Protests
planned
on Biscuit
WWII vets
memorial
at Selmac
Recovery project
final EIS released;
Greenpeace coming
Removing 370 million
board feet of fire-killed
wood from the Biscuit Fire
area is proposed, and indi-
cations are that Green-
peace and possibly Earth
First! will conduct “eco-
resistance” efforts in and
around Illinois Valley this
summer.
In addition, the plan
includes a pioneering re-
search proposal for a
Landscape Management
Experiment on Restoring
Late-Successional Forest
Habitat.
Cave Junction-based
Siskiyou Project has tried
to communicate with
Greenpeace, and it is not
involved with that organi-
zation’s plans, said Don
Smith, Siskiyou Project
executive director.
“We’re pretty much
out of the loop,” he said.
In connection with
Biscuit Fire salvage,
Greenpeace earlier an-
nounced that it would es-
tablish its first “forest res-
cue station” in the country
on public land in Josephine
County.
The Greenpeace sta-
tion is located on Bureau
of Land Management
(BLM) land at the Kelsey-
Whisky Timber Sale site,
approximately 35 miles
northwest of Grants Pass.
(Continued on page 13)
Waiver set
for aiding
Medicaid
TO SAVE A LIFE - Illinois Valley volunteer and staff
firefighters, with American Medical Response medics,
stayed with an injured Nathan A. Ross, 20, of Washing-
ton state, who fell asleep and crashed his pickup truck
on Redwood Hwy. in Selma just south of Fort Hay
Ranch at 6:35 a.m. on Friday, May 28. The care and
Music, food, crafts features of Shining Stars Festival
Southern Oregon’s
largest music festival will
be back in Illinois Valley
on Friday through Sunday,
June 4, 5 and 6 at Lake
Selmac under sponsorship
of The Shining Stars, a
not-for-profit organization
A waiver from the
U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services to help
Oregon improve its nurs-
ing home industry is ap-
plauded by U.S. Sens. Ron
Wyden (D-Ore.) and
Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).
The waiver will allow
Oregon to provide better
Medicaid reimbursements
to the state’s nursing
homes. And it will attract
additional Medicaid
matching funds, according
to the senators.
Rate increases “will be
used to enhance working
conditions for employees
and improve the quality of
care they provide to cli-
ents.”
Oregon’s reimburse-
ment rates were estab-
lished in July 2002. They
reimburse less than 80 per-
cent of the amount that
facilities spend to care for
Medicaid clients during
2004.
With this waiver, Ore-
gon will move out of the
bottom third of state rank-
ings of Medicaid nursing
facility payments.
Illinois Valley
High School’s varsity
softball team reached
quarterfinals in the
state playoffs.
See page 11
extrication took nearly 90 minutes, as the vehicle cab
was crushed and the pickup was in an awkward posi-
tion. Jerry’s Towing came to help; and Ross was taken
by helicopter to Rogue Valley Medical Center, where
he was treated for various injuries, none of them ap-
parently life-threatening.
HONORING MILITARY VETERANS - American Legion
Auxiliary Unit 70 members placed flags at Laurel and
Deer Creek cemeteries on Memorial Day, Monday, May
31 to honor veterans who gave their lives serving this
raising funds to benefit
valley youth.
The third annual Shin-
ing Stars Festival will fea-
ture performers covering a
wide variety of musical
genres throughout the
weekend, on an outdoor
stage “with first-rate, pro-
fessional sound.”
On Sunday afternoon,
a festival highlight will be
the Dell ‘Arte Community
Theatre Performance. This
internationally known
troupe will give children
and adults the opportunity
to participate in interactive
drama.
Added the sponsor,
“Shining Stars Festival is
woven together by an army
of volunteers donating ser-
vices, supplies and time.
Even the musicians, for-
feiting usual fees, come
from around the country to
raise money for Illinois
Valley youth and soak up
great atmosphere.
“Craft and food vend-
ing booths encircle the fes-
tival bowl area. Folks can
choose between quiet en-
(Continued on page 8)
nation. Junior auxiliary member Matt Ollis (left) places
a flag on a grave at Laurel Cemetery, and member Mi-
chelle Colbert (right) places one at Deer Creek Ceme-
tery. (Photos by Shane Welsh)
By SHANE WELSH
Staff Writer
“Freedom is not free.
It must be earned and pro-
tected from those who
would conquer it and op-
press us,” said Dwight
Ellis, Vietnam veteran.
Ellis, director of the
Grants Pass Chamber of
Commerce, was master of
ceremonies for a celebra-
tion on Saturday, May 29
at Lake Selmac, held in
conjunction with the inau-
guration of a World War II
Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
The ceremony was led
by members of the Illinois
Valley High School Cou-
gar Band, led by T. Lund,
playing U.S. Army, Navy
and Marine Corps songs,
followed by the “Star
Spangled Banner.”
Ellis gave a speech
before more than 100 vet-
erans and Oregon resi-
dents, praising their
“selfless dedication and
patriotism” that helped
save this nation during
WWII.
During the past eight
years, nearly $200 million
was raised to build the
Washington, D.C. memo-
rial. It took four years to
decide where it would go
and what it would look
like, and the last four years
for fund-raising.
(Continued on page 8)
Nicole Navarro
Navarro top
Oregon idol
By CHRISTINA HILL
Correspondent
Illinois Valley is filled
with talented residents.
And 16- year-old
Nicole Navarro, a junior at
Illinois Valley High
School, is no exception.
Navarro, who has been
singing for the past five
years, recently won the
Oregon state title in Amer-
ica’s High School Idol
Contest.
The singing competi-
tion is open to talented
high school students. It is a
non-profit organization
that offers scholarship op-
portunities to gifted sing-
ers, like Navarro. Navarro,
also known as “Idol Ore-
gon,” won a $2,500 schol-
arship and an all-expenses
paid trip to compete in
New Orleans for the na-
tional title.
“The winner at nation-
als will receive a $10,000
scholarship and a re-
cording demo,” said
Navarro.
(Continued on page 3)