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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2003)
New center is the hub for Selma By BRITT FAIRCHILD Staff Writer For two years, Illinois valley resident Bill Hunt envisioned a place dedi- cated to the people of the Selma community. A town hub, so to speak, where citizens could meet, share ideas, take classes and have fun. He wasn’t alone. Oth- ers in the area wanted the same thing. Now, the volunteers involved in forming a non- profit organization called the Selma Community and Education Center are help- ing each other realize that dream. “Selma needs a com- munity center,” said Hunt, of Kerby, who spear- headed the idea. “What we can do with it is wide open.” The group plans to use the former Selma Elemen- tary School to hold a range of community events from Bingo games, cooking classes and after-school programs, to potluck din- ners and dances and even job training and economic development. Rooms are available to rent by the hour. “We want to do what- ever the community wants,” said board of di- rectors member Pamela Tennity, who moved to Selma almost two years ago from Ashland, a place she described as having a great sense of community. “It can happen here too,” she said. “People think of Selma as a wide spot in the road, but there are hundreds of people living here.” Tennity, who is searching for someone to lead a theatre program for third to sixth-graders, said she especially hopes to see a lot of children activities provided at the center. “There’s no organized program for children,” she said. So far, the group has opened the building for several community meet- ings and held its own swap meet fund-raiser at the site on Friday and Sat- urday, Aug. 8 and 9. Yoga classes are also being offered twice a week and Southern Oregon Sani- tation has provided recy- cling receptacles at the facility as well. A project with the U.S. Forest Service to create a small interpretive museum focusing on the Biscuit Fire is also under way. The group, which formed in June, is renting the building from Three Rivers School District (TRSD) for $10 a year and is also responsible for cov- ering insurance and other expenses. It finalized a lease with TRSD last month after another or- ganization’s lease on the (Continued on page 7) Business owners band together to stop crime Staking a claim for the Cave Junction business sector, a group of down- town merchants have vowed to begin a cam- paign for thwarting a rash of burglaries and vandal- ism. Ironically the initial group, representing ap- proximately 12 businesses, met Friday evening, Aug. 8 in the Jubilee Park pavil- ion, a site visited often by vandals. Those at the infor- mal meeting, called by Mike and Donna Pernicka of Puff ‘n’ Stuff, saw where the chainlink enclo- sure had been cut to reach a soft drink vending ma- chine, which was vandal- ized. Attendees plan to ap- proach the Cave Junction City Council, Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, and the board of county commissioners to state their concerns, list of pri- orities and ask for help. In addition, several merchants said they are sleeping in their businesses at night, and that they are armed. Others said that they are patrolling the down- town area during certain hours, generally between 2 and 6 a.m., although schedules vary. Some are carrying video cameras. One merchant said that her store was vandalized in broad daylight by juvenile boys who threw a cinder block through her front window. “When someone phoned the sheriff’s office they were told there was no one to respond,” said the owner. “People are infuriated at such answers,” she said. Despite the indication that much of the current crime wave is being perpe- trated by persons from about 13 to 22 years old, it was noted that there are many “good kids; awe- some kids” in the valley. However, the group that seems to be involved in the (Continued on page 7) FACE FULL OF FUN -- Downtown Cave Junction came alive Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9 and 10 for the Wild Blackberry Festival. Vendors lined the streets selling blackberry jam and other goodies. Some got a face full of tasty blackberry pies at ShopSmart during hours of pie eating contests. (More photos on page 4 and 5) Hospice information center offers help By BRITT FAIRCHILD Staff Writer Verdene Cagle knows how it feels to lose a loved one. Her husband, Richard, died almost two years ago. He spent the final months of his life under the care of Lovejoy Hos- pice, an organization that provides end-of-life care and support for terminally ill persons and their fami- lies in Josephine and parts of Jackson and Douglas counties. Having hospice help didn’t diminish the pain and sorrow of watching her husband of 25 years go -- but it helped. “They (Lovejoy) took wonderful care of him,” Cagle said. So much so, that in March, she began training to become a Lovejoy vol- unteer herself so that she could reciprocate to others the support she received. Now, Cagle, who is involved in Lovejoy’s be- reavement program, has another way to share her hospice experience and knowledge with those in need. On Tuesday, Aug. 5 Lovejoy opened an infor- mation center at Immanuel United Methodist Church, 200 W. Watkins, in Cave Junction. HEALING HANDS - I.V. Lovejoy Hospice volunteers will staff the new information center in Cave Junction. Pic- tured above are (from left) volunteers Kate Schiffman, Bill Shiery, Outreach Coordinator Judy Hill, volunteer Bonnie Greener, Development Coordinator Pam Allis- ter and volunteer Verdene Cagle. The center is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is staffed by Cagle and the seven other I.V. Lovejoy volunteers. Having a place where residents can receive infor- ma t i o n a b o u t wh a t Lovejoy is and the services it offers, from profession- ally facilitated bereave- ment groups to community education programs and in- home respite care, will better serve the I.V. com- munity, said Kate Schiff- man, who has been a vol- unteer for three years. Schiffman, who pro- vides respite care to fami- lies, became inspired to volunteer after caring for a dying woman who did not have hospice support. Unfortunately, many of those who could benefit from hospice care know nothing about it, said Judy Hill, Lovejoy outreach co- ordinator. “(Hospice) is such a scary word for people,” she said, adding she hopes the center will help change that feeling of the un- known. If hospice can begin working with a family sooner, the easier it is to make that transition. “The earlier we can get people the better,” Hill (Continued on page 7) An ironic view of CJ business owners crime preven- tion meeting through a vandalized fence at Jubilee Park on Friday, Aug. 8. Mayor agrees: CJ needs to beef up its security Cave Junction Mayor Ed Faircloth stands solidly behind a request by down- town merchants to beef up law enforcement to deter a crime wave of sorts. He faulted Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel for not taking a closer look at the city’s crime problems and re- sponding appropriately. In addition, a commit- tee will be formed during the next week to 10 days to brainstorm ways to reduce incidents of crime during the past several months that have cost downtown businesses thousands of dollars in lost merchandise and damage to their stores. The mayor made his supportive comments dur- ing the city council meet- ing in city hall on Monday night, Aug. 11. “I don’t think we’re getting the service we de- serve and pay for,” he said following a presentation by Bob Rodriguez of “Illinois Valley News.” Rodriguez had been asked to outline (Continued on page 9)
