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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June
JERRY & KEITH NELSEN (Photo by Christina Hill)
Sauer’s Flat scarecrow scares up biz;
Nelsen Family Farm fond of sentinel
By CHRISTINA HILL
Correspondent
Driving down Sauer’s
Flat on Hwy. 199 in Illinois
Valley, most people can’t
help but notice a Goliath-
size scarecrow in front of a
large produce-selling stand.
“We get a lot of people
stopping to take pictures
with it,” said Keith Nelsen,
co-owner of the Nelsen
Family Farm.
According to Keith, his
son and daughter-in-law
built the scarecrow “to be
funny.”
“It was their idea of
entertainment,” he said.
“They’ve got to re-dress it
this year, but I forgot what
they’re going to put on it.
During the fires (the 2002
Biscuit Fire), they dressed it
as a fireman,” Keith said
with a chuckle.
While the giant scare-
crow may scare crows, it
has the opposite effect on
customers: It lures them in.
Customers are greeted
by the Nelsens, who wear
hats with “Cron Produce”
embroidered on them.
The Nelsens’ produce
stand, known as Sweet Cron
or Sweet Corn, to many,
sells hanging flower baskets
and a variety of vegetables
including corn, tomatoes,
peppers, onions, potatoes,
squash and pumpkins and
hay all grown locally on
their 110-acre farm.
“My wife, Jerry, and I
got married in ‘59 and
owned the farm since then,”
said Keith. “Together we
run it with our son and
daughter-in-law,” he said.
“We bought it from the
Robinsons,” he added.
“They were here 42 years.
There was an old farm
house on the property, but
we had our house built, then
we added the building that’s
behind the scarecrow to sell
produce out of.”
Surrounding the large
produce stand are three large
green houses.
One of the greenhouses
is home to several dozen
hanging flower baskets.
Jerry grows each basket
from seeds and spends much
time nurturing their growth.
The end result is breath-
taking. Each basket is filled
with up to seven or eight
different varieties of flowers
featuring shades of purples,
yellows, reds, oranges,
greens and blues.
While the baskets may
be awe-inspiring, Jerry
claims that they’re not her
specialty.
“We grow more than
30,000 peppers and 13 dif-
ferent varieties,” her hus-
band noted. “Peppers are
my specialty.”
The third green house is
filled to the brim with
towering tomato plants cov-
ered large plump tomatoes
ripening on the vines.
The stand is currently
open seven days a week for
selling hanging baskets. It’ll
open in July with produce.
“We had a late year this
year, because of the
weather,” Keith said.
However, the team of
four is working from sunup
to sundown to cultivate
crops and have them ready
for the summer season..
CAVES AVENUE ARSON - Damage to a 1999 Ford 4x4 pickup truck was estimated at
$9,000, said Jerry Schaeffer, Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) fire marshal. IVFD fire-
fighters responded to the 2:52 a.m. fire Sunday, June 26 on Caves Avenue between
Hwy. 46 and Watkins Street. The vehicle is owned by Matt Berubee, who had public
liability, but no comprehensive insurance, said Schaeffer. The fire began in the pas-
senger seat, and is believed to be intentional. (Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg,
IVFD photographers)
SMOKE O’ THE TIMES - An escaped unattended debris burn rampaged across an
estimated five acres of tall tick brush at 29247 Old Highway 199 Sunday, June 26.
Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) and Oregon Dept. of Forestry responded to the 1:41
p.m. alarm on the Goodwin property, said IVFD Fire Marshal Jerry Schaeffer. Includ-
ing mop-up, firefighters were on scene approximately two hours. There also was a
brush fire on Forest Creek Road last week, but details were unavailable in time for
this issue. (Photos by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD photographers)
Josephine County fire season begins
Fire season on state and
private forestlands in Jose-
phine and Jackson counties
began at 12:01 a.m. Mon-
day, June 27.
Wildland fire protection
on these lands is the respon-
sibility of the Oregon Dept.
of Forestry (ODF), and fire
season is declared by the
state forester when weather
conditions and dry vegeta-
tion make fires difficult to
control.
The declaration also
applies to Bureau of Land
Management lands in S.W.
Oregon, on which ODF is
contracted to provide fire
protection.
ODF’s Southwest Ore-
gon District, with unit of-
fices in Central Point and
Grants Pass, protects 1.8
million acres of forestland.
More than half the land is
privately owned; 45 percent
is federally managed. The
remainder is a mixture of
state, county and city land.
Three-fourths of all fires
in the district are caused by
human activities, said ODF.
The agency annually re-
sponds to more than 230
wildland fires, which burn
more than 4,700 acres of
grass, brush and timber.
Records show that most
human-caused fires result
from operating power-
driven equipment in dry
vegetation, and from debris
fires or burn barrel fires that
escape. However, lightning-
caused fires typically burn
more acres per year than
human-caused fires.
As of June 27, debris
burning is prohibited on
ODF-protected lands. Burn-
barrel fires are allowed in
certain structural fire protec-
tion districts through June
30. Residents are advised to
call their structural fire ser-
vice provided prior to con-
ducting any open burn.
The information line for
Illinois Valley Fire District
is 592-2121.
Commercial operations
No fireworks, burn barrels -- ODF
As of Friday, July 1, fireworks are prohibited on land
protected by the Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF) in S.W.
Oregon.
Additionally, all open debris burning -- including the
use of burn barrels -- is disallowed.
ODF protects state and private forestland, and Bureau
of land Management territory in Josephine and Jackson
counties.
Campfires are allowed in designated campgrounds and
campsites on state forest land, and on private land where
land owner permission has been obtained, said ODF.
Fireworks are not allowed on forestland, said ODF,
because wildland fires are easily ignited by such devices.
They often emit sparks, skip across the ground, or are car-
ried by running children.
Fires caused by fireworks can result in the user being
cited and billed for the cost of suppression, said ODF. Par-
ents are responsible for fires caused by their children.
on forestland, such as timber
harvesting, are required to
follow Industrial Fire Pre-
caution (IFP) Level 1 regu-
lations. Fire suppression
equipment must be on the
site at all times, and there
must be a watchman.
If the level of fire dan-
ger increases in the months
ahead, ODF will impose
further fire prevention regu-
lations. These regulations
are designed to restrict ac-
tivities that have historically
caused wildfires.
If a person is willful,
malicious, or negligent in
the origin of a fire, ODF is
required by state law ORS
477.068 to recover costs
associated with suppressing
the fire, and those responsi-
ble will be billed.
For more information
about IFP levels and other
fire season regulations, con-
tact the ODF Grants Pass
Unit, 5375 Monument
Drive, Grants Pass. (541)
474-3152.
Remember:
New deadline!
Man injured
in robbery
Grants Pass resident
Brian D. Williamson, 31,
suffered minor injuries during
a robbery on Caveman
Bridge during which he was
thrown to the ground, said
Grants Pass Dept. of Public
Safety (GPDPS).
The incident was re-
ported to have occurred Fri-
day, June 24 at approximately
3:11 a.m.
Williamson said that he
was walking on the bridge,
and that the suspect de-
manded his money. There
was a struggle, and the victim
suffered cuts and scrapes to
the knuckles on both hands.
The suspect, who took a
wallet with currency and ID,
is described as a Black male,
25-30 years old, approxi-
mately 6-0 with a thin build.
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592-4117
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Denise and Dean at
Original Cut Co.
welcome
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formerly of Annie’s Barbershop
30 years experience
Full services for the
entire family.
Walk-ins welcome!
335 S. Redwood Hwy.
592-2800