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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2008)
Page 14 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Jerry Lamb (right) passes the pick hammer and dolly, basic auto body tools, to his son, Shawn Lamb, who is taking over the busi- ness. (Photo by Illinois Valley News) Lamb’s Baaa-dy Shop changes hands When it comes to auto- motive dents, dings and simi- lar things, Shawn Lamb is a chip (a paint chip) off the old block. With some 14 years of experience and certification in the necessary areas of exper- tise, Shawn is taking over his dad’s longtime Illinois Valley business: Lamb’s Baaa-dy Shop. No matter what the prob- lem, desired result or vehicle project in mind, Shawn -- who has worked for his father and learned from his many years of professional skill and knowledge -- is on the job. Body work and custom painting are the order of the day for the business at 1436 Rockydale Road, a quarter- mile off Hwy. 199. Shawn is assisted by his wife, Connie, who runs the office; and son, David, 17, “the detail guy.” Free estimates are pro- vided, using computer pro- files. By entering the vehicle identification number, de- tailed information about the makeup of vehicles is pro- vided, allowing for a concise, accurate rundown. As for dad Jerry Lamb, who’s been in business in Illinois Valley since 1974, when he already had 12 years experience, he’s looking for- ward to retirement. He’ll still be using his talent, but only for classic car and restoration projects “one at a time.” Shawn, who has 22 years experience in automotive painting and body work -- including rebuilding vehicles from the ground up -- is run- ning the business. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and beginning in March, Lamb’s will be open Satur- days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The telephone number is 592-2883. After graduating from I.V. High School in 1990 (his wife graduated in ‘91), Shawn moved to Bakersfield, Calif., where he did roofing. Al- though he had worked with his dad at Lamb’s, where he painted his first car when he was 14, the elder Lamb sug- gested he give another occu- pation a whirl “just to see what it was like.” After a couple of years in Bakersfield, Shawn returned to Cave Junction, and oper- ated his own SL Roofing firm for some five years. However, auto body work was still in his blood, so he worked with his dad for two years. This was followed by continuous years in the automotive paint and body field with companies includ- ing Rogue Truck Body in Kerby, Lithia Motors in Med- ford, and Ham’s Body Shop in Grants Pass. He holds certification from Glasurit and PP&G in painting, body work, small damage re- pair, color adjustment, and other areas of expertise. Coupled with his experience and background, Lamb’s Baaa-dy Shop contin- ues to be a top-quality opera- tion. Among his many special projects, Shawn stripped down and totally rebuilt a ‘69 Camaro for a man in Wash- ington state. He also did the paint and body work for a restored pickup truck given to valley resident Larry Smith as a special gift at Christmas several years ago. Additionally, Shawn mentions a ‘32 roadster he restored, one of his “hot rod classic” jobs. And he’s pleased with the way the VW Bug turned out for Evergreen Federal Bank. For that commission, which included unique polar bear depictions incorporated as part of the paint job, he made up his own color -- “crystal white.” When he’s not doing body work or painting vehi- cles, Shawn keeps busy with the Evergreen bears, eagles and nutcracker that periodi- cally decorate Downtown Grants Pass sidewalks. Congress urged to cough up some bux The federal government has violated its contract with Oregonians by refusing to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, Ore- gon House Speaker Jeff Merkley told the House Ru- ral Policy Committee. The committee late last week was considering HJM 100, encouraging Congress to renew the law. The federal government struck a deal with counties, Merkley said. “They told us that we couldn’t cut the timber, but that the government would pay to make up the differ- ence,” he said. “They have broken that deal.” Despite attempts by Ore- gon’s congressional delega- tion to pass a new version of the plan, the issue has not been resolved. Last year, Congress passed a one-year extension of the plan at a re- duced funding level. Said Merkley: “But officials of counties say that one year of funding at a time will not help them the way a multiyear extension of the program would. They are left with the tough choice of spending all the money and hoping for more the next year, or only spending part of it -- far less than they need -- and saving the rest in the event the funds don’t come through down the road. “When I was growing up near Roseburg, my parents worked at a mill. The impor- tance of the timber economy in Oregon is personal for me. Back then, it was the timber economy that was unstable Say you saw it in the Illinois Valley News and unpredictable. Now, rural Oregon families are finding out that the federal govern- ment is equally unpredictable and unreliable.” In April, Merkley led a legislative delegation on a tour through five affected counties in Southwestern Oregon. Officials were unani- mous in their assessment that failure to renew the program would mean drastic cuts in county services. During the 2007 session, the Legislature redirected $50 million in state highway funds to counties affected by the loss of the county pay- ments. “But that is far short of what was needed,” said Merkley, who established the Rural Policy Committee to further study the issue. “In Josephine County, they told us that they were going to have to shut down the juvenile facility, the li- brary system, cut the sheriff’s department in half, and cut the prosecutor’s office down to two attorneys,” Merkley said. “We need a united voice -- a strong voice -- to say, ‘This is not acceptable’.” In December, Congress came close to passing a multi- year extension of the pro- gram. The plan failed by one vote in the U.S. Senate. The latest proposal for extending the program came in President Bush’s budget, released early last week. The president has proposed funding the county payments program with $200 million during four years. “That is less than a quar- ter of what Oregon’s counties need,” said Merkley. Support for the measure has come from the Associa- tion of Oregon Counties (AOC), Oregon Chapter of American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employ- ees, and other organiza- tions. During the hearing, AOC Executive Director Mike McArthur thanked Merkley for his commitment to the issue. “He recognizes that this is not just a rural problem, it is a statewide problem,” McArthur said. The Rural Policy Committee was to send the measure to the full House . Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) re- sponded with 16 firefighters and 13 pieces of apparatus to a fire on Elwood Lane Sun- day afternoon, Feb. 10. Additionally, units from Rural/Metro Fire District were called to cover the valley while IVFD fought the blaze. (Photos by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept.) Fire near R&R displaces family of five The cause of a fire which destroyed a rural Cave Junc- tion residence Sunday after- noon, Feb. 10 is still under investigation, said Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) Chief Harry Rich. The fire, which was re- ported at 3:52 p.m., resulted in the “total loss” of structure and contents a double-wide manufactured residence on Elwood Lane, near Rough & Ready Lumber Co., south of Cave Junction. No injuries were re- ported, though several fire- fighters suffered from ex- haustion, Rich said. He explained that the interior of the home had been extensively remodeled and partitioned, and that there were “lots of contents,” mak- ing it difficult for firefighters to maneuver inside. “This was probably one of the toughest fires we’ve fought,” he said. Residents, who were home at the time, reported smelling smoke, “like rubber burning,” Rich said. Occu- pants reported seeing smoke billow from beneath the resi- dence, and the fire took off after they removed a section of skirting to investigate. Firefighters appeared to have suppressed the fire after battling for more than an hour, Rich said, but then it re- erupted in the home’s false W arm Y our V alentine’s H eart with a ceiling. “It just exploded in a flashover,” Rich said. He then called for an additional Rural/ Metro reinforcements for the spent firefighters. Rich said that firefighters were frustrated in their initial efforts to reach the fire, as the residents were going in and out of the structure, retrieving items. Rich said he requested crowd control assistance from Edsen Donato, DPTSc, PT, OCS, CHT, CSCS Ed Goll, DHSc, PT Joint Replacement Jeff Wood, MS, PT Back & Neck Injury Jim McCall, PTA Sports Injury Austin Nickerson, PTA Certified Hand Therapist Three Convenient Locations Grants Pass (541) 476-2502 1619 NW Hawthorn Ave. #109 Select from choices for men and women at the Ranch 592-6078 or The Guild Gallery at RCC’s Kerby Belt Building 592-5019 OSP and the sheriff’s office. The residents, Rick & Christy Hewitt, and their three grandchildren, lost eve- rything in the fire. They have been referred to the American Red Cross, and donations of clothes, money and other items can be made through Shop Smart Food Warehouse or Home Valley Bank. Phone 787-0662 for more informa- tion. Cave Junction (541) 592-6580 218 N Redwood Hwy. Glendale (541) 832-2765 300 Pacific Ave. Gait/Balance Training Anodyne Therapy Aquatic Therapy Auto Claims Work Related Injuries Accept Medicare Assignment Blue Cross Preferred Provider Most Insurance Plans Accepted Member APTA & NW Rehab Alliance
