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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2004)
Past VP Mondale coming to Selma ‘Joan of Art,’ former Rep. AuCoin guests for Selma Center opening Work is under way on a disc golf course at Lake Selmac. (Photo by Shane Welsh) Flyin’ Frisbees in the air for Lake Selmac By SHANE WELSH Staff Writer Discs soon will be fly- ing through the air at Lake Selmac. A new disc (Frisbee) golf course is under devel- opment at the lake, and it will be open free to the public early this summer, said Mike Strahan, Jose- phine County park superin- tendent at Lake Selmac. The course will en- compass 16 acres of land near the McMullen Creek slough, on the east side of the lake near the day-use pavilion. The project began as a desire to move the park host living quarters to a location that wouldn’t in- trude on park recreation. During the process, it was determined that the area could also be used to construct a Frisbee golf course for public use. Funding comes from $140,000 remaining from the 2002 Biscuit Fire, when the park was used as a fire camp. Although most of the money was used to con- struct a new playground and basketball court, which was recently com- pleted, the majority of the course will be finished with the help of commu- nity donation. Teen-agers at Illinois Valley High School metal shop class are building the baskets for the course us- ing materials donated by the park. Area Boy Scouts will place the baskets in the ground once the course has been cleared and de- signed. Currently, the U.S. Forest Service is thinning a wooded area that will ac- commodate the park host and 8 acres of course. The remainder of the course will be laid out in an adja- cent field across from the park pavilion. “The new course should be open for public use early this summer,” said Peter Schalk, park operations coordinator, for Josephine County. Former Vice Presi- dent Walter Mondale un- der President Carter will be among special guests in Selma on Sunday, May 2 for the grand opening of the Selma Community and Education Center. With Mondale, also former Minnesota attor- ney general who now practices law; will be his wife, Joan; and former 1st District Congressman Les AuCoin, and his partner, Sue. They will be avail- able to answer questions from the community. The program, for which tickets are avail- able, will begin at 2 p.m. with live music. Mondale was a candi- date for president vs. Ronald Reagan. He served as ambassador to Japan in the Clinton Ad- ministration. His wife is known worldwide as “Joan of Art” for her internation- ally recognized leadership in the world of art. There will be recep- tion for her at Clear Spaces Gallery in Down- town Cave Junction on Monday, May 3 at 10 a.m. Anyone can attend, said Pam Cooper of Clear Spaces Gallery. AuCoin is now a po- litical science professor at Southern Oregon Univer- sity at Ashland, and an NPR commentator. “Bring your questions to these international leaders,” said the Selma center. Questions are to be sent to The Selma Cen- ter, 18255 Redwood Hwy., Selma OR 97538, or take them to the center, the former Selma school. Questions and reser- vations also can be di- rected to selmacen- ter@earthlink.net; or tele- phone 415-1000. Park-use fee protests mark council meeting By MICHELLE BINKER Staff Writer Bothered by increased park-use fees, protestors packed Cave Junction City Hall Monday night, April 26. Members of the Cave Junction and Illinois Val- ley Lions clubs, and I.V. Chamber of Commerce were present in force. Approximately 80 per- sons attended, and a num- ber addressed the CJ City Council. For nearly an hour they reiterated the concern that past agree- ments between the city and the I.V. Lions for use of Jubilee Park for its annual Labor Day weekend festi- val were not being hon- ored. The city instituted the use fees to recoup the cost of park clean-up and main- tenance following events. Steve Lyons, president of the I.V. Lions, main- tained that the group is very conscientious about the condition in which the park is left following the event each year. After last year’s festi- val, the city presented a bill to the Lions for repairs and clean-up. Lyons said the Lions would have been happy to make the neces- (Continued on page 10) Primary election ballots on tap Ballots for the Tues- day, May 18 primary election are to be mailed by Josephine County Clerk’s Office on Friday, April 30. They must be re- turned by 8 p.m. to the elections office to be counted. Postmarks do not count, said JoCo Clerk Georgette Brown. However, ballots can be deposited up to 8 p.m. on election day at Cave Junction City Hall. Or they can be taken to the elections office in the county courthouse in Grants Pass by 8 p.m. Among other con- tests, the vote-by-mail ballot shows the candi- dates for two seats on the JoCo Board of Commis- sioners. Registered voters are urged to review the “Voters’ Pamphlet,” which was sent last week. County schools chief resigns PLAYGROUND PROJECT - Lise VanBrunt, Evergreen Elementary School principal, feels the old playground structure needs replacement. She hopes to begin re- placement as soon as enough money is gathered, us- ing funds left over from the school’s annual fund- raisers. Story on page 10. (Shane Welsh photo) ‘Swing into Spring’ home, yard and garden presentation to inspire and perspire. For all the ‘honey-do’s’ that are lurking about. See pages 6 and 7. Dave Burgess, super- intendent of Three Rivers Community School Dis- trict, will leave at the end of June, at least partially because he feels that Ore- gon is neglecting its com- mitment to education. Burgess has served two years. When hired, he indicated a long-term commitment. But he said he doesn't like the politi- cal climate around Ore- gon education, and noted the defeat of Measure 30. It would have maintained funding for public schools. For the fiscal 2004-05 budget, that will run from July 1 to June 30, he will have to reduce the dis- trict’s $38 million budget by nearly $4 million. Burgess is to become superintendent of schools in Lake Stevens, Wash. He came from there when he was deputy superintendent.