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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2004)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, March 3, 2004 His name, the title I hung on him, was “Yankee Clo- ver,” although we never used the second part. Actually, “Yankee Clover” was on the label on a jar of something or other on my mother’s dresser in the Linda Vista section of San Diego. Maybe the jar contained anti-lip wrinkling crème or perfumed lotion made from imported yak feet. Anyway, “Yankee” was the runt of a litter produced by “Dixie,” a Chow that belonged to a woman across Hyatt Street from us. I was about 5 then. Although I do not recall the circumstances of how we came to be the owners of low-to-the-ground “Yankee,” we did. And he was mine; the first pet I recall as a child, not counting the goldfish that I examined too closely – but that’s another story. “Yankee” became my companion, even when he was- n’t supposed to be, and naughtily followed me to Chester- ton Elementary School, much to my mother’s chagrin. She had to make the walk to retrieve the little critter. From then on, whenever I left for school, “Yankee” was kept inside until I was out of sight. He had a big head in comparison with the rest of his body. And when he ran, he did it in bowlegged fashion in kind of a sideways motion. It was sort of like the Interna- tional delivery truck I once drove, but that, like the belly- up goldfish, is yet another story. My dog was with me on my numerous forays into the weedy canyons of then-Linda Vista. Those canyons are filled now, with either buildings or roads on them. But back then, it was a vast wilderness. Or so it seemed to my young mind. “Yankee” and I roamed those canyons to- gether, sometimes with friends of mine, playing games. Mostly we played cowboys and Indians, but sometimes we played cavalry soldiers and Indians. My “Yankee” attracted a lot of second looks because of his odd appearance. This was especially true when he contracted what I think was mange, and his entire body was shaved, except for a neck ruff and his head. It made him look like a tiny, deranged lion. Eventually we moved from Hyatt to Dunlop Street. Don’t ask me how I can remember the names of streets from 55 years ago when I can’t recall what I had for dinner last night. It’s just the way some people’s brains work. After we moved, “Yankee” somehow bothered some neighbors, to use the latter word loosely. Someone com- plained about a bogus offense. A dog catcher came, gave us a copy of the complaint, and said we’d have to get rid of the little beast. I remember that my mom contacted an ani- mal rights woman, who came to our house, but apparently nothing could be done. Actually, I walked the neighbor- hood to find the home of the complainant. And guess what? The address didn’t exist. Didn’t matter though; the complaint stuck. At my age then, around 6 or 7, such matters didn’t reg- ister well with me, as I had no frame of reference. And my parents, bless their hearts, kept the truth of the matter from me. So when Uncle Ed came to take my mom, “Yankee” and me for a ride, I really didn’t understand what was hap- pening. We took “Yankee” to the city animal shelter, off Morena Blvd. as I remember. My heart beat fast, because I sensed something ominous. But it wasn’t until we got back in the car to head home, without my friendly, huggable dog, that it became clear we hadn’t just taken him for a visit. He was no longer mine, and I’d never see him again. My insides hurt. My eyes burned. My throat was tight. Today I can think about what happened then. And al- though the hurt no longer remains, I can still remember what it felt like to lose my furry friend. The ultimate result of shielding man from the effects of folly is to people the world with fools. - Herbert Spencer - Illinois Valley News An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by Robert R. (Bob) and Jan Rodriguez Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as Official Newspaper for Josephine County and Josephine County Three Rivers School District, published at 321 S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523 Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523 Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820 Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330 Volume 66, No. 50 Staff: Cindy Newton, Chris Robertson, Michelle Binker, Shane Welsh, Becky Loudon & Kacy Clement Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association DEADLINES: News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters 3 P.M. FRIDAY (Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be accepted until Noon, Monday with an additional charge.) POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters to the editor provided they are of general interest, in good taste, legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using complete name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number. The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters. One letter per person per month. Letters are used at the discretion of the publisher. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is inordinately long in the editor's opinion. POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE”, DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADS & NOTICES: All submissions must be hand delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for publication. Submissions must be resubmitted each week if the item is to run for more than one week. SUBSCRIPTION RATES One year in Josephine County - $20.80 One year in Jackson and Douglas Counties - $24.40 One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state - $28 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR. 97523 (Editor’s Note: Views and commentary ex- pressed in letters to the editor are strictly those of the letter-writers. * * * Typed, double- spaced letters are ac- ceptable for considera- tion. Hand-written letters that are double-spaced and highly legible also can be considered for publication. Cards of thanks are not accepted as letters). * * * Non-profit fee From Darrell Allen, Jerry Wilkins, et al. CJ Lions Club We want Mayor Ed Faircloth and the Cave Junction City Council to know that after due consid- eration by the Cave Junc- tion Lions Club Board of Directors, it was unani- mously decided to discon- tinue our involvement with the planting and mainte- nance of the flower pots along our city’s main street. It is with regret that we rendered this decision. Gary Biggs’ (head of pub- lic works) personal effort in cementing a relationship with our club to support the city in its endeavors was heard, and we re- sponded. However, with the city’s recent decision to assess non-profit organiza- tions a permit fee for the use of city facilities for our fund-raising events, we find we can no longer sup- port this project. We believe the city’s decision was short-sighted and that it will lose more money than it will gain. The city fathers seem to have forgotten that Jubi- lee Park was acquired as a gift from a non-profit or- ganization. The combined efforts of the valley’s non-profit organizations have a sig- nificant effect on the qual- ity of life of our citizens. Our annual car show provides revenue from out- side the valley, feeds tour- ism and provides support to our merchants. Our members work diligently to provide support to the many needs of our valley. With our small popula- tion, many events are mar- ginally profitable, and this permit fee will serve to further reduce the available funds to continue these and other worthwhile causes: Southern Oregon Li- ons Sight and Hearing Center; Lions Eye Bank of Oregon; eye-glasses and hearing aids for those in financial need; Guide Dogs for the Blind. Also, service projects for disabled members of our community; Illinois Valley Safe House Alli- ance; Christmas Baskets; Cave Junction Cares (Thanksgiving and Christ- mas Dinners). Also, Illinois Valley Fire District; Blackberry Festival; I.V. High School drug- and alcohol-free graduation party; food do- nations to various valley organizations: Lovejoy Hospice; Jefferson Public Radio KSOR; and Tloali Camp for diabetics. We adhere to the Lions International Code of Eth- ics and now find ourselves with a conflict of interest. We disagree with the per- mit fee assessment, and feel that the time spent on the city project would now be better utilized on a pro- ject that does not require the use of city facilities and can replace the loss of revenue created by the city’s permit fee. The Lion’s Motto is “We Serve.” We cannot in good conscious continue to serve those who do not provide support in return. Marriage and taxes From Laurraine Rakes Cave Junction The sacredness of mar- riage has been torn down by men and women for- ever. It seems that infidelity and other things ending in divorce are big business these days. Wasn’t it really more important that two people get married be- cause, God forbid that you should have a child out of wedlock? For those heterosexual couples who have stayed married because of love and respect for one an- other, they truly have something sacred to be thankful for. Sticking it out through the tough times and keep- ing families together; that’s what’s sacred, not their marriage certificate. The piece of paper they get from the court- house does not make their marriage sacred: they and their children do. Married couples are allowed to obtain each other’s pensions and medi- cal benefits for their fami- lies. When one dies, the other can feel secure that their loved ones will con- HISTORY SURVEY - Archaeologist Brian O’Neill on Tuesday, March 2 was checking soil near ‘Second Bridge’ ‘to prevent the possibility of disturbing Indian and European artifacts’ because of a plan to replace the bridge. O’Neill and others with him are from the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology at Oregon State University in Corvallis and were hired by Oregon Dept. of Transportation. (Photo by Shane Welsh) T A I C H I I N S T R U C T I O N O N G O I N G C L A S S E S W I T H S I F U V I O L A B R U M B A U G H 5 9 2 - 2 9 8 8 AT THE SELMA COMMUNITY CENTER MON. AND WED. 6:00 - 7:30 P.M. (Continued on page 3) (Editor’s Note: Permission has been obtained from ‘Featurewell’ to reprint the arti- cle below taken from the ‘Newsday.com’ Web site. Placement of the article in this issue has been paid for by Larry & Elaine Stein. WARNING: The following article contains graphic descriptions of injuries that may not be suitable for all ages). Perhaps the Bush Administration should rethink its position in the Iraq War. Larry & Elaine Stein ‘Haunted by a Soldiers Face’ By JIMMY BRESLIN She didn't know his name. It was on a tag someplace and it had already been logged in. They did that the moment they brought the dead soldier off the plane from Iraq and into the morgue at Dover Air Force Base. The body had to pass through a metal detector in case there was some ord- nance still there. He had been taken right from the dirt of Iraq and flown here. Now, he was on a gurney that was brought right up to her in the forensic dental department. The gurney was up to her waist. She looked down. He had no head. Oh, there was part of his head still there, on the left side. Just a part. No more. The left eye was there, wide open. The startled left eye. "It was looking out as if to say, 'What happened?'" she was saying yesterday. "I don't think he believed that he was dead." She stood and stared at that left eye and the left eye stared back at her. It was light-looking. Bluish green. The colors change in death. The amazement in this eye does not. She began to dream of seeing that face as it was in his young life. A right eye, and a young firm face and cheek matching the left side. He just started in life, she thought. He didn't even have a chance. Did he have a kid? Maybe he lost the chance to see his kid walk. Or to sit on the beach. Or if he didn't live near an ocean, maybe he could sit with his kid at a picnic. Watch the kid wave and stumble as he started walking on the green summer grass. Look at him now, she thought. He'll never see that. All that is left is that one shocked eye. She was held by that eye as if it were drawing closer and was about to speak. She was not some shaking newcomer on her first job. She had spent long months in the New York City medical examiner's office working on what was left of people blown apart at the World Trade Center. And she had worked on several cases here at Dover. Soldiers with faces burned off. Or with little of their heads left. Like this one. There is no face and she sees a delightful young face. Only this time, the thing seemed more than she could handle. She shook herself out of it. The teeth. She stopped daydreaming. It was her job to get the teeth and take X-rays of them. The teeth were not in front. She had no idea if they were in one of the Ziploc bags that come in with a body. She froze every time she had to go to one of them. This time, she had to go inside whatever was left of the guy and find the teeth. There was a presumption of who he was, and the X-rays would be compared to records to ver- ify. Then she charted the restoration of his teeth as they were before he was killed: what cavities were filled, what crowns were on, and compare this to the condition of the teeth postmortem. She was in the middle of the death line for the soldier. First, they brought the bodies off the plane with a general and chaplain attending and then they came into the morgue at Dover Air Force Base. A soldier stood alongside and followed the body through the morgue. There were identifica- tion photos and fingerprinting. They came to the dentistry, after which there was an autopsy and embalming. Then the body was brought into the uniform room, where clothes were put on the dead soldier, if he was going to have an open coffin. There was a room of silence, a grotto, for families. The Army went to thoughtful effort for the families. Despite this, not so many come. After the morgue work ended, the bodies were sent out to their home churches or funeral par- lors. The same soldier remained alongside the body until the last fold of a flag, the final cries. She was relieved and came home to resume her work in New York. She thought about the dead soldiers and mourned. But when the face of the dead young man with the left eye came into her mind she dropped her head and wept. Time and again. She looked at a newspaper and saw Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart. How could they dare put something like this in while there are dead soldiers coming in on planes? There were three dead women killed in Iraq and brought through Dover. They went unmentioned. This made her furious. She began to talk to herself. I am a professional. I have worked in disasters. I must stop this. Then, on this Sunday in February, when she is home only days, she opens a newspaper and goes through it. On Page 18 there is a picture of her soldier. "Sundered by War" the overline says. His two eyes are gleaming with happiness. There is that young, strong face she had imagined. Good-looking teeth brighten the smile. In the soldier's lap, looking out in wonderment, is his 6-month-old son.
