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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2003)
Council OK’s more CJ housing Proposals for a duplex and a five-home develop- ment in the city were ap- proved by the Cave Junc- tion Council during its meeting on Monday night, July 28 in city hall. The vote was 4-0, with Councilman Rita Dyer ab- sent, to approve a zone change request for a du- plex at 200 S. Junction Ave. It was sought by H.D. Patton Jr. Construction. With its approval, the council OK’d Patton’s wish to change the .21-acre lot from single-family resi- dential to multiple-family residential. A public hearing was conducted, but there were neither comments for nor against the plan. As part of the council approval, a zone change ordinance will be introduced during the next council session on Monday, Aug. 11. On his application, Patton noted he believes th at “th is p rop o sa l achieves the public need by providing lots close to the city center for elderly and economically chal- lenged” persons. A 12-foot-wide drive- way will provide common access from the street to and from the site. Councilmen also voted 4-0 to first vacate a three- lot subdivision at 330 N. Sawyer Ave. for Aubrey Roche. He explained that when the plan was ap- proved by the council in June that there was a mis- understanding on his part. He had indicated that three homes would be built initially on the 2.6 acres, owned by Karen Farmer, with plans for five. However, the council approved the plan for three homes, but not five, and so corrective action was needed. After OK’ing the vacation, the council voted 4-0 to approve a five-lot land partition for the sub- division with a number of conditions. They include drainage, water and sewer issues, and a street light on the west side of North Sawyer Avenue at Millie Street, and concrete sidewalks, curbs, gutters and drive- ways. “I think this is a good thing for Cave Junction,” said Roche, who will con- duct development with Li Lan Chen as Echo Park Estates. “We just want to build nice houses,” he said. City Recorder Jim Polk said that the property qualifies as 12 city lots. However, Roche said that only five homes will be built, each with a driveway to Sawyer. “There’ll be big lots with big yards,” he said. Wild Blackberry Festival section coming in next issue of the ‘Illinois Valley News’ Reserve your space! Phillips commended for I.V. Grange dedication TENDER TREE TRAVELS - Nate Pera’s memorial tree and plaque were moved to a new home at Evergreen Elementary School. The tree stands next to his brother, Nicky’s, memorial tree. Nate’s tree was planted at Lorna Byrne Middle School but had to be moved due to the building of the new campus. Nate died in 1993 and Nicky died in 1986. Tree movers included (photo above, from right) Sam Michel, Joseph Escalona, Tom Rogers, Larry Pera and Aaron Barber. (Photo by Steve Fairchild) Spotted knapweed may require poison By STEVE FAIRCHILD Staff Writer Hand-pulling spotted knapweed to eradicate it from Onion Camp isn’t working quickly enough and herbicides may be the next step. That announcement was made by Cecile Shohet, a botanist from the Illinois Valley Ranger Dis- trict, during a public meet- ing concerning the treat- ment status of the noxious weed held at the Josephine County Bldg. in Down- town Cave Junction on Wednesday, July 23. Members of the United States Forest Service (USFS), Forestry Action Committee (FAC) and Siskiyou Regional Educa- tion Project were on hand to discuss the project. The groups have made it a priority to try to rid Onion Camp, located south of Cave Junction, of the weed by hand-pullingor covering the weeds with black plastic this season. The weed is consid- ered a threat to native plant species and it can fill niches that other weeds don’t. It also has the poten- tial to thrive in the area burned in the Biscuit Fire. The decision to hand- pull the weed was made after more than 30 citizens voiced strong opposition to using herbicides, but hand- pulling hasn’t been as suc- cessful as the forest service had hoped it would be. “Honestly, I really feel like we haven’t done a good job at Onion Camp,” Shohet said. “I feel like we should use herbicides.” Hand-pulling will con- tinue for the rest of the year while an Environ- mental Assessment on the use of herbicides at Onion Camp is completed. The forest service is aiming to satisfy several goals by hand picking the weed this year. Its targets are to: try to reduce the population of spotted knapweed by 60 percent from year to year, prevent the weed from moving beyond 20 feet from the roadway (it usu- ally thrives in travel corri- dors), and to prevent flow- ering or seed sets. After monitoring a dense area of weed growth and weed clumps in the Onion Camp area with members of FAC, Shohet stated that hand-pulling isn’t meeting those targets. “I give us credit for being a little flexible on this,” Shohet said of the chemical-free approach to removing the weeds. “Honestly, I believed pull- ing would work. It was really done with good in- tentions.” The FAC received $4,000 from the USFS to dedicate to hand-pulling, according to Susan Chapp, FAC president. Chapp hired eight weed pullers at $10 per hour for the job. It takes an hour by car on dirt and washboard roads to reach the camp, she said. Chapp said that her dedicated handpickers have done a great job mak- ing sure the weeds don’t go to seed at Onion Camp. Their efforts include spending more than two hours covering plants with black plastic on Friday, July 25. Chapp added she was surprised to hear Shohet’s statement that hand-pulling wasn’t work- ing. “We know we are do- ing an absolutely great job,” Chapp said. “She (Shohet) made it sound like a total mess and it’s not. We’re doing a good job.” Steve Bulkin from the USFS office in Medford spent the rest of the meet- ing focusing on the pros and cons of using herbi- cides. The two herbicides (Continued on page 8) GETTIN’ IN THE SWIM - The Klamath First Bank girls in Cave Junction dressed in various stages of beach attire to show their support of the Cave Junction Pool. Pool schedules are available at Klamath First and other businesses throughout Cave Junction. (Photo by Sam Newton) By BRITT FAIRCHILD Staff Writer Being named Oregon State Grange “Volunteer of the Year” likely comes as no surprise to those who know Tammie Phillips. After 16 years of Illi- nois Valley Grange mem- bership, and membership on the national grange level, her dedication to helping others seems only to strengthen with time. But for Tammie, a charismatic woman who appears more comfortable baking cookies or discuss- ing the importance of test- ing newborns for hearing loss than talking about her- self, the honor still feels a bit overwhelming. “I’ve never been nomi- nated for such an award,” Tammie said. “I was sur- prised. I was impressed.” Tammie’s husband, Ken, who is Oregon State Grange community ser- vices director, presented her the award during a state grange convention at Phoenix High School on June 27. He remembered the announcement catching his wife off guard. She was at the time assisting T. Lund of I.V. High, who was named Oregon State Grange “Teacher of the Year,” and Josephine County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Lee Harman, named “Officer of the Year.” She was “beet red,” Ken said. He added that it wasn’t nepotism, but Tammie’s hard work that earned her the recognition. Deaf since age 2 -- a result of an ear infection she suffered at 18 months old while ill with the Asian flu -- she has worn hearing Tammie Phillips aids almost her entire life. Yet she has never let the disability get in the way of her goals, or assist- ing others. Growing up, Tammie was actively involved in 4- H. As an adult she has con- tinued her agriculture- oriented service through grange participation. As Oregon State Grange Deaf Activities director, Tammie hopes her experience will con- tinue to raise awareness and protection for the hear- ing impaired. She already has voiced support on behalf of the grange on state legislation. She submitted written tes- timony twice on Senate Bill 401, which put into law that in all Oregon hos- pitals and birthing centers with more than 200 live (Continued on page 8) Community planner aims to improve Illinois Valley Al Koski is using a SWAT approach to get a snapshot of the Illinois Valley community. But in this case, SWAT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses And Threats” in an effort to determine the percep- tions, hopes and plans for improving the valley in many areas. Koski, who has been involved in community development work for 11 years, also has worked for Rogue Community Col- lege. He most recently, since 1997, was director of economic development for Josephine County. The position was eliminated as of July 1, the start of the 2003-04 fiscal year, because of budget woes. He also has worked with Southern Oregon Economic Development Inc. on economic issues regarding Illinois Valley. Koski, who figures he’ll be working about an- other month on the com- munitywide survey, al- though not full time, said he’s doing so through un- used grant money accumu- lated by the former depart- ment he headed. Using a 10-question survey, Koski plans to in- terview and discuss a “strategic assessment” with some 80 valleyites. Those interviewed will represent the valley from Takilma and O’Brien to Cave Junction, Kerby and Selma, he said. Participants will be representative of the val- ley’s varied age groups and occupations. “We’re looking for a snapshot of the commu- nity,” Koski said. He’s been conducting inter- views for about two weeks, although not daily. Questions on the sur- vey include: *What are the (valley’s) three major strengths or assets. What is it known for? *What are the best investment opportunities for future development. *What is the commu- nity’s attitude toward change and growth? *What are the major competitive threats (external or internal) to future development? “What three things would you like to see hap- (Continued on page 5)
