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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2008)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 23, 2008 This was the week I was going to talk about being sick, but I’m sick of being sick. It makes me ill to think about it. Then I was going to type some words about picking apri- cots with my cousin, Cliff, at his grandpa’s farm in San Bernar- dino, Calif. around 1954. But as we become unwell after sit- ting in a fruit-laden tree and eating way too many apricots, that made me feel under par, so I’m going to avoid that topic. Therefore, I will devote this space to recalling two strang- ers, one of whom might have been an angel of a sort. This first stranger appeared, so to speak, in 1961, as I was regis- tering for my first (and only) semester at University of San Diego. I was only 17, and rather disconnected from reality. It was late in the afternoon on a hot day; I had not eaten break- fast; I had no dinero for lunch. Suddenly (to my enfeebled brain) I saw a man in black. It was not Johnny Cash. No, it was a Catholic priest, striding back and forth in front of a nearby building while reading his breviary. I timidly approached him, ostensibly to ask for direc- tions to the parking permit office. But when he spied me, he stopped striding and reading. “Say,” he said, “you look hun- gry.” He reached into his right-front pocket, pulled out a five dollar bill, and handed it to me with the words, “Now here’s a nice piece of change. Go eat.” I did. In the school café, where I enjoyed a BLT, iced tea, and lemon meringue pie. And still had change. (It was 1961). Never saw the priest again, so I kept the change. Another impressive stranger, probably not an angel though, showed up one Sunday afternoon out Caves Hwy. in Cave Junction. I had just acquired a rebuilt ‘57 Chevy short with a 327 cui engine. It ran well. Mostly. But as I roared up the highway, the engine suddenly (there’s that word again) sputtered, coughed and quit. It would not restart. And there I was. Stranded. I don’t know a carbure- tor from a wing-doodle, and was feeling pretty alone. But a man appeared from a yard across from where I had coasted to the shoulder. He helped me push the car into his driveway. “I heard the engine quit,” he said, “and I think I know what the problem is and can fix it.” I said, “OK.” He spent quite a while repairing the problem, meanwhile telling me about his checkered background. Put down his tools, and told me to “fire it up” while he watched the engine. It not only started; it ran better than before. He would take no cash for his time or efforts. “Glad to help,” he said. I drove away, a happy man. I never saw that guy again either, same as the priest. Maybe he was an angel after all ... Cave Junction Wednesday, Jan. 23 Lots of sun but cold High--46 Low--22 Thursday, Jan. 24 Cloudy and chilly High--40 Low--24 Friday, Jan. 25 Clouds with a peek of sun High--38 Low--24 Saturday, Jan. 26 More clouds with snow later High--42 Low--30 Sunday, Jan. 27 Cold with rain & snow High--44 Low--28 Monday, Jan. 28 Snow, rain and cold High--46 Low--32 Tuesday, Jan. 29 Rain and snow, breaking up later High--44 Low--28 Following are the high-and- low temperatures, and rainfall, recorded in O’Brien by Cheryl & Harry Johnson. *Fri., Jan. 11: 51 - 42 0.20 *Sat., Jan. 12: 53 - 41 0.39 *Sun., Jan. 13: 46 - 34 *Mon., Jan. 14: 46 - 34 *Tue., Jan. 15: 40 - 31 *Wed., Jan. 16: 41 - 29 *Thurs., Jan. 17: 42 - 26 Following are the high-and- low temperatures, and rainfall, recorded in Cave Junction at Illinois River Farm. *Fri., Jan. 11: 53 - 45 0.11 *Sat., Jan. 12: 54 - 41 0.33 *Sun., Jan. 13: 47 - 34 *Mon., Jan. 14: 48 - 34 0.02 *Tue., Jan. 15: 43 - 32 *Wed., Jan. 16: 43 - 28 *Thurs., Jan. 17: 51 - 25 illinois-valley-news.com 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. 45 Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Brenda Encinas, Josiah “Vaia con Queso” 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. Gener- ally, 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 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. * * * Correction A letter from Ray H. Brewer in last week’s issue contained a typographical error. In the second para- graph, “height” was mistak- enly used rather than the cor- rect “weight.” The reference was to restrictions at a com- mercial airport in Boise. ‘Marks’ and Sabbath From John Bazen Cave Junction “Mark of the Beast, or the seal of God?” Yes, much has been and shall yet be written on this topic; sadly it seems, without much consul- tation to the only source given to men, the Bible. Most have heard or read about tattoos, embedded chips and brandings, but all both “signs” mean is, “Whose words do you accept and live by?” (Whose knowledge is within your forehead?”) Most people know that Jesus, born of a Jewish woman, grew to adulthood as a Jew, worshipped in the tem- ples with other Jews, in fact taught in them. The Jewish people since Adam held their weekly worships on the Sab- bath, the seventh day of the week (Genesis 2:1-3), and this included Christ Himself. People contend that no day was named, so many feel that each can choose their own day for worship. They even quote the Bible, (Mark 2:27), and think that with this verse, man can make any common day into a Holy Day, but man, nor men, are able to make nothing holy, not even water. So where did our meas- urements of weeks come from? The year is from Earth’s annual rotations around the sun; months come from the moon’s cycles; and the days from Earth’s rotations on its axis, so there’s nothing in our solar system, that gives man the weeks. Weeks came to humans from Gen. 1 and 2, “God made the heavens and the earth, in six days and rested on the Seventh Day, and said it was good, and “Sanctified it,” meaning He made it Holy. Man can’t “unholy” anything or any day. Therefore, no matter if you have “The Mark (whom do you serve/believe/follow) or the Seal of God” these “signs” shall be very visible to all. They’re shown by the very day upon which you chose to worship God, the Sabbath, from Friday’s sunset to Saturday’s sunset, or as most of Christianity, Sunday, the day of the sun worship from the days of the pagans. Yes, most say we wor- ship the Son, Christ Jesus, for He rose from the grave on a Sunday night, right? There is not one single verse that tells man The Sab- bath Day has been changed, nor was it so for all the Disci- ples, who wrote the inspired words for the New Testa- ment, some 25 to 30 years after Jesus’ return to His and our, Father’s side. In fact Sab- bath worship remained until 321 A.D., then Constantine changed it by law. Why the change? Tradi- tions of men because in Daniel 7:25’s (+/- 600 years before 321 A.D.) … “and think to change times and laws ...” we find the answers. Men sought this change, even used tortures and burnings at the stakes to enforce this law of men. That which was, shall be again. (Luke 17:26-29) “Chose Ye this day, whom Ye shall serve” -- man, Satan or God through Jesus Christ. Mackin looks good From Roger Brandt Cave Junction I recently visited with Harry Mackin, the person running for Jim Raffenburg’s county commissioner position this spring, to discuss his election plans. I thought peo- ple might like to know what I found. Mackin has a son who is a police officer in Anchorage; and a daughter who teaches at Grants Pass High School. His granddaughter is into gym- nastics, dance and ice skating. His wife, Sue, has a real love of plants and, for that reason, every room of the house has three to five large potted plants. She is well versed in county political issues. I learn a lot about people by seeing what they read. In this household I found Dis- covery magazine, National Geographic, Sunset, and home improvement journals. They have a room dedicated for their library, much of which is on history, reference books, garden books, do-it- yourself books, and classics. I also learn a lot about people by the way their pets react to them: Both cats wanted to be close to Harry, and one followed us every- where. I understand that they feed a lot of strays dumped in their neighborhood. In two rooms of the house there were binoculars kept handy next to the win- dows for bird and wildlife watching. Harry Mackin has a long history of community in- volvement including being president of the GP Growers Market, president of the Boys & Girls Club, president of Grants Pass Rotary Club, chairman of the GP Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Three Rivers School Dis- trict Board, and other similar positions. Mackin and his wife are outdoor-oriented people, and their landscaping projects reflect an interest in enriching the time they spend outside. They have no problem getting their hands into the dirt to get the job done. We visited for some two hours. Although this gener- ally isn’t enough time to draw firm conclusions about a per- son, the impressions were good. There is nothing like hope to put a little sunshine in the future. mitted a question for consid- eration (aging-out water/ sewer infrastructure across the country). For more infor- mation, people can visit: www.sciencedebate2008.com Clear-cuts linked to service From Barry Snitkin Cave Junction Regarding county gov- ernment, do we want to rely on, or wish we could rely, prosecution of criminals, ani- mal control services, jailing of local criminals, libraries, inspection of restaurants, county roads, juvenile shel- ters for troubled youth, and juvenile detention for juvenile offenders? How about property sur- veying, building codes, land- use control and regulation, sheriff’s patrols, public health, parks, and more? Josephine County ser- vices are at a critical cross- roads. If we aren’t going to rely on clear-cutting forests to fund county services, how will we pay for them other- wise? But perhaps as impor- tantly, how will those county services be managed? If there isn’t effective management, services will never receive the public sup- port they must have. Why is it that Josephine County can never get a tax passed, yet, nearly 40 percent of the county population in Grants Pass strongly supports all local services on a con- stant basis? What is it about Presidential science debate From Beth Williams Selma While listening to NPR on Jan. 11, I learned of a pro- posed call for a science debate among the presidential candidates. I have signed on to support the debate and sub- GP government and Jose- phine County that creates such different levels of voter confidence? The answer may be man- agement. Grants Pass has one professional manager who runs the city day-to-day. The city council governs, but no matter how raucous the coun- cil gets (which it has been of late), everyday management is accomplished by a profes- sional manager. Despite plenty of politi- cal turmoil on the council, GP still enjoys strong tax support from its citizens. Outside the city limits of GP in Josephine County it’s a whole different and unique world. Rather than one pro- fessional manager, three poli- ticians with no experience necessary manage the daily business. Everyday manage- ment decisions are made in public sessions with media and plenty of political rheto- ric for all. The result is a man- agement nightmare. Commissioner Dave Toler believes that Josephine County should eliminate the three politicians from every- day management. He says, “Cut our pay in half, and save more than $150,000; and hire a professional county admin- istrative officer.” The result will be competent, and more efficient management that will gain the confidence of citizens much like the confi- dence so thoroughly enjoyed (Continued on page 3) Fine Dining Steaks - Chicken - Fish - Large Hamburgers Restaurant separate from lounge Now Available Every Day! Prime Rib & Prime Rib Sandwiches Bring in this ad for a 10% discount Open 4 to 9 p.m. (winter hours) 7 days 592-2892 or 592-4222 Time to DORMANT SPRAY fruit trees, berries, & deciduous trees & shrubs. Dormant spraying is the single most important spray & is compatible with organic gardening! BARE ROOT arriving SOON Kerby Belt Lodge # 18 6th Annual All-You-Can-Eat $20 per person Saturday, February 2 1 to 3 p.m. or 5 to 7 p.m. Kerby Belt Building 24311 Redwood Hwy. Bring your favorite crab cracker and a good appetite. Spaghetti, Salad Bar, Bread, Coffee, Tea, & Punch included And of course, no carry-outs or doggy bags. Pre-sale tickets at:: Yanase Jewelers - 592-4838 or Redwood Service Center - 592-6440 NO SALES AT DOOR!
