Star festival
group shines
for I.V. youth
By MICHELLE BINKER
Correspondent
Originators of last year’s
Shining Stars Festival have
taken their project another
step toward becoming a sig-
nificant fixture in Illinois Val-
ley.
The Shining Stars, a com-
mitted group of valley parents
and community members, is
now a private, non-profit en-
tity. Its mission: to promote
and organize the annual festi-
val, which raises money to
fund valley youth projects.
The new non-profit or-
ganization will organize vol-
unteer efforts, community and
business donations, as well as
orchestrate fund-raising
events throughout the year in
order to produce the Shining
Stars Festival in early sum-
mer.
“The Shining Stars is
about the common ground of
hope and aspiration,” said
Nicole Doran, volunteer coor-
dinator for the group, and a
board member. “We hope to
be able to benefit children
throughout the valley,” said
Doran.
“I was just struck by the
joyful energy and exuberance
behind the idea,” said Gabri-
ella Salas-Groth, a parent, fes-
tival activist, and hospitality
coordinator. “Economically,”
she said, “ the idea of a big
festival once a year to draw a
few thousand people into the
valley sounds good to me.
“Especially if you can
make it family friendly and
have fun doing it,” she said.
Last year’s festival was a
collaborative effort between
parents, community and busi-
ness members. Festival organ-
izers even secured a grant
from Illinois Valley Commu-
(Continued on page 8)
Court date
set for Busk
Josephine County is tak-
ing an O’Brien man to court
to stop him from turning his
2-acre lot off W. O’Brien
Street into what neighbors
have described as “a junk-
yard.”
County Legal Counsel
Steve Rich sought a prelimi-
nary injunction against Rich-
ard Busk, according to court
papers filed Dec. 17.
Busk, who was served the
court papers through certified
mail, is scheduled to appear in
local circuit court on Thurs-
day, Feb. 6.
Rich said that the
county’s legal action was in
response to complaints from
neighbors. County officials
investigated the complaints;
and, according to affidavits
filed with the court, found the
large accumulation of build-
ing supplies, furniture, junked
cars and other stuff to not
only be illegal, but a public
health hazard as well.
Cleanup at Busk’s former
7902 Takilma Road property -
- which the county now owns
-- where a large collection of
discarded tires caught fire in
June, is estimated to cost the
county at least $85,000.
2003 starts off with bang
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
Two alcohol-related inci-
dents kept the Illinois Valley
Fire District busy New Year’s
Eve.
And “weird lights” in the
sky on Thursday, Jan. 2 also
kept I.V. volunteers and staff
on the move.
At 9:35 p.m. on Dec. 31,
the district’s rope rescue team
responded to a report of a ve-
hicle over an embankment in
the 400 block of Little Gray-
back Road out Caves Hwy.
The vehicle was approxi-
mately 40 feet down a hill.
Chief Kyle Kirchner said
that the four passengers in the
vehicle were on their way
home from a party. Two of
them exited the vehicle on
their own, he said, and re-
turned to the party to phone in
the accident.
The rope rescue team ex-
tricated a third person and
helped the fourth up the hill.
Two of the passengers
were transported to Three
Rivers Community Hospital
in Grants Pass.
Bridgeview Community Church group (photos above) participated in a week-long mission to
Mazatlan, Mexico. Along with other organizations, they offered various services to those in
need, including construction of a church foundation, dental care, and food and clothing dis-
tribution. Additional photos on page 8.
(Photos courtesy of Walter)
Bridgeview group on a mission
Church members find week-long trip an eye-opening labor of love
Six teen-agers and three
adults from Bridgeview Com-
munity Church in rural Cave
Junction participated in a
week-long mission to Mazat-
lan, Mexico, and found the
trip to be an eye-opening labor
of love.
On the trip were Pastor
Charlie Bridges, youth pastors
Ken and Becky Loudon; and
youth group members Alisa
Richards, Tami Wilson, Scott
Warren, Melissa Lawrence,
Joy Messerli and Ricky Butts.
The group, which raised
its own funds for the trip, left
home in Illinois Valley on
Nov. 1, when the temperature
was below freezing. Upon ar-
rival in Mazatlan, they walked
into 88-degree weather with
75 percent humidity. After
gasping a bit at the heat and
humidity, the participants then
faced transportation in a for-
eign country.
The group eventually got
used to riding in vehicles
called pulmonias, which re-
semble oversized golf carts
with open sides and a canopy.
They rode primarily on the
rear of a flatbed pickup truck
to reach the areas where they
taught, played, fixed meals
and built in conjunction with
the church at Urias, La Vin a,
with which they partnered.
Also on the mission was a
dental group from Washington
state. Some members of the
Bridgeview group assisted the
dentists as best they could.
The youth and their chap-
erone leaders also found it
difficult to comprehend the
poverty of many of the people
they met.
The group noted, “It was
heart-wrenching to know that
the people you spent the day
with would be staying in their
tarpaper shacks, without elec-
tricity or running water --
while were going to a hotel
with air conditioning and
showers. The contrast between
the colonia and the tourist area
was like night and day.”
Among the meals they
served was a lunch of pan-
cakes with syrup, oranges, an
Oreo cookie and juice. Said
the Bridgeview group, “The
people who received meals
were so grateful. For some,
this was the only meal they
had to eat for the day. When
everyone had received a meal,
the empty plastic containers
were given to some of the
mothers to take home. Noth-
ing was wasted.”
Another part of the mis-
sion was pouring the founda-
tion for a new church in an
area without one.
“Using water from a large
tank that had been brought in
the flatbed pickup, we mixed
cement and other ingredients
on the ground with shovels,”
said the group. “We then car-
ried the concrete in five-gallon
buckets to pour into a form.”
The group distributed toys
and clothing, which they had
brought in suitcases. “It
seemed like so much,” said the
Bridgeview group, “until we
began handing it out. We ran
out before everyone had re-
ceived something. It was diffi-
cult to see young faces waiting
in line, and to know that we
had nothing left for them. The
need is great.”
However, at another loca-
tion, the group found that its
six remaining suitcases of
clothing and toys was enough
for everyone to receive at least
one item.
Throughout their week in
Mexico, the Bridgeview Com-
munity Church Youth Group
and leaders continued their
work of building, feeding,
playing with children, and as-
sisting the dental group.
In addition, the group
helped paint a school at Tres
Colonia.
“We were so busy that our
trip was over before we real-
ized it,” said the youth group.
“We worked hard all while
that we were there, but did
find time for a little fun, in-
cluding swimming in the
warm ocean water.”
In conclusion the group
said, “We had our whole trip
planned. But as soon as we
arrived, God showed us that
he had another plan. His ways
are so much greater than ours.
We never would have guessed
that we could be so hot,
sweaty and tired -- and yet so
happy at the same time. Each
of us has the desire to return
as soon as we can.
“We can’t wait to see
what God has planned for us
next!”
(Editor’s Note: The pre-
ceding article was adapted
from the December issue of
“The Body Works!” - - a
publication of the Illinois
Valley Christian Women’s
Fellowship, by Bobbie
Blakely).
Headline blooper: Man found dead in cemetery .
I.V. firefighters also re-
sponded to a roll-over acci-
dent at 10:55 p.m. at Bridge-
view and Takilma roads.
A more mysterious emer-
gency occurred two days
later, on Jan. 2.
At approximately 2 a.m.,
firefighters were called out to
somewhere southeast of Cave
Junction to determine the
source of what appeared to be
extremely bright lights flick-
ering on and off, said Fire
Marshal Jerry Schaeffer.
He added that he first
thought it was a fire. However
it was later determined that
the glow was caused by elec-
trical conductors being down
at three different locations on
top of Scott Mountain and a
three-pole structure down on
the Cave Junction side.
As of 3 p.m. that day,
more than 1,720 Northern
California residents in Happy
Camp, Hamburg, Scott Bar
and Seiad were without
power.
According to Schaeffer,
power was restored the fol-
lowing day.
‘Learn something new,’
says I.V. Community Ed.
Coordinator Pam Cooper
As the new Training Ser-
vices Coordinator for the Illi-
nois Valley Community Edu-
cation program for Rogue
Community College, Pam
Cooper has a new motto:
“Learn something new.”
Cooper, former managing
editor of “Illinois Valley
News,” began her new role
with the college in early De-
cember, and is working on a
roster of classes for the spring
term, which begins March 31.
“Community Education is
a series of non-graded, non-
credit classes available to
adults 18 and older,” Cooper
said.
Cooper said she feels this
job is a natural for her be-
cause she is a “people” per-
son.
“We have an incredible
number of fascinating people
right here in our valley,” Coo-
per said. “I like to network,
find out what’s new, what
people need and want, and
connect people who are look-
ing for and have information,
services or things.”
Cooper said that Commu-
nity Education is not just
about learning how to do
something in your spare time.
“It’s learning something
that may factor in later as job
or self-employment opportu-
nities,” she said.
“The key word is
‘opportunity’ and how we
handle all the opportunities
and possibilities that are laid
before us every day,” she
said.
Based part time in an of-
fice in the RCC Belt Bldg. in
Kerby, Cooper’s office hours
are 10 a.m. to noon Mondays
and Wednesdays. She said
that the program is year-
round, and that although the
Belt Bldg. is the primary site,
classes could eventually be
held throughout the valley -
something she hopes to see.
Approximately one year
ago, RCC took over the Com-
munity Education program
from the Illinois Valley Com-
munity Response Team
(IVCRT), which agreed to a
two-year grant to help jump-
start the program.
“RCC has a better re-
source base in many ways to
take on this program,” said
Cooper. “IVCRT got the ball
rolling. Now that the program
is affiliated with the college,
maybe it will put down
deeper roots. But budget cuts
are happening all over the
state. This community educa-
tion program is self-
sustaining; it must pay for
itself.”
Cooper said that anyone
interested in teaching, or tak-
ing, Community ED classes
should phone her at 592-
2120. Class schedules and
registration forms are avail-
able in the lobby of the Belt
Bldg.
New ‘Noose’ Deadlines
Display Ads, letters, announcements,
news releases - Friday, 3 p.m.
There will be a late fee
( 50 cents per column inch)
for display ads turned in after
the deadline until Monday, noon.