Page 2
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, October 31, 2007
(Editor’s Note: Views and
It was a “vacation” not meant to be. I didn’t even get to
commentary, including state-
unpack. So here goes, trying to make a long story short.
ments made as fact, are strictly
Jan was in Carlsbad in San Diego County with our daugh-
those of the letter-writers.)
ter, Vicki Kaplan, and two grandgirls, while her husband, Matt,
* * *
was in Eugene for his employer for two weeks. At the start of
Typed, double-spaced let-
the second week, Jan had an appointment in Santa Ana in
ters written solely to this news-
Orange County on Monday, Oct. 22. So the plan was for me to
paper are considered for publi-
fly to LAX, and she and the girls would pick me up. Then we’d
cation. Hand-written letters that
drive to Carlsbad, and I’d get like four days of visiting and tak-
are double-spaced and legible
also can be considered.
ing in some Southland
‘Thank you’ submissions
sights and sites before
are not accepted as letters.
Jan and I had to fly
* * *
back on Saturday.
(The News never
‘ Obsolete, bad laws are
stops.)
root of the problem’
Didn’t work out
From Robert H. Ziller
that way. When my
plane landed at 6 p.m.
O’Brien
I phoned Vicki’s cell
There comes a time in
phone, and brightly
county government when
asked, “Hey, where
fundamental changes need
are you guys?” Said
to be made.
Vicki, “We’re in Carls-
An example of this need
bad; you’ll need to
is the current dilemma that
rent a car and come
we are experiencing with
down here.” What had
the O&C Act, the Bureau of
happened is that they
Land (mis)Management’s
left Carlsbad on I-5 for
Little refugees visit Jubilee Park
Santa Ana. But after it
ill-conceived Western Ore-
with ‘Bingo’ the IVN shop dog.
took them nearly 90
gon Plan Revision (WOPR)
minutes to go 20 miles, they turned back.
and inadequate funding
Those devastating wildfires in San Diego and Los Angeles
for public safety, libraries
area counties had caused super-major traffic flows that were
and schools. Obsolete laws
not flowing. So I rented a photographer’s car (a Focus) and
such as the O&C Act, vari-
headed south. Managed to navigate L.A. without getting lost!
ous Oregon state laws on
Listened to KFI Radio all the way down, and learned quickly
taxation, and certain Jose-
that many San Diego County residents were in hot water, so to
phine County Charter is-
speak. I smelled smoke most of the way. Wildfires were raging
sues, stand in the way of fair
in several locations, blown by Santa Ana winds. Hot weather,
dry vegetation, and low humidity were among the major fac-
taxation for public safety,
tors. It became exceedingly obvious that San Diego County
schools and libraries.
was amid an unprecedented disaster.
Home owners are al-
Some 500,000 residents in that county were ordered to
ready being taxed to the
evacuate because of the extreme fire hazard. Although figures
breaking point. This taxation
still are being tallied, it looks as though property damage there
inequity has caused recent
will exceed a billion dollars. Some1,600 homes were de-
property tax levies to go
stroyed in seven California counties, some 80 percent of them
down in flames at the ballot
in San Diego County, where 320 homes were damaged; 720
box. Unless funding for
outbuildings were damaged and 25 destroyed along with two
these services is revised so
businesses. I mean, it’s a disaster big time. At one point, there
were 10,000 fire refugees at Qualcomm San Diego Stadium.
that everyone shares the bur-
The half-million figure for evacuees does not include many
den equitably, the problems
more, such as our family, who left their homes without being
will continue to worsen.
told. Hotel and motels were jammed in the county; some even
I applaud Josephine
went farther south for accommodations. And there was our
County Commissioner Dave
family: Vicki, Jan, Natalie, Ella, cats Charlie and Jellirabbit, and
Toler for his recent public
me. We headed out in Vicki’s Escape, appropriately enough.
forums on funding options
We had slept with smoke in our noses all Monday night; and
to replace the loss of O&C
when we arose Tuesday, the air quality was bad, plus there
subsidies. Most in atten-
was a layer of ash all over everything outside.
dance agreed that the solu-
The decision was made. We had to get our fam out be-
cause of the bad air, which gave us all problems. And we had
tion is for everyone to con-
to leave because of the potential for the fire reaching Vicki and
tribute fairly and equitably
Matt’s neighborhood. Oh, about that smoke, I had a sore
to fund these services.
throat for three days after we left Carlsbad. And Jan had
To accomplish this, my
smoke-related problems for several days. Not fun.
recommendations to address
We had to bring the cats because, well, we couldn’t leave
these problems are to re-
them there. Charlie, of course, lives in Carlsbad now, and
structure taxation for public
Jellirabbit had flown down with Jan. He’s still so small, and our
safety services, schools and
three other inside cats are so big, that she was afraid to leave
libraries, as follows:
him at home in Cave Junction. So at this point, the little guy
Restructure all property
has flown to San Diego, and been driven back. He’s well-
traveled. Charlie has made a one-way and a round-trip by car
taxes (including the various
involving CJ and Carlsbad, traveling some 1,350 miles.
forest land assessments) so
Fortunately, Jan has some herbs that work great to calm
that, in total, property taxes
the critters. Otherwise we’d have to keep them in their carriers
pay for a third of the fund-
all the time. But with the herbs, they can roam freely, sort of, in
ing needed for these ser-
the car while we’re traveling. It’s interesting.
vices. This would reduce the
Anyway, between Carlsbad and Santa Nella, where we
disproportionate burden on
spent Tuesday night the 23rd, we saw untold numbers of emer-
home owner property taxes
gency vehicles headed toward the fires. At one location we saw
and impose a fair and just
a convoy of some 25 CHP units with lights flashing, roaring
levy on forest land and busi-
south for traffic and crowd control, I’m sure. And we saw numer-
ous fire engines, pumpers, bulldozers on flatbed trailers, crew
ness holdings.
crummies and command units from many agencies -- all
Amend Oregon law to
headed south. It was awesome (to use an overused word).
allow a modest increase in
There are close to 8,500 firefighters working to contain
state income tax to pay for a
and control the blazes in San Diego County alone. Ninety-
third of the funding needed
three firefighters had been injured as of Sunday the 28th, and
for these services.
23 civilians. Plus seven civilians have died because of the
Allow a small (1/4 per-
fires. Of close to 500,000 acres (remember our 2002 Biscuit
cent, or so) business tax on
Fire) affected, nearly 347,000 are in San Diego County.
I-5 at Camp Pendleton
was closed for several hours
one day in both directions. We
had already passed by, thank
www.illinois-valley-news.com
goodness. As for my
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by
“vacation,” I have no com-
Robert R. (AKA Bob or El Jefe), Editor and Jan Rodriguez
plaints. My heart goes out to
Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as Official Newspaper for
all those affected by the fires;
Josephine County and Josephine County Three Rivers School District, published at
321 S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523
many literally lost everything
Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
they owned. I’m thankful that
Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
Vicki and Matt’s house was
Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330
spared; in fact, the fires did not
Email: newsroom1@frontiernet.net or newsdesk@illinois-valley-news.com
Volume 70, No. 33
come near their neighborhood,
Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Jennifer Newsted
although they were in a Possi-
Josiah Dean, Millie Watkins, and Tina Grow
ble Evacuation Zone.
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
Think I’ll go home now
DEADLINES:
and unpack.
News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters
Illinois Valley News
20% OFF
ALL MEALS
“Where eating right means as
much to us as it does to you”
Della’s Restaurant
1802 NW
6th St.
(across from
Motel 6 in
Grants Pass)
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
publication. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run more than
one week.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Present coupon for discount
Offer expires 11/30/07
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
gross sales of all business
operating in Josephine
County. I prefer this rather
than a sales tax for several
reasons: It can be a much
lower rate because it also
requires companies to pay a
fair share, even if all their
sales are outside the county.
It also avoids the point-
of-sale stigma of a retail
sales tax, and would be eas-
ier for businesses to calcu-
late and pay. The rate for
this small transparent tax
should be set so that it pays
for a third of the funding
needed for these services.
Scrap the O & C Act as
it is no longer relevant.
BLM’s
WOPR
is
a
shortsighted last-ditch
Bush administration effort to
decimate our few remaining
legacy forests. It is an un-
conscionable “snow job” that
would cause devastating
economic and permanent
environmental damage to
Southern Oregon.
Measure 49 first step
to strip property rights
From Ken Stepp
O’Brien
When I look at this
measure I am amazed at the
dedication it takes to put it
together and to be able to
present it as something to
help property owners.
It was crafted by the
Democratic majority in our
state Legislature without a
single Republican vote. Spe-
cial care was taken to elimi-
nate any outside influence
and to be sure that the ballot
title and description was not
subjected to any review,
such as everyone else has to
go through to put anything
on the ballot.
The measure took a lot
of time, energy, and legal
counsel to craft in the pit-
falls and loopholes that will
allow it to have the opposite
effect to what is promised.
Why did they go to such
lengths?
In my opinion the pri-
mary reason is that Measure
37 made a move toward
something that they do not
want to gain legitimate rec-
ognition. It is the first posi-
tive step for property owner-
ship rights that I can remem-
ber. The government has
worked hard to, one bit at a
time, strip away all control
of the land from the
“owners” and shift it to gov-
ernment control for the bet-
terment of mankind.
This leads us toward the
“United Socialist States of
America.” Socialism may
have failed miserably in the
rest of the world, but some
are sure that they can make
it work here.
To make it work they
must gain total control of
the land in ways that do not
lead to an armed rebellion.
Measure 49 removes our
first glimpse of property
rights returning. It comes at
the same time that there is
another step toward sociali-
zation with Measure 50.
This mandates a social-
ized medical program guar-
anteed by a constitutional
amendment to fund it. No
matter how poorly it per-
forms. Oops. Sorry about
that. I have several soap
boxes and sometimes, when
they both lean the same di-
rection, I have to put one
foot on the next box to keep
my balance.
The one beyond that is
(Continued on page 3)
Laureate Beta Beta is selling
FRESH NUTS
Complete the order form and phone
Virginia Gilliam, 592-2293
Dorothy Stohlman, 592-4893
Kathy Simmons, 592-6009
1 lb. packages, shelled Quantity
Price
Almonds (natural)
$6 50
Pecans
$8 00
Pistachios (unshelled)
$5 00
Cashews
$5 00
Mixed (no peanuts)
$6 50
Total
Order Total
Nuts will be available Thursday, November 1.
Proceeds to benefit
IVHS Scholarship Funds
Attention, Citizens of Cave Junction and Illinois Valley:
Barlow Sand & Gravel LLC, owned by the parent company, Copeland Sand &
Gravel, is trying to reclassify an old farm located on Holland Loop Road, two
miles outside Cave Junction, from traditional agriculture use into a “Significant
Aggregate Resource” site as defined by Josephine County.
Special-interest investors purchased this farm, now called the ‘Illinois Valley
Ranch’ and currently seek to drastically change the historical use of the property.
The Fulk family owned and farmed this parcel for more than a hundred years.
The Barlow/Copeland Associates now claim that it isn’t fit for agricultural use,
and want this old farm to be reclassified and added to the county’s “Significant
Aggregate Resources” list, so that they can mine a half million cubic yards of
material during the next 10 years!
What does this mean to you personally?
Mining equipment will be used to dig up the Illinois Valley Ranch site. Please
drive by and see the effects that occurred when the Barlow/Copeland Associates
initially attempted, and were temporarily granted, approval to mine the site. The
Barlow/Copeland Associates, led by former Grants Pass City Manager Bill Peter-
son, initially tried to get ‘grandfathered’ into mining on the Illinois Valley Ranch
site. They did this by changing the property ID that the JoCo Planning Office said
was grandfathered in for mining. The Barlow Sand & Gravel pit on Holland Loop
Road was switched to the Illinois Valley Ranch site on Barlow’s Dept. of Geol-
ogy and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) permit application. To date, no penalties
have been assessed due to this questionable activity, and in fact, the Josephine
County Board of Commissioners, along with the JoCo Planning Dept., is now de-
termining whether to grant this same outfit an outright use to mine the Illinois
Valley Ranch by allowing the site to be reclassified and turned into a major min-
ing operation.
Your family, including your children, could be subject to 150 trips per day, one
every three minutes on average, from the Illinois Valley Ranch site located at
2612 Holland Loop Road, to Caves Highway, to the intersection of Caves High-
way and Highway 199, south to Rockydale Road, and up to the gravel processing
plant owned by the Barlow/Copeland Associates. That’s more than 30,000 trips
per year – for the next 10 years!
This underwater mining operation will be occurring two miles upstream from
the intake to the City of Cave Junction’s water treatment plant. This is your
drinking water.
What will happen to the value of any property you own in this area? Will you be
monetarily compensated for any reduction in value due to this drastic change?
After all, who wants to live next to a large mining operation?
Together, we can stand united in opposing this awful plan that will destroy
traditional agricultural use of the land adjacent to historic Fort Briggs.
Please plan on attending the hearing to be held Monday, November 5 th at
7:00 p.m. in the Anne Basker Auditorium Annex of the County Courthouse,
604 N.W. Sixth St., Grants Pass, and let your voice be heard!
Paid for by STRIVE – Save The Rural Illinois Valley Environment