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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 30, 2008
OK, I admit it: During my vehicular wanderings, certain law
enforcement officers felt that I had violated some driving-type law
or other, and cited me. But not for good behavior. You know; they
gave me a ticket. And not to get into a movie theater or concert hall.
So I’ve paid some fines, even though some of the accusations
were (I felt) not warranted. I’ll give you two examples. One oc-
curred around 7:30 a.m. on a quiet residential street near Logan
Heights in San Diego. I was giving a friend a ride to high school,
and I pulled over in front of his house. Unfortunately, a San Diego
Police Dept. officer saw me; and pulled me over. He issued a cita-
tion for “driving on the wrong side of the road.” Yes, I had driven
onto the “opposing lane,” but officer there’s no traffic and …
Several years ago on Hwy. 199 in California at what the truckers
call the “20-20” curve, my left-front tire inadvertently touched the
double-yellow line. A California Highway Patrol officer yanked me
over, and issued a citation for “crossing the double line.” Argh …
OK, one more example. It was around 1:30 a.m. on Hwy. 94 in
San Diego County many years ago. A clear night, no traffic, four
lanes wide open. An officer from SDPD halted my progress and
wrote me for driving 70 mph in a 65 zone. Argh again … All techni-
cally correct citations, but, I feel, with extenuating circumstances.
Paid the fines anyway.
What brought this topic to mind are the fairly frequent traffic
stops on I-5 by Oregon State Police troopers, when illicit substances
are found. A recent one near Salem resulted in the confiscation of
nearly 66 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of
$600,000. The driver, a 26-year-old Washington state man, was
stopped for speeding and lane-change violations. And that’s usually
the case in these cases: traffic stops resulting in officers finding
marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine or other preposterous items.
Wouldn’t you think that if you were hauling such stuff that
you’d observe all the highway rules? Wouldn’t you be careful to not
attract attention by speeding and otherwise driving so that people in
cars with flashing lights and sirens would leave you alone?
Apparently not. To quote a old expression: That’s why they call
it dope.
MANSFIELD R. CLEARY
Attorney at Law
General Practice in
Illinois Valley
since 1980
Practice includes but not limited to:
Bankruptcy - Eliminate
financial problems
Living trusts - Avoid probate
Estate planning - Wills,
power of attorney
Domestic relations
Auto accident - Personal Injury
Criminal - DUII
Real Estate contracts - Foreclosure
592-2195
200 W. Lister
Tell them you saw it in the
Illinois Valley News
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. 46
Staff: Michelle Binker, Zina Booth, Brenda Encinas, Joy Messerli,
Millie Watkins, and Tina Grow
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
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P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction OR 97523
(Editor’s Note: Views and
commentary, including state-
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ters written solely to this news-
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* * *
Seeks Raffenburg apology
From Larry Herman
Cave Junction
Commissioner Jim Raf-
fenburg stated, “Our codes set
a very high bar for home oc-
cupation in order to ensure
residential neighborhoods
remain just that.”
He set the bar so low on
the mining project, on Rocky-
dale Road, at the old Martin
Dairy, (Little Elm Ranch), an
agriculturally zoned area that
only a gopher could dig under
it, and did (Barlow Rock).
Raffenburg owes this
neighborhood a swift apology
by enforcing the codes that
proclaim a residential
neighborhood remain a resi-
dential neighborhood, and by
denying a conditional-use
permit to Barlow Rock at
Little Elm Ranch.
He has violated the pub-
lic trust he was elected to
uphold; polluted the sur-
rounding area with mining
debris and injured the health,
physically and mentally, of
those living in the immediate
area. He is driving people
from their homes.
The county isn’t in com-
pliance with statewide plan-
ning goals or the acknowl-
edged comprehensive plan.
So he should do the right
thing. The permit shouldn’t
have been issued in the first
place. End the pain, refuse the
permit on Thursday, Jan. 31
at 10:30 a.m. at the county
commission meeting at the
courthouse in Grants Pass.
I.V. Library supporter
From Denise Blazevich
Eugene
Recently, my second-
grader came home from
school, and told me, “Mom,
Cave Junction
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Cloudy, chilly with
chance for snow
High--40 Low--32
Thursday, Jan. 31
Windy and cloudy,
with snow possible
High--42 Low--30
Friday, Feb. 1
Thick cloud cover
High--42 Low--29
Saturday, Feb. 2
Breezy, chilly, rainy
High--42 Low--25
Sunday, Feb. 3
Plenty of clouds with
rain showers
High--40 Low--28
Monday, Feb. 4
Mix of snow and rain
High--49 Low--27
Tuesday, Feb. 5
Rain
High--49 Low--27
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in O’Brien
by Cheryl & Harry Johnson.
*Fri.,
Jan. 18 44 26
*Sat., Jan. 19 46 23
*Sun., Jan. 20 44 35 .06
*Mon., Jan. 21 41 28
*Tue., Jan. 22 43 21
*Wed., Jan. 23 42 23
*Thurs., Jan. 24 38 23 .03
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in Cave Junction at
Illinois River Farm.
*Fri.,
Jan. 18 49 24 .01
*Sat., Jan. 19 51 25
*Sun., Jan. 20 44 35 .37
*Mon., Jan. 21 43 29
*Tue., Jan. 22 46 24
*Wed., Jan. 23 47 20 .01
*Thurs., Jan. 24 39 21 .02
you are a bibliophile.” After
she told me what that means,
I felt so pleased to have her
recognize me as such.
For those who want to
learn a new word from a
7-year-old, here is the defini-
tion -- Webster’s Dictionary:
Bibliophile. Noun. 1. Some-
one who loves (and usually
collects) books.
My daughter applied this
title to me because she sees
me reading every day. In our
house, everyone knows that
the minute I put our 3-year-
old down for her nap, the next
thing I do is take a short, quiet
time with a book. On week-
ends, it’s a family affair; we
each do something quiet for a
while. This routine started
because of my need to read.
I became the book addict
that I am today during the
summer I was 13. I remember
trips into town with Mom and
my brothers, trips which usu-
ally included a stop at the
library. I’d go straight into the
children’s room, and directly
to the chapter book section.
There I discovered many
authors and titles, which I
have since forgotten.
But what I’ll never forget
are the joys and simple pleas-
ures that I got from that seem-
ingly infinite supply of books.
I was inspired to challenge
myself to a reading marathon.
I remember the satisfac-
tion and the sense of accom-
plishment I felt, having read
32 chapter books by the end
of that summer.
Even though I spent
some years being a wayward
teen-ager and young adult,
eventually I rediscovered my
love for reading. A seed had
been planted (by my own
bibliophile mother), and
every day my life is enriched
by the books that I enjoy.
And I feel proud of how
much progress our oldest
daughter is making in her
reading skills. We enjoy visit-
ing our library here in
Eugene; not only for the
books, movies, magazines
and CDs that we borrow, but
also for the pleasure of the
calm atmosphere. Our girls
like to spend time at the col-
oring table, play with the
dollhouse, or just interact
with other little kids.
I am writing to appeal to
whomever it is who has the
power to reopen the Illinois
Valley Public Library. I be-
lieve that it is of great impor-
tance in any community for
children and adults to have
access to a library; especially
to a small town like Cave
Junction, where there is less
opportunity, and fewer activi-
ties for kids.
In this age of MySpace
and digital cable and text
messaging, do we really want
to deprive kids of the essen-
tial, simple pleasure of library
books? A way must be found
to help support the library in
Cave Junction. Come to think
of it, I’d like to take my own
kids there one day soon.
Timber payment options
From Dexter Babcock
Cave Junction
I have written state Sen.
Rick Metsger (D-Mt. Hood)
about his inquiries through
Oregon State Attorney
General Hardy Myers regard-
ing our legal options as the
state to enforce payments by
the federal government for
timber based on a number of
outstanding agreements.
I have advised Metsger
that the amounts the federal
government is not paying are
quite significant to the stabil-
ity of local governments and
livelihood and personal safety
of many people in the affected
counties in Oregon. This issue
has multiple effects, as the
bulk of these agreements are
for lands not in production to
benefit citizens in Oregon.
With the combination of
payments not being received
and the large amount of land
out of production, the county
governments are forced to
make severe cutbacks on es-
sential public services. Or
they have a continual cycle of
requesting additional funds
from citizens who do not
have the resources to supply
these additional funds in lieu
of the federal government’s
responsibilities.
I advised the senator that
I would be very supportive of
what legal actions he can fol-
low to have the federal gov-
ernment follow through on its
obligations. Should these
options be exhausted, I would
support the state taking steps
to return timber lands that the
federal government no longer
considers under its responsi-
bility back to private hands
for production.
Taxes can be generated
from production from these
lands once again.
I have phoned Metsger’s
office plus the office of the
state attorney general, and
federal representatives to
voice my positive vote of a
support as a citizen and voter
of Oregon in these matters.
‘Tourist Trail’ cited
From Sue Lily
Cave Junction
Our county commission-
ers are being paid to manage
Josephine County to the
best advantage of its lands
and people.
Therefore, I cannot un-
derstand Commissioner Jim
Raffenburg’s decision to
disband the Illinois Valley
volunteer airport advisory
board and disregard its
thoughtful and thorough plans
for the airport and the finan-
cial future of Illinois Valley,
especially the Smokejumper
Museum and Moon Tree
Celebration.
Instead, he’s choosing to
fence the airport, remove his-
toric buildings, parking and
trees to provide for big planes
to fly into our quiet valley,
the deafening sounds of
which would destroy the
peaceful lifestyle of everyone.
(Continued on page 3)
Helping Hands Day Care
Limited openings for all ages
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Mondays-Fridays
Now accepting DHS Day Care Assistance
Contact Cindy at 592-4923
or Helpinghandsdaycare@gmail.com
PUBLIC NOTICE
ILLINOIS VALLEY
RESIDENTS
To serve your hearing needs better, we have set aside one day per
month at our Grants Pass Office for your exclusive use. There, we
can provide better equipment for testing and more complete staffing
for consultation.
The first date will be Monday, February 4 at 1647 Williams Hwy.,
474-6567.
Our service center at 315A Caves Hwy., in the former Cave Junction
Medical Center, will remain open for your convenience. Call today for
all your hearing needs, 474-6567.
Grants Pass
Hearing Aid Center
1647 Williams Hwy.
Grants Pass, Oregon
474-6567