Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, November 6, 2002
Page 2
Wandering thoughts from a wandering editor:
* Why do medical offices have Patient Registration, but
not Impatient Registration?
*Why do so many people constantly drive on the left
lanes of two-lane divided roadways when they don’t plan to
pass or make a left turn for another 450 miles?
*Why does the U.S. government send bazillions of dol-
lars to countries that don’t have to repay the money and
have no inclination to demonstrate that the money is being
put to good use?
*Why have I lost most of the hair on my head? Why is
the hair in my ears growing out?
*How come everything I really like is illegal, immoral
or fattening?
*Has anyone else had the privilege of seeing fall leaves
being blown across a road like a herd of small animals?
*If mankind evolved from monkeys and apes, why do
we still have monkeys and apes?
*Why are some relatives called inlaws instead of out-
laws?
*How come we say that people are insane? Shouldn’t
we say that they are outsane?
*Why don’t our children telephone us more often?
*Has anyone else out there had the exciting experience
of living with six cats and two dogs, not to mention two cat
litter boxes?
*Why does my wife enjoy rearranging the living room
furniture when I’m not looking?
*When will the abrasions on my shins heal from our
luggage falling from the rear of our daughter’s car after she
picked us up at San Diego International Airport/Lindberg
Field? Why did I let that happen?
*Are we alone in the universe?
*May I please have another burrito made of non-fat fri-
joles and a low-fat tortilla? And what about another bottle of
non-alcoholic beer?
*Will I ever conquer the world of computers?
*Why do I find certain aspects of life amusing, while my
wife thinks I’m outsane?
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‘Illinois Valley News’
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Illinois Valley News
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by
Robert R. (Bob) and Jan Rodriguez
Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe
Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as
Official Newspaper for Josephine County and Josephine County
Three Rivers School District, published at
321 S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523
Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330
Volume 65, No. 33
STAFF: Virginia Gilliam, Cindy Newton,
Chris Robertson, Sharon Silva & Becky Loudon
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
DEADLINES: News, Classified Ads
NOON MONDAYS
POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters
to the editor provided they are of general interest, in good taste,
legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using complete
name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number.
The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify
authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters. One
letter per person per month. Letters are used at the discretion of
the publisher. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor
returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is
inordinately long in the editor's opinion.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine County - $20.80
One year in Jackson and Douglas Counties - $24.40
One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state -$28
POSTMASTER:
Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR. 97523
Editor’s Note: Views and
commentary expressed in
letters to the editor are
strictly those of the letter-
writers.
* * *
Typed,
double-spaced
letters are acceptable for
consideration.
Hand-
written letters that are
double-spaced and highly
legible also can be con-
sidered for publication.
Cards of thanks are not
accepted as letters.)
Crematorium
mation
misinfor-
From Dan and Sue
Fiske, Mountain View Pet
Services
Cave Junction
As owners of the cremato-
rium mentioned in Jim Eni-
mal’s letter (“Illinois Valley
News” Oct. 23), we feel it is
important that he and the com-
munity have the answers to
questions he posed. We also
wanted to correct misinforma-
tion in the letter.
We contacted Jay Rasku,
director of the Toxic Actions
Center referenced by Enimal.
Our unit not only meets, but
exceeds all its recommenda-
tions, and the center has no
further concerns.
We researched the phone
directory, and checked Jose-
phine County Assessor’s Of-
An Oct. 23 story about the
efforts of the Illinois Valley
Safe House Alliance (IVSHA)
incorrectly reported that the
U.S. Forest Service gave the
organization $150,000 toward
its construction of the home.
The story should have
read the money was given to
IVSHA by USDA Rural De-
velopment.
The story also should
have said that the glass walls
of the children’s playroom
were so that mothers and their
children could see each other,
not mom and dad, and that the
organization has not yet de-
cided on what materials to use
to list the names of partici-
pants on the courtyard walls.
The story noted that tiles
would be used.
Lastly, the One Thousand
Friends for Safety Campaign
will continue until April 2004.
The article stated that Oct. 26
was the last day to participate,
but it was the last day that vol-
unteers were available in the
community for Domestic Vio-
lence Awareness Month.
Peace vigil,
Iraq talk set
Friday in CJ
“War on Iraq: Weapons of
Mass Distraction,” a talk by
Sonali Kolhatkar, co-producer
of KPFK’s Morning Show on
Pacifica Radio, will be given
at the county building in Cave
Junction on Friday, Nov. 8.
The event will begin with
a peace vigil at 6 p.m.; the talk
will begin at 7:30.
Kolhatkar is from the
United Arab Emirates and is
vice president of the Afghan
Women’s Mission, a group
that works in solidarity with
Afghan women to help im-
prove health and educational
facilities for Afghan refugees
in Pakistan.
The Afghan Women’s
Mission recently helped open
a free hospital in Pakistan for
Afghan women and children
refugees.
The peace vigil and pres-
entation are co-sponsored by
The Social Justice Alliance &
World Peace Vigil.
fice in search of a way to con-
tact Enimal with this informa-
tion. We were unable to con-
tact him, as he is not listed in
the phone book; and, as best
we can determine, does not
own property in Josephine
County.
As a result, we have pur-
chased space in this issue of
the valley newspaper to an-
swer the questions in detail.
We are proud of our facility
and services.
We invite Enimal or any
other interested member of the
community to phone Moun-
tain View Pet Services at 592-
2164 to view the facility or
have any questions answered.
vs. 10 years ago.
Oregon has a 16 percent
unemployment rate in the
manufacturing sector because
their employers cannot afford
to live here. Oregon and
Washington state have the two
worst economies in America.
We are the only two states
with statewide land-use plan-
ning laws.
Ted Kulongoski wants to
keep what we have and raise
taxes. Kevin Mannix wants to
return land-use planning to the
local level and cut taxes. I
hope that Kevin Mannix won
the election to grow Oregon
out of these problems.
‘Soap’ opera
Housing affordability
From Kalvin B. Garton
President of the Oregon
Realtors Land Institute
Portland
Ten years ago Oregon had
a 67 percent housing afforda-
bility index. In 10 years Ore-
gon’s index has fallen to 45
percent.
The affordability index
measures the average house-
hold income against the aver-
age house price.
The national average in
the last 10 years has actually
risen from 54 percent to 65
percent. In other words, 51
percent fewer people can af-
ford to live in Oregon today
From Sue Lily
Cave Junction
Having followed the pre-
vious two installments in “I.V.
News” about “Soap,” the so-
called starving thoroughbred
gelding interned in a dirt en-
closure in the old White
School House area; I drove by
to see for myself.
Anyone familiar with live-
stock knows that they spend
time dozing, swiping flies and
redolently meandering, but
this large, gaunt horse had his
head down, continuously lick-
ing the dirt. There was no sign
of hay anywhere; which to me
is a sign of underfeeding.
Yesterday, I offered $800
cash noted in “I.V.
News” (“the first $800 takes
him”), and it was announced
laughingly that the price is
now $1,200 because of all the
“harassment.”
Claiming to love her
horses, “Soap’s” owner to my
mind demonstrates ignorance
of animal husbandry and a
lack of compassion for them,
and for everyone who wants
to help. The opportunity was
to learn from skillful people
how to keep a healthy pleas-
ure horse, but the attention has
been twisted.
It is overwhelmingly evi-
dent that we need the Humane
Society in Illinois Valley.
Overall, we have a gigantic
iceberg: people who under-
feed and abuse their livestock,
and dump unwanted dogs and
cats. We have people who
don’t neuter their pets; people
who allow their dogs and cats
to roam and prey on the native
wildlife; people who allow
dogs to bark all night, and
who maintain untrustworthy
animals that attack poultry and
kill sheep, goats and calves.
Animals are innocent.
People are powerful. It is our
responsibility to behave well
toward them. They need dry
shelter with clean bedding,
fresh water, good feed, proper
containment, training and at-
tention. Loving them is not
enough.
A letter from Mountain View Pet Services
Dan & Sue Fiske (co-owners) (541) 592-2164
Mountain View Pet Services would like to take this opportunity to answer the questions
and clear the misinformation in the letter from Jim Enimal regarding the animal cremato-
rium. It is owned and operated by Dan and Sue Fiske doing business under the name
Mountain View Pet Services. Jim first asks if the citizens of our city know this facility is be-
ing installed. We began the process in May of this year. Josephine County, the City of
Cave Junction, the Illinois Valley Fire District, the state fire marshal and the DEQ were all
notified and had the chance to review the plans and inspect the facility. We have dis-
cussed it with many citizens of the community during the last five months, with very posi-
tive response. It has become common enough knowledge that when we are around town,
we are often approached by people asking how the process is going and when we will be
starting services.
Jim further questions if there has been public notice, public input, permits or EP stud-
ies. Yes. During the permitting process the DEQ oversees all of these concerns. It is fully
permitted. Our machine has had a 36 page source evaluation report of the testing con-
ducted by Horizon Engineering of Portland.
Jim expresses concerns about dioxin and mercury put out by medical waste incinera-
tors and quotes the Toxic Action Center on the internet as his source. As our unit is a cre-
matorium, and will not be used to incinerate medical waste, this is irrelevant. I did, how-
ever, contact their office, stating we were installing a crematorium that would be used for
animal bodies only and asked if they had any concerns or suggestions to ensure a safe
facility. I received a response from Jay Rasku, Director of the Massachusetts Toxic Action
Center. He stated, “I don’t have examples of where crematories have had detrimental im-
pacts on public health here in Massachusetts.” He also included several recommendations
to ensure a safe facility, all of which we not only have met, but have exceeded. Our fuel
source, though more expensive, is even cleaner than those he recommended as being
acceptable commonly used fuels for crematory units. He sent me acceptable levels of
emissions, The testing on our machine shows it puts out less than half of what the Toxic
Actions Center considers acceptable. We significantly exceed their expectations and they
have no concerns about our facility.
Regarding Jim’s concerns about residential housing, the facility is on property zoned
commercial. There are houses behind the unit, though not within 30 feet as Jim states. A
neighbor was contacted and asked about access through his property during the construc-
tion process. Consent was given. It was later withdrawn due to concerns about possible
damage to his property by the tractor, but no concern about the crematorium was ex-
pressed by this neighbor, who is the closest to the unit.
Jim’s next concern appears to be odor. Our machine is odorless and smokeless. We
own a hospital right next door to the machine. No business would be more affected by
odor than our own. We would not install anything that would hurt our own business. The
unit was installed professionally. We invested $10,000 to bring a technician from Florida to
make sure it was installed and functioning properly and to make sure we were properly
trained in its use. It is interesting to note that when the technician was operating it for the
first time and fine tuning the mechanics, a neighboring business owner came and spoke
with us about concerns of smoke and odor affecting his business. We pointed out that the
unit was operating at the present time and asked if he saw or smelled anything offensive.
His reply was, “Of course not, this is a test burn, there is nothing in the machine.” At the
time, not only was the machine in the process of cremating our own deceased pet, it was
in the process of being fine tuned, so it is now running even more efficiently and putting
out less than what this neighbor already considered not to be a problem.
Jim’s final question, “Is there a fishy smell?” We don’t predict many requests for the
cremation of fish, but if there is, this is one time where even a fish would not smell fishy!!
We obtained a few interesting statistics about our machine when it was installed. A car,
when started cold, puts out more hazardous emissions in the first 5 to 10 seconds running
than our unit puts out in its entire cycle. Its emissions are significantly less than even a
wood stove. It will not pollute our community.
Having participated in discussions with many organizations in our valley, it is very ap-
parent that as residents, we are looking for businesses that bring money and jobs into our
valley without polluting or destroying our natural resources. As the vast majority of our
business so far has been from outside of the valley, Mountain View Pet Services is proud
to have contributed to this goal. We are proud of our new facility and services. We invite
Jim, or any other interested citizen to phone at 592-2164 to have any further questions an-
swered and to schedule a tour of the facility as soon as final inspection of the building is
done.
Dan and Sue Fiske