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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:
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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
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Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
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Volume 67, No. 32
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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
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