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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2009)
Page 2 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 Jobs still available, despite recession Rutabagas. Don’t know why I said that; maybe I just wanted to see if I could spell it. Actually, I’ve been thinking about dogs lately. Dogs I’ve had; dogs I’ve seen; going to the dogs; hot dogs; dog days; well, doggone. My first dog was Yankee Clover. My mom let me name him, and I used the name of some makeup she was using. It sounded good to me. I also named my brother, Stephen Richard, although he’s not a dog, but my younger sibling. I used the names of two kids I liked at school. But as for Yankee, he was the runt of a litter from a Chow. He was a great dog, although he ran sort of lopsided, what with being bow-legged. Something like that. My mom always swore that you should never feed a dog beans or they’d go crazy. I believed it. After all, when you’re a kid, and your mom tells you stuff like that; well, you believe it. Never fed a dog beans; too scared to try. Having a crazy dog full of gas could be dangerous. Both parents also insisted that you should never pet a stray dog, or someone else’s dog because, “You don’t know where they’ve been.” Where could they have been that would preclude one from petting a canine? A leper colony? A poison oak farm? Never could figure that one out. When we lived in San Diego County we did have a crazy dog, name of Daisy. We got her from an animal shel- ter. She was a nut. Don’t think she ate beans either. About the smartest dog we ever had was a Standard Poodle given us by an elderly woman, who thoroughly checked us out before letting us have the critter. Her name was Sheba (the dog, not the elderly woman). Actually, the pet’s real name was quite long, what with being AKC. Our most recent doggie was Bingo. Had to have him put down a while back, as old age (his, not mine) was mak- ing his life miserable. We recently scattered his ashes, along with his favorite ball. Hard to let go sometimes. Doggone ... There were 18,242 job openings in Oregon this spring, according to the re- sults of the 2009 Oregon Job Vacancy Survey. That was significantly fewer than the 47,888 job vacancies employers reported last spring. Despite the weaker economy, employers reported a tough time filling certain occupations, and one in 10 vacancies went unfilled for at least two months. The survey, conducted in late May and early June, pro- vided information regarding the number of job vacancies, their required education level or licenses, and starting wages being offered in Ore- gon. Employers also provided insights into how long open- ings went unfilled and whether the vacancies were for newly created positions. Some of the key findings: *Vacancies existed across a wide span of nearly 400 different occupations, and only 5 percent were for newly created positions, sug- gesting that most openings came through turnover. *Registered nurses were in the most demand, with Board of Commissioners approve Illinois Valley sign grant Cory S. Glasgow U.S. Army Pfc. Cory S. Glasgow, a 2009 graduate of Illinois Valley High School, has graduated from nine weeks of basic infantry train- ing at Fort Benning, Colum- bus, Ga. He is the son of Wendy Glasgow, of O’Brien, and the stepson of Lawrence Coker, of Cave Junction. By MICHELLE BINKER IVN Staff Writer In a long-anticipated move, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners ap- proved a $1,500 economic development grant to Illinois Valley Chamber of Com- merce for a new “Welcome” sign. The funding, approved 3- 0 during the commission ad- ministrative meeting on Fri- day, Oct. 16, in Grants Pass, will help pay to replace a bat- tered “Welcome” sign on Cave Junction Wednesday, Oct. 21 Cloudy High--66 Low--37 Thursday, Oct. 22 Clouds and sun High--72 Low--36 Friday, Oct. 23 Mostly cloudy High--71 Low--37 Saturday, Oct. 24 Clouds and limited sun High--68 Low--33 Sunday, Oct. 25 Sun hidden by clouds High--66 Low--37 Monday, Oct. 26 Rain High--63 Low--34 Tuesday, Oct. 26 Rain High--54 Low--40 Following are the high-and- low temperatures, and rainfall recorded at The End of the Road in O’Brien by Cheryl & Harry Johnson: *Fri., Oct. 9 77 36 .00 *Sat., Oct. 10 73 40 .00 *Sun., Oct. 11 73 36 .00 *Mon., Oct. 12 59 45 .00 *Tue., Oct. 13 55 48 2.28 *Wed., Oct. 14 61 55 2.83 *Thu., Oct. 15 72 52 .00 Following are the high-and- low temperatures and rainfall recorded at Illinois River Farm in Cave Junction: *Fri., Oct. 9 78 30 .00 *Sat., Oct. 10 74 34 .00 *Sun., Oct. 11 76 29 .00 *Mon., Oct. 12 60 31 .11 *Tue., Oct. 13 54 46 1.63 *Wed., Oct. 14 63 53 1.56 *Thu., Oct. 15 73 50 .11 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 72, No. 32 Staff: Zina Booth, Brenda Encinas, Scott Jorgensen and Millie Watkins 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 Redwood Hwy. near Rough & Ready Lumber Co. and I.V. Airport, a few miles south of Cave Junction. Last year, the chamber replaced a dilapidated and burned sign which had greeted travelers on Redwood Hwy. near Hay’s Hill sum- mit. The new, vividly colored sign -- depicting vineyards, water, trees and recreation -- was warmly received: The push to erect a duplicate at the southern end of the valley was on. Said Dwight Ellis, county board chairman, “I have been expecting this re- quest to come in since Febru- ary; I am glad to see it here.” Ellis noted that it fits the cri- teria for economic develop- ment funding. “If it gets people off the highway and gets them to spend money in the valley,” he stated, “I’d say it is an appropriate use of the money.” “I am just thrilled about this project,” said Commis- sioner Dave Toler. He had told the chamber earlier this year that he’d work to dedi- cate $1,500 to the project, pending board approval. The summer came and went, and according to Rose- mary DeLashmutt, county chief finance officer, the commissioners spent their entire $83,000 in unallocated economic development money elsewhere. The addi- tional discretionary funds were not to be had. DeLashmutt brought to the board’s attention an un- obligated budget item. It was an unfilled grant-writer posi- tion, with some $24,000 that could be moved around in the economic development schedule to replenish the item titled, “Miscellaneous Pro- jects Approved by BCC: Available Dollars.” On DeLashmutt’s recom- mendation, the board voted to reallocate the fund, and ap- prove I.V. Chamber’s $1,500 request. The cost for the sign pro- ject is approximately $3,300. The chamber, through fund- raising events such as the an- nual Grape Stomp Party at Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery, has raised the bal- ance, and the new “Welcome” sign should be up soon. DeLashmutt indicated that there had been additional interest in possible grants, and that she would bring requests before the commissioners “as requests come in.” 1,004 vacancies statewide, followed by retail salesper- sons (556) and nursing aides (483). *The health care and social assistance industry had the most vacancies with 5,744, followed by accommo- dation and food services (2,535), educational services (1,554), and retail trade (1,506). *There were at least 3,562 vacancies for positions that offered starting wages of more than $15 an hour. The majority of these openings required education beyond high school and nearly all required previous experience. The full statewide report and regional reports are avail- able on-line www.QualityInfo.org. (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. very active in each of the area churches that he has attended through the years: Grants Pass Mennonite Church, Pro- volt Community Church, Wonder Bible Church, Foots Creek Chapel, Redwood Country Church and Blessed Hope Fellowship. He cur- rently attends both Wonder Bible Chapel and Blessed Hope Fellowship. He has given more than 40 years to our area churches in one way or another. If asked about that, he will talk to you. person trust an unknown bu- reaucrat in a huge govern- ment agency to care about our health or that of our loved ones? Resenbrink works for an agency that has health insur- ance. However, the company has changed providers several times, and seemingly the prices go up while benefits go down. Government restric- tions on free enterprise and government failure to estab- lish reasonable regulations is partially responsible. Let me explain. Competition in a country built on free enter- prise is the most-effective way to get the best product or service to the consumer for the least amount of money. Artificial standards estab- lished by any other means is neither more effective nor less expensive or efficient. Take Medicare for exam- ple. When Congress proposed Medicare, it (like today) gave an “estimate of cost.” The real cost was 900 percent more than what Congress had told the voters it would be. More recently, Congress promised to save us money and reduce our “carbon foot- print” by forcing us to use corn ethanol. Congressmen were successful in spending billions of our hard-earned dollars for reduced gas mile- age, overall increase in our carbon footprint, and substan- tial increases in the prices of everything from chickens to bread. Brown background From Mary Brown (candidate’s wife) Grants Pass Consider candidate Jack Brown’s heritage. A real estate developer and builder, Jack’s grandfather moved his family from California to Josephine County in 1934 during the Great Depression. Jack’s father lived and worked his whole life here, becoming a respected USPS mail carrier and well-known piano tuner. Born in 1948, Jack grew up in Josephine County. He attended Fruitdale and Jerome Prairie Elementary schools; then New Hope Christian School, graduating with hon- ors in 1966. He continued his education for a year at Prairie Bible Institute in Canada, subsequently becoming a self-taught student of history, government, and current events. He worked bucking hay in his youth, then was em- ployed by M&Y Lumber Co. of Selma, Grants Pass Mold- ing Co., Rough & Ready Lumber Co. of Cave Junc- tion, and finally Spalding & Son of Grants Pass, where he worked as a saw filer. In 1979 Jack started moonlight- ing as Auto Doc, a mobile auto repair business that turned full time by 1980. Marrying in 1970, Jack and I raised and home- schooled our two children. We have four grandchildren living in Josephine County and one in Canada. Jack believes that the purpose of man is to honor and revere our Almighty Creator and Savior. This compelled him to be involved in several local churches dur- ing the years, currently at- tending both Blessed Hope Fellowship in Wilderville and Wonder Bible Chapel. God-fearing candidate From Kurt Ramme Grants Pass My religious beliefs are simple: God’s law as given in the Ten Commandments. I read the words and ap- ply them to my actions through the understanding and meaning of the words. For example, stealing, or ac- cepting something that was stolen, is wrong, per God’s law. It makes no difference what was stolen or the value. This is not a Sunday School lesson; I do have a point or two to make. How about murder (killing)? God’s law prohibits it, right or wrong? Right, good. I ask why our local pastors don’t preach and stand against abortion. How about our elected officials? I know a candidate who also lives by God’s law: Jack Brown, seeking a Josephine County Commissioner posi- tion in 2010. He is a God- fearing man who has been Confusion understandable From Gregory D. Anderson Cave Junction It is understandable why Nicole Resenbrink (Letters to the Editor, Illinois Valley News, Oct. 7, 2009) is con- fused “by so many working people’s position against health reform,” because the liberal/progressive media avoid or skew the information she and millions of others receive in their daily lives. Truth is, almost everyone is in favor of health-care re- form; it is the government- run health care (public op- tion) most people are against. The simple fact that govern- ment has never ever run any program efficiently is enough to make any clear thinker wary. If the government can’t run a railroad (Amtrak) or a financial institution (Fannie Mae & Freddy Mac) without massive waste and corrup- tion, why would any sensible at Support your community newspaper. Advertise in the Illinois Valley News (Continued on page 3) 1st, 2nd, & 3rd prizes for children 14 & younger Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 to 4 p.m., RCC/BELT Building, Kerby Public Invited Adults: $6, 11 & younger: $3, 5 & younger FREE Sponsored by Belt Masonic Lodge to raise funds for Illinois Valley youth. Trail Building Help Needed Enjoy a great day in this beautiful park and share in creating a legacy for future citizens! Saturday, October 24 Meet at 10 a.m. in the new trailhead at mile post 3, Westside Road. Wear gloves and comfortable boots. Tools needed: shovels, loppers, or hand saws. For more information, call Sue at 592-6921
