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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010
Life in the Valley of
Riches
By DAN MANCUSO,
Publisher
Last week, I left the valley and headed
north to spend some time with my loved ones.
Oddly, I did a lot of the same things I would
have done had I stayed home.
On Thursday, I traveled to Silverdale,
Wash., to watch my daughter’s soccer game.
Ellie plays striker and outside midfielder for
the Shelton High School soccer team.
Friday, my son John had a presentation at
his elementary school. Rest assured that I en-
Illinois Valley News
welcomes Letters to the
Editor. Please e-mail them
to dan@illinois-valley-
news.com.
POLICY
ON
LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley
News’ encourages letters to the
editor provided they are legible
and not libelous or scurrilous.
All letters must be signed, in-
cluding name, 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need not be published, but will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. Letters are used
at the discretion of the
publisher.
* * *
(Editor’s Note: Views
and commentary, including
statements made as fact, are
strictly those of the letter-
writers.)
Kudos to I.V. News
Thank you for the re-
cent article covering the fire
hazards around the city of
Cave Junction. I would also
like to thank folks for the
overwhelming public sup-
port I have received from
the article and the positive
changes that have already
taken place. With your con-
tinued support and input we
can help make the commu-
nity of CJ a better place to
live. Again many thanks and
let’s keep up the positive
efforts.
Respectfully,
Gary McAlister
Cave Junction
Road Hazards
I am writing to complain
about people who routinely
cause road hazards and then
try and blame the motorist
“for going too fast”. It seems
as if they are trying to cause
an “accident”. Lately, in this
area I have encountered nu-
merous problems that seem as
if they are staged.
For instance today, for
about the third time in the last
few months there has been a
dog or a person in the pub-
licly owned, privately main-
tained access road I live on
about 7 miles from Lake Sel-
mac. At night it is very dark
and there are no street lights.
Yet some new neighbors
seem to think it is permissible
to hang out and drink in or
near the road with their black
dogs laying in the road.
Last year one new
neighbor actually put his
lounge chair right in the road,
he said so he could be under a
shady tree. Even going 10 or
15 miles an hour, you have to
swerve to avoid them and
their dogs and then they will
run out in front of you and
yell “You are going too fast”
instead of calling their dogs
out of the way which causes
even more stress for the
driver.
Why is it that these peo-
ple who have 5 acres or more
to recreate, have to do their
drinking, hanging out or sit-
ting under shade trees or
playing with their dogs on a
public road? Then they yell at
the motorist for going too fast
when the motorist is actually
going very slow.
Not only are the grown-
ups doing such things but the
children seem to be taking the
cue from these folks’ exam-
ple. That could be really dan-
gerous. Halfway down
Thompson Creek Road,
where there are quite a few
GRAB YOUR DAUBERS - Join the
BINGO fun from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on
Wednesday, Sept. 29 at I.V. Senior
Center, 520 E. River St., Cave Junction.
Then from 6:30 - 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct.
1 at the American Legion Hall, 2110
Caves Hwy., Cave Junction.
SCRAMBLE DEADLINE - Friday,
Oct. 1 is the registration deadline for the
third annual GolfToberFest. Golf,
snacks, lunch, beverages and prizes to
benefit the Illinois Valley Section of the
Boys & Girls Club is set for Oct. 9. A
registration form can be downloaded at
www.begreat4kids.com, or phone Scott
Tim
land
It’s Is
e!
joy covering the valley’s youth, but I must
admit, I am partial to my own kids.
My timing was off, as I missed a few ex-
citing events. Thursday, the IVHS girls soccer
team won their first game of the season. Fri-
day night, our Cougar football team won their
second game in a row. Outside of sports, I
missed the annual grape stomp fund-raiser,
which benefitted the Illinois Valley Chamber
of Commerce and the Illinois Valley branch
of the Boys & Girls Club of the Rogue Valley.
Before I left, I attended a meeting
Wednesday night about the Siskiyou Crest
National Monument. I didn’t want to attend,
as issues like that get my blood pressure out
of whack, but I’m a glutton and went anyway.
When I lived in Wyoming, groups in San
Francisco were pushing for the release of griz-
houses and kids are often
riding their bikes and playing
near the road, I usually try to
go very slow because of the
congestion and also deer traf-
fic. I was coming home from
work, going slow and staying
alert because there was a lot
of activity in the area. Two
teenage boys were walking
on one side of the road, an-
other vehicle was coming
toward us going pretty fast in
the opposite direction, a teen-
age girl was riding her bike
ahead of me in my lane along
the road, some more kids
were standing near the road
ahead. I was going real slow
because of the situation when
abruptly, with no signal or
indication, the girl turns right
in front of me, crosses both
lanes of traffic, causing me to
downshift into second, almost
coming to a complete stop
while she happily smiles to
herself looking down. It
seemed to me she did it just
to impress her friends and the
teenage boys.
This morning when I
went by the same area on my
way to work one of the other
girls who had witnessed this
incident, was all alone on her
bike riding as fast as she
could down her driveway like
she was going to pull out in
front of me to see?
I am a person that goes
out of my way to try and be
safe. I was a lifeguard in my
younger years and have taken
First Aid about 8 times over
the years for my various jobs.
I know sometimes things
don’t work out the way we
wish but it seems to me if
people want to be safe they
would not do the things I’ve
described. If I was to go on to
the things some adults do in
their cars, I could go on an-
other few pages. Suffice it to
say it is quite unwise for pe-
destrians to play the type of
Thornhill at 541-592-4771 for more in-
formation. The fund-raiser will be held
at Illinois Valley Golf Course.
CURVES IS MOVIN’ - To a bigger
and better location right next door at
228 N. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction.
The workout facility will be closed on
Saturday, Oct. 2 for relocation.
PERMACULTURE DESIGN - An
introductory workshop is being offered
Friday to Sunday, Oct. 1-3 at the Frog
Farm in Takilma. The course will blend
hands-on learning with lectures, slides
and group projects. Contact Spiral Liv-
ing Center at 541-592-3642.
Taste the difference!
Free Wi-Fi
• Island Time Monday - Friday from 5-6 pm all 16 oz drinks are $2.00!
• After school special Mondays from 3-8 pm children under 12 get an 8 oz
drink for just $1!
• Cougar Discount Thursdays! Any child 12 and over Get $1 off any drink
from 3-8 pm!
1470 Caves Highway
Locally owned and
operated in the valley
for over 25 years.
Published weekly by
W.H. Alltheway, LLC
Daniel J. Mancuso, Publisher
POSTMASTER: Please send
address changes to P.O. Box 1370,
Cave Junction OR 97523
Illinois Valley News is published at
321 S. Redwood Hwy.,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Telephone (541) 592-2541
FAX (541) 592-4330
Since 1937 periodicals postage paid
at Cave Junction OR 97523
P.O. Box 1370 USPS 258-820
WWC #1504 • CCB #152266 • CPl #7-113
One year in Josephine
County - $24.50
One year in Jackson and
Douglas counties - $28.00
One year in all other Oregon
counties and out-of-state -
$39.00
are cheaper, business disrup-
tions are less problematic,
and at completion we are left
poised to take advantage of a
market recovery.
In 2006, after a two-year
comprehensive analysis, we
determined that the project
was feasible. We tapped into
incentives and grants, entered
into a favorable financing
arrangement, and after a year
of construction, in February
2008 Rough & Ready put
online a cogeneration plant
and new dry kilns that dry
more lumber - which adds
value to our product and re-
duces shipping costs (we can
get more lumber on a truck
when we’re not transporting
water down the freeway).
It also creates renewable
electricity that powers 1,500
homes and uses forest bio-
mass to support forest health
restoration projects.
Our employees and my
family had been excited that
the project would enhance
our ability to survive and help
with projects in the forest, but
were particularly pleased to
imagine our electricity run-
ning down the lines into the
homes of our community and
beyond.
Perhaps most distressing
of all in Mr. Smith predic-
tions of Rough & Ready’s
demise is a tone that conveys
a clear preference for that
end. I suspect the 75-80 fami-
lies that are supported by
Rough & Ready, not to men-
tion those 400 indirectly em-
ployed, would be far less
likely than Mr. Smith to write
off those jobs as being of neg-
ligible importance.
Jennifer Krauss Phillippi
Cave Junction
Subscribe to the
Illinois Valley News
Phone 541-592-2541
roast, grill and sauté from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at OHMS
Community Health Education Center,
128 SW “I” St. in Grants Pass. Reserve
your seat and samples by phoning 541-
471-4208.
LIONS RELOCATE - Cave Junction
Lions Club will be having their club
meetings at Wild River Pizza in Cave
Junction.
LAST WORDS - “Delicious autumn!
My very soul is wedded to it, and if I
were a bird I would fly about the Earth
seeking the successive autumns.”
(George Eliot)
Bake Sale
Nifty & Gifty Thrift
Saturday, Oct. 2
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Immanuel United Methodist Church
200 W. Watkins, Cave Junction
Member Oregon Ground Water Assoc.
CONTACT US:
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
here if only we could utilize the land we live
on and near.
The proposed monument is very bad idea
because it reduces close to a million acres of
land to single use. There are things that I en-
joy that maybe you don't. Personally, I en-
courage the residents of the valley to learn as
much as they can and fight this.
October is going to be interesting, as we
are entering into the harvest season. With less
than desirable growing conditions this season,
the vineyards are still optimistic that the har-
vest will be bountiful. I suppose we will find
out in about three weeks.
Thank you for picking up this week’s pa-
per. Enjoy!
-djm
conceived” cogeneration in-
vestment are causing us prob-
lems.
Not being privy to the
inner workings of our busi-
ness, Smith is wrong about
three important points.
With 80% of the Illinois
Valley forests being federally
owned, the inability to pur-
chase logs locally puts us at a
huge disadvantage. It doesn’t
take much analysis to under-
stand that the cost of hauling
logs 250-300 miles to Cave
Junction would diminish our
competitiveness, not to men-
tion the regrettable increase in
fossil fuel consumption.
Like everyone else,
Rough & Ready is wading
through the worst economic
decline since the depression,
but our markets have been
more stable than for those
who sell commodity lumber.
With almost no federal timber
available beginning in the
1990s, Rough & Ready
downsized and purposely
changed our focus away from
commodity lumber and to-
ward high-quality niche prod-
ucts. When housing declines,
the remodel market tends to
see an up-tick which supports
the door and window manu-
facturers to whom we sell.
Our talented mill crew contin-
ues to produce and sell beau-
tiful lumber. The appreciation
of and demand for that qual-
ity is steady. Access to local
federal timber would allow us
to capture much needed
economies-of-scale by oper-
ating a second-shift (adding
40 jobs), and let us further
supply that demand for our
lumber.
Investing in a cogenera-
tion plant during a recession
may seem foolish to Mr.
Smith, but Rough & Ready
has made most major capital
improvements in down mar-
kets when construction costs
SMART LAUNCH - Start Making A
Reader Today (SMART) will kick-off this
years program at 10:30 a.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Evergreen Ele-
mentary School in the SMART Room.
For the past two years, the Evergreen
children’s reading program has been
the largest in Southern Oregon. If you
are a past volunteer or would like to be
a part of this program, you are invited to
attend. Contact Evergreen at 541-592-
3136 or program coordinator Willa at
541-592-0335 for more information.
CHICKEN BASICS - Learn how to
cut up a whole chicken, boil, braise,
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
A Taste of the Islands!
Illinois
Valley
News
Demand not the issue
Sometimes when an oc-
casional letter is written about
our company that is unin-
formed, and even kind of
mean, I generally ignore it
rather than give the writer
added exposure. But, after
reading Donald Smith’s dis-
turbingly inaccurate letter, I
felt compelled to respond.
Smith wrote a letter in
February 2008 and another
last week, both of which
show an alarming naiveté,
and a presumption to under-
stand the complex and private
internal workings of our busi-
ness.
Lack of access to the
federal forests around us sim-
ply is our company’s biggest
obstacle, no matter how
Smith tries to argue that poor
housing markets and our “ill
592-6777
We also have Shave Ice, Smoothies, Gourmet Costa Rican Hot Chocolate, Home made desserts
daily like: Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Crepes, Biscotti, Muffins, Quiche and More!!
Open every day! Mon-Fri 6 am - 8 pm, Sat & Sun 7 am - 8 pm
Located off Hwy. 199 in front of Ray’s in Selma
games some people around
here think they are playing in
their cars.
There is a heavy gang
element in this area that
seems to think the road and
their cars are playing pieces
in some mass aggression con-
test and whoever can make
someone wreck in the other
gang scores.
I think there are enough
true accidents happening
without any of these antics. I
am a person who doesn’t be-
lieve in gangs but in the
power of the individual in
conjunction with God, the
Son and the holy one of love,
truth and justice.
The type of purposeful
actions such as I’ve described
fill me with dismay, horror
and scorn. I am aghast at
what some people’s examples
are doing to their children. Of
course if something happens
it’ll be someone else’s fault.
Sick of it.
Maureen Klimesh
Selma
Water Wells
Pump Sales
Installation
Service
We offer a delicious blend of Island coffee
including Kona and Costa Rican beans.
Specials!
zlies on Laramie Peak, which at that time hap-
pened to be about 45 miles from my house.
As a hunter, bears and wolves are an issue to
me. As a rancher, wolves are cattle rustlers.
The kind folks in the Bay Area think they
are doing good, but have no clue as to the af-
fect their deeds will have on the people who
actually live there.
I admit that I am lacking a lot of the infor-
mation many of you have, but it’s my under-
standing that a select group of people want
this area to be put back to its natural state.
When this is complete, they are going to leave
the city and enjoy the peace and quiet this
pristine area will afford.
The problem is, we live here, we raise
families here, and some of us work here.
Those that don’t work here would like to work
News - Scott Jorgensen
sjorgensen@illinois-valley-news.com
Circulation - Zina Booth
zbooth@illinois-valley-news.com
Advertising - Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Composition - Brenda Encinas
bencinas@illinois-valley-news.com
Mailroom - Millie Watkins
POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois
Valley News’ encourages letters to
DEADLINES:
the editor provided they are legible
News, Classified and Display and not libelous or scurrilous. All
Ads, Announcements and letters must be signed, including
name, address and telephone
Letters
number. The latter need not be
5 P.M. FRIDAYS published, but will be used to verify
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an additional charge.)
used at the discretion of the
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