Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, December 10, 2008
(Continued from page 2)
HOLIDAY CONCERTS - Vocal and instrumental
sounds of the season will be performed during free of
charge concerts by student musicians directed by Sean
McKee. The Lorna Byrne Middle School presentation will
be given Wednesday, Dec. 17. The Illinois Valley High
School performance will be on Thursday, Dec. 18. Both will
begin at 7 p.m.
CHOO-CHOO - At Kerbyville Museum, A Christmas
Circus Train & Village and the museum are available for
viewing with a special $1 per person admission fee for
adults and children, plus one can of nonperishable food.
The display and museum will be available to the public
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends of Dec. 13 and 14,
and Dec. 20 and 21. The showings are due to Dennis
Strayer, a railroad enthusiast and president of the museum
board of directors.
TECHNOLOGY BEAT - Battle of the Rock Bands will
be held Thursday, Dec. 11 at Illinois Valley High School.
Sponsored by the I.V. Grad Night Committee, the fund-
raiser for the annual drug-and-alcohol-free party will run
from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, with a small admission fee, is
open to the public. All ages can participate in three catego-
ries: elementary, middle school, and high school & adult.
The event will utilize Rock Band technology.
FOOD MOOD - A benefit concert to raise funds for
food and receive donations of food will be held Saturday,
Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. The location will be announced in next
week’s I.V. Noose. The valley’s own Jefferson Bluegrass
band will perform, and there will be Christmas carol sing-
alongs for the audience. Admission will be cash or food: All
proceeds will be donated to Illinois Valley food banks.
FRESH VS. PLASTIC - The Oregon Farm Bureau
wants to inform consumers that despite what they may
have heard previously, buying a fresh Christmas tree is a
better environmental choice than buying a plastic tree.
Why? Live trees from Oregon are local, renewable, recy-
clable; are not made from petroleum; nor did they use the
energy to be shipped half-way around the world from
China. Some people mistakenly believe that trees are
clear-cut en masse from forestland. But like wheat or corn,
farmers grow Christmas trees in fields or nursery plots.
And instead of an annual harvest, the trees typically take
five to six years before they are ready for sale. After a crop
is harvested, another is planted. There are approximately
720 licensed Christmas tree growers in Oregon. Its trees
are so preferred that the state is the number-one producer
of Christmas trees in the nation. Oregon ships some eight
million Yule trees each year. Last year, Oregon’s Christ-
mas tree production was valued at $114.4 million. And of
course fresh Christmas trees are biodegradable.
NO FREE CASH - “If it looks like a scam, it probably is
a scam,” notes Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson.
He’s referring to a recent ploy from “Desjardin Financial
Group” promising cash winnings if the recipient follows cer-
tain instructions. Said the sheriff, “I phoned the number
listed, and got a recording that said there was no more room
on the recording device.”
NOTEPAD - Bingo game sheets (one per can of food
for Cave Junction Christmas Basket) will be given away
Wednesdays, Dec. 10 and 17 at Illinois Valley Senior Cen-
ter, where games begin at 6:30 p.m. The offer also will be
honored during other days until Dec. 17 … Thursday
bingo is held on third Thursdays (Dec. 18 next) at the
American Legion Hall on Caves Hwy. Early bird at 6 p.m.;
regular games at 6:30 … Newspaper slips: *Because of a
broken water line, the weeding ceremony was moved out-
side to the lawn. *On the occasion of his 30th wedding
ceremony, the sanitation chief recalled that he first met his
wife in the city park, and that they continued to meet in the
dark until they became engaged. *The pitcher’s record was
not good during the week because he was worried about
his wife, who was in bed with the umps … T-shirts:
*Struggling hair farmer. *Somebody has to boss you
around. Might as well be me. *I feel like a dung beetle.
Does that answer your
question?
LAST WORDS - We shall
find peace. We shall hear
the angels, we shall see the
sky sparkling with dia-
Cave Junction
monds. (Anton Chekhov)
Wednesday, Dec. 10
Clouds and sun
High--56 Low--22
Thursday, Dec. 11
Sunshine
High--50 Low--23
Friday, Dec. 12
Cloudy
High--50 Low--27
Saturday, Dec. 13
Colder with showers
High--37 Low--23
Sunday, Dec. 14
Bit of rain, snow
High--35 Low--21
Monday, Dec. 15
Cloudy
High--36 Low--21
Tuesday, Dec. 16
Sun hidden by clouds
High--37 Low--28
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in O’Brien by
Cheryl & Harry Johnson:
*Fri., Nov. 28 46 40 .00
*Sat., Nov. 29 48 37 .00
*Sun., Nov. 30 46 34 .00
*Mon., Dec. 1 55 37 .00
*Tue., Dec. 2 53 36 .02
*Wed., Dec. 3 43 36 .01
*Thu., Dec. 4 43 31 .00
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in Cave Junction at
Illinois River Farm:
*Fri., Nov. 28 45 39 .01
*Sat., Nov. 29 54 34 .07
*Sun., Nov. 30 55 41 .00
*Mon., Dec. 1 59 36 .01
*Tue., Dec. 2 60 36 .01
*Wed., Dec. 3 45 36 .01
*Thu., Dec. 4 48 30 .00
Sa t u r da y, D e ce m be r 1 3 , 1 0 a .m .- 2 p.m .
Se lm a Ba pt ist Ch u r ch
Be n e fit in g H e lpin g H a n ds D a y Ca r e
geant. I was Carol Dickson’s
supervisor while she served
the department as a dis-
patcher. She was one of the
best, and she was voted as
Dispatcher of the Year by the
other sheriff’s office employ-
ees. She attended classes at
Rogue Community College
during her off-duty hours and
earned her associate-of-
science degree in business
administration. Her additional
education qualified her for the
position of senior dispatcher.
Her ambition prompted
her to apply for and be hired
for a patrol position. She pa-
trolled on various shifts, in
various areas, making car
stops, investigating crimes,
writing excellent reports,
making arrests and appearing
in court. She was highly re-
spected by her peers and em-
ployees of other agencies
(Grants Pass Dept. of Public
Safety, OSP, D.A.’s Office,
Juvenile Dept.). Because of
her exemplary performance
on patrol, she was selected to
fill a rotating position in the
Detective Division. There she
investigated and solved a
variety of major crimes. She
was the first woman in the
Detective Division and was
well respected by her peers.
Again, members of the sher-
iff’s office elected her Detec-
tive of the Year.
If that’s the kind of em-
ployee Gilbertson would fire,
that makes him an even less-
qualified person to fill the
office of sheriff. He should be
proud to have employees like
Carol Dickson. Perhaps his
flawed investigation of Dep-
uty Dickson’s past perform-
ance is an indication of his
ability as an investigator.
If I were a resident of
Josephine County today, I
would join Dickson to point
out misuses of county funds
and mishandling of responsi-
bilities by elected officials. In
fact, I hope that more Jose-
phine County citizens be-
come involved in holding
their elected officials respon-
sible.
And I wonder what the
sheriff is thinking now.
‘Time for Cha-Cha-change’
From Miguel Kime
Cave Junction
Many good people
smoke marijuana. Most peo-
ple who do not smoke mari-
juana know a good person (or
two, or more) who do. The
courts and jails are full of
good people who smoke
marijuana.
For those concerned with
America’s 4.5 million unin-
sured children, the federal
deficit or the soon-to-be
bankrupt Social Security sys-
tem, here’s the math:
Each year there are 700,000
arrests for marijuana-related
offenses at a cost of more
than $7 billion. In an open
letter to the president from
500 economists, including
Nobel winner Milton Fried-
man, it was estimated to cost
taxpayers $2.4 billion on the
federal level and $5.3 billion
on the state level.
The fact is that Josephine
County is a very poor county
in a very green state. I suggest
Josephine County become the
Mendocino County of Ore-
gon. Save the county, smoke
a joint and then go to the li-
brary and read a book.
Hayes Hill et al.
From Greg Walter,
Jefferson State
Financial Group,
Cave Junction
I think I might be able to
provide some clarity (or open
a can of worms) to last
week’s letter to the editor
from Larry Smith.
According to the Ore-
gon Geographic Names book,
seventh edition, by Lewis
McArthur, Hayes Hill was
named for Jarvis Hayes, a
pioneer settler from the 1860s
who homesteaded on the
Applegate side (I found this
in some further research).
Interestingly, Hayes Hill
proper is due east of the Hwy.
199 Hayes Hill that we all
know so well. This name is
established in this reference,
and I think can only be
changed with an application
to the OGNB (Oregon Geo-
graphic Names Board).
Here is where this story
takes a turn, and Larry may
have to build a case on this to
have it hold: Fort Hay (or
Hays) was first established as
a Donation Land Claim by
William Hay in November
1854 and would be used for a
brief period (as was Fort
Briggs) as a fortified farm-
house during the 1855-56
Indian wars. Hence the spell-
ing Fort Hay or, Fort Hays.
The importance here is
that I think we are dealing
with two different families,
and clarifications can get gen-
eralized as to the proper spell-
ing and subsequent confu-
sion. A similar case can be
found in Curry County with
regard to the Frye Family of
Marial and Powers area and
the “Fry Place,” south of
Agness, Ore.
More research data can
be found at Kerbyville Mu-
seum at 592-5252 (by ap-
pointment), and the Josephine
County Historical Society. I
hope this helps.
Children’s gifts needed
From Louise Voice
Cave Junction
If we people of Illinois
Valley don’t step up and
make donations and/or buy a
toy for the CJ Cares Christ-
mas program, many children
will not get a gift for Christ-
mas.
I want to challenge eve-
ryone who works in the val-
ley to donate to the CJ Cares
Christmas program. We can
make a difference to a child,
and Christmas is for kids, so
let’s take care of our own.
(Editor’s Note: Dona-
tions of cash or toys can be
taken to Fred & Sarah Ball
at Bi-Rite Auto Parts be-
hind Michelle’s Family Res-
taurant).
Concealed weapons view
From Raul Ramirez, retired
Marion County sheriff
Chief Executive Officer
Oregon State Sheriffs
Association
The Oregonian is flat
wrong in its op ed, “Keep
weapons permits public,” in a
number of respects. Of
course, the newspaper is ab-
solutely right when it guards
the public’s right to know
what its elected officials and
governments are doing.
Sunshine and transpar-
ency are central to U.S. de-
mocracy, as is the oversight
role of the press. This does
not mean that every public
record should be subject to
review by all who request it.
While requests by the press
are often not objectionable (as
recognized by our Open
Page 3
Meetings Law, which grants
media access to closed meet-
ings but prohibits disclosure),
there is no basis for a public
body to differentiate and
grant access to public records
and documents to some (a
responsible press) and deny
access to others such as
criminals, mass mailers, gun
groups and the like.
The Medford Mail Trib-
une filed a suit against Jack-
son County Sheriff Mike
Winters, who denied its re-
quest for all concealed weap-
ons permits he had issued,
including that of school
teacher Shirley Ann Katz.
Among other arguments, the
sheriff contended that ORS
192.502(2) relating to per-
sonal privacy exempts the
record from disclosure. Under
this law, public disclosure
may be withheld if it would
constitute an unreasonable
invasion of privacy unless the
public interest by clear and
convincing evidence requires
disclosure in the particular
instance.
Oregon’s sheriffs are
taking steps to ensure that
personal information of con-
cealed weapons permit hold-
ers remain private. In Guard
Publishing Co. v. Lane
County School District, the
court clearly established that
individuals (public employ-
ees, school teachers and sub-
stitutes, gun permit holders,
and the like) may individually
request that personal informa-
tion remain private.
Oregon’s sheriffs have
taken or are considering steps
to afford gun permit holders
this opportunity under current
law. And, this is the right
thing to do.
The courts of Michigan
have recognized privacy re-
lated to identity of gun permit
holders in Mager v. Dept. of
State Police. Those with le-
gitimate need for a gun per-
mit will not want their need,
their name and address, and
the fact that they carry a
weapon to become known
publicly. Indeed, disclosure
would defeat the purpose of
the concealed weapon permit.
The point of having the per-
mit is to be able to be armed
safely without public knowl-
edge. Privacy of this infor-
mation makes sense.
The information should
be deemed private in the case
of any permit holder. To do
otherwise invites trouble,
whether it be aggression di-
rected at an armed permit
holder or a burglary in search
of firearms.
The Oregonian editorial
is off base in other respects
when the newspaper suggests
that there should be public
oversight of the permitting
function in the interest of
public safety, to be sure that
only the right sorts of people
are obtaining concealed gun
permits. There is little point.
Oregon law does not permit
Oregon’s sheriffs any discre-
tion to deny concealed weap-
ons permits except in very
limited circumstances.
Stripping sheriffs of dis-
cretion to say “No” was a bad
idea when the law was last
amended and remains so to-
day. However, the answer to
The Oregonian’s public
safety concern is to change
the law restricting sheriffs’
discretion -- not to grant ac-
cess to personal information
where individual and commu-
nity safety clearly and con-
vincingly demonstrate that
the personal information
should remain private.
Book Exchange
&
Tea Cozy
Dec. hours: 11-5, Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri.;
11-4, Sat.; noon-2, Sun.; closed Tues.
228 N. Redwood Hwy., C.J. 592-3689
Books make great gifts: wide selection of soft and hard covers, books
about Oregon history, novels by local authors, audio books,
special orders accepted. Magnetic book marks.
Teas and accessories also make
great gifts: seasonal bags & baskets
available. Tea brewing supplies,
1-cup warmers, loose teas by the
ounce, tea bags in singles & pack-
aged. Tasty mulling spices & treats.
Come in and see.
I V Family Coalition invites you to participate in our...
4 TH A NNUAL C ARING T REE !
.
Great joy will be yours when you help others!
Help provide holiday gifts to I llinois Valley
senior and disabled persons receiving home care.
Each person’s wish will be put on an ornament and hung on our Caring Tree.
Select an ornament and shop for the gift during the holidays.
Over 140 applications were mailed to eligible
seniors and disabled persons this year.
Come to the Coalition to select your ornament
from Monday, November 17 - Friday, December 19.
.
. .
.
Gifts must be at the Coalition
by Saturday, December 20 for distribution.
Gifts not received by the deadline will be purchased.
Donations of funds for those wishes are appreciated.
The I llinois Valley Family Coalition
535 E. River St.
Cave Junction, OR 97523
592-6139
.