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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2004)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, October 27, 2004 Went to a conference recently, held in a Portland hotel that’s a cut above the usual Motel 2.5 we usually stay in while traveling. As usual, I misunderstood what the clerk told me on the telephone. He said that the room included a minibar, so I visualized a wet bar, which is fine with me, because who wants a dry one. Anyway, we’re used to bringing our own refreshments to hotel and motel rooms; you know, it saves money. But to my surprise (not being much of a world traveler) I found that the minibar is actually a small refrigerator. That’s fine with me too, because I could put our stuff in there. But no. This minithing was crammed with hotel stuff: little bottles of liquor and beer, chocolate bars, and other assorted snacks. Plus, there was a basket full of treats like crackers, nuts and chips. Great, right? Wrong! You have to pay for these refreshments. A lot. I know that businesses have to make a profit, but what the price list showed for the hotel goodies surprised me. And guess what? Give up? OK, if you eat or drink anything, while you’re out of the room, some- one sneaks in and replaces it. Wow. Actually, we used a couple of the hotel items, but just a couple. Well, maybe three. OK, four. But that was it. Mostly we used the items we brought, for which we made room in the minibar by removing some of the hotel stuff. No one seemed to mind. It was good, I thought, for the hotel to place a price list prominently. I’ve heard of other folks who didn’t realize that not only were the items not compli- mentary, but that they cost maybe three times what you’d expect to pay in a store. So when they checked out and saw the amount added to their total, they had to check in for another day to recuperate from the shock. If a hotel clerk tells you that your room has a minibar, just say, “No.” Pain - Stress - Injuries Deep massage - CranioSacral Therapy Monday - Friday by appointment Senior Discounts - Gift Discounts Riverside Physical Therapy Full Rehabilitation Services: *Physical Therapy *Occupational Therapy *Speech Therapy TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU Cave Junction Office 218N. Redwood Hwy. (541) 592-6580 Grants Pass Office 1619 N.W. Hawthorne Ave. Suite 109 (541) 476-2502 From Lynne Vanderlinden Cave Junction If I were to judge local politics from reading all the fancy full-page ads and letters to the editor in “Illinois Valley News” bashing Bush, salvage log- ging, etc. I’d almost be- lieve that 95 percent of us are Democrats, Psudeo- Environmentalists, or both. OK fellow conservatives - it’s time to vote. Four director positions for Illinois Valley Soil & Water Conservation Dis- trict are on the Nov. 2 bal- lot. Undoubtedly the Green Network is already light years ahead of us as to who its write-in candidates are. Control of watershed grant money is just too tantalizing to pass up. Should you be adverse to further Green Rule, do your own write-in vote for Don Stevens for Zone 4. Don and his wife, Jean, are longtime Illinois Valley residents. He served as co- chairman of the Illinois Valley Basin Interest Group (IBIG) in the early ‘90s, and was instrumental in preventing the Siskiyou Project and its pals from capriciously listing our winter steelhead as endan- gered. Don is a true con- servationist and is suppor- tive of the current IBIG tree planting program. Stevens retired from years of service as a jour- neyman lineman through- out Southwestern Oregon and has since become a successful entrepreneur in his own home-based busi- ness. He has all the right stuff and will bring enthu- siasm, dedication and moderation to the board. A write-in vote for Wade Simpson is also nec- essary for the director-at- large zone. Most already know Wade, who has held this seat for the past four years and who has done an admirable job. Clayton Fincher and Carl Summers are already on the ballot for Zones 1 and 5, and both deserve continued support. My personal plan to tweak the Greens is to vote for Dwight Ellis and Jim Raffenberg for county commissioners; “no” on Measure 34 and “yes” on Measure 37. I also will be voting for every Republican on the ballot, not because they’re Republicans, but because they will not pan- der to the Greens for the sake of a vote. Those who agree can clip and save this letter. In last week’s issue of the ‘I.V. News,’ a headline incorrectly identified Heidi Ward as Steven Ward’s mother. Miss Ward was his sister. The ‘Noose’ regrets the error. (Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including state- ments made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.) * * * Typed, double-spaced letters written solely to this newspaper are considered for publication. Hand-written let- ters that are double-spaced and legible also can be consid- ered. Cards of thanks are not accepted as letters. * * * Kerry scary From Wally Sharp Selma I sure don’t want a president in the White House who thinks he can replace God, and that’s what I see in John Kerry. He promises us every good thing, but he can’t give a peaceful conscience. My boy shudders when he considers that he could be in the military some day serving under a U.N. com- mander, and in U.N. forces that are actually against everything that America stands for. That’s where Kerry would take us. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The chips are down, and we’d better stand up and be counted in this vote. The issues are too foundational to free con- science to wait it out this time. No political party can solve all the problems in our country, but we can sure expect to be swept out to sea if we willingly elect people whose actions -- and voting records -- deny the fundamental prin- ciples that this country was founded on. My hope is that we re- elect President Bush and other candidates, who re- spect life enough to protect innocent babies from par- tial-birth abortion and the exploitation of stem-cell research, and who will pro- tect the foundation of our homes by genuinely sup- porting the marriage of one man and one woman. The effort to stem the tide of terror will be well served, and our troops will be safer with a government here that supports their efforts from the heart; not with the empty words that Sen. Kerry speaks. ‘Fellow Conservatives’ Measure 37 ‘erodes’ From Louis Levison Cave Junction Most of us live in Ore- gon because we love it. One reason we love it is because model land-use laws have protected us from uncontrolled growth. We cherish our farmland, forestland, ranchland, wil- derness, communities, etc. Measure 37 aims to undo our laws, which will erode the quality of life we have come to expect. Measure 37 ramifica- tions will be goofy and unpredictable. Let’s say you have four neighbors. The first one is Joe Loser. He inherited his grandfa- ther’s place, which has been zoned for single resi- dences for the past 30 years. A developer from California pays Joe to re- zone under Measure 37, even filing the papers on Joe’s behalf. The developer then buys Joe out and starts building condominiums. Forget crossing the road to get your mail; too much traffic now. Another neighbor is Morning Star. She claims that the condominiums, which weren’t allowed when she bought her place, have ruined her view, dam- aged her Feng Shui, and reduced the value of her residence, constructed largely from a school bus, PVC pipe and blue tarps. The county must com- pensate her $71,088.45 for lost value and legal fees. There go Saturday library hours. Greg Greedy notifies the city that his property is worth less because 22 years ago when his mom owned it, an ordinance was passed that forbid abortion clinics in that part of town. He has no intention of building an abortion clinic, but he is hoping the city will pay him enough to buy a new diesel crew cab. But the city eventually tells him he can go ahead and build the clinic. Of course Greg doesn’t, but the process, including pay- ing for Greg’s legal fees as required in Measure 37, costs the city another $16,865.76 of taxpayer money. Oh well, there goes extra sheriff’s patrol. The last neighbor, Susie Sweet, has a gradu- ate degree in marine psy- chology and wants to reha- bilitate traumatized gold- fish in her house. But an ordinance was passed after she bought the property, banning “kennels, feedlots, and other animal related businesses” from her neighborhood. Susie filed the required written demand under Measure 37, and to her surprise, instead of getting permission to rehabilitate goldfish, she received a check for $4,309.57, and now your favorite goldfish is having bad dreams since the cat figured out the little green net. Let’s keep Oregon sane and functioning. I say we should vote “no” on Measure 37. (Editor’s Note: The names in the preceding letter are fictitious and bear no resemblance to anyone living or dead.) ‘My Fellow Americans’ From Sandy Wilson Cave Junction Why is this election one of the most important in our lifetime? This election is not about Democrats or Re- publicans. This election is not about the United States of America. Did people who live in Iraq attack us? No. Did we ever find WMDs in Iraq? No. Do we have a $422 billion deficit this year? Yes. Is our deficit one of the largest in American history? Yes, $2.7 trillion Who pays? Our chil- dren. The No Child Left Be- hind Law was cut by $27 billion. (Continued on page 3) Illinois Valley News An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by Robert R. (Bob) and Jan Rodriguez Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as Official Newspaper for Josephine County and Josephine County Three Rivers School District, published at 321 S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523 Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523 Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820 Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330 Volume 67, No. 32 Staff: Kacy Clement, Becky Loudon, Michelle Binker, & Shane Welsh. Paladin Business Services - Kina Perez Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association DEADLINES: News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters 3 P.M. FRIDAY (Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be accepted until Noon, Monday with an additional charge.) POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters to the editor provided they are of general interest, in good taste, legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using complete name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number. The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters. One letter per person per month. Letters are used at the discretion of the publisher. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is inordinately long in the editor's opinion. POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE,” DISPLAY & CLAS- SIFIED ADS & NOTICES: All submissions must be hand delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for publication. Submissions must be re- submitted each week if the item is to run for more than one week. SUBSCRIPTION RATES One year in Josephine County - $20.80 One year in Jackson and Douglas Counties - $24.40 One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state - $28 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR. 97523 FREE: Female neutered, outside cat. All shots, good hunter. Not used to children. 592-2713 MANSFIELD R. CLEARY Attorney at Law General Practice in Illinois Valley since 1980 Practice includes but not limited to: Bankruptcy - Eliminate financial problems Living trusts - Avoid probate Estate planning - Wills, power of attorney Domestic relations Auto accident - Personal Injury Criminal - DUII Real Estate contracts - Foreclosure 592-2195 200 W. Lister
