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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2003)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Hellgate owner seeks more room on Rogue for boats By MEDFORD ‘MAIL TRIBUNE’ A proposal to scrape gravel from three shallow Rogue River riffles to make room for excursion tour boats is dredging up an old debate over whether the Rogue should be al- tered for powerboat traffic. Based in Grants Pass, Hellgate Excursions owner Robert Hamlyn has asked for permission to deepen and widen the main river channel in spots he fears his jet-powered boats would be unable to navi- gate safely when flows drop next month. The riffles are White- horse, Wharton and Brushy Chutes -- all within the Rogue’s federally man- aged Recreation Section downstream of the Apple- gate River mouth west of Grants Pass. The corridor is one of the river's most popular playlands, accounting for more than 700,000 trips a year. Hellgate Excursions accounts for about 10 per- cent of the visitors. Federal biologists say the proposal likely will not adversely harm threatened wild Coho salmon. The Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife also chose not to oppose the plan, deeming it no threat to fall Chinook salmon or other species present in those areas. But the proposal irks some river users. They say they object to the attitude that the Rogue should be altered simply so Hamlyn can run his 83- passenger boat through the riffles. Hamlyn, however, sees his request as simply a small, run-of-the-mill al- teration that makes the rif- fles safe for his boats as well as others floating or motoring on a section of the Rogue deemed naviga- ble by Congress. “It’s a navigable river under Coast Guard juris- diction,” Hamlyn said. Hamlyn filed for a per- mit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is taking public comment until Saturday, Aug. 9. The popular tour boats, which operate through September under federal Bureau of Land Manage- ment oversight, skim down the river in as little as 10 inches of water. Ideal depth, Hamlyn said, is about 18 inches. Hellgate boats have run safely there in less wa- ter, Hamlyn said. The three riffles in question, however, have filled in with gravel and need altering for boat traf- fic, he said. In the past, Hamlyn has received a permit to use the surge of water from a jetboat engine to scour out the channels. This time, he seeks authority to use an excava- tor to push 8-10 inches of gravel out of the channels and leave it along the rif- fles’ sides with most of it remaining under water. Page 15 I.V. youth with eye for Nature capture rebirth of Kalmiopsis Young Illinois Valley photographers will be at Tay- lor’s Sausage Country Store during Second Friday Art Walk on Aug. 8 to discuss their work -- a series of photo- graphs documenting the rebirth of the forest in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness since the Biscuit Fire. Eleven people, ages 7 to 17, armed with one-time-use cameras provided by Shop Smart Food Warehouse, ex- plored burn sites in the Kalmiopsis accessible from Illi- nois River Road to discover and photograph the changes caused by the fire. The photography exhibit, which will remain on dis- play at Taylor’s during August, is the culmination of a year-long project, “Learning Through the Arts,” estab- lished and directed by valley artists Penny Niemi and Kathy Ratiu-Kelley, and sponsored by Illinois River Val- ley Arts Council. Romain Cooper of the Siskiyou Project identified and explained the changes the children saw as they explored the burn sites. Niemi provided suggestions about how to create good photographs of their observations. Both photography and forest ecology were completely new to many of the youths, and each has selected one of their photos to be mounted with a written comment for the exhibit. Besides the cameras, Shop Smart supplied the film and the processing. The photographers have used some of their original prints to make “Thank You Posters,” which will be dis- played at Shop Smart. Photographers involved in the project are Jessica Lindhe, Destiny Lee Viles, Raina Kelley, Megan Spitler, Erin Kelley, Rebecca Spitler, Sean Person, Andrew Spit- ler, Alyssa Person, Catherine Sullivan, Patrick Lindhe, and Michael Kelley. This summer’s hands-on event emphasized the con- nection between art and Nature. The second of four learning events this year will focus on the Day of the Dead and will take place in October and November. For further information or to help phone Niemi at 592-6358 or Ratiu-Kelley at 597-2155. Second Friday Art Walk Aug. 8 - 5 to 8 p.m. Jubilee Park Thursday, Aug. 7 6:30 to 8 p.m. Co-Sponsored by: First American Title Evergreen Federal Bank SOFCU Lancaster Rolling Video Century 21 Harris & Taylor (Jim Frick & Steve Lyons) ‘I.V. News’ Additional Listings Besides the program listings Provided, the following also are among those available from Charter Communications. For information about costs that might apply, contact the company. 1-800-338-8838 *12 - QVC *14 - Better Life TV *16 - Home Shopping *23 - Community Bulletins *25 - Fox News *26 - C-Span/House of Rep. *27 - C-Span 2 (Senate) *28 - ESPN 2 *31 - CNN Headline News *33 - Fox Sports Northwest *36 - Country Music TV *37 - Nashville Channel *40 - The History Channel *41 - The Learning Channel *42 - Cartoon Network *43 - Home & Garden TV *44 - The Weather Channel
