Biscuit Fire
work could
come soon
New charter
lists major
revisions
Decisions on two projects
designed to restore federal
lands affected by last year’s
Biscuit Fire have been an-
nounced by Scott Conroy,
Rogue River and Siskiyou
National Forest supervisor.
The decisions allow for
hazard tree removal along
roads and/or the collection of
special forest products such as
firewood, mushrooms and
other vegetation on a permit-
ted basis. Those interested can
contact their area forest ser-
vice office to obtain permits.
Conroy signed the hazard
tree removal along roads deci-
sion on April 28, and the spe-
cial forest products collection
decision on April 23. A com-
plete description of these pro-
jects, including maps and a
table of roads that will be
treated is available at the Web
site: “www.biscuitfire.com.”
A Draft Environmental
Impact Statement will be re-
leased this summer that will
cover a number of additional
projects, including salvage
harvest, reforestation of up to
30,000 acres, and construction
of fuels management zones.
Claiming that a revised
charter will “eliminate the
constant turmoil and ineffi-
ciencies in the spending of our
tax dollars,” a grassroots
group is pushing for voter ap-
proval of a new charter with
significant changes for Jose-
phine County.
Chief petitioners for Com-
mittee for the Improvement of
Josephine County Govern-
ment are Jerry Smith, Harry
Mackin and Jack Rollins.
They and others spent the last
two years, Smith said, study-
ing the charters of the other
eight home-rule counties in
Oregon. “We took the best
from each of them,” he said.
Smith said that plans are
to gather at least 2,377 peti-
tion signatures by Aug. 4,
which would be 90 days prior
to the Nov. 4 election. The
proposal for changing the
county charter includes seven
commissioners instead of the
current three-member board.
Sept. 4 would be the deadline
for those wanting to file for
four commission seats, assum-
ing the three current ones keep
their seats, which they’ve said
they’ll vacate if the proposal
passes.
If the measure makes the
ballot and is approved, it
would take effect on Jan. 5,
2004, Smith said. Major ele-
ments of the charter change
proposal:
*There will be seven com-
missioners, three of them
elected at-large; four elected
by district.
*District commissioners,
including one comprised of
Illinois Valley and those resid-
ing in the area up to the
Jerome Prairie area, must live
in the district and would be
elected only by voters from
that district. Smith said of the
current three commissioners,
three live in the city of Grants
Pass, and one in rural Grants
Pass.
*A county administrator
would be hired to “handle the
daily operation of our county
business.” The seven commis-
sioners would “be primarily a
policy-making body.”
Smith said that as far as
School rally
against cuts
set May 12
Like numerous public
schools across the state, Ever-
green Elementary School,
Lorna Byrne Middle School,
and Illinois Valley High
School in Cave Junction are
bracing for unprecedented
cuts in programs.
That is, if the education
funding proposed by the Ore-
gon Legislature becomes real-
ity. Currently, the three
schools are looking at the pos-
sible loss of 10 to 12 teaching
positions. As a result, class
sizes at the schools will rise.
Lorna Byrne is looking at
the possible loss of its coun-
seling position and all funding
for extracurricular activities.
The USAF Jr. ROTC program
could be cut at the high
school. In addition, vice prin-
cipal positions may be cut.
In response, Save Our
Schools (SOS) has formed to
show legislators that cutting
education is irresponsible gov-
erning. SOS is a grassroots
organization made up of par-
ent and student representatives
from 22 schools in the Three
Rivers, Rogue River, and
Grants Pass school districts.
An SOS rally will be held
at Riverside Park in Grants
Pass on Monday, May 12 at 5
p.m. to call on legislators in
Salem to stop cutting school
budgets and provide adequate
funding for public education.
Buses will provide free
transportation for I.V. resi-
dents to and from the rally.
Buses will leave IVHS at 4:15
p.m. and return at approxi-
mately 7 p.m.
According to Dave Toler,
SOS coordinator and a mem-
ber of the Three Rivers board,
“This is I.V.’s chance to show
its support for our schools be-
fore it’s too late.”
FUNNY FACES FEELING FRISKY - In preparation for the
Culpepper & Merriweather Circus coming to Cave Junction
on Thursday, May 15, ‘Skeeter’ the Clown visited the Boys &
Girls Club at Evergreen Elementary School on Monday, May
5. ‘Skeeter’ helped youngsters apply clown makeup. Circus
performances will be at 5 and 7:30 p.m. on the field between
I.V. High School and the I.V. Family Resource Center. The
circus is a fund-raiser for the I.V. Family Coalition.
Commissioners will resign if measure passes
Josephine County’s three-
member board of commission-
ers will resign immediately if
a proposed major revision to
the Josephine County charter
reaches the November ballot
and is approved by voters.
“The three of us are very
much opposed to the pro-
posal,” said commission
Chairman Jim Brock, adding
that they’ll resign if it’s
passed. He said that he and
fellow commissioners Harold
Haugen and Jim Riddle be-
lieve that the proposed
changes, including having a
seven-member board with
nominal salaries and no bene-
fits -- and addition of a county
administrator -- would be
harmful to the county.
Under the proposal, the
seven commissioners would
receive $500 per month. They
would be responsible for set-
ting policy, with a “county
manager” overseeing day-to-
day operations.
The current three commis-
sioners each are paid $86,321
annually including salary and
benefits. And that amount,
said Brock, is not that much
when one considers the re-
sponsibilities and liabilities
that come with the job.
Commissioners set policy,
work for the betterment of the
county and deal with its daily
operations, Brock indicated.
“The general feelings of
the board,” said Brock, “are
(Continued on page 4)
Healing comes naturally to I.V. acupuncturist
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
For more than 5,000
years, Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM) has been
used to treat such ailments as
asthma, arthritis and nausea,
among others.
While the Eastern hemi-
sphere’s health-care partner-
ing of acupuncture and herbs
has gained some acceptance
here in the Western world --
acupuncturists in California
gained primary-care status in
the late 1970s -- many still
view TCM as supernatural or
voodoo.
In Illinois Valley, licensed
acupuncturist Jo Anne Stone
is working to help change that
attitude.
“Chinese medicine is what
I call blame free,” said Stone,
who opened Illinois River
Acupuncture in Kerby in July
and spoke at this year’s Dome
School Spring Health Faire.
“No matter what the problem,
there is a physiological reason
for it.”
For example, in Chinese
medicine, there are 20 differ-
ent causes of a headache,
Stone said, noting many inter-
nal problems reveal them-
selves in external ways.
“The strength of TCM is
we don’t have to name (a
problem). We look at the
symptoms,” she said.
Stone uses the pulse and
the tongue’s physical appear-
ance to initially determine a
patient’s (term she uses for
those she treats) problem and
the proper therapy.
Most treatments include a
JO ANNE STONE
tailored combination of Chi-
nese herbs and acupuncture.
Sometimes Chinese massage
and Tai chi are incorporated.
“Herbs especially are nu-
tritious to the body,” Stone
said, adding that they provide
healthy elements lacking in
vitamins.
Often used to ease pain,
acupuncture is based on the
theory that there is energy, or
“chi,” flowing through the
body.
Stone explained that “chi”
moves the blood along path-
ways, called channels or me-
ridians, aiding in circulation
and organ function. If its flow
is blocked or unbalanced at
any point on the pathway, it
may result in illness. Each
pathway, she noted, is associ-
ated with two of the body’s
organs.
Acupuncture -- of which
there are several types includ-
ing the use of heat, pressure,
and thin needles -- then stimu-
lates the movement of “chi” to
restore health.
By inserting thin needles
into the skin at specific points,
Stone is able to penetrate
“chi.” Depending on the pa-
tient’s needs, she then either
gently moves the needle in the
point, or adds more needles in
other points on the body.
“I’m trained to treat many
things,” Stone said.
She has used TCM to treat
a variety of problems, includ-
ing allergies, headaches,
menopause, as well as back
and other muscle pain.
Prior to establishing her
acupuncture practice in Kerby,
Stone, who has lived in the
valley for four years, said she
treated people in their homes.
Before that, she saw patients
for several years at a practice
in the San Francisco Bay
Area.
She also completed sev-
eral apprenticeships while fin-
ishing a four-year program at
American College of Tradi-
tional Chinese Medicine in
San Francisco. There she
learned to speak and read Chi-
nese as part of her training,
following one year of pre-
medicine study.
Stone was 33 when she
started at the college, and had
already spent years teaching
special education.
“I got here (into TCM)
because I was sick,” she said.
As a child, Stone suffered
anemia and digestive prob-
lems. By 30, she experienced
severe joint pain and walked
with a cane.
The condition was later
diagnosed as what is now
called fibromyalgia; she was
told she had early osteoarthri-
tis as a result of malnutrition
as well.
A severe and painful case
of eczema on her hand led
Stone to seek TCM treatment.
“I walked in off the
street,” she said, adding she
had always been curious about
Chinese medicine.
A 1995 American College
of Traditional Chinese Medi-
cine graduate, Stone received
her Oregon state license for
acupuncture approximately
two years ago, she said.
There are particular health
challenges here with the damp
climate, Stone noted, adding
her particular interest in infec-
tious diseases.
“We have more issues
with external diseases because
it’s windy and damp,” she
said.
Stone noted that TCM can
also be effective in caring for
children, particularly in treat-
ing high fever, allergies,
asthma and other conditions
which could develop into
more serious problems.
More information about
acupuncture is available from
the National Center for Com-
plementary and Alternative
Medicine, within the National
Institutes of Health, by phon-
ing 888-644-6226 or visiting
t h e
W e b
s i t e :
www.nccam.nih.gov.
“Chinese medicine is a
lifestyle,” Stone said, “in
which one “strives to be in
harmony with the environ-
ment.
“Disharmony causes ill-
ness. I think that’s really what
the ancient Chinese were
about.”
(Continued on page 4)
Illinois Valley precipita-
tion averages in inches:
Sept.- 1.09
Oct. - 3.60
Nov.- 10.05
Dec. - 12.16
Jan. - 11.17
Feb. - 8.44
Mar. - 7.03
Apr. - 4.4
Illinois Valley precipita-
tion for the last several
months in inches:
Nov. 2002 - 12.5
Dec. 2002 - 19.6
Jan. 2003 - 6.85
Feb. - 6.3
Mar. - 6.1
Apr. - 13.55 inches of
rain, 4 inches of snow.
*Submitted by Chris
Granville. These amounts
were collected in a rain gauge
on his porch in Selma.