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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2004)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, March 31, 2004 April 15th intaxication due soon Th e “Washin gton Post's” Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by add- ing, subtracting, or chang- ing one letter, and then supply a new definition. Here are some of the 2004 winners: *Intaxication: Eupho- ria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you real- ize it was your money to start with. *Reintarnation: Com- ing back to life as a hill- billy. *Bozone (n.): The sub- stance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortu- nately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. *Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject finan- cially impotent for an in- definite period. *Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high. *Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sar- castic wit and the person who doesn't get it. *Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late. *Hipatitis: Terminal coolness. *Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.) *Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bum- mer. *Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you. *Glibido: All talk and no action. *Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. *Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance per- formed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. *Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bed- room at 3 in the morning and cannot be cast out. *Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating. On May 14, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, or Cops of Discovery, left its winter camp and started up the Missiouri River. During the next two years there will be many articles and TV shows to commemorate this 200th anniversary. From time to time, I will also include a few tidbits that might not show up in the other articles. A recent announcement by the federal government ex- plained that Ft. Clatsop National Memorial, near Astoria, Ore., would be renamed Lewis and Clark National Histori- cal Park. It would also be expanded from 130 acres to 1,500 acres and would include an area on the north side of the Columbia River in Washington. The Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1803-1804 where the Wood River empties into the Mississippi River. The Wood River Camp is also called Camp DuBois be- cause “DuBois” is French for wood. This is on the Ameri- can side of the Mississippi, because the Spanish officials at St. Louis would not let them camp on the west side. Two events that winter created changes in the political situation of the area. Spain officially transferred the whole Louisiana Territory to France. This had been done pri- vately in 1800 by the Treaty of San Ildefonso, but French officials had not come to St. Louis until 1803. Robert Livingston, U.S. minister to France and aware of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, had been commissioned to buy the Port of New Orleans. Instead, Napoleon Bona- parte, needing money and being defeated while trying to expand French control in the Caribbean Sea, wanted to sell the whole territory. Therefore, for $15 million the United States doubled its area and made the Corps of Discovery legal, at least as far as the Rocky Mountains, the bounda- ries of the purchase were not very definite. Therefore, the second major event of that winter was the transfer of St. Louis and all of the Louisiana territory to the United States. While Meriwether Lewis was in St. Louis for this last ceremony, he arranged for specimens that had been col- lected, to be transferred to President Thomas Jefferson. Two of these items were later discovered to be new to sci- ence. They became the first of many new species found by Lewis and Clark. The first is known today as Texas Horned Lizard, which is similar to the Short-Horned Liz- ard or “horned toad,” which is found in eastern Oregon. This animal will be covered in a later “Tidbit.” The second specimen was a plant, known today as Osage Orange. Its name is based on the Osage Indian tribe, which prized the wood to make bows and had often used the wood in bartering with other tribes on the Great Plains. The “orange” part of the name is because of the large yel- low fruit, only found on female trees, and because of the orange aroma found on the fruits. Osage Orange is actually in the Mulberry Family, as are hops used in the brewing industry. The plants were grown for many years as hedges. The thick, interlocking, and spiny branches could be pruned to make an effective fence. Even after the invention of barbed wire in the 1880s, Osage Orange fence posts were still valuable because of their resistance to rot and termites. The tree is not native to the western states but, according to Dr. Frank Lang in “Nature Notes,” there is at least one growing in Ashland. The scientific name is “Maclura pomifera.” William Maclure was an American geologist who published books and maps on the geology of the eastern United States. A pome is a type of fruit where the base or receptacle of a pollinated flower grows around the ovary creating a core, such as in apples. Osage Orange has a large hard fruit which is a composite of many small pomes. Some bota- nists consider this plant the most significant botanical dis- covery of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Housing Survey Illinois Valley Community Response Team, in partnership with Options of Grants Pass, soon will conduct a housing assess- ment survey. A random sample of households will receive sur- veys in the mail. Besides helping paint a picture of housing con- ditions (useful for grant applications), there is a donated raffle prize. Surveys will be available at the IVCRT office, at business locations throughout the valley, and down-loadable at IVCRT.org. (See story on page 8). Growers Meeting The Cave Junction branch of the Jerry Acklen Diabetes Health Associa- tion will meet Thursday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. in the Illinois Valley Senior Cen- ter, 520 E. River St. in Cave Junction. The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations. - Benjamin Disraeli - Once again, the turnout Saturday was surprisingly light. We are trying to establish a source for locally grown produce to sup- ply Oregon Caves Outfitters (OCO) this season. Our goal is to gain a reputation of excellence for Northwest cuisine built on locally grown, fresh ingredients. Sign-up forms can be picked up at the office, on-line at IVCRT.org, or ordered by phoning (592-4440). Included is a form you can use to tell an approximate production schedule and which crops you would like to grow. You don’t have to be a full- time, “professional” grower to participate. As forms are returned, we will begin to establish production agreements and a pool of growers to call on throughout the sea- son. By sourcing art/crafts for the Gift Gallery and locally grown food for the kitchen, OCO can provide a market on which a new business can be built or an existing business can expand. Certified Public Accountant 592-3630 Office is now open at 234 N. Redwood Highway in the Western Plaza Shopping Center next door to True Value Hardware. Walk-ins Welcome Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Page 5 DRIFT BOAT RAFFLE - A 16-foot Willy drift boat and trailer are being raffled by Glenn Morrison American Legion Post 70. The drawing will be held on May 29 in connection with a Memorial Day program at Lake Selmac. The event will include a barbecued chicken meal, with games for children, and music. Proceeds will help val- ley veterans and children’s projects. For ticket information phone 597-2979. Republicans seek logging rule fix Leaders of the Oregon Republican Party in two dozen counties are calling for the head of the U.S. Forest Service in the Pa- cific Northwest to change a decade old logging rule “which has had untold negative ecological and economic effects on rural communities.” A resolution approved by the Republican dele- gates “from every corner of Oregon” demands that Regional Forester Linda Goodman “simultaneously amend the national forest plans to remove the 21- inch diameter breast height (DBH) rule for each na- tional forest on the east side of the Cascade Moun- tains in Oregon and Wash- ington.” The 21-inch DBH rule was a temporary measure in 1993 which restricts the harvest of trees more than 21 inches in diameter on millions of acres in the national forests in Eastern Oregon and Washington state. The resolution notes that, “Public forests of Eastern Oregon and Wash- ington are choked by low value understory fuels, as well as with mature and over mature unhealthy, dying or dead trees.” Oregon Congressman Greg Walden was recently appointed chairman of “an important Subcommittee on Forestry.” Last year he was instrumental in pas- sage of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. In 2002, Walden and Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith wrote a joint letter to the head of the forest service stating that this rule has increased fuel loads in our national forests and it “impedes us The gentle mind by gentle deeds is known. For a man by nothing is so well betrayed, as by his manners. - Edmund Spenser - from preventing repeat occurrences of catastrophic fires similar to what has already occurred in …other parts the West.” Tim Smith, chairman of the Harney County Re- publican Party explained, “It makes no sense to al- low these forests to sit there full of bug infesta- tions and disease. We should be allowed to cut these larger trees to help our local economies in- stead of wasting our re- newable resources.” Candy Kittle-Mize from Washington County, co-chairman of the Rural- Urban Bridge Committee of the Oregon Republican Party, pointed out, “The support we’ve seen for this resolution has been over- whelming. This issue is an example of how Republi- cans from all over Oregon have come together to re- solve a problem facing one portion of our state. This is a great example of how we’re trying to erase the rural-urban divide.” The resolution, along with a letter from Republi- can leaders, was delivered to the regional forester. MEETING NOTICE: Bureau of Land Management requesting public involvement Re: South Deer Landscape Project Selma Community Center April 7 - 6 to 9 p.m. Opening remarks/Introduction - 6:30 p.m. Poster presentations Questions & Answers with resource specialists 6:30 - 9 p.m. Meidinger Concrete Construction Serving the Valley since 1974 * Licensed * Bonded * Insured Specializing in all types of Concrete and Masonry New - Foundations - Walks - Drives - Patios Mobile Home Runners and Foundations Bridges and Abutments - Slabs - Large or Small Exposed Aggregate - Retaining Walls and Basements Stamped & Colored Concrete Phone 592-4485 Mike Meidinger License #93173