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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2004)
Schools in valley ‘passing’ ‘Bookie’ the sick tiger. (Photo by Michelle Binker) Sick tiger drains kitty CJ preserve facing financial difficulties By MICHELLE BINKER Impossibly beautiful, exceedingly rare, and pain- fully ill. “Bookie” (pronounced BOO-kee), a 9-month-old golden tabby Bengal tiger, suffers from renal failure. She lives at Daniel 6 Ministries/Tiger Preserva- tion Center (formerly Wildwood Endangered Animal Sanctuary) south of Cave Junction. A biopsy has shown that the big cat’s kidneys are mineral- ized due to an excess of phosphorus. She requires an intravenous form of dialysis every day. “This has truly been a nightmare,” said Bonnie Ringo, sitting with “Bookie” within a six-foot high chain-link pen in her living room. The tiger’s problem probably began in August, but the situation was over- looked by the animal’s previous veterinarian, Ringo said. She points out that blood workups five months ago, which indi- cated a problem, went unmentioned by that vet. “Had treatment started five months ago, it would- n’t have gone this far,” said Abijah Bauer, Ringo’s daughter. “We love her too much to let her waste away to nothing.” The tiger’s condition has cost the Ringos more than $15,000, including veterinarian bills and medication. Each trip to “Bookie’s” new vet, in Lodi, Calif. to replace her catheter, costs nearly $1,200 including travel and anesthesia. “Bookie” eats a very restricted diet of cooked chicken or turkey burgers. Her system cannot metabo- lize high-protein meat like beef. She drinks only dis- tilled water, because the mineral content of undis- tilled water is too much for her ailing kidneys. The tiger also receives a regimen of antibiotics, vitamin C, and homeo- pathic treatments. “We’re late on our property taxes and other bills, but we can’t just let her perish,” Bauer said “We’ll do anything for her.” Ringo must wash “Bookie’s” soiled blankets four of five times a day, (imagine how a house cat behaves when she’s ill, then multiply by a factor of 10). “Bookie’s” care-givers are appealing to the public to help with donations of cotton blankets, towels or sheets, laundry soap, dis- tilled water or cash. Robert and Bonnie Ringo own and operate the tiger preservation center, which they said is a feder- ally licensed, non-profit organization dedicated to the support, survival, and preservation of endangered species. For more information about how to help, tele- phone Bonnie Ringo at 592-6065. The golden tabby, an aberrant form of Bengal tiger, is extremely rare. Most sources suggest there are fewer than 30 in the entire world. This colora- tion hasn’t been recorded in the wild since the 1940s, the Ringos said. Snow travel wise warning Josephine County Sheriff’s Office deputies recently received a call that a couple with children were stranded on a moun- tain in the snow. The couple was travel- ing around 9 p.m. with their children on Friday, Jan. 6 to Gold Beach over Bear Camp Road when they became stranded. Although the road was clearly marked with a sign stating it was closed due to snow drifts, the couple disregarded the warning, eventually ending up in a ditch filled with nearly three feet of snow. One of the passengers had a cell phone and called the sheriff’s office Search and Rescue unit (SAR), which immediately re- sponded and located the stranded vehicle. U.S. Forest Service and SAR winched the ve- hicle out of the ditch. All vehicles safely drove down the mountain together. The names of those in the car were not provided. Presidents’ Day holiday noted Public schools, banks and government offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16 in observance of Presidents’ Day honoring Washington and Lincoln. The “Illinois Valley News” office will be open as usual from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The normal deadline of 3 p.m. Fridays stands. There will be no mail service as part of the holiday. By SHANE WELSH Illinois Valley 2003 school report cards are out, and the grades look good. Illinois Valley High, Lorna Byrne Middle, and Evergreen Elementary schools received passing marks overall, meeting state minimum academic requirements. However, Lorna Byrne and Evergreen Elementary didn’t meet the Federal Adequate Yearly Progress Rating due to their student behavior rating being un- der the state minimum re- quirement of 92 percent. Since student behavior isn’t measured by how children behave, but how often they attend school, I.V. principals feel that school report cards don’t take into account all the variables that influence this rating. (Continued on page 5) Trash, poop covered at city council By MICHELLE BINKER “Solid Waste,” its management, and hazards topped the Cave Junction City Council’s agenda. The council heard a presentation about the Solid Waste Intergovern- mental Agency and dog droppings during its meet- ing Monday night, Feb. 9 in CJ City Hall. Grants Pass City Man- ager Bill Peterson spoke about the agency agree- ment as it now exists be- tween Grants Pass and Jo- sephine County. Peterson extolled the agency’s achievements, citing expanded recycling opportunities and a suc- cessful environmental pro- gram fund generated from a $5 per ton landfill fee. The Solid Waste Inter- governmental Agency oversees the waste fran- chise agreements between Grants Pass and Josephine County and the waste haul- ers who operate therein. The agency is prohibited from having any employ- ees or initiating any project or undertaking not spon- sored by the local govern- ments which are parties to the agreement. Waste management services for valley resi- dents outside of Cave Junction are already under the jurisdiction of the agency. Should Cave Junction adopt the franchise, the city would appoint a per- son to represent it on the agency board. The board is responsi- ble for determining service standards, franchise over- sight and audits, rate set- ting, environmental project funding determinations, recycling oversight and (Continued on page 20) COUGAR ACTION - Illi- nois Valley High School wrestled to two Skyline Conference dual meet victories in Ken Mann Memorial Gym on Thurs- day, Feb. 5. The Cougars had four pins against Lakeview in a 48-21 win. I.V. also beat Rogue River 64-12. The girls varsity basketball team wiped out Lakeview 42- 32 in Cave Junction on Friday, Feb. 6. It was the teams sixth consecutive victory, taking the Cou- gars into a tie for third place in the Skyline with Lakeview. Also see page 10. (Photos for the ‘News’ by Alex Eaton) City’s court lists actions Fines totaling $310 were paid to the city of Cave Junction Municipal Court, the city council was told during its meeting in city hall on Monday night, Feb. 9. There were three de- fendants on the docket for January with five offenses. One defendant did not ap- pear. There also were three citations according to the court report. A monthly report from the city contract officer, with Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, was not submitted for the council meeting. DOWNTOWN CJ ALARM - Illinois Valley firefighters responded to a report of smoke billowing from ADI Electric, 115 S. Redwood Hwy, around noon on Thurs- day, Feb. 5. Firefighters found that wood left to dry had ignited while owner Mel Brunkhorst had gone to lunch. (Photo by Shane Welsh) I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals; I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants. - A. Whitney Brown -