Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Page 3
Cable service curtailed;
city out franchise fees
FINANCIAL FITNESS - SOFCU Community Credit
Union is offering a series of financial workshops beginning
Thursday, April 2 at its south Grants Pass branch office,
1551 Harbeck Road. The workshops are designed to help
people set realistic goals for their financial future. Also,
there will be tips on how to resolve or repair credit issues,
identify money traps and avoid scams. The sessions will
be held Thursday evenings, from 6 to 8 p.m. through April
23. Phone Kathy at 479-2601 ext. 2135 for reservations.
FUN & FASHION - Western Star Chapter 64, Order of
the Eastern Star, will have an afternoon of “Food, Fashion,
Fun and Art,” plus a silent auction, on Saturday, April 4.
The public event will begin with lunch at noon, followed by
a fashion show at 1. It will be held at the Josephine County
Bldg. in Downtown Cave Junction. For a donation, door
prizes and other surprises await those who attend.
MUSEUM MUSINGS - Kerbyville Museum will reopen
on Saturday, April 4, said Dennis Strayer, museum presi-
dent. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. New exhibits featuring
railroad mining and logging are among displays. Admission
is $4 for adults, $2 for youth 6 to 16 years of age; and $2
for seniors 56 and older. A family rate of $10 covers groups
with two adults and two or more children. Admission is free
for children younger than 6. (Sponsored item).
HUNGER HELPERS - Country & Western singer Dale
Hopper, of O’Brien, and his dog, Claude, will perform Fri-
day, April 10, at Illinois Valley Grange Hall, 3763 Holland
Loop, from 6 to 8 p.m. The concert will benefit area food
banks. Admission is by donation. Nonperishable food items
will be accepted. For information phone Denny Hare at
592-3857; or Ryan Nolan at 592-2914.
JOYFUL REJOICING - Joyful Noise and the Southern
Oregon Davidic Dancers will hold a community potluck and
Passover celebration, Praising Jesus in Song, Dance &
Testimonies, on Friday, April 10. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at
the Josephine County Bldg. in Cave Junction. To help or
for more information, phone 659-8403 or 592-3818.
CURVES AHEAD - A special program is offered at
Curves in Cave Junction through a Curves/Avon Fitness
Study. The specially priced offering, limited to the first 50
women who sign up, is presented in an ad on this page.
NOTEPAD - Southern Oregon Guild’s Gallery & Art-
ist’s Center has reopened in the RCC Business & Entre-
preneurial Center in Kerby. The public is welcome to visit
the new art space from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays
through Saturdays ... Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance
will hold its third annual Soup for the Souls fund-raiser for
Sexual Assault Awareness Month on Saturday, April 11.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. Said Iris Chinook, development
coordinator, “Join us for an all-you-can-eat soup and bread
dinner with raffles, door prizes and cake walk.” Everyone is
welcome. See the ad elsewhere in this issue. Phone 592-
4147 for more information ... Rogue Valley Flyers will hold
a Shop & Swap Meet featuring remote control airplane
items on Saturday, April 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Flo-
ral Bldg. at Josephine County Fairgrounds ... Josephine
County Artists Association Spring Art Show Luncheon and
Critique will be held Monday, April 27 at The Brewery Res-
taurant, 509 S.W. G St., Grants Pass. There is an entry fee
for submitted artwork, which will be judged in six categories
and two classes. Phone Carol Smith at 479-1602 for more
information ... An all-comers meeting to plan events and
activities for Illinois Valley's celebration of Oregon's sesqui-
centennial will be held Monday, April 6 at Michelle's Family
Restaurant in Cave Junction beginning at noon. Individuals
and group representatives can attend.
LAST WORDS - I believe
that
one of the greatest dan-
- IVHS School Menu -
gers
to modern society is
Sponsored by
the possible resurgence and
SISKIYOU
expansion of the ideas of
COMMUNITY
thought control, such as Hit-
HEALTH
ler had, or Stalin in his time,
CENTER
25647 Redwood Hwy.
or the Catholic religion in the
592-4111
Middle Ages, or the Chinese
today. I think that one of the
greatest dangers is that this
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
shall increase until it encom-
Pasta with Alfredo sauce,
passes all of the world.
enchilada, chicken burger,
(Richard P. Feynman in a
cheeseburger; barbecue
chicken or supreme pizza;
1964 speech at the Galileo
Italian sandwich, turkey &
Symposium in Italy).
cheese sandwich, spicy
chicken wrap; chef, antipasto,
fruit & veggie, or garden salad.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
Nacho supreme, wiener
wrap, corn dog, spicy chicken
burger, hamburger; pepper-
oni, cheese, supreme or taco
pizza; ham & cheese or
turkey & cheese sandwich,
turkey wrap; chef, garden,
fruit & veggie, or Mandarin
chicken salad.
MONDAY, APRIL 6
Beef soft tacos, chicken
nuggets, spicy chicken burger,
hamburger; pepperoni, cheese,
vegetarian, or sausage pizza;
ham & cheese or turkey &
cheese sandwich, turkey
wrap; chef, garden, fruit &
veggie, or Mandarin chicken
salad.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
Chicken fajitas, Rib-B-Que
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, APRIL 8
Taco salad, Teriyaki beef rice
bowl, spicy chicken burger,
hamburger; pepperoni, sau-
sage, cheese or Italian griller
pizza; veggie sandwich, turkey
& cheese sandwich, turkey
wrap; chef, garden, fruit &
veggie, or Mandarin chicken
salad.
Siskiyou Field Institute
(SFI)
On Friday, April 17, at
Deer Creek Center, 1241 Illi-
nois River Road in Selma, per-
sons who are earning their
naturalist certificates and those
who want to find out about this
dynamic program will gather.
Attendees can stay for the
following free evening event
on Solitary Wasps and Bees (a
book by Mary Paetzel) with
Lee Webb. It’s a free event, but
the registration deadline is Fri-
day, April 3.
On April 24, SFI is offer-
ing a day hike along the Illinois
River Trail.
Hiking will start at Briggs
Creek after a picturesque drive
along Illinois River. More beau-
tiful views await as the trail par-
allels the rugged and majestic
Illinois River Canyon. Transpor-
tation to and from the trailhead is
provided. There is a fee; register
by Friday, April 10.
What are the connections
between climate change and
mass extinctions? SFI will
present a forum on that topic
on Saturday, April 25.
Investigate the effects of
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
A series of ownership
changes and bankruptcy fil-
ings continue to complicate
efforts to recoup franchise
fees owed the city of Cave
Junction.
The situation came to a
head last week, when subcon-
tractors for the Washington-
based company, Charter
Communications, began re-
moving equipment from util-
ity poles throughout the fran-
chise area. All Cave Junction
cable service was discontin-
ued as a result.
Frank Antonovich, vice
president of Charter’s north-
west properties, said that the
franchise was transferred to
Rapid Communications on
Dec. 31, 2006 after eight years
of service. Cave Junction was
one of several Oregon cities
included in the service area.
The rest were Adams, Athena,
Brownsville and Weston.
Cave Junction City Re-
corder Jim Polk said that the
franchise ran through August
2007. However, the chain of
ownership became much
more complicated after that.
Antonovich said his
“understanding” is that Rapid
subsequently sold the system
to PC One, a New Jersey-
based company. The fran-
chise then was sold to Texas-
based Almega Cable. That
company was registered in
Washington state on Jan. 16,
2009, but is not registered to
do business in Oregon.
But according to Polk,
the franchise agreement on
file with the city is through
PC One.
“We have nothing to
reflect it was transferred to
Almega,” he said.
When the system was
owned and operated by Char-
ter, that company had an
agreement with Pacific Power
and Frontier that allowed its
equipment to be placed on
their utility poles.
“The initial sales agree-
ment to transfer obligation
was to assign current con-
tracts or get a new contract
with those pole owners,” An-
tonovich said. “That was part
of the initial sales agreement
that did not happen.
“Because that did not
happen, Charter was left as
the company that held the
pole contract with Frontier
and Pacific Corp.”
A recent Charter press
release states that, “Almega
Cable failed to negotiate the
requisite pole attachment
agreements.” Charter issued a
final notice to Almega on
March 4 regarding the pole
agreements, the release states,
but those requests were ig-
nored as of March 23.
“We, during the sale,
worked with the cities on the
franchise transfer at the time
of the sale. That was done,”
Antonovich said. “We did
everything by the book, as far
as being a franchise transfer
and filing the right docu-
ments.”
Polk has referred the
matter to City Attorney Pat-
rick Kelly over the failure of
the companies to renegotiate
a franchise contract with the
city. But Kelly said that may
be easier said than done.
“There’s a 95 percent
chance it’s futile,” he said.
“We’re dealing with the rem-
nants of a dying company.”
Kelly said he plans to
research Almega to determine
if there are any judgments
against the company, and to
see if it owns any property.
“I have to analyze if it’s
practical to seek a judgment,”
Kelly said.
It typically costs between
$3,000 and $4,000 to file a
lawsuit, Kelly said. As such,
he said, “there would have to
be a way of getting paid be-
fore I can assume it’s practi-
cal to pursue.
“I don’t do things that
are worthless and I don’t
want to waste taxpayer
money,” Kelly added. “Are
we willing to expend your
money on me to sue to get a
judgment I have to determine
is collectable or not?”
To further complicate
matters, Charter filed for a
prearranged Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy on Friday, March 27 to
restructure approximately $8
billion of bad debt. The com-
pany still would have around
$13 billion of debt on its
books after bankruptcy pro-
ceedings concluded.
Safety council seeks volunteer
Josephine County Board
of Commissioners is accepting
applications to fill one at-large
member vacancy on the Local
Public Safety Coordinating
Council (LPSCC).
The council’s purpose is
to plan for the use of state re-
sources to serve the youth of-
fender population.
As well, to coordinate
juvenile justice policy among
affected entities and, in consul-
tation with the Commission of
Children & Families, develop
and recommend to the county
commissioners a plan designed
to prevent criminal involve-
ment by youth.
Applications will be ac-
cepted until Wednesday, April
8. They are available at the
county Board of Commission-
ers’ office, Room 154 in the
courthouse in Grants Pass, or
online at co.josephine.or.us.
Click on “Board of County
Commissioners,” then
“Documents and Forms.”
higher temperatures and carbon
dioxide levels in plants, animals
and fungi during field trips to
serpentine and granite soils and
into caves. There is a fee; register
by Friday, April 10.
For more information or to
register, phone 597-8530 or
visit www.thesfi.org.
Eastern Star
Western Star Chapter 64,
Order of the Eastern Star, will
have an afternoon of Food,
Fashion, Fun and Art, plus a
silent auction, on Saturday,
April 4.
The public event will be-
gin with lunch at noon, with a
fashion show at 1 p.m. The
event will be held at the Jose-
phine County Bldg. in Down-
town Cave Junction.
Door prizes and other
surprises await for a donation
by those attending.
California State Employees
Association (CSEA)
CSEA Chapter 165 (Retired
Employees Association) will
hold a business/lunch meeting at
Elmer’s on Biddle Road in Med-
ford on Thursday, April 2, with
sign-in at 11:30 a.m.
Guest speaker will be Ken
Doddard, director of the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service Foren-
sics Laboratory in Ashland.
Meetings are held on first
Thursdays every other month.
For more information, contact
Bruce Eliason, membership
chairman, at (541) 779-2912.
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* Biscuits & Gravy * Pancakes
* Eggs * Bacon * Sausage
* Coffee, Milk, Juice
Adults - $6
Children 12
& under - $3
I.V. Little League
Opening Day
Ceremonies
Saturday, April 4, Jubilee Park
Events Schedule
• Player Parade
Player Parade participants must arrive, in full uniform, by 10 a.m. at LBMS.
• Team & Individual Photos
• Minors’ Exhibition Game
• Baseball Caps to Game Spectators
• Free Hot Dogs & Sodas Provided By Masons
• Drawing: $50 Gift Card
Entry included with registration paid-in-full by 3/31
Join the Fun of
Opening Day...
Play Ball!
I.V. Little League Hotline
541-659-8618
Be a part of the Curves / Avon Fitness Study:
The largest fitness study for women ever.
SIGN UP NOW - LIMIT 50 WOMEN PER CLUB
YOU WILL RECEIVE:
• A Start and Finish Fitness Evaluation
• 30 Days FREE on CurvesComplete.com -
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• Supervised Training from a Curves Trainer
30 Days for $30*
Work Out 3 Times a Week for 4 Weeks
CALL YOUR LOCAL CURVES CLUB
BY MAY 9, 2009 TO PARTICIPATE.
curves.com
592-4599
226 N. Redwood Hwy.
Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
*Participants will have full membership privileges during the study. Available only at participating
locations. Participants will be asked to complete 12 workouts over a 30-day period with no fewer than
3 workouts per week. Registration required for 30-day free Curves Complete access. See your Curves
club for details. Offer valid for U.S. and Canadian residents only. Not valid in Quebec. Offer available
for new Curves Complete members only. The diet and fitness information on Curves Complete is
designed for use by women. Offer valid through 5/9/09. © 2009 Curves International Inc.
*Start-up, existing, home-based or other business enterprises
* $200 minimum to $25,000 maximum
*Apply at the IVCDO office - 201 Caves Hwy.
*Questions? Phone
592-4440
Illinois Valley News is an equal-opportunity
advertising medium. Phone 592-2541