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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, April 2, 2003
Country Breakfast
I.V. Senior Center
Biscuits & Gravy
Pancakes
Eggs
Bacon
Sausage Links
Coffee, Milk, Juice
$4.00 - Adults
$2.50 - Kids Under 12
Saturday, April 5 - 8 to 11 a.m.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress
only when he sticks his neck out.
- James Bryant Conant -
TIE A YELLOW RIBBON - On a crusade to tie yellow ribbons around all the trees in Downtown Cave Junction, Roger and
Marcia Bradshaw began the effort Tuesday morning, April 1. ‘We want to show big support for our troops in Iraq,’ the couple
said. They also have a ribbon tied around a large oak tree along with a U.S. flag, illuminated with a floodlight, in their front
yard. J&M Hobbies and Crafts and Dennis Strayer at the I.V. Visitor Center have donated toward the cause. The couple
searched several businesses looking for yellow ribbon without luck. After being sent to Valley Farm & Garden they decided to
use yellow construction tape instead of ribbon. The Bradshaws suggested helping the troops overseas by visiting the follow-
ing Web site: www.operationmilitarysupport.com.
(Photo by Britt Fairchild)
Bill would cancel cost-of-living revision
17 Craft Tables
Adjustment in minimum wage measure approved by voters at issue
The House Business, La-
bor and Consumer Affairs
Committee began hearing tes-
timony last month on HB
2624, which would cancel the
annual cost-of-living adjust-
ment in the minimum wage
that voters approved four
months ago.
The bill was introduced
by Rep. Bill Garrard (R-
Klamath Falls) at the request
of the Oregon Restaurant As-
sociation and the Oregon
Farm Bureau, both of which
actively campaigned against
Ballot Measure 25.
Despite being outspent
more than 2-1, proponents of
Measure 25 made their case to
voters. Passage of Measure
25 gave Oregon’s minimum
wage workers their first raise
in four years. Measure 25 in-
creased Oregon’s minimum
wage from $6.50 per hour to
$6.90, requiring the commis-
sioner of the Bureau of Labor
and Industries to calculate an
annual cost-of-living adjust-
ment every September for the
following calendar year.
The first adjustment is to
go into effect Jan. 1, 2004.
This adjustment is to be
rounded to the nearest 5-cent
increment and be based on
any increase in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) for the pre-
vious 12 months. If the CPI
does not increase, the mini-
mum wage would remain the
same.
“Protecting this voter-
approved increase is espe-
cially critical,” said State La-
bor Commissioner Dan Gard-
ner. “Use of the CPI adjust-
ment fairly addresses the
needs of working families liv-
ing in poverty, promotes pur-
chasing power, and offers
businesses the ability to
budget more effectively and
accurately for increases in
response to rising costs.
“Unlike skyrocketing en-
ergy prices and health-care
costs, which unexpectedly
increase the cost of business
considerably, indexing pro-
vides small and predictable
increases for businesses,”
Gardner said.
“When the minimum
wage increases, businesses
experience higher profits be-
cause workers have more
money to spend,” he claimed.
“Low-wage workers pump
every dollar of their pay
checks directly into the local
economy by spending their
money in their neighborhood
stores, pharmacies and corner
markets on food, medicine,
and clothing for their chil-
dren.”
According to the Oregon
Center for Public Policy, 60
percent of minimum wage
workers are women; 73 per-
cent are 20 or older; and 25
percent are single parents.
Minimum-wage workers
include Oregonians “who take
care of our elderly and dis-
abled, provide child-care to
our children, work in eating
and drinking establishments
and harvest the crops that we
eat,” Gardner said.
“Raising the minimum
wage with annual adjustments
will by no means eradicate
poverty across the state, but it
will help tens of thousands of
low-wage working families
put food on the table, pay rent
and cover basic essentials,” he
said.
“Without this annual ad-
justment, these families will
be forced again to rely on the
food banks (whose supplies
are quickly diminishing),
churches and government pro-
grams,” stated Gardner.
Friday & Saturday
April 11 and 12
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Support the merchants
who advertise in
‘Illinois Valley News’
They help ‘pay the
freight’ for bringing
news, stories and
photos to the Illinois
Valley community
*Bake Sale
*Snack Bar
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*Hot Dogs
*Hamburgers