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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Omega not ‘end’ for valley’s young musicians
… Bill Powell - Jose-
phine County Animal
Control Officer II
Where were you
born?
Modesto, Calif. It’s
pretty big now, but
back then it had only
about 40,000 people
there. I have three
brothers and three sis-
ters. There’s my oldest
brother, Danny; Linda is my oldest sister; plus Ron,
Geanie, and Donna. I was the youngest boy. Now I’ve
been married to my wife, Donna, for 23 years. We also
have a son, Billy.
Did you have a good relationship with your sisters
and brothers?
Well, the story from each kid is always different. I
think I had a perfect childhood. We had a farm and leased
a dairy, so we never had a lack for something to do. I was
up at 4 a.m. every day dealing with the cows, and when I
got off the bus after school, I was right back at it. Since I
was the youngest boy, I bottle-fed the calves and my dad
and brothers milked the cows. After that, we cleaned up
and headed off to school. I went to Kerby Union, and
graduated from Illinois Valley High School in 1971.
When did you come to Illinois Valley?
I’ve lived here since 1960, since third grade, when my
parents moved us here. I left for about eight months and
went to work for the county in Modesto. When I came up
for my 10-year class reunion, I never went back. It’s
home here. I grew up here and know most of the people
here; I just feel more comfortable here.
What is an animal control officer II?
There are two statuses. The first can’t handle humane
complaints, the second can; that’s basically checking on
animals that have been mistreated. It all started 10 years
ago when I applied for a soliciting job with animal con-
trol. I went door-to-door selling dog licenses. Since I had
a background in law enforcement (I was a city police offi-
cer and also did bike patrol), the country offered me a
permanent position as animal control officer.
What kind of complaints do you deal with?
I deal with complaints that are called into the office.
Lots of barking dogs, livestock running loose, and hu-
mane complaints; I guess a little bit of everything. The
funniest one was when one of the other officers I worked
with got a call on a 600-pound pig. The officer found that
if he walked away, it would just follow him. The pig
would then put its snout between his legs and flip him. It
did this a couple of times before he finally just crawled
away.
While doing animal control, I’ve become a lot more
aware how people treat animals. When I first started, until
about four years ago, I used to have to euthanize animals
too. We don’t have to any more; we hired vet-techs to do
that. People just don’t realize how important it is to li-
cense their dogs. If it’s got a license, then I can get it back
to the owner. I would much rather get a dog home.
I have two dogs: “Bobby,” a healer, and “Bruno,” a
rott. He’s really just a big baby; he sleeps on the bed
every night.
What’s your favorite ice cream?
Chocolate. I’m a chocolate freak.
- Interview and photo by Shane Welsh
Agencies work to improve
food handling for children
Improving food safety
in child-care facilities and
streamlining food handler
training and certification of
providers is the goal of a
new intergovernmental
agreement.
The agreement is be-
tween the Oregon Dept. of
Human Services (DHS)
and the Oregon Employ-
ment Department’s Child
Care Division (CCD).
“A child-care care set-
ting is quite different from
a restaurant,” said DHS.
“Under this new arrange-
ment, child-care providers
learn food safety on the job
and the training is tailored
to their work.”
In Oregon, there are
around 90,000 children in
6,000 regulated child-care
facilities, CCD said.
In the past, a child-
care provider’s only option
was to take required food
handler classes offsite, and
that training was targeted
to restaurant workers. Lo-
cal health departments of
DHS handled certification.
“This new arrange-
ment helps us better serve
our child-care providers by
offering additional training
alternatives,” said CCD.
Riverside Physical Therapy
Full Rehabilitation
Services:
Physical Therapy
Occupational
Therapy
Speech Therapy
TWO LOCATIONS
TO SERVE YOU
Cave Junction Office
218 N. Redwood Hwy.
(541) 592-6580
grants Pass Office
1619 N.W.
Hawthorne Ave.
Suite 109
(541) 476-2502
Jeff Wood, M.S., P.T.
By CHRISTINA HILL
Correspondent
Three Rivers School
District budget cuts have
affected more than just
students. The removal of
essential funding has af-
fected community resi-
dents as well.
However, instead of
complaining about it, a
husband-and-wife team
decided to take matters
into their own hands.
Roan and Kandace
McClure, residents of Illi-
nois Valley, started a pri-
vate foundation, known as
The Omega Foundation,
more than four years ago.
“Our mission is to pro-
vide opportunities for chil-
dren and the youth of the
valley for music, whether
it’s by buying musical in-
struments or by buying
equipment,” said Kandace.
“There’s such a lack of
finances here in the valley,
and having youth not be
able to express themselves
musically can be a huge
detriment to them.
“That’s why we’re
trying to build up the fi-
nances in our trust so that
we can help promote the
music in the valley.”
Funding the founda-
tion hasn’t been easy ei-
ther, they say.
“The Omega Founda-
tion is a private family
charity foundation that has
a 501(c)(3) status,” Roan
explained. “It’s privately
funded. We can accept
donations, which are tax
deductible, but we can’t
advertise. That’s the differ-
ence between a public
charity and a private char-
ity,” he said.
Roan and Kandace
have musical backgrounds
that have motivated them
to establish their founda-
tion.
“My wife was in an
award-winning high school
band and orchestra,” said
Roan. “Both of us know
the power of music in edu-
cation and life.”
After high school,
Kandace was a music ma-
jor in college for a while
and adds that her hus-
band’s grandmother was
an opera singer, “So we’ve
always been surrounded by
music.”
Roan and Kandace
have four children, two of
whom were in the Illinois
Valley High School Choir;
and another, Dallin
McClure, who was in the
band. Dallin is currently
serving in the U.S. Army
in Korea.
For the McClures, mu-
Omega’s Roan McClure and T. Lund, IVHS music director (Photo provided)
sic is more than just tunes
and melodies.
“Music is a way to
express a lot of feelings,”
said Kandace. “It can ex-
press any feeling, whether
anger or sadness, and it’s a
great outlet for teens or
youth who are suffering
from these feelings. It’s
important for them to get
their spirit and soul in-
volved in music, so they
don’t resort to violence as
a way to express them-
selves.”
Two years ago, choir
students at Illinois Valley
High School were able to
express themselves more
clearly after they received
a generous donation of
microphones, speakers and
music stands. This was
The Omega Foundation’s
first charitable gift.
“We started the foun-
dation four years ago,”
said Roan, “and two years
ago, we started donating
equipment to the schools.
This year, we were able to
donate a karaoke machine
for the students to take
their finals with. Next year
we’ll donate another piece
of equipment and start
funding scholarships.”
For now, the founda-
tion receives most of its
donations from family
members. Also, Roan re-
ceives a V.A. pension from
his U.S. Army service, and
whatever they don’t need
to live off of, they donate.
To make a donation, phone
592-5465 or send dona-
tions to: Omega Founda-
tion, P.O. Box 507, Cave
Junction OR 97523.
“As long as there are
students at Illinois Valley
High School, we’ll keep
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Bob and Virginia Gilliam would like to thank all our
family and friends for sharing special memories with us
Saturday, Aug. 7 at the I.V. Senior Center as we took a trip
down ‘memory lane’ for our 50th wedding anniversary. And to
all who sent cards, gifts, phone calls and personal good wishes.
A very special thank you to son and wife, Mike and Genie
Gilliam; son and wife, Mark and Kathy Gilliam; grandson
and wife, Jeremy and Teresa Gilliam; grandson and wife, Josh
and Armida Gilliam; granddaughter, Michelle Gilliam;
and great-grandson, Kadin Gilliam.
We have truly been blessed by all of you!!
Dead crow in
Vale warns of
W. Nile in Ore.
A dead crow found in
Vale, Ore. has tested posi-
tive for West Nile virus,
public health officials in
Malheur County and the
Oregon Dept. of Human
Services (DHS) confirmed
today.
The testing was con-
ducted at Oregon State
University’s Veterinarian
Diagnostic Laboratory.
This is the state’s first sign
of the virus, which was
introduced to the United
States in 1999.
“We’ve been expect-
ing West Nile virus to ap-
pear in Oregon at any time,
so this is not a surprise,”
said Dr. Mel Kohn, state
epidemiologist in DHS.
“This does not necessarily
mean that we expect to see
human cases any time
soon. But, it does mean
that people need to be sure
they are taking precautions
against mosquitoes.”
this foundation alive and
keep donating,” Roan con-
cludes.
is open
Saturdays:
9:30 a.m.
to
2:30 p.m.
Hours: Mondays - Saturdays
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information
phone (800) 922-1025
Thank you for a great party!!