Page A-8
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Expansion ... Continued fromA-1
“This expansion would help keep
recreation and tourism-dependent
businesses open and support the
market for our home-based micro
enterprises,” Brandt said. “The
acreage needed to expand Oregon
Caves is a pittance compared to the
millions of acres the timber industry
has had at its disposal throughout
Oregon.”
Not everyone supports the
current OCRA bill. Josephine
County’s
three
commissioners
recently signed a resolution opposing
the expansion.
“My role in participating in the
resolution was to get the senators’
attention, to point out that we have
issues around fire protection. If the
monument is to be expanded, those
issues need to be addressed,” said
Commissioner Cherryl Walker. “In
the last 20 years, the National Park
Service has really struggled with
funding for maintenance and typically
we can get more money for fire
mitigation from the Forest Service.”
Walker added that speaking only
for herself, if fire mitigation issues are
addressed, she would reconsider her
position on the proposed expansion.
“In the past, the monument has
proportionately received more money
per acre for fuel reductions than the
forest service has,” said John Roth, a
geologist at Oregon Caves. “Neither
agency is likely to get much money
in the near future for fire mitigation
though, because the monument is
smaller, we’re able to place more
focus per acre with our current staff
and volunteers.”
Roth added that 20 percent of
what’s needed on the present-day
Crime ... Continued from A-1
“We want people to
know it’s us, their friends and
neighbors, and not someone
casing their property,” Nichols
added.
“We’re about prevention,”
said CAC co-founder Glenn
Woodbury. “We’re out at 3 in
the morning, and when trouble-
makers or meth heads see us,
man, they take off quick.”
Woodbury believes the
Illinois Valley never had the
late night protection it needed
“even when the sheriff’s
office was fully funded,” and
that groups like CAC will
be necessary indefinitely,
regardless of the outcome of
the currently proposed law
enforcement levy.
Gilbertson, who urges
people to vote for the new
levy, said to control crime a
functioning judicial system
is crucial and must include
better funding for the jail, the
D.A.’s office and the juvenile
justice programs. Nonetheless,
he added his commitment to
the public is to do the best job
possible with available funds.
“We’re still in tough
times, and I don’t see any light
on the horizon, economically
speaking,” Gilbertson said.
“Crime has spiked about 45
percent in the county. At the
end of the day, people have to
decide what level of safety is
important to them.”
“We really need to support
our sheriff. He’s a good man,”
said Ken LeGaux, one of the
Selma patrol coordinators.
“But when the commissioners
write a budget for the sheriff’s
office the money should go to
the sheriff and not be spread
out over other programs, like
it is now.”
LeGaux said the Selma
neighborhood watch is coming
together
with
volunteers
organizing “quadrants” that
have captains in each location
who share information and
make reports. Signs are being
posted at participating homes
and patrol vehicle bumpers will
display identifying decals.
“We’ve been patrolling
for two months and we’ve
located a few meth houses
and gotten ID’s on suspicious
vehicles out cruising late at
night,” LaGaux said.
Most of the neighborhood
watch groups also participate
in the fast-growing 1,500
member “To Catch a Thief”
Facebook group.
The next neighborhood
watch meeting is on March
21 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the
County Building in Cave
Junction. More volunteers
to fill the roles of “Street
Captain” are sought. Contact
Guenter Ambron at cmec@
cavenet.com
for
more
information. On March 17 at
6 p.m. a replay of the March
4 meeting will broadcast on
www.TakilmaFM.com.
monument has been completed and
the Forest Service has already done a
substantial amount of fuel reductions
on lands proposed for transfer. He
also said that the OCRA bill does
address fire considerations.
But Walter said the boundary
expansion provides even more
opportunity for the Forest Service
and National Park Service to work
together on fuel treatment projects
and trail upgrades.
“While this seems like it
should be a relatively simple task,
these cooperative efforts are not
often seen in government,” he said.
Walter said he hopes to see more of
the same on additional community
projects designed to enhance visitor
appeal heading toward the expanded
monument.
“My thanks go out to the
Siskiyou National Forest and the
Oregon Caves personnel for all these
efforts,” he added.
Brandt, a retired National Park
Service employee who worked at
Oregon Caves for many years, hopes
the Josephine County Commissioners
will get on board with the proposed
monument expansion.
“This
is
not
about
environmentalism, this is all about
economics,” Brandt said. “The fact
that the commissioners oppose giving
even a single crumb to help feed
the hundreds of tourism-dependent
businesses in this county is what
makes the timber industry appear
selfish and contriving and makes the
commissioners appear unaware that
their legacy is flattening Josephine
County’s economic development
options into a future of stagnation.”
When viewing Google satellite
images of the forest surrounding the
monument, Brandt says it is difficult
to spot any land that hasn’t been
logged or converted to tree farms.
The largest intact chunk of forest is
the present-day monument. Land
proposed for monument expansion
is either high mountain meadow or
Late Successional Reserve and would
never be slated for commercial timber
harvest and the grazing rights have
been bought out and retired and there
is no mining to speak of, he said.
“The argument that this 4,000
acres will somehow have a negative
impact on timber production doesn’t
hold any water,” Brandt said.
GMO Chat: by Audry Moore.
One step forward, two
steps back ~ Farmers vs.
GMOs
Continuing our journey
into GMOs, Alice has once
again found herself in a
quandary. Just when she began
to maneuver her way through
Wonderland ~ BAM. Out of
left field comes not one, but
two curve balls. In our case
what has become a HOT
topic in Oregon. So hot, it has
brought national attention.
Last week, beyond researching
farmers vs.GMOs, we came
face to face with two interesting
Bills before Oregon’s Senate.
Senate bill 633 and House
bill 3192. Both proposed by
members of our Legislature
- yet, what they’ve proposed
will take away community
(farmers) rights to make ANY
local decisions affecting seeds,
seed heritage and wait for
it………yes, GMOs.
We’re now faced with legal
action that is willfully pitting
farmers rights against corp.
rights. Furthering attempts to
force GMOs onto a world that
is still waiting for answers.
Surprise, surprise ~ these
attempts are now pandemic.
This leads us to something
that must be said. One of the
most challenging issues in
attempting to bring awareness
to GMOs, from a non-biased
stance, has been the topic itself.
A topic that has now taken
another turn, as in Wonderland,
an unexpected twist. How does
one stay neutral when faced
with GMOs pitting the rights
of farmers/citizens against
the rights of corporations? No
longer just on a global scale,
but now in our own backyard.
Faced with a rampant assault
making it all the more difficult
to stay neutral. Not because
of bias, rather dealing with
blatant attempts to not only
shut down the conversation,
but now pushing efforts to take
away our rights to even decide.
The What, Why or Who almost
comical, as the obvious is now
on display in Salem.
Kim Goodwin, Executive
Director of Oregonians for
Farm & Food Rights said
“Food choice should be a right
- not a corporate-directed,
government mandated edict.”
Farming is everyone’s concern
Goodwin added. http://www.
farmandfoodrights.org/as
Goodwin provides further
insight into our situation at:
http://www.eugeneweekly.
com/article/canola-questions.
Speaking in support of
GMOs is an organization
called Oregonians for Food and
Shelter. http://ofsonline.org/
Their motto: Provide, Protect
and Produce. Their Resources
link: Biotechnology, Fertilizer
and Pesticides. The bias is
palpable.
Clearly we have two
sides that could not be more
polarized. One side has
farmers wanting the right to
protect their crops, livelihood
and future through choice.
The other side is corporations
who literally are working
to force GMOs down the
throat of farmers, who clearly
comprehend the risks.
Who is aligning with our
farmers? If not, why not? We
are speaking of those who
produce our food. Yet, as we
pointed out in our 3rd article
the same companies that
manufacture biotech/GMOs,
fertilizers, and pesticides are
none other than the same corp.
now doing all in their power to
push GMOs onto Oregon. They
have the money, power, and
time to sway our Legislators
into thinking GMOs should
be here to stay, farmers and
citizens be damned! This trend
is global.
‘In 1900, 41% of the
workforce in the US was directly
employed in agriculture- each
farm producing over five
different crops for sale—not
counting food consumed
on the farm or sold locally,
outside
the
commodity
system. Furthermore, 60% of
Americans lived in rural areas.’
(Source: USDA.)
‘In 2000, just 1.9% of
Americans were employed in
agriculture, farms produced
an average of just over one
crop for sale, and less than 1
out of 4 Americans lived in
rural areas. The number of
farms has fallen 63%, while
the average farm size has risen
67%.’ http://www.gnolls.org/
tag/industrial-agriculture/
Till next time, when we
consider the Meat and Potatoes
of GMOs.
Dan ... Continued from A-5
The church is a multi-purpose building. The chairs can be
arranged for a wedding, worship service, or meeting. During
crises, such as floods or wildfires, the church is opened as
shelter for people displaced from their homes. In late February,
the church was also the scene of a 90th birthday party for Wanda
Goines.
Robinson has worked for 26 years to build good
relationships with Valley individuals and groups. He said he has
warm friendships with the pastors of other churches, meeting
periodically for community church gatherings. These area pastors
find common ground on which they agree, which benefits the
community in many ways: providing food, clothes, and shelter,
and other community efforts.
103 S Redwood Hwy | Cave Junction | 541.592.3191