Sexual assault awareness IVSHA goal
One in every three women, one in six men will be sexually assaulted in lifetime
SPLAT, SPLAT, TAG! - DMZ Paintball of Cave Junction held the season opener for paintball
‘Tag’ on Sunday, April 6 at its Kerby site on Upper Reeves Creek Road. Approximately 50 par-
ticipants of various ages used paintball markers in games of ‘Capture the Flag’ and ‘Tag.’
Safety is stressed constantly, and the games include monitors.
(Related photos page 12)
SCHC celebrates 30 years in the valley
Open house a chance to introduce new doctor and give building site update
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
Browsing through the
thick photo albums of ar-
chived photographs and
newspaper articles, it’s obvi-
ous the changes 30 years can
bring.
The hair is a bit shorter,
the jeans a little less bell-
shaped. The medical technol-
ogy is more speedy and state-
of-the-art.
A loaf of bread, sack of
potatoes or a chicken are less
likely to be given as a form of
payment for treating a cold or
casting a broken bone.
But what hasn’t changed
in the 30-year history of the
Siskiyou Community Health
Center is the philosophy that
“health care is a right, not a
privilege.”
On Friday, April 11 from
4 to 7 p.m., the Cave Junction
center, located at 319 Caves
Hwy., will hold an open house
to celebrate its 30th anniver-
sary of service to valley resi-
dents.
“It’s been 30 years and
we’re still here,” said Sheila
Mason, office manager.
“Everybody is still dedicated
to the community and medi-
cine.”
Mason joined Dr. Jim
Shames and the other young,
idealistic
individuals as a
clinic volunteer approximately
one year after the group
opened what was then known
as the Takilma People’s Clinic
in Takilma.
“It was an opportunity to
really be involved in the com-
munity,” she said. “(It was) a
very special, magical time for
all of us who were involved.
We thought we could change
the world.”
The open house will also
provide an opportunity to for-
mally introduce Dr. Lucinda
Kolo, the newest doctor on
staff at the CJ site, to the
community.
Kolo began working at
center in August, following
the completion of her physi-
cian residency in Indiana in
July. With the Biscuit Fire
threatening the valley at the
time, there was little fanfare
upon her arrival.
Kolo, 34, said she is look-
ing forward to the event.
“I think it will be more
fun now, having been here
(longer),” she said.
(Continued on page 5)
I.V. clinic just what the doctor ordered
After eight months on the job, Kolo settling in as SCHC’s newest physician
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
Whether kismet or coin-
cidence, Dr. Lucinda Kolo
can’t imagine practicing
medicine anywhere but Illi-
nois Valley.
There’s an undeniable
spirit here, she said; an
awareness and “pervasive
wisdom” among the people
unlike anything she’s experi-
enced.
“I love it here, said the
34-year-old Dartmouth Medi-
cal School graduate. “I adore
this community.”
She finds her work at
Siskiyou Community Health
Center in Cave Junction --
and the dedication of the staff
there -- especially inspiring.
“There are amazing peo-
ple here,” she said, citing
examples of employees and
residents committed to caring
for those in need.
With a particular passion
for women’s health, Kolo
noted that she has helped es-
tablish a strong prenatal pro-
gram during her almost eight
months at the site.
Admittedly, though, Kolo
was a bit nervous when she
came on board in August, as it
was her first job after com-
pleting her residency in Terre
Haute, Ind. in July.
Now, she said, “I’m start-
ing to feel more comfortable.”
Kolo, the third full-time
physician at the center, lives
in Grants Pass and will begin
LUCINDA KOLO, M.D.
her days making rounds at
Three Rivers Community
Hospital as part of her work.
She is the first physician from
the CJ site to do so.
Describing herself as a
“proactive person,” Kolo
looked at 60 medical sites na-
tionwide before moving west.
“This just was a fit,” she
said. “This felt right.”
As a National Health Ser-
vice Corps Scholar, a portion
of Kolo’s student loans will
be paid off in return for work-
ing in a medically needy area.
Born in Minnesota, Kolo
came to Oregon after 13 years
in New Hampshire. She did
her undergraduate work at the
University of New Hamp-
shire, and she still calls that
state home.
Avid kayakers and moun-
tain climbers, Kolo and her
husband, Joe Caron, are also
taking advantage of the natu-
ral bounties of the area.
“We’ve already climbed
Mt. McLaughlin (in Jackson
County),” she said, noting
that they plan to climb Mt.
Shasta next.
Although her commit-
ment to the National Health
Service Corps is only three
years, Kolo said that she
hopes she can stay here
longer.
“(I could stay here) for-
ever if I can talk my husband
into it,” she said. “It’s every-
thing I thought it would be.”
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
One out of every six
homes in Illinois Valley is
afflicted by domestic violence,
sexual assault or abuse.
And that’s not counting
the cases that go unreported,
according to the Oregon Coa-
lition Against Domestic and
Sexual Violence.
For Tanya Nevarez, Illi-
nois Valley Safe House Alli-
ance (IVSHA) women’s advo-
cate, these numbers are more
than statistics.
They represent “real” vic-
tims and survivors who need
help and support to move
through what has happened to
them.
“Once you’ve been
abused or raped, it changes
your life forever,” Nevarez
said.
Over time, sexual assault,
domestic violence and other
types of abuse also pervade
other areas of a community,
Nevarez added.
That is why, she said, con-
tinual communitywide educa-
tion and information about the
subject is critical.
Particularly in a rural area
such as Illinois Valley.
April is especially impor-
tant in the timeline, Nevarez
said, as it is Sexual Assault
Awareness Month.
IVSHA has several area
events planned during the
month.
“For all those individuals
who are survivors (I) just want
to let them know they are not
alone. They are being thought
of (and prayed for),” she said.
Activities such as the or-
ganization’s Fireside Candle-
light Ceremony at the I.V.
Family Coalition on Friday,
April 4 bring awareness by
raising the consciousness of
others. They see what is going
on and become interested in
participating or knowing
more, Nevarez noted.
She added that such a
coming together of those in
the valley community ulti-
mately helps strengthen it.
TANYA NEVAREZ
To foster a truly healthy
I.V., everyone -- from law
enforcement to governing
leaders, and especially men in
general -- need to take a stand
against all assault and vio-
lence to all humans.
“Together we can do
something to stop this,” Neva-
rez said. “Take a piece of the
responsibility to be account-
able for our community mem-
bers (so) that there would be
little to no room left for these
horrific assaults to take
place.”
While there is more com-
munity support of intervention
now than in years past, mainly
because of IVSHA, the valley
has to continue its awareness
and support efforts, she said.
Prior to her IVSHA work,
which she began in Novem-
ber, Nevarez, 35, was board
chairman of the Southern
Oregon Indian Center in
Grants Pass.
During her time there,
she helped start a women’s
support group and an over-
night multicultural kids
camp, among other programs.
“I’ve always had a call-
ing in my life to work around
issues concerning women and
children,” Nevarez said.
Part Yurok Indian and
part of the Takilma band of
the Rogue River tribe, and
member of the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians,
Nevarez said the sacredness
of women and children is a
foundation of her family line-
age.
Women, she said, are
honored as the only two-
legged creatures able to carry
more than one spirit in their
bodies.
With numerous strong
female influences in her fam-
ily, Nevarez said she found
herself advocating for others
at a young age.
Her grandmother, Agnes
Baker-Pilgrim is the eldest
living descendant from the
Rogue River/Takilma band
that resides in the valley.
Childhood experiences in
which others were verbally
hurt led Nevarez to feel that
it is wrong to treat others
with any forms of violence.
“I always had an issue
and took issue with that,” she
said.
“I believe if our women
are well, our children are
well, and our community is
well,” Nevarez said.
The following Sexual Assault Awareness Month events in Jo-
sephine County are sponsored by Illinois Valley Safe House Alli-
ance, Asante Domestic Violence Program, Family Friends, Rogue
Community College and the Women’s Crisis Support Team:
Wednesday, April 9, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Community Awareness
booths at the Cave Junction Post Office and Selma Select Market.
Friday, April 11, 5:30 p.m., Second Friday Night Art Walk, open
mic reading, “Celebrating Survival,” at Cabin Chemistry. Friday,
April 11, Poetry as therapy at the Book Stop in Grants Pass, time to
be announced. Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day Tree Planting at the
Illinois Valley Family Coalition, time to be announced. Wednes-
day, April 30, Take Back the Night at the Anne Basker Auditorium
in Grants Pass, 6 to 8 p.m. IVSHA’s women’s support group meets
Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For information phone 592-2515, or
the Women’s Support Crisis 24-hour line at 800-750-9278.
FIRESIDE CANDLELIGHT CEREMONY - With April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month
approximately 20 people attended the Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance Candlelight Cere-
mony on Friday evening, April 4, to acknowledge victims of sexual assault. Participants were
asked to write down their own, or someone else’s, pain and ultimately burn what they had
written in a ceremonial ‘cleansing’ fire. The burning of the ‘pain’ symbolically represented
the cleansing and beginning of the healing process. As the last person’s message was
burned, the first healing candle was lit from the fire and participants proceeded to light all
the candles in the circle with the flame of the previous person’s candle.