Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 2003)
Page 3 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, December 10, 2003 CHRISTMAS CHEER - Home Valley Bank, Klamath First and Evergreen Federal Bank are accept- ing non-perishable food and unwrapped toys for the annual I.V. Christmas Basket Program sponsored by I.V. Family Coalition. The deadline for donations of money, food and toys is Friday, Dec. 19. All food re- ceived after the deadline will be donated to Harvest Kitchen, which provides lunches to all comers using St. Matthias Episcopal Church facilities. WINNER-TAKE-ALL - I.V. Senior Center, 520 E. River St., will hold a “Winner-Take-All” Bingo on Friday, Dec. 12 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the center. Doors will open at noon with the kitchen serving homemade pies plus coffee and burgers. Bingo cards are 25-cents each and the games are open to all. IN REMEMBRANCE - Lovejoy Hospice will present the 15th annual Light Up A Life ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at Immanuel United Meth- odist Church, 200 W. Watkins St. in Cave Junction. The purpose is to remember loved ones who have died. Donations will be accepted at the event. GIFT GIVING - An American Red Cross (ARC) blood drive will be held at Illinois Valley Senior Cen- ter on E. River Street on Thursday, Dec. 18 from noon to 5 p.m. To schedule a donation or for information phone (800) 826-5920. ARC schedules blood drives at the center on a continual basis every few months. Watch “I.V. News” for future dates. ONE-OF-A-KIND - Southern Oregon Head Start students and their parents will make, and then donate, handmade ornaments to be auctioned at Taylor’s Sau- sage Country Store during Art Walk on Friday, Dec. 12. Proceeds from the Holiday Ornament Silent Auc- tion will benefit the Cave Junction Head Start center. Phone Shelly at 592-6023 or the center at 592-3161 for details. HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Selma Community Cen- ter will hold its Holiday Faire on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gift items by area artists and crafters will be featured. A pancake breakfast will be held on Saturday morning from 9 to 11 and a lunch will fol- low on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Phone 415- 1000 to reserve a booth. SEASON SPIRIT- The Shining Stars will give away 18 holes of golf for two at I.V. Golf Course; an introductory flight over the valley from “Wild Air;” a kayak trip from Out-n-About Outfitters and more dur- ing its holiday bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Jo- sephine County Bldg. from noon to 5 p.m. Raffle tick- ets are available at The Pizza Pit or phone 592-2236. The event will also include children’s activities, food and entertainment and more. NUTCRACKER ‘SWEET’ - Several Illinois Valley residents are involved in a ballet production of “Nutcracker” that will be performed on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14 in the Performing Arts Center at Grants Pass High School. Show times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Ayla Marsden plays a gift; Christopher Highbarger is the Nutcracker prince; and Madeline Highbarger plays a tiny party girl and a flower fairy. Clyde Highbarger is lighting and sound technician; Ruth Highbarger is helping with costumes and is stage manager. Tickets will be available at the door, or in advance at Savannah Faire. Notepad - An all-congregations evening service will be held at Community Bible Church, 113 S. Caves Ave., on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 6 ...Shining Stars will present “Jupiter Hollow” at the Junction Inn Tim- ber Room on Saturday, Dec. 13 beginning at 9 p.m. The lounge will be smoke-free for the night. There will be a cover charge...Sonrise Tile and Lovejoy Hospice inadvertently were left out a Nov. 26 “thank you” ad for those who donated to the annual I.V. Chamber of Commerce auction. (Continued from page 2) County. Commissioner Jim Brock has made numerous statements that this is not a valid issue. I beg to differ. In August I brought before the commissioners the specific case of a man- ger in the library system, Dorothy Cook, who was being paid 140 percent more than the two part- time staff members she was supervising. At that time Cook’s salary was in excess of $48,500 per year. The av- erage salary of the people she supervises is $20,186.40. The commissioners’ response to me was that pay differentials are a complex issue. It took a month to even get a re- sponse. In October I brought to the commissioners the in- formation that more than 34 percent of the personnel cost in the library were the salaries, and only the sala- ries, of the four mangers. That was ignored. There is little doubt in my mind the county com- missioners will try to jus- tify the salary difference in a myriad of ways, but the fact is that this is one of the reasons the county is in financial crisis. Cook is not the only overpaid manager. I am convinced that this is the norm, not the exception, countywide. If the county had a reasonable level of management at reasonable salaries the financial crisis would be easier to manage. A comparison of de- partment head salaries to the salaries of comparable jobs with the federal gov- ernment will show that many department head salaries have also grown to the point that employment by Josephine County is more lucrative than em- ployment by the U.S. Gov- ernment. In the end I come back to what I first stated. The way the money is being spent by the county is helping cause the fiscal crisis now in place. There are too many managers, one for every 2.8 staff, too-high salaries for management, almost unbelievable benefits for management (do you get nine weeks paid leave?) and no desire to control any of this is the problem. If the situation contin- ues for another year we will have a county govern- ment of all managers with little to no staff and what staff that does survive will all be part time like they are now at the library. Within a few years we won’t even have that. All the money will have been spent and the citizens of this county will have noth- ing to show for it. ‘KING’ FLING - Jerry Hurley, an Elvis impersonator was the main attraction at the Junction Inn Timber Room Lounge on Friday, Dec. 5. Hurley sang Elvis classics like ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. Crime up, but progress is being made, says JCSO Despite an increase in the number of car thefts and burglaries during No- vember, some arrests have been made and others are pending. So reported the Jose- phine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) to Cave Junction City Council dur- ing its meeting in city hall on Monday night, Dec. 8. The report noted four burglaries, eight stolen cars and 13 cases of theft among 273 calls or inci- dents last month. Regard- ing the major problem ar- eas, JCSO noted, “We have made some arrests and have excellent suspect information on a large por- tion of these cases. “Two suspects have been arrested in connection with two burglaries at the Junction Inn. And the Ma- jor Crimes Division is in- vestigating several other burglaries in our area.” JCSO added that “Eric Griffie has been arrested in connection with a recent home invasion/burglary on Old Stage road. He addi- tionally had numerous warrants for his arrest and was wanted for recent ve- hicle theft. “At this time we are looking for Mike Mac- Donald and Logan Wargin, as they have been identi- fied as Griffie’s accom- plices in the home inva- sion. Those with informa- tion about their where- abouts are asked to phone the sheriff’s office.” In connection with the recent spate of crime, the CJ Citizens Patrol is re- doubling its efforts to pa- trol problem areas. In addition, the group said that a rumor about the patrol disbanding is “just a lot of hooey.” The patrol continues to supplement the city deputy with hopes of ending the recent rash of vandalism and the like. In a related matter dur- ing the council meeting, Mayor Ed Faircloth ex- pressed dismay about only four citations referred to the city Municipal Court (Continued on page 4) TO ENJOY THE FUN appetizers/soup Sun. - Thurs. 4:30 - 7:30 pool all day Sunday & Thursday Cheap Appetizers from $1.50 to $2.50 available only at the bar Timber Room Lounge Events Wednesday, Dec. 10: Pool Tournament/Ladies Night 7 - 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11: Karaoke Night with April Fisher 8 p.m. - midnight Friday, Dec. 12: Our own ‘Imbas’ Band 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (no cover) Saturday, Dec. 13: ‘Jupiter Hollow’ Band from Eugene Presented by Shining Stars. Upon request, this night will be smoke-free. $5-$8 sliding scale cover charge. Friday, Dec. 19: Road Master Band from Ashland (no cover ) Saturday, Dec. 20: Tide Water Group Band from Grants Pass (no cover) EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY *We serve food from 4 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. *We accept ‘to go’ orders as an extra service to our customers