Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 11, 2003
BLACKBERRY FESTIVAL -- A Blackberry Festival
meeting will be held on Friday, June 13 at 6 p.m. at the Jo-
sephine County Bldg. in Downtown Cave Junction. A bingo
fund-raiser for the festival will be held at I.V. Grange on
Friday, June 20 at 6 p.m. There will be door prizes and food.
LEAGUE CUSINE -- I.V. Little Leaguers are selling
cookbooks as their fund-raiser this year. Proceeds will help
send several area teams to the all-stars competition in
Brookings. To buy a copy, phone Janet Ewing at 592-4389.
ACADEMY ACTIVITY -- The Josephine County
Sheriff’s Patrol Search and Rescue Unit will hold its first
“Citizen’s Academy” on Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and
15 and June 21 and 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Grants Pass
High School. There is room for 50 students. Phone (541)
474-5300 for more information and to register.
REBIRTH RECORD -- The Illinois River Valley Arts
Council is sponsoring a youth photo project, “The Rebirth
of the Wilderness,” open to first through 12th-graders. As
part of the project, 10 young artists will be selected to pho-
tograph the rebirth of the Kalmiopsis burned in the Biscuit
Fire. Applications are available at Bebe’s Art for Everyone.
The deadline is Friday, June 20.
PLUMP PUMPKINS -- Family Tree Garden Center is
sponsoring a pumpkin-growing contest. The registration
deadline is Monday, June 30. Phone 592-3799.
JR. GOLF -- Sign-ups for junior golf will be held on
Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
at I.V. Golf Course. The six-week instruction for children
ages 5-15 will begin on Thursday, June 19. Adult assistance
during classes is needed. Phone 592-3151.
NOTEPAD: The deadline to submit comments regard-
ing the formal planning process for the Non-Chemical
Treatments of Invasive Plants Project for sites on the Illinois
Valley, Chetco, Gold Beach, Powers and Galice Ranger
Districts is Friday, June 13. Send comments to Rogue River
and Siskiyou National Forests, P.O. Box 520, Medford, OR
97501...Stardust Repertory Theatre in Grants Pass will
open its summer season on Friday, June 13 with a melo-
drama, “Egad! The Woman in White.” It will run until Sun-
day, June 29. Phone (541) 472-9614 for tickets...Several
hikes in the area are planned on Saturday and Sunday, June
14 and 15. For more information, phone (541) 482-1964 and
592-4459.
Oregon DMVs
will get ATMs
installed soon
Soon customers at more
than 75 percent of Oregon’s
Dept. of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) field offices will be
able to use automated teller
machines, according to DMV
officials.
The State Driver and Mo-
tor Vehicle Services Division
has reached an agreement with
Peregrin Technologies of
Portland to install ATMs in 49
DMV field offices throughout
Oregon.
The availability of ATMs
will make doing business at
DMV field offices more con-
venient for customers because
DMV does not accept credit
or debit card payments.
DMV will provide the
space for the ATMs, but Pere-
grin will assume responsibility
for the installation and opera-
tion of the machines.
“Customers have appreci-
ated the availability of the
ATMs in the pilot sites,”
Ward said. “It has saved cus-
tomers a lot of time in many
cases in which they otherwise
would have had to go out to
find an ATM and return to
DMV.”
The first of the 47 offices
to receive ATMs will be the
Medford Drive Test Center, at
1174 Progress Drive.
Although an exact instal-
lation date for each office has
not yet been determined,
DMV and Peregrin expect
installation statewide to take
approximately two months.
Ore. doctors refer tough cases, says OMA
The Oregon Medical As-
sociation (OMA) released the
professional liability informa-
tion gathered from a statewide
workforce assessment of Ore-
gon’s physicians conducted
earlier.
Survey results show Ore-
gon’s physicians are increas-
ing referrals of complex cases
(22.3 percent), increasing di-
agnostic testing (20 percent)
and stopping providing high-
risk services (17.5 percent).
The most frequently re-
ported services physicians
have stopped providing or say
they will consider not provid-
ing are obstetrics, surgery,
high-risk or complex cases,
hospital services and emer-
gency department coverage.
“The OMA undertook the
survey to obtain an objective
measurement of the effect of
the increasing cost of profes-
sional liability insurance on
access to care,” said OMA
President Colin Cave, M.D.
“The survey documents loss
of access to health care at cri-
sis levels on a statewide scale.
The situation is bad right now
but it also appears it will be
worse two years from now.
“And although rural areas
are now suffering the most,
there clearly are serious access
problems affecting health care
in urban areas as well.”
The report stated that in
Southern Oregon almost 31
percent of the physicians prac-
ticing report they had in-
creased referrals of complex
cases (such as brain surgery)
or plan to do so. Almost one
in four report they have
stopped, or will stop, provid-
ing certain services.
Twenty-five percent of the
obstetricians said they have
stopped, or will stop, provid-
ing certain services; 31 per-
cent report they will increase
referral of complex cases. A
whopping 60 percent of the
area’s neurosurgeons report
they have stopped, or will
stop, providing certain ser-
vices; 80 percent say they
have increased, or will in-
crease, referrals of complex
cases.
In Southwest Oregon, al-
most 30 percent of physicians
report they have stopped pro-
viding, or will stop providing,
certain services.
One in five report they are
increasing referrals of com-
plex cases or plan do so. Al-
most 11 percent report they
had already sold or closed
their practices.
More than one third plan
to retire within the next five
years.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
- Eleanor Roosevelt -
WALKING FOR AWARENESS-
Andy Mandell, 58, also
known as ‘Mr. Diabetes,’
traveled Redwood Hwy.
through Cave Junction on
Tuesday, June 3 during the
‘Wake up and Walk Tour,’ to
raise awareness about dia-
betes. His journey began in
Florida more than one year
ago. By the time he com-
pletes his trip, Mandell will
have walked approximately
10,000 across the nation
over three years. Mandell,
who has diabetes, hopes to
draw attention to the warn-
ing signs of the disease and
the importance of getting
tested. Accompanying Man-
dell on the trip is tour man-
ager Bob Brooks, who plans
the travel routes and han-
dles public relations.
(Photo by Britt Fairchild)
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