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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2003)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 29, 2003 As this is read, the “Noose” Big Boss (boss spelled back- wards is double s/o-b) and Jan are somewhere on Hwy. 101 driv- ing the scenic route southward with the city of Carlsbad in San Diego County as their goal. We hope to come out at least some- where near our planned destination. We’ve driven the Interstate 5 route several times, and are looking for some better scenery this time. Yes, we’re taking off a few days to visit my mother, and our newest granddaughter, Natalie, who is slightly more than 5- months-old; and her parents, who are considerably older than 5 months. We have some other plans in mind too, but I don’t want to bore you into a state of spontaneous combustion. With all that in mind, it means that we will not be present in person come Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003, as a friend and co-worker, Virginia Gilliam, retires from working at the valley newspaper. She has worked for Jan and me since February 1986, and she’s put in a total of 43 non-consecutive years overall. That’s a long time to work in one place. Heck, some of us (not including me) haven’t even lived that long. Yep, Virginia is a veteran of the newspaper wars. She’s been through equipment some might say ranges from the ridiculous to the sublime. When she began working at “The News,” while she was attending the former Kerby Union High School, a flat-bed press capable of printing two pages at a time was in use. She’s actually operated Linotype equipment, which some say was invented by a man who went insane after finishing the design. Linotypes used melted lead in preparing type for print- ing. Later she graduated into Compugraphic equipment, which used light-sensitive film to come up with the copy for stories and ads. When Jan and I took over, we brought in Apple computers, and Virginia learned to use them. Subsequently we have switched to PCs and a linked in-house system, and Virginia has gotten along with that too. However, like all of us in the biz, we find ourselves talking to ourselves and the word processors. It’s a technique to avoid going insane (see inventor of the Linotype above). We will miss Virginia, but we are hoping and praying that she will find retirement to her liking. She said that she’s going to put tape over her alarm clock button, as she’s in such a habit of set- ting it that she’s liable to continue the custom. She also has said, tongue-in-cheek, that she and her husband, Bob, plan to drive each other nuts. But none of us really believe that will happen. “The Noose” will lumber on through the ages without Vir- ginia, and without as much of me (El Jefe) in the process. Vir- ginia and I have said all through our working relationship, purely out of experience, that it doesn’t matter who leaves a newspaper: The darn thing will continue to be published, no matter what. It’s the nature of the beast. We are going to give Virginia a lifetime subscription to the valley newspaper (Whoopee!), as well as some other stuff that we’re not going to tell you about. The staff got together last Sat- urday night for a dinner in her honor, and we all had a good time. It’s never easy to say good-bye to anyone, and so we’re not going to do that. We’re going to say something like, “Hey, see you around.” Or, “So long for now.” Something like that. And especially, “Thanks.” We have extended her an “invite” to stop by anytime just to check up on us. We are all grateful to her for her dedica- tion through the years. And though we will not be here on the day she retires, we definitely will be with her in spirit. And we look forward to see- ing her enjoy a well-deserved retirement. God bless you, Virginia -- we’ll think of you often. 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. 45 Staff: Virginia Gilliam, Cindy Newton, Britt Fairchild, Chris Robertson, Sharon Silva & Becky Loudon Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association DEADLINES: News, Display Ads, Announcements & Letters 3 P.M. FRIDAY (Ads will be accepted until Noon, Monday with an additional charge.) 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.) * * * ‘I remember’ From Dorothy Wiltfong Kerby The reference in “Bob’s Corner” last week regarding too many rules reminded me of a funny story of my naivete when I arrived in this country in 1947. Posted on several tele- phone or power poles in the Southern California town of San Pedro were notices to the effect that “Bill stickers will be prosecuted.” I went around and asked several people, who was “Bill Stickers” and why were they prosecuting him? I had no idea that the notices were referring to advertise- ments that we now call flyers. Referring to the “world’s easiest,” King George VI’s first name was not George. It was Albert; and his wife, the late Queen Elizabeth or “Queen Mom,” as the Brits refer to her, always called him “Bertie.” It was the edict of Queen Victoria that no future king could be called King Albert because the parliament of her reign would not recognize her husband, Albert, as a king. He was her consort. Also, in referring to “Chinese gooseberries be- cause of the Aussies’ close ties to New Zealand, where the natives are known as “Kiwis,” botanically named Actinidia Deliciosa. Ore. ‘Green Light’ wins AASHT kudo Oregon’s Green Light weigh station pre-clearance system has won top honors in the American Association of State Highway and Transpor- tation officials (AASHT) Team Excellence Program. “The Green Light Pro- gram electronically screens truck traffic using high speed weigh-in-motion scales in the roadway and small pager-like devices called transponders in truck cabs,” said Green Light Program Manager Randal Thomas. “The system can identify and weigh trucks as they go by Oregon’s busiest weigh stations at highway speeds,” said Thomas. “This makes highways safer by reducing the number of trucks getting on and off the highway. “The program also serves the trucking industry by sav- ing drivers precious operating time. And it helps our weigh stations manage a growing stream of truck traffic by in- creasing the station’s capacity and efficiency,” said Thomas. “From January 2000 through December ‘01, Green Light screened and cleared trucks more than 1.5 million times,” Thomas said. “Operating a heavy truck costs an average of $1.92 per mile or $1.24 per minute. If a truck saves five minutes by- passing a weigh station, Green Light saved trucking compa- nies $9.5 million in operating costs and more than 127,000 hours of travel time during that period,” said Thomas. DISTRICT BOOK BATTLE – Three Rivers School District held its annual ‘Battle of the Books’ competition on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Rogue Community College. Evergreen Elementary School had two teams that took top honors at the district competition. First-place honors went to the team headed by spokesperson (top from left) Desiree Miatke, fourth grade, Brendan Davis, Callie Harland, and Rachel Paul, all fifth grade. Evergreen Elementary students beat out teams of fourth and fifth graders from other district elementary schools to take home individual tro- phies. The team received an award for good sportsmanship from the judges. At the level one competition for third and fourth graders, Evergreen Elementary sent the following team: Spokesperson (bottom from left) Celilo Nordal, fourth grade, Tori Fox, Thea Barker and Greg Crombie, all third grade. This team competed well and received individual ribbons. Competing students were required to read a list of 10 books and answer questions about each book. The program is sponsored by the district Talented and Gifted Program to promote interest in good literature. (Photo by Sam Newton) Trivia Time by Walter Branch 1. What fellow Beach Boy gave a hamburger to Brain Wilson for every song he wrote? 2. What company's sun- glasses got a boost when Tom Cruise wore them in "Top Gun"? 3. What cigarette brand hoped to boost sales with a "Who's that guy in the pajama bottoms at brunch?" contest? 4. What affliction led Ted Kennedy, Jr., to form the Fac- ing the Challenge program? 5. What 1980 movie about a sunken luxury liner became Britain's biggest box office bomb? 6. What closed three months after the Indian Point 2 nu- clear plant had been shut down in 1981? 7. What was used for the let- ter "O" on the cover of "The Real Coke, The Real Story"? 8. What car did Steve Jobs sell to raise the capital to make him "the Henry Ford of the computer age"? 9. Who played Morris Butter- maker in the sitcom, "The Bad News Bears"? 10. What country had its first Nobel Prize winner for litera- ture when Naquib Mahfouz won? Trivia Time Answers 1. Dennis Wilson; 2. Ray- Ban's; 3. Benson & Hedges; 4. Cancer; 5. "Raise the Ti- tanic"; 6. The Indian Point 3 nuclear plant; 7. Bottle caps; 8. A Volkswagen; 9. Jack Warden; 10. Egypt (c) 2003 DBR Media, Inc. SPECIAL - Taylor’s Smoked Jerky Hot, Regular & Black Pepper… $12.50 lb. Friday, Jan. 31 - 6 to 9 p.m. Mike Selfridge Slide guitarist, Ukulele master, singer, songwriter from Northern California Dinner Special Fish & Chips… $6.95 February Events Friday, Feb. 7 - Dale & Siskiyou Mountain Boys Friday, Feb. 14 - (Valentine’s Day) Deni O’Donnell Friday, Feb. 21 - Libby Goines