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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Utility link
city issue
By SAM NEWTON
During its Monday eve-
ning, Dec. 9 meeting in city
hall, the Cave Junction City
Council heard from Council-
man Dan Fiske, who spoke as
a citizen about a website
posted on the Internet by val-
ley resident Gary Weans.
The city of Cave Junction
has a court judgment against
Wean because he refuses to
pay for and connect to city
sewer.
Fiske was made aware of
the website containing his and
his wife Sues’ names, along
with names of city council
members and several other
merchants and their employ-
ees by Sheriff Dave Daniel.
According to Sue Fiske,
Wean had printed the website
information and made copies
of it, sending copies to
Daniels and also the county
commissioners
“The website contains
information on me, my family,
and our business and also the
personal address of Fred Brue
and Dusty Bouchard’s license
plate number,” according to
Fiske.
At the time that Daniel
made Fiske aware of the web-
site he also informed Fiske
that the FBI was involved and
the sheriff’s office had re-
scinded Weans concealed
weapons permit.
Wean also sent an email
to Bouchard warning her that
any vehicle license plate num-
ber entering Crossroads Ani-
mal Hospital would be logged.
“I contacted our lawyer
about this situation,” said Sue
Fiske. “He told me the first
thing I should ask the council
is ‘Will the city take responsi-
bility if this man does me or
my family bodily harm?’ she
said.
“I would like to know if it
were me living in that house,
if I would have been allowed
to live there as long as Wean
has without the city taking any
action,” said Sue Fiske.
“Why has this been al-
lowed to go on for so long? Is
it because he is elderly and his
wife has health problems,” she
asked.
Councilman Rita Dyer
responded, stating that those
were the reasons why.
“Our lawyer will be con-
tacted and as soon as we get
feedback we will call a special
meeting,” said Faircloth.
Mayor Ed Faircloth re-
sponded, “We will close this
door.”
In other business, re-
sponse to questions put forth
by valley business owner
Sally Palmer regarding the
water and sewer hookup
budget were answered with a
breakdown of the budget.
Palmer requested an ordi-
nance that the city inform
landlords when one of their
renters is delinquent on their
water and sewer bill.
“We cannot give that in-
formation out,” said council-
man Sandi Lunde. “This is
private information, any law-
yer will tell you that,” she
said.
Palmer also asked that the
sidewalk on Lister Street be
leveled to make it easier on
people walking and suggested
that maybe the city could do
something about the large
bump on Daisy Hill Road. The
council stated that Daisy Hill
was not a city street, but since
it was close to the city that
they would look into it.
The next official city
council meeting will be held
in January.
(Editor’s Note: A special
meeting of the council to ad-
dress the city water and
sewer issue was held on
Tuesday night, Dec. 17. A
report on that meeting will
be in next week’s issue.)
Elder abuse shadow growing larger
LIFE LINES, a prison outreach ministry, held open houses on
Saturdays, Dec. 7 and 14 at the home of Doug and Joy
Hoskins, 349 Caves Hwy. Among hostesses on the 14th were
Jackie Gandee (left) and Melanie Hoskins (eyes closed in si-
lent prayer). A wide variety of items including jam, holiday
cards, and T-shirts were available. Phone 592-3643 for info.
Biscuit Fire recovery plans
proceed with public input
By SHARON SILVA
Ideas from the public
were encouraged and dis-
cussed during two public
meetings held Tuesday, Dec.
10 by the Biscuit Fire Recov-
ery Task Force in the county
building in Cave Junction.
In the morning session,
following an introduction by
Pam Bode, the forest service’s
Illinois Valley District
Ranger, those attending the
meeting were split into small
groups to introduce and dis-
cuss ideas for post-fire man-
agement, including recovery
and restoration needs.
Before breaking into the
groups, Bode said, “There are
some ground rules. Please re-
spect other people and their
feelings.” She also requested
that only one person at a time
speak, and for everyone to
respect the time frame.
The groups started with
round-table discussions aimed
to develop relationships with
others. Input from the groups
will be used as part of a treat-
ment assessment scheduled to
be completed in early Febru-
ary 2003.
The 500,000-acre Biscuit
Fire burned forestland in a
mosaic pattern, leaving some
areas unburned, while other
areas ranged in degree from
slightly to severely burned,
Bode said.
Aerial seeding and mulch-
ing are being considered. Wa-
ter quality and erosion are be-
ing monitored.
Other post-fire manage-
ment projects, which may or
may not be applicable to the
Biscuit Fire area include
revegetation of riparian areas,
fuels management, and miti-
gation of visitor safety haz-
ards. Also trail repair, recov-
ery of timber products, fire-
wood cutting, and fire educa-
tion and interpretation to name
a few.
Bode showed a slide of
vegetation starting to regrow
from its roots. Mother Nature
is starting to repair herself, she
indicated.
RVMC projects good image
Rogue Valley Medical
Center (RVMC) has installed
a revolutionary imaging ma-
chine– the first of its kind in
Southern Oregon.
It’s an 8-slice, Light
Speed Ultra Computerized
Tomography (CT) scanner.
Taking eight pictures at once,
instead of one at a time, the
new CT scanner allows doc-
tors to scan a patient’s entire
body– head to toe in less than
30 seconds.
CT scans are often used to
evaluate trauma patients and
people undergoing treatment
for cancer. “Because of its
incredible speed, the 8-slice
scanner will be a great benefit
to those patients who are sick
and in pain,” said Vicki
Minard of RVMC.
Traditional CT scans, also
known as CAT scans, require
patients to lie very still for
minutes at a time to keep from
blurring the image. The new
Light Speed Ultra scanner
captures images so fast,
there’s little risk of blurring a
picture.
The scanner - a $1 million
piece of equipment from GE
Medical Systems - is top of
the line in imaging technol-
ogy. Its detailed images can
provide new information to
doctors treating heart patients
by allowing them to see the
heart from unique angles.
“This scanner allows us to
perform a number of different
kinds of procedures that we
were previously unable to do,”
said Stephen Fredricksen, car-
diovascular supervisor.
“In addition to cardiac
imaging, we can get a better
look at the brain and even
scan tiny blood vessels,”
Fredricksen said.
By CINDY HANNUM
Although we like to think
of growing old as a golden
experience, a darker side ex-
ists for many Oregonians.
Elder abuse, neglect and
exploitation is a growing so-
cietal problem, one that until
recently remained largely in-
visible.
Na t io n all y, b e t we en
500,000 and 1 million cases of
elder abuse occur annually.
Not only does abuse have dev-
astating consequences for the
victim, including loss of
autonomy and even premature
death, but millions of families
are also harmed.
Elder abuse, neglect and
exploitation is one of the
greatest family issues facing
us today, though it is often
unrecognized and unreported.
Most cases occur in com-
munity settings like a home.
Most disturbing of all, we are
seeing the elderly being vic-
timized by relatives, including
sons or daughters. Neighbors,
friends, paid caregivers and
scam artists also prey on the
elderly.
Many cases are horrific.
During the past 12 months, the
Oregon Dept. of Human Ser-
vices (DHS) has seen elderly
victims who have been
robbed, beaten, raped and
forced to lie in bed in their
own excrement until their skin
is torn away.
For the past three decades,
child and partner abuse at-
tracted considerable attention
from lawmakers and the me-
dia.
A significant federal and
state commitment followed.
Now, it is the time for policy
makers to pay equal attention
to abused and neglected sen-
iors.
Currently, not one federal
employee works full time
solely to protect the elderly
from abuse, neglect and ex-
ploitation. However, passage
of the landmark Elder Justice
Act of 2002, recently intro-
duced in the U.S. Senate,
would begin to rectify this by
providing much needed fund-
ing at the federal, state and
local levels.
Fortunately, Oregon has
been a leader in its work to
protect the elderly. The gene-
sis for this work came in 1994
when Oregon’s then attorney
general established the first
statewide task force dedicated
to elder and vulnerable adult
abuse.
The work of this task
force, continued under Attor-
ney General Hardy Myers, has
resulted in nationally recog-
nized public-private training
programs targeted to the bank-
ing, law enforcement and Na-
tive American communities.
County-based multidiscipli-
nary teams have been set up,
significantly helping to inves-
tigate and prosecute many
elder abuse cases.
DHS, through state offices
and cooperative agreements
with local Area Agencies on
Aging, provides protective
services to elders and persons
with physical disabilities.
DHS’ Abuse Prevention Unit
has established nationally rec-
ognized training programs for
law enforcement, bankers and
other professional groups.
Our work has demon-
strated that dedicated public
officials and better communi-
cation and coordination
among professional agencies
can make a huge difference.
We have no choice. How
we treat these important mem-
bers of our community is a
measure of our stature as a
society. The human suffering
of elder abuse is unnecessarily
high: higher numbers of vic-
tims, higher health-care costs
and a higher need for govern-
mental services.
As the baby boomers age,
more abuse and neglect are
expected. It only makes sense
for us to continue engaging
the public and private sectors
as we seek to further reduce
service gaps within the law
enforcement, medical and le-
gal communities.
Our goal is to assure that
no abused senior is left alone
and no perpetrator goes un-
punished. To do less would
not only expose thousands of
Oregon’s elderly to unwar-
ranted suffering but also cast a
shadow upon our notion of a
compassionate society.
(Cindy Hannum is admin-
istrator of licensing and long-
term care for seniors and peo-
ple with disabilities in the
Oregon Dept. of Human Ser-
vices.)
To report elder abuse
phone toll-free (800) 232-
3020. To learn more log on to
www.elderabusecenter,org).
IF
SOMEONE’S DRINKING
IS AFFECTING
YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
AL-ANON CAN HELP
1-888-794-7683
MANSFIELD R. CLEARY
Attorney at Law
General Practice in
Illinois Valley since 1980
Practice includes but not limited to:
Bankruptcy - Eliminate
financial problems
Living trusts - Avoid probate
Estate planning - Wills,
power of attorney
Domestic relations
Auto accident - Personal Injury
Criminal - DUII
Real Estate contracts - Foreclosure
592-2195
Kyle Kirchner, Fire Chief
200 W. Lister