Encounter Cottage Grove

Matthew Hall has been an amazing asset to the Cottage Grove Community. Listen to his story, including his arrival from England to Aprovecho several decades ago and his work with Al Kennedy High School leading youth corps. "There was a saying in Ireland that forestry was a great profession to be in because nobody realizes your mistakes until fifty years later." For the last 13 years, Matthew Hall has worked at Al Kennedy High School as a Transition Specialists, garden / nursery manager and crew leader for Kennedy's Youth Conservation Corps. Under his leadership Kennedy Conservation Corps has worked in the Coast Range, the National Forest, around Fern Ridge and Dorena Lakes along the Row River Trail bike path, at Quamash prairie and at numerous sites in the Cottage Grove area. Kennedy Conservation Corps works with multiple partners including the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers, Lane County Waste Management and local private landowners. In addition to learning a work ethic and gaining valuable job skills corps members also learn to identify plants, learn about ecosystem restoration, meet natural resource professionals and learn about careers in Natural Resource Management. They also earn high school credit and receive minimum wage. Check out his article about the Civilian Conservation Corp--a New Deal program with plenty of relevance for today. Can we imagine a widespread practice of young people working together in the natural world that builds character and also nourishes our environment. Projects could include reducing fuel loads in forests, mitigating industrial wastelands, re-planted decimated forest lands, building soil and community... https://theintercept.com/2020/08/06/naomi-klein-coronavirus-youth-covid-19-future-unemployment/ The second half of this podcast episode is also relevant: https://theintercept.com/2020/08/05/escape-from-the-nuclear-family-covid-19-should-provoke-a-re-think-of-how-we-live-coronavirus-naomi-klein-civilian-conservation-corps/

In this episode of Encounter Cottage Grove, we speak with the Founder and Director of EcoGeneration David Gardiepy. EcoGeneration is a local non-profit that runs a unique Lane County Recycling Take-Back Program that started it's work in rural communities and is now in the process of expanding. The website states as part of their mission; "We take pride in knowing that we are actively working to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills while preserving our resources for future generations." During this episode, we discuss recycling, waste, and the costs of consumer culture. To learn more, donate, participate or volunteer with EcoGeneration you can visit their website at www.ecogeneration.org

Some people want to have a conversation about American History. (Josh loves American history) But the form of this conversation is about a symbol, the flag...  When the Axe and Fiddle (popular restaurant and bar on Main Street) decided it didn't want an American flag flying outside its place, the American Legion got mad and waved a lot of American flags.  What happens when discussions about society and history become arguments over a flag? Tune in to listen to the story of the flag-scapade on Main Street. It seems to Josh that discussions about the flag may be off limits--for some, it is not politically correct to take down a flag.  If you like this episode, you may be interested in this discussion by a Soviet dissident about a "green grocer" who has a symbolic banner on his store and how it is impossible for him to take down the patriotic sign. That powerful essay is here: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/the-power-of-the-powerless/ comments? email us at: encountercg@gmail.com

Special episode on the July 4/5th weekend. The title says most of it. Co-host, Josh (a few months away from his Phd in US history) goes into that day, not as a way to evaluate whether the USA is good or bad, but by looking at the 1770s and 1780s and what the revolutionary upheaval meant for some of the people on the eastern seaboard. Here is a short bibliography that will help give substance to some of the ideas covered in this episode: The Counterrevolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States by Gerald Horne Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution by Terry Bouton Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America by Daniel Richter The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition by Manisha Sinha Seizing Freedom: Slave Emancipation and Liberty for All by David Roediger

Will there be a post office in the future? Will there be a post office for mail-in voting in the fall? On another level, it should be noted that a perceptive postal carrier may have unique insights into the psychological state of our locale. This essential worker, speaking under conditions of anonymity, speaks of work in the streets, in the walkways, on the sidewalks, in the time of COVID. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/03/us-postal-service-is-struggling--bad-for-election https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851976464/new-postmaster-general-is-top-gop-fundraiser https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2020/04/14/post-office-pensions--some-key-myths-and-facts/#66db7d0747f5 comment: encountercg@gmail.com ALERT: Encounter Cottage Grove is looking for collaborators. If you have ideas, a capacity for technology, or want to pitch in in another way, help this volunteer project become a steady source for exploring our town and for going deeper into our history, our present, and our future. Email us: encountercg@gmail.com

In this episode, friend and ex-Cottage Grove Sentinel editor Jon Stinnett interviews the CG Police Chief Scott Shepherd. They cover topics including the equipment that the force has, the use of force policy, and the department's changes under COVID conditions. The convo, of course, includes discussion of George Floyd and how that event and the reality of police violence is understood by the local head of police. And of course, the episode starts with Rosie and Josh give their two cents. Give us feedback: encountercg@gmail.com Check out the links: Cottage Grove Police personnel website CAHOOTS in Eugene has a website and has recent NPR fame. A mainstream media outlet gives a short history of policing. An award winning historian, Alfred McCoy, wrote about the US empire and the development of policing. Policing America's Empire The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State There were three KKKs. The first came after the Confederate States of America lost the Civil War. The second after WWI. The third in response to the civil rights movement and its successes. The crowning achievement of the second KKK was the 1924 Immigration Act and the establishment of the Border Patrol. It had a huge presence in Oregon. This book is by an amazing historian, Linda Gordon. The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition A person whose ideas have come from the margins into the present moment. Until next episode...

Local news is one way that a community sees itself. The Cottage Grove Sentinel is the only game in town in that regard and Damien Sherwood is the City Reporter -- i.e. the guy who write most (if not all) the stories in the news section of the paper. Newspapers are suffering in the internet media environment and in an economic environment where big fish eat little ones. Damien gets us thinking about truth, he lays out his ideals, and his personal tale. Josh explores the art of tough questioning, but ends up going pretty easy on him. Contact us at: encountercg@gmail.com

Last week we had less than 70 reported cases of COVID-19. Since yesterday there have been 9 new cases. It takes 3-14 days for COVID to incubate in the body It takes 1-3 days for testing to come back These cases must have been transmitted in the past week or so... since the opening of the economy Get your news from a reliable source... Please share Encounter Cottage Grove with your friends, that's all we ask. We need your support https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing encountercg@gmail.com

You may have seen the video of the police murder of George Floyd. There is some history to "police brutality" that Josh briefly explores. See some links below for more. On this bonus episode, Josh talks with the owner and manager of "KNND the mighty 1400" that is the popular local AM radio station, who happened to be checking out the protest because it happen to be right outside his station's office. In every protest movement there are many tendencies and political opinions. The tendencies change over time. Here is a snapshot of what is on the mind of protesters in CG. A final note: the concept of "bad apple" is a metaphor for a good apple tree who produces a bad apple. But what does it say of the police system if Indigenous, Black, Brown, queer, and trans folks people get murdered with some regularity. What if the police officers like the murderer in Minneapolis have a record of violent abuse that has gone unchecked by the "blue wall," by liberals like Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), and by local authorities--are we talking about a bad apple or a bad tree? This is one of the key questions dividing the near universal condemnation of the murder today. Resources below are no joke: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/opinion/george-floyd-minneapolis.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerner_Commission https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/03/01/the-kerner-omission A contemporary thinker you should follow to understand Black protest more: http://www.keeangataylor.com/media.html https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing encountercg@gmail.com

Isaiah (DJ Zeek) curates a great bonus episode. But Josh and Rosie have to talk a little bit about parenting first... Isaiah doesn't have a twitter account, but be ready for it when it comes... https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing encountercg@gmail.com

There are breadlines in America. Stores are hiring more armed guards. Prices are rising. People are going hungry as the "Greater Depression" is unfolding. Farms are plowing food under because restaurants won't buy. Meat processing plants are COVID-19 hotbeds. The food system is fragile and eroding like the topsoil it has squandered. Marjory and Tim fall in love. The land is the matchmaker. Marjory is a biodynamic farmer and she knows how to grow food, save seed, and give plants away. When the pandemic hit, the interest in Permaculture and the Agrarian Sharing Network has skyrocketed. Lots of people want to know to garden... for good reason. Find produce from Singing Creek Farm at the Farmers Market in downtown Cottage Grove 4-7pm. https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing encountercg@gmail.com

Samantha Duncan is a small business owner of The Health Hub here in Cottage Grove, Oregon. She has also been a key contributor to 'Be Your Best' which is a coalition of local non-profits aimed at improving the health of our community. Listed here are some of the organizations that are in need of support right now. Be Your Best; https://www.facebook.com/bybcottagegrove/ Community Sharing; https://communitysharing.org/ Family Relief Nursery; http://www.frncg.org/ The Looking Glass; https://www.lookingglass.us/ Rural Organizing Project; https://rop.org/ For info about the Health Hub; https://www.healthhubcg.com/ To get in touch with Samantha Duncan; beyourbest.cg@gmail.com Follow Encounter Cottage Grove & Contact INFO: encountercg@gmail.com https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_

Corrine Kalesse is a devoted doula in the greater Cottage Grove area and her work is changing in the time of COVID. Hospitals are not as hospitable, and the centuries long struggle over reproduction continues. If we are not returning to normal--and we are not--then we have to consider every aspect of life. A wise man once said that "he not busy being born is busy dying," but it seems that that nobel laureate may not have considered the role of the doula who is busy supporting birth. Josh opens with a slew of random remarks including the outrageous claim that 1/3 of humanity now listens to this podcast. He took great effort to constrain himself from busting out in a full fledged historical lecture. A few minutes, however, suffice to cover the history of reproduction from the Black Plague to the early modern period. For more information, please read "Caliban and the Witch" by Silvia Federici (do look her up on youtube). In any case, enjoy, and don't forget to give feedback somehow. We're desperately insecure and want to know what you think. encoungercg@gmail.com https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing

I talk to my 12 year old daughter Raven about schooling from home and what she wants to do when quarantine lifts.

Scott Burgwin was instrumental in Stand For Peace for about a decade (2002-2012). He is now been running the Coast Fork Farm Stand for a decade. (2009-2020). In this episode Josh chats with Scott about the latest at one of the few spaces open that still gets regular customers. His community-oriented business is a hub for many people and with the pandemic its importance has only grown. If you don't think your greengrocer is important, consider that the Arab Spring started when a fruit seller set himself ablaze in Tunisia. And consider that Vaclav Havel - the Czech dissident whose "Power to the Powerless" offered the clearest anti-totalitarian stand of the era leading up to the fall of the USSR - put special emphasis on the greengrocer. Got a tip? Send us a note... encountercg@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/CoastForkFarmStand https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_ https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing

We spend 15 minutes shooting the shit about what this podcast is about. We're a bit giddy for our first fifteen minutes of fame, but the record button is on and we're rolling.... Future episodes will be out shortly. Please send us ideas and feedback The music is The Hex by Richard Swift encoungercg@gmail.com is the official podcast email Rate this podcast and follow us on social media https://twitter.com/Galileoglowing https://twitter.com/_Josh_Fattal_