Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Page 7
Where in the world is LBMS
geographer Austin Hocker?
Eighth-grader only I.V. student to compete in state bee
Monday, April 7
*3:21 p.m. Medical assist:
500 block Schumaker Avenue.
*3:28 p.m. Medical assist:
100 block N. Redwood Hwy.
Tuesday, April 8
*9:09 a.m. Medical assist:
24000 block Redwood Hwy.
*6:03 p.m. Medical assist:
24000 block Redwood Hwy.
*11:10 p.m. Structure fire:
700 block Hummingbird
Lane.
Wednesday, April 9
*8:20 a.m. Medical assist:
4500 block Deer Creek Road.
*1:41 p.m. Medical assist:
5300 block Holland Loop.
Thursday, April 10
*9:26 a.m. Medical assist:
17000 block Redwood Hwy.
*11:02 a.m. Motor vehicle
accident: 100 block Deer
Creek Road.
*1:54 p.m. Open burn:
30000 block Redwood Hwy.
*2:36 p.m. Motor vehicle
accident 200 block N. Red-
wood Hwy.
*3:56 p.m. Vehicle fire:
Finch Road / Westside Road.
Friday, April 11
*5:55 p.m. Vehicle fire:
MP 16 Redwood Hwy.
Saturday, April 12
*12:36 p.m. Medical as-
sist: 900 block Caves Hwy.
*1:50 p.m. Medical assist:
400 block Glendon Road.
*7:03 p.m. Medical assist:
28000 block Redwood Hwy.
Sunday, April 13
*11:22 a.m. Medical as-
sist: 400 block S. Junction
Avenue.
*6:02 p.m. Medical assist:
8600 block Takilma Road.
*8:05 p.m. Medical assist:
500 block Schumacher Ave-
nue.
WESTSIDE CAR FIRE - Firefighters from Illinois Valley Fire District responded to a car fully
involved in flames on Friday, April 11 at approximately 4 p.m. The vehicle was in a wooded
area at milepost 5 of Westside Road. Indications are that the car, a Mazda without license
plates or vehicle identification number, might have been stolen. The fire apparently began in
the passenger seat, said Maintenance Division Chief Joe Feldhaus. Several fish skeletons lit-
tered the ground near the car, leading to speculation that squatters might have been involved.
West Nile Virus toll - free health line open
With West Nile Virus ex-
pected in Oregon within
months, public health officials
at the Oregon Dept. of Human
Services (DHS) have launched
a toll-free telephone informa-
tion line, (866) 703-4636 or
(866) 703-INFO.
DHS established the state-
wide telephone line as one
way to provide access to in-
formation about the virus to
the public and physicians. Re-
corded topics include disease
facts, symptoms, how to re-
duce the risk of infection and,
for physicians, clinical infor-
mation for diagnosing, treat-
ing and reporting a West Nile
case.
The messages are re-
corded in English and Span-
ish.
Health officials expect
that West Nile Virus, already
in 46 states, will be detected
in Oregon this year.
Emilio DeBess, DHS pub-
lic health veterinarian, advises
that the most important pre-
vention step people can take is
to look around their homes
and eliminate sources of
standing water that can sup-
port mosquito breeding, such
as clogged gutters, birdbaths
and old tires.
“Just getting rid of stand-
ing water will decrease by 70
percent the possibility of get-
ting infected with West Nile
Virus,” he said.
“The infection can cause
flu-like symptoms such as
fever, headache, weakness,
swollen glands and rash.
Many people who are exposed
never become sick. In rare
cases, however, the virus can
cause inflammation of the
Garden fair planned for weekend
Results from Illinois Val-
ley Golf Course and Club
Tournament on Saturday,
March 29, 2003:
1st Gross, Mike Inge-77.
2nd Gross, Jack Silva-81. 3rd
Gross, Ed Weitzel-84.
1st Net, Joe Crutchfield-
66. 2nd net, Terry Taylor-70,
3rd Net, Marv Ahlers-71.
K.P. #4/13, Marv Ahlers.
K.P. #8/17, Bob Hurt, Long
Drive #6, Mike Inge.
Knapweed
(Continued from page 1)
The hope is that weed
crew will be allowed to hand-
pull the weeds.
“We would like to get our
hands on it for a year and see
where we get,” Chapp said.
“We think we’re very well
qualified. I think in one year
we can greatly reduce it (the
spotted knapweed popula-
tions).”
Even if having weed-
pullers do the work costs a
little more, former weed-
puller Ken Herrick of Selma,
who was at the meeting, said
he would “rather see local
people employed.”
He also complimented the
forest service for taking such
concern over the situation.
“I was pleased to hear
Pam Bode say she was going
to make it her number-one
priority,” Herrick said. “I
think there’s a better solution
(than using an herbicide).”
I.V. Ranger District is
planning another meeting on
the knapweed project status
and a field trip to the site. The
meeting is tentatively set for
May 20, and the field trip ten-
tatively set for May 21.
Oregon State University
Master Gardener’s Spring
Garden Fair inside the Jose-
phine County Fairgrounds will
be held Friday, April 18 from
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday,
April 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year’s event, free to
the public, is offering a master
gardener’s plant sale, educa-
tional displays, gardening re-
lated vendors, as well as offer-
ing activities for children.
A master gardener will be
on hand to answer garden-
related questions, as well as
providing hands-on activities.
Garden tools, garden art,
baskets and planters, stepping
stones and garden statues, as
well as a wide variety of
plants will be offered for sale.
Car rolls in creek; 2 drown
Two Josephine County
residents died after their vehi-
cle went off a bridge, over-
turned and became submerged
in Wolf Creek, said Josephine
County Sheriff’s Office
(JCSO).
The victims from the Sun-
day, April 13 accident were
identified as Craig Dow, 48,
of Grants Pass; and his pas-
senger, Margaret May, 46, of
Wolf Creek.
JCSO said that a call for
help was received at approxi-
mately 12:44 a.m., and that
emergency personnel re-
sponded to 2121 Coyote
Creek Road.
Deputies found that a car
was lying on its passenger
side, and that it was sub-
merged in fast-moving water.
Deputies were aided by
Wolf Creek Rural Fire Dept.,
Rural/Metro Fire Dept., and
American Medical Response.
Dow was extricated, but May
was not able to be removed
from the vehicle until it was
pulled from the water.
Both persons were dead,
said the sheriff’s office, appar-
ently from drowning.
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brain and result in serious ill-
ness or even death,” he added.
West Nile Virus is an in-
fection that lives in birds and
is spread to humans by mos-
quitoes that have fed on an
infected bird. It first appeared
in New York in 1999. Since
then, it has spread steadily
westward. Only four states --
Oregon, Nevada, Utah and
Arizona -- have not yet de-
tected the virus. To date,
4,071 cases and 274 deaths
have been reported.
Besides the toll-free line,
DHS provides information
about West Nile Virus on the
Web
at
http ://
www.dhs.state.or.us/
publichealth/acd/wnile/
index.cfm.
In Josephine County,
health officials are working on
a plan in case of an outbreak.
County matters
on video tape
available free
Various videos formatted
for Internet viewing are pro-
duced by the Josephine
County Board of Commis-
sioners, in partnership with
Rogue Valley Community
Television (RVTV).
Videos formatted for
Internet viewing of the com-
missioners’ weekly business
sessions, and other programs
of interest, are available on the
following Web site:
http:\\www.co.josephine.o
r.us.
The commissioners are
testing this service through
June and are interested in re-
ceiving public comments
about the addition.
Phone Becky Smith at
474-5221, Ext. 3204; or
besmith@co.josephine.or.us
to offer feedback.
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
Want to know what coun-
try has the tallest mountain?
How about the longest river?
Ask eighth-grader Austin
Hocker, Lorna Byrne Middle
School’s (LBMS) 2002 geog-
raphy bee champion.
His Earth smarts earned
him a finalist spot in this
year’s state-level National
Geographic Bee at Western
Oregon University in Mon-
mouth on April 4.
Hocker, 13, is the son of
Dave Hocker, and the late
Cathy Hocker.
Some 100 sixth-, seventh-
and eighth-graders throughout
the state participated in the
event -- though only one could
proceed to the national finals
in Washington, D.C. in May.
While Hocker won’t be
representing Oregon in the
nationals, he said he is pleased
with how he did at the state
competition.
“I (came in) 12th or 13th,”
he said, explaining that par-
ticipants were separated into
five groups of 20 each.
Each student, he said, was
asked eight questions about
world geography, politics,
cultures and religions and cur-
rent events. He answered four
correctly.
“There were some kids
there that were really smart,”
Hocker said.
While most of the ques-
tions are now a blur, Hocker
remembered one (not one of
his): A treaty was signed re-
cently in what African country
ending four years of war?
Congo is the answer.
Hocker said that he pre-
pared for the competition by
reviewing questions from the
previous couple of years.
AUSTIN HOCKER
To compete in the state
finals, students who win their
school geography contests
take a test. The 100 top scor-
ers go on.
Hocker’s world quest
class (an elective at LBMS) is
taught by Cate Bendock, who
accompanied Hocker to the
competition.
It’s she, Hocker said, who
taught him much of what he
needed to know for the event.
He said that he’s picked up
other related tidbits from
watching TV news.
Why did he want to par-
ticipate in the competition? “I
like geography. I’m just good
at it,” he said.
Eighth-graders Tobias
Graves, of North Middle
School; and John Pascale, of
Lincoln Savage Middle
School in Grants Pass also
competed in the event.
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