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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2009)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, February 25, 2009 This was the issue in which Publisher Bob was go- ing to recount his FAMI (First Admitted Myocardial In- farction) that knocked him on his rear 10 years ago. But instead this week I offer the following tongue-in-cheek essay on cliches, written by the late journalism teacher, John B. Bremner: “Busy as a beaver all day, he was as tired as a dog when he hit the hay last night. He thought he would fall into the arms of Morpheus and sleep like a log, but his pad was cold as ice, and he tossed and turned and didn’t sleep a wink. “Well, to cut a long story short, in the wee small hours he hit the deck like a bolt from the blue to get him- self a hair of the dog to warm the cockles of his heart, but, as luck would have it, this was more easily said than done because he was fresh out of what the doctor ordered. “Make no bones about it, he was really over a bar- rel. Little did he think he would be without the neces- sary. He was in a pretty kettle of fish, it goes without saying. Rather than open a new can of worms, he threw in the sponge without further ado and hit the sack to await Old Sol and another day, another dollar. “It was too funny for words, needless to say.” Perhaps next issue I’ll belabor the FAMI. If I have the heart for it. Need someone to watch your Precious One? Helping Hands Day Care is here! 7:30 am-5:30 pm, M-F For more info contact Cindy 541-592-4923 helpinghandsdaycare@gmail.com Concrete Remodel New Construction 592-6609 CCB 174891 FREE Computer Classes! Learn about Microsoft ® Office ® and Word & Excel ® Evening Classes at Illinois Valley High School for parents and guardians of students at IVHS, Lorna Byrne, and Evergreen. Classes also open to TRSD employees and IVHS students. Wednesdays, March 4-18 & April 1, 6-8:30 p.m. To register contact Deb Murphy or Jen Marsden at 592-2116. Taught by Josiah Dean, RCC Instructor Illinois Valley News www.illinois-valley-news.com An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-publishers: Bob & Jan Rodriguez Editor-in-Chief: Michelle Binker 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 P.O. Box 1370 USPS 258-820 Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330 Email: newsroom1@frontiernet.net or newsdesk@illinois-valley-news.com Volume 71, No. 50 Staff: Zina Booth, Brenda Encinas, Scott Jorgensen and Millie Watkins Advertising sales: Kenny Hix Website design and maintenance by Ashgrove Visual Arts Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association DEADLINES: News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters 5 P.M. THURSDAYS (Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be accepted until noon Fridays with an additional charge.) POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters to the editor provided they are of general interest, in good taste, legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using complete name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number. The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters. Gener- ally, one letter per person per month at publisher’s discretion. Letters are used at the discretion of the publisher. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is inordinately long in the publisher’s opinion. POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE,” DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADS & NOTICES: All submissions must be hand-delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for publication. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run more than one week. SUBSCRIPTION RATES One year in Josephine County - $22.80 One year in Jackson and Douglas counties - $26.40 One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state - $36 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction OR 97523 illinois-valley-news.com (Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter- writers.) * * * Typed, double-spaced letters are considered for publication. Hand-written letters that are double- spaced and legible also can be considered. “Thank you” submissions are not ac- cepted as letters. Starlight Reserve idea From Jerry & Kaly McMillen Cave Junction We’ve lived in Illinois Valley for five years. Relo- cating our family rental busi- ness and our home from Southern California had cer- tain criteria. Quiet and dark- ness headed our list. Our thought was that you can always make noise, but it is difficult to make quiet. I.V. is one of those places where relative quietness can be found. We know that Nature has its moments when a ca- cophony of sounds can be experienced, but the din of a busy city is far different. Darkness is rare in our modern world. Upon visiting the valley for the first time in 2000, my husband and I hap- pened to meet a resident on his way into the CJ library. He noticed a couple of aging folks traveling in a VW camper bus and was curious as to our visit. We talked about the area and our travels. He told us to be sure to pay attention to the night sky. “You’ll be able to see the Milky Way,” he said. We followed his advice and saw much more than just the Milky Way; we experienced a night sky previously un- known to us. That was the beginning for us; we had found dark. It is our desire that Illi- nois Valley preserve that star- lit night sky. As a community we have been creatively thinking about ways to bring tourists to our area. The town of Tekapo, New Zealand is working to be “officially” designated a Starlight Re- serve by UNESCO (United - IVHS School Menu - Sponsored by SISKIYOU COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER 25647 Redwood Hwy. 592-4111 THURSDAY, FEB. 26 Pasta with marinara / meat sauce, bean & cheese burrito, chicken burger, cheeseburger; cheese, barbecue chicken or supreme pizza; Italian sand- wich, turkey & cheese sand- wich, spicy chicken wrap; chef, antipasto, fruit & veggie, or garden salad. FRIDAY, FEB. 27 Nacho supreme, corn dog, spicy chicken burger, ham- burger; pepperoni, cheese, supreme or taco pizza; ham & cheese sandwich, turkey & cheese sandwich, turkey wrap; chef, garden, fruit & veggie, or Mandarin chicken salad. MONDAY, MARCH 2 Beef soft tacos, chicken strips, spicy chicken burger, ham- burger; pepperoni, cheese, vegetarian, or sausage pizza; ham & cheese sandwich, tur- key & cheese sandwich, tur- key wrap; chef, garden, fruit & veggie, or Mandarin chicken salad. TUESDAY, MARCH 3 Chicken fajitas, BBQ chicken sandwich, chicken burger, cheeseburger; pepperoni, cheese, or Hawaiian pizza; Italian sandwich, turkey & cheese sandwich, spicy chicken wrap; chef, antipasto, fruit & veggie, or garden salad. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 Taco salad, sweet & sour chicken rice bowl, spicy chicken burger, hamburger; pepperoni, sausage, cheese or Italian griller pizza; veggie sandwich, turkey & cheese sandwich, turkey wrap; chef, garden, fruit & veggie, or Mandarin chicken salad. Nations Educational, Scien- tific and Cultural Organiza- tion). Tekapo has been on this quest since 1965. It began because of the observatory on the island, but has become a vital tourist attraction known as “Astro-tourism.” It is sad that every new development idea, housing tract/subdivision, business park, etc. that comes across the mayor’s or the city coun- cil’s collective desks isn’t more closely scrutinized about the true cost to our community. Empty streets with empty lots with empty houses or buildings with mul- tiple light standards lighting up the area only costs the city unnecessary monies long after developers vanish. Approximately a fifth of the world and at least two thirds of the United States can no longer see the Milky Way. Let us find the environmen- tally friendly way to light only what needs to be lit. Let’s keep experiencing that wonderfully rare opportunity to view the night sky. There are so many other reasons to do this besides money, but if we can create an economic benefit to the community, so much the bet- ter. Let’s create a Starlight Reserve. ‘Rentism’ coined From John Bowler Kerby Last year I heard Don Moore comment during a city council meeting that Cave Junction had a developing “upscale rental market” as a result of all the unsalable houses within city limits. He anticipated a new movement originating in the beleaguered U.S. financial institutions, a movement I term “rentism.” “Rentism” is the banking industry answer to the simple fact that Americans cannot afford their mortgages. The math is simple, but it is worth explaining in full. In the early 2000s, in- vestment money moved from a crashing high-tech market to real estate investment: Remember the “Real Estate Investment Trust” (REIT)? Real estate prices traditionally had tracked inflation, as mort- gages and rents rose by around 3 percent a year and house prices rose to match. Americans paid 30 to 40 percent of their income on housing, primarily via rent or mortgage payments. Financial institutions, flush with money, adopted a hard-sell strategy for mort- mortgage. The corresponding rents are lower than a conven- tional mortgage on the same home; therefore the house price of the rented property also can be higher, without destroying the economy. The president’s plan would do the opposite of “rentism” and allow many current home owners to avoid foreclosure with an affordable mortgage of up to 105 percent of the value of their homes. In the president’s plan through the long-term these mort- gages will disappear as house prices reset to historical lev- els. In the banks’ counter- plan, house prices remain forever increased. The percentage of Americans who have to rent their homes from the rich capital owners who control the banks increases to match. This is “rentism.” The salient difference between a renter and home owner, so far as the banks are concerned, is that the renter doesn’t whine about being conned out of their home. Renters expect this. So the “rentists” hope that the new renters will be happy to return to work for their new land- lords’ benefit. But every attempt so far by the banks to manipulate the U.S. economy has had some small but insurmount- able problem. “Rentism” is no different. The enormous stress placed on the U.S. economy by the banks suck- ing up money via foreclosure cannot be fixed by simply resetting the original balance of home ownership. If every single one of us lived in rented accommoda- tions there still wouldn’t be any money to bootstrap the economy back into produc- tion. The plan the banks have for that is to blame the presi- dent when it doesn’t happen. (Continued on page 3) gages. House prices rose. De- velopers began developing. Builders started building. House price rises continued. However, the money to pay the mortgages to buy these houses came from Americans whose income actually fell behind inflation. Working Americans got poorer in real terms between 2001 and 2007 (U.S. Census). Consequently, working Americans had to pay a greater proportion of their income to fund their mort- gages, and hence less money was available for everything else. The inevitable result of this was to send the economy into recession. The very simple math is that house prices cannot rise in real terms without major dis- ruption to the economy. Hous- ing prices in the country as a whole have to track raises in employment income or some- thing big has to change else- where in the economy. The U.S. financial insti- tutions had all the data to pre- dict what would happen. Those institutions and those in charge knew what was happening to mortgage costs across the nation, but they did nothing to head off the prob- lems. Now they see a housing market with overpriced houses rapidly losing value, and, because of foreclosure, they own an increasing num- ber of these houses. “Rentism” is their answer to this. Raise the income bar on home ownership. Home own- ers as a group have more money, so house prices can be higher. Lower-cost homes, traditionally the first home an American owned, now will be rental properties. A renter pays the same money as a mortgage holder, but has no equity in the rented home. To a bank a renter looks like a home owner with a 100 percent interest-only Now Curves works for you, your budget, and your community. There’s never been a better time to join than during our Curves Food Drive. Our 30-minute circuit works every major muscle group so you can burn up to 500 calories. It’s good for everyone. JOIN FOR FREE* WHEN YOU DONATE A BAG OF GROCERIES OVER 10,000 LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE 592-4599 *Food or cash donation required to local food bank determined by club. Offer based on first visit enrollment, minimum 12 mo. c.d./e.f.t. program. New members only. Not valid with any other offer. Valid only at participating locations through 3.28.09. ©2009 Curves International, Inc. Western Plaza, Cave Junction Mon. - Fri. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Just Arrived from the Quartzite and Tucson Rock, Jewelry, & Bead Shows More than 10,000 pounds of: Salt Candles Stones Beads Fossils Polished Stones Salt Lamps Jewelry Gifts The largest selection of the year at great prices! Open 7 days, 9-6 18435 Redwood Hwy., Selma 597-4300
