Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Page 9
Proper clothing might
keep your child safe
Dennis Strayer
Visitor Center Manager
at Illinois Valley
Visitor Center
Age: 56
Lived in Illinois Valley:
Seven years
How long have you
worked at the Illinois
Valley Visitor’s Cen-
ter?
I’m going on eight years
now. It’s a fun job. We
had a family in from
France and probably
close to a dozen families
from Israel recently
which
is pretty unusual.
What question do you hear the most?
Where are the Caves? How do you get there? When people
find out it’s a three- or four-hour block of time that can be a
big decision maker for folks. The interesting thing about the
Oregon Caves is it’s just about the smallest national monu-
ment in the U.S. and it has a very high re-visitation rate.
What are the most asked about places to visit in the val-
ley?
The Oregon Caves is our No. 1 attraction. It’s a close second
to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Some of the other attractions
they ask about are the wineries, Kerbyville Museum and the
old cemeteries for family history and genealogy research.
How did you get your job at the visitor’s center?
I’ve been working for the U.S. Forest Service for a number of
years in visitor’s services and recreation, and I had a very
supportive boss working at Grants Pass for about 10 years. I
came out here two times before when previous managers left.
I’ve been real heavily involved with the visitor’s services and
tourism for my whole career to it seemed like a natural fit. I
applied for the job and was selected and I moved out here.
Bigfoot seems to be in the news once in a while. Do you
believe Bigfoot exists and resides in the valley?
In 1988, I worked at the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center.
Supposedly that was the original home of Bigfoot and last
year a man had told one of his relatives on his death bed that
he was the one in a gorilla suit (in a video of Bigfoot) and his
wife videotaped him. It remains to be seen. But I remain
skeptical. Seeing is believing.
Ever heard stories of people seeing Bigfoot here?
Not really. One time I was out hiking and answering ‘nature’s
call’ when I heard something walking up behind me. Finally,
it felt like it was right behind me. I turned around with my
flashlight and it was a giant bullfrog. You really get your
imagination going when you are out in the dark especially
after swapping stories by a campfire.
Do you get many reports of wildlife sightings?
Last year we had a number of sightings of bobcats. The year
before we had an issue with a cougar at Cave Creek Camp-
ground. We get a lot of bird sightings. We heard a lot about
some bald eagles a couple of years ago at Lake Selmac. It’s a
real active wildlife area and I have some displays at the visi-
tor’s center.
What are some of your hobbies?
I do volunteer work at the Kerbyville Museum. I do a lot of
nature photography of the landscape and wildflowers. I take
groups out to the Babyfoot Lake area. I took pictures in May
and have before and after pictures on display. The (Biscuit)
fire was just about on the scale of Mt. St. Helens as far as
changing the landscape.
Were you heartbroken when you saw Babyfoot Lake
damaged by the Biscuit Fire?
The whole place from the trailhead down to the lake is black.
It’s so dramatically changed. You live in an area for so long
and you’re used to seeing green and shade you almost take it
for granted. It can be pretty emotional. I understand that this
is part of the natural process. Some people tend to forget that.
What do you like about living in the valley?
It’s a slower pace of life. I grew up in the Portland area and
it’s definitely not something you find in the bigger cities.
People for the most part are very friendly. I think the commu-
nity spirit is still very strong especially last year with the fire.
And we’re in a pretty amazing place geologically; almost 200
million years old. If people slow down and go off the roads to
the caves or into the wilderness they’ll see there is some
pretty incredible features here.
If you weren’t working at the visitor’s center what would
you be doing?
I work a lot with the museum and community groups. We’re
working on a new tourism map for the valley that is nearing
completion. I really like the area. If things work out I would
like to retire here and live here as long as my health will al-
low.
What’s the farthest away place a person has come from
that registered at the center?
Amazingly we had a person from Tahiti. We had teachers
from mainland China and a medical student from Russia.
What do you say to new people moving into the valley?
I recommend that new people get involved in the community.
There is a lot of needs for volunteers whether at the museum
or at the schools or just helping out with the recent crime
wave. That way they could also make new friends. We have
a lot of people that have professional backgrounds in a lot of
areas and people can benefit from their expertise.
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Vanilla. That way you can put anything on it.
— Interview by Steve Fairchild
Did you find it?
The ‘Did you find it’ is a hold over from last
week since nobody found the flower. This
week the first person to bring in the hidden
scorpion to the ‘I.V. News’ will receive one
free potted shrub (a $5 value) from
Dillion’s Nursery & Garden Center
Oregon transportation
safety officials are asking
parents to keep their chil-
dren’s safety in mind as
they purchase clothing and
other items for the coming
school year.
If riding a bike, skate-
board, scooter or roller
blades, make sure children
start the new school year
with a properly fitting hel-
met. Other important
safety gear includes elbow
and knee pads.
When buying a new
bike, be sure to get one
that fits the child properly,
not one to grow into. An
oversized bike is danger-
ous because a child can
have difficulty controlling
it and stopping. And high
center or top tube bars are
a well-known source of
painful injury.
Consider a bike-
mounted bag or basket for
children who bicycle.
Heavy backpacks can
make kids top heavy, lead-
ing to crashes. Brakes are
an important aspect of bike
safety. Be sure a child can
quickly and effortlessly
use the brakes.
Backpacks and bags
with reflectors often cost a
little more but make a big
difference in visibility on
overcast fall days or con-
sider attaching reflector
key tags and other accesso-
ries.
Look for and request
outerwear with reflectors.
A small child in a dark
coat or jacket can be in-
visible to drivers in bad
weather.
Brightly colored coats,
umbrellas, rain hats, back-
packs and other items are
more visible to drivers.
Avoid excessively
baggy clothing that could
trip the child. Baggy
clothes and loose strings
can easily catch in bicycle
chains, wheels and con-
trols.
Shoes with reflectors
show up better in low-light
conditions, increasing
safety. Consider wet and
slippery weather traction
when choosing shoes, to
prevent falls.
Parents who drive their
kids to school must have
the proper safety seats,
booster seats and/or safety
belts. Oregon law requires
specific types of restraint
systems depending on the
child’s size and age. For
more information on child
passenger safety, visit
www.actsoregon.org.
For more information,
visit the ODOT Transpor-
tation Safety Division at
w w w . o d o t . s t a t e . o r. u s /
transafety/.
House bills crack down
on driving while drunk
The house of Repre-
sentatives passed a pack-
age of bills to help curb the
incidence of intoxicated
driving.
HB2900 and HB2901
were requested by Bruce
and Anne Pratt and Janet
Lovelace in an attempt to
increase accountability
from Oregonians who
drive while impaired by
intoxicants.
Both bills were spon-
sored by Rep. Randy
Miller (R-West Linn) and
co-sponsored by a number
of Reps. And Sens. From
both parties, including
Rep. Gordon Anderson (R-
Grants Pass) who carried
HB 2901 on the House
floor.
“Most of the legisla-
tion we deal with in the
House concerns what
seems like faceless num-
bers,” Anderson said. “The
bills we passed today have
life and death conse-
quences, and victims with
names and stories. I’m
glad we could do what we
can to discourage this dan-
gerous behavior. “
House Bill 2900 will
create the crime of refus-
ing to take a breath test,
punishing offenders with a
fine of $500 to $1,000.
HB 2901 adds a state-
ment to the state driver’s
license application that
applicants would be re-
quired to state: “I acknowl-
edge that driving under the
influence of intoxicants
can result in serious injury
or death. I agree not to
drive under the influence
of intoxicants.” The signed
form would be kept on file
by Driver and Motor Vehi-
cle Services (DMV), and
could potentially aid in
prosecutions for driving
under the influence of in-
toxicants, as it would
prove that the defendant
knew that his or her behav-
ior could cause injury or
death.
“I have heartfelt hope
that today we will be one
step closer to making our
roadways safe from intoxi-
cated drivers. It is my wish
that no other family suffer
the needless, wasteful,
devastating loss that we
have,” said Springfield
resident Anne Pratt after
the bill passed.
Pratt lost her 23-year-
old son, Brian Hood, to a
drunk driver in 1998.
Cherish forever what makes you unique,
because you’re really a yawn of goes.
- Bette Midler -
Taylor’s Special:
Sliced lunchmeats - Premiere Brand
Roast Beef * Pastrami
$4.99 lb.
Single-dip Umpqua Ice Cream cones - $1
****August &September Events: 7-10 p.m.****
*Thursday, Aug. 28
Fund-raiser for I.V. Football Program
Open mic’ with Jake Thompson
Fund-raiser Dinner Specials -
Hot Dog - $4, Hamburger - $6 or New York Steak - $8
Dinner includes French fries & salad
*Friday, Aug. 29
Sequoia - Bluegrass
*Friday, Sept. 5 - IMBAS - Celtic Rock
Come-one, Come-all Scrabble games
*DINNERS SERVED*
Thursday, Friday & Saturday - Starting at 5 p.m.