50¢
Smokejumpers reunion
ignites many memories
A GRASS-ROOTS MURAL PROJECT depicting scenes
from Oregon Caves National Monument on the side of
a Downtown Cave Junction building is in the works.
The white spaces in the illustration represent windows
and awnings. The story is on page 14. (Illustration by
Wanda Goines)
Selma solar
open house
set June 24
A gala grand opening
and tour of the Solar Demon-
stration Pole Building, where
the Selma Farmers Market is
held beginning at 9 a.m. Sun-
days, will begin at 1 p.m.
Saturday, June 24, said the
the Selma Community &
Education Center Board of
Directors.
The grand opening will
include a celebratory ribbon-
cutting ceremony, tours and
refreshments, and will be held
on-site at 18255 Redwood
Hwy. in Selma.
The pole building was
completed and the solar array
was installed earlier this
month.
Enormous in-kind dona-
tions contributed to the two-
year project, plus community
donations totaling $7,395; as
well as grants from Energy
Trust of Oregon ($35,000),
Josephine County Board of
Commissioners ($10,000),
Illinois Valley Community
Development Organization
($700), and the Meyer Me-
morial Trust ($8,212).
Thousands of volunteer
hours from the center’s mem-
bers and interested commu-
nity-minded people “have
produced an exceedingly
beautiful building and project
that will help the center pay
its electricity bill, while offer-
ing an educational opportu-
nity in alternative energy to
the growing Illinois Valley
community,” the board said.
Tours of the newly li-
censed commercial kitchen
also will be available. Thanks
to a $1,000 grant from the
Ashland Food Cooperative,
the center now has a fully
equipped commercial food
processing kitchen.
Those interested in pro-
ducing food items for sale
(either at the Farmers Market
or other retail outlets) may
rent the kitchen by the hour.
Information about Oregon
Dept. of Agriculture regula-
tions for food processing and
labeling will be provided to
processors.
More information about
the grand opening and the
center’s events and opportu-
nities can be obtained by
phoning 415-1000.
By ROGER BRANDT
For IVN
What do you do when
your parachute is tangled in
the top of a 200-foot-tall tree;
you only have 120 feet of
rope in the pocket of your
jump suit --
and a forest
fire is coming
up the moun-
tain
toward
you?
The an-
swer to that
experience,
plus the relat-
ing of many
other stories,
were among recollections that
visitors heard from former
smokejumpers attending a
reunion at the historic Siski-
you Smokejumper Base, now
Illinois Valley Airport.
More than 150 smoke-
jumpers attended the reunion
with many coming from as
far away as Texas, Wyoming,
Florida, and Ohio. The oldest
had worked at the base in
1946, and the youngest was at
the base when
the U.S. Forest
Service closed
it in 1981.
Most of the
individuals at
the reunion had
worked at the
Siskiyou
Smokejumper
Base
when
they were go-
ing to college and then moved
on to successful careers in a
surprisingly diverse range of
occupations. Many were doc-
(Continued on page 13)
Hare today, gone tomorrow
Evie retiring at I.V. High
Automotive fun adventure Friday, Saturday
A 1960 customized T-Bird owned by Chuck Mathis, of Roseburg, was chosen ‘Best of
Show’ last year during the Cave Junction Lions Club car show, and the club has a full
schedule of public events set for Friday and Saturday, June 23-24 during the eighth an-
nual Antique & Classic Car Show. On Friday, based at the Sterling Savings Bank parking
lot in Downtown CJ, there’ll be a cruise available from 7 to 9 p.m., and a barbecue and
dance from 7 to 10 with music by ‘Southern Oregon Blues Band’. The car show, with
plenty of show-and-shine, will be held in Jubilee Park Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Breakfast will be served from 7-11 a.m.; lunch from 11 a.m. until ? (‘I.V. News’ file photo)
Alternative medicine for I.V. explored
Illinois Valley Medical
Center (IVMC) Inc. is one of
31 Oregon communities
recently awarded a USDA
Rural Business Enterprise
Grant (RBEG) to support
small business development
and economic growth in rural
communities.
IVMC has provided ac-
cess to health-care services
for Illinois Valley since 1946.
IVMC’s medical building on
Caves Hwy., currently occu-
pied by Siskiyou Health Cen-
ter (SCHC), will be vacated
when Siskiyou moves into its
new facility in the fall.
IVMC is using a rural
Business Enterprise Grant
to provide the technical assis-
tance necessary to evaluate
the feasibility of developing
an alternative and comple-
mentary health-care facility in
Cave Junction.
Alternatives to Western
medicine include health-care
services provided by chiro-
practors, acupuncturists, natu-
ropaths, homeopaths, herbal-
ists, nutritional counselors,
and massage therapists -- to
name a few.
In a 1997 study of health
services and facilities in Illi-
nois Valley, commissioned
by Illinois Valley Community
Response Team, forerunner
to I.V. Community Develop-
ment Organization, the sec-
ond-highest ranked need for
which there was considerable
community consensus was
alternatives to Western
Medicine, said IVMC.
Alternative medicine use
and expenditures have in-
creased substantially in the
United States. In fact, the
number of annual visits to
alternative practitioners is
nearly double the number of
visits to all primary-care phy-
sicians, IVMC said.
For more information
regarding the proposal con-
tact Meadow Martell at
meadownm@frontiernet, or
592-2693.
Anti-graffiti team part of CJ security unit
Taking back the Cave
Junction streets and park
means that citizens must play
a more active role, not to en-
force the law, but to be eyes
and ears for deputies.
“We are your backup,”
said Cpl. Sean Rarey, of Jose-
phine County Sheriff’s Office
(JCSO). “We will get to you
in an emergency as fast as we
can, but citizens must learn to
protect themselves,” he said.
Also, helping identify
suspects with specific de-
scriptions, sometimes with
photos, will be a big help.
Citizens also can be involved
by using a Neighborhood
Watch-type attitude, and us-
ing burglar alarms, sturdy
locks and exterior lighting.
“We need to let the
criminal element know that
we will not tolerate their ac-
tions in our town,” said
Rarey. “They need to know
that they’re not welcome.”
Rarey, officer-in-charge
of JCSO’s Illinois Valley
Substation in Cave Junction,
commented Monday night,
June 19 in Cave Junction City
Hall during the inaugural
For Evie Hare, office
manager at Illinois Valley
High School, clocks and cal-
endars will have different
appearances after Friday,
June 23.
That’s because the date
will mark her retirement after
devoting 19 years to IVHS
and Three Rivers School Dis-
trict.
“Clocks and calendars
will not be such a strong force
in my life,” she said. “This is
kind of a stressful job, and I
won’t be using weekends to
get ready for the next work
week.”
Hare, who was honored
during a recent school assem-
bly, came to IVHS in 1987 as
a substitute worker. She
worked in the cafeteria and
library nearly two years be-
fore being hired full time.
She subsequently served
in the positions of youth ad-
vocate, office receptionist,
and athletic secretary, becom-
ing office manager in 1993.
Her desk will be taken over
by Janie Pope; and Pope’s job
as athletic secretary will be
filled by Erika Lundberg,
who’ll move from Evergreen
Elementary School.
Hare’s first name is
really Yvonne, but growing
up, her younger sister called
her Evie, and the name stuck.
She was born at Camp Pen-
dleton, a U.S. Marine Corps
facility adjacent to Oceanside,
Calif., but she grew up in
Orange County, and still re-
calls how beautiful it used to
be with many orange groves.
Regarding retirement, the
longtime employee said, “I’ll
miss the kids and staff,” who
recognize her as “a great of-
fice manager: caring, con-
cerned, fun and organized.”
She’s also known as a
person who tries to have time
for everyone, who loves the
Lord and her family, and who
still loves lots of “things”
from the ‘60s.
Staff and students laud
her for a “wonderful person-
ality and high expectations of
people that will be her legacy.
By her own example,” they
note, “she creates an expecta-
tion of personal excellence.”
She and her son, David
Bayless, who was an IVHS
valedictorian now living in
Seattle, moved to Illinois Val-
ley in 1974. During their first
day here, she met Denny
Hare, whom she married in
1977, and two more children
joined the family.
Also IVHS grads are her
children, Simon, who lives in
Virginia; and Maria Rose,
who will make Hare a grand-
mother in January. Rose, who
lives in Bend, is a graphic
artist who made the retire-
ment countdown calendar for
her mom.
Evie plans to spend a lot
more time with Denny, either
gardening or just being at
home on their 80 acres out
Caves Hwy. She also enjoys
reading suspense and mystery
stories, especially inside
“Lucy,” their motorhome,
and especially if they’re at the
Oregon coast.
The soon-to-be retiree
would like to travel more than
she and her husband have
been able during her time at
IVHS.
Staff and students will
miss her, stating that
“probably her greatest attrib-
ute is her caring spirit. She
genuinely loves young people
and willingly shares in their
joys and pains.”
As for Evie, she notes,
“It’s been a true pleasure and
an honor to work for Three
Rivers School District. I
couldn’t have had a better
job.”
(Continued on page 9)
IVFD damage
totals $29,000
A NEW MEDICAL FACILITY being built at the north end of the city of Cave Junction
as the new home for Siskiyou Community Health Center is to open this coming fall.
Part of the building will offer services including X-rays by Three Rivers Community
Hospital. A benefit for construction costs, Savor the Valley, will be held Saturday,
June 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Bridgeview Vineyards Winery on Holland Loop in rural
CJ. The ad is on page 16. (Photo by ‘Illinois Valley News’)
A number of money mat-
ters registered with Illinois
Valley Fire District (IVFD)
directors during their meeting
Thursday night, June 15 at
administrative headquarters.
Chief Harry Rich told the
board, with Directors Dusty
Bouchard and Sam Michel
absent, that it appears costs
will reach at least $29,000 in
connection with an accident
at HQ.
He referred to May 26
when a full-size pickup truck,
driven by a Nevada man,
crashed into the new building.
The vehicle ended up inside
the conference room after the
(Continued on page 3)
Evie Hare has been tearing off countdown pages in
preparation for retirement June 23. (Photo by ‘I.V. News’)