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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2003)
HARVEST KITCHEN at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Cave Junction added a holiday touch to its year-round efforts to provide meals for those who need them. The group on Monday, Dec. 23 provided a Christmas meal, including a visit from Santa Claus, who distributed gifts. Harvest Kitchen is operated by volunteers, and dona- tions of various types always are welcome. (Photos provided cour- tesy of Harvest Kitchen) Seven-point economic plan in works Hosts of the statewide economic summit in Portland recently unveiled a seven- point plan for reinvigorating Oregon’s sluggish economy. Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D), Gordon Smith (R), and Gov.-elect Ted Ku- longoski (D) forged a plan for state and federal leaders to work in concert to respond to Oregon’s economic needs and promote economic progress. In a speech before summit attendees, Wyden said that the mission of the leaders attend- ing the summit is to “do eve- rything within our power to bring this state’s recession to a speedy close … to give the people of our state confidence that Oregon will weather the next economic deluge better than it has weathered this one... “To ensure that Oregon is poised to take advantage when the nation’s economy heats up once again.” “As Sen. Smith and I have done in the U.S. Senate, today I challenge Oregon’s elected officials to leave their politics at the threshold when it comes to working toward a brighter future for Oregon’s econ- omy,” Wyden told the crowd of more than 1,300 elected, community and business lead- ers representing each of Ore- gon’s 36 counties. The seven-point economic agreement lays out opportuni- ties and timelines for Ore- gon’s state and federal elected leaders to work together to improve the state’s long-term economic outlook. Wyden, Smith and Kulon- goski agreed to: *Form a joint task force within the next two months to identify and evaluate federal research appropriation and grant opportunities to review relative potential for job crea- tion and business spin-off. The force will include repre- sentatives designated by each senator and governor-elect. *Seek a new federal-state partnership on natural re- sources that allows for Ore- gon-driven solutions to critical federal resource issues. *Make establishment of an Oregon-trained, world class engineering workforce a top federal funding priority. State-fed funding for safe water on tap A federal-state partnership that began in 1996 to improve drinking water safety has brought approximately $100 million in federal loan funds and state matching funds to Oregon communities, accord- ing to state Dept. of Human Services (DHS). Most of the water systems are small, although those in Springfield, Pendleton and Woodburn also have received loans. “So far, $62 million in loans have been made to pub- lic water systems in 40 com- munities that will bring safer drinking water to more than 158,000 people,” said Dave Leland, DHS. “Many addi- tional communities are lining up to use the rest of the money.” The program is the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund. Authorized by Congress in 1996, it made $9.6 billion available nation- wide through 2003. In Ore- gon, DHS administers the fund through a partnership with the Oregon Economic and Community Development Dept. (OECDD). Leland said the fund al- lows water suppliers to make improvements, many times involving major construction projects, that would not have otherwise been possible. “The bottom line is that these com- munities will be better able to comply with federal Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water quality standards,” he said. Drinking water safety im- provements include installing new or improved water treat- ment plants, constructing new wells and storage tanks and replacing miles of pipeline. Several of the projects have been completed and as communities repay their loans, funds are made available to other communities. “Our success is based on the specific expertise both we and DHS bring to the pro- gram,” said Jim Breithaupt, OECDD. “Working together, we make low-interest loans to water systems throughout the state, helping improve drink- ing water safety and bringing money into the community.” OECDD provides 20 per- cent in state matching funds and awards and manages the loans to Oregon communities. Community water suppliers submit their water improve- ment applications to DHS, where a priority list is devel- oped. Information is on the Web at www,ohd,hr.state.or.us/ dwp/srlf.htm or phone (503) 731-4010. I.V. BIKERS conducted its fifth annual distribution of gifts to Illinois Valley boys and girls with items ob- tained from the annual Toy Run. The run was held on Dec. 7; the distribution oc- curred on Tuesday, Dec. 24 in the I.V. Senior Center. Members of I.V. Bikers gave away hundreds of toys, in- cluding a roomful of bicy- cles. Refreshments also were available. Children got to sit on Santa’s lap; ask him for a gift; and they were handed out from behind the curtain, where there was an immense stack of toys and games. The bikers said that they greatly appreciate use of the I.V. Senior Center. CJ CARES staged its annual Christmas morn- ing breakfast in Jubilee Park for all who didn’t have anyone else with whom to spend their morning. Led by Lynn Boucher, of A+ Mini Storage, a number of volunteers helped pre- pare, serve, and clean up. In addition, the vol- unteers helped distrib- ute toys in the park pa- vilion. And Jerry Bryan and Amy Machado, of Otter Creek Transporta- tion delivered 45 meals and toys to people un- able to make it to the park. This year’s break- fast required 45 pounds of pancake mix, and nor- mally 25 pounds are used. Also, the meal in- volved 80 pounds of sausage, 60 dozen eggs, 20 pounds of ham, and approximately 500 toys. The annual grass-roots effort is supported by many valley businesses and private individuals. Watch for a ‘Thank You’ ad from CJ Cares in next week’s issue.
