50¢
JoCo hires
chief aide
to lead ops
Biomassing
at R&R gets
many views
By OLIVIA
TAYLOR-YOUNG
For IVN
Since Rough & Ready
Lumber Co. announced its
intention to install a new
woodwaste-fired power gen-
erating plant in Illinois Val-
ley, some residents have
been worried about its possi-
ble negative effects on the
environment.
On Wednesday eve-
ning, Oct. 18, a standing-
room-only crowd of ap-
proximately 250 filled the
Lorna Byrne Middle School
cafeteria for a question-and-
answer session proposed to
calm misgivings, increase
awareness and, hopefully,
clear the air.
By the meeting conclu-
sion, most attendees agreed
that it was informative and
enlightening. But a number
also felt that some air-
clearing objectives were not
met. Their criticisms were
not about lack of data.
Ample, multifaceted
information was presented.
They also had no quarrel
with the moderator’s request
for a nonconfrontational
meeting. However, they did
feel that some valid con-
cerns geared toward fact-
finding and verification
were whitewashed, and that
substantive -- perhaps con-
troversial -- discussion was
thwarted under the guise of
“being civil and respectful.”
BUILDING BOATS with
one roll of duct tape and
all the cardboard they
could scrounge, and
then testing them at the
Cave Junction Swim-
ming Pool, was an engi-
neering project for Illi-
nois Valley High School
students of Wayne
McHugh on Friday, Oct.
20. The winning craft
over a 100-yard course
was piloted by sopho-
more Billy Dillard and
freshman Jeremiah Gib-
son, both 15. Their ves-
sel was built by fresh-
man Zach Dominguez,
14. Planning and design
were major factors in the
educational effort with
one boat taking on water
half-way through the
course, and its crew
abandoning ship. (‘I.V.
News’ photos)
(Continued on page 4)
Clerk’s office
sends ballots
Ballots for the Tuesday,
Nov. 7 general election were
mailed Friday afternoon,
Oct. 20, and any registered
voter who does not receive a
ballot by Friday, Oct. 27
should phone the Josephine
County Clerk’s Election
Dept. at 474-5243 without
delay.
Ballots are not forward-
able so if anyone has
moved, they should update
their voter registration and
request a ballot, said Geor-
gette Brown, county clerk.
All voted ballots must
be received in the county
clerk’s office or in an offi-
cial drop box by 8 p.m. elec-
tion day.
Brown said that ballot
box locations are listed in
the Josephine County Vot-
ers’ Pamphlet, inserted in
Volume 2 of the State Vot-
ers’ Pamphlet.
AN AMPHIBIOUS REPLICA of the USS ‘Sproston,’ a
Fletcher class destroyer, was tested for seaworthiness
and balance at Lake Selmac Wednesday, Oct. 18. Ship
owner and builder Chet Champion, of Selma, explained
that the listing that occurred was due to mud that col-
lected against the dock. Another test will be held in
late spring. The replica has a 15hp outboard motor.
The actual vessel served with distinction during World
War II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars. (Photo by
Dale Sandberg for ‘Illinois Valley News’)
Squirrel fried
in power play
An errant squirrel is
called the cause of an inter-
ruption to electrical power
for Rough & Ready Lumber
Co. and O’Brien on Thurs-
day, Oct. 19.
The outage lasted from
10:18 a.m. to 2:40 p.m., said
Pacific Power. Some 437
customers were affected, the
utility added.
It was not clear whether
the squirrel, which died
from its contact with elec-
tricity, was at the lumber
company or the nearby Pa-
cific Power substation.
The animal apparently
contacted a high-voltage
line, which shorted a trans-
former.
One person driving on
Hwy. 199 reported seeing a
puff of smoke from the area
of the substation at about the
time the outage occurred.
JOY CHEN
Freshman Princess
TAMMY HUNTAMER
Sophomore Princess
ILLINOIS VALLEY’S HOMECOMING COURT has been
selected by the students in their respective high
school classes. The king and queen will be announced
at the half of the homecoming football game Saturday,
RAESHA YEOMAN
Junior Princess
LYDIA BEEMAN
Senior Princess
Oct. 28. Students will hold their annual homecoming
parade Friday afternoon, marching through Cave Junc-
tion. See page 14 for the route and a story about last
week’s varsity football game. (Photos by ‘I.V. News’)
A reorganization of
county government by the
Josephine County Board of
Commissioners for in-
creased efficiency will result
in a new position -- that of
chief operating officer.
The board has hired
Marie Hill, director of the
county’s Community Justice
Office for the new position.
That position and another
top county job are being
eliminated. It is anticipated
that she will begin her new
post next week.
In connection with the
change, Mark Sorenson left
his station as director of
county General Services on
Friday, Oct. 20, although his
official retirement date is
Tuesday, Nov. 7. The
county commissioners have
eliminated his position as
part of a streamlining effort
aimed at saving money.
Indications are that the
change will result in a sav-
ing of nearly $120,000.
Hill has agreed to as-
sume the interim position of
chief operating officer for
her current annual salary of
$93,000.
Among her duties, al-
though a formal job descrip-
tion is pending, she will
oversee day-to-day county
operations. That is seen as a
way to free the county board
to direct its efforts toward
more policy work, and to
deal with the anticipated
lack of funding due to the
probable loss of federal
O&C income early in 2007.
The new job is in line
with other earlier moves by
the county board, which has
reduced the number of
county jobs from 650 to
425. The commissioners
also have made it clear that
duties and salaries of some
management positions likely
will be reduced.
(Also see the letter to
the editor from Commis-
sioner Jim Raffenburg on
page 2 for additional infor-
mation.)
BLM, USFS
burns bring
valley smoke
Prescribed burns caused
smoke to affect parts of Illi-
nois Valley late last week.
The Bureau of Land
Management, and U.S. For-
est Service were burning a
total of 318 acres on four
separate sites, said Patty
Burel, of the forest service.
One of the burns, a 150-
acre program some 3 miles
north of Cave Junction, re-
sulted in a large plume of
smoke that was quite visi-
ble. Another burn was 9 air
miles east of Selma.
Burel apologized for
those who might have been
affected by the smoke. Such
burns are designed to reduce
ground fuels, protect private
property, and protect natural
resources, she said.
The burns were de-
scribed in a page 1 article in
this newspaper on Oct. 11.
* Country Folks cookin,
page 12
* CJ Pool not in the
swim, page 13
GUTSHALL-DOUGLAS
Freshman Prince
MOISES MENDOZA
Sophomore Prince
PEDRO COSTA
Junior Prince
AUSTIN HOCKER
Senior Prince
* Treetop treat; Boys &
Girls Club building
planned, page 24