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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2006)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Some of us are big hams, never hesitating to face a crowd of some sort, whether to speak or per- form. Ye olde editor is a chip off the ol’ hambone, although no longer the sort who enjoys standing before a live, possibly hostile audience. No, I’m now the sort of show-off who struts his stuff in the form of words on newsprint. If cornered, I will speak, but I’d really rather be able to send an e-message or write a story. The reason this topic came to my sweaty palms and palpitating heart is because of serving as mod- erator last week during a forum for the candidates seeking the office of county sheriff. It’s not a task I “enjoyed,” although it seemed to come off OK. In my extremely younger days, I was definitely a show-off. I had no fear. My mom used to tell the story of losing me in a department store in San Diego when I was like 3 or 4. When she found me, I was standing on a clothing riser singing, “You Are My Sunshine” to a crowd of amused adults. How- ever, I got spanked for wandering off. (Off from my mother; not for being off-key.) In the first grade at Chesterton Elementary School, our class put on a play about trains. I was the engine, leading the presentation, and it didn’t bother me in the least. How I developed stage fright, I don’t know, but I think it has something to do with “growing up” and becoming concerned about how others see us. In the eighth-grade at St. Rita’s all I had to do was walk on stage carrying a chair, turn to the audi- ence, and say, “Yes, that was St. Joseph.” The re- hearsals went well, except when I was showing off for three girls and walked into a concrete pillar. But on The Night, when I turned and saw the audience -- all those staring eyeballs -- I choked. I panicked. Couldn’t remember what I was supposed to say. Stood there gasping like a fish out of water. Fled the stage in the wrong direction. Awful. Call it stage fright, fear, panic, nerves, or nerv- ousness, many of us have it. Or all of them. We get the jitters and are apprehensive. Sometimes we tremble or experience nausea. Our throat dries up; tongue feels like a hunk of cotton. Yikes. Some folks will tell you to think of the audience as being naked to relieve the nervousness. Actu- ally, I did that once, and they really were naked. It was at a nudist colony. When I worked for NCR Corp. in San Diego, I often had to lead tours through the computer as- sembly plant, or give talks at schools and to various organizations. I think I just got used to it, and real- ized that it was simply part of the job. It had to be done. Although, sometimes there were confronta- tions from disagreeable types, and those incidents did cause excess perspiration. But I survived. So there you have it: The editor is basically a shy guy, especially in front of strangers. But if you’re a familiar friend, watch out: my ham- boniness will come out, and who knows what will escape from my mouth. There might even be a ren- dition of, “You Are My Sunshine.” CAVE BEAR PAWN Does Check Cashing Limited I.D. - No Problem Cheapest Rates in Town No Amount Too Large Come Down & Let’s Talk Hours to go hear when received 220 N. Redwood Hwy. Cave Junction Plaza 592-2987 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. 52 Staff: Michelle Binker, Becky Loudon, Bryan Harley, Tabitha Jackson, Zina “Tan, Rested & Ready” 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. * * * Demise of salvage logging predicted From Tim Norman Cave Junction Let me begin by apolo- gizing for not submitting this for last week’s issue. We are entering a very busy time, and unfortunately this rebuttal took a back seat to other issues. This is in re- sponse to Lynne Vanderlin- den’s letter, (“Whose study, research ya’ gonna’ be- lieve?” -- March 1, “Illinois Valley News”). What does she suppose happened to our national forests 2,000 years ago when “logging” (let alone “salvage” logging) wasn’t even in the human vocabu- lary yet? When lightning would strike these hills and start a fire, and there was no one around here to put it out. There were people here, but they were smart enough to understand that this was a natural progression. The American Indian believed in living with the land, not off it. Fires burned, and trees and plants died. You know, the circle of life. The issue is, what hap- pened from that point? The trees and shrubs died, de- composed and went back into the soil, giving much- needed nutrients that bene- fited the trees and other natural species that survived the initial fire. The fire also cleared the underbrush competing with the trees for these resources, making the trees that sur- vived even stronger. The rich soil also made an ideal bed for seedlings to thrive. The forest did just fine all by itself. When the term “salvage logging” is used, I ask what is it that is actually being salvaged? Is it the forest that has no need for human intervention, or the timber industry which ac- knowledges the steady de- cline of this much-needed natural resource, fearful of the steady decline of its an- nual profits? Let me define this re- source as a living thing that puts oxygen in the air, ab- sorbs carbon dioxide, cre- ates watersheds that keep the mountains from sliding down into the streams, cre- ates an environment that sustains many living crea- tures (not just arrogant hu- mans), not to mention a liv- ing thing that has the poten- tial to survive on this planet for thousands of years. As far as the “moonscape” in the Biscuit Complex is concerned, the actual fire burned hot in some spots, but most of the canopy survived. Don’t take my word for it. Go up to Babyfoot and see for your- self. The only “moonscape” you will see is the result of the 6 miles of back-burn created by the forestry fire- fighters. Having worked with the California Dept. of Forestry as a firefighter, I remember containing a 150,000-acre fire with a back-burn of 500 feet. So the question arises, why the need to backfire 6 miles? I think the answer is obvious. The burn-and-log practice is starting to be- come a precedent. It will soon become a common practice. At this time, there is no legal recourse for a “salvage” operation. We’re working on that, though. Does Vanderlinden want to see a “moonscape?” Take a look around Coos Bay. Look around Reeds- port and see the miles of stumps created by the tim- ber industry of that time. We need to wake up and hold life in higher regard than money. I think people are intel- ligent enough to find an- other way to earn a living that isn’t destroying our planet. They just have to open their eyes and think for themselves rather than let an industry based in Texas do their thinking for them. If the timber industry is confident that its motives are justified and that the salvage practices are legiti- mate, why does it feel the need to pull the wool over the public eye? Why does it feel the need to harvest these trees in such a manner as to do it before the case can be brought up in a public court for investigation? Why does it refuse to address the concerns of many of the local citizens with a viable answer? If these practices are backed by unbiased scientific stud- ies, why not address the is- sue with these “facts” rather than try to just sweep it un- der the rug by lying to the public? Vanderlinden is correct. Here we go again. We will keep going until people wake up and realize what is truly going on. People need to ask themselves what it is that is motivating “their” scientists to reach the con- clusions that they are. division in our community, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that so does taking it down. Paulson said that he believes in its message, but I don't believe him. Instead, let’s support zero discipline, then watch our kids in a few years. Let’s allow beer parties, and won- der why there’s an alcohol problem; give the kids noth- ing to do, and wonder why they are dropping out of school, doing drugs, getting pregnant, and causing van- dalism all over town. Correct me if I am wrong, but these events do not promote drug abuse, disrespect of parents or law, promiscuous sexual behav- ior, meth lab biology or any- thing that would offend any- one with moral values. I actually enjoyed com- ing through town and seeing something positive hanging up. It would at least give the kids something to do, as almost everything else for them has disappeared. How about a little ad- vice: Spend more time find- ing productive activities for the youth and less time wor- rying about a sign. And as for city Resolution 615, it only applies when the agency or municipality so chooses. I have seen signs many times that I don’t like. Like “Slow Children Cross- ing.” How do you people know the children are slow? Guess I could complain about that, couldn’t I? Thank God, I have better things to do . Welcome to the city of meth, marijuana From Barbara Ashinhurst Cave Junction I appreciate Mayor Tony Paulson for protecting our community from that horrible banner announcing a church meeting, and of all things, quoting Scripture. God forbid -- sorry can’t use that name -- that visitors to our community should have the impression that there are people of faith who embrace the principles this country was founded on, living in Cave Junction. (Continued on page 3) Special Productions In the SOFCU building, downtown C.J. ~ Victorian Lampshades ~ Gifts & Collectibles ~ Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry 592-2034 invites the public to join us in celebration of ‘Blood of Jesus’ banner should’ve stayed up From Larry Cook Selma Cave Junction is an economically depressed area high in drug and alcohol abuses, crime (for its popu- lation), and teen-age preg- nancy for starters. And city of Cave Junc- tion Mayor Tony Paulson is worried about offending someone with a banner pro- moting something positive in this area. God forbid that some youth get a touch of morality at such an event. The banner, as he said, can cause unnecessary St. Patrick’s Day as we “bring in the green” with Celtic Harpist Bob Clark on Friday, March 17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Join us for food & entertainment at 3098 University Road, off 199 West & S. Hubbard Lane Please RSVP 955-0777 Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Now Hiring Fire Mountain Gems and Beads is actively recruiting for full and part time high-energy individuals to join our growing team. Fire Mountain is a leading direct marketing company in the jewelry industry and has been satisfying customers with excellent products and customer service for over 30 years. We successfully market our products through our extensive catalogs and website to a broad customer base of creative jewelry makers, jewelry stores, and crafters. Please visit our website at www.firemountaingems.com for a full description of the following openings and to print out an application. Positions currently available include- · Inventory Material Handler · Fulfillment Processor · Receiver We offer competitive wages and a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and life insurance, employer match 401k plan, Paid Time Off, and more. To apply please email your resume to: resumes@firemtn.com or drop by our offices between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. One Fire Mountain Way Grants Pass, OR 97526 (541) 956-JOBS EOE & Drug Free Workplace
