Inside:
Plans for the land
Land use group
eyes I.V. issues
Page 4
Police blotter
Life stranger
than fiction
Page 7
Kerby Water District: Service to begin by July 1
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Doc Bashford and
Sharon Satmor have spent the
past six months preparing the
newly named Bigfoot Cavern
in Kerby for a grand opening.
Many fixtures already
are in place, including a gi-
gantic Sasquatch statue, an
Internet jukebox, and tables
and bar stools.
But two items have been
holding them up — pro-
longed wet winter weather
and delays in completion of
the Kerby Water District
(KWD) project to provide a
piped-in H 2 0 supply to the
community.
“Water is our main is-
sue,” Bashford said. “We
have everything but water.”
Fortunately for the cav-
ern’s co-owners and other
Kerby residents, the project
continues to move toward
completion. The project was
funded largely by a commu-
nity development grant from
the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
(USDA).
John Plute, chairman of
the KWD Board of Directors,
said that the main pipeline to
bring water from the city of
Cave Junction to Kerby has
been laid.
“It’s chlorinated,
Food for free
TRSD summer
meal sites listed
Page 9
CCA successes
Christian Academy
lists graduates
Page 13
Moving up
Lorna Byrne eighth
graders celebrate
Page 16
cleaned, flushed and tested
good,” Plute explained.
The second phase of the
project involves installation
of service lines to businesses
and residences, Plute said.
Additional delays were
caused by that, but Plute said
it actually will save KWD
members around $3,000
each.
“We had some funds left
over from the grant. We con-
vinced USDA to allow us to
hook up service lines to peo-
ples’ houses,” Plute said.
“They rarely grant that proc-
ess, but they did it for us.
“Right now, 113 people
are going to receive the water
pipeline, but the icing on top
is that this allows them to get
hooked up onto the grid, as
opposed to having it be an out
-of-pocket expense.”
June 1 was the original
project completion date, Plute
said. Grants Pass-based firm
Copeland Paving & Gravel
Workers were outside of
Bigfoot Cavern in Kerby on
Monday, June 7 making the
push toward the water pro-
ject’s completion. (Photo
by Scott Jorgensen,
Illinois Valley News )
IVHS sports
Spring season
athletes honored
Page 16
has two crews working to
install the service lines, ac-
cording to Plute.
“We figure they can do
five installs per day,” he said.
“In three weeks, they should
be completed with everyone.”
Before crews could con-
nect the service lines, KWD
had to conduct minor envi-
ronmental impact statements,
Plute said, and obtain permis-
sion from residents to have
personnel enter their prop-
erty.
A master water meter for
the project already has been
installed, Plute said.
“What we’re doing now
is working with the city, be-
cause it’s going to do the
maintenance,” he said.
“When Copeland installs the
meters, we’ll log them on and
set up the record-keeping for
that, and it will all be done
electronically.
“We’ll give the city a
$172,000 system develop-
ment charge, and that pays
for us hooking up to them.”
Plute said that KWD also
is in the process of finalizing
the paperwork to close out the
grant. He added that officials
from the state and USDA
already have completed a
(Continued on page 3)
Smokejumper project
week set June 14-18
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Next week, volunteers
from many states are going to
roll up their sleeves and make
some much-needed improve-
ments to some facilities at
Illinois Valley Airport, the
former Siskiyou Smokejum-
per Base.
Members of the Siskiyou
Smokejumper Base Museum
Project have scheduled a pro-
ject period from Monday,
June 14 to Friday, June 18.
Projects at the airport, off
Hwy. 199 a few miles south
of Downtown Cave Junction,
include roofing the parachute
loft, restoring the interior and
exterior of the administrative
building constructed in 1936,
and painting the structures.
Cave Junction resident
Roger Brandt has spent the
past few years trying to estab-
lish the museum at the air-
port. That vision took one
gigantic step toward reality
on May 17, when the Jose-
phine County Board of Com-
missioners signed a 10-year
lease with the non-profit
(Continued on page 6)
RADE raid nets more than
50 pounds of mushrooms
Members of the Illinois Valley High School 2010 graduating class anticipate receiving their diplomas in Ken Mann Memorial
Gym on Tuesday, June 1. (Photos by Scott Jorgensen, Illinois Valley News )
IVHS Class of 2010 takes center stage
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Tuesday morning June 1, Illinois
Valley High School staff members still
were unsure if the 2010 graduation cere-
mony should be held indoors or outdoors.
But as the day progressed, Mother
Nature’s unpredictable spring weather had
the final say, and the event was set for
Ken Mann Memorial Gymnasium.
Proud parents, friends, well-wishers
and community members packed the gym
for the ceremony to honor the school’s 75
graduating seniors in the Class of 2010.
The appearance of flowered arch
bearers marked the beginning of the cere-
mony, at which point IVHS teachers en-
tered to a heroes welcome. A snare drum
rattle provided the proper cue for the
graduates to take their stroll amid camera
flashes, smiles and more than a few tears.
Principal JoAnn Bethany said that the
graduates had so far accumulated some
5,000 hours of classroom instruction dur-
ing their lives. That adds up to $50 per
hour, she said, when taking into account
the $250,000 difference in lifetime earn-
ings between graduates and dropouts.
Bethany described the high school
experience as a “swinging bridge” be-
tween childhood and adulthood and igno-
rance and knowledge.
“This is not the end of your journey,”
she said.
Prompted by the principal, many
graduates stood to show that they plan to
continue their education. Approximately a
dozen stood to indicate their decision to
join the military, earning an enthusiastic
round of applause from the audience.
Introduced by students Sarah Parker
and Jeff Coots, popular IVHS teacher
Gary Enoch told the graduates that adult-
hood has its fair share of challenges.
“Life gets a whole lot tougher from
here on out,” noted Enoch.
Kirsten Valenzuela, also an IVHS
teacher, was the keynote speaker. She
provided a bit of advice for salutatorian
Heidi Unger, who is known for her many
extracurricular activities.
“In the near future, please make time
for yourself,” Valenzuela said.
In introducing Unger, Bethany also
had some kind remarks.
“Heidi has the heart of a servant,”
Bethany said.
The speeches by Unger and valedic-
torian Eddie Goynes included many anec-
dotes about teachers, classmates and
friends, as well as expressions of hope for
the future.
Other highlights of the ceremony
were a rendition of the classic Beatles
song, All You Need is Love, by the IVHS
choir; and senior Rebeckah Kaberline
performing the class song, The Climb,
made popular by Miley Cyrus of the tele-
vision show, Hanna Montana.
Marijuana and
psilocybin mush-
rooms with a value
potential of hun-
dreds of thousands
of dollars were
seized in rural Cave
Junction from sites
with state-of-the-art
indoor growing
equipment.
In all, more
than 50 pounds of
psilocybin mush-
rooms, two sophisti-
cated psilocybin
mushroom-growing
operations, 372
marijuana plants, a
Psilocybin mushrooms
large indoor mari-
juana-growing op-
(Photo courtesy OSP)
eration, a loaded
handgun, more than $5,000 cash, and other items of evidentiary
value were seized as a result of a multi-county narcotics investiga-
tion.
Sgt. Jim Johnson, of the Oregon State Police Drug Enforce-
ment Section, said that search warrants were served Wednesday,
June 2, by the Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) team and
Medford Area Drug & Gang Enforcement (MADGE) team.
Arrested in the 100 block of White Oak Drive, off Fernwood
Drive, was Bonnie J. Burton, 39, of Cave Junction. She was
lodged in Josephine County Jail in Grants Pass on the following
charges:
Two counts each of unlawful possession, manufacture and
delivery of marijuana; two counts each of unlawful possession,
manufacture and delivery of psilocybin mushrooms; and two
counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor, and first-
degree child neglect.
Also, four counts of false application for vehicle registration
and false swearing for vehicle registration; and one count of be-
ing an adult using a minor in the commission of a controlled sub-
stance offense.
(Continued on page 7)