MEDFORD, Ore. – Medford joined over 250 cities across 36 countries as part of the “March Against Monsanto.”

Organizers say over 800 people marched from Vogel Plaza to Alba Park as part of the protest.

They say their outrage is in response to the so-called Monsanto Protection Act, which offers legal protections to those planting genetically modified and potentially unhealthy seeds.

“What’s at stake is our whole food supply,” said Kayla Starr, one of the event organizers.

The so-called Monsanto Protection Act allows farmers to plant purchased genetically modified seeds even if those seeds are found to have negative health effects.

When those seeds grow, they can spread to nearby farms.

“The wind blows the pollen into organic farmers’ fields… and that way they can’t save their own seeds,” said Starr.

As protestors marched by, Rogue Valley farmers sold their produce at the downtown market. Some quietly cheering from the sidelines.

Vince Alionis has been farming organically for 21 years. He says genetically modified sugar beets have been a source of controversy — and contamination — here in the valley.

“This is not too different from pesticide drift or point source pollution issues,” said Alionis. “It’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Young farmers say they’re beginning to see that happen.

Max Binstock moved here from the Bay area, in part because of the food movement.

“There’s always been pockets of this movement, and now it’s coming back with a lot of force,” said Binstock.

Even though rallies in places like Portland have four or five times the turnout, organizers here say they’re heartened.

“Any of the issues that I’ve been part of, this is the biggest ever,” said Starr.

Oregon senator Jeff Merkeley introduced an amendment this week that would have repealed the Monsanto Protection Act. Senate Republicans blocked that amendment, saying it would be unfair to ban seeds that farmers already purchased.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Dozens of people rallied in front of city hall to support the people who were arrested on Thursday.

The Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement team served eight search warrants Wednesday morning at SoNorml, Puffin’ Stuff, The Green Compass in both Medford and Gold Hill. They also served search warrants on three other residences. Police say these locations were involved in the manufacture and delivery of marijuana.

Four people were taken in custody. Lori and Leeland Duckworth, employees at SoNorml, were two of the individuals who were arrested.

On Friday, Lori called her daughter from the Jackson County jail. She said she could hear and see the supporters from the jail windows.

“Thank you for your love and your help and your support. I feel like I have a strong community behind me,” said Duckworth.

The Duckworth’s daughter is standing up for their proclaimed innocence alongside the cannabis community.

“The police enforcement needs to really evaluate state laws before making false accusations,” said Brandi Rodriguez.

But Medford police say the Duckworths did break state laws. SoNorml is one of the places law enforcement served search warrants from an investigation of suspected marijuana sales. Some cannabis community members believe the arrests were made for other reasons.

“I really think this has been a political move by Sheriff Winters and Chief Tim George. They’ve been long opponents of any expansion or progressive changes in the Medical Marijuana Act,” said Kevin Mansur, Oregon Cannabis Connection.

Medford police say the arrests have never been about the legalization of marijuana or the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.

“You can’t sell a controlled substance. You can’t sell marijuana and that is the criminal charge and that’s what we’re dealing with, and that’s what these people will be held accountable for,” said Medford Police Chief, Tim George.

Duckworth’s daughter is raising her own voice saying she can’t disagree more. She plans to fight for her parents.

“Just like my parents fight for the rights of patients in this community,” explained Rodriguez.

Rodriguez says her family has hired several attorneys. She plans to organize more rally’s and fundraisers to pay for her parent’s bail.

The Memorial Day Holiday Weekend is not a total washout!  However, it will be, “Somewhat soggy at times”.  A weather system will arrive Saturday afternoon and will last into Sunday…with a break late Sunday, Sunday night and Memorial Day Morning.  A stronger weather system will sweep through the region during the late morning on Monday and last most of the remainder of the day.

Temperatures will remain below normal for this time of the year, but will be warmer by 5 to 10 degrees compared to today on Saturday…and a little cooler Sunday and Memorial Day.

Next week there are several weather systems moving through the Gulf of Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest which will keep showers going off again and on again at times Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday…before dry and partly cloudy warmer weather returns on Friday.

EAGLE POINT, Ore. — By many accounts the first well known observance of a Memorial Day type observance was in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1st of 1865. On May 5th of 1868, a call was made for an annual and nationwide observance on May 30th, because it did not fall on the anniversary of any battle. In recent years, it’s been on the last Monday in May, but for nearly a hundred years was May 30th.

Thousands of white marble tombstones, military straight and with grass trimmed and mowed waits for flags and flowers at the eagle point national cemetery. For nearly 150 years, Memorial Day, or “decoration day” as it was first called, has been a day to honor deceased veterans.

In recent decades, many families use the day to place flowers on graves of any ancestor. At Historic Jacksonville Cemetery, Dirk Siedlecki of the state historic cemeteries commission is leading efforts to restore significant monuments and plots.

He says that while many of these marble, granite and limestone markers were made elsewhere and shipped to Southern Oregon, some at great expense, many others were made by local craftsmen of local stone.

“In the early days the mid–let’s say–mid to late 1800′s in the valley, The Russells being one over in Ashland. And locally we had James Carr Whipp and he had the Jacksonville Marble works. His marble business was right on California where the current telephone building stands today. And he did markers not only here in Jacksonville, but through cemeteries throughout Southern Oregon,” explained Siedlecki.

Siedlecki says he was in business about 15 years in the 1880′s and 90′s, and was very successful.

“This is the monument to Carrie Whipp, Daughter of Whipp and his wife,” Siedlecki said. “You can see what a beautiful, beautiful tribute this is to his daughter and this is referred to as a French cradle style. You can see the side rails and one of the purposes of this type of marker is, especially for children, was that, was that parent could plant flowers within the grave site, and when they came to visit it wasn’t such a harsh reality of visiting a gravesite. It just made it a little softer and a little bit easier for them with uh, flowers growing within the grave site.”

Flowers are often planted at gravesites, especially in the pioneer cemeteries. At the Hilldunn Cemetery overlooking Emigrant Lake near Ashland, many plots here have flowers planted and one of the reasons it’s believed the end of May was appointed for decoration, or Memorial Day, is because this is when the flowers are blooming.

This cemetery has some of the valley’s oldest graves, including that of one of the area’s unique tomb stone carvers, Anne Russell. Her husband started a marble quarry and monument business in Ashland, and when he died, having learned the trade.

Although she was a petite woman, she took over the business. Several of her carvings are here and at other valley cemeteries. Other stones were made in San Francisco or other cities, sold to families by traveling salesmen, such as William Lindsey Record.

“There was Partidge Marbleworks, Edward McGraff, and McCormick Marbleworks,” said Siedlecki. “They were all 3 San Francisco marble companies, and at one time or another, he was working for one, or the other. And in one case he was working for 2. And had a very, very successful business.”

The earliest markers were likely simple stones, or wood crosses or boards. Few of those survive. Some look like stone, but are actually made of zinc to resist corrosion and decay, but granite and marble were the stones of choice for those who could afford them.

“If people had the money and some people in Jacksonville were able to buy Italian marble, or marble from back east and then it was shipped out,” said Siedlecki. “Early on it came by ship around the horn, and ended up over in Crescent City and then brought over by horse and wagon. So, you can imagine how long it took and what the expense was to have some of those markers.”

The Blair Quarry up Neil Creek in Ashland was a favorite stone source for Ann Russell, which supplied stone for many markers, as well as other public buildings in Medford and Ashland.

“It wasn’t individual stones. It was a mountain of it. Solid! And they would drill and blast and take out large chunks,” said Stan Smith, who remembers the quarry.

“Everybody wanted this granite,” said Dana Smith Tuley, Stan Smith’s daughter. “A Portland bank was trying to get the granite but they couldn’t get it fast enough.”

One of the few remaining monument company in the area now that makes markers is Oregon Granite Company. It’s been here for more than a hundred years. No longer are monuments hand-carved.

Sand blasters are used to create the detailed letters and images and those quarries are all quiet now, just as many of the cemeteries sit quietly with few people to remember who is buried there so many years ago.

Memorial Day has its roots back to the years right after the Civil War, when there were so many war dead in the nation’s cemeteries. Today we call it Memorial Day, and we honor all of our ancestors who have passed on.

By many accounts the first well known observance of a Memorial Day type observance was in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1st of 1865. On May 5th of 1868, a call was made for an annual and nationwide observance on May 30th, because it did not fall on the anniversary of any battle. In recent years, it’s been on the last Monday in May, but for nearly a hundred years was May 30th.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Cannabis community center SONORML is back open after being raided and seeing four of their members arrested. The raid was the result of a two year investigation. Police say SONORML and three other Jackson County businesses were illegally selling medical marijuana.

It is legal for a safe access point or dispensary to charge a card-holding patient for reimbursement of expenses. Anything above those expenses that be considered profit is illegal. Three of the four arrested also face could charges for selling within a thousand feet of a school.

Police declined to give out all of the details of the investigation, but said the amount of income the businesses were bringing in was too high to be considered reimbursement. Representatives of Oregon cannabis connection say those arrested were operating and selling legally.

All of the cannabis plants at SO-NORML were confiscated during the raid. Police say there is still a long investigation and court process ahead. They say in addition to revealing whether or not these charges are valid, it could also reveal whether or not any additional businesses were participating in similar activity.

This raid comes as some lawmakers in the state push for state run medical marijuana dispensaries. That initiative is currently in the House, although no votes have been held yet.

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. — More than two years ago, several gravestones at the Central Point Cemetery were vandalized. On Friday, while the gravestones still sit un-repaired, volunteers came out to help clear out brush that had overgrown the site.

Volunteers said there are several veterans buried at the Central Point cemetery. More than a dozen volunteers showed up Friday morning to pull weeds, cut the grass and have it looking in good shape for this weekend’s memorial celebrations.

Volunteers say American flags will be placed at the grave sites for all veterans. Friday’s effort was described as more of a touch up after two previous clean ups at the cemetery this spring, one of those had seventy five volunteers.

Those who turned out today say it is important to have the cemetery looking its best when a Memorial Day ceremony will be taking place right next door.

“Many of the people who are going to be honored on that day, in that service, many of them are buried here, right in this cemetery. Flags will be placed on all of the gravesites of all of the veterans,” said Volunteer Coordinator Dirk Siedlecki.

The Central Point Cemetery is the same place several gravesites were vandalized in March 2011. Those grave markers still sit toppled or un-repaired.

$5,000 was given to the owners of the cemetery by the parents of those allegedly responsible for the damages and volunteers say the repairs to the grave markers should happen in about two weeks.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Grants Pass High School is usually decked out in blue and white, but on Friday, the students added purple to the mix.

The high school set up a booth where students could donate money to the American Cancer Society and, as a visible sign of support, kids were wearing purple.

“I think that it’s near and dear to my heart and um in order to help them raise more money I think that every individual can make a difference,” said student Michaela Malos.

The event was in preparation for the Relay for Life coming up this summer.

ASHLAND, Ore. — Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies say spring 2013 is already proving to be a dangerous season on Southern Oregon waterways. There have been boat crashes on both the Rogue River and Lost Creek Lake.

Lots of folks will be headed outdoors this holiday weekend, and while Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies say they want you to enjoy your time out on the water, they hope you think, “safety first”.

If you’re Memorial Day weekend includes a boat ride on Southern Oregon waterways, sheriff’s deputies say make sure everything is working properly, pick a river class according to your rafting skill level, and keep a close eye on the forecast.

Calm cold waters can change quickly with high winds. Sheriff’s deputies say you’ll also want to have a fire extinguisher, extra batteries, maps, flares, a first aid kit and a life jacket for each person on board. Kids 12 and under have to be wearing the jackets at all times. Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies say it’s the number one safety priority because it’s been proven to save lives.

Most of us carry a cell phone these days to call 911 for an emergency, but Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies want you to have someone at home, or someone who didn’t go on the trip with you, to be ready to dial 911 if you don’t return at a specific set time.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Local women are taking Angelina Jolie’s recent announcement to heart.

Since the star spoke publicly about her decision to have a double mastectomy, a local hospital is getting four times as many calls about genetic testing.

Jolie made the decision, after tests showed she carried the BRCA I gene. That mutation gives her an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer.

Now, other women with breast cancer in their families are calling Providence Medford Medical Center. The hospital offers free breast and ovarian cancer hereditary risk assessments.

“It’s a very empowering thing, but it’s also very scary, because we can prevent cancer based on the decisions you make, but having to make those decisions is something nobody wants to do,” said Kate Newgard, RN, BSN, OCN.

Many insurance companies cover the genetic testing, if you meet certain risk requirements.

This Pet of the Week is Dallas. Dallas is a dog with a ton of energy and will need a lot of exercise.

If you’re interested in adopting Dallas or another animal from the Jackson County Animal Shelter, they’re located at 5595 South Pacific Highway in Phoenix. Their phone number is 541-774-6654. Their hours are Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. & Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.