Illinois Valley news., April 16, 2003, Page 9, Image 9

Page 9
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, April 16, 2003
In 1834 an expedition arrived in Oregon from St. Louis, Mo.
It was composed of some fur trappers and clerks who were em-
ployed by Nathaniel Wyeth.
He planned on getting rich by trading with the Indians for
furs and supplying trappers with their supplies. Hudson Bay Co.
quickly undercut his business, and Wyeth did not remain long in
Oregon. His 1834 expedition also contained two scientists who
wanted to collect plants and animals in the region.
Thomas Nuttall was mainly a botanist who made some new
discoveries such as: Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii. His asso-
ciate on the trip was John Kirk Townsend, who hoped to discover
new birds and mammals. Townsend was successful in both
groups. Townsend’s Solitaire is an uncommon bird, but familiar
to most bird watchers.
Townsend’s Chipmunk was first collected at the mouth of the
Willamette River. It is a familiar sight to visitors at the Oregon
Caves even though its scientific name, Tamias townsendii, might
not be as friendly. Townsend spent the winter of 1834-35 in Ha-
waii also collecting specimens. The next year he helped as a sur-
geon at Ft. Vancouver because he had some medical training.
On May 9, 1835, Townsend discovered a mole at Ft. Vancou-
ver named Scapanus townsendii, better known as Townsend’s
Mole. “Skapane” is a Greek word meaning digging tool, and is
used because it’s a good digger. Townsend’s Mole is the largest
and most common of the four kinds of moles found in Josephine
County. It has a range all along the coastal part of Washington,
Oregon, and Northern California. It has a range all along the
coastal part of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. It is
most common in moist soil areas, especially fields, lawns, gar-
dens, and coniferous forests.
All moles are good at digging and usually have deep tunnels,
six to 10 inches below the surface, which are hard to locate. They
push up cone-shaped piles of dirt at intervals along the route of
the tunnels. These piles have no obvious entrance, unlike gopher
mounds which are fan-shaped and have an obvious entrance with
a dirt plug in the hole. Moles also create surface tunnels which
make raised mounds of dirt along their path which are more easy
for people to locate than the deep tunnels.
Moles are mainly carnivores, eating worms and beetle grubs
living in the soil. On occasion, a few underground tubers and
roots are eaten, but this is not the main damage. Flowers and
grass are damaged by pushing them into the air while the mole is
making the surface tunnels. This can damage the roots by expos-
ing them to the air and also creates air pockets around the roots of
plants. Gardening experts suggest these mounds be pressed down
as soon as possible to reduce damage to the plants. Most garden-
ers are not very tolerant of these habits and want the mole gone as
quickly as possible.
A number of methods have been tried and each gardener
swears that their method is best. Flooding the deep tunnels with a
hose works occasionally but mostly provides exercise for the
mole and deep watering for nearby plants. Attaching a garden
hose to a car exhaust pipe has some success also, but moles can
create dense plugs in their tunnel system.
Poisons and traps are most recommended by gardening books
with traps most preferred. Poison and gas bombs kill other ani-
mals as well, including pets if any pellets are left above ground or
dug up later.
Traps need to be placed in the deep tunnels on both sides of
the cone shaped piles of dirt if the tunnels can be located. This
involves a lot of digging and increases the damage to the garden
or lawn. My method is to put an untouched half stick of Juicy
Fruit gum in the tunnel, but that doesn’t work all the time either.
Countdown for opening the Chateau at Oregon Caves Na-
tional Monument, 20 miles east of Cave Junction, on Thursday,
May 1 is proceeding, and CRT staffers are busy preparing.
More than 40 applications for employment have been re-
ceived, and interviews will begin this week. With the necessary
lead time this year, we are planning a thorough training as part of
CRT’s commitment to provide vocational development for those
who wish to make a career in hospitality.
There was a good turnout at the jurying of arts and crafts on
March 30. Those who still wish to submit work should contact the
CRT office. There is also a “Logo Contest” to develop just the
right look for Oregon Caves Outfitters and to be displayed on
souvenirs sold in the Gift Gallery. The deadline is May 1, but of-
ferings should be submitted as soon as possible. Also, CRT is still
looking for prepared food items (e.g. jams, flavored vinegars,
honey, etc.) to sell in the gallery.
Arts & Economics Centre
The CRT Board voted to cautiously proceed with develop-
ment of an Arts & Economics Centre. It is seen as a large, com-
plex project that merits careful analysis and preparation. The first
two grant applications are ready for submission, but additional
funding will be sought.
The centre would be a dual-function facility; a gallery with
demonstration studios will publicly provide another site for arti-
sans to market their products, and other galleries to promote
themselves. The front area will also serve an interpretative func-
tion to introduce visitors to the valley and refer them to the attrac-
tions, accommodations, restaurants, wineries, and activities.
To have the “curb appeal” to pull over some flow of vehicles
traveling Redwood Hwy., the building will boast the Northwest
rock, post and beam look. Similar to a pinball machine, the goal is
to keep visitors in play as long as possible by passing them from
one business to another to prolong their stay and their enjoyment.
The “back office” side of the centre would serve as a one-stop
business support facility designed to assist entrepreneurs start to
grow their businesses. A business owner would be able to choose
from a range of services and learning opportunities from formal
classes to informal, individual consultations. Fees will be paid
from the Business Growth Investment Account, which will be
established using grant funding for every business that qualifies.
The idea is to reduce the risk of starting or expanding a business
by making easily available and affordable the necessary support
services tailored to each situation.
Marketing -- on-site and through the Internet -- would be a
primary focus. Consequently, there will be computers available to
provide high-speed Internet for training or use.
Legislators
could be out
of PERS rule
The House Public Em-
ployee Retirement System
(PERS) Committee has voted
to remove state legislators
from PERS and into a new
system for retirement benefits.
“Legislators oversee the
PERS and I do not believe
they should directly benefit
from the decisions they
make,” said House Majority
Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend)
who chairs the committee.
“In the 1980s and 1990s,
the Legislature enacted
changes to PERS that helped
create the situation we’re in
today. House Bill 2407 will
guarantee the decisions that
are made concerning PERS
are unbiased,” he said.
The successor retirement
plan will be a defined contri-
bution plan with fixed contri-
butions by the Legislative As-
sembly of 6 percent of the
salary paid to members of the
Assembly.
Legislators elected as of
July 1, 2004 will automati-
cally be placed before July 1,
2004 date. Legislators who
have PERS accounts may
leave their accounts as they
are, or roll them over into the
successor retirement plan.
The bill has an estimated
savings of $202,267 for the
2003-2005 biennium and
$405,533 for the 2005-2007
biennium. The savings are
based on the difference be-
tween the currently budgeted
employer contribution of
20.28 percent of salary and the
6 percent employer contribu-
tion set in the bill.
Applications
for ODOT litter
jobs available
HEY, DEM BONES - A program on fossils, some of which have been found inside Oregon
Caves National Monument, was given by National Park Service personnel on Friday, April 11
in the Illinois Valley branch library. Fossils included the skull of an ancient grizzly bear,
which, when it stood on its hind legs, was 12 1/2 feet tall. A free program on ‘The Ghost of
Elijah Davidson,’ will be given on Friday, April 18 at 3:30 p.m. in the library.
Deadline soon
for Head Start
Those looking for a pre-
school, or who have a child
who will be 3 or 4 by Sept. 1,
are reminded that applications
turned in by the last week in
April have a better chance of
starting class in September.
Phone 734-5150, 472-
4851 or (800) 866-9674 OR e-
mail mneel@sofc.org to re-
quest an application.
Head Start is a nationally
recognized preschool program
started in 1967. Head Start has
benefited thousands of fami-
lies in Jackson and Josephine
counties. Families have testi-
fied how this program has
changed their lives in many
ways, providing qualified pre-
school, social services for the
family, healthy food, parent-
ing classes, referrals to other
community agencies, and job
opportunities.
Tuesday - Saturday
3:30 to
8:30 p.m.
Closed
Sunday & Monday
592-3228
355 Caves Hwy.
Support the merchants who advertise
in the ‘Illinois Valley News’
This summer, Oregon
Dept. of Transportation ex-
pects to hire approximately
250 youth statewide to clean
up litter along state highways
as part of the Youth Litter Pa-
trol program.
While the crews primarily
pick up litter, duties may also
include graffiti removal and
general landscape mainte-
nance. A typical crew includes
a crew leader and two or more
crew members.
Youth Litter Patrol crew
members earn $7.49 an hour
to start. Crew leaders earn
$8.08 per hour. Crew leaders
must be at least 18 with a
valid driver license and good
driving record. Crew members
must be 16 to 20.
Applicants need to regis-
ter at their local employment
depart. Office before July 18.
A list of the offices is avail-
ab le
on lin e
a t
www.workinginoregon.org.
Interviews for selected
applicants for the summer ses-
sion may begin as early as
mid-May.
‘Courier’ writer
Goracke lauded
Grants Pass “Daily Cou-
rier” reporter Susan Goracke
has been named Oregon’s
Small Business Journalist of
the Year.
She was nominated by
Ted Risser, now retired direc-
tor of Rogue Community Col-
lege’s Small Business Devel-
opment Center. Goracke has
covered business and the city
of Grants Pass for the “Daily
Courier” since September
2000.
In nominating Goracke,
Risser said she has increased
public awareness of the chal-
lenges and accomplishments
of small businesses, and kept
readers posted on business
news and developments. The
award is from the U.S. Small
Business Administration.
205 Watkins St., Cave Junction 592-3333 Bakery & Deli 592-6898