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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2005)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, September 7, 2005 In the process of reviewing my past endeavors B.C. (Before College), I’ve been making notes about some of them, and am sure that you will find them fascinating. Or not. Take your chances and read on. OK, here’s one of my notes: hot days, ice cream so- das, 1123. The code is this: my maternal granny and aunties lived at 1123 N. El Paso St. in El Paso, Texas. My mother and I, and later my younger brother, visited there each summer for two to three weeks from San Diego, as Mom enjoyed being with her mother and siblings, plus a bunch of cousins, friends and such in the area. We always visited during summers, so it was Hot. I mean, Hot, like 110 most days. All right, maybe 105. But it was Hot, you know. Because it was So Hot, in the eve- nings we would sit on the front porch overlooking the street from two flights of concrete, sparkly stairs. It was an older house, one of those brick jobs set way up, the way they used to put them. It had a neat rock wall at the bottom of the first set of stairs, and a cracked, umpity-bumpity sidewalk. The curb was about a foot high, the way they used to put them. Anyway, my aunties et al. would enjoy a “can or two” of Pearl Beer. Although Aunt Carrie and I usually had ice cream sodas made with crème soda. It was a dandy treat. We’d watch people walking by, and the vehicle traffic. We’d listen to the loud voices from the apartment house next door. It was all quite interesting and often educa- tional in a number of ways. One of our big thrills (seriously) was watching the El Paso Natural Gas symbol atop its building in Downtown El Paso. I think it was about 12 blocks away. It’s been so long, I can’t really remember. It was probably farther away than that. The color of the symbol, whether blue, yellow or red, indicated what the general temperature for the next day would be. Guess what color it was mostly? Another big deal was looking at Mt. Franklin, of which we had quite a view from that high-up front porch. Some- times we’d see airplanes flying in that vicinity, likely in connection with Fort Bliss, which is nearby. Most nights we’d hang out until at least midnight because it was Too Hot to sleep. There were few breezes, but a lot of crickets that serenaded us every evening. When I’d finally go to bed in my brand-new, bought- just-for-El Paso shorty PJs, I’d toss and turn because it was still So Hot. Eventually I’d doze off; then arise before 6 a.m., because it was cooler then. It was an automatic wake-up; I didn’t use an alarm. And I’d get what was then the only El Paso daily newspaper off the front porch, adjourn to my granny’s huge kitchen/dining room, and eat about a whole loaf of white bread toast with butter while reading the newspa- per. Wow -- an exciting time! Well, it was for me. (I warned you at the beginning). And I haven’t even talked about going down to the Southern Pacific Railroad train yard, or getting lost and not getting home until after midnight, which gave my granny “the palpitations,” as I was only like 12 or 13. Now, I’m about out of room, and I’ve only hit one of my B.C. notes. Just wait until next week though. I’m sure the remaining recollections will be just as thrilling. 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 68, No. 25 Staff: Kacy Clement, Michelle Binker, Becky Loudon, Bryan Harley, Tabitha Jackson, Nina Holm Consulting. Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association DEADLINES: News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters 5 P.M. THURSDAY (Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be accepted until Noon, Friday 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. Generally, one letter per person per month at publish- ers’ discretion. Letters are used at the discretion of the publishers. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is inordinately long in the publishers’ opinion. POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE,” DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADS & NOTICES: All submissions must be hand delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for publica- tion. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run 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 - $36 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR 97523 (Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including state- ments made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.) * * * Typed, double-spaced let- ters written solely to this news- paper are considered for publi- cation. Hand-written letters that are double-spaced and legible also can be considered. Cards of thanks are not accepted as letters. * * * ‘Smart development’ From Dave Toler Cave Junction In Cave Junction, you only have to go a few blocks off Main Street to see that full-scale development has found the Illinois Valley. Given the difficult eco- nomic challenges our com- munity has faced for dec- ades, smart development could lead to sustainable growth that brings unprece- dented prosperity to our community. Smart growth emphasizes quality over quantity. On the other hand, low- quality development empha- sizes quantity over quality. Development expectations set by city officials are mini- mal. The result is growth that threatens our rural life- style and provides no real economic improvement for current I.V. residents. Now that the develop- ment wave has arrived, the question is, which path will out community take? In or- der to walk the smart devel- opment path, our commu- nity leadership will have to recognize some key changes that have taken place. Whereas at one time our community was deemed too remote and too far off I-5 to attract investment, today the Illinois Valley’s location is a real treasure. From a supply-and- demand point of view it’s quite simple: more and more people want to live in a place like this -- and there are fewer and fewer of these places left. You don’t have to be an economist to know what that kind of supply- and-demand picture means. To find the smart devel- opment path, our city lead- ers will have to recognize that we have something a lot of people want. To walk the smart development path, we must come from a place of pride, not desperation. If our vision is a prosperous rural town nestled in the Siskiyou Mountains, we had better encourage our city leaders to set development expecta- tions that match that vision. I trust that our current city leaders have the good will of our valley in mind. I also understand that our re- cent transition from a com- munity that has been eco- nomically changed and des- perate, to a community that is enriched with quality-of- life assets that will attract many investors, has been a rather sudden shift. It is not easy adjusting to such quick change. But we stand at a criti- cal juncture. A tidal wave of development is upon us, and it is up to us to help our city and county officials under- stand what our vision is. If we want quality over quan- tity, we will need to raise our development expecta- tions. Yes, some developers will walk away. But now that we come from a place of pride -- and not despera- tion -- we can feel all right about that. The right devel- opers will come along and join our shared vision and help us build a Cave Junc- tion we can all be proud of. I can see us walking that smart path -- together. ‘Crosswalk stings’ From Rick Meier Cave Junction Following in the foot- steps of the Medford P.D., the Klamath Falls P.D. has started its own crosswalk sting operation. It must be a drag for the three to five so-called agents involved to have to wait around for an hour for a car to come by. No wonder the ticket costs more than 200 bucks. By the way, allowing these “crosswalk criminals” to leave without having their fingernail files, ballpoint pens and plastic combs con- fiscated before letting them go, has to got to stop. Seriously though. When I stop for you at a crosswalk, and you get 10 or 15 feet from the other side, and I proceed across the cross- walk on my merry way -- only to have a hidden agent zoom out, pull me over and (issue?) me a ticket that costs $237 because I didn’t wait until you stepped all the way onto the far curb -- it is my feeling that the time has come for “We the people” to step in and take over the process from those enacting and enforcing these ridicu- lous laws. ‘Pandora’s Box’ From J.D. Freeman Cave Junction We are so immersed in lies and deceit that we can’t even call thirty dollars ($30). We have to call it $29.99. The true dollar sign has two vertical bars, not just one. The currently used sign has only one, and denotes only an imaginary account- ing unit that is represented by cheap paper. The lawful true dollar is a definite amount of silver. Because of usury all lawful dollars are in the bankers’ vaults. They create “money” by writing figures on a piece of paper; your account is credited and you write checks or use a credit or debit card. There is no U.S. Senate. It is merely a second House of Representatives of the people of each state since the people vote for them (The 17th Amendment). This amendment violates Article VI, paragraph 2, and Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the intent of its framers, which is the law. The 17th Amendment was falsely declared ratified April, 8, 1913. Because there is no Senate, no lawful treaties have been made, and no lawful judges appointed as per Article II, Section two and paragraph two of the U.S. Constitution, the Su- preme Law of this Nation. Also, since that date no valid U.S. laws have been passed. There is no Senate. Also since that date no Article I or Article III courts have been created. People should check it out; and if they don’t like being de- ceived they should wake up and think. Otherwise they, their friends, and their children will die. The concept of “Latches” means that only a constantly vigilant people can be free. Indonesian hope From Sandra Miller, secretary CJ Lions Club (Editor’s Note: The fol- lowing letter, written by Clement F. Kusiak of Lions Club International Founda- tion [LCIF], was submitted by Miller for this column.) I recently toured tsu- nami-ravaged areas in Indo- nesia. The level of destruc- tion, especially in the capital city on Banda Aceh, was astounding. Yet the people remain full of hope that their lives will soon be better. One scene I witnessed will help convey the devas- tating force of the tsunami. Outside the city, a massive barge loaded with coral lay aground far from the ocean shore. Next to it, also strangely ashore, was a bat- tered tugboat. The tsunami had been so powerful that everything in its path, no matter how large or previ- ously immovable, was vio- lently displaced. It made me shudder to think how that same wave bore down on seaside vil- lages and its unsuspecting inhabitants. We cannot turn back the clock and reverse the dam- age caused by the tsunami, of course. But we Lions can help people rebuild, as LCIF and Lions in South Asia are doing. Here are some recent rebuilding initiatives. In the North Aceh prov- ince of Indonesia, local Li- ons have built 205 homes for tsunami victims. The wooden homes contain two bedrooms and electricity. The homes were paid for by LCIF and by funds mobi- lized by local Lions. LCIF is believed to be the first non- governmental organization to follow through with its commitment to rebuild in this region. LCIF also is planning to build a school in this area and is considering a plan to fund “economic revival” projects such as fishing boats. The mayor of Banda Aceh, previously hesitant to work with foreign non- governmental organizations, but impressed by the re- building of Lions in North Aceh, has invited LCIF to help rebuild his tattered city. Indonesian Lions and LCIF will collaborate on 150 homes. A Lions village with 150 homes will be con- structed in Tanah Pasir, In- donesia. Lions in Sri Lanka plan to build 3,000 homes. More than 500 are currently under construction. Most of the 550-sqaure-foot homes will be for fishermen and their families. LCIF’s most recent dis- bursal for tsunami relief was $900,000 for Lions in Thai- land to build a Lions village on the devastated Lanta is- lands. Lions are building 80 single-family homes for the fishermen and rubber farm- ers on the island. I need to tell you that rebuilding in South Asia will not be easy or fast. In many regions, political in- stability is rife. Also prob- lematic is the lack of infra- structure such as sewers and roads. These problems ex- isted before the tsunami. The disaster compounded them. LCIF and Lions will persevere. Lions are leaders in their communities, and will deal with these difficul- ties as we build homes, schools and orphanages in the affected areas that often are being overlooked by other charities. People who lost so much so quickly will find some measure of solace thanks to the extraordinary generosity and service of Lions. 10% OFF All very special & unique garden furniture & art. GARDNER & BLOOME DOWN TO EARTH Coconut Fiber 4.5 cubic feet reg. $16 99 Worm-gro Earth Worm Castings 20 quart reg. $8 50 Sale $6 50 Sale is limited to stock on hand, so hurry for best selection. Corner of Redwood Hwy. & Rockydale Road 592-5386 Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. - Lou Erickson -
