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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Bob’s Corner
Faithful readers might recall my painful story of sev-
eral years ago regarding my tremendous lack of me-
chanical/building/fixing objects talent. But I type well.
I have built a few items in the past. Some of them
actually stayed together long enough to stand up before
collapsing in a pile of twisted nails, oozing glue and saw-
dust. Some of us have no aptitude for such matters. For-
tunately, my wife and three children all have engineer-
type brains, and can figure out stuff. Good thing.
Still, it took me years to let Jan take the lead after
we’d buy an item and the box had the dreadful, fateful
words (for people like me): “Assembly Required.” Yikes.
I’d break into a cold sweat and start trembling. Not to
worry though, as Jan has the genius to figure out any-
thing. But I used to try first to “show her” how to do it.
Perhaps a bit too much machismo? Didn’t work. Almost
went to divorce court a few times over those “Assembly
Required” items.
Anyway, this brings us, strangely enough, to last
week when we got some new light fixture shades. I can
handle this project, I thought. So much for thinking. But
wait -- I was able to get the tall ladder into the bedroom,
climb it and figure out how to remove the glass shades
to replace them with the fabric ones. It was exciting to
be way up near the ceiling and discover that at least two
of our four cats had climbed the ladder from the other
side and were having some sort of Cat Game called,
“Let’s Scare Dad by Shaking the Ladder.” They also en-
joyed, “Try to Trip Him While He’s Climbing Down.”
It took five separate ladder round-trips, with help
from our herd of felines, to remove the old shades and
bulbs. Then on my sixth excursion, I discovered that the
new shades wouldn’t clip over the light bulbs because
the bulbs were too large for the clips. Off I went to get
new, smaller lights. Jan had me take one of the old
lights to be sure I got a proper size.
That was a mistake, as I thought of one dimension,
and she was thinking three-dimensionally.
Because although I got smaller bulbs, it wasn’t until I
made another creaky trip up the ladder, with my cat
escorts, that I realized the bases were too small. I had
gotten bulbs with Christmas tree bases, when I needed
bulbs with regular bases. Arghh. Off I went again for
more bulbs.
Could not find bulbs of the right wattage. Phoned
Jan, who advised me to wait until the next day and try
another store with more variety. That worked.
Meanwhile, we left the ladder in our bedroom over-
night. The cats loved it. Played games nearly all night.
Next time, I’ll have them do the job. I’m sure they could
handle it better than I. Did I mention though that I am a
really good typist?
* * *
P.S. The day after the complicated installation pro-
cedure we decided to put back the glass shades. And
you don’t even want to hear about the problematical
situation we encountered. It was because of my replac-
ing the plastic rings for them so far down on the light
base the day before that it took extreme dexterity and
patience to remove them. But the mission was accom-
plished. Again with help (she took over) from my wife.
Some days life is just fill of twists and turns.
free
movie night
Free movie every
Saturday night in
our outdoor
theater . . .
July 1st through
August 26th
Gate opens at
8:30
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 69, No. 15
Staff: Michelle Binker, Bryan Harley,
Tabitha Jackson, Zina Booth.
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Letters to the Editor
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Typed, double-spaced let-
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I.V. Lions lauded
for gallant gesture
From Lew Levison
Cave Junction
The spirit that makes the
Illinois Valley such a great
place to live was demon-
strated recently in connection
with a near disaster.
A smokejumper reunion
was planned for Illinois Val-
ley Airport on June 17. Jose-
phine County, which owns
and manages the airport, was
notified nearly two years ago
of the reunion.
Former smokejumpers
from all over the country had
made plans to attend. How-
ever the Illinois Valley Lions
Club, which has its den at the
airport, was planning a fund-
raising crab feed for the same
day and had already started
advertising.
Somehow the scheduling
conflict wasn’t recognized
until about a week before the
event. This had the potential to
develop into a major feud, and
in many other places would
have ended in lawsuits or per-
haps genocide. Alerted to the
problem, the I.V. Lions
showed that they truly are
lionhearted, not by roaring
loudly, but by voluntarily
changing their plans at the last
minute, averting disaster.
The smokejumper reun-
ion was a success, and a trib-
ute to those brave firefighters
who figure so prominently in
the valley’s history. I hope
that the Lions are strongly
supported not only for this
gallant gesture, but for all the
other great things they do.
Bridge worker wants
return of his watch
From Danny Doyle
Cave Junction
Regarding the June 14
letter by Glenda Graham,
“Hazardous debris noted in
river at R&R bridge,” I am
one of the workers on the
bridges.
I dropped my watch
and my tape measure in the
water by accident. I waited
until last weekend for the
water to drop enough to
retrieve them, went down on
Sunday, but could not find
them.
Now I know why. There
are other workers here who
would like their tools back as
well.
I’ll leave my phone num-
ber with the editor if Graham
would like to return the
“missing” goods.
Giving away county
property outrageous
From Jim Raffenburg,
vice chairman,
Josephine County
Board of Commissioners
On April 27 and again on
June 15, the Josephine
County Board of Commis-
sioners voted 2-0 to give
away capital property owned
by Josephine County, valued
at more than $1 million, to
Southern Oregon Education
Service District (SOESD),
based in Jackson County.
The 2-0 votes are signifi-
cant in that on both occasions,
I was either ill or scheduled
out for a doctor’s appoint-
ment. I could not and did not
participate in any discussion
or vote on this issue.
The April 27 vote, to the
best of my knowledge, and
based upon the official re-
cord, occurred with little to
no discussion of this subject
by the board.
The decision to give this
property away raises serious
concerns.
First, why was there such
a rush to decide to give away
a potential multimillion prop-
erty without allowing for ade-
quate discussion by all three
commissioners?
Second, why give the
property away at all when
SOESD had already notified
the Josephine County Board
of Commissioners, in writing,
that it would be satisfied with
a long-term lease?
Third, and perhaps most
importantly, is my concern
that the board of commission-
ers does not have the author-
ity under County Charter Sec-
tion 15.5 to give this (or any
other capital) property away.
I believe the charter means
exactly what it says, and what
Charter Section 15.5 says is
that this type of action re-
quires a positive vote of the
people. This section is short
on words, but broad in scope.
In 1994 the board of
commissioners put Measures
17-2 through 17-12 on the
ballot in an effort to clarify
the scope of Section 15.5.
Measure 17-4 addressed the
sale, trade or transfer of
county land and was specific
in listing types of actions this
measure included. It was
short on words and very nar-
row in scope.
It asked voters to pre-
approve specific blanket ap-
proval for certain listed types
of property actions. Giving
property away was not a
listed action for blanket voter
approval.
County legal counsel has
interpreted Measure 17-4 as
being broader than the actual
language it contains. The
other measures that shared
that same ballot were like-
wise narrow in scope and
very specific. The commis-
sioners at that time had every
opportunity to say exactly
what they meant.
To reinterpret what
Measure 17-4 actually says,
so as “to find” new authority,
after voters approved the spe-
cifically worded and limited
authority, is to me, at the very
least, a betrayal of the voters’
decision.
At worst, to officially act
on this reinterpretation of the
measure is a direct violation
of the limited authority held
by a Josephine County com-
missioner.
I want it to be very clear
to everyone that I have had
no part in these two decisions
and have worked behind the
scenes to stop this give-away.
The property in question
is located at 1017 and 1021
Highland Ave., Grants Pass.
This property is owned free
and clear by Josephine
County, meaning it is paid for
and free from all the financial
strings that usually are at-
tached to special-purpose
funding.
The fact of the matter is
that this building could have
been sold and the revenue
placed into the general fund.
If the properties were only
sold for $1,000,000 (they are
worth more), that money
would have fully funded five
more deputy sheriff positions
for two to three years.
Josephine County is in a
financial crisis. To give this
property away so needlessly
is simply outrageous.
Earlier this year, as part
of my comments in opposi-
tion to the 2-1 vote by the
board that settled an employ-
ees strike, I said that the
county has not done every-
thing it could to reduce its
operating costs and to reas-
sure citizens that the county
was a good steward of the
money it already receives.
This is just one more
example of why I said what I
did. This decision delivers
another serious blow to the
county’s creditability with
citizens regarding the sincer-
ity of those cost-control ef-
forts.
The loss of nearly
$15,000,000 in federal money
next year will only accelerate
the current cries for more
taxes from the various special
interests groups that make up
modern society. The needs
will be quite real in some
cases, most obviously regard-
ing public safety, but in other
cases the need will only be
real to those special interests.
In general, but especially
during the next two years, I
urge the people of Josephine
County to be very discrimi-
nating with any “yes” votes
they decide to cast in any
election where they are asked
for more money.
They should do their best
to look past the emotional
appeals that are sure to come.
Always ask questions and
demand the facts behind any
assertions of need.
Lots of I-5 work
set for summer
From Matt Garrett,
director, Oregon Dept.
of Transportation
Salem
This summer, your Dept.
of Transportation is ramping
up bridge and highway con-
struction on Interstate 5.
You’ve probably already no-
ticed the work zones in the
Salem area, near Eugene, and
throughout Southwestern
Oregon.
Many of these projects
are being funded by the Ore-
gon Transportation Invest-
ment Act (OTIA). The intent
of the OTIA program is to
make improvements that will
keep people, goods and ser-
vices moving safely and ef-
fectively by modernizing
our most important transpor-
tation corridors.
As part of OTIA, we are
repairing and replacing
bridges, widening lanes and
performing essential
maintenance throughout the
state.
The I-5 corridor is Ore-
gon's central transportation
artery. Serving commerce,
commuters, tourists and our
economy, a smooth function-
ing I-5 is critical to our col-
lective quality of life. Since it
was built in the 1950s, I-5’s
freight volume has increased,
the dimensions and weights
of roads have grown, and an
overall greater volume of
traffic puts more pressure on
the system every day. Our
work will strengthen this vital
roadway and help maintain
unrestricted routes for trucks,
tourists and travelers.
Simply put, making im-
provements to I-5 is not only
an investment in Oregon’s
transportation infrastructure,
it is an investment in the eco-
nomic health of Oregon and
the Pacific Northwest.
ODOT’s mobility engi-
neers have created unique
approaches to help keep
traffic moving during these
upgrades. By estimating pos-
sible delays in work zones
and coordinating timelines for
multiple projects, we are
working to keep delays to a
minimum. Whenever possi-
ble, construction will be
scheduled for off-peak or
night hours to further main-
tain traffic flow.
The help of everyone is
needed to make these efforts
truly successful. Major road
construction, even with state-
of-the-art traffic planning, can
cause delays. We are asking
folks to be prepared for inter-
mittent disruptions.
Most important, we urge
slowing down in work zones
and to be patient. Our motto
is, “Better roads are ahead!”
To help plan trips and
avoid delays, ODOT main-
tains two sources of up-to-
date information: Trip-
Check.com and 5-1-1. Trip-
Check.com provides detailed
information on construction
(Continued on page 3)
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