Page 2
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, May 5, 2010
One of my pet peeves provides a topic to get my
claws into, as National Pet Week began Sunday and will
run through Saturday, May 8. It seems a crime to me that
people don’t have their cats or dogs spayed, then kill the
puppies or kittens, often in horrible ways. I think that there’s
an uncomfortable place for people who do that.
Diane Pomerance, who lives in North Texas, knows
what people say about adopting pets from animal shelters
and rescue organizations. In connection with National Pet
Week, she’d like to dispel the myths. Although her com-
ments are specifically about dogs, I believe that there’s
also room to apply some of what she says to cats.
Said Pomerance, “They think, ‘I don’t want to inherit
someone else’s problem,’ or they simply think that all the
dogs there are abused or hard to train, or that they won’t
be able to find the breed that they want.” She’ s authored
seven pet books, including Our Rescue Dog Family Album
(www.animalcompanionsandtheirpeople.com).
Her family has saved and adopted more than 40 res-
cued dogs during the years -- they currently have 21 in
their home. Additionally, she has helped place hundreds
more with good homes.
Sounds like a good person to me, although having 21
canines around the house sounds, um ... doggy. Hope that
they’re all potty-trained.
Pomerance does not work for an animal shelter or ani-
mal welfare organization. She is simply someone who has
devoted much of her personal life to rescuing these dogs
because she feels strongly about the value of these ani-
mals and the many gifts they can offer people. She also
believes that people view animal shelters in a poor light
because of their adherence to many popular – but errone-
ous – myths about shelter dogs:
*Most shelter dogs are sick or aggressive from abuse;
*pet shop dogs are better quality animals; and *most of the
dogs who are euthanized wouldn’t make good pets, any-
way. Pomerance provides facts that blow away those long-
held erroneous ways of thinking. She notes that rescued
dogs receive better care and feeding than pet shop dogs, and
that they are treated by veterinarians before they are offered
for adoption.
And she states that rescuing a dog helps deplete the high
population of animals in shelters and reduces the number of
good, faithful, loving animals euthanized every year. It’s not
just sick or dangerous dogs who are euthanized at shelters. In
most cases, she says, many dogs who would make good pets
are euthanized because of overcrowding in shelters.
In conclusion, she summarizes what many of us animal
lovers feel, that, “Animals are deserving of our respect and
appreciation, which is why we should try to be responsive
individually to the crisis facing animal shelters today. They
perform many important tasks for us – in the military, as
bomb and weapons detectors, as service animals, as heal-
ing companions and friends of the lonely and bereaved;
and even as search-and-rescue assistants in natural and
man-made disasters.
“They heal and even save human lives. It is scientifi-
cally substantiated that animal companions increase our
longevity and improve the quality of our lives. We should
also realize that getting a family pet should not be a deci-
sion or choice to take lightly.
“You’re not buying a car or getting a new electronic toy
– these are living, breathing, loving creatures with whom
we share our world. If we choose to share our family with
one, we should take care to ensure that we choose care-
fully and prudently so we can enhance not only our family’s
life, but the dog’s, as well.”
All that should give us paws for thought.
Clot he s
Give -Aw a y!
Sa t urda y, M a y 1 5
9 a .m . t o 5 p.m .
T a k ilm a Bible Churc h
1 0 3 4 3 T a k ilm a Rd.
Illinois Valley News
www.illinois-valley-news.com
An Independent Weekly Newspaper
Co-publishers: Bob & Jan Rodriguez
Editor-in-Chief: Michelle Binker
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Larry Ragsdale update
From McKenzie Yeoman
Corvallis
Larry Ragsdale remains
in the Good Samaritan Hospi-
tal in the ICU in Corvallis.
There are small actions that
each one of us can take that
will help his situation.
Become a member of the
“Support Larry Ragsdale”
Facebook page where you
can see photos of Larry, write
to him, and check for updates
on his condition. Buy an
“Everybody Loves Larry”
wristband for $2 at the high
school, middle school, or
elementary school in CJ.
Donations also are gladly
accepted at all three locations.
For those who can, attend the
Papa’s Pizza fund-raiser for
Larry on Thursday, May 13
in Corvallis: 50 percent of
sales that day will aid Larry’s
medical bills.
A donation account has
been established at U.S.
Bank. Lastly, we need people
to be positive and send those
positive thoughts Larry’s
way. I.V. High School will be
collecting positive thoughts
and good memories of Larry
so that we can read them to
him as he endures the painful
recovery process.
For more information on
ways to help, and for more
updates on Larry see the
“Support Larry Ragsdale”
Facebook page.
(Editor’s Note:
Ragsdale, 20, formerly of
O’Brien, and a graduate of
IVHS, was injured March
10 in a head-on collision
caused by a drunken driver
near Corvallis).
Hare economic concerns
From Arlene Pence
Grants Pass
I cannot believe the ag-
gressive rhetoric and charac-
ter assassination directed at
Simon Hare, candidate for
- IVHS School Menu -
Sponsored by
SISKIYOU
COMMUNITY
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Josephine County commis-
sioner. I guess he is consid-
ered the greatest threat to the
other candidates.
I’ve attended many
“meet-and-greets” and other
meetings where he has been
thoroughly grilled about his
positions and philosophy, and
was most impressed with his
straightforward, intelligent
responses.
Our current county board
of commissioners seems un-
able to take the necessary
steps to address issues that
threaten our economic suc-
cess and the very survival of
our county. We need leaders
who will make pragmatic
choices that address those
basic issues.
I see Simon Hare filling
that role. He has the strength
of character, the intelligence,
the energy and motivation,
not to mention a good under-
standing of the problems we
face and the tenacity to do
what it takes to work through
these problems. His ability to
think outside the box will
bring new ideas to the table.
I had a great teacher in
grammar school who taught
me that, in order to keep our
country and our freedom, we
must be vigilant and avoid
becoming apathetic to the
political movements of our
country. She emphasized that
the consequence of apathy in
any society will surely be its
downfall, and history has
proven that to be true.
With only a 26 percent
turnout in the last election, it
seems clear that many people
are falling into apathy; per-
haps, thinking that their single
vote won’t make a difference.
We all need to protect
our way of life by voting.
‘Where’s the community?’
From Douglas Yarbrough
Cave Junction
Where has our commu-
nity gone? My father, How-
ard L. Yarbrough, plus Mike
Wells, Lew Krauss (Sr.),
Johnny Wilber, and many
other valley old-timers would
not be very proud of the way
we have let Illinois Valley get
so run down.
I have many of my fam-
ily – Dad, Mom, uncles,
aunts, nephews and friends –
buried at Laurel Cemetery. I
cannot believe that there is
still no water for the flowers
and plants I have put on my
Mom’s grave. People need to
get the lead out.
I am willing to contribute
some money and time to get
that done. When are we going
to upgrade Jubilee Park so the
kids have somewhere fun?
I know the economy is
bad, but when I hear about
the Great Depression, when
people came together to help
one another, I cringe at how
we treat one another today.
Let’s get a second gro-
cery store, hospital, mall out
here. I’m tired of excuses.
Why don’t we have these
things? Start talking to one
another. Plan for the future.
Let’s re-do all of Downtown
Cave Junction and get some
new businesses besides Radio
Shack and Home Valley
Bank.
The little things are what
really make a difference.
Simon Hare won’t give up
From John Firth
Grants Pass
No one I know expects a
“return to logging levels of
the 1980s.” But Dave Toler
cleverly marginalizes his crit-
ics with this misleading accu-
sation.
While others move for-
ward, it seems to be in
Toler’s interest to keep alive
those “timber wars” to dis-
tract the public from his ac-
tive opposition to modern
forest management.
Toler’s campaign ad
points out: “Federal timber
harvest took a serious decline
in about 1992,” but fails to
mention his own uncompro-
mising environmental activ-
ism that promoted that out-
come. Toler’s long-held dis-
like of federal timber harvest
is clear, and his “all or noth-
ing” paradigm presents a
false choice. Economic diver-
sity is essential, but it is un-
necessary and foolish to
abandon the huge opportunity
in forestry in our backyard.
Toler opposed the BLM
forest plan that decreased
harvest by 44 percent from
the 1980s, preserved 55 per-
cent of the forest acreage, and
harvested only 42 percent of
annual growth. This would
have provided $8 to $9 mil-
lion to Josephine County each
year – not counting 10,000
additional jobs, or similar
contributions from U.S. For-
est Service land.
Fortunately, just as our
Congressional delegation is
finally unifying in its support
of healthy forests and com-
munities, and a steady federal
timber harvest, we have a
commissioner candidate,
Simon Hare, who detects that
shift. With his national ex-
perience and fresh ability to
see possibilities for success,
Hare recognizes this critical
moment for county leaders to
validate and advance the
work of our delegation.
As a “timber war” vet-
eran myself, I suspect that
Dave Toler and I suffer from
the same ailment – the inabil-
ity to anticipate success in
forest policy. It’s time we both
step aside and let fresh ideas
and approaches advance.
Simon Hare can do that.
Political views
From Joe Armstrong
O’Brien
I feel compelled to re-
spond to an editorial page
advertisement in the Wednes-
day, April 28 issue of Illinois
Valley News. As is happening
in our country as a whole,
many in Josephine County
are reverting to narrow-
minded attacks, simple-
minded generalities, ugly
mud-slinging, and mindless
characterizations.
First, the writer who paid
for the ad tries to denigrate
Dave Toler by quoting a letter
that someone wrote distaste-
(Continued on page 3)
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