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Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 1 Section, 12 Pages, Volume 77 No. 50 Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
Oregon’s next
Happy Birthday Oregon!
governor celebrates
state’s 156th
birthday
Martha Bellisle
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Making her first official
public appearance since Gov. John Kitzhaber announced his
resignation amid an ethics scandal, Oregon governor-to-be Kate
Brown was swarmed by media and well-wishers as she entered
the Oregon Historical Society at an event marking the state’s
156th birthday.
Brown avoided any mention of her new job or the
criminal investigation into the man she is set to replace. Instead,
she vowed protect the state’s beautiful landscape and people.
“Our task, our challenge is to make sure we keep Oregon
the very special place that it is and I look forward to working
with you to make sure that happens,” she said Saturday. “So
happy birthday, Oregon.”
See Oregon on A-10
Oregon became the 33rd state on Feb. 14, 1859. Today, Oregon is the 9th largest and 27th most
populous U.S. state.
High levels of crime hurt everyone
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
“Crime in the Illinois Valley is extremely
high,” said Sheriff Dave Daniel. “There’s been
a recent influx of heroin in the Valley, and those
who need that drug, need the money to support
their habit. Word on the street is that this
drug is coming in big shipments. This kind of
activity is cyclical; and it spikes crime, which
hurts everyone. We need to find the people
involved.”
Daniel stressed the importance of citizens
keeping their eyes open and networking
within their neighborhoods and working with
neighborhood watch groups, which he says “are
an incredible asset.”
“Even if you haven’t communicated with
your neighbors before, now is the time to open
up those lines of communication,” Daniel said.
“If your neighborhood doesn’t have a watch
group, you need to form one.”
Daniel also stressed the importance of
reporting any and all crime incidents.
“Nationally there is a huge shift toward
statistical-based law enforcement. This helps
us locate and identify particular crime hot
spots and hot issues, so these statistics are very
important,” Daniel said. “Even more so, in a
fund-limited environment, we really need to
know where to put the energy and investigation.
We have to focus our resources, and if we don’t
know where crime is occurring, we’ll focus
elsewhere.”
Daniel added that he understands how
“incredibly frustrating” it is to not have someone
answering the phone at the Sheriff’s office, and
added that he’s working hard to remedy the
situation.
“Even if it’s just to talk to someone to
report a crime, to help discern if it meets the
criteria for determining if a deputy visit is
needed, people want to talk to a live person, not
a machine,” Daniel said.
In the meantime, Daniel wants people to
utilize the Cave Junction substation and the
Internet to report crimes and provide tips, as
“any information we gain is helpful.”
Volunteers staff the substation Monday and
Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Tuesdays
and Thursdays, from 1-4 p.m.
According to volunteer Linda Butler, these
hours should be increasing, as more volunteers
get involved.
“If people want to be part of the solution,
we can always use more volunteers,” Butler
said.
See Crime on A-10
Volunteers helping the community children
By
Cilicia Philemon
IVN Contributing Writer
Illinois River Valley Arts
Council (IRVAC) is a nonprofit
organization in Southern Oregon’s
Illinois Valley that supports artists,
schools, residents and tourism
through a spectrum of programs
which foster artistic expression and
creativity.
One aspect of this is called
Learning Through Art (LTA)
in which members of IRVAC
volunteer at Lorna Byrne Middle
School (LBMS) and Evergreen
Elementary to help the arts
educators with projects which
are designed to combine with the
subjects the students are studying.
LTA projects bring a local and
worldwide perspective and young
people receive training in the
arts from professionals and other
community members in a positive
and supportive environment. They
are passionate about bringing art and
cultural experiences to the youth of
the Illinois Valley.
LTA began in the summer
of 2003 with the Biscuit Fire
Photography project and has grown
to include projects that serve a
large number of local children.
LTA works closely with teachers to
bring proactive experiences in art,
culture, history, dance, music and the
environment.
For example, the students will
be exploring ancient Egypt soon
and they will be crafting plaster
cartouches with hieroglyphics
illustrating their names and an image
of one of the many gods in Egyptian
cosmology. A project was recently
completed in which the children
made mosaics by cutting colored mat
IVFD to the rescue!
board into small squares and gluing
them to a backing to get a feel for
art in the Renaissance. When China
was the subject, the students made
paper from pulp and learned how to
use brush painting to create Chinese
calligraphy.
Typically, these projects
involve two class periods over two
days, every few weeks. They give
the students a hands-on appreciation
for the subject. Fine motor skills
and math skills are honed when
the children are able to use artists’
tools, media, and techniques while
expressing their creativity. The
(Photo courtesy of the IVFD Media Dept.
See Art on A-10
County removes temporary
from fair manager’s title
By
Cilicia Philemon
IVN Contributing Writer
Feb. 16, the Illinois Valley Fire District, Rural Metro and AMR responded to
a reported structure fire in the 800 block of Draper Valley Road. First arriv-
ing units found a 20x40 guest house well involved. The structure was unoc-
cupied and was being used for storage. Units were able to get the fire knocked
down quickly and the remaining incoming units helped with cleanup. The
fire was confined to the building of origin and the structure is a complete loss.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
students all agree that participation
in these projects is educational, as
well as fun.
Kathy Ryan is a LTA member
who volunteers with the program.
She says,” I am a retired teacher
and I love working with children.
I engage with students who create,
imagine, construct and produce
a work of art. I assist and clarify
directions. The projects relate to a
culture in the world, and the students
are studying that culture at the time
of the project.”
The Josephine County
Fair is an annual event that
many look forward to with
eager
anticipation. After
changing locations a few
times, the first one was held at
its new permanent location in
1927 and has been held there
continuously except during
WWII [1942-1945] when the
Fairgrounds was requisitioned
to assist in the war effort.
Fairs have long been a
popular attraction in Josephine
County
and
originally
were hosted by different
organizations. The State of
Oregon outlined how County
Fair Boards would be governed
in June 1913 and specified that
each county would have one
fair covering all interests for
the whole county.
However, in recent years,
attendance at the Josephine
County Fair had dropped off
dramatically and the future of
the fairgrounds has been in
doubt. A new manager, Mary
Groves was hired temporarily,
and she brought many new
ideas with her which enlivened
the annual event and made it
more relevant and interesting
for the current generation.
As a result, the last
Josephine County Fair was
one of the best in years. This
was the 100th Anniversary,
and the community came out
and celebrated in a very big
way. Groves was then hired on
a permanent basis.
“When you build the
entertainment, displays and
food offering, you never know
if people are going to show
up,” says Groves. “We were so
amazed at how the community
supported this year’s special
100th Anniversary Fair.”
Some of her plans for
the fairgrounds this year
include a Spring Garden
Show, Homebuilders Show,
Tuff Trucks with IV Lions
Club, Horse Racing, Truck
and Tractor Pulls and Fair
and Swap meets. Groves is
also working on marketing
the 30 full hookup RV Park
at the fairgrounds. She plans
to continue to rebuild for the
community and to have a
fun fair with something for
everyone.
Groves is from Ashland,
and her background is in
banking for 22 years, retail and
trucking. She is married with
four grown children and six
grandchildren. She says, “I’m
pretty sure my hobby is fixing
things at the fairgrounds. Not
much time for anything else.”
She adds, “Thank you! Keep
up the community support!”