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Wednesday, March. 13, 2013, 1 Section, 10 Pages, Volume 76 No. 1 Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
I.V. Fire
District honors
volunteers
By
Linda Corey-Woodward
IVN Contributing Writer
The Illinois Valley Fire
District (IVFD) held its 33rd
annual awards banquet Feb.
23 in Cave Junction. New
IVFD Chief Dennis Hoke said
the program featured a special
presentation for recently retired
IVFD Chief Harry Rich. Rich
was presented with a helmet,
retirement badge and special
gifts, along with heartfelt
thanks for nine years of IVFD
leadership by the district’s
board of directors.
Deputy Chief Ken Gavlik
served as master of ceremonies
for the evening, presenting
certificates of appreciation to
district members for years of
service and to new recruits. Of
note, recognition went to Jim
O’Grady (12 years), Wayland
Sherman (13 years), Sandy
Humphries (14 years), Phil
Aria (16 years), Ken Gavlik
and Pearlene Gavlik (16
years), William Sowell (18)
years, Joe Feldhaus (19 years),
Steve Corwin (21 years) and
Tom Zulliger (31 years).
The Firefighter of the Year
award went to Jeff Bradshaw.
Officer of the Year was
awarded to Gerry Bjornstad
and Rookie of the Year
recognition went to Charley
Lesiecki and Robert Sitton.
Other awards were given for
outstanding maintenance, 911
dispatches, stations, support
member. Special recognition
also went to longtime member
and district photographer Dale
Sandberg.
Obituaries
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(Photo courtesy of Wendy Williams for The Illinois Valley News)
Christine Perala-Gardiner entertains the crowd with a little ditty about chocolate at the “Women’s Cafe” March 9.
Expansion of Oregon Caves Monument gains steam
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Contributing Writer
The decades-long effort to expand the boundaries
of the 480 acre Oregon Caves National Monument
was rejuvenated last month when Oregon’s U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley re-introduced
the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act (OCRA).
The legislation aims to enhance the existing
monument by transferring management of
approximately 4,070 acres, essentially the entire
Lake Creek Watershed, from the U.S. Forest Service
to the National Park Service. If the bill passes, the
new monument land will be designated as a National
Preserve, but will allow recreational access to
hunters.
“These areas provide habitats to countless
species of plants and animals, economic benefits
to surrounding communities and recreational
opportunities for Oregonians and visitors throughout
the nation,” said Wyden, chairman of the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “Setting
aside this additional land will increase tourism to the
largest marble cave open to the public west of the
Continental Divide.”
The 4,070 acres slated for the expansion
translates to about 6.25 square miles and represents
less than one percent of the federal land in Josephine
County, according to supporters.
“This is Cave Junction. We’re the gateway to the
Oregon Caves. We’re proud to have this branding that
a national monument provides,” said local resident
Greg Walter, who traveled to Washington D.C. to
testify before an Energy and Natural Resources sub-
committee in 2009.
“This expansion would give us a larger spot on
the map — and that’ll increase our visitor numbers,”
said Walter, who added that fifty local businesses and
hundreds of petition signers support the OCRA bill.
A newly released National Park Service (NPS)
report for 2011 shows that 76,194 visitors to Oregon
Caves spent close to $4 million in nearby communities.
This peer-reviewed spending analysis indicates that
most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food
and beverage services, recreation, entertainment,
transportation, fuel and other retail sales.
The park service has also documented increases
of visitation and tourism dollars to surrounding
communities when national monuments are
expanded. Nationwide, many other studies indicate
that protecting and enhancing outstanding natural
features contributes significantly to the long-term
economic stability of adjacent rural towns.
“There’s 75 businesses with tourist-related
storefronts up Caves Highway and along Highway
199 between the California border and Sauer’s flat,”
said Illinois Valley resident Roger Brandt. He says
galleries and shops that sell products to tourists
also support other businesses or entrepreneurs,
including wineries, artists, cottage industry kitchens,
agricultural products and more.
See expansion on A-8
Women’s Café show Neighborhood patrols
and watches tackle crime
is a hit with fans
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Contributing Writer
By
Linda Corey-Woodward
IVN Contributing Writer
“The Women’s Café was so much fun!”
exclaimed singer Carol Schloss Valentine after
Saturday night’s show at the Dome School.
“It was excellent!” added performer
Maelagh Baker, grinning.
The show, in its 22nd year, featured art,
music, song, poetry, and dance by Illinois Valley
women. The show is a popular fundraising
event for the Dome School and often features
past and present students and teachers. The
show’s theme celebrated women of the world
for National Women’s History Month.
Dinner included quiche, salad, squash
soup, bread and desserts made by volunteers.
People gathered around bistro tables to chat
and eat before the show. They inspected the
colorful art displayed around the room and
talked to the artists about their creations.
A proud father, Alan Eisner, beamed after
his young daughter, Annabelle, sang with a
group of students led by singer Libby Goines,
and later sang solos. Annabelle wowed the
audience with her powerful voice. Chelsea
Hocker, Carol Schloss Valentine, Christine
Gardiner and Libby Goines also sang.
Lydia Robert’s Zumba class danced
to several fast belly dance tunes and some
audience members joined in. Poetry was
performed by Kindi Fahrnkopf and Andrea
King. A newcomer to Takilma, Mindy King,
gave an outstanding comic performance,
spoofing Takilma lifestyle and culture, to the
crowd’s delight.
A quartet comprising Jennie May
Donnell, Andrea King, Maelagh Baker and
Jean Robertson, performed a humorous piece
written by Alicia Ostriker. Donnell portrayed
the Dog; King played the Old Lady; Baker was
the Red Tulip; and Robertson was the narrator.
The theatrical piece was directed by Donnell
and will be part of Theatre Convivio’s March
23 show entitled, “This One, That One, an
Evening of Poetry, Prose and Music,” at the
Belleview Grange in Ashland, according to
Donnell.
Host Deb Murphy, had the packed house
roaring with laughter during her monologue
about traveling from New York with her elderly
mother and her mother’s Russian caregiver. In
Murphy’s story, neither woman had current
I.D.’s as required by airport security, but she
loaded her carry-on bag with birth certificates,
expired passports and driver’s licenses and
prayed they would suffice. She had bought
first class tickets thinking they would be
treated better and so that they could bring nine
suitcases. Her descriptions of their airport
screening and the amenities provided to first
class passengers were hilarious, according to
several attendees.
“Deb is so funny. Her stories are
priceless!” commented singer Libby Goines.
Several performers commented afterwards
that they were able to get on the stage because
of the support of organizers and friends in the
audience. The applause was a huge reward for
the effort and courage it took, according to
Fahrnkopf and other performers. Murphy is
already planning next year’s show.
O’Brien and Selma
citizens have responded to
local criminals emboldened
by a budget-stripped sheriff’s
department.
Patrols
and
neighborhood watches are
producing the desired results,
so groups around Cave
Junction are now forming to
defend their neighborhoods.
“About
60
people
attended a meeting on March
4 at Wild River Pizza Brewery.
They’re serious about standing
up to the criminal element,”
said Guenter Ambron, who
is spearheading the effort to
develop more neighborhood
watches in and around Cave
Junction.
“We have five new
team captains and we’re
building
communications
and developing strategies,”
Ambron added, noting that
more neighborhood leaders
are needed, especially around
the Dick George and Holland
Loop areas.
“It’s a shame that it’s
come to this, but now it’s up to
us to rely on each other,” said
Harry Bradley, a coordinator
of efforts on Simons Cut and
Ivy Drive.
Dwight
Fickes
has
tackled the job on Mesa Verde
Drive and Roan McClure
is organizing on Logan Cut
Drive.
“The key to reducing
crime is to know your
neighbors and work together,”
said John Morris, captain of
the White Oak Drive watch.
“We keep an eye on
everything that happens here,
so don’t forget to smile when
you visit, because you’ll
probably be on camera,” said
Gene Drake, Fernwood Drive’s
team captain.
Josephine County Sheriff
Gil Glibertson says he’s
thrilled about the community
response in the Illinois Valley
and invites those interested in
setting up new watches to call
him for assistance.
“Law enforcement is
weak right now. There’s
vultures out there. So we
must build strong defensible
neighborhoods,” Gilbertson
said.
As a law enforcement
officer in Bosnia and Kosovo,
Gilbertson served in a city
where crime was rampant.
“We instituted American-
style neighborhood watches,
and within two years, we
created safe communities,” he
said. “It worked because people
were engaged in protecting
themselves. I believe in this.”
Gilbertson
talks
to
neighborhood-watch groups
to provide safety and strategy
tips and wants volunteers to
understand the laws so they
comprehend their limitations
and avoid mistakes that could
get them hurt or make them
“civilly or criminally liable.”
“Watches are effective
when done correctly. But
volunteers must be clear
that when it comes to force,
there’s two critical words in
Oregon law: ‘reasonable and
necessary.’ You must be able
to articulate to a judge and jury
how your actions met those
two criteria,” Gilbertson said.
Sam Nichols, coordinator
of the O’Brien-based Citizens
Against Crime (CAC), said his
group observes, but doesn’t
make physical contact with
suspected criminals. They
patrol nightly, take license
plate numbers and physical
descriptions of suspicious
cars and occupants, then share
information with the sheriff’s
office and other watches.
“What we do is working,”
Nichols said. “There’s been no
reported theft since we started
patrolling last August, but
before, it was almost nightly
that something was stolen.”
CAC volunteers, who
always work in pairs, drive by
people’s houses late at night,
around 15 miles an hour, in
vehicles with flashing amber
lights and 12 inch by 24 inch
CAC emblems.
See Crime on A-8