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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2006)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Someone told me recently that too many of my ef- forts in this space are set in the past, and that perhaps I ought to deal more with the present. Which reminds me that I was going to procrastinate, but decided to put it off. Or as one person said, “In a few years these will be the good old days.” It seems that recalling the Thrills & Chills of Yester- day is much more fun than dealing with the harsh reali- ties of Today. These days I deal not only with chills of the cold kind, but bills, hills, pills and wills, which takes some skills. OK, so I tend to enjoy living in the past; so sue me. Maybe some of us writin’ folks simply like to recollect stuff from our past because in our jobs we are forced to constantly deal with what is happening now. Everything has to be immediate, even in a weekly news- paper, if you know what I mean. If you don’t know what I mean, we’ll talk later. We must watch the clock and calendar constantly to ensure that we meet deadlines. It’s a never-ending chore, and the newspaper each issue chews up our work, spits it out and demands more. OK, enough of my problems, as I face a birthday this coming Friday. And I’ll address that topic next issue, as our daughter, Vicki, has some special plans. (I think). So you’ll be the first to hear about it. And now, returning to the near-present --only last week or so to be “exact” -- I think that our cat Charlie Kaplan, the newest arrival at our casa, needs a psy- chologist. This little black-and-white character likes to mouth-kiss us. While we’re sleeping or trying to eat. He is into everything, as he is the most curious cat, in more ways than one, that I have ever met. He knocked a water glass off a table in our living room, and apparently hid some of the pieces. Just the other night, while getting into bed in the dark, my right big toe encountered a sharp object. By cleverly turning on a light, I discovered that it was a hunk of the broken glass. It appeared that Charlie had carried it from the living room and lovingly placed it on the carpet next to my side of the bed. Nice cat. He will eat anything. Yesterday I caught him lying in the kitchen sink with one leg stuck into the garbage dis- posal, retrieving some noodles. And he is a champion high-speed batter. He bats with the best, especially when our dogs, Bingo and Rocky II get close enough. Charlie is fearless. When I back our car out of the garage, he is always the last fe- line to make tracks back into the house through the cat door. The noise of the engine or the door opening don’t seem to scare him much. Sometimes I have to honk the car horn to startle him into scurrying into the house. Charlie and Flint Eastwood, the all-black guy with orange eyes who came before Charlie, have become best buddies. We originally got Flinty to be a compan- ion for Bubba the Magnificent. But now Charlie and Flint enjoy fighting and galloping with gusto through the house, up and down the hallway, especially in the morn- ing’s wee hours. Nocturnal critters, aren’t they? So Bubba the cat is caught between them, because he’s like twice as big as 8-pound Flint, let alone little Charlie, and they pretty much leave him alone. Although, because of Charlie’s lack of fear, he peri- odically takes on Bubba, who simply tackles him, throws him to the ground, and walks away like the Grand Sumo. As for Maui, the fluffy and mostly matriarchal kitty, she’s still learning to play, but wants nothing to do with her son, Bubba. Except to hiss at him like a punc- tured tire if he gets too close. Like in the same room. That’s enough of the present. Next issue I’m return- ing to the past. But it’ll be the immediate past, and that’s the only promise I’ll make today. Concealed-Carry Handgun Classes being held right here in Cave Junction! Phone for details! Women only classes also available! Seating is limited, classes are filling fast! Phone Now! NRA instructor: Steven Mohr (Reliance Concepts) Home: 592-6692 Cell: 660-9824 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 Email: newsroom1@frontiernet.net or newsdesk@illinois-valley-news.com Volume 68, No. 44 Staff: Michelle Binker, Becky Loudon, Bryan Harley, Tabitha Jackson, Zina Booth. 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 publishers’ 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. ‘Thank you’ submissions are not accepted as letters. * * * Injured bicyclist notes his Good Samaritans From Mark Rehmar O'Brien I want to express my appreciation to those indi- viduals who stopped and helped my fellow riders as- sist me after I had a bicycle wreck in the Tartar Gulch area recently. While I remember little of what happened, I am aware that their aid made a big difference. She’d like to start a girls dance team From Tabitha Van Meter Cave Junction I am a proud resident of Illinois Valley, and recently graduated from I.V. High. One thing I noticed is that there aren’t many sports that are appealing to girls. I did a survey on how many girls would sign up for a dance team, and I got 63 responses. I took it to the school district as an idea: Let’s start a dance team! They were thrilled about it, but the school wasn’t. When I pre- sented the idea they seemed more amused than thrilled. I was and still am a pro- fessional dancer. I have danced at the half-time of the Citrus Bowl; danced as a member of an elite pom team has taken eight na- tional championships; danced on a high school dance team that has taken home three championships; and worked with various professional squads and trainers. The school told me that the community wouldn’t support a dance team, but I think otherwise. I think that maybe if someone did a story on what the team would be about, and how fantastic and fun it would be, maybe some in- trigued parents, and maybe even sponsors, would re- spond. I have several reasons why I would love to do this, and why I know it would be successful: *I know what I am doing. *I am willing to volun- teer my time and efforts for putting together a commu- nity competition dance team that I can guarantee will bring home winnings. *Summer is coming, and this would be a great thing for the kids to devote their time to. *I have seen the talent in this community. Biscuit salvage seen as shallow endeavor From Roger Brandt Cave Junction The economic debate over the Biscuit salvage pro- ject continues in utterly amazing shallowness. It is shocking how timber continues to be used as the exclusive indicator to meas- ure the economic success or failure of the Biscuit salvage project while ignoring all the economic values that were sacrificed to make these tim- ber dollars available. For example, salvaging on the T.J. Howell Botanical Drive destroyed an extraor- dinary tourism attraction that could have contributed a million tourism dollars to our economy annually. The project took this tourism asset, worth millions of dol- lars annually, and perma- nently sacrificed it for a one- shot timber receipt. We could have used a small part of the forest along this drive to establish a sus- tainable economic future for hundreds of people. But instead, the Biscuit salvage sacrificed the opportunity for a few seasonal jobs now long gone. A multimillion dollar, sustainable economic future was sacrificed for the short- term chicken feed that the timber industry got out of the salvage. It is unimagin- able to me that anyone could point to this and declare that timber is the way to our eco- nomic future. Statements by two in public called drivel From William Schneider Cave Junction Pat Robertson, in my opinion, gives Christianity a bad name. With a lot of help, of course. I compare the ignorance of statements suggesting that Ariel Sharon is being punished by God through his failing health to the same sort of drivel spewing from the mouth of Iran’s Presi- dent Mahmoud Ahmadine- jad in his denial of the Holo- caust. I say, “Gentlemen, please shut up.” Coming Soon! Annie’s & Dee’s Barber Shop & Salon 122 S. Redwood Hwy. 787-0357
