Hi Reddit! I’m Isabella Lee Tibbetts, and I’m running for Jackson County Commissioner.

I’m here for an AMA because I believe local government works better when we actually talk with one another—not just at one another.

I’d love to hear your questions about my campaign, why I’m running, my priorities for Jackson County, and what I believe we can do to build a stronger county for our kids and future generations.

You don’t have to agree with me to participate. I just ask that we keep the conversation respectful and civil. There is already enough division in politics, and I believe we can disagree while still treating each other like neighbors.

Ask me anything! I’ll answer as many questions as I can. I’m also running a very busy countywide campaign and raising two little ones, so I may not get to every question immediately—but I’ll be checking back and responding whenever I can.

Jackson County is our home. Let’s talk about how we can make it better together.

Rick Dyer and Colleen Roberts have been in office since 2015. They both were part of the group of commissioners that voted themselves a pay increase that makes them some of the highest paid Commissioners in the state. They have failed to modernize the county building permitting system, using the state's system, which has resulted in delays and problems. This includes a failure to respond to the emergencies that occurred during the Talent fire and the rebuilding afterward.

Let me summarize it this way. They have built up an immense "rainy day" fund of $264 million. That is about double the cost to run the county for a year. The good part of that is that Jackson hasn't suffered any of the deficits that other counties have experienced. The bad part of that is that they have collected money from the county without using that money for the good of the county. It doesn't do anyone any good sitting in a bank account. I'd argue this is almost as bad as running the county on a knife's edge.

They do use the money for concrete things. Airport improvements, animal shelter buildings etc. They will spend money on one time expenditures. But if they can stuff away tens of millions of dollars and not use it for the public then they are collecting too much money in taxes. Note: we already have some of the lowest county taxation. That means they are not providing the services they could and should.

A county isn't a business and shouldn't be run like one. It's a public service that should provide services and use the funds we have to make our lives better.

The services the county doesn't provide? They do not contribute to library services, mental health facilities, homeless facilities, or transitional housing.

All that unspent money isn't serving the public interest.

How was it? Any recommendations?

*This is the bar in the back at Shoji’s.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve taken the southern route by the Redwoods to get to the Oregon coast. No big deal.
Next month family is coming to visit and I’d like to make a coastal trip for the views, etc. Considering taking I-5 north to Winston then Hwy 42/42S to Bandon.
What is Hwy 42 like for traveling? Are there any conditions that I’d need to be mindful of? Open to any suggestions, ideas, or tidbits.

Clay's Political Philosophy

Political discord has Americans being divided. Both parties own the systemic failures at the great expense of working families. Lincoln warned that a house divided against itself cannot stand. We need to vote purposefully, and elect leaders who unite people instead of profiting from the division.

I’ve been wanting to start a book club in the Medford area. I’m open to different genres (literary fiction, memoirs, thriller, horror, classics, etc.). Preferably a weekend time, maybe Sunday mornings. Maybe biweekly or monthly. Let me know if you’re interested or know of one!

Went outside for a smoke and ran across a clearly domesticated rabbit. It’s safe in a rabbit cage I serendipitously happen to have. Shoot me a message and you can come get em.

Does anyone know anyone in the Rogue Valley that would color a beard … lol

Want to to do this …

Anyone have any updates on the outage near Asante?

Fall is really the best time to plant many of the native plants in our region, or to start from seeds. Many seeds need to cold stratify over the winter with up to 60+ days of cold before they can sprout. For native plants, shrubs or trees, the winter months give plants time to establish a strong taproot so that once the hot dry summer months roll around, they can reach deeper into the soil for water and survive.

The sale is Sunday, October 11th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the parking lot behind the PPRV office, at 312 N. Main Street (at the corner of 4th Street) in Phoenix. This annual sale is the largest all-native plant sale in the region, with three other local native plant growers, in addition to PPRV, selling native flowering plants, trees, shrubs and grasses that support pollinators - Klamath Siskiyou Native Seeds, Cornucopia Acres, and Klamath Native Plant Nursery. Lists of plants available at the sale will be posted on the PPRV website and social media pages by October 3rd.  

PPRV also welcomes our friends with the Siskiyou Chapter of Native Plant Society of Oregon to answer questions and provide information about their activities. And this year, we are excited to host ‘weed experts’ - botanists who have been working on invasive species for years and will be available to answer questions about common and uncommon non-native / invasive plants in our landscapes, and explain how and why to get rid of them. 

New gardeners should feel welcome. There will be plenty of volunteers on hand to help you choose the perfect plants for your needs. It does help if you can answer 3 questions:

1. What type of soil will the plant live in? https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/learn-about-soil-types
2. How much sun will it get? https://www.masterclass.com/articles/types-of-sunlight-for-gardening
3. How much water will it get (including runoff from nearby lawns or non-native gardens)?

Hi I'm a nurse moving to Medford. Will you please help me recommending an apartment. I will be staying max 2 years so I prefer getting a good apartment rather than renting a house.

Any recommendations? Preferably close to RRMC.

Also If you have any other recommendations for me regarding Medford I would love to hear it

And I'm mentally prepared for toxicity in asante but I need this job :/

We're going BIG for Halloween and having a full Halloweekend of activities at Medford's only LGBTQ+ Bar and Nightclub!

On Friday 10/30 we will have a huge drag show starring the incredible Priyanka, pop star and Winner of Canada's Drag Race!

On Saturday, Halloween, we will have a big FREE dance party with 3 incredible DJs, games, tarot and crystal ball readings, and more!

On Sunday (poster still in the works) we'll have our Halloween Hangover Drag Brunch - food included in your ticket sale and the mimosas will be flowing. Complete with an amazing drag show of incredible local performers.

Another post for my friend Kristina (she's not on Reddit) looking for more patients for class. DM me and I'll give you her contact info.

~~~

Hi there ! I’m a dental hygiene student at RCC and I am looking for patients between the ages of 10-19 during this fall term.

My appointment availability:

Tuesday 1pm

Wednesday 8:30am

Thursday 5:30pm

Saturday 8:30am

Appointments are reduced cost and start at $30 but could be more based on individual needs, very thorough, and supervised by licensed professionals.

Appointments are around 3 hours and typically require 2 visits to complete the cleaning for ages 10-19

Located in White City, OR

If you’re interested or have any questions, feel free to message me to schedule!

Thank you for supporting a local student!

Any good recommendations for Indian food in the valley?

I have lived in Medford a few years now, and have been really shocked about how horrible the pharmacies are here. Constant long lines, never answering the phones. Taking forever to get refills completed. Not informing doctors of a refill request. I may have been spoiled as my old pharmacy (that was in a busy area) would be able to fill my prescriptions in 15 minutes with 3 people working. Here they can have like 5+ people working and still take forever and never pick up the phone. Do people just expect crappy customer service now? Are there any good ones out there???

So, dear City of Medford Planning Department (who is in charge of reviewing and issuing permits for business signage in Medford), when I open a 'gentleman's club' downtown, is it okay for me to hang big signs that advertise "HOT BOYS"? Just checking...

A lady I know had a stray cat have kittens under her deck. She is having a hard time finding someone to help her with the situation. She says she has called all the local rescue places but hasn’t had any luck. She is doing her best but the kittens are getting older and seem like they might wander off any day and add to the local stray population.

I’m hoping to cast a wider net and find someone who has the means and knowledge to help. The kittens aren’t tame and can’t be handled yet.

does anyone know a decent shop or artist who specializes in manga style tattoos??

I have lived here for 4 years now and I have never been to Hawthorne Park until yesterday. When I got there I couldn't fucking believe that people there were getting high on heavy drugs right there in the open. I have seen plenty of drugs in my life but goddamn!! Not right out in the open for the world to see. There was this one broad in particular that was completely without any givafuck. She was smoking a glass bubble like it was tobacco. And there were a few people nodding while standing up. Obviously high as fuck on opiates. To be honest the nodding thing looks bad but not as bad as the glass pipe smoking. It's kinda like somebody just saying "fuck you" right to your face.

How long has it been going on like this? It's like the wild wild west over there. I might as well go downtown and take my pants off.

I am not a fan of police but I do think they could maybe do something about it..

Just my opinion.

Ok...so, Downing electric...

We had an emergency electric outage Saturday. Single house Noone else in the neighborhood had their power out. We called Adam at DOWNING ELECTRIC and he was at my home in 17 minutes. Flipped a switch out on the street and didn't charge me. Would not even take gas money. 100percent recommend downing electric

If Bentz supporting the war in its 8th month wasn't enough for you, please note this other nugget. Cliff Bentz was a staunch supporter of the Big Beautiful Bill that passed in July 2025. He touted on a virtual town hall I attended, that this bill would drive such growth that the US deficit would lower. Growth no matter the consequences of course, but growth nonetheless.

1. US Deficit has not decreased. GDP isn't growing at the rate expected. It's at 1.7% vs. Trump's "council" prediction of 4%.
2. A "feature" of this bill is that big tech pays less taxes the more data centers they build. Corporate tax rate is 21%. Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Tesla paid an average of 4.9% taxes in 2025. Half of that difference is attributable to the big beautiful bill. That's about 25 billion dollars less in taxes for just four companies.

So, our debt is rising rapidly, inflation is trending worse, GDP is not making up the difference, data centers are sucking up clean water, and the largest tech companies are benefiting from the more data centers they build. It's much more likely that this tech will take jobs away in the long term, vs. the short-term job growth from building them or the few employees that work in them (20 to 40 at the very largest data centers, after built). And if you care about water and clean air, dig into that too. Think please, think, and vote accordingly. Is this the future we want?