Page 11
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 3, 2006
I.V.’s Pregnancy Center
adds to advocate staff
Kerby house fire aftermath. (Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg/IVFD Media Dept.)
Couple escapes injury in Kerby blaze
A Kerby couple lost
their historic home, as well
as their belongings, in an
early morning fire Monday,
May 1.
Residents Vic and Aud-
rey Cusumano escaped from
the dwelling, said to be at
least 100 years old, on the
south side of Kerbyville
Museum after the 2:18 a.m.
alarm.
An estimate of damage
was pending analysis and
evaluation by investigators
from Illinois Valley Fire
District (IVFD) and the Ore-
gon State Fire Marshal’s
Office.
IVFD Chief Harry Rich
said that first-arriving units
reported that approximately
three-quarters of the two-
story wood home was en-
gulfed in flames from the
chimney to the rear, which
includes a detached breeze-
way.
Investigators were con-
centrating their efforts on
the breezeway in efforts to
determine the cause.
Audrey, who works in
the deli at Shop Smart Food
Warehouse in Cave Junc-
tion, told Rich that she
awoke to the smell of
smoke. She first opened a
side door and saw a large
volume of smoke. She then
went to the back door and
saw large flames.
She and her husband,
who operates Vic’s Weld-
ing next door, escaped
without injury.
Rich said that IVFD
responded with 14 pieces of
apparatus and 27 firefight-
ers. They were assisted by
Rural/Metro Fire Dept. from
Grants Pass.
“It was a difficult fire,”
said the chief, “because of
the double-clad walls and
matting in the walls, which
is common to older struc-
tures like this one.”
Firefighters declared the
blaze knocked down at 3:10
a.m., but were on-scene un-
til late afternoon with over-
hauling and investigation.
A nearby garage was
somewhat charred, but
flames were extinguished by
Vic, who used two fire ex-
tinguishers on them. His
efforts with those of fire-
fighters saved a 1959 re-
stored Chevrolet sedan in
the garage, Rich said. Also
charred was a camper in
front of the garage.
At one point, oil in a
tank on a deck adjacent to
the home ignited, and the
tank blew up like a rocket,
Rich recalled. It came down
near the house where the
chief was standing, but nei-
ther he nor other firefighters
were injured. “It was a truly
lucky situation,” he said.
Audrey has been given
a month off by Shop Smart,
which will keep her job
available. “They and every-
one else have been so help-
ful,” said Audrey, who be-
came a bit choked up in not-
ing the graciousness of
friends and neighbors.
Vic said that he’s been
on the property for 30 years,
living in a block home on
the same lot, but that they
had lived in the burned
home for 10 years.
Pacific Power urges springtime safety
Spring has sprung, and
adults, children, home own-
ers and workers are out and
about -- playing, working on
their homes and yards, and
taking care of outdoor pro-
jects.
The shift to sunshine
and springtime provides a
great opportunity for Pacific
Power to remind customers
and the general public to be
aware of electrical equip-
ment -- particularly over-
head and underground
power lines -- in the course
of springtime activities.
“When weather starts to
warm up, people begin
spending more time outside
working on their home and
yard or taking care of other
outdoor projects,” said Car-
rie Reese, Pacific Power’s
public safety manger.
“Stay safe this spring by
paying attention to your sur-
roundings and taking notice
of power lines when work-
ing or playing outdoors,”
said Reese.
Pacific Power makes it
part of its mission to raise
awareness about potential
electrical safety hazards.
Representatives work with
everyone from school chil-
dren to contractors, farm
workers, police officers and
firefighters to teach electri-
cal safety basics and explain
the importance of staying
away from power lines.
They tell people that
power lines are dangerous
and can kill instantly if con-
tacted; reminding them that
electricity will take the
shortest path to ground, trav-
eling through tools, equip-
ment or people to get there.
“Staying alert and
aware of nearby power lines
and electrical equipment is
the best way to stay safe
during outdoor work or ac-
tivities,” Reese said.
“Contact with power lines
and equipment can cause
serious injuries or death.
People should keep safety in
mind at all times, no matter
what they are doing.”
Pacific Power offers the
following safety tips on
common outdoor projects
and activities:
*Look up and live. Pay
attention to the location of
all overhead power lines.
*When painting a house
or trim, note where power
lines connect to the house
and keep ladders, scaffold-
ing and other equipment
away.
*If moving, adjusting or
installing an antenna or sat-
ellite dish, keep well away
from electrical wires.
*Note the location of
overhead electrical wires
both while working and
when moving equipment, as
well as when installing, re-
moving, cleaning or repair-
ing gutters.
*Check for nearby elec-
trical wires when pruning
trees. If lines run through or
near your tree, don’t attempt
to cut. Instead, phone Pa-
cific Power at (888) 221-
7070.
*Fly kites away from
overhead power lines. If a
kite becomes tangled in
electrical wires, immedi-
ately let go of the string and
make no attempt to remove
the kite. Phone Pacific
Power at (888) 221-7070.
*Check trees for over-
head wires running near or
through limbs and branches
before climbing or building
tree houses. If lines are pre-
sent, do not climb the tree
for any reason.
*Stay away to stay safe.
If you spot an electrical wire
down, keep everyone out of
the area and immediately
phone 911 or Pacific Power
at (888) 221-7070.
*Never try to move or
go near a downed wire and
always assume a downed
wire is energized and dan-
gerous. Touching a live line
or anything near it -- like a
fence or puddle -- can cause
electricity to flow through
your body, resulting in seri-
ous injury or death.
*Phone before you dig.
Digging into underground
power lines is just as dan-
gerous as contacting an
overhead power line. Al-
ways phone the under-
ground utility locating ser-
vice in your area at least 48
hours before you plan to dig.
If you need the number,
phone (888) 221-7070 or
visit www.pacificpower.
net.
To learn more about
electrical safety or to order
electrical safety materials,
phone (800) 375-7085 or
visit pacific power.net.
Shanda Praizner is in
the process of completing
certification as a client ad-
vocate, having joined The
Pregnancy Center of Illinois
Valley volunteer staff in
March.
She has been reading
“The Purpose Driven Life”
and asking God to show her
what her purpose should be.
Through prayer, and a
need shared by her pastor on
behalf of the Pregnancy
Center, Praizner phoned the
center to inquire about needs
and volunteer opportunities.
She learned that the
center is expanding services
and seeing almost twice as
many people as last year.
Along with growth
comes the need for more
ministry partners, so she
began a new season in her
life by joining the team at
the Pregnancy Center.
During her training, she
is reviewing fetal develop-
ment, what to expect during
pregnancy, childbirth, new-
born care, adoption, legal
guardianship, abortion pro-
cedures and their aftermath.
There are many posi-
tives outcomes to unplanned
pregnancy every day, but
unfortunately sometimes
that is hard to recognize.
Out of fear or seemingly
impossible situations, peo-
ple sometimes choose abor-
tion.
“You learn all this in-
SHANDA PRAIZNER
situation, creative solutions
can be identified and be-
come reality.
Praizner has five
“wonderful” children and 12
grandkids (six boys and six
girls) -- unfortunately, none
of them live in Oregon. She
has lived in Illinois Valley
for eight years, and she and
her husband will soon cele-
brate their 25th anniversary.
Said Praizner, “I hope
that I can save them from
going through abortion pain
-- the aftermath is worse
then the procedure itself.”
Real help is available at
the Pregnancy Center, she
noted.
Phone 592-6058 for
more information.
OSU ‘highly productive’
A new classification of
U.S. colleges and universi-
ties recognizes Oregon State
University (OSU) at Corval-
lis as the state’s most pro-
ductive four-year institution,
giving OSU the designation
reserved for universities
with “very high research
activity.”
The Carnegie Founda-
tion for the Advancement of
Teaching has been produc-
ing its classification of
America’s more than 3,000
college and universities
since 1970.
While the classification
system itself has undergone
significant changes during
the years, it is widely con-
sidered the “gold standard”
and is used in several well-
known school rankings na-
tionwide.
Research universities
that grant doctoral degrees,
such as OSU, are classified
in three ways: institutions
with “very high” research
activity (RU/VH), those
with high activity (RU/H)
and those simply recognized
as doctoral/research univer-
sities (DRU).
OSU is the only Oregon
institution to receive the top
RU/VH designation. OSU
conducted nearly $209 mil-
lion in research projects dur-
ing 2004-05 -- more than 60
percent of the total research
funding garnered by the
entire Oregon University
System and all its campuses.
The Carnegie Website
shows that 95 institutions
received the RU/VH desig-
nation, including OSU.
Among the others are the
University of Washington,
More
Happy
Hatters!
Jill, Ingrid, Steve, Ginger, Beth & Sharon model their new hats.
Call or email to get on the list for the fall workshops.
592-6078
formation about abortion
and feel like you want to
help men and women to
avoid all of that pain,” said
Praizner. By taking time and
really thinking through the
llamuz@forestedgefarm.com
Washington State Univer-
sity, Stanford, Berkeley,
UCLA and seven other Uni-
versity of California cam-
puses. Only 63 of those uni-
versities, like OSU, are pub-
lic institutions.
Other Oregon institu-
tions appearing in the Car-
negie ratings include the
University of Oregon (RU/
H), Portland State Univer-
sity, which as a medical
campus falls within Carne-
gie’s “special focus institu-
tion” category.
In the depth of winter,
I finally learned that
within me there lay
an invincible summer.
- Albert Camus -
CAVE BEAR PAWN
Does Check Cashing
Limited I.D. - No Problem
Cheapest Rates in Town
No Amount Too Large
Come Down & Let’s Talk
Mon. - Fri. 10-6 Sun. 12 - 4
220 N. Redwood Hwy.
Cave Junction Plaza
592-2987
Re-Elect
JIM
RIDDLE
County
Commissioner
As a Commissioner, Jim :
✓
Runs the County like a business.
✓
Works hard to improve our economy.
✓
Is involved in our community.
✓
Provides strong leadership.
✓
Supports public safety.
Let’s keep a Commissioner
we can count on!
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Jim Riddle
Co-Chairs - Mary Lou Thomason, René Cardiff,
Dan Calvert, & Dave Stanger
715 NW Amelia, Grants Pass 97526