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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2004)
Fund-raiser to help I.V. volunteers for firefighter support ‘just ducky’ A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL to mourn those who have died because of domestic violence was held on Friday, Oct. 1 at Selma Community & Education Center by Illi- nois Valley Safe House Alliance. The vigil also was to honor those who worked to end domestic violence, and to cele- brate those who have survived. October is Do- mestic Violence Aware- ness Month, Breast Can- cer Awareness Month, and Disabilities Aware- ness Month. (Photos by Shane Welsh) Mom leads way to classroom for Evergreen teacher Kelly Becker First-year teacher enjoying work as ‘old hand’ By SHANE WELSH Staff Writer Kelly Becker is al- ready an “old hand” at Ev- ergreen Elementary in her first year teaching; “taking the place” of her mother, Cathy Pullen, who retired in June 2004. Becker, a graduate of Illinois Valley High School, who was born in Cave Junction, said that her first week with her stu- dents went well. “The first week was tough, no doubt about it,” she said. “(Some students’) anxiety level was high be- cause they didn’t know what to expect. “Once we got into the routine, I could see they started feeling more com- fortable. A lot of the stu- dents already knew me from subbing before; that really helped,” she said. As a fourth-grade teacher, Becker guides children through a variety of subjects including read- ing, writing, math, social studies, science, spelling, art and music. “I do it all,” said Becker. “Last year, I was subbing. They didn’t have an opening last year, and I wanted to work here. So I decided to try and wait it out and sub to get my foot in the door.” Her wait paid off when her mother, who taught second- and third-grade at Evergreen for more than 20 years, made the deci- sion to retire. However, Becker said that her mom was just hired back to Ev- ergreen as a kindergarten teacher. “My mom is working Tuesdays and Thursdays now,” she said. “It’s her first time ever teaching kindergarten. It’s really neat to work with her.” In her first year teach- ing, Becker noted that most new faculty need to gather additional materials throughout the year that could be useful to them in their classrooms. But, her mother left behind more than Becker could have hoped for. “There is 20 years of her stuff here for me to By CHRISTINA HILL Correspondent Illinois Valley volun- teer firefighters will be getting some extra money this December -- and it will not be coming from I.V. Fire District. Christina Granville, a wife and mother from Selma, has started a fund- raiser that will benefit the valley community’s volun- teer firefighters. “I will leave it up to the district on how the money is spent, but I be- lieve that the volunteers want to use the money for furniture at the new sta- tions after they’re built,” she said. Besides a need for fur- niture funds, and despite the quick response from the fire district to alarms, Granville still stresses the importance of having an accurate evacuation route map available. “If Hwy. 199 gets shut down, then most people won’t know any other way to get out of town,” she said. “There would be a traffic jam that would go on for miles. “There are some maps, but they don’t show all the roads. There needs to be an accurate map of all the back roads that people can use instead of the highway, like the road from Selma to Williams.” Regardless of how the money is spent, Granville believes it will benefit the volunteer firefighters, which indirectly benefits the community “My daughter is a fire- fighter, and my son is about to become one,” said Granville. “My daughter is engaged to the deputy chief (Jeff Gavlik), and she’s the one who really gave me the idea that the volunteers could use the money, so that’s why I opted to start this fund- raiser,” she said. “So, I and a few other people got permission from the district,” she said, “and every dime we raise will go straight to the vol- (Continued on Page 8) Cave Junction Wednesday, Oct. 6 Low clouds breaking High--75, Low--43. Thursday, Oct. 7 Partly sunny High--77, Low--45. Friday, Oct. 8 Variable clouds High--72, Low--43. Saturday, Oct. 9 Partly sunny High--63, Low--36. Sunday, Oct. 10 Partial sunshine High--67, Low--36. Monday, Oct. 11 Clouds & sun High--68, Low--39. TWO FIRES CHECKED - Illinois Valley Fire District, Oregon Dept. of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service responded Monday afternoon, Oct. 5, to two brush fires along Hwy. 199 just south of Ft. Hay Ranch. I.V. Deputy Chief Jeff Gavlik said one fire was ex- tremely small and out when crews arrived. Another blaze a bit farther north burned about 1/4 acre of brush. (Photo by Dale and Elaine Sandberg/IVFD photographers) Tuesday, Oct. 12 Partly sunny High--75, Low--42. CHRISTINA GRANVILLE AND FRIENDS unteers.” Recently, Granville placed donation jars at True Value Hardware, Taylor’s Sausage Country Store, the I.V. Senior Thrift Store, Z Coffee, Pre- cision Glass, “Illinois Val- ley News” office, and Heaven Scent Florist. After the jars received her personal touch, it’s difficult to overlook them, she said. Said Granville, “I’m doing the donation jars because I’m trying to get gifts for a raffle. I deco- rated each jar with a plastic duck and made fire hats to put on them. There will be more jars coming soon.” Granville added that each jar has papers from the state to show people that this is a legitimate fund-raiser. “I will probably start selling raffle tickets out- side businesses soon,” she said. “The raffle will be held on Dec. 3, and I’ll notify the people who won over the weekend.” Anyone wanting to obtain raffle tickets will easily spot her, she said. “Our mascot is a stuffed toy duck with a yellow fire hat, so if you see that, then you’ve found me,” Granville said. According to Granville she already has received donations that she will be able to use as raffle prizes. “We’ve gotten more than 10 gifts,” she said. “We have gotten every- thing from a bag of dog food to a vet visit to a gift from a glass blower.” When Granville isn’t busy raising money for the valley’s volunteer fire- fighters, she can be found finding people. “I’m into genealogy, and I’ve helped people find relatives,” she said. “I’ve done a lot over the past five years.” Perhaps her most inter- esting find, she said, was discovering what kind of a man was her husband’s great-great-grandfather. “His name was John Granville, like my hus- band, and he fought in three wars in three differ- ent countries,” she said. “He waited until he was 45 to get married, and then had 11 kids. He had the last one when he was 66, and died in San Diego when he was 97,” Gran- ville said. Something else that Granville finds interesting is the fact that her hus- band’s life was saved in Vietnam by a medical corpsman, and that fire district Chief Harry Rich was a corpsman right around the same time. Just like a corpsman, a volunteer firefighter saves lives and towns, she said. “I just really wanted to help the fire district be- cause I think it’s worth- while, and the fast re- sponse is the reason why Cave Junction is still here, especially after this sum- mer” Granville said. “California has earth- quakes, Florida has hurri- canes -- and we have fires,” she concluded. For more on the fund- raiser or to donate via a means other than the dona- tion cans, phone Granville at 597-2747. Ballots for Nov. election to be mailed near Oct. 15 Barring unforeseen circumstances, ballots for the Nov. 2 election should be in the mail to Josephine County voters on Friday, Oct. 15, said the county clerk’s office. Among items on the ballot are candidates for two seats on the county board of commissioners. Dwight Ellis and Cherryl Walker are running for one spot. And Jim Raffenburg is seeking to defeat current Commissioner Jim Brock. Some Cave Junction City Council seats also are up for grabs, including the mayor’s. Also, Councilman Sandi Lund’s name will appear on the ballot, but she has resigned and is not seeking re-election. A public forum to hear the candidates, sponsored by “Illinois Valley News” and coordinated by Dave Toler, is being planned for Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Lorna Byrne Middle School in Cave Junction. Reminders and more de- tails will be printed in the “Noose.”
