Page 2
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 2, 2008
This year marked the first Christmas for our newest in-
door cat, Jellirabbit. In fact, if not for that, we probably would
not have had a tree up because of various circumstances
which likely will be unburdened here in later weeks. But the
primary cat lover in our home wanted the little guy to have the
full holiday treatment, so the tree was brought in.
Jellirabbit seemed to have a good time checking the gifts
under our tree, but believe it
or not, he did not climb the
thing as did his cousin,
Charlie, who now lives in
Carlsbad in San Diego
County with our daughter,
two granddaughters and
their dad. He likes it there,
by the way, and has be-
come a neighborhood char-
acter on their cul-de-sac.
As for our Illinois Valley
family, we ate Christmas
dinner on Christmas Eve, as
we wanted to have an out-
ing on Christmas Day. That
was the plan. And it mostly
worked.
The Eve beef meal was good; even with Jellirabbit and
Flinty acting as feline sharks under the table. Well, mostly
under the table; a couple of leaps had to be stymied. Then on
the morning of Dec. 25 we went to our son’s home in Cave
Junction to see the Yule tree he and our granddaughter had
decorated. We took Jellirabbit with us to hang out with their
feline, Wildcat. The latter yowled nearly the whole time we
were there. He doesn’t like visitors, especially other kitties.
Eventually we got home again, and prepared a picnic
lunch. Beef sandwiches (leftover meat from the day before), a
Thermos of hot chocolate, and a pitcher of decaf. And off we
went. Almost got out of the driveway before Jan remembered
that she had left her gloves in the house. I got the gloves and
off we drove. Got as far as Sauer’s Flat when Mike discovered
he didn’t have his car keys with him. I turned around. Back
home again, he found that he had left them on the front seat
of his unlocked car on our driveway.
Off we went again. Actually made it to Prospect and took
a hike to Mill Creek. It’s a pretty place, and we enjoyed the
scenery, the walk and the snow. We decided to have a hot
beverage in the car, and discovered that somehow, the hot
chocolate had made it. But the decaf was still at home. Every-
thing in Prospect was closed, so:
We (one of us especially) decided we should continue our
outing by driving on to Union Creek to see what we could see.
What we saw was
plenty of snow. The
drive on an icy highway
was beautiful with the
trees on either side of
the road covered with
“the white stuff,” as
some weather report-
ers are fond of calling
it. The drive was like
being in a postcard.
At Union Creek we
discovered that
Beckie’s Restaurant
and the Country Store
across the highway
were closed. So we
parked and ate. After I
ate my sandwiches, I
was told why there had
been some snickers (laughing, not the candy bar) while I was
eating. It seems that while my sandwiches were being pre-
pared, Jellirabbit had stood on my bread. Didn’t bother me; I
didn’t get sick, and there were no hunks of kitty litter mixed
with the mustard, so it was fine.
And that’s how we spent Christmas. (Next week: How I
survived bronchitis and some weird malady that has kept my
nose clogged and my body and mind in more disarray than
usual for two weeks.)
Concrete
Remodel
New Construction
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. 42
Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Josiah Dean,
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 publi-
cation. 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
(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.
* * *
Elder abuse concern
From Linda Schluter Tedder
Cave Junction
The story of Tom
Green’s death and the chilling
way in which it happened,
complete with pictures,
should only help keep us
more aware of our seniors
and their lives.
People had seen Tom
Green all bruised, but they
didn’t want to ask him what
was happening; didn’t want
to pry. Along with child
abuse, senior abuse is on the
rise also.
We can go ahead and be
nosy; ask questions. What’s
the worst that could happen?
We have seen what hap-
pened to Tom Green. A truly
kind, selfless soul.
This town isn’t exactly
Mayberry. But it’s still a great
little town. We just need to be
more aware of what’s going
on and take care of each
other. Mr. Green we hardly
knew thee…
Rockydale mining opposed
From Larry Herman
Cave Junction
In the Dec. 12 issue of
“Illinois Valley News,”
Wally Aiken wrote an article
headed, “Request for ceremo-
nies denied 3-0.” Martha
Tinsley was denied the right
to conduct marriage ceremo-
nies on her property because
of a concern for causing traf-
fic hazards.
Josephine County Com-
mission Chairman Jim Raf-
fenburg stated, “Our codes set
a very high bar for home oc-
cupation in order to ensure
residential neighborhoods
remain just that.”
The same standards
should apply to Copeland
Sand and Gravel/Barlow
Rock on the mining project
on Rockydale Road at Little
Elm Ranch. There is a full-
blown mining operation go-
ing on. When it resumes
sometime after the first of the
year, 45 round-trips will be
made per day, with tons of
rock and gravel, being carried
down to Barlow Rock.
There is a very danger-
ous blind curve above the
entry point on Rockydale,
that is a severe traffic hazard,
endangering everyone. The
county commissioners voted
3-0 to allow this travesty of
justice. The bar was not set
very high to protect our
neighborhood. The bar was
set to protect the corporate
interest of Barlow Rock and
Little Elm Ranch; not in def-
erence to this residential
neighborhood.
Do the county commis-
sioners have Alzheimer’s?
Do they speak with forked
tongues? Once again, money
talks. An individual was
denied her rights, a corpora-
tion was given carte
Elementary Schools Lunch
Menu Sponsored by
H OMETOWN E
INTERIORS
592-2413
WELCOME BACK!
MONDAY, JAN. 7
Popcorn chicken, corn dog,
chicken quesadilla, totally tur-
key sandwich, cleaver club
wrap, chef or garden salad.
TUESDAY, JAN. 8
Very teriyaki dippers, ham-
burger, Hawaiin or cheese
pizza, super-duper sub, crispy
chicken wrap, fruit & yogurt
parfait or garden salad.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9
Spaghetti with meat sauce,
cheeseburger, 1/2 grilled
cheese & soup, tuna torpedo
sand., “it’s Italian” wrap, pop-
corn chicken or garden salad.
blanche. Mining and clog-
ging the roads is safer than
wedding ceremonies.
The mining operation
should be denied 3-0 because
it’s unsafe and unscrupulous.
The county commissioners
should be denied re-election
100 percent for total lack of
judgment. The voters got
what they deserved -- very
bad government and lack of
integrity.
We need creative, honest,
local government that inno-
vates. Government that
doesn’t revert to past practices
of destroying ancient forests.
The county needs fresh minds
with creative financing experi-
ence. Until then, there will be
a dead zone called Josephine
County.
WOPR comments deadline
From Patty Dalegowski
O’Brien
I am a longtime resident
of Illinois Valley concerned
about the Western Oregon
Plan Revisions (WOPR) so
well explained last week in
Dorothea Hover-Kramer’s
letter to the editor.
What many people may
not realize is that this is
going to happen right here in
Illinois Valley and the rest of
western and southern Ore-
gon. It is going to happen
right in our back yard.
If BLM gets its way they
will clear-cut currently pro-
tected old-growth for-
ests. BLM will cut back ripar-
ian zones, protected areas
next to streams and rivers, to
virtually nothing. This will
cause massive erosion, silting
and muddying of our streams
and rivers. The off- highway
vehicle (OHV) areas
to be set aside include areas
next to homes, streams and
rivers and will cause lots of
noise and erosion.
BLM says that it will
“manage” these areas.
I don’t think so. Our valley is
a special place. We have
clean air and water, peace and
quiet, beautiful forests,
streams and rivers. If BLM’s
preferred alternative is al-
lowed to be implemented we
can say good-bye to all that.
Concerned citizens can
contact their elected represen-
tatives, Sens. Ron Wyden and
Gordon Smith, Reps. Greg
Walden and Peter De Fazio,
our county commissioners
and Gov. Kulongoski. The
Jan. 11 deadline for com-
ments is fast approaching.
of Land Management’s
(BLM) Western Oregon Plan
Revisions (WOPR) proposed
Off Highway Vehicle (OHV)
Emphasis Areas that abut
residential lands in Josephine
County.
I am particularly con-
cerned that the Deer Creek
Watershed, the community of
Selma, is sandwiched north
and south by the Elliot Creek
and Illinois Valley OHV Em-
phasis Areas. These proposed
Emphasis Areas are inter-
spersed with privately owned
land where many residents
treasure the quiet.
Will the county board
charge BLM to uphold Ex-
ecutive Order 11644, Section
3 (3) “... to ensure the com-
patibility of such uses (off-
road vehicles) with existing
conditions in populated areas,
taking into account noise and
other factors.”
Will they call on their
constituents’ other elected
officials, Sen. Jason Atkinson
and Rep. Ron Maurer at the
state level, and Sens. Ron
Wyden and Gordon Smith
and Rep. Peter DeFazio on
the national level, to remind
the BLM Medford District of
its own Rural Interface Area
directive in its Resource
Management Plan, page 88,
to “Consider the interests of
adjacent and nearby rural
residential land owners ... to
avoid/minimize impacts to
health, life, property and
quality of life?”
Perhaps the county board
has considered how it would
respond if a government
agency encouraged OHV
users to ride through their
backyard. I appreciate the
county board efforts to pro-
tect that valuable and fast-
disappearing commodity, the
peaceful neighborhood.
‘Unintended consequences’
From Robert Thomas
Grants Pass
In the Oct. 31 Illinois
Valley News, persons repre-
senting STRIVE (Save The
Rural Illinois Valley Environ-
ment) penned a political at-
tack on Barlow/Copeland
Sand & Gravel to stop their
request for mining expansion
Keep backyards peaceful
Andrea King-Brockman
Selma
Wally Aiken’s report of a
county commission meeting,
printed on page 14 of Illinois
Valley News on Dec. 12,
prompted the writing of a
letter to the board.
In it, I pointed out that
during their Dec. 5 meeting
they disallowed an activity
that would disturb a residen-
tial neighborhood. I asked if I
could assume then, that they
also disapprove of the Bureau
of aggregate resource near the
Illinois River in the Holland
Loop area.
STRIVE posted two ques-
tions, “What does this mean to
you?” and “What will happen to
the value of any property you
own in this area?” STRIVE
backers should consider some
intended, and unintended, con-
sequences of their proposal on
the people and economy and
growth of Illinois Valley should
they prevail in this effort.
I would guess that
STRIVE activists live in
homes which required sand
and gravel in their develop-
ment, not mud huts or straw
bale structures. I also pre-
sume that they travel on pri-
vate and public roads, and
bridges, which utilized aggre-
gate they did not mine to al-
low more direct, faster and
dustless access to their homes
and other destinations than
wagon trails.
Had STRIVE leaders,
who suggested that proposed
expansion and mining of addi-
tional aggregate would lead to
150 truck trips per day (30,000
trips per year), asked Barlow/
Copeland’s General Manager
Bill Peterson how long the
additional aggregate would
last and if that resource would
last 10 years, they would have
found out several things.
If this suggested mining
and processing schedule
could be implemented, all the
aggregate would be mined in
one year. This could happen
only if all the potential future
state and county highway
repair and improvement con-
tracts were won by Barlow/
Copeland at the same time.
And given the unlikely
chance that government prior-
ity and budget schedules for
all projects in Illinois Valley
would be granted at the same
time, yes, this is a possibility,
but historically not probable.
One wonders if Barlow/
Copeland would not be sub-
ject to existing pollution regu-
lation and controls in the area
or at Cave Junction’s water
treatment plant several miles
down stream. Studies of Illi-
nois River floodplain channel
changes during the
(Continued on page 3)
Give your child the
for future success!
2 pre-school openings for
children 4 years & older
8:30 - Noon,
5 days per week.
Christ-centered, loving,
structured environment
$125 per month includes
tuition & curriculum
592-3896
Community Christian
Academy
Community Bible Church
113 S. Caves Ave.
$100 REWARD
for the return of Lala, missing from the Barnes Way,
Caves Hwy. area.
· American Bulldog
· Female
· White with
tan markings
· 11 months
· 100 pounds
592-3787
679-1009
592-2249
430-8118
