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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2008)
Inside: Chateau classics Guitar virtuosos due at Chateau Page 5 Fatal incident Del Norte cops shoot man, dog Page 7 Alpaca preview Suri Futures sets open house Page 8 Quite colorful Bea Thompson art displayed Page 14 Deadlines same despite holiday Ellis, Brown, Mackin, Cassanelli board contenders Measure by I.V. Fire District to bolster emergency staff defeated by voters Come November, incum- bent Josephine County Com- missioner Dwight Ellis will face challenger Jack A. Brown Jr.; and Harry Mackin and Sandi Cassanelli will square off for the seat being vacated by Commissioner Jim Raffen- burg. That scenario is based on unofficial results from the Tuesday, May 20 vote-by-mail primary election with approxi- mately 90 percent of the votes verified and counted, said the county clerk’s office shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday. Measure 17-20, a tax levy proposal by Illinois Valley Fire District, was headed for defeat: 1,583 to 931. Chief Harry Rich said that he is “very, very dis- appointed. We have a steadily declining number of firefight- ers, and the levy would have given us the opportunity for expanded coverage on a 24/7 basis at our two main stations in Cave Junction and Selma.” The chief said that the measure likely will be pro- posed again in November. On the statewide level, unofficial and incomplete re- sults indicate that Barack Obama took a strong win against Hillary Clinton for the Democrat presidential nomina- tion. John McCain was the Republican winner, garnering at least 76 percent of the vote, followed by Ron Paul’s 20 percent plus showing. In Josephine County, again based on unofficial, in- complete results late Tuesday: Connie Roach was defeating Robert Graper for the position of county assessor. Roach had at least 60 per- cent of votes cast, with Graper at approximately 40 percent. Besides Ellis and Brown in the race for Position 3, re- sults were showing the follow- ing vote-getters in descending order: John E. Makepeace, Gary Albright, Craig Heiller and Allen Ehr. For Position 2 after Mackin and Cassanelli: Frank Iverson, Cliff Thomason, Rowdy Bates, Paul Walter, Selma resident James O’Grady, and G.D. Massey. The run-off election in November is made necessary because no one received at least 51 percent of the vote. If that had happened, the top vote-receiver would have been elected outright. Josephine County was strongly in favor of 3rd District Rep. Ron Mauer (R-Grants Pass). He was receiving at least 90 percent of the votes cast, early figures show. Julie Rubenstein is the apparent Democrat winner. In the race for 4th District representative, incumbent Re- publican Dennis Richardson has more than 86 percent of the votes, followed by Ronald Shutz with around 13 percent. There was no Democrat filer. For the 2nd District state Fuel costs park cars on holiday Despite the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 26, regular deadlines are in effect for the Wednesday, May 28 issue. The Illinois Valley News office will be open Memorial Day; ques- tions can be directed to 592- 2541, or visit the office be- hind King’s Chinese Cuisine in Cave Junction. Burn piles a hazard, says ODF The first hot days of the year are ahead, and some old burn piles may return to life as a result, said Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF). A day or two of 90- degree weather, a breath of hot afternoon breeze, and that patch of blackened ground -- where you burned a pile of tree branches in April -- might sprout a few flames. That same breeze can easily push flames into nearby grass and cause a wildfire, said ODF. Embers can survive for days, weeks, even months in roots and other organic matter in the soil. Bark, stumps, leaves and needles all may continue to slowly burn even when completely buried un- derground. Now is the time to take a look at those black patches to see whether there is any smoke, said ODF. Better yet, spray water on the burned area. If it is still hot, you will see a puff of steam. If the old burn pile site is beyond the reach of a garden hose, pass your hand an inch or two above the black ground. Feel a little heat? Stir the spot with the point of a shovel and test the air above it again. If the air is cooler, there isn’t a problem. If it’s hotter, it’s time to do a little work, ODF said. To fully extinguish em- bers, turn the soil with a shovel to expose the hot ma- terial. Spray it with water, or slosh some on it from a bucket, and turn the embers to get them really wet. Chop up glowing embers and con- tinue to wet them until they no longer smoke and are cool to the touch. Don’t think that the fire will eventually go out if you just bury it deeper, particu- larly if the material you’re burying is large. Using a backhoe to bury still-smoking stumps and tree boles may be simply postponing the chore of putting out the fire. And if firefighters need to dig up buried debris to put (Continued on page 3) Senate seat, incumbent Repub- lican Jason Atkinson was run- ning unopposed, but strongly supported. Richard Koopmans appeared to have the Democrat nod in the contest. Incumbent Greg Walden was capturing the lion’s share of ballots cast with nearly 99 percent of the vote. He holds the 2nd District U.S. Congress seat from Oregon. Noah Le- mas, a Democrat, was gaining his party’s vote. Fourth District Democrat Congressman Peter DeFazio was running unopposed and getting the nod from voters. Final and official results will be printed in next week’s issue. The preceding numbers are due to press deadlines. Flooded carburetors can be a problem, but flooded four-by-four vehicles that become swamped when their operators drive them into streambeds and rivers are another matter altogether. Such was the case Thursday evening, May 15, at the end of Sixth Street in Kerby (above). And a similar situation occurred Friday night, May 16 at Illinois River ‘Forks’ State Park in Cave Junction (left). Drivers are strongly advised against running their rigs in the waterways. (Photos by Illinois Valley News) JCLI turns page for library system membership drive Josephine Community Libraries Inc. (JCLI) kicked off its five-week membership drive Saturday, May 17 with a procession and commemo- ration of the one-year anni- versary of the day the Jose- phine County Library Main Branch shut its doors to the public. The membership drive began with people contribut- ing their individual tales to the collective story of the community. The drive will end with a workshop on June 21, where people will be invited to share their dreams for a library years in the future. JCLI board member Bill Peterson is the organizer for the vision workshop. “The workshop is impor- tant to us because we’re not just looking backward in paralyzed sorrow,” he said. “Together, we can turn memories into hope.” June 21 also will mark the beginning of summer, the symbolic coming of a new season for libraries in Jose- phine County, said JCLI. A Montana woman, identified as Great Falls resident Josephine H. Miller, 75, died on U.S. Hwy. 199 near the California/Oregon border a few miles south of O’Brien. The Monday, May 19 crash, between Oregon Mt. Road and the California ‘bug station,’ was reported at 5:42 Board President Doug Walker explained some of the history of the grass-roots library effort. He said that those involved had debated the best way to run a library under private management and decided on a model simi- lar to public radio, in which donors become members, but the library is open to anyone regardless of ability to pay. JCLI recently received 501(c)(3) charity status from the IRS, allowing mem- bers to write off donations made directly to the library p.m. Gasquet Fire Dept., California Highway Patrol and Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) responded. Miller apparently slid her Lincoln off the road sideways on a curve, and the vehi- cle was ‘sandwiched’ against a tree. (Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept.) group and enabling the or- ganization to apply for a vari- ety of grants. During the membership drive the group plans to hold various community ac- tivities and to mail informa- tion to every Josephine County household and busi- ness so that everyone will have the opportunity to become a founding member of the new library, regardless of how much they’re able to contribute. The group has developed a management plan, evaluating ways to pay for desired services such as interlibrary loan and Internet access. “In order to make this plan work and open the li- braries with the services and materials we all need, the organization needs large do- nations,” Walker said. “However, the benefits that come from a library belong to all of us, and every little bit helps.” Membership levels con- sist of Sustaining Members of up to $200, Bronze Member at the $201 to $500 level, Silver Member at $501 to $1,000, Gold Member at $1,001 to $5,000, and Plati- num at $5,001 and up. The group already has raised approximately $80,000; but needs at least $200,000 and a membership base before approaching county commissioners to work out a contract for the existing library and collec- tion, as it must show sustain- ability. (Related photo, page 8) AAA projects that the number of Americans travel- ing during the Memorial Day holiday will drop this year compared to 2007. AAA estimates that 37.87 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, a decrease of nearly 360,000 travelers (0.9 percent) from last year’s total of 38.23 million. It’s predicted that nearly 31.7 million Americans (83 percent of all holiday travel- ers) will travel by automobile, a 1 percent decrease from the approximately 32 million people who drove a year ago. Nearly 4.35 million (11 percent of holiday travelers) plan to fly during the holiday weekend; a decrease of 0.5 percent from the 4.37 million who took to the skies last year. Approximately 1.8 mil- lion intend to travel by train, bus or other mode of trans- portation. “Many Americans are feeling the financial pinch from record-high gas prices and a slowing economy,” said Marie Dodds, oublic affairs director for AAA Oregon/ Idaho. “But despite the small decrease, millions of people are still traveling this week- end,” she said. “More than 12 percent of the U.S. population will be celebrating the Me- morial Day weekend away from home.” Those driving to their Memorial Day destinations will encounter record-high gasoline prices. As of late last week, the national aver- age for regular unleaded was $3.78 per gallon, the same as the Oregon average. A year ago, the national average was $3.10, while the average in Oregon was $3.41. Six of 10 (59 percent) American currently planning a trip with their car, truck or SUV this summer will not change their travel plans de- spite additional increases in the price of gasoline. Among the 41 percent of respondents who stated that their plans would change if gas prices continue to rise, the greatest percentage would simply drive a shorter distance to their vacation destination. According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, it’s anticipated that air fares dur- ing the Memorial Day holi- day weekend will rise 8 per- cent above prices last year, as air passengers will pay an (Continued on page 3)
