Progress
for Kerby
H 2 O seen
By SHANE WELSH
Staff Writer
Kerby Water District
wants to go with the flow.
And $2,500 will help
the district finish an Envi-
ronmental Assessment
(EA) which would allow
construction of a new wa-
ter line to begin as soon as
funding has met final ap-
proval by U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture (USDA).
Board members met
Thursday evening, April
15 in the RCC Kerby Belt
Bldg. to discuss progress
regarding construction of a
proposed pipeline that
would give residents of
Kerby access to city of
Cave Junction water.
John Plute, board
president, later that eve-
ning received a $15,000
technical assistance grant
from USDA Rural Utili-
ties. Grant funds will be
used to finish the EA and
complete required prelimi-
nary engineering.
The initial EA didn’t
meet approval by USDA
because three required en-
vironmental agencies, the
Legislative Commission
on Indian Services, Na-
tional Marine Fisheries
Service, and the Oregon
Dept. of Agriculture, had-
n’t been contacted and in-
cluded in the assessment.
The two Kerby Water
District board members
present Thursday night
voted unanimously to ap-
prove $2,500 of the grant
funding to be used to pay
Popadoplus, the Portland
firm who began the initial
assessment, to complete
the final EA.
Once the assessment is
completed, it will be sent
to Mona Ellison of USDA
for final approval, which
should be complete by
June 29, said Plute.
(Related photo on page 7)
Adopt-a-Mom
help solicited
by CJ center
Many new moms will
celebrate their first
Mother’s Day this spring
on Sunday, May 9.
This year, the Preg-
nancy Center of the Illinois
Valley is requesting some
special help for Mother’s
Day and is asking people
to “adopt a mom” during
April and May.
Adopting a mom in-
volves praying for the
adoptee daily, or sending
an extra donation or gift
that will help the mother
specifically. The gift item
could be for her baby,
funds for diapers and
wipes, a Bible, or another
creative idea.
Those wishing to par-
ticipate in this short-term
effort can phone 592-6058.
Spring Recycle
Round-Up will be held
Saturday, April 24 from
9-2 at I.V. Visitor Center
(See ad on page 3)
De Spellman & ‘Cowboy’
READY FOR RESCUE - Members of the Josephine
County Search and Rescue (SAR) Mountain Rescue
Unit underwent arduous training recently in the Shan
Creek area and at Hellgate Overlook. The unit will
serve as a support team for the American Medical Re-
sponse Reach and Treat Team (RATT). Cave Junction
resident Ruth Highbarger (left) of the county team, and
John Mann (above) of the Portland RATT participate in
water rescue skills training. Photo immediately below
shows Annetta Cooper, leader of the Mountain Rescue
Unit, and Jim McNutt of JoCo SAR working with a
Stokes basket for removing injured persons. In bottom
photo Mari Kynsi and Doug Walker, both of JoCo SAR,
prepare lines for reaching, retrieving and rescuing in-
jured or stranded persons. JoCo SAR recently added
20 new members for its efforts.
(Photos by Jim McNutt and Michael Gibbs)
Prevention
aide hired
by I.V. Fire
De Spellman, a volun-
teer firefighter with Illinois
Valley Fire District
(IVFSD), has been hired as
the first fire prevention
coordinator in the district’s
50-year history.
Spellman, who was
2002 Firefighter of the
Year, has been a volunteer
for nearly four years.
The stipend position is
part of the new Illinois
Valley Fire Plan, said Fire
Marshal Jerry Shafer.
“She will be organiz-
ing community input into
the fire planning process,
as well as continuing to
provide excellent fire pre-
vention education, for
which she is known,” said
Schaeffer.
Spellman most re-
cently was a fire technician
for the valley’s Forestry
Action Committee, provid-
ing education and outreach
to residents on defensible
space and fire safety, the
fire marshal added.
IVFD, he said, is coor-
dinating development of
the I.V. Fire Plan with the
Josephine County Inte-
grated Fire Plan.
“The plan’s purpose is
to identify community pri-
orities for reducing the
risks of wildfire in Illinois
Valley,” said Schaeffer.
A kick-off community
meeting will be held on
May 19 in the Josephine
County Bldg. in Cave
Junction. The meeting,
said Schaeffer, will be to
introduce residents to the
fire plan and the process
that will be undertaken to
identify the community’s
priorities for wildfire haz-
ard reduction.
“A series of commu-
nity meetings will be held
throughout the valley dur-
ing June, July and August
to elicit participation in
identifying areas of fire
concern, and projects to
reduce fire risks,” said
Schaeffer.
I.V.’s Fire Plan is be-
ing coordinated by Tracy
Katelman, a consulting
forester from ForEver-
Green in Eureka, Calif.
She wrote the Lower Mat-
tole Fire Plan, said
Schaeffer, for an area in
Humboldt County, Calif.
Schaeffer noted that
the plan has been used “as
a national model in terms
of the level of community
participation in developing
prioritized fire hazard re-
duction projects.”