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This edition is for the I.V.H.S. Class of 2014
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illinois-valley-news.com
Wednesday, June 4, 2014, 1 Section, 12 Pages, Volume 77 No. 13 Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
Moon Tree
run, firefighter
fair slated for
June 7
By
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
The Apollo 14 Moon
Tree Run and Firefighter Fair
promises to be bigger and bet-
ter than ever this year.
The event was impacted
by fire season in 2013, so
the sponsoring organizations
— Illinois Valley Volunteer
Firefighter Association (IV-
VFA), Healthy U, and the
Siskiyou Smokejumper Base
Museum (SSBM) — bumped
it up this year to Saturday,
June 7.
The event commemo-
rates Apollo 14 command
module pilot Stuart Roosa’s
carrying tree seeds to the
moon and back. One of the
seeds was later planted at the
I.V. Airport, where Roosa had
worked as a smokejumper.
The annual Apollo 14
Moon Tree Run, offering
participants their choice of
either a 5K or 10K run will
begin at 10 a.m. The run will
follow the same routes histori-
cally used by smokejumpers
for physical training when
the base was in operation. An
early bird registration fee for
the run ranges from $10 to
$15.
See Moon on A-10
(Photo by Dale Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept)
IVFD pulles a van up the embankment on Illinois River Road Sunday, June 1. No one was injured during the incident.
State declares start of fire season
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
The Oregon Department of Forestry declared the start of
fire season in the Southwest District on June 2. As a result, out-
door open burning is no longer allowed in Josephine or Jackson
counties.
Officials say that a lack of adequate rain over the winter
has left live trees and plants stressed and vulnerable to burning.
A lack of adequate spring rain means that dead branches, leaves
and other vegetation are unusually low on moisture content, ac-
cording to ODF Fire Prevention Specialist Brian Ballou.
ODF reported that a significant number of burn piles re-
cently escaping into small wildfires have become harder to con-
trol, prompting the state forester to call the season. The extended
forecast for summer in southwest Oregon predicts hotter and dri-
er than normal conditions, increasing the likelihood of wildfires
starting easily and increasing in size faster.
“There are not many places in southwest Oregon without a
significant amount of fire risk,” said Ballou, who noted that fire
crews have been out cutting excess vegetation near homes and
other areas in the county.
“Despite the recent rains, the area is still fairly dry,” he add-
ed. “Also, we’re doubly dry from the winter before last.”
New arts funding will
help pair of local schools
By
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
Lorna Byrne Middle
School was recently awarded
a multi-year grant from the
Oregon Community Foun-
dation for its new Studio to
School program.
The middle school, as
the lead institution, together
with Evergreen Elementary,
the Illinois River Valley Arts
Council and the I.V. Commu-
nity Development Organiza-
tion, will receive $222,840
over the next three years to
deliver ongoing arts educa-
tion. The funding comes at
a time when arts instruc-
tion budgets at many public
schools have been slashed,
especially in more rural ar-
eas.
Upon learning of the
grant award, LBMS Principal
Rachael George said, “We
are very excited and pleased
to hear that OCF will be help-
ing to support our Studio to
School project. This is a great
opportunity for students in the
Illinois Valley to be exposed
to movement and dance in
the general education class-
room with additional dance
experiences available during
after school hours.”
While 53 schools from
around the state applied for
the major grants, only 18
were selected. Applications
had to come from a partner-
ship between a successful
community arts organization
and a public school with pro-
grams in place that were ripe
for expansion.
The nonprofits needed
to have a solid track record
of delivering quality arts edu-
cation programming – and
the schools were required
to demonstrate a history of
providing arts education op-
portunities to students either
through dedicated arts spe-
cialists on staff, residencies,
or other in-school or out-of-
school-time activities.
The mission of the lead
arts organization, IRVAC, is
to enrich the lives of the resi-
dents of the Illinois Valley
by fostering creativity and
providing art education and
arts experiences. Education
activities include curriculum-
based hands-on activities
during the school day at both
the middle and elementary
schools.
Under the non-profit’s
aegis, a variety of after-school
arts activities also took place
at all three public schools
during the 2013-14 school
year, funded by the federal
21st Century Learning Cen-
ter grant program.
This new project in-
volves artist educators/farm-
ers Christopher Hall and
Gina Angelique of dancefarm
(www.dancefarm.org), a lo-
cal arts and agriculture part-
nership with a long history of
providing dance and theater
education in public schools
and conservatory settings in
the San Diego area.
The partners pursued the
OCF Studio to School grant
because parent engagement
and participation in school
activities is low. Also, class-
room teachers have reported
higher levels of engagement
by students participating in
arts learning.
See LBMS on A-10
The fire danger level is currently designated as “moderate”
and the Industrial Fire Precaution Level is at “one.” These decla-
rations affect all state, private, county and Bureau of Land Man-
agement (BLM) forestlands in Jackson and Josephine counties.
Fire season restrictions now in effect prohibit all debris
burning, except in burn barrels, which can be used until July 1,
though a burn permit must be obtained from ODF or the Illinois
Valley Fire District for this type of activity.
The U.S. Forest Service reports that the drier year also has
its staff ramping up preparations for what could be a busy fire
season. The agency has increased manpower by stationing ap-
proximately 135 firefighters on the Rogue River-Siskiyou Na-
tional Forest this season.
See Fire on A-9
Chateau gets new quilts
By
Barb Diebold
for the I.V.News
The Valley Girls Quilt Group is doing its
part to keep the guests at the Oregon Caves
Chateau warm and cozy with colorful quilts.
Group members recently presented three
traditional style quilts to the chateau staff.
The quilts were made by Joanie Sanford, who
crafted a queen-sized Roman Stripe quilt in
multi-colored stripes accented with black,
Carol Dickson who created a twin size Strip
Flip quilt in pastel colors, and Carol Gill who
made a twin-sized Log Cabin patterned quilt
in reds, blues and cream colors. Accepting the
quilts on behalf of the chateau were Chateau
manager Menno Kraai and Tammy Kopacze-
wsky, the chateau’s assistant manager.
In all, the quilters have donated five
quilts to the chateau in exchange for the fiscal
management services of the Illinois Valley
Community Development Organization, which
holds the concessionaire contract to operate the
chateau.
The quilters make up an informal group
that holds an annual quilt show at the Illinois
Valley Senior Center the third weekend in
October. Proceeds from the show, ticket sales
for the group’s opportunity quilt and a quilt
calendar are donated to local organizations that
benefit the youth of the valley. This years re-
cipients included the Illinois Valley Boys’ and
Girls’ Club and the Illinois Valley High School
football program.
Those interested in getting involved in
Valley Girls activities can contact Carol Dick-
son at 541-592-8521.
(Courtesy photo for The Illinois Valley News)
Members of the Valley Girls Quilt Group present quilts to Meno Kraai (left)