Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Counties to get $158 mil for schools
Oregon counties will
receive almost $158 mil-
lion through the final in-
stallment of the 2003
county payments funds
provided by The Secure
Rural Schools and Com-
munity Self-Determination
Act.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden
and Larry Craig (R-Idaho)
wrote the law in 2000 to
secure a stable source of
funding for rural counties;
U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith
(R-Ore.) co-sponsored the
bill and was instrumental
in its passage.
“At a time when Ore-
gon continues to struggle
with its finances, I am
pleased that my legislation
is providing an economic
shot in the arm for jobs
and our schools,” Wyden
said. “This could not have
been accomplished without
the bipartisan support of
Doug Robertson and the
rest of our county leaders,
as well as the Oregon con-
gressional delegation.”
“These payments are a
lifeline for county govern-
ments. They mean jobs and
a secure source of funding
for rural schools, roads and
county services,” said
Doug Robertson, chairman
of the O&C Counties As-
sociation and a Douglas
County commissioner.
“Sen. Wyden really lis-
tened and came through
for rural communities with
this law.”
The county payments
legislation directs $1.3 bil-
lion during a six-year pe-
riod from U.S. Forest Ser-
vice and the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM)
to Oregon counties for
education, roads and
county services.
The $158 million is the
forest service portion of
the 2003 funding and
represents an almost 90
percent increase in forest
service monies from before
Wyden’s bill was enacted.
The BLM portion of the
funding, $110 million, was
released to Oregon coun-
ties on Oct. 31.
The Wyden-Craig bill
establishes a locked-in dol-
lar amount for rural
schools and counties by
averaging the three highest
receipt producing years
between fiscal years 1986
and 1999. Under this pro-
posal, 80-85 percent of
funding will be reserved
for traditional county
schools and services sup-
ported by federal revenues,
and 15-20 percent of mon-
ies will be set aside for
national forest land or for-
est-related cooperative
projects.
Oregon counties re-
ceiving the forest service
portion of funds include:
Josephine, $2.93 million;
Jackson, $6.14 million;
Douglas, $21.65 million;
and Curry, $5.35 million.
Lane County received the
most, $32.64 million.
The county payments
law will provide payments
through 2006. Wyden said
he is committed to again
working with Craig and
the entire Oregon delega-
tion to reauthorize the bill
and maintain a steady
funding source.
Wyden announces anti-terrorist money
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.) and Gordon
Smith (R-Ore) announced
that Oregon will receive
$2,549,525 in homeland
security funds from the
Dept. of Homeland Secu-
rity’s Federal Emergency
Manage ment Agenc y
(FEMA).
The grant is made
available to aid state pre-
paredness activities and
emergency management.
They include developing,
improving, and maintain-
ing state and local emer-
gency operation plans;
supporting and participat-
ing in community prepar-
edness activities; and de-
veloping a state plan to test
the emergency system.
They include citizen
participation and feedback;
and providing public assis-
1-541-476-2127
Elementary Schools Menu
Sponsored by
‘Illinois
Valley News’
321 S. Redwood Hwy.
592-2541
MONDAY, JAN. 5
*Chicken nuggets,
hamburger, cheese
pizza, peanut butter &
jelly sandwich,
chef salad
TUESDAY, JAN. 6
*Country fried steak
sandwich,
cheeseburger,
pepperoni pizza, ham &
cheese sandwich,
garden salad
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 7
*Corn dog, hamburger,
cheese pizza, tuna
salad sandwich,
Cobb salad
Please
don't litter!
tance training for state
staff. This grant is pro-
vided as one of FEMA’s
Emergency Management
Performance Grants.
Earlier this month,
FEMA awarded $2.5 mil-
lion to Oregon through the
Emergency Food and Shel-
ter (EFS) Program to sup-
plement food, shelter, rent,
mortgage and utility assis-
tance programs for Orego-
nians with non-disaster
relat ed e me r gen cie s.
FEMA became part of the
U.S. Dept. of Homeland
Security in March 2003.
Page 7
DMV changes
noted for ‘04
Oregon residents will
see some changes at DMV
when they obtain or renew
a driver license, instruction
permit or identification
card starting in 2004.
The changes come as a
result of laws created by
the 2003 Legislature and
by DMV’s efforts to
tighten the security of li-
censes and ID cards.
Nearly all new laws and
ID-security requirements
will take effect Jan. 1.
Customers also will
see fees increase for many
DMV services as part of
Oregon’s investment in
bridges and highways dur-
ing the next decade.
Don’t drink and drive.
Illinois Valley
residents and
merchants for your
generous donations and
caring ways. As a result
of your support, the
21st annual I.V. Biker Toy Run
was again a success!
Every child who visited ‘Santa’
on Christmas Eve day at the
I.V. Senior Center received
a new toy and walked away
with a BIG SMILE!!
There are too many
names to list…
but you know
who you are.
Again,
THANK YOU SO MUCH !!