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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Gratuities net ODOT penalties
Home loan eligibility raised
for veterans through ODVA
The maximum eligibil-
ity amount for home loans
to military veterans through
the Oregon Dept. of Veter-
ans Affairs (ODVA) has
been increased to $359,650.
The increase took effect
Jan. 3.
In addition, ODVA
completed a bond sale on
Dec. 2, 2004, resulting in
availability of approxi-
mately $5 million for home
loans to veterans.
The funds can be loaned
to qualified Oregon veter-
ans, including those dis-
charged after 1976.
“This is great news,
especially for younger veter-
ans discharged from the
military during the post-
Vietnam era, including vet-
erans returning from the
Middle East,” said ODVA
Director Jim Willis.
ODVA has for more
than 50 years made home
loans to veterans at favor-
able interest rates. To date,
more than 33,000 home
loans have been made to
Oregon veterans.
The program helps hon-
orably discharged veterans
purchase a single-family
home in Oregon, including
manufactured homes on
land. Eligibility expires 30
years after a veteran’s dis-
charge from the U.S. Armed
Forces.
Veterans can apply for a
home loan directly with
ODVA, or through one of
many mortgage lenders or
brokers around Oregon that
are approved to originate an
ODVA State Home Loan.
For more information,
phone (800) 828-8801, Ext.
2005.
Hval new CJ postmaster
(Continued from page 1)
worker,” she said, “and I
want our customers to like
this place.” She noted that
her career so far has pre-
pared her for the job of post-
master, as she’s familiar
with all aspects.
“My goal has always
been to become a postmas-
ter,” she said.
Hval said that when she
learned about the opening,
she was on vacation in Cali-
fornia, and on returning to
Portland came through Illi-
nois Valley and found it to
her liking.
Besides the rural set-
ting, another reason is that
her parents live in Portland,
where she was born, and she
has grandchildren in Cali-
fornia, “so I’m in a good
place for visiting in either
direction,” she said.
Currently, her “hobby”
is raising a 5-year-old
grandson. But she is inter-
ested in joining the Illinois
Valley Fine Artists too.
“This is where I want to
be,” said Hval, “and this is
where I plan to stay.”
Dillon’s Nursery
(Continued from page 1)
being in business. They
finally decided to open
after being urged by cus-
tomers of their home-based
commercial greenhouses.
“It started out that we
had an open house at our
greenhouses once a year,”
said Shannon. “It went
from one day a year to a
weekend, then to a long
weekend, and people said,
‘Please, please, please
open up a shop,’ and we
said, ‘No.’ But the more
we thought about it, the
more we thought maybe
it’s not such a bad idea,”
she said.
“We didn’t really
know the retail end of the
business when we opened
up,” she said, “but every-
one in this industry was
really helpful.
“Nursery people are
really pretty cool.”
Prior to opening, Shan-
non worked at Chet’s
Nursery in Grants Pass for
“six or seven years” and
Paul “always had his fin-
ger in the garden thing.”
After being childhood
friends, Paul and Shannon
“re-met” at the 50 th wed-
ding anniversary of Paul’s
parents; and as Paul said,
“The rest is history.”
They’ve been married
nearly 16 years, and have
two children, Elijah, 14,
and Boaz, 8.
When they’re not busy
with the garden center,
they can be found at either
Takilma Bible Church,
which they attend regu-
larly, or in their yard.
“On our off-days,
we’re working in our
yard,” Shannon said with a
laugh. “It’s funny, because
you’d think we’d be sick
of it (gardening), but we
love it.”
Paul added, “There’s
always the have-to stuff
that nobody likes to do, but
for the most part, we’re
doing what we love to do.”
Between growing bed-
ding and running the nurs-
ery, the Dillons are always
busy, they said.
“The nursery business
is so seasonal, but this
year, we’ve been busy the
whole time,” said Shan-
non. “There’s always
something every month.”
The couple said they
grow most of the bedding
plants they sell, but that
they buy wholesale from a
couple of growers in Illi-
nois Valley, and the rest
are bought within Oregon.
In addition, they’ve
recently tapped into the
aquatic side of gardening.
“It was amazing how
many people came in here
looking for pond liners,
pumps and equipment, and
we didn’t have it,” said
Paul.
“But one day a fax
came in about pond equip-
ment, so we decided to
take the plunge, and I’m
glad we did,” Paul said.
“We have everything
that anyone needs to do a
pond with, including Koi
fish,” he said. “It’s not just
fairy tale either. Koi will
eat right out of your hand.
Even when I get new ones,
it’s just a couple of weeks
and they’re eating out of
my hand. They’re great.”
Whether it’s Koi for
the pond, flowers for the
garden, or trees, shrubs
and statues for the yard,
the Dillons have something
for everyone.
“We keep trying to
expand more in each cate-
gory, but we’ve pretty
much covered each area
pretty well,” Shannon
noted. “The valley is really
growing, and it’s exciting
helping people with their
yards.
“We also have a lot of
business that comes from
the coast,” Shannon said.
Dillon’s Nursery &
Garden Center is open
Mondays through Satur-
days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
During the spring and
summer months, they plan
to be opened Sundays from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information,
visit 1313 Rockydale
Road, just off Hwy. 199,
or phone 592-5386.
Aaron Badgett was De-
cember Student of the Month
at Illinois Valley High
School, honored by Kerby
Belt Lodge AF&AM.
Badgett, a senior, is the
son of Stephen and Roseanne
Badgett. He has maintained a
3.5 grade-point average.
Badgett is a teen-age
board member of Selma
Community & Education
Center. He is on the IVHS
track and bowling teams. He
AARON BADGETT
has earned the Magna Cum
Laude Honor Roll Certificate,
Perfect Attendance Award, Skyline Conference Scholar Ath-
lete Award, and Certificate of Graduation from the Youth
Leadership and Employability Program.
After graduation, Badgett plans to earn a welding certifi-
cate at Rogue Community College; work full time as an alu-
minum welder; support his family and himself; and stay in-
volved in his community.
* * *
Jennnifer Bebb, a senior
at Illinois Valley High
School, is February Student
of the Month, chosen by
Kerby Belt Lodge AF&AM.
Bebb is the daughter of
John and Rebecca Bebb. She
has maintained a 3.51 grade-
point average.
She is a member of the
cheerleading team, Cougar
Pals, Swing Choir, U.S. Air
Force Jr. ROTC, IVHS Chap-
ter of National Honor Scoi-
JENNIFER BEBB
ety, Prom Committee and the
National Cheerleading Association. She has been the varsity
cheerleading captain for two years, ASB cheerleading repre-
sentative, and the Recycle Club president.
Bebb has been awarded the Most Valuable Cheerleader
Award, Most Improved Cheerleader Award, and has earned
three Skyline Conference Athlete Awards.
She has received U.S. Air Force Jr. ROTC ribbons and
an ROTC Outstanding Cadet Award.
After graduation she plans to attend Western Oregon
University at Monmouth to major in education and teach.
* * *
Chelsea Calhoun
The University of Findlay announced that Chelsea Cal-
houn, of Selma, attained the fall semester Dean’s List by
earning a minimum grade-point average of 3.5.
Calhoun is majoring in equestrian studies and education
at Findlay, located in Findlay, Ohio.
Disciplinary action has
been taken by Oregon Dept.
of Transportation (ODOT)
against 12 employees who
received gratuities from a
Florida-based company that
sold cleaning chemicals.
As a result of an internal
investigation, ODOT also
no longer will allow em-
ployees to purchase from
Stone Cold Chemicals or
similar firms that had work-
ing relationships with for-
mer Stone Cold employees.
Besides ODOT discipli-
nary actions against 12 un-
named employees, four
other unnamed ODOT em-
ployees resigned after an
investigation by Oregon
State Police.
Eight employees who
received gratuities of less
than $25 received written
letters of concern in their
employee files. The other
four, who received gratuities
of $25 to $100, were issued
written reprimands, and will
incur salary decreases for
one to two months.
Wet spring for Pacific N.W.
predicted by climatologist
Oregon’s dry winter is
bad news for rain lovers, but
if history holds true, Pacific
Northwest residents may be
in for a wet spring.
“Historically, dry win-
ters preceded by a wet fall
are very likely to be fol-
lowed by a wet spring,” said
George Taylor, an atmos-
pheric scientist at Oregon
State University (OSU) at
Corvallis who serves as state
climatologist.
And late last summer
through early fall, it was
wet.
Portland was 1.75
inches above normal for
August precipitation, hitting
2.68 inches for the month.
September actually dipped
below normal by 0.62 for
the Portland area, but the
rain was back in October:
0.48 inches above normal.
“There are always a lot
of variables in rainfall for
specific spots throughout the
region,” Taylor said, “but in
general, August, September
and October were wetter
than average throughout
Oregon.”
Then came November,
and wet and wild turned into
dry and mild, said Taylor, a
faculty member in OSU’s
College of Oceanic and At-
mospheric Sciences.
Precipitation totals at
Taylor’s home base in Cor-
vallis show 12.08 inches of
precipitation from October
2004 through January 2005.
That’s the seventh-
driest such period on record
for the Corvallis area since
records started being kept in
1889, he said. In a normal
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year, precipitation would
total 23.85 inches during the
four-month span.
Statewide, it was the
same story, except in south-
eastern Oregon, which actu-
ally has done better than the
rest of the state this winter,
Taylor said.
Dwelling
Separate Structures
Personal Property
Loss of Use
Personal Liability
Guest Medical
Building Ordinance
Contents Replacement
Extended Replacement
Deductible
Premium Summary plus Fees
Monthly Premium
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Limits
$150,000
15,000
112,000
75,000
500,000
5,000
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$347.84
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Included
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$394.84
31.02
Rates quoted are for the City of Cave Junction and will vary based on age, other lines of insur-
ance, credit and value. The company reserves the right to accept, reject or modify this proposal
after investigation, review of any application and review of all other underwriting information.
128 S. Redwood Hwy.,
Cave Junction
592-4541 or 476-4421