Top sportsmanship
Three of five Biscuit
Salvage sales sold
LL All-Star
team wins
state prize
By SHANE WELSH
Staff Writer
For the first time in the
history of Illinois Valley
Little League Baseball, the
I.V. Junior All-Stars com-
peted in state champion-
ship competition in Bend
and won the Sportsman-
ship Award.
To go to Bend, I.V. led
Rogue River during a 5-
game series to cinch state
competition.
Trailing Rogue River
by 1 point in the bottom of
the seventh inning (game 4
of the 5-game series in
Cave Junction), I.V. pulled
out a 7-6 win.
The All-Star competi-
tion began with a double-
header on Saturday, July
10 at Jubilee Park in CJ.
During game 1, I.V.
held the lead over RR 11-
10 after six innings, with
pitcher William Crowl.
Pitcher Doug Hoskins fin-
ished the seventh inning
with I.V. winning 13-12.
Game 2 marked the
second victory for I.V.
Jack Anderson pitched all
seven innings. Player #4,
Chris Carlton, drew first
blood in the second inning
with a scoring run fol-
lowed by 3 additional runs
scored by his teammates.
I.V. took home the win,
11-7 over RR.
On Monday, July 12,
I.V. played its third game
of the series. The team up-
set RR in the fourth with a
triple-play aided by player
#3, Antonio Escalante,
who tagged RR’s Kyle
Owen out at first base,
then threw to second base
for an out by Carlton; fol-
lowing a fly ball pitched
and caught by Crowl.
Despite valiant team
efforts, I.V. suffered a dis-
heartening 10-17 loss to
RR who led 4-0 at the top
of the second inning.
Crowl finished the game,
following pitcher Andrew
Augustadt, after the first
three innings.
However, I.V. once
again demonstrated its All-
Star talent in game 4.
Tension mounted with
I.V. trailing RR 6-5 at the
bottom of the seventh.
Crowell tied the score 6-6
after stealing third, putting
him in position for a score
off Escalante’s base hit.
With RR still reeling
from the tie, Escalante
scored the winning run off
a base hit by player #6,
Jesse Fullerton; bringing
I.V. to a 7-6 victory.
Gary Gentry, District 8
representative, presented
the All-Star team its first-
place trophy. For its ac-
complishments, Rogue
River was presented a sec-
ond-place trophy.
Following the games,
coach Keith Fisher went
into the community to
gather more than $1,800 in
donations to pay for the
team’s trip to its first state
championship.
(Continued on page 8)
FLOAT FLY AND ‘EXTREME’ - Rogue Valley Flyers held its annual Float Fly at Lake
Selmac on Saturday, July 17 (top), while Cross Quest Expeditions held an ‘I.V. Ex-
treme’ event at Jubilee Park in Cave Junction the same day. The Float Fly involved
radio-controlled model boats and aircraft. ‘Extreme’ included free games, refresh-
ments and live entertainment. (Additional photos on page 8).
Of the five timber
sales offered Friday, July
16, as part of the Biscuit
Recovery Project by
Rogue River-Siskiyou Na-
tional Forest, three were
sold.
“I am pleased to be to
be moving forward (with)
this portion of our recov-
ery activities,” said Scott
Conroy, forest supervisor
for Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest. “The sale
of this timber to local com-
panies will provide jobs,
wood products, and impor-
tant funding for other res-
toration work.”
Regional Forester
Linda Goodman has
granted an Emergency
Situation Determination
for these sales. This means
that work can begin imme-
diately after the sales are
awarded.
Two of the sale areas,
Fiddler and Berry, are in
Late Successional (old
growth) Reserves, while
the Indi Sale is in a Matrix
Area, as designated by the
Northwest Forest Plan.
The apparent high bid-
der for the Indi Salvage
Sale is East Fork Lumber
of Myrtle Point, which bid
$304 per thousand board
feet (mbf), or $1.9 million,
three times the advertised
rate. The Indi Sale will
harvest 153 acres for 6.3
million board feet (mmbf).
CLR Timber Holdings
Inc. of Brookings is high
bidder for the Berry Sal-
vage Sale, bidding the ad-
vertised $42.61 per mbf for
a half-million dollar sale.
Silver Creek Timber of
USFS cites jobs,
wood products,
restoration results.
Merlin is the high bidder
for the 697-acre, 14.5
mmbf Fiddler Salvage
Sale. Silver Creek bid the
advertised $73.25 per mbf
for a total sale of approxi-
mately $1.1 million.
There were no bidders
for the Flattop or Cedar
Salvage sales.
The Biscuit Fire, lo-
cated in Southwestern Ore-
gon and Northern Califor-
nia, began on July 13,
2002 and grew to 499,965
acres. On approximately
half the burned acreage,
greater than 75 percent of
the vegetation was de-
stroyed.
One of Oregon’s larg-
est fires in recorded his-
tory, the Biscuit Fire
burned most of the
Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
(Related story on page 9)
County unemployment
up a bit to 7.1 percent
Missing man’s family issues heartfelt
plea at party noting his 22nd birthday
A celebration of his
22nd birthday was held for
Cave Junction resident
Domingo Company-
Ramirez Tuesday, July 20.
There was a cake with
candles; his fiancée; family
and friends; and refresh-
ments.
But the young man
being honored was absent.
He’s been missing
since June 5 after going
camping in the Kelly Lake
area, on the Oregon-
California border.
On Tuesday, his
mother and father, of
Selma, issued a plea during
the party in Jubilee Park in
Cave Junction.
With her husband,
Javier Company, beside
her, plus the missing man’s
fiancée, Breanne; and his
grandparents, Selma resi-
dents, Charlie and Dixie
Valdez, the missing man’s
mom addressed those who
know where her son is.
“I want to tell those
people who have taken
Domingo from us that they
could have come to us with
any problems they might
have had with him,” she
said, “and we could have
helped.
“Instead, you have
caused an eternity of emo-
tional heartbreak to our
family and friends.
“For those who know
where Domingo is, tell us
where we can find him so
we can bring him home.
“The ‘Illinois Valley
News’ has offered to ac-
cept all anonymous, writ-
ten information of where
Domingo is so he can be
found. Information can be
left at the front door of the
newspaper office.”
Showing emotion,
Company-Ramirez said,
“Domingo - your family
and friends miss you
dearly, and will never stop
looking for you until you
come home to us.
“Domingo - come
back home!”
The gathering Tuesday
included opportunities for
attendees to record their
thoughts about Domingo in
a book, plus single sheets
for writing letters and re-
turning them to the family.
A $10,000 reward is
offered by Domingo’s
grandfather for informa-
tion that will lead to the
whereabouts of Domingo.
Employment in Jose-
phine County rose by 360
jobs during June, said Ore-
gon State Employment
Dept. (OED).
During the past 12
months
Josephine
County’s payroll job count
rose by 470 jobs; a growth
rate of 2 percent. Total
employment for Josephine
County in June was ap-
proximately 30,440 work-
ers; up 621 jobs from June
2003.
As more people enter
the work force during sum-
mer months, the result is
typically a slight increase
in the county’s unemploy-
ment rate. County unem-
ployment rose slightly,
inching up from 6.7 per-
cent in May to 7.1 percent
in June.
Josephine County’s
unemployment rate has
fallen by about 2 percent
since June 2003, when it
stood at 8.9 percent.
Seasonal upturn in a
number of industries con-
tributed to the gain in pay-
roll jobs in June. Construc-
tion added 50 jobs in June
with an increase of 130
jobs since June 2003.
Manufacturing also
added 50 jobs in June.
During the past year,
manufacturing employ-
ment rose by 230 jobs.
These two sectors account
for three-quarters of the
county’s nonfarm payroll
job growth since June ‘03.
Retail trade employ-
ment added 40 jobs in June
this year and is up by the
same amount for the year.
Food and beverage stores
shed 20 jobs during the
past 12 months. Health-
care and social assistance
employment, while un-
changed during the month,
is another sector that con-
tributed to the county’s job
growth since June 2003.
This sector has increased
employment by 130 jobs
since June last year.
Government employ-
ment also gained 50 jobs in
June, with all of that in-
crease occurring in the lo-
cal government sector.
During the past year, gov-
ernment employment in
Josephine County has
fallen by 180 jobs, with a
loss of 140 local education
jobs contributing to most
of the decline, said OED.
Unemployment Rates
June
2004
May
2004
Josephine County
7.1
Jackson County
6.4
Oregon (“raw”)
6.8
Seasonally Adjusted 6.9
United States (“raw”) 5.8
Seasonally Adjusted 5.6
6.7
5.9
6.5
6.8
5.3
5.6
God bless America
June
2003
8.9
8.0
8.6
8.7
6.5
6.3