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Page 6 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Slow recovery forecast by market expert Fred Dickson (Continued from page 1) global positioning satellites leading the way. “Technology has had an important driving role in the U.S. economy over the last 50 years, maybe longer,” he said. There also has been an “enormous improvement” and “tremendous expansion” in health care and alternative energy technology, Dickson said. He added the prediction that those areas soon will become “trillion-dollar eco- nomic drivers.” He feels that opportuni- ties also will present them- selves in the growing need for meeting water, food and secu- rity needs. “These are things that are going to create jobs even- tually, once we get out of this hole,” Dickson said. “It’s going to be a worldwide phe- nomenon.” A highly educated work- force will be a crucial compo- nent of those emerging indus- tries, he added. “I think the education investment will pan out over time,” he said, noting that recent graduates with techni- cal degrees already are in demand by major tech firms. Dickson has developed a psychological profile of eco- nomic cycles. He said that the U.S. economy reached a point of “euphoria” in October 2007, then “capitulation” in March 2009 as the reality of the recession became appar- ent. Last January, Dickson said, the economy hit the “encouragement” stage. “But it is a very slow path to recovery,” he said. Debt repayment issues for the U.S. and foreign gov- ernments, as well as compa- nies, remain a big concern, Dickson said, and could delay recovery efforts. The strategist said that home foreclosures still are rising, but that the economy has created 1.5 million new jobs; corporate earnings are up; and the investment cli- mate has improved. “We’re seeing some upward job mobility, and that’s a sign of growing con- fidence,” Dickson said. For the first four months of 2010, he observed, pub- licly traded companies beat market expectations, another encouraging sign. “The bar was set low and companies came through, beating expectations fairly handily,” he said. He continued that over- all, the market is “positive but subdued,” and that investors can expect to see some con- tinued volatility during the next few months. “Normally, in the first full year of an economic re- covery, the stock market usu- ally bounces up about 20 to 30 percent,” Dickson said. “We’re expecting that rate of growth to be only about 8 to 10 percent.” A “bull market” began in March 2009, Dickson said, and he anticipates that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase by 3 percent this year. That is up from his initial prediction of a 2.5 percent growth rate, bolstered by an uptick in con- sumer spending and busi- nesses restocking inventories. The dollar has rallied against the Euro in recent weeks due to the Greek debt crisis, but Dickson said that there still are long-term con- cerns for U.S. currency. Short-term, he said, Ameri- cans will pay more for im- ports, but the export market will be strengthened by those trends. By the end of this dec- ade, he feels, the Dow Jones Industrial Average could be nearly double what it is now, due to emerging technologies. “We look at the 10,000 level as more of a baseline than a mountain peak,” he continued. Although the market is in a period of correction right now, Dickson said that dura- ble good orders are up, along with temporary hiring. He said that typically leads to job growth, but cautioned that businesses tend to expand and restore their hiring levels about two years after the be- ginning of a recovery. Minor parties also are gearing up for the fall race. The Libertarian Party of Ore- gon nominated its vice chair- man, 33-year old Aurora resi- dent Wes Wagner, for gover- nor during a convention in Salem earlier this month. The Constitution Party is planning its statewide con- vention for Saturday, June 26 in Woodburn. Chairman Jack Brown, a Grants Pass resi- dent, said that Gresham resi- dent Greg Kord likely will be that party’s nominee. A nominating convention was held by the Pacific Green Party of Oregon in Eugene at the beginning of June. But a summary of the convention on the party’s Website lists no candidate for governor. Oregon Governor’s race heating up (Continued from page 1) election. But the only one that matters is in November.” Humphrey also said that there were “problems” with the SurveyUSA poll. One, he said, was the modeling it used to predict Democratic voter turnout and its inclusion of presumptive Progressive Party nominee Jerry Wilson. The poll showed Wilson re- ceiving 6 percent of the vote. Instead of airing adver- tisements, the Kitzhaber cam- paign has been focusing on its ground game, Humphrey said, with a “big robust field program” in Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis. “We’re canvassing every weekend and phone banking every day,” he said. Tom DiLorenzo, a lob- byist who works in Salem, had publicly announced that he was considering running as a nonaffiliated candidate, but has since dropped that bid. But Humphrey said that “wasn’t big news to us.” “I don’t think it was a significant moment in the campaign,” he said. Both major state parties have become increasingly involved in the governor’s race. The Democratic Party of Oregon has issued press re- leases blasting Dudley’s posi- tions on key issues, and Ore- gon Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Bob Tiernan filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office regarding a $5,000 contribution from a member of Kitzhaber’s fi- nance committee chairman to the Independent Party. ORP also has criticized Kitzhaber and members of the state Senate Democratic leadership for a planned June 29 private fund-raiser with 15 participants. An invitation distributed by the Senate De- mocratic Leadership fund states that the event is to dis- cuss “potential (legislative) session issues.” Humphrey dismissed the complaints outright as “desperate” acts. “They don’t have any dirt, so they have to make stuff up,” Humphrey said. “I don’t think anybody took it very seriously.” Water Wells Pump Sales Installation Service Hope Mountain Radio: Sounds of freedom (Continued from page 1) Some of the DJs broadcast from their home studios. Goodman insists that they all do it out of love. “The whole thing is a public service,” he said. The programming sched- ule reflects the creative per- sonalities who comprise the Hope Mountain Radio roster. Show titles include Melting Space Dreams, Flammable Substance, O’Brien Gal, Mi- graine Man, Y.B. Norm Ill, Sista Mona Lisa, Reefer Gladness, Crawl Space, Soul Washing Sounds, Radio Chaostrophy and others. Goodman points out that many of the DJs have typical lives, and that adopting on-air personae provides them somewhat of an escape. “For a lot of people, it’s a chance to get away,” he said. One of them, who uses the on-air moniker Blind Dan, is “probably one of our hard- est-working DJs,” Goodman said. Dan has to get a ride from Grants Pass, and pre- produces all the music for his air shift. “That’s a lot of produc- tion time right there,” Good- man observed. “He does a great show.” Another DJ serves as an engineer and “takes care of a lot of the equipment,” Good- man added. Some of the peo- ple who work at the station aren’t even DJs, he said. A fund-raiser for the sta- tion was held May 8 at Dome School, and featured a per- formance by the popular local band, Takilma. The event also was a CD release party for that group, and Goodman said that it was well-attended. The station also is doing more live remote broadcast from locations like Dome School and the Out ‘N’ About Treehouse Resort. Takilmafm.com, which hosts the station, also features pub- lic service announcements, links to other community Websites and an announce- ment board. Goodman said that it’s his way of giving back to the groups whose support makes it possible to carry out Hope Mountain Radio’s core mis- sion — to provide a viable alternative to the increasingly corporate-owned public air- waves. “It’s an art project, as far as I’m concerned,” Goodman said. “Whatever you play is on a palette. It’s painting a picture with sound, is really what it is.” For more information, or to volunteer or become a DJ, phone 541-592-4799. Find a permanent link to Hope Mountain Radio at illinois- valley-news.com. 592-6777 1470 Caves Highway Licensed • Bonded • Insured Locally owned and operated in the valley for over 25 years. WWC #1504 • CCB #152266 • CPl #7-113 Member Oregon Ground Water Assoc. Rep. Ron Maurer reflects on statewide race (Continued from page 1) increase measures. Maurer rented an apart- ment in Salem for the Febru- ary session, and elected to keep it for the campaign. He hit the trail in earnest, having less than three months to meet and persuade as many voters as possible. “I built my strategy around the time I had,” he explained. “If I had until No- vember, the time between March 1 and the primary would have been spent much differently. I was never home. I was gone all the time.” For most of spring, Maurer spent his days in Port- land, Salem and Eugene, where most of the state’s population resides. During that time, Maurer said, he spoke to a “relatively signifi- cant” number of Democratic legislators, state government department heads and others who pledged support for him privately, but did not do so publicly for political reasons. However, Maurer did manage to earn the endorse- ments of many prominent newspaper editorial boards throughout the state. The majority of the $74,000 Maurer raised for the campaign went toward pur- chasing signs and printed materials, and paying cam- paign staff, he said. That left no funds for radio or televi- sion advertisements, which typically are the largest ex- penses in statewide races. Election night soon came, and Maurer spent it at home surrounded by friends, family and supporters. “Honestly, I did not have any expectations, necessarily, about how well we were go- ing to do or how poorly we were going to do,” he said. Initial reports showed Castillo with a 52 to 48 per- cent lead, with anywhere from 16,000 to 18,000 votes separating the two candidates. The Oregonian newspaper called the race in Castillo’s favor at about 10 that night. “At that point, it just didn’t look very good,” Maurer recalled. By the time Maurer awoke the next morning, the gap had narrowed to less than 11,000 votes. It soon whittled down to less than 4,000, leav- ing the results in limbo. “I was cautiously opti- mistic. I was never shocked,” Maurer said. “From my per- spective, it was more like a vindication that the campaign I ran was credible.” Maurer said he spent the following weeks with his four children, ages 10 to 16, and doing basic household chores. “I learned a lot about the process of county ballots,” he said. “I was learning as I was going along. I also went out to cut firewood, mowed the lawn, took my kids to school and did things I was going to be doing anyway.” Ultimately, Maurer de- cided that pushing for a re- count ultimately was cost- prohibitive, and conceded defeat. “The reality was, I couldn’t raise the money,” he said. “It just wasn’t feasible.” Castillo ended up with 50.02 percent of the vote, winning by approximately 2,500 votes. But Maurer said he was encouraged by his showing, which included receiving nearly 40 percent of the Multnomah County vote. It was the best that any Re- publican in Oregon has done in a statewide campaign since 2002, when Gordon Smith spent millions of dollars to win a U.S. Senate race. In the short-term, Maurer will continue serving as a state representative until January. Josephine County Deputy District Attorney Wally Hicks has received the nomination of the Republican and Democratic parties to assume in that position, and is working with Maurer’s legis- lative assistant to make the transition. But much more impor- tantly, Maurer and his wife, Sheila, are expecting a baby boy, with an Oct. 5 due-date. Maurer said he has ruled out running for any local of- fice, including Grants Pass city councilor or Josephine County commissioner. “It’s not that those jobs aren’t important,” he said. “But at this point, I’m not particularly interested in that.” But that does not leave out the possibility of Maurer, 47, running for another state- wide office some day. “I absolutely would not discount that,” he stated. “The last two weeks have given me substantial statewide name recognition.” Overall, Maurer said that he is confident that he will “find a niche someplace” as he moves forward into the future and puts the superin- tendent race behind him. “I certainly have no re- gret,” he declared. Tides of Your Well with Bob Quinn Did you know that the wa- ter level in your well is af- fected by the position of the moon? It’s a true story! When there is a full moon your water level in your well is higher than when there is just a small crescent. It’s all about the gravitational pull - just like the tides of the ocean. Not that you really care, but I thought I’d share that bit of information. . .you never know when you may be invited to play Jeopardy! Fact of the day... An elephant can smell water 3 miles away. Bob Quinn is the owner of Quinn’s Well Drilling and Pump Service located at 6811 Williams Hwy., Grants Pass. He is a member of the Oregon Ground Water Association. As part of a tradition of informa- tion that began more than 50 years ago, these columns are provided to help take the mys- tery out of well drilling and ground water. Visit Quinn’s web site at www.quinnswell.com — it’s a tremendous source of informa- tion. We provide well drilling, plus we install, maintain and repair complete water pumping systems. Contact our profes- sional staff by phone, e-mail, or visit our office. 541-862-9355 AND RENTAL CENTER Save $$$ Rent From Us: lawn tools, paint sprayers, carpet shampooer, plumbing tools, construction equipment, power tools and more! 434 Caves Highway, Cave Junction, OR 97523 Phone (541) 592-3540 Fax (541) 592-6841 Mon-Fri 7:00-5:30, Sat 8:00-5:00, Closed Sunday Illinois Valley News is an equal-opportunity advertising medium. Phone 541-592-2541.
