Illinois Valley news., September 04, 2002, Page 3, Image 3

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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, September 4, 2002
*NEW ‘NOOSE’ DEADLINE - Due to circumstances
somewhat beyond its control, the “Noose crew” has new
deadlines for all material, whether advertisements or an-
nouncements. Henceforth and forever more, as of Monday,
Sept. 9, the deadline for everything is noon on Mondays for
that week’s issue. Having items by then will allow the crew
sufficient, sane time to prepare the “Noosepaper” and meet
its deadline for getting the weekly blat to the printer.
*‘WE WILL REMEMBER’ - A service of remem-
brance for Sept. 11, 2001, the day that the United States of
America was attacked in New York City and Washington,
D.C., will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church. The church, behind the I.V.
Swimming Pool on Lewis Court off E. River Street in Cave
Junction, has the theme, “We Will Always Remember! We
Will Never Forget!” Those who want to participate with po-
etry, music, art or readings should contact “Pastor Peg” at
592-2290.
*SOCCER TO ME - Youth soccer coaches are needed.
There will be an informal meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6
p.m. at Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. in Cave Junction.
Phone 592-6070 for more information.
*MELVA MENDING - Melva Nichols, longtime I.V.
Chamber of Commerce office manager and board secretary,
was scheduled for release from Rogue Valley Medical Cen-
ter in Medford on Tuesday, Sept. 3. She was being treated
for three injured vertebrae, and a lung problem. “I’m feeling
OK,” she said on Tuesday. She’s decided to cancel a
planned trip to Washington, D.C., set for Sept. 21. She went
to the nation’s capital last year, just in time for Sept. 11, to
receive the award for Oregon’s Outstanding Older Worker.
Although she got the award, there was no ceremony because
of the Attack on America. She decided to forego the trip be-
cause of her medical condition.
*SPEAKER TO SPEAK - Economic recovery and the
state budget will be addressed on Thursday, Sept. 5 by Ore-
gon House Speaker Mark Simmons. He’ll be in Medford
City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St., from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
*COMMISSION MISSION - During their meeting on
Wednesday morning, Sept. 4 in Grants Pass, JoCo commis-
sioners were to consider a measure election for an amount
not to exceed $7.5 million for a Community
Wellness Center; plus four-year local option taxes for li-
brary system operations, and a ballot measure regarding fees
charged by the public works department.
*LOVEJOY PROGRAMS - On Wednesday, Sept. 11,
the first anniversary of the Attack on America, Lovejoy
Hospice will provide free grief and trauma counseling from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For an appointment phone Barbara Knox
at (888) 758-8569. Also, Lovejoy Hospice is accepting reg-
istrations for its fall Good Grief! Program. It’s designed to
provide children and their parents a safe place to talk about
how their family is coping with the loss of someone they
loved. There are age-appropriate groups. The program will
run from Sept. 30 through Dec. 2 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at 939
S.E. Eighth St. in Grants Pass, and preregistration is re-
quired. Phone Knox for more information.
*NOTEPAD - Free, live music will be provided at
SageBeetle, next to the state liquor store in Downtown Cave
Junction, on Friday, Sept. 6 beginning at 8 p.m. “Geezr”
will play “loud, original, danceable, not-your-favorite song”
music, according to an announcement ... Body of Christ
members from throughout Illinois Valley are being invited
to a non-denominational praise-and-worship service on Sat-
urday, Sept. 14 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the gym at the former
Selma Elementary School ... An aroma of cooking perme-
ated Klamath First Bank one day last week. Seems as
though one of the employees stuck a frozen dinner in a mi-
crowave oven; set it for three minutes; and then went back
to her desk until it was ready. Too late was it realized that
the timer actually was set for 30 minutes. Although the meal
was crisped, it did smell pretty good ... Bumper sticker: If
God is your co-pilot, switch seats ... Overhearing a
checker at Shop Smart ask a co-worker, “Is this the last day
we wear these shirts?” prompted one man to ask of they
were going topless. The answer is “No,” but the checkers
are going to be wearing Muscular Dystrophy Association
shirts during a project ... Robert L. Grant last week re-
ceived a card of appreciation for being a “special customer”
of a major oil company. Only thing, “Bob” Grant, former
publisher of “Illinews Valley Noise,” died in 1987 ...
Delores “Dee” Marier, 76, a resident of Grants Pass, has
been chosen this year’s Outstanding Older Worker of Ore-
gon. She works as a mental health specialist in the Josephine
County Mental Health Dept. She’s to receive her award in
Washington, D.C. on Sept. 21 ... I.V. Christian Women’s
Fellowship will gather at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 at
Living Word Fellowship, 139 S. Caves Ave. The meeting is
open to all women ... Refuge Ministries will present Dan
Nolan, described as a healing evangelist from Australia,
with a special outreach to teen-agers, on Tuesday and
Wednesday, Sept. 10-11. He’ll be at 700 Draper Valley
Road in Selma beginning at 7 p.m. For more information
phone 597-2054 ... The Crescent City Writers Conference
will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7 at Crescent Elk
School. Agents, editors, publishers and authors will conduct
workshops. For more information go to http://
nrwconference.11net.com; or phone (707) 464-3670.
*LAST WORDS - Zorro, zygospore, Zulu, zygosity
Continued from page 2
weekends were busy, as I’m
sure the weeks were, but there
is no one who could have
done a finer job than Robbie
Hanson has.
It’s too bad that there are
not more young people who
care and have the attitude of
achievement he has shown.
He is personable, responsible,
caring and listens when there
is a problem among the people
that he was allowed to em-
ployee at the Chateau.
When you have that re-
sponsibility of hiring and be-
lieving that a person truly
wants to work, it is a total let-
down to find out that they
have not fulfilled their end of
the bargain. When that hap-
pened, Robbie was the one
who did their jobs. During the
terrible week of the evacua-
tion, he stayed at the Chateau
while others chose to not
show up for work.
Did he get paid or com-
mended for the fact that he
went over and beyond the call
of duty? Probably not. Robbie
stuck in there and did what he
could with the help he had. He
cared for those who stayed at
the Chateau and prepared
what meals needed to accom-
modate his guests.
The responses I personally
heard from them were, “What
a fine job that young man is
doing,” and, “I would stay
anywhere that young man
managed.”
I am proud to have been
able to work under his direc-
tion: Age has no bearing on
whether or not you are able to
manage a place of such recog-
nition as Oregon Caves Cha-
teau. Robbie might only be
22, but he has the expertise of
someone much older.
Hanson hard worker
From Neoma Merrill
Cave Junction
I would like to say that the
manager, Robbie Hanson, of
Oregon Caves Chateau, who
was my direct supervisor, is
one of the hardest-working
young men I have known.
Robbie has gone above
and beyond the call of duty. I
have worked many nights with
Robbie in the dining room. I
heard compliments on his
serving style, friendliness and
ability to work with his staff. I
have seen customers order a
bottle of wine with dinner just
to see his wine presentation.
This young man lives and
breathes for Oregon Caves
Chateau, its guests and em-
ployees.
I feel that no one could
run the Chateau with more
style, grace and ease than
Robbie has. We have the
Community Response Team
of the Illinois Valley to thank
for hiring Robbie as a team
player for our community.
Told to walk
From Mij Notae
Cave Junction
(Editor’s note: The fol-
lowing letter to Avon was
submitted for this column.)
I would like to relate a
true story concerning Avon’s
Cancer Walkathon in Seattle.
A friend of mine decided she
would like to participate in the
walk due to experiences in her
family with breast cancer.
She took all the necessary
steps needed to be a partici-
pant. She trained for five
months, sought donations, and
received an itinerary from the
officials putting on the walk
detailing how long the walk
was, the route, where she
could stay, etc.
For five months she re-
volved her life around the
walk, training when she could,
getting donations from her
friends and family and mem-
bers of the community, look-
ing forward to doing her part
to fight this deadly disease.
The people of this area are
not rich, but the idea was that
every little bit helped, so she
did what she could. Her fam-
ily and friends were proud of
her for putting so much time,
energy and effort into such a
worthwhile cause, and she
was proud of herself.
Finally the big day comes.
She gets up at 3 a.m. for the
long drive to Seattle (about
nine hours). She gets in her
car, into which she just put her
hard-earned money to make
sure that it would make it to
Seattle without breaking
down, and heads out.
When she arrives, she
goes to where everyone is
signing in, gets to the front of
the line after waiting patiently
for her turn, and is told she
cannot participate in the walk
because she did not “raise
enough money.” She was
speechless. She was then told
that she was $1,500 short. Af-
ter running around for quite
some time, she was basically
completely turned away.
They would not even let
her volunteer her time in any
way, shape, or form. After
five months of time, energy,
and hard work, after all her
effort, she was turned away
like she was nothing. She had
to drive all the way back to
Cave Junction that same day,
totally devastated and hurt,
feeling like anyone else would
feel in her position.
All of us in this commu-
nity who helped her out are
outraged. Avon, the sponsor
of this run, should be
ashamed. I know many people
who had checks made out and
ready to send in, including one
for $1,000, who have torn
them up in disgust. I also
think that the money she did
raise should be returned. Avon
just lost all respect (and busi-
ness) from this area.
I hope that after reading
this, someone from Avon will
personally apologize for his or
her company’s abhorrent be-
havior. Due to the fact that our
whole community was in a
state of emergency and under
a 12-hour evacuation notice
due to massive wildfires
threatening the whole area,
she wasn’t going to go.
But she felt obligated, and
still had the passion and the
drive to go the distance, just to
be told sorry, but rules are
rules. So she was expelled
from the walkathon, literally.
Also, there was a woman
to her left, who showed com-
passion for a total stranger by
The
offering to write a check for
the difference, but was
shocked at the amount. She
doesn’t blame you and she
wants to thank you for reach-
ing out to help her. That kind-
ness will be rewarding for you
in your life.
Prevention/cure letter
follow-up
From Anita Karczewski
Cave Junction
On July 31, I posted an
article about the forest fires
burning in the Illinois Valley
of Oregon. In the article I
quoted another who spoke
these words to me, “...they
were going to let it burn.
Rather than call out 10 men to
fight a small fire, they’d rather
wail and call out a hundred.”
At the time of my original
article (some two weeks after
it ignited) there were 2,000
firefighters from surrounding
areas and other states here to
combat the fire. The cost of
the fire at that time was said to
be more than $3 million.
On July 31 the Pacific
NorthWest Biscuit Fire web
site it stated that there were
6,845 firefighters from across
the nation and from other
countries here fighting the
biggest forest fire in the nation
and in recorded Oregon his-
tory (thus far, more than
500,000 acres have burned at
a cost in excess of $100 mil-
lion in taxpayers’ money.
A recent newspaper head-
line said that United Nation
troops had arrived in Oregon
to fight the fire. The
Kalmiopsis Wilderness west
of Cave Junction, along with
the plants that grow nowhere
else in the world but there, is
nearly completely consumed.
A hiker who entered the
wilderness the day before the
fire started has not been found
or heard from. Smoke from
the fire permeates the air and
often makes it difficult to
breathe and to venture outside.
Livestock and pets have
been taken as far as Roseburg
and Medford for safety. Our
valley was under evacuation
notices of different lengths.
Once again I ask - is an
ounce of prevention still worth
$104 million (and still grow-
ing) pound of cure?
What has happened to our
American sense of justice?
Reports throughout our coun-
try show that “civilians” have
been severely fined and jailed
for starting fires in our forest-
lands, yet other fires started or
enhanced by forest officials
have gone unpunished. When
are we going to demand
equality by applying the same
set of standards upon those in
whom we have placed our
public trust?
It is folly to expect those
Continued on page 4
Kerby Transfer Station
is open
Saturdays:
9:30 a.m.
to
2:30 p.m.
Hours: Mondays - Saturdays
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information phone (800) 922-1025