem: Wall Street billionaires concerned only with profit, or those who see journalism as an essential public service, the lifeblood of our democracy?
Bird flu in cows? Oregon is on watch to keep dairy cows safe ... and humans too
Apr 09, 2025
A line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a dairy farm in Idaho in this 2009 file photo. The highly pathogenic avian influenza is spreading rapidly through dairies and poultry farms in the region, and health experts say states could be doing more to test workers — many of whom are migrants — in order to prevent the disease among humans.(Charlie Litchfield / AP Photo)
Avian flu is a major concern across Oregon's agricultural environments. Dr. Ryan Scholz joins the Exchange to offer more insight. He's a state veterinarian at the Oregon Department of Agriculture. We'll learn about the depth of the problem in Oregon and why there's a constant watch on dairy cows to ensure they don't catch bird flu.
Oregon has a gambling problem
Apr 08, 2025
(<a href="https://graduate.lclark.edu/clinics/problem_gambling/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743710052785,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743710052785,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Lewis & Clark College Problem Gambling Services","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://graduate.lclark.edu/clinics/problem_gambling/","_id":"00000195-fd37-d584-adf5-fdb7cb440001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-fd37-d584-adf5-fdb7cb440000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Lewis & Clark College Problem Gambling Services</a>)
The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported that estimates show around 88,000 Oregonians meet the diagnosis for gambling addiction, with another 180,000 Oregonians currently at risk for developing the addiction, yet Oregon’s Problem Gambling Services treated only 796 people in FY22-23 (the most recent year for which data is available).
Joining the Exchange to discuss the problem and efforts to address it is Kate Madden, Interim Director of the Problem Gambling Services at Lewis & Clark School of Counseling and Education. Also joining the conversation is Greta Coe, Manager of Problem Gambling Services at the Oregon Health Authority.
From the state lottery to the stock market, from cryptocurrency to memecoins, bingo and sports betting—and even elections—gambling is embedded into Americans’ lives. Video games, social media, and phone apps now expose even young, developing brains to gambling behaviors in ever-increasing, often undetected ways. This normalized, ongoing near-ubiquitous access builds potentially addictive behavior from childhood through adolescence and across adulthood.
The annual festival celebrates 12 years from when the boat, Kamome (KA MO MAY), was discovered on the shores of Crescent City with a Japanese-themed restaurant week and dozens of free activities for all-ages honoring Crescent City’s connection and Sister City relationship with Rikuzentakata, Japan.
The festival ends with a special Taste of Japan culinary and entertainment experience on Saturday evening, April 12, 2025 with proceeds going to the Kamome Foundation and Del Norte High School’s Japan Club.
Bill Steven, founder of the Kamome Festival, joins the Exchange.
Bats can do everything: fly, walk, fish (yes, fish)
Apr 07, 2025
Living with Parkinson's: through the lens of a former doctor with the disease
Apr 03, 2025
( <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease/4-common-symptoms-parkinsons-disease" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743538122795,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743538122795,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"National Institute on Aging (NIH)","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease/4-common-symptoms-parkinsons-disease","_id":"00000195-f2f8-d4fa-a7fd-fbfc595d0001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-f2f8-d4fa-a7fd-fbfc595d0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">National Institute on Aging (NIH)</a>)
The National Institutes of Health estimate there are 1 million Americans that have Parkinson's disease. For families experiencing the challenges of Parkinson's disease, our guests will offer insight into what life is like living with Parkinson's for the individual with the disease and their families ... and how to access available resources.
A former doctor with Parkinson's Disease joins the Exchange. Dr. Kathleen Blake is Vice Chair of the People with Parkinson's Advisory Council for the Parkinson's Foundation. Dr. Blake was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and has become an active volunteer in the Parkinson’s community. During her 25 years in practice, she was voted Albuquerque’s top cardiologist by her peers. She now serves as vice chair of the Parkinson’s Foundation People with Parkinson's Advisory Council.
Also joining the Exchange is John Lehr, President and CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation. Lehr guides the overall strategy, mission, programs, and resources of the Parkinson's Foundation that make life better for people with PD. He works to expand the Foundation’s research and care initiatives while also working to improve health equity in the Parkinson's community by providing support for populations that have been historically excluded from research and underserved by current efforts.
Healing through medicine, music and art
Apr 03, 2025
Caitlin Harman and Jessica Steinhebel assist in the patient healing process as music therapists at the Oregon State Hospital. (Caitlin Harman and Jessica Steinhebel)
Patients at the Oregon State Hospital find their quality of care includes more than attentive doctors and nurses. They also benefit from music and art infused into their healing protocol.
Joining the Exchange to offer more insight are Jessica Steinhebel and Caitlin Harman. Both are board certified licensed music therapists working at the Oregon State Hospital as Directors of Creative Arts and Recreation Therapies.
Vesper Meadow works to restore the beaver population in the 'Beaver State'
Apr 03, 2025
An Oregon beaver swims in a stream.(<a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-07-30/the-beaver-seekers/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743537255658,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743537255658,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Ralph Arvesen","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-07-30/the-beaver-seekers/","_id":"00000195-f2eb-de1c-a7bf-feff1e760001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-f2eb-de1c-a7bf-feff1e760000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Ralph Arvesen</a> / <a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-07-30/the-beaver-seekers/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743537289324,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743537289324,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"resilience","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-07-30/the-beaver-seekers/","_id":"00000195-f2eb-dce9-a9f7-f6ff94090001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-f2eb-dce9-a9f7-f6ff94090000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">resilience</a>)
In February, over a dozen beaver enthusiasts donned snowshoes and filed to a headwaters creek in southwest Oregon to watch as five beavers were introduced to their new home. The release marks a milestone for the Vesper Meadow Education Program, which has been rehabilitating wet meadow habitat on private land nearby.
Representatives from Vesper Meadow join the Exchange to shed light on the efforts to strengthen Oregon's beaver population. Jeanine Moy is Founder and Director of Vesper Meadow Education Program. Stasie Maxwell is Manager of the Indigenous Partnership Programs.
<b>Stasie Maxwell</b> is Manager of the Indigenous Partnership Programs at Vesper Meadow Education Program, <b>Jeanine Moy</b> is Founder and Director of the Vesper Meadow Education Program. They join Mike Green, host of the Jefferson Exchange on JPR.(JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay)
Experts and volunteers have spent the past six years setting the table for beavers, said Jeanine Moy, Vesper Meadow’s program director. “We've been partnering with state federal agencies as well as local nonprofits, school groups, artists, independent biologists to get the ecosystem to the point where beavers could come back.”
Beaver dams and activity can help store water, improve water quality, boost biodiversity, and even create firebreaks. But the loss of these “ecosystem engineers,” along with cattle grazing, water diversions and logging, have degraded wet mountain meadows.
Medford School District Superintendent Champion leaving in June and pursuing other opportunities
Apr 02, 2025
Still photo from resignation video published by Medford Public Schools Superintendent Bret Champion.( <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUNqXWLuMtY" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743532657619,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743532657619,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Bret Champion","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUNqXWLuMtY","_id":"00000195-f2a4-d03d-a7d5-f6a6ed8e0001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-f2a4-d03d-a7d5-f6a6ed8e0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Bret Champion via KOBI TV NBC5</a>)
Bret Champion joins the Exchange to discuss his career, his leadership at the Medford Public School District, why he's leaving, and his future plans.
Champion will finish the school year under a cloud of controversy at the school board level. Champion announced his resignation on Feb 21. The Medford School District published it on its Facebook page. Dr. Champion has also been open to interviews with local media. A large outpouring of public support followed in the wake of Champion's unexpected resignation.
According to the Rogue Valley Times: Champion noted that he's leaving because a “loud contingency,” had continued to shift attention to “adult-centered issues.”
“Something needs to change, and I’m willing to be that change,” Champion said. “I’ve decided that the best way to refocus on students is to step aside.”
13 free concerts at SOU: Northwest Percussion Festival
Apr 02, 2025
A medley of previous performances at the Northwest Percussion Festival. (<a href="https://www.nwperc.org/" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe69b60000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1743531368414,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1743531368414,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000190-0d82-dd85-a79d-afae039b0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"Northwest Percussion Festival","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://www.nwperc.org/","_id":"00000195-f291-d9b3-afb7-f2994d010000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000195-f291-d9b3-afb7-f2994d000000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Northwest Percussion Festival</a>)
Dr. Terry Longshore, Professor of Music, Artist in Residence, and Director of Percussion Studies joins the Exchange. He's leading the Northwest Percussion Festival in Ashland at SOU scheduled April 4-6. More information on the concerts can be found at SOU events.
SOU Director of Percussion Studies Dr. Terry Longshore and JPR Host Mike Green.(JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay)
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL The Northwest Percussion Festival was founded in 1985 by Dr. John Baldwin (Boise State University), Professor Charles Dowd (University of Oregon), and Professor Martin Zyskowski (Eastern Washington University) to give classical percussion ensembles from around the Northwest region a chance to perform for one another and exchange repertoire ideas. The weekend also provides an opportunity for students and their directors to meet in and socialize in an informal environment, and for the music director-conductors of the ensembles to perform solo pieces for the students. The continued growth and success of the NWPF each year is a tribute to the dedication and commitment of the Northwest's percussionists to the advancement of the percussive arts.
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