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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2005)
50¢ Siskiyou Bluegrass Fest Saturday makes for colorful weekend A day full of pickin’ and plunkin’ and grinnin’ is on tap for the second annual Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival at Lake Selmac on Saturday, July 30. Sponsored by Illinois Valley Chamber of Com- merce, the festival will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will feature numerous entertainers including “Gold River” (offshoot of “Finger Pickin’ Good”), “Siskiyou Summit,” “Moon Mountain Ramblers” from Bend, the “Emmons Sisters,” the “Goldman Family,” Joe Ross’ “Roots of Bluegrass” Show (from Roseburg), “Swing State,” “Blue Bis- cuit,” “Nancy Spencer & Her Musical Saw,” and “The Kuzins.” Tickets will be available at the gate. Food and bever- ages will be available. There will be a “kids’ jam” at 2:15 p.m. The master of ceremo- nies will be Keith “Kuzin’ Keith” Fuller of Radio Sta- tion KRRM, 94.7 FM. The “Roots of Blue- grass” musical show for families of all ages will be presented by Ross from 7:15 to 8 p.m. In a marriage of music and history, the show traces the evolution of Blue- grass from the British Isles to the Appalachian Moun- tains to all parts of the world today. Irish, Scottish, Old- Time, Folk, Ragtime, Clas- sic Country, Bluegrass, and “Newgrass” music are demonstrated using up to 10 different musical instru- ments. The show emphasizes children’s songs, sing- alongs, and audience partici- pation. A member of the “Northwest on Tour” roster of touring performers, Ross’ program covers 200 years of American heritage in song. Musical instruments that may be played include hammered dulcimer, con- certina, guitar, mandolin, Appalachian Mountain dul- cimer, autoharp, and five- string banjo. Other instru- ments (and toys) like the Jew’s harp, Kazoo, bosun’s and train whistles, ship’s bell, and harmonica might also be used. Ross performs Blue- grass music with “Cold Thunder,” and Celtic music with “The Celtic Tradition.” For more about the event, contact I.V. Chamber, 592-3326, or e-mail to nowcoop@msn.com. (Check the ad on page 9) Pool events July 29, Aug. 2 The first night session at the Cave Junction Swimming Pool, sponsored by the dental office of Dr. Tom Housel, was a huge success with 83 participants cooling off in the July 20 extreme heat. The Boys & Girls Club will host its second “teen night swim” Friday, July 29 from 7 to 9. Admission will be $5 and will include pizza and soft drinks. A reduced price swim, courtesy of Coffee Heaven and Zieba Construction, is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Aug. 2 from 6:30 to 8:30. Admission will be reduced to $2, with sea- son pass holders admitted free. Only four spaces remain in the beginners class. The ses- sion will start on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Classes will be held Tues- days and Thursdays from noon to 12:30 p.m., and the cost is $36 for six lessons. A water aerobics class is offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 1 for $5 per session. Passes and punch card are available at reduced cost. Phone 592-3990 for more information or questions con- cerning pool hours. (Related photo page 9) ‘Community Swim’ leads med site groundbreaking Both lanes of Hwy. 199 were blocked for several hours Saturday, July 23 as a result of a head-on collision which occurred at approxi- mately 3:30 p.m. Numer- ous emergency person- nel from six organiza- tions responded to the scene for medical and extrication assistance. Dead is Joan Miller Nor- man, a well-known envi- ronmental activist. Bottom photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, Illinois Valley Fire Dis- trict photographers. Top photo by ‘Illinois Valley News.’ One dead, three hurt in O’Brien head-on wreck A Cave Junction woman died, and three other persons were injured in a two-vehicle head-on colli- sion on a two-lane portion of Hwy. 199 a few miles south of O’Brien, said Ore- gon State Police. Dead is Joan Miller Norman, 72, who was re- turning from Brookings with her nephew, Cave Junction resident Benjamin Tolle, 28, Saturday, July 23. Mrs. Norman was preparing to move to Brookings. Tolle was reported un- injured. Mrs. Norman’s Mercury Sable station wagon collided with a Ford Explorer driven by Michael D. Halverson, 20, of Cave Junction, OSP said. He was reported uninjured. A passenger in the Ford, identified as Thomas Halverson, 11, of Eugene, was reported seriously in- jured. American Medical Response (AMR) took him to Illinois Valley Airport, and he was taken by a Mercy Flights helicopter to Med- ford Providence Hospital. A second passenger, Susan Halverson, 48, from Eugene, was taken by AMR to Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. A third passenger, 18-year-old Kaylie Miille, was reported uninjured. OSP added that, based on initial indications, all occupants in both vehicles were using their safety belts. The agency said that Mrs. Norman was northbound, when for an unknown reason, her car crossed onto the lane for southbound traffic in front of the Ford, and onto the highway shoulder. OSP said that the Mer- cury moved back onto the lane for northbound traffic in front of the Ford that was trying to avoid it. The vehi- cles crashed head-on. The wreckage blocked the highway from approxi- mately 3:30 p.m. to around 6:30 p.m. Traffic was backed up in both directions for considerable distances. However, intermittent traffic was allowed through begin- ning near 5:45 p.m. Illinois Valley Fire Dis- trict and AMR were first on- scene. Subsequently re- sponding were Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Forest Service law en- forcement, OSP, and Ore- gon Dept. of Transportation. (Memorial service for Joan Miller Norman Sun- day, July 31. See page 8). To kick off a week of celebration for groundbreak- ing at its new Cave Junction medical clinic, Siskiyou Community Health Center (SCHC) Outreach Services is sponsoring a free “Community Swim.” The free swimming will be at the Cave Junction Swimming Pool on Satur- day, Aug. 6 from 3 to 5 p.m. The pool will be open to all Illinois Valley residents. SCHC Outreach Ser- vices include Project Baby Check; Family Planning Services; Ready, Set, Go!; Awesome Fathers; and Ore- gon Health Plan assistance. Play groups, parenting classes and support groups, clothing exchange and a food bank are some of the services offered to residents of Josephine County. “We wanted to give Illinois Valley families a fun place to go to meet other families and our staff,” said Outreach Coordinator Jacque Doney. “With the hot weather, we thought the CJ Pool would be great for children and their families to cool off, socialize and have a great time.” SCHC will have a com- munitywide groundbreaking celebration at the building site, 25647 Redwood Hwy., for the new medical center, between Wild River Brew- ing & Pizza Co. and Laurel Pines Golf Course. The celebration is set for Aug. 11 from 10:30 a.m. to noon followed by a com- munity barbecue from noon to 2 p.m. at Laurel Pines. SCHC operates medical clinics in Cave Junction and Grants Pass, a dental clinic in Grants Pass, a student health center at Lorna Byrne Middle School and exten- sive outreach programs throughout the county. Construction employment soars to record high in county “With demand for hous- ing being driven upward by population growth and still- low interest rates, construc- tion employment in Jose- phine County is up nearly 100 jobs with the total of 1,620 marking the highest number of people ever em- ployed in that industry in the county.” So said Oregon Em- ployment Dept. (OED) in announcing that Josephine County’s unemployment rate rose during June com- pared to May, but is less than during June 2004. With 32,350 persons employed during June, the rate was 7.3 percent vs. 8.2 percent during the same month in ‘04. The May rate this year was 6.8 percent. The construction boom is due in large part to several housing developments in the city of Cave Junction, with hundreds of new homes un- der construction or planned. Employment in the county rose by 250 jobs dur- ing June, as businesses in the construction, retail trade, and leisure and hospitality sectors added workers, said OED. Gains were offset by reduc- tions in education (-60), and manufacturing, wholesale trade, and business and professional services, which each lost 10 jobs. It’s anticipated that re- tail trade employment will continue to rise as spaces are occupied in a new shopping center in Grants Pass. Regarding the 7.3 per- cent jobless rate last month, OED said that it was due to an increase in the labor force and a rise in the estimate of the number of unemployed. Many students enter the work force during the sum- mer, OED said. It added, “Retail trade gained 90 jobs during June and rose by 50 since June ‘04. Food and beverage store employment accounts for approximately a third of the monthly gain and the gain in retail trade during the past 12 months . “Leisure and hospitality added 90 jobs during June, bolstered by greater de- mand, as the tourism season began to hit its stride; and a greater work force supply (Continued on page 3 ) VANDAL RAMPAGE - A window at the Josephine County Bldg. in Cave Junction was smashed Monday night, July 25. Also damaged were glass doors or win- dows at Oregon Caves Chevron, NAPA, Quilters, I.V. Visitor Center, Lorna Byrne Middle School, and As- sembly of God Church. ‘I.V. News’ offers a $500 reward for information leading to the identity of the culprits. (Photo by ‘I.V News’)
