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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, August 26, 2009
One of the advantages of living in a small, rural
community is having wildlife around. And I’m not talking
about the street people or the folks who frequent the
alcohol watering holes.
No, I’m referring to actual nonhuman critters includ-
ing opossums, raccoons and an occasional skunk. Not
to mention various jays, crows, and tweety birds. And let
us not forget the stray cats, some of whom are stray
only in the sense that they come to eat at our house
instead of at their own home.
Pixie O’Possum , a nocturnal visitor
Of late, we have become the foster parents of two
opossums, who appear to be brother and sister. Jan
has named them Pixie and Paddy O’Possum. The fe-
male is apparently on a schedule, as she shows up
most every night at 10:30 on our front porch. Her sibling
usually arrives a short time later. They love cat food.
And they like drinking from a large bowl of water that’s
actually there for the cats.
One night recently, while Pixie was chomping (she
eats rather loudly), a tiny skunk joined her at the feeding
trough. They ate in convivial and companionable togeth-
erness for a time. But then Mr. Skunk became greedy
and chased her away. That was not nice, so we encour-
aged Mr. Skunk to leave, and he departed in good odor.
Pixie seems to have been in some sort of trouble,
as there’s a strip of hair missing from her back. Plus,
her tail looks like something bit it. But she’s looking bet-
ter. Must be the nutritious cat food and eating regularly.
Her brother is in much better condition. He’s rather
a good-looking opossum, although as many will say,
opossums really look like large rats, but are actually
marsupials. They’re inoffensive creatures, and we find
them cute and endearing.
The raccoons, however, are a different breed: And a
different story. Let us just say that they can be destruc-
tive, plus they are known to carry certain diseases. But
they do get to eat at our animal cafeteria, as long as
they behave themselves.
Three alarm blaze
burned 48 acres,
threatened homes
A three-alarm wildfire
west of O’Brien on Monday
afternoon, Aug. 24 threat-
ened homes and warranted
activation of a large inter-
agency taskforce to quell the
blaze.
Reported at 4 p.m. by
residents in the 1000 block
of Lone Mountain Road, the
blaze, propelled by breezy
conditions, moved briskly
through the brush and trees
between the road and the
West Fork of the Illinois
River.
Some 48 acres were
reported burned in the fire.
No homes were burned,
however a garage, pump
house and another outbuild-
ing were reportedly de-
stroyed.
No injuries were re-
ported, however a dog died
Christ-centered,
loving, structured
environment
Very reasonable rates
(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.
Park’s keepers appreciated
From Edda McCormick
Cave Junction
How often do we think
of our beautiful parks; who
makes and keeps them that
way, just for us?
At Jubilee Park, I walk
my “Rescue Dog” in the early
mornings and there, almost
every day, I see a fellow
named Doug working hard at
picking up junk, papers, pa-
per cups, candy wrappers,
plastic bottles: garbage.
One morning he was
standing in a mud hole, in the
process of fixing a sprinkler
leak, because some irrespon-
sible person deliberately
kicked over the sprinkler
head.
“Kudos” to Doug, a city
employee who does more
than a good job of caring
about how our park looks.
Who doesn’t care how
lucky we are, to have a nice
place to celebrate holidays,
have picnics, play baseball,
ride our bikes and skate-
boards, or just walk or sit in a
clean, lovely park? “Kudos”
to the other adults, teens and
kids who help pick up the
trash when they see it.
I appreciate Cave Junc-
tion city employees, and
those who put their garbage
in the available cans.
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
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Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330
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Volume 72, No. 24
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POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to
P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction OR 97523
in the fire.
Illinois Valley Fire Dis-
trict personnel responded to
the scene after the 4 p.m.
alarm, and almost immedi-
ately, Chief Harry Rich is-
sued a second alarm and
began calling for reinforce-
ments from surrounding
agencies. Structural units
from Grants Pass Dept. of
Public Safety, Rural/Metro
Fire District, and apparatus
from Jackson County pro-
tected homes in the area
while Oregon Dept. of For-
estry, and U.S. Forest Ser-
vice crews tackled the wild
fire.
Three helicopters
equipped with “bambi buck-
ets” dropped water on the
fire repeatedly. Also, a
tanker aircraft bombarded
the area with retardant.
Josephine County
Sheriff’s Office person-
nel also were on scene,
limiting non-fire resi-
dential traffic well into
the night.
On Tuesday morning,
engines, water tenders,
a bulldozer and other
equipment remained
mustered at IVFD’s
O’Brien station to
tackle remaining hot
spots.
The cause is still un-
der investigation.
PK & Kindergarten: 8 a.m.
to Noon, five days a week
PK - 12th: curriculum used:
School of Tomorrow
Community Christian Academy
(established 1974)
Community Bible Church
113 S. Caves Ave., Cave Junction
(541) 592-3896
A firefighter mops up hot spots. (Photos by IVFD Media Dept.)
Satisfy Your Customers,
and You’ll Increase
Your Profits
In some industries, service has
become a quaint memory, and cus-
tomers are reduced to selecting the
provider that costs or annoys them
the least. But the golden rule has not
been repealed, and pleasing your
customers can create a powerful
competitive advantage. A few simple
changes may well increase your company’s bottom line.
For example: We all hate having our time wasted, and busi-
nesses are among the worst offenders. To distinguish your firm
from the rest, establish the following customer service policies
and procedures.
▪ Communicate with your customers. Return their calls
promptly, update them about matters in progress, and explain
delays as soon as you can.
▪ Don’t make your customers jump through hoops. Offer
discounts at the point of sale, rather than giving out coupons or
making buyers apply for mail-in rebates. If you use an auto-
mated phone system, provide a simple method for reaching a
live person.
▪ Don’t worry about trying to save face when a problem oc-
curs. If you’re even partly wrong, apologize and proceed to a
resolution. Train your employees to do the same, and reward
them for positive outcomes.
Let customers know you’re there for them and that you re-
gard them as more than mere cash cows. Listen to their con-
cerns and address them promptly. If someone is unhappy with a
purchase (whether product or service), fix it, replace it, or re-
fund the payment in full. At worst, the loss won’t be com-
pounded by damage to your reputation. At best, the money will
come back multiplied by repeat business and referrals.
Quality service is a powerful marketing tool that’s surpris-
ingly easy to deploy. Simply imagine how you would want to
be treated, and provide that treatment to your customers. As
their satisfaction increases, your profits will follow.
Karen M Bodeving CPA is a Nationally Recognized CPA. She is
a Community Oriented Illinois Valley resident. Her office is
located at: 574 NE E St., Grants Pass, OR – Non Tax season
office hours are 9 am – 1 pm, Monday through Thursday. Other
hours and Illinois Valley appointments are available by calling
her office at 479-3625.
Partnering With Our Community
I t takes a lot of commitment and effort on everyone’s part to create a community. And,
building a better community is what Home Valley Bank is all about. The commitment is to
help people achieve their dreams. HVB is like a big family, taking care of family business.
The genuine personal interest in your success sets us apart from other banks. It’s more than
money. It’s the way we work together so you can grow a successful business.
There are so many reasons to like HVB.
Too many to list, so here are just a few thoughts from individuals in our community…
“The Alliance had been campaigning
to build or buy a facility to house its
services…. Home Valley Bank generously
entered into a two-year lease option
agreement with us and discounted the
cost by $147,000.”
“Their support in the project was what
convinced many others to join us.”
“Home Valley Bank deserves applause
and praise for being good stewards of
their local investors’ funds and for giving
back to the community they live in.”
Christine Mallette
Executive Director
Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance
Illinois Valley, Oregon
Grants Pass Offices
4th & G StreetsUNE “F”
Union Avenue
Cave Junction
North Valley
Redwood Hwy.
Monument Dr.
541.476.HOME (4663)
www.homevalleybank.com
MEMBER
FDIC