Water refill station at Fourth of July celebration

Water on Wheels

Some kind of awesome: The “water on wheels” refill station encouraged reusable bottle use during the Fourth of July celebration in downtown Ashland, Oregon. It was an unexpected pleasure, this being a federal holiday event and not, say, the Rogue Valley Earth Day celebration.

Have ‘safe and sane’ Fourth of July

Have a “safe and sane” Fourth of July, everyone. Keep your companion animals safely in at home; loud noises may frighten them. And spare a thought for your fire department (as well as government ordinances). Leave pyrotechnics to the professionals.

Bullying: ChoicePoint empowers bystanders

In a letter posted June 27 by the Ashland Daily Tidings, I emphasized the important role of bystanders and adults to combat bullying in schools. So I was gratified to learn about the ChoicePoint bullying prevention and bystander awareness program.

Yarn-bombed bicycle for Fourth of July

A knit-swatch seat cover for my yarn-bombed bicycle

An ankle injury sidelined me from riding during goRogueValley.org’s Go By Bike Week in May, but I was able to resume riding in time to participate in the Fourth of July parade.

The Web-sters yarn shop in Ashland, Oregon provided swatches and yarn for crafters to decorate their bikes. A bicycle yarn-bombing party took place Tuesday at Lithia Park in downtown Ashland.

LibraryReads recommendations debut this fall

Readers’ advisory has a chance to expand its scope. From Molly Driscoll, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, libraries all over the country will contribute to a Top 10 recommendation list starting this fall.

Driscoll cites a statement by Robin Nesbitt, collection management director of the Columbus Metropolitan Library:

“Every day, thousands of people who work in libraries recommend books in all categories and genres to the communities they serve. LibraryReads will harness their passion and deep book knowledge, and create a new way to connect readers and authors, using the incredible collective outreach of library systems, big and small, across the country.”

LibraryReads is overseen by a committee that includes library staff members and advocates, with assistance from the Association of American Publishers and American Booksellers Association. Any regular library employee can make a recommendation. Selections will be compiled from top picks.