Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Page 3
Family Coalition, Xmas Basket Program seek help
Distribution of toys, food set for Dec. 16 at I.V. Family Resource Center in Cave Junction
HOLIDAY BASKETS - Distribution of toys and
food under the Illinois Valley Christmas Basket program
will be held Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., said
Celia Siemer, project coordinator. The Illinois Valley
High School Choir will perform, and many community
volunteers, as well as IVHS students, will help with dis-
tribution of items. All activities will be at I.V. Family
Resource Center, 535 E. River St. in Cave Junction.
PLASMA PINTS - American Red Cross will take
donations of blood Thursday, Dec. 14 at Illinois Valley
Senior Center on E. River Street in Cave Junction from
1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Phone (800) 448-3543 to sign up or reg-
ister. Donors also can show up without notification, as
long as they are at least 17 and in good health.
CHRISTMAS MEAL - Cave Junction Cares is pre-
paring for its annual free dinner on Christmas Day, Dec.
25 from 10 a.m. to noon at Jubilee Park in CJ. Besides the
meal, Santa will be present. Recapping the Thanksgiving
meal, founder and organizer Lynn Boucher said that 23
turkeys and 70 pounds of ham filled plates for all comers,
as well as 400 servings of mashed potatoes and 10 gallons
of gravy. “It was the best turnout we’ve ever had,” she
said, “more than double previous attendance marks.” She
said that an item in the “Noose” helped considerably.
NOTEPAD - “Noose” goofs: Last issue contained a
couple of bloopers, both in photo captions. One read,
“Jack Front,” instead of Jack Frost. Another referred to a
“Bomb Treat” instead of a Bomb Threat … A Christ-
mas dinner will be served to anyone without charge by
Bridgeview Community Church from 1 to 5 p.m. on
Christmas Day. Phone 415-1101 for more info or to ar-
range to have food delivered ... New Year’s Eve will be
celebrated by HASL Independent Abilities Center at
Riverside Event Center in GP with a silent auction, hors
d’oeuvres and a no-host bar. Phone 479-4275 for more
information … A new book, “V1-Rotate: An Action
Novel about Airplanes and the People Who Fly
Them,” has been written by Grants Pass resident Rus-
sell L. Meek. More info is available from au-
thorhouse.com ... T-shirts: *If you really love me, buy
me a present. *Back off, I’m fragile. *I make up stuff. *I
see stupid people. *You will all be my slaves. *I have no
idea what you’re talking about. And I don’t care.
LAST WORDS - It is difficult to answer when one
does not know the question. (Sarak of Vulcan)
(Continued from page 2)
The dog was very hurt, but he
was still alive.
The dog was very sweet
and responsive to our care.
My husband and I drove him
to Dr. Joe’s Pet Hospital. Dr.
Joe Hoelzle, Jay and Kim
showed their kindness, pro-
fessionalism and dedication.
They put their hearts into
saving the dog. They acted
quickly to provide emergency
care. We are fortunate to have
people who care so much for
the animals of our commu-
nity. We appreciate their ef-
forts. Unfortunately the dog
didn’t survive his injuries.
We also want to note the
kind customers in Dr. Joe’s
office for their support and
patience. As well, the caring
woman who pitched in to pay
for the care the dog received
and the woman who stopped
on the highway and helped
move the dog off the road.
Everyone was hoping
that poor dog would make it.
None of us knew the dog
before; yet we were all affected
by
him,
and
we
all put our hearts into caring for
him. Amid such a horrible ex-
perience, it was reassuring to
be surrounded by the kindness
of our community.
Pet-owners should not
allow them to run free where
they may encounter dangers.
It is their job to ensure pet
safety. No one, pet or person,
should have to go through
such a terrible experience.
People need to be responsi-
ble -- for their pets and the
community.
‘The shame of it all’
due to administration
From Darlene Kirby
Cave Junction
The Baker-Hamilton Iraq
Study Report has finally
come out. Jim Baker and oth-
ers have had all the informa-
tion since last April, but did-
n’t want to release it before
the election.
Today appears to be the
beginning of the end. The end
of what? I keep asking my-
self. The end of the American
dream the founders of these
United States fought for and
worked so hard to secure for
all of us?
The end of a war so hei-
nous in its inception and reek-
ing of lies, corruption, and
greed that it sickens me to
think about what some men
will do to others for power
and monetary gain?
The murders of thou-
sands of Iraquis to satisfy
their lust for oil revenues.
Their lust for power over
those who couldn’t stand up
to our military might and who
laid down what arms they had
thinking this administration
was coming to save them
from a ruthless dictator. Iraqis
who now find themselves
worse off than ever before.
Instead of going into
Baghdad to serve the poor,
we left the poor to fend for
themselves, and have instead
built a “Green Zone” for our-
selves for our comfort with
air conditioning, treated water
and sewer systems that carry
waste away from the streets.
The citizens of Baghdad
are left with nothing. They
have no electricity for air
conditioning in 120-plus de-
gree heat, no heat in the cold,
no treated water and have raw
sewage running in the streets
that they have to walk
through to reach home.
They have no jobs. We
have given the majority of
jobs to private contractors in
no-bid deals that only benefit
the rich like Halliburton,
KBR, Bechtol, Blackwater
Security and several others.
What are the Iraqi people
to do but fight for survival?
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Illinois Valley Family
Coalition (IVFC) is working
with other groups to ensure
a merry Christmas for the
less fortunate.
The Josephine County
Food Basket program has
been operating for nearly 30
years, and annually feeds
approximately 2,600 fami-
lies. Of the families aided by
the program last year, 680
lived in Illinois Valley.
Celia Seimer, a case
manager for the Oregon
Dept. of Human Services
(DHS), distributes food bas-
kets locally as part of the
program.
Seimer said that despite
statistically low unemploy-
ment rates, Josephine
County still has many needy
residents.
“I’m seeing a lot that
are underemployed,” Seimer
said. “For many people, it’s
just not a livable wage.
Feeding a family of four on
$10 an hour is really diffi-
cult.”
Donations for the food
basket program will be ac-
cepted until Friday, Dec. 15
at IVFC, located in the I.V.
Family Resource Center on
E. River Street in Cave
Junction. Families will pick
them up the following day.
Aside from food, dona-
tions of blankets, gloves,
hats and slippers also are
encouraged.
“I take just about any-
thing if I think I can get it
to somebody else,” Seimer
said.
The second annual Car-
ing Tree Program aims to
help disabled and senior
residents make their Christ-
mas wishes come true.
Program participants
put their gift wishes on heart
ornaments that are hung on
the Caring Tree. IFVC staff
and volunteers purchase
those items, and recipients
will pick them up from Dec.
18 to 22.
Last year, 47 individu-
als sent their Christmas
wishes, most of which were
granted.
“We received almost
$400 in cash, and all of that
was spent just for those
Christmas wishes,” said
IVFC Executive Director
Carol Rona.
Donations for the Car-
ing Tree Program also will
be accepted at IVFC until
Dec. 15.
During 2005, the I.V.
Christmas Toy Program
helped approximately 350
families celebrate the holi-
days. The program contin-
ues this year, and serves a
very useful purpose.
“The toy program run
mally have.”
Donations of new, un-
wrapped toys can be
dropped off at IVFC or one
of the toy collection bins
around the area. Cash dona-
tions can be sent to: Illinois
Valley Toy Program, atten-
tion Celia Seimer, 535 E.
River St., Cave Junction,
OR, 97523.
Ronan said that every
year, she is overwhelmed at
the generosity of residents.
“What’s nice to us is we
have a lot of people that
come into our building that
don’t have a lot of income
themselves,” Ronan said.
“It’s amazing how many of
them took hearts off the
trees and tried to shop for
those who they thought
were less fortunate than
them.”
by the coalition is intended
to help parents have a little
self-esteem in being able to
give things directly to their
kids,” Ronan said.
“We allow parents to
come get things for their
kids, and they can wrap
them up and give it to their
kid when they otherwise
couldn’t afford to buy any-
thing for them.”
Seimer said that in-
creased costs for toys have
caused complications for the
program.
“Our budget almost got
cut in half due to the price of
toys,” Seimer said. “We’re
thrifty shoppers, but we’re
struggling to meet the need
this year. I’m really nervous.
The amount of toy dona-
tions we have at this point is
about half of what we nor-
“Cut Your Own Tree Days”
Any 3’ to 10’ tree only $20.00
Join us in some Old Fashioned fun...bring the family,
enjoy hot drinks & candy canes.
12/2, 12/9, & 12/16, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Siskiyou Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm
1701 White School Road, Cave Junction OR 97523
Call 592-2384 or 592-2213 for more information.
State guard gains FEMA cash
Oregon National Guard
will be fully reimbursed by
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA), as promised, for
the emergency assistance it
provided to areas affected
They have lost hope, and an-
ger opens old wounds. Before
we knew it, tribal, ethnic and
religious differences grew out
of control. People who have
lived and married into each
other’s families for more than
30 years are now killing one
another, and many of our
brave military as well.
We have become the axis
of evil. We have become the
tyrants. We have become the
occupiers. We are building a
Vatican-style 100-acre em-
bassy compound in Iraq vs.
the usual 10 acres in other
countries. We are building
four to five military bases,
and we say we don’t want to
be occupiers. Where is the
truth? Where is the logic?
Now we are told we
should train the Iraqi troops to
take our place. How? Our
trainers don’t speak the lan-
guage. The Iraqis don’t trust
us. We don’t trust the Iraqis
enough to arm them. Perhaps
what we need to do is give
them jobs and the money that
goes with the jobs to support
their families and in the proc-
ess give them hope and renew
their confidence in us.
Let the Iraqis take back
their country through the re-
building of their infrastructure
and their cities. It’s time we
tried a new tactic like winning
their hearts and minds through
compassion and kindness.
It’s obvious that bombs
and bullets aren’t getting the
job done. Instead of arming
them and training anymore of
them to kill, let them enjoy
self-esteem and pride while
rebuilding what we have torn
down.
This war of choice has
become an absolute disaster
for the world. Our brave mili-
tary has been betrayed by this
administration. All of Amer-
ica has been betrayed. The
shame of it all.
by Hurricane Katrina.
Congressman Peter De-
Fazio held a press confer-
ence Monday, Dec. 11, to
make the announcement.
Also attending were
Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell,
commander of the Oregon
State Defense Force; and
Ken Murphy, director of
Oregon’s Office of Emer-
gency Management.
DeFazio and the entire
Oregon congressional dele-
gation sent a letter to
Acting FEMA Director R.
David Paulison informing
him of the shortfall the
Oregon Military Dept. faced
without FEMA’s reimburse-
ment. They urged him to
remedy this oversight.
Because of the delega-
tion’s efforts, as well as a
follow-up call to the Dept.
of Homeland Security
by DeFazio, the Oregon
National Guard will be re-
imbursed in full.
IVHS Equestrian Team
Christmas
BINGO
Fundraiser
Saturday, December 16th
at the IV Grange Hall
(Holland Loop)
Early Bird - 6:30 p.m.
Regular - 7 p.m.
Good Food
Door Prizes
Fuel Certificate Drawing
A heart-felt thank you to everyone in the Illinois Valley
from Louis & Carol
Unique Gifts
Stones & Fossils
Beads
Toys for All Ages
Crystal
Reasonable Prices
Jewelry
Open 7 days, 10 - 6
18435 Redwood Hwy.,
Selma
597-4300
Kaleidoscopes
Books & Music
Dragons & Fairies
Our H oliday Thank You from the
Austrian Crystal Prism
with any $10 purchase ($8 value)
Letters to the Editor -- your community forum
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