Applegater
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor represent the opinion of the
author, not that of the Applegater or the Applegate Vallley Community Newspaper.
We are a community-based newspaper that receives diverse opinions on different
topics. Letters should be no longer than 450 words, and may be edited for grammar
and length. Opinion Pieces should be no longer than 600 words. All Letters and
Opinion Pieces must be signed, with a full street address or P.O. Box and phone
number. Individual Letters may or may not be published in consecutive issues.
Address Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor to:
The Applegater c/o Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc.
7386 Highway 238. • PMB 308
Jacksonville, OR 97530
Email: gater@Applegater.org
Inspirational article
Dear Editor:
I just finished reading Greeley
Wells’ “Polio, An awakening: Personal
Story.” Very inspirational! Should be
required reading for all who feel sorry for
themselves.
My godmother (my mom’s sister)
is about 80 or 82 now. She had polio in
her early 20s. She recovered enough to
go on and have seven kids. Then, in her
late 60s she had a recurrence of the polio.
She gradually went from crutches to a
wheelchair. She always remained in good
spirits though, a good influence on friends
and family.
Ed Snyder
Editor note: To view the article referred to
above, visit our online paper www.applegater.
org Go to the Winter 20011 issue and find
the article “Polio, An Awakening: A personal
Story” by Greeley Wells. This article appears
only in the online Applegater.
Hydroelectric power not “green”
Dear Editor:
There is nothing “green” about
hydroelectric power generated from large
dams such as Applegate Dam. Dams are
massive atrocities which wreck havoc on
the healthy functioning of rivers. How
can people be satisfied by the fact that
high-power transmission lines won’t be
constructed for the proposed Applegate
Dam hydroelectric project, while wild
salmon and steelhead remain blocked from
their best spawning habitat above the dam?
I am a resident of the Upper Apple-
gate and I am vehemently opposed to
this project; they won’t even construct a
fish ladder. I am appalled that the main
discussion around the hydro project has
been that of transmission lines and not the
environmental impacts of the dam itself.
Suzanne Savoie, Jacksonville, OR
Applegate Dam “payback”
Dear Editor:
Concern about the environmental
impact of both the Applegate Dam and
the impending hydroelectric project is
understandable. However, let’s not confuse
the existing dam with the proposed hydro-
electric project.
It is true that the dam has significant
negative environmental impacts (such as
preventing fish from reaching their natural
spawning habitat). While the proposed
hydroelectric power plant will not remove
the inherently negative impacts of the dam,
it also will not increase the dam’s negative
impact. In fact, by using the existing dam
to produce electric power without burning
fossil fuels, the dam will “pay back” a bit
of its debt to the environment.Had the
new high-voltage transmission lines been
installed overhead, however, the increased
negative impact on the environment would
have been significant. As it grew increas-
ingly clear that the dam would receive final
approval from the State Water Board, many
people were concerned that whereas envi-
ronmental impacts had been addressed in
detail, residents’ concerns about the safety
and aesthetics of adding high-voltage trans-
mission lines (that would have extended
the existing power poles upwards by 15
feet), had not been addressed. This is why
many people were thrilled with Symbiotics’
decision to bury the high-voltage transmis-
sion lines for the entire 15 miles between
the dam and the Ruch sub-station.
While the hydroelectric project
will not “fix” the negative environmental
impact of the existing dam, it will make
the dam more environmentally respon-
sible, and will not further intrude on the
environment with taller transmission poles.
Margaret della Santina, Ruch, OR
Fire Department to the rescue
Dear Editor:
On October 21, 2010, we had a
chimney fire that quickly spread to the
attic. The Applegate fire department
responded to my call in less than twenty
minutes, sending one truck from the
Applegate Fire station. The two “firemen”
on that first truck were a man and a young
woman who both got the hoses out to at-
tack the fire. Some ten minutes later, two
more fire trucks arrived and attacked the
fire. As it turned out, we lost the roof but
saved the rest of the house and no furnish-
ings were damaged. I feel sure that given
another twenty minutes, we would have
lost everything. After the fire was “out,”
we had to call 911 one more time as burn-
ing embers continued to drop from the
roof into the second story of the house. The
fire chief, Brett Fillis came to the house for
that call and had a fireman extinguish any
lingering burning coals. He then arranged
for another fire woman to visit twice more
during the night to confirm that the fire
was indeed out.
We are extremely grateful to the fire-
men and women who came to assist us in
this scary event. The fire chief exhibited the
utmost professionalism and deserves our
sincere gratitude. We are indeed fortunate
to have him as the chief and the volunteer
staff who worked so hard on our behalf.
Thank you all!
Paul Hamilton, Applegate, OR
Spring 2011 15
Blister rust control
Dear Editor:
Thank you for a very informative
and interesting newspaper. I have lived
here 17 years and a short time back you
had an article about Blister Rust Control.
When I was 16 years old (1943) my best
friend and I traveled from Los Angeles to
Chico to do Blister Rust Control work.
I talked my friend into taking the
train because I had never ridden on a train.
We took the train from Los Angeles to
Sacramento. Got off and had breakfast. We
took another train to Marysville. This was
World War II era. North of Sacramento
were many army camps. The train to
Marysville had a lot of soldiers. Before my
friend and I left home we had purchased
khaki colored pants and shirts to wear for
our work. When M.P.’s came through the
train asking the soldiers for their papers
they saw our khaki outfits and asked us for
our papers. So without a word I handed
him my employment papers. He read,
reread and finally threw them at me saying
“You guys are not in the army”!
When the train arrived in Marys-
ville we needed to take a bus to Chico.
Our luggage was put in the bus but when
the bus was too full we were told to get
off and get a refund on our tickets. We
were told to go see the sheriff and explain
our situation. He recommended that we
hitchhike to Chico and told us where to go
to get a ride. After waiting just a couple of
minutes we got a ride to our destination.
Several trucks picked up our group of 40
boys and took us to a camp just below
Ragdump. We lived all summer in large
tents with wood floors. Six to eight boys
shared a tent.
Monday through Friday trucks
took us to our wilderness work sites. We
worked in groups of three between strings
30 feet apart and a mile long. We dug out
gooseberries and currants as they carried a
disease that killed White Pine trees.
When needed we were sent to work
on forest fires. The first fire we were sent
to was northeast of Paradise and there were
Conscientious Objectors operating the
kitchen for the firefighters. Another fire we
were sent to was near Nevada and some of
the men working on the fire lines were Ital-
ian Prisoners of War that were captured in
North Africa. They were a happy bunch as
no one was shooting at them. We learned
an Italian swear word. They raised their
fists up in the air as they said it.
In our regular camp we had several
ladies that cooked for us and lived in a
separate tent. One of the cooks, an elderly
lady was from Corning. When she went
home on the weekends she would invite
one of us boys to go with her. I was invited
to drive home with her once and she got a
flat tire. Tires were very poor during the
war so I guess that’s why she invited us to
go so that she would have a strong kid to
change the tire if necessary.
About once a month trucks took
half of us to Chico and would turn us loose
for half the day. Occasionally on Saturdays
a truck would take us to a swimming hole
that had a nice waterfall. This was a great
place to swim.
Several boys were sent home due
to misbehavior but for 40 boys there was
very little trouble. All good things end
so eventually my friend and I took the
Greyhound bus home and we are still good
friends after knowing each other since
kindergarten and sharing our Blister Rust
Control experience.
William Crooks, Grants Pass, OR