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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I.V. Airport revised rental pact passed
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
A revised agreement for
McSquared Design Corp. to
lease space at Illinois Valley
Airport was approved by the
Josephine County Board of
Commissioners during its
Wednesday, May 9 business
session in Grants Pass.
McSquared, which spe-
cializes in ultralight aircraft,
currently leases the airport’s
restaurant space. The existing
agreement expired, necessi-
tating a newer agreement.
As part of the deal,
McSquared will pay less rent
in exchange for making re-
pairs to the facility, said Alex
Grossi, county airports man-
ager. The company must ad-
vise the commissioners as to
what repairs have been made,
and provide receipts and
other documentation for veri-
fication, Grossi said.
Commission Vice Chair-
man Dave Toler said that if
the board is dissatisfied with
the facility improvements, the
rent can be increased.
Grossi said that specific
terms of the repair work were
not included in the agree-
ment, as other needed im-
provements may arise during
the five-year lease period.
Under the previous lease,
McSquared paid $285 per
month. The new agreement
lowers that to $235 monthly.
Grossi said that the facili-
ties rented to McSquared con-
tain 1,950 usable square feet
of space, and that the lease
will provide $2,820 in annual
revenue to the county.
During the May 9 meet-
ing, the commissioners also
approved a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) be-
tween the county and Rogue
Community College for ad-
ministration of a $300,000
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
(USDA) Rural Business Eco-
nomic Grant.
The grant will go toward
SMOKE AND SIRENS
were seen and heard (plus
smelled in the case of the
smoke) in Illinois Valley
last week. A controlled
burn (top photo) by the
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment in the Selma area
resulted in smoke
throughout much of the
valley. On Thursday, May
10 Illinois Valley Fire Dis-
trict (IVFD) responded to
two separate alarms (right
photo) in O’Brien. The
alarms were logged as
‘rekindles’ of earlier slash
and debris burns. One
was on Lone Mountain
Road; the other was on
Mahin Road. No injuries
were reported, and no
structures were endan-
gered. IVFD urges those
burning slash to keep
piles small, and to have
charged water lines on
hand. (Photos by Dale &
Elaine Sandberg/IVFD Me-
dia Dept.
‘E-blessing’ group aims to help everybody
Free items sought to give to those who lose everything for a variety of reasons
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Longtime Illinois Valley
residents David and Kathe-
rine Hall have started an
online Yahoo group to help
people in need.
The “e-blessing” group
originated at Illinois Valley
Praise Center. David said that
he was inspired by the strug-
gles of recovering metham-
phetamine addicts who have
turned to the church in their
recovery.
“They all had great
needs, because most of them
had nothing -- no furniture or
anything to sustain them-
selves in life,” he said. “So
we started putting out the call
to our membership to donate
furniture and other utilitarian
Senior Nutrition Menu
items they could use.”
Once the idea began tak-
ing shape, the Halls opted to
make the service available to
the general public.
“We decided to expand it
to not only within the church,
but to everyone in the valley
and all those who would have
a need,” Hall said.
All items listed on the
group’s
Website,
groups.yahoo.com/group/
eblessing/, are free. Hall said
that the overall purpose is to
connect the needy with per-
sons who may be able to help.
“We don’t allow any-
body to put Spam or solicita-
tions of items for sale or any-
thing like that,” Hall said.
“There’s no room for profi-
teering.”
He said that the site isn’t
an attempt to recruit new
church members, but is a
genuine exercise in the true
Christian principles of love,
kindness and compassion.
“We don’t want to indoc-
trinate anyone into participat-
ing in our theological posi-
tions or do anything to con-
vert them to our way of think-
ing,” he said. “That isn’t what
we’re doing. We just want to
love them with the love of
Jesus and let the Holy Spirit
do whatever he will do.”
Hall said that the group
already has 17 members, but,
“We’re looking forward to
many more.”
A link to the site will be
featured on the Illinois Valley
News homepage: illinois-
valley-news.com
For more information on
the help project, contact
eblessing@yahoogroups.com
Sponsored by
Sp ir al Li vin g Cen ter
J un e Worksh ops
Meals are served in the
CJ County Bldg.
592-2126, 474-5440
FRIDAY, MAY 18
BEEF MUSHROOM PATTY
Whipped potatoes w/gravy
Green beans
Oatmeal bread
Bread pudding
MONDAY, MAY 21
HOT TURKEY SANDWICH
Whipped potatoes w/ gravy
Capri blend vegetables
Whole wheat bread
Oatmeal raisin cookie
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
CHICKEN CHOP SUEY
W
/RICE
Oriental blend vegetables
Mandarin P/A salad
Sunflower seed roll
Birthday Cake
Don’t drink and drive
Thursday June 7 10am-2pm
Beginning Beekeeping $20
Come learn about the world of bees. You’ll get to
don a bee suit and explore an active hive. Joy McEwen is
a beekeeper and an agricultural enthusiast. She oper-
ates Diggin' Livin' Farm and Apiary with her hus-
band Eric.
Saturday June 9 10am-1pm
Planting Tomatoes & Basil
for Sauce & Salsa $15
Learn to grow lots of delicious tomatoes and basil
in small spaces. This is a hands-on class so bring your
gloves! Christine Perala Gardiner has more than 30
years experience in horticulture & now raises alpacas.
Debbie Lukas has nearly 20 years experience as an
herbal medicine maker, founding Siskiyou Mountain
Herbs.
Spira l Livin g Ce nter
592-3642
spiral@frontiernet.net
Please pre-register!
establishing the Illinois Val-
ley Business Entrepreneurial
Center at RCC’s Learning
Center in Kerby. It will aid in
establishing start-up busi-
nesses based in the valley.
The grant was issued to
the county in 2004, but two
extensions have been granted
since then, said Rosemary
Padgett, county chief finan-
cial officer. Original plans
were to have the business
center at I.V. Airport, but
complications forced the de-
lays and eventual relocation
to Kerby.
The MOU was required
as part of the grant, Padgett
said, and an intergovernmen-
tal agreement between the
county and RCC still needs to
be finalized.
Toler, an I.V. resident,
said he that he is pleased at
the development.
“The grant has been in
jeopardy, so I’m glad we’re
moving forward,” Toler said.
“There will be lots of oppor-
tunity for businesses out
there.”
Padgett said that Med-
ford-based Southern Oregon
Regional Economic Develop-
ment Inc. (SOREDI) and sev-
eral I.V. businesses have ex-
pressed interest in participat-
ing in the program.
Commission Chairman
Jim Raffenburg said that the
county is taking the right ac-
tion by approving the MOU.
“This is nothing but good
for the Illinois Valley,” Raf-
fenburg said.
EARLY HEAD START
Is Year Round!
Apply Now For Upcoming Openings for
Families Living in The Illinois Valley!
EHS: Builds healthy, nurturing relationships
between infants, toddlers, and parents &
supports the health and well-being of
pregnant women.
EHS: Provides play groups & home visits for
families with infants, toddlers to age 3 and
pregnant mothers.
EHS: is FREE if you qualify!
Call 734-5150 ext 1046
or 592-3259
debbie.bartlett@socfc.org
wwwsocfc.org
We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief
requirements of life, when all that we need to make us
happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
- Charles Kingsley -