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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
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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