Page 2
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, March 7, 2007
PERS better
This is as good a time as any for a colorful column,
even though it’s in black and white. The topic arose a
couple weeks back when I wrote that our in-house black
panther, Flint Eastwood, has green eyes. Actually, he
has yellow eyes.
My fellow pet cat-keeper straightened me out as to
the correct color. She accused me of possibly being sort
of colorblind, although I think it’s just a matter of chro-
matic interpretation perhaps related to light saturation.
How’s that for weaseling?
Just the other night at a large gathering I pointed out
a man wearing a green shirt. She said, “It’s not green,
it’s blue.” At least, I think it went that way. Maybe I said
he was wearing a blue shirt, and it was actually green.
Maybe I should use some other description. Like I could
say, “He’s the guy built like a refrigerator.” Or a utility
pole or whatever. That might work better.
Actually, this color shift might be hereditary. I recall
that Way Back, when I was the world’s oldest 2nd Class
Boy Scout, my Dad bought a ‘55 Buick off a showroom
floor. He told us it was green. But when he got it home, it
was blue. Weird.
More than 20 years ago, while serving as editor-
and-publisher of the “Curry Coastal Pilot” in Brookings, I
attended annual company gatherings in Bend. Thanks
to Jan, I dressed well, because she provided a list of
what shirts to wear with what trousers.
She did the same thing for me when I went to a con-
ference in Washington, D.C. All I had to do was not lose
the list to look sharp. No telling what I would have
looked like without that list.
At this time of my life, I manage to select shirts and
trousers, or sweaters that basically go together. It wasn’t
always that way. There was a time when people would
point at me and fall down laughing, or cover their eyes
when I came into view wearing the color combinations I’d
chosen.
Actually, my being able to choose good combos
probably has a lot to do with Jan weeding through my
part of the closet to be sure my stuff is up to snuff and
hung together. And she is good at telling me when I’ve
combined unattractive colors. For example, I asked her
the other day what I should wear with my yellow-and-
pink shirt and purple pants. “Hip boots,” she answered.
Anyway, these days, I still can tell red traffic signals
from green ones. Isn’t that enough? And if I see red, or
red-and-blue flashing lights behind me, I pull to the side
of the road.
As for the eye colors of our four cats: No comment.
Cave Junction
Wednesday, March 7
Copious clouds,
chance of sprinkles
High--52, Low--34.
Thursday, March 8
Smattering of
sunshine
High--51, Low--35.
Friday, March 9
Rain returns in
evening
High--55, Low--39.
Saturday, March 10
Lot’s of clouds w/rain
High--61, Low--40.
Sunday, March 11
Rain dwindling, then
clouds
High--64, Low--34.
Monday, March 12
Chance of continued
cloudiness
High--58, Low--31.
Tuesday, March 13
Somewhat sunny
High--52, Low--30
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in O’Brien by Cheryl
& Harry Johnson.
*Fri.,
Feb. 23: 42-32 0.94
snow 5.00
*Sat., Feb. 24: 44-36 1.65
snow 2.00
*Sun., Feb. 25: 41-34 1.26
snow 2.00
*Mon., Feb. 26: 40-33 0.43
snow 5.00
*Tues., Feb. 27: 39-32 0.20
snow 10.00
*Wed., Feb. 28: 36-33
snow 3.00
*Thurs., March 1: 44-34 0.75
snow 1.00
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in Cave Junction at
Mountain Wind Farm.
*Fri.,
Feb. 23: 44-29 0.83
*Sat., Feb. 24: 46-35 1.28
*Sun., Feb. 25: 39-33 1.85
*Mon., Feb. 26: 39-31 0.54
*Tues., Feb. 27: 40-31 0.61
*Wed., Feb. 28: 46-32 0.95
*Thurs., March 1: 47.32 0.78
illinois-valley-news.com
Illinois Valley News
www.illinois-valley-news.com
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by
Robert R. (AKA Bob or El Jefe), Editor and Jan Rodriguez
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. 51
Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Josiah Dean, Scott Jorgensen
Millie Watkins, and Tina Grow
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
“PlanSponsor” maga-
zine has recognized the Ore-
gon Public Employees
Retirement System (PERS)
for closing its $17 billion
dollar pension funding gap.
The national publication
named PERS as its Public
Plan Sponsor of the Year.
The announcement was
made in the cover story of
the magazine's February
issue.
“Oregon PERS made
tough decisions and con-
fronted the issues head-on,”
said Nevin E. Adams, edi-
tor-in-chief
of
“PlanSponsor” magazine. It
recognized the bold PERS
system reforms and the $60
billion retirement fund in-
vestment by the Office of
the State Treasurer and the
Oregon Investment Council.
During 2003 the PERS
system was facing a $17
billion unfunded actuarial
liability. Because of PERS
reform, good investment
returns, and pension obliga-
tion bond investments the
PERS system now has a
$1.75 billion surplus, the
magazine reported.
Republicans
(Continued from page 1)
to support the surge in mili-
tary personnel.
On other issues, dele-
gates voted 119-109 to tie
public funding of state
schools to student perform-
ance; voted 121-73 to
amend Oregon’s Constitu-
tion to abolish state-
sponsored gambling, includ-
ing the lottery and video
gaming machines; and voted
92-81 against recommend-
ing repeal of the National
Real ID Act.
In a straw poll of Re-
publican presidential candi-
dates, delegates selected
former New York City
Mayor Rudy Giuliani as
their top pick. Giuliani re-
ceived 60 votes; former
House Speaker Newt Gin-
grich and former Massachu-
setts Gov. Mitt Romney 34
each; and Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) 19, despite being
the only candidate with a
booth at the annual event.
Daylight-time
(Continued from page 1)
passed a law to “preserve
daylight and provide stan-
dard time for the United
States.”
Repealed in 1919, Presi-
dent Roosevelt instituted
year-round DST during
World War II, when it was
referred to as War Time.
After the war ended in
1945, DST was no longer a
law. However, some states
still used it, which led to a
number of scheduling diffi-
culties. The Uniform Time
Act of 1966 was signed by
President Johnson. States
that wanted an exemption
had to pass a state law to do
so. Currently Hawaii and
Arizona are the only states
that do not participate.
Since then, there have
been various modifications
to DST, but the biggest
change is this year, when the
clock changes will be
pushed back and ahead one
month.
(Editor’s Note: Views and
commentary, including state-
ments made as fact, are strictly
those of the letter-writers.)
* * *
Typed, double-spaced let-
ters written solely to this news-
paper are considered for publi-
cation. Hand-written letters that
are double-spaced and legible
also can be considered.
‘Thank you’ submissions
are not accepted as letters.
* * *
One-year O&C Band-Aid
offers time for planning
From Don Loving,
Public Affairs director,
Oregon Council 75,
American Federation of
State, County and Munici-
pal Employees (AFSCME)
Portland
A solution to the
“county payments” issue is
proving elusive.
Without the funds tradi-
tionally provided by timber
receipts and, more recently,
subsidies from the Secure
Rural Schools and Commu-
nity Self-Determination Act,
several Oregon counties are
beginning to lay off workers
or making plans to do so.
As can be inferred from
our organization’s name,
this is a big concern. Many
of the workers targeted for
layoff are members of our
union. But despite what
may be thought about public
employees and their unions,
this issue is not about people
“keeping their jobs” -- it’s
about good public policy.
And, dare we say it, the
moral obligation of the fed-
eral government.
This issue has become
much harder than it needs to
be. Oregon is the 10th-
largest state geographically,
yet more than 50 percent of
our land is owned by Uncle
Sam, who pays no property
taxes. Counties rely on
property taxes to fund their
most basic and essential
services.
To offset that loss of
revenue, federal officials
agreed decades ago that
Oregon counties should re-
ceive a share of the funds
gained from timber cut on
federal forest lands. That
system worked fine as long
as trees were being cut.
But in the 1980s, reces-
sion and increased concerns
about the environment se-
verely decreased the number
of trees harvested, prompt-
ing the federal subsidies. It’s
a fair trade-off given the
reality of our geography.
Yet our AFSCME Inter-
national lobbyist working
this issue on Capitol Hill
says that many legislators
“just don’t get it.” Never
mind that Oregon has coun-
ties larger than some states,
nor that it’s hardly our fault
God covered the Pacific
Northwest with trees.
“They need to diversify
their economy out there,”
our D.C. lobbyist hears re-
peatedly. Hey, if there were
an economic diversification
silver bullet, Oregon coun-
ties would surely have fired
it years ago. Achieving such
diversification isn’t easy
when your county’s largest
land owner is an increasingly
disinterested out-of-stater.
The original Secure
Rural Schools and Commu-
nity Self-Determination Act
was an understood “deal”
reflecting geography and
economics. Many lawmak-
ers from other states don’t
like the fact that Oregon
receives such a large portion
of the payouts. But the pro-
portion is based on the real-
ity that this is where the
trees are -- or at least were.
And that argument is
disingenuous at best. Ore-
gon has no large military
bases that receive seemingly
endless federal funding. We
receive no subsidies for not
growing a particular cancer-
causing crop. No cash for
acres of unused or otherwise
inoperative oil derricks.
Nationally, people want
Oregon to have pristine,
publicly owned forests.
We’re fine with that, but
there’s a price to pay.
It appears that the best
solution for now is a one-
year “emergency extension”
of the Secure Rural Schools
and Community Self-
Determination Act to be
attached to a supplemental
budget earmarked to move
A presentation in the
Feb. 28 issue on page 14
about O’Brien residents
George & Anwyn Leverett
and their daughter, Annaka,
contained two errors.
First the headline stating
that they are working on
their second album is incor-
rect. It will be their fifth al-
bum. Second, the name of
that album is “Hearth
Light,” not “Heart Light.”
“Illinois Valley News”
apologizes for the blunders.
through Congress sometime
in March.
We’re encouraging
AFSCME members to write
House Speaker Nancy Pe-
losi and urge her to throw
her considerable clout be-
hind this extension, and we
urge the general public to
join our effort. It’s a Band-
Aid at best, but would buy
some needed time to devise
a long-term solution.
And note that Congress
is rarely swayed by e-mail.
People should take the time
to write a “real letter” and
invest 39-cents in Oregon’s
future.
Vertical Horizons
Tree House
Paradise
is offering winter
rates until May.
Check us out,
come by and look
around!
(541) 592-4751
verticalhorizons@frontiernet.net
treehouseparadise.com
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DEADLINES:
POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters to the editor provided they are
of general interest, in good taste, legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using
complete name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number. The latter need not
be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters.
Generally, one letter per person per month at publishers’ discretion. Letters are used at the
discretion of the publishers. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor returned. A
prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is inordinately long in the publishers’ opinion.
POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE,” DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADS
& NOTICES: All submissions must be hand delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for
publication. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run more than
one week.
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