Page 5
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, October 22, 2008
(Continued from page 3)
reliance on government pro-
grams grown? From what I
have been able to determine,
it does not appear that
Obama’s involvement has
achieved significant nor long-
lasting change.
What is Obama’s track
record? We have to find it
ourselves and not wait for the
media to provide the de-
tails. Who are his close friends
and backers? Of the ones I
know about, if they are a re-
flection of Obama’s views it
raises serious questions about
his character and judgment.
Some call Sen. Obama a
fluent speaker. To me, it ap-
pears that when he is off
script or doing interviews he
just drones with a long reply,
no substance and an answer
that goes nowhere. At times I
feel I should reach in and pull
the answer out of him. When-
ever questioned about some-
thing he does not wish to ad-
dress he attacks something or
someone else.
I feel he lives in a bubble
protected by his media surro-
gates. He changes his mind
with the wind and doesn’t
seem to have a solid core of
beliefs that stay with him. His
plans for this country are not
new ones, but carefully culti-
vated ideas rehashed by the
far-left for years -- and it’s
called socialism. This is the
real threat to our freedoms
and democracy.
This is not the type of
government I want for myself
or my family.
As far as Joe Biden goes,
he is definitely a seasoned
politician. He is so seasoned
that the media no longer high-
light his errors on the cam-
paign trail or in interviews. I
guess to some it’s old news,
but nothing should be consid-
ered old news this political
year. People have the right to
see both sides of the presiden-
tial tickets reported fairly.
Joe’s “gaffs,” as they
have been referred to in his
past, are still quite present. If
you don’t see them when they
happen you will never see the
media report them more than
once, if at all. And if you
don’t think he’s been the VP
attack dog then you must be
missing his performances on
the campaign trail. I have
observed Biden for years, and
while he may be a good fam-
ily man, having him as vice
president is a scary prospect.
In committee hearings,
his questions have been insult-
ing (if he ever gets to the ques-
tion). His ideas on foreign
policy are flawed to the point
of recklessness, and his nego-
tiating skills are non-
existent. This is not a balanced
ticket. Obama chose another
senator as a running mate, and
they, with Sen. Dodd and Rep.
Frank, are an intricate part of
the problems caused by Wash-
ington that we face today.
Do I want Nancy Pelosi,
Harry Reid and Barack
Obama running the country? I
do not. For years I was a De-
mocrat, but I have left the
party. After the past four
years of watching the Democ-
rat leaders trash this country,
slander the troops, block drill-
ing of oil and natural gas that
would make this country
more self-sufficient, ignore
the rise in gas and food prices
that have hurt us all, I said,
“Enough.”
Regarding alternative
fuels, yes we need to develop
them, but those who think we
can get along without oil are
sadly mistaken. We should
not be dependent on any other
country for oil and natural gas
if we can produce more here
and provide more jobs while
doing it. While Sen. McCain
also wants to develop alterna-
tive fuels he knows we need
oil too. His policies on en-
ergy, taxes, the economy,
health care, government re-
form, foreign relations, etc.
are online.
McCain has not said he
deserves to be president sim-
ply because of his past life
experiences, he only asks for
our support in electing
him. His persona is not to
woo crowds, but to provide
straight answers to questions
and lay out the differences
between himself and
Obama. He is not glib or
smooth and may appear tight-
lipped; that is just the way he
is. Get over it.
And he is not another
term of George Bush as the
Democrats like to portray. Do
I agree with all McCain’s
policies? Probably not, but
the alternative is not the way
to go.
Lastly, in regard to Gov.
Palin – I am extremely of-
fended by the nasty, disre-
spectful tone set by the major-
ity of the media when report-
ing anything relating to her
and her family. How often
does it happen that an individ-
ual becomes a governor with-
out assistance from political
insiders? (Check how Obama
got to the Senate.)
When Palin was first
announced as McCain’s run-
ning mate, I immediately
researched her on the Inter-
net. What I found was a com-
petent, intelligent, fair-
minded individual who cares
about the people who elected
her both as a governor and as
a mayor. She actually made a
difference in her state and
community. She has good
judgment that comes from her
life experiences and core val-
ues. She loves this country
and respects our military.
She has positions, opin-
ions and a mind-set that do
not come from being a U.S.
senator, thank heavens. She
has a can-do and will-do atti-
tude. Palin won’t be taken
advantage of by anyone.
14 bucks a month
From Judy Flores
Selma
This is in response to a
letter written to the Illinois
Valley News editor by Bud
Couron on Oct. 15.
I am deeply saddened
about how ill informed he
might be. Thursday night,
Oct. 16, I had the opportunity
to attend a town hall meeting
in Selma about the fire levy,
as after reading Couron’s
letter I had several concerns
about how our fire district
was run and about the money
that it is trying to raise.
After listening to Chief
Harry Rich and Deputy Chief
Jeff Gavlik I was surprised to
discover a few interesting
facts about our district that I
did not already know.
Mostly volunteers run
our fire district; we only have
four paid personnel, who take
turns being a duty officer
every four nights. We only
have 13 actual firefighter vol-
unteers; no one has time any-
more to dedicate to their com-
munity in this service. How
about Bud Couron, does he
have time? Most of the volun-
teers are older and/or retired,
younger stronger men have to
have a job to support their
families.
The volunteers not re-
tired are only able to respond
between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Our fire district goes on ap-
proximately 3.1 fire calls a
day, of which 14 percent are
actual structure fire calls, and
68 percent are medical, e.g.
heart attacks, strokes, etc. We
only have one AMR ambu-
lance in the valley, and the
fire district is the only agency
on scene when that ambu-
lance goes to Grants Pass.
The other 18 percent are
things like traffic accidents,
of which I was the victim of
one: a rear-ender caused by
an 18-wheeler semitruck and
trailer. Another surprising
fact is that our district covers
144 square miles. If there
were a catastrophic event that
cut off Hay’s Hill, who are
we going to call? Ghost-
busters?
I don’t want us to be-
come another Katrina disas-
ter. I’m not in favor of raising
taxes either, but for $14 a
month I think it might be
worth it.
‘Building an Empire’?
From Helen Clark
Cave Junction
Some longtime valley
residents might not remem-
ber major incidents that may
or may not have happened
around Illinois Valley, but
the first one that comes to
mind is the 2002 Biscuit
Fire that threatened the
community of Cave Junc-
tion.
It was not the intent of
the prior fire chief or any
other fire organization to
just let it burn. The large
short-term tax levy is really
a 25-year bond that was
sought prior to the Biscuit
Fire and cost the local tax-
payers 50-cents per thou-
sand that averages out to
most taxpayers at about $56
per year. That bond built
three new fire stations in
three communities: Cave
Junction, O’Brien and
Selma.
The station in Cave
Junction was 57 years old
and was red-tagged as dan-
gerous to inhabit. Station 2
“Selma” was a two-bay sta-
tion or garage with no bath-
rooms or running water and
was located under an exist-
ing water table. O’Brien
Station 3 was at one time
the O’Brien schoolhouse.
The roof leaked; the con-
crete floor where the fire
engines were parked was
sinking; and the bathroom
didn’t work due to faulty
sewer plumbing.
This fire chief was not
Christmas Bazaar
I.V. Senior Center
the fire chief when the fire
station bond was passed,
and I know he has no
agenda. This chief after be-
ing appointed in December
2003 had our new fire sta-
tion on the ground within
his first 18 months. This
chief has been and continues
to be a dedicated public ser-
vant for us for more than
four years.
This last budget year,
the fire chief gave back
some $10,000 from his an-
nual salary to help support
the short-fall in the budget
from drastically increasing
fuel and utilities and other
associated increased costs.
If folks would read the
levy literature as written,
they would see that it is a
five-year levy with an expi-
ration date and would not be
extended without voter ap-
proval. So the conclusion to
this letter is to refute prior
writings to newspapers con-
cerning the misinformation
about this fire chief and the
desperately needed replace-
ment of three, “not a cou-
ple” of the old, dilapidated
fire stations.
I hope every voter
makes a pledge to pass Bal-
lot Measure 17-21.
‘Someone is misinformed’
From Dennis Knight
Cave Junction
For someone who has
lived in Illinois Valley for
nearly 40 years, that individ-
ual should consider himself
out of touch and should re-
search his information prior
to writing a letter to the news-
paper. I would like to answer
his letter in an abbreviated
form.
He believes that we have
never had a serious problem
with fire in the valley. In
2002 the Biscuit Fire threat-
ened Cave Junction more
than once and came within a
mile or so to Cave Junction.
In 2004 the city of Cave
Junction was threaten by a
200-acre fire that leaped
around Cave Junction. That
fire was called the Redwood
Fire, and sadly two families
lost their homes that day. In
2004 a wildland fire occurred
in Kerby that threatened the
entire town of Kerby, burned
some 25 acres, and destroyed
one home and numerous out-
buildings. That fire was
called the Redwood Fire #2.
In 2005, Selma was
struck by a rapid-moving fire
that claimed five homes, nu-
merous outbuildings, a mu-
seum and numerous vehicles.
That fire moved faster than
firefighters could handle.
That 1,643-acre fire was
called the Deer Creek Fire.
In 2008 a forest, wild-
land fire just 17 miles west of
Selma burned some 1,185
acres. If that fire had gained a
little more speed it would
have threatened Selma and
Kerby. That fire was called
the Horse Mountain Fire.
If my recall is correct, the
bond to build new fire sta-
tions in the valley was pro-
posed some time before the
Biscuit Fire. I know that I
attended barbecues in support
of that bond, and they were
before the Biscuit. The ap-
proved bond is for 25 years,
not a large short-term levy.
The writer goes on to say
that the fire chief “just
wanted to build himself a
couple of fire houses that we
didn’t need.” To clarify a
point, the current fire chief
was not appointed until early
2004, so he was not here in
2002 or when the building
bond was approved. The
three fire stations replaced
were decaying and more than
50 years old, their service life
was at an end.
As for a “Castle in the
Sky Empire” this is another
incorrect remark. The fire
chief’s intent is to address the
needs of the valley, and the
volunteer ranks continue to
decline not only here, but
across the nation.
Bud Couron needs to
read the ballot information
and not just blurt wrong num-
bers or insinuations like a
“two- or three-year levy and a
permanent fixture.” He would
know this is a five-year levy
that expires in 2013, and the
voters have to approve any
new measures. This tax is not
in concrete like Couron
would like us to believe.
People should vote their
consciences and good sense.
Do we need a strong Illinois
Valley fire service whose
firefighters live in our com-
munities -- or not support the
fire district and suffer the
probable consequences of a
raging fire that our existing
fire staff can’t handle?
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