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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014
Life in the
Valley
of Riches
By DAN MANCUSO,
Publisher
Any time you lose a loved one too soon, it’s a tragedy.
The famous NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt once said,
“You ask me about tragic accidents? If I am on my tractor at my
farm and it rolls over on me and kills me, that’s a tragic accident.
If I die in a race car, that’s life. I died doing what I love.”
This has stuck in my head for years after Earnhardt died
in a car wreck on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Despite
his views, I believe his family saw his death on the track as a
tragedy.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, Sarah Houston held a march for her
brother Jarrod Houston who died while in an altercation on Hwy
199 with Rab Calvin. Almost 200 people came to show support
in raising awareness for the unsolved hit-and-run that claimed
the lives of both men on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2013. I was impressed
with the crowd.
I honestly didn’t expect to see so many people there. While
many were there for Mr. Houston, many also held signs for Mr.
Calvin. I felt that the outpouring of people was a positive way to
keep attention on the case.
I really have no clue what either family is feeling and have
no idea how I would respond in their shoes. What I do know is
this: the families and many others in the community feel that
what happened is a tragedy. In fact, it is probably the worst thing
that will ever happen in their collective lives.
But, I feel that one of the real tragedies was in the crowd. I
believe at least one or more people holding signs in recent weeks
knows what really happened. I believe that at least one person
looks in the mirror each day and refuses to speak about what they
know. I believe that the key to “Justice for Jarrod and Rab” is
right under the families’ noses. That is what I call tragic.
Thank you for picking up this week’s paper, enjoy ~ djm
From the desk of the mayor: by Mayor Carl Jacobson Jr.
This is our first letter for the new
year. We have had a busy past year.
There seems to be a lot of vandalism
occurring in town lately. I just don’t
see the good that these people are ac-
complishing by tagging private and
public buildings. This not only makes
the tax payers have to pay for cov-
ering or removing it; but, when the
people in question see someone doing
the job of cleaning up their mess and
verbally attacks that person (who is
just doing a job they have been asked
to do), it borders on harassment. To
go in and start fires and destroy the
public bathrooms in Jubilee Park, re-
move trees that were planted by the
playground, and then say that is ok?
Bull, it’s sad when the parents don’t
see anything wrong with what their
children are doing.
I’m getting reports daily from
a lot of different people. Blaming
the sheriff’s office is not right. They
are not handling the investigation,
the State Police are in charge. This
is a fairly close knit community. We
try and help our people as much as
we can without taking advantage of
people’s generosity. I won’t accuse
people of doing wrong, but good
common sense is needed here, cool
heads must prevail. That’s all I have
to say on the matter.
This past year we have started
our 20 year master plan for the water
and waste water plants. The contract
was awarded to Civil West Engineer-
ing and has been sent to the proper
agency for their approval. We have
had a mixing zone study for our out-
fall at the river, plus we are working
on the transportation plan. We have
acquired a used street sweeper which
is much quieter than our twenty plus
years old one. We try and recycle as
much of our rolling stock or just about
anything we use in the plants.
We had one contestant in “If I
were Mayor” contest but she did not
win at the state level. That means she
can try again. We lost a member of
our city council, long time vet Dr.
Dan Fiske. (It was his son that won a
lap top computer at our OMA meeting
in Florence a few years ago). I hope
that we might get more entrants this
year. It is open to elementary classes
3rd grade and up, middle school, and
high school. We have a new coun-
cilor to serve out Dan Fiske’s term,
long time city recorder Charles “Jim”
Polk. The city is still in verily good
shape but we need to perform a lot of
maintenance to keep everything up
to date. Some of our equipment is 20
years old, we are trying to upgrade
things as we need them. It’s next to
impossible to get spare parts to repair
some of our equipment.
We try to stretch the dollar as far
as we can get it to go. Thank you for
electing me your
Mayor
Letters to the Editor
Illinois Valley News welcomes
Letters to the Editor.
Please e-mail them to
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
POLICY ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encour-
ages letters to the editor provided
they are legible and not libelous
or scurrilous. All letters must be
signed, including 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 com-
mentary, including statements
made as fact are strictly those
of the letter writers)
I Don’t Get It
I understand that we don’t
have the police service we
would like in the Illinois Val-
ley. I understand that the fam-
ily and friends of Jarrod Hous-
ton are upset about the lack of
an arrest at this point in time,
my heartfelt sympathy and
prayers go out to them. What
I don’t understand is what they
want to happen now. Is there
a suspect out there being ig-
nored by the police? What are
the police suppose to do, (I’m
not defending them, just ask-
ing)? I understand wanting to
keep the pressure on the police
to keep working this case, but
what do you do with no clues,
no witnesses, and nowhere to
go with this? I will continue
to pray for a swift arrest in
this matter. I only knew Jarrod
during his elementary school
years and he was a sweet boy.
He won’t be forgotten by those
whose lives he touched.
Debbie Messerli
Cave Junction
Take our country
back
It looks like your vote is
not as valuable as money. But,
it should be, because the per-
son you vote in should be able
to spend your money wisely.
Taxes…I have an idea…just
suppose enough of you pick
someone in your family,
friends etc. who would really
work hard for us and spend
tax dollars wisely and write
their name to Letters to the
Editor. Really, get their name
out there. And why you think
they would do a great job as
commissioner. That person
shouldn’t have to buy the posi-
tion. Remember these words?
Together we stand, divided we
fall? It’s true. Big bucks don’t
mean you will. Do the right
thing. Time is slipping away.
So let’s get started. Pick some-
one. Write to all the newspa-
pers. Tell them who you think
would be the best person for
the job. Keep doing it so when
it’s time to vote their name
will be out there. Have you no-
ticed I.V doesn’t get the help
it deserves from your taxes?
Yet we pay our fair share…
look it’s simple. If the sheriff
wants to hire deputies, “and he
does,” the deputies can’t work
for free. They have rent, gas,
food and families too. We need
law enforcement, so let’s get
some commissioners in there
that will help do it right.
Somehow the tax dollars
seem to slip through the gen-
eral fund cracks and the sheriff
gets blamed for not doing his
job. They can’t work for free.
So, now we have to take care
of ourselves. But wait. When
we protect each other and make
a mistake in doing so you can
bet the D.A.’s office system
can find the funds to fine the
hell out of you and/or lock you
up. Right? But the heavy drug
dealers still seem to get a pass.
Over night, then get out again.
Now then let’s first start
with getting signatures for the
recall. We have power to do
so. We don’t need big brother/
sister baby-sitting us. We can
make decisions on our own.
Have you had a Big Gulp
lately? Yea, you know what I
mean. And let’s not forget O…
care or careless.
Let’s make a difference.
Clean up our neighborhood.
Take our country back. Vote!
But, don’t vote for the big
bucks. Vote for someone that
will truly work for us. We
don’t want big government.
Ken LeGaux
Selma
I llInoIs V alley F uneral D Irectors
www.since1928Hull.com
Save Jan. The
Date
22
Wed, January 22nd – Movie:
Pipe Dreams, 6 p.m. Across the
heartland of America, farmers and
landowners are fighting to protect
their land, their water, and their live-
lihood in what has become the most
controversial environmental battle
in the U.S. today: The Keystone XL
Pipeline.
Jan. 23
An OSU Extension sponsored
class on January 23, 2014, from 8:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. Held at OSU Extension
Auditorium, 569 Hanley Rd, Central
Point, OR. Cost is $15 each; $20 farm
duo; $35 friends of farms. To regis-
ter-
http://wholesalesuccessthrive.
bpt.me/ This class is a great soup-
to-nuts overview of selling produce
into the wholesale channel, and is de-
signed for small and mid-sized fruit
and vegetable growers interested in
entering into or expanding their sales.
Illinois
Valley
News
Published weekly by
W.H. Alltheway, LLC
Daniel J. Mancuso, Publisher
This “Wholesale Success” training
was developed by FamilyFarmed.org
and the USDA. It is the gold standard
for learning the best practices in food
safety, post-harvest handling and
produce packing. The all-day profes-
sional training includes lunch and a
complimentary copy of “Wholesale
Success: A Farmer’s Guide to Food
Safety, Selling, Post-harvest Han-
dling and Packing Produce”, a 312-
page manual, $70 value.
For questions call Maud Powell
at SOREC, 541-776-7371, ext. 208;
or by email: maud.powell@oregon-
state.edu for more information.
Wed, January 8th thru Friday,
January 31st - Fine Amnesty Days
Nonperishable food and pet item
donations will go to the Josephine
County Food Bank and Animal Shel-
ter. Each donated item credits $5 to-
ward overdue fees regardless of how
long the item/s may have been over-
due.
POSTMASTER: Please send
address changes to P.O. Box 1370,
Cave Junction OR 97523
Illinois Valley News is published at
221 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
Jan. 24
LBMS is hosting a Family $1.00
movie night on Friday, January 24
from 6:00 to 8:30pm in our Cafeteria.
Nachos, beverages, snacks and pop-
corn will be available for purchase
at $1.00 each. Movie – Disney’s
PLANES - entrance fee is $1.00 per
person, LBMS gold card holder is
free and under 5 free. Movie will
start at 6:30pm. LBMS is located at
101 S. Junction Ave., Cave Junction.
For information phone Lorna Byrne
Middle School at 541-592-2136
Jan. 25
The IVCDO is developing a
list of volunteers to match up with
tasks we will be responsible for in the
maintenance of the Forks Park. There
are some minimal requirements for
volunteers, one of them being knowl-
edge of basic safety rules while work-
ing out there. We have scheduled a
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine
County - $30.50
One year in Jackson and
Douglas counties - $32.50
One year in all other
Oregon counties and
out-of-state - $39.00
Illinois Valley News does not refund subscriptions.
Remainder of subscription will be donated to the
charity of your choice.
541-592-4110
Saturday morning session with a Park
Ranger from Valley of the Rogue
State Park leading us thru the required
material. The session is scheduled for
January 25 at the Kerby Belt Build-
ing at 10 a.m. Any interested people
should contact Willa Gustavson at
541-592-0335.
Jan. 29
Wed, January 29th – Craft
Night: Needle Felting, 6 p.m. located
at the I.V. Library Branch. Join Ro-
chelle and Roberta for a fun evening
of needle felting. Don’t know how?
Don’t worry, they’ll show you quick
and easy ways to get started.
Feb. 1 & 2
I.V. Little League will be hold-
ing early registrations days. Feb. 1 and
2 at the Illinois Valley Golf Course.
Early registration price $65, original
birth certificate and three proofs of
residency are required. Proofs must
be dated between Feb. 1 of 2013 to
Feb. 1 of 2014. For more info. Con-
tact Jenna Larkin at 541-592-9899
Feb. 22
Tired of Winter? Join us for
“LOVE BOAT – A
Caribbean
Cruise!” 5 – 9 pm, Saturday, Feb. 22,
at Selma Community Center! 5 pm:
Silent Auction, No-Host Bar & Rum-
ba Lesson. 6 pm: Dinner Catered by
The Vine Restaurant, Dance to Oregon
Little Big Band Duo & Live Auction.
Formal or Resort Wear Please! $25
person, $40 couple. Tickets: Ever-
green Federal Bank, C.J. or G.P. main
branch. No ticket sales after Feb. 14!
Special Thanks to Deer Creek Vine-
yards, Evergreen Federal Bank, Wild
River Brewing & Pizza. Fundraiser
for Illinois River Valley Arts Coun-
cil’s public benefit programs. www.
irvac.com 541-592-4444.
News - Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Circulation - Kimberly Potter
office@illinois-valley-news.com
Advertising / Composition
Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Mailroom - Millie Watkins
Office Manager-Laura Mancuso
office@illinois-valley-news.com
DEADLINES:
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Display Ads, Announce-
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5 P.M. FRIDAYS
POLICY ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encour-
ages letters to the editor pro-
vided they are legible and not
libelous or scurrilous. All let-
ters must be signed, including
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 discre-
tion of the publisher.