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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Even hard-bitten newspaper guys, including me, myself
and I (Bob, El Jefe, and the Nooseman) get tired sometimes.
It’s a weariness stemming from constantly dealing with the 26
letters of the alphabet, and feeding the weekly beast.
Therefore, my offering for this issue is comprised of some
of the photos I
took during the
past three-plus
weeks while our
daughter
and
two
of
our
grandgirls
vis-
ited. It’s said that
a photo takes
the place of a
thousand words,
so here goes:
Granddaughter
Natalie Kaplan,
soon to be 5,
caught her first
fish during an
outing at Lake
Selmac.
The
visitors
also
toured Oregon
Caves National
Monument and
Great
Cats
World Park.
Our
little
guests
and
their mom en-
joyed going to
Yreka, Calif. to
ride the Blue
Goose train of
the Yreka Rail-
road. This shot
was taken at a
former tavern
and hotel in
Montague,
which
is
reached via the
train
ride
through Shasta
Valley
from
Yreka.
The 1925 Baldwin 2-8-
2 Mikado steam engine for
the Blue Goose is a nos-
talgic part of the experi-
ence. Our visitors, (and
the editor), liked the huff-
ing locomotive and its
piercing whistle. At the
end of the day (below) the
Natalie, her sister, Ella, 2,
and their mom, Vicki were
ready for cooler weather.
(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.
* * *
ODF wildfire protection
letter, situation explained
From De Spellman
Selma
Because of the anger
and misunderstandings
about Senate Bill 360, I will
conduct an explanatory
meeting on Thursday, Aug.
2 at 7 p.m. in the Josephine
County Bldg. in Downtown
Cave Junction.
We all know how the
July 18 meeting called in
Grants Pass by Oregon
Dept. of Forestry turned out.
People who have already
accomplished the recom-
mended wildfire protection
got letters, and some were
signed off by ODF.
So it is clear that ODF
did not use the data base and
information previously gath-
ered for the Illinois Valley
Fire Plan. It identified high-
risk areas in the valley, re-
sulting in projects including
Thompson Creek and North
Selma, and the fire danger
was reduced there.
During my two years
working with the Forestry
Action Committee (FAC), I
wrote hundreds of prescrip-
tions for defensible space and
fuels reduction. I would flag
property for the work; ODF
would perform the final in-
spection; and the land owner
would get $330 from ODF. I
took “before” photos, and
ODF took “after” photos.
ODF has been getting
grants for years to encour-
age home owners in Jose-
phine County to learn to live
with fire. There is a data
base at ODF, and one for the
Cave Junction
Wednesday, July 25
Hot and sunny with
wind
High--91 Low--59.
Thursday, July 26
Brilliant sunshine and
warm
High--99, Low--55.
Friday, July 27
Warmer with much
sun
High--98, Low--55.
Saturday, July 28
Hot and sunny with
an occasional cloud
High--95, Low--54.
Sunday, July 29
Mostly sunshine
High--94, Low--55.
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 70, No. 20
Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Josiah Dean, Scott Jorgensen
Millie Watkins, and Tina Grow
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
DEADLINES:
News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters
5 P.M. THURSDAYS
(Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be
accepted until Noon, Fridays with an additional charge.)
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 publica-
tion. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run more than one week.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine County - $22.80
One year in Jackson and Douglas counties - $26.40
One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state - $36
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to
P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction OR 97523
Monday, July 30
Passing clouds & sun
High--93, Low--52.
Tuesday, July 31
Hotter still with sun
High--99, Low--53.
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in O’Brien
by Cheryl & Harry Johnson.
*Fri.,
July 13: 91 - 53
*Sat., July 14: 87 - 57
*Sun., July 15: 83 - 57
*Mon., July 16: 83 - 59
*Tue., July 17: 75 - 57 0.43
*Wed., July 18: 73 - 58 0.48
*Thurs., July 19: 78 - 54
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in Cave Junction at
Natural Designs Farm.
*Fri.,
July 13: 86 - 50
*Sat., July 14: 86 - 54
*Sun., July 15: 83 - 51
*Mon., July 16: 84 - 59
*Tue., July 17: 71 - 53 0.37
*Wed., July 18: 72 - 58 0.39
*Thurs., July 19: 76 - 54
Thompson Creek and North
Selma projects with Illinois
Valley Community Devel-
opment Organization
(IVCDO). With a little ef-
fort to check the data, a lot
of anger and frustration
could have been averted.
Senate Bill 360 is a
good thing if you have done
the work. It provides re-
course if your neighbor
doesn’t do the wildfire haz-
ard reduction work, and a
fire starts, goes to your land,
and you have losses.
I have been talking
about this bill since 2000
when I first learned that I
could save more homes and
lives through education than
with a fire hose. Those who
got prescriptions from me
were told about SB 360 and
given a copy of it.
ODF and FAC were
working off grants, and eve-
rything must be documented
when using them. So let’s
assume that readily avail-
able data was not used. I am
happy to hold meetings to
answer questions and help
people understand SB 360.
It is about protecting pru-
dent land owners.
SB 360 can be found on
the ODF Website. And there
will be copies at the Aug. 2
meeting for review.
No one should respond
to any SB 360 matters until
they are educated. Some
2,000 persons who were
sent letters responded to the
July 18 meeting, which was
closed, and another has not
been scheduled.
Besides the gathering I
will conduct in Cave Junc-
tion, there will be others
during August in Selma and
Takilma.
I hope that the poorly
written ODF letter will not
stop what this valley has
been doing for years. We
had the first plan to live with
fire, and a lot of money
came into the valley.
Let’s keep up the good
efforts; we can work this out.
‘Natural instinct’ noted
during Pizza pit incident
From Allison Ballard
Cave Junction
Citizens of Cave Junc-
tion followed their natural
instinct, and provided in-
stant response and rescue of
the victims in a motor home
after it destroyed half of
Pizza Pit on July 1.
Employees of Pizza Pit
should be recognized for
their quick action after the
crash. I heard about it on my
scanner, and was at the
scene after the third rescue
truck arrived.
First thing I saw was a
big mess. I pushed through
the crowd looking for my
daughter, Rose, who was
working at Pizza Pit that
day. I was crying and pray-
ing that she was OK. I spot-
ted her next to what was left
of the restaurant.
I gave her a big hug,
and asked if she was OK.
She had been working with
Calvin. For two 20-year-
olds who had experienced a
horrific accident that could
have killed them, they still
knew what to do.
They left the building;
turned off the gas; and went
to check on the RV occu-
pants. Rose said that there
was blood everywhere. She
and Calvin obtained as
many clean towels and rags
as they could find.
I arrived five or 10 min-
utes after the accident. As
soon as I found that my
daughter was OK, I watched
a town that had no time to
wait for professional assis-
tance come together and do
what they had to do.
I was impressed when
nine people, who should be
recognized, lifted a wall off
one of the victims that a fork
lift couldn’t move. It took
approximately 45 minutes to
get out the last victim.
It paid off for all those
who worked frantically be-
cause they saved the lives of
those four people in the RV.
I’m proud to live in a com-
munity that cares.
Mishap causes fingering
an awkward situation
From Dale Sandberg
Selma
To say that someone is
“all thumbs” has negative
connotation, to say the least.
Well, let me tell you, I
sure wouldn’t want to be
without my thumbs. The
other day I cut my right
thumb on the very end and
into the nail.
You never know just
how much you use your
thumb until it hurts. Some-
thing as simple as buttoning
your shirt; or picking up a
glass; or try writing with a
hurt thumb.
Sure, you can write just
using your fingers, but give
it a try, and you will find
that it’s much easier when
you use your thumb. When I
turn the key in my car, my
thumb hurts.
You have no idea how
many times you hit your
thumb in the course of a day:
until it hurts. Maybe I’m just
being a baby, but I definitely
want to keep my thumbs in
good working order.
So the next time some-
one says I’m “all thumbs, I
will wear it like a badge.
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Sign Petitions
before Tuesday, September 4th to vote
NO
on the
‘Gay’ Marriage Law
(HB 2007)
and
‘Immoral’ Education Law
(SB 2)
in the November, 2008 General Election
Petitions available at:
Dave’s TV, GP ~ Hardwoods Plus, GP ~ Heritage Moments, CJ
We are proud to announce the
Senior
Little League Team
has won the
State Championships
and is now advancing to the
Regional Championships .
Each team will play 4 games, requiring a minimum stay of 5 days in Salem
where the championships are being held. The team will play Washington
on 7-29, Montana on 7-31, Southern California on 8-2, and Nevada on 8-
3. The semi-finals will be played on 8-6 with the championship game
scheduled for 8-7.
When the team wins the championship it will then be flown right to Ban-
gor, Maine for the Little League World Series.
The I.V. team is proud to be representing the State of Oregon in the re-
gional championship; it's very exciting and the boys have worked very
hard to get where they are now.
We are in need of funds to help with expenses while the team was at the
State Championships and for the trip to the Regional Championships. We
are currently trying to raise the necessary funds. Donations can be mailed
to:
I.V.L.L.
P.O. Box 86
Cave Junction OR 97523
We are a non-profit organization, your donations are tax-deductible.