Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2007)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Page 13 Wind energy more than a breezy idea In today’s economy, with the USA’s increasing con- sumption of electricity and natural resources, the possi- bility of an inexpensive, re- newable and reliable energy source is seen by consumers as a breath of fresh air. That’s where wind en- ergy comes in. According to the Dept. of Energy, modern wind tur- bines can convert winds in most U.S. states and coastal waters into reliable, clean electricity. While wind today provides only a small per- centage of our national elec- tricity needs, it is an immense homeland energy resource and is the fastest-growing energy supply technology. The United States has an abundance of potentially vi- able wind resources --nshore and offshore -- estimated at more than 2,000 giga-watts (GW). To put this into per- spective, 350 GW of installed wind capacity would repre- sent approximately 20 percent of our nation’s current elec- tricity demand. This is similar to the level of electricity produced from the nation’s nuclear or natural gas-fired generation today. Today, the nation’s “wind farms” generate more than 9,000 megawatts of elec- tricity -- enough electricity to serve more than two million households. Smaller wind systems are being used to generate on-site power and provide additional power to local utilities, and the market is expanding at more than 20 percent annually. Wind power represents more than just competitive electricity. It offers: *Rural economic bene- fits from project develop- ment. *A hedge against volatile natural gas prices and planned use of imported liq- uid natural gas. *Cost-effective clean air compliance option for busi- nesses and communities. *Strong potential partner for other domestic power industries including coal and nuclear. *A renewable option for producing hydrogen for trans- portation fuels. Wind energy is a home- grown energy source that contributes to national secu- rity by reducing America’s dependence on oil and natural gas -- most of which are im- ported from other countries. In addition, unlike most other electricity sources, wind tur- bines don’t consume water. For instance, irrigation and thermal electric genera- tion use 77 percent of all fresh water in the country. But wind turbines use no water. That makes wind energy a great choice for drought-stricken communities in rural America. To learn more about the benefits of wind energy, phone (877) EERE-INF or visit www.eere.energy.gov. (NAPSA) Budget approved for school district By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer A $42.4 million budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year was approved by the Three Rivers School District (TRSD) Board of Directors during its Monday, June 18 meeting at the district office in Murphy. The district has a begin- ning fund balance of $2.5 million coming into the new fiscal year, which will begin Sunday, July 1. Approxi- mately $442,000 in property taxes was collected by the district earlier this month. That figure combines with the beginning fund bal- ance and $40.78 million in cash receipts for $43.28 mil- lion in total resources. However, the ’07-’08 budget contains $42.42 in appropriations, leaving an IVSHA (Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance) officially Tuesday night, June 12 announced its planned move to the current Cave Junction location of Home Valley Bank. IVSHA Ex- ecutive Director Chris Mal- lette (right) accepted a surprise $5,000 donation for the project from Zonta International of Grants Pass. (Above) Century 21 broker Jim Frick and Home Valley Bank’s busi- ness development officer, Jill Gleysteen, discuss the relocation. (Photos by Illi- nois Valley News) CELEBRATING JESUS and having fun were the orders of the day at Cross Quest Expeditions I.V. Extreme Sports Festival Saturday, June 16. Skating and BMX competitions, a kids carnival fea- turing games and prizes, and free hot dog lunch were among attractions. Music was provided by artists includ- ing the band, ‘Tempest,’ vocalist Rasha Smith, and Walt Freeman. (Photos by Michelle Binker/IVN) Study of Chinook salmon origin continues A successful pilot pro- gram launched last year, that used genetics to determine the river origin of Chinook salmon caught off Oregon’s central coast, has begun its second season, expanding to the entire coast off Oregon as well as Northern California. The hope is to discover more about the distribution of salmon in the ocean so that fisheries managers can make in-season decisions and allow harvesting healthy stocks while mitigating the harvest of weakened runs. The ulti- mate goal is to avoid shutting down the entire coastal fish- ery – as happened during 2006 to protect weakened runs from the Klamath River, according to Oregon State University (OSU) researchers leading the study. Dubbed Project CROOS (Collaborative Research on Oregon Ocean Salmon), the effort is a unique collabora- tion among scientists, com- mercial fishermen and fisher- ies managers. “Every piece of the pro- ject that we experimented with last year worked,” said Gil Sylvia, director of OSU’s Coastal Oregon Marine Ex- periment Station at Newport, and a co-principal investiga- tor on the project. “We have the protocols down,” he said. “We know we can identify illinois-valley-news.com with a high degree of cer- tainty the origin of wild or hatchery fish caught offshore – and do it within roughly 24 hours. “Now our goals are to learn whether Klamath stocks are aggregated within a spe- cific area at a certain time, and whether there are differ- ences in the catch composi- tion close to shore and out- side of 6 miles,” he added. The 2006 pilot study was funded by a grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhance- ment Board and coordinated by the Oregon Salmon Com- mission and researchers at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Sci- ence Center in Newport. ending fund balance of ap- proximately $860,000. “The cash available will get us through ‘08,” said TRSD Business Manager Dave Marshall. “The problem is ‘09.” Marshall presented pro- jections for the 2008-’09 budget, stating that the figures are based on TRSD losing an additional 100 students dur- ing the next year as part of a declining enrollment trend. Projections for the ’08- ’09 budget find TRSD with $39.4 million in cash receipts, combined with the $860,000 ending fund balance, for total resources of $40.26 million. Appropriations are estimated at $44.5 million, Marshall said, which would put TRSD $4.24 million in the hole. Human Resources Direct- (Continued from page 13) Water Wells Pump Sales Installation Service 592-6777 1470 Caves Highway Licensed • Bonded • Insured Locally owned and operated in the valley for over 25 years. WWC #1504 • CCB #152266 • CPl #7-113 Member Oregon Ground Water Assoc.
