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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2011)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 6, 2011 Page A-3 Illinois Valley local publishes children’s book By Darcy Wallace IVN Staff Writer Illinois Valley resident Jim Lettis wrote the occasional poem in high school, but never took them beyond the classroom at the time. Now retired after 33 years of teaching, Lettis expanded his pursuit of photography, taking photos of natural scenery when he traveled, especially decorative doors. The objects in those photos seemed to tell a story of their own; Lettis wondered what might happen if he turned those pictures into something more. “I was looking at them and thinking, if I told a story, what would [the door] have to say?” Lettis said. “I wrote about 20 poems of stories I had. Then I was writing a poem about a castle door from France, and it just kind of took off into this other story.” Now, one of his poems comes to life in “The Squire and the White Dragon,” an illustrated children’s book. It tells the story of Will, an aspiring knight, who is sent to confront the white dragon and recover the king’s stolen sword. The poem was a month-long project, adjusted and tweaked after Lettis originally put it on paper. Each line has 11 syllables, part of the mental aspect he loves about poetry. “I do daily Sudoku and I’ve really been hooked on that,” Lettis said. “It’s similar to me…trying to write a poem completely with 11 syllables in every sentence and fitting it together is an interesting mental challenge, trying to find the correct words that make sense. Even when I read some of my poems now I think, how did I come up with that?” His poetry covers a range of subjects, from romance to the difficulties of homelessness, to the stories of a dissatisfied troll and a meeting with Smokey the Bear. According to Lettis, he keeps a notebook by his bed in case a late-night idea comes to him. The next morning, he deciphers his notes written in the dark that could become future poems. “Back in grade school I wrote some poems,” Lettis said. “The teacher thought they were quite good but I never did it again. But almost all of these poems [originate] in the middle of the night.” As he worked on the story, Lettis said he consulted the opinions of many family members, including his wife Celia, who was also a teacher. “Since it was a children’s book I had to change the riddles again,” Lettis said. “The riddles were the hardest thing to write since I’d never written a riddle before.” Lettis said he searched online for an independent publisher, hoping to get the story in print by Christmas. It took about nine months from the time he sent his poem until the time it was published. “The illustrator was assigned by the publishing company,” Lettis said. “I thought he did a really nice job. I had to tell them a detailed description of what I wanted, then they sent back the initial drawings; it’s all done over the Internet.” While publishing his first book, Lettis hit a few minor snags. He said original illustrations had the dragon in all different colors; blue, grey and even pink. The (Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News) process was a little slower than he hoped; all in all, however, Jim Lettis, author of “The Squire and the White Lettis was satisfied. Dragon.” Lettis said he hopes to hold “They seemed very impressed,” Lettis a book-signing in Cave Junction at Shop Smart said. “It’s fun to think of something, all the and donate some of the money from books sold words that connect to that particular thing, and to a local nonprofit. figure out how you can connect those words So far, Lettis said he’s shown the story to together in a poem. It’s the mental challenge I some folks at the Illinois Valley Senior Center enjoy.” and the book is getting a good reaction. LBMS musicians host final Disneyland fund raiser By Darcy Wallace IVN Staff Writer Lorna Byrne Middle School music groups showcased their talents Sunday, April 3 at the Selma Center as their last fundraiser before the advanced groups depart for Anaheim, Calif. this evening. The concert band and Coro Vivo Choir are scheduled to compete April 7 to 9 in the Heritage Music Festival in Disneyland with 46 other groups. Students have spent weeks raising funds to help cover transportation and other costs through concerts, grocery bagging, pancake breakfasts and a rummage sale. According to band director Brice Cloyd and several volunteers, Sunday’s fundraiser raised close to $1,500 towards the trip. “I think this was an amazingly successful event,” Cloyd said. “Now this is a small town coming - IVHS School Menu - Sponsored by together.” All Lorna Byrne ensembles performed at the event, including the two advanced groups, the Cadet Band, and the new Marimba Band. Several local musicians of all ages also performed Sunday to round out the performance list, including B Wishes, the Honey Bees, Too Far South, Zach Kay and G. R. Nelson. “[Too Far South] probably brought in 20 or 30 people who otherwise wouldn’t have been there,” Cloyd said. Nelson, a local freelance musician who has performed in venues all over Oregon, made a special appearance at the Selma Center singing and playing acoustic guitar. B Wishes included a handful of students from Coro Vivo belting out Beatles tunes and others. As guests listened to music, they also chose from dozens of homemade baked goods from Anna Ortiz and THURSDAY, April 7 Pasta with marinara/ meat sauce or bean & COMMUNITY cheese burritos, chicken HEALTH burger or cheese burger, cheese, bbq chicken or CENTER supreme pizza, Italian turkey & cheese spicy 25647 Redwood Hwy. Cave Junction chicken wrap, or chef, anti pasta or garden 541-592-4111 salads SISKIYOU MONDAY, April 11 TUESDAY, April 12 Beef soft tacos, chicken Chicken fajitas, Rib-B- strips, spicy chicken Que sandwich, chicken burger, hamburger; burger, cheeseburger; pepperoni, cheese, pepperoni, cheese or vegetarian or sausage Hawaiian pizza; Italian pizza; ham & cheese or or turkey & cheese turkey & cheese sand- sandwich, spicy chicken wich, turkey wrap; chef, wrap; chef, antipasto or garden or Mandarin garden salad chicken salad FRIDAY, April 8 Nacho supreme, wiener wrap, corn dog, spicy chicken burger; cheeseburger; pepperoni, cheese, supreme or taco pizza; ham & cheese or turkey & cheese sandwich, turkey wrap; chef, garden or Mandarin chicken salad WEDNESDAY, April 13 Taco salad, teriyaki beef rice bowl, spicy chicken burger, ham- burger; pepperoni, sausage, cheese or Italian griller pizza; veggie or turkey & cheese sandwich, turkey wrap; chef, garden or Mandarin chicken salad Tina Brick. A silent auction and raffle for countless locally-produced items and gift certificates also kept guests busy between performances. Cloyd and volunteers said they greatly appreciated the help and support from all sides; many parents and community members chipped in even though they didn’t have children participating in Lorna Byrne ensembles going to Disneyland. “This is for the kids,” said volunteer organizer Shawn Carmody. “If it wasn’t for Mr. Cloyd, very few would have the opportunity to do something like this. I feel the community can come together.” Carmody said Solis Skin Care owner Cherie Miller was a major contributor in Sunday’s event. Other volunteers who helped organize included Dan Fiske, Julie Janoski and Molly Kitchens. According to Cloyd, Lorna Elementary School Lunch Menu Sponsored by H ometown E InteRIoRS 541-592-2413 Byrne is the only middle school in Oregon set to perform at the Heritage Festival this year in Anaheim. Students will be exposed to schools with concert and symphonic bands, jazz ensembles, choirs and orchestra groups with years of experience at this level. “The kids are really excited for this,” Cloyd said. “I’m not sure if they really grasp it yet.” Cloyd said that when he first told students about the trip, some compared it to the Boatnik parade in Grants Pass, which they’ll perform in for Memorial Day weekend. “This is at a completely different level,” Cloyd said. “They’ll be seeing buildings that are a lot more than four stories high, drive [in buses] in seven lanes of traffic…it’s the cultural experience of being outside the Valley.” In January, some local students performed at a selective Oregon Music THURSDAY, April 7 FRIDAY, April 8 Super submarine sandwich, mandarin chicken salad, turkey frank on multigrain bread, baked RibBQ sandwich, spaghetti w/ marinara or meat sauce Totally tuna wrap, chicken caesar sal- ad, cheeseburger on multigrain, totally teri- yaki dippers, toasted cheese sandwich w/ tomato soup A $55 yearly membership to Paramed covers all family members in the home. Illness and injury can strike without warning; but, it’s comforting to know that your cost is covered for emergencies and medically necessary transports. (Photo by Darcy Wallace, Illinois Valley News) Guest artist G. R. Nelson plays guitar at the Selma Center April 3. “Come grow with us!” Are you ready for Spring? MONDAY, April 11 TUESDAY, April 12 WEDNESDAY, April 13 It’s Time to Plant! Hearty garden salad, ham & cheese sand- wich on whole wheat, hawaiian burger, bean & cheese burrito, baked chicken bites w/ mashed potatoes Ham & cheese sandwich on whole wheat, classic chef salad, hamburger on a multigrain bun, baked cheesy bread- sticks w/ marinara, big chicken taco Super sub sandwich, hearty garden salad, chicken patty on a multigrain bun, freshly baked cheese or pepperoni pizza, baked potato bar Berries, Rhubarb, Asparagus, Potatoes, Onions & Cool Season Veggies! 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