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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2016)
The Valley’s #1 News Source Since 1937 Illinois Valley News Wednesday, April 13, 2016, 1 Section, Volume 79 No. 4 75c Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523 Pineville profits while Erickson still flies at I.V. Ouch! Judy Hoyle IVN Contributing Writer 2015 was a contentious year for I.V. Airport, beginning with the collapse of a development deal with Manor Community Development Corporation that would have created an industrial park devoted to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle research and ending with the loss of a deal with Erickson Air Crane to develop a helipad and support structures. For two days last week, Erickson was flying in and out of I.V. Airport, as they have done for many years. In a recent email to Illinois Valley News, Josephine County Airports Manager Larry Graves expressed his frustration with the situation and stated, “Erickson is flying at the I.V. Airport as much if not more than they would have, had they gotten the lease for a training range, and we’re not getting a nickel from them. Because we don’t have a lease with Erickson, not only are we getting no revenue and no capital investment, we have ZERO leverage with which to negotiate better flying hours, days or flight patterns. “Erickson has every right to access our public use airports, and I have no sympathy for the people who prevented an economic contract between the county and Erickson, a contract which might have given us some ability to discuss the terms and conditions of their flight activities.” In the email, Graves included information from Crook County Airport manager Kelly Coffelt, detailing the amount of economic activity that area has realized from Erickson’s move to Prineville. “The first month of fuel sales (March only) amounted to $70,000 worth of fuel with an additional $1,500 in fuel flowage fees. Erickson has provided approximately $150,000 in improvements, including a staging area, helipad and an access road. They have plans in the fall to place concrete for the pad and asphalt in the staging area.” Due to the distance from their Medford base, four to eight man crews and pilots have been staying in Prineville motels for three or four nights a week and going to area restaurants. The Prineville land lease is approximately $5,000 per year. The proposed I.V. Airport lease would have been $8,500. In the face of the impending loss of 60 jobs at Rough and Ready Mill, many are wondering if our community can forge a strategy to create or attract family wage jobs to the Illinois Valley. If those jobs involve I.V. Airport, it is to be expected that our valley will experience more noise. Graves stated, “People need to realize that just one of the many contributions of an airport to its community is as a magnet for development and capital improvement funds. This year and next, the FAA is pouring over $2 million into capital improvements at I.V. Airport. Local companies can and should bid on these projects when they come up.” While some comments from I.V. Airport Advisory Board (IVAAB) meetings have been incorporated into the upcoming IVCDO 20/20 Visioning Strategic Plan, no meeting has been organized to specifically gather ideas for airport development acceptable to the community. The I.V. Airport is already highly regulated. The following facts about I.V. Airport and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules should be considered in any discussion. I.V. Airport revenues are generated through fuel sales flowage fees paid per gallon to the county; ground leases for exclusive use land, including county, private and corporate hangars; and emergency land use agreements with various wildfire fighting agencies for helibases. The Airports Enterprise Fund Operational Budget is over $700,000 annually for both airports. I.V. Airport is subsidized by operations at Grants Pass Airport. The I.V. Airport is a public facility funded by the FAA and must be operated in a self-sufficient manner. FAA Grant Assurance rules stipulate: “When airport owners or sponsors, planning agencies, or other organizations accept funds from FAA-administered airport financial assistance programs, they must agree to certain obligations (or assurances)...” A hostile environment to airport development violates assurances made by Josephine County officials to the FAA. Current I.V. Airport based businesses include “The Flying Machine” a full-service aircraft fuel, maintenance and repair facility, “Captain Drake’s Family Aerial Adventures” flight school, and “Kinetic Aerospace,” a design consulting business. In addition, several Valley businesses use airplanes based at I.V. Airport, including Rough and Ready Lumber Company, Taylor’s Sausage Country Store and Rogue Truck Body. I.V. Data Center owns 12 hangars. The Smokejumper Museum operates on a donation basis. SEE AIRPORT ON A-10 (Photo by Dale Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept) Roger Brandt plays the part of an injured resident during the CERT training held on Dick George Rd. Saturday, April 9. Getting ready for the ‘Big One’ Judy Hoyle IVN Contributing Writer The annual number of “great” earthquakes nearly tripled over the past decade, a reminder to residents of the Pacific Northwest that unruptured faults like the Cascadian Subduction Zone running along the Oregon coast might be due for the Big One. Scientists estimate a magnitude 9 quake centered near Astoria occurred in 1700. If such a thing were to happen today, thousands would be killed as a wall of water would come ashore well inland, and Illinois Valley would feel the effects of the earthquake itself. Kenneth Murphy, who directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region X, the division responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, was quoted in a 2015 article in “The New Yorker” magazine as saying, “Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast.” Some Illinois Valley residents are planning and preparing for the Big One by completing Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. April 9, the I.V. CERT team staged a training session at Bridgeview Church to practice triage techniques in the case of an earthquake. I.V. Fire District (IVFD) Division Chief Kris Sherman said, “This past weekend was part of the quarterly training we do to keep our skill sets up in event of an emergency. CERT volunteers are part of the I.V. Fire District. In the event of a major earthquake, our volunteers will go out to check on their neighbors and do home assessments for earthquake damage. “We had simulated victims so the CERT volunteers could practice triage. It’s our job to assess the needs in our valley and report up the chain of command. If roads are open we would figure out the number of ambulances needed or the number of helicopters and get them to the right hospitals. In a very large quake, area hospitals would be overwhelmed and we might need to send critically injured people out of the region to Bend or elsewhere,” he said. IVFD will be offering a free six day CERT Basic Training Class over three weekends, April 22-23, April 29-30 and May 13-14. Applications are available at Fire Station One, 681 Caves Hwy. in Cave Junction. IVCDO chair Roger Brandt, who played one of the victims during this practice session said, “The CERT training will help assure there is someone in your neighborhood who has the ability to communicate with other CERT members during catastrophic events to provide immediate and well informed updates that will help residents get help quickly and evacuate safely.” SEE CERT ON A-10 RCC looks to expand services in Kerby Judy Hoyle IVN Contributing Writer Rogue Community College (RCC) operates an outreach facility at the Kerby Belt Building (KBB). An upcoming ballot measure proposed by RCC, #17-69 is a 20 year bond levy of 5 cents per thousand of assessed value for property owners. This levy would amount to $10 per year for a home with an assessed value of $200,000. If passed, the levy would allow RCC to further develop the commercial kitchen at the KBB as part of their Small Business Development Center (SBDC). In a telephone interview, SBDC Director Ronald Goss stated, “If the bond passes, we would be able to use some of the funds to do a lot more expansive job on the commercial kitchen project. This bond is focused on career and technical education training. In our rural area, that’s sorely needed to have those kinds of opportunities. We’re all interesting in having our kids succeed.” “We have approached Josephine County to provide initial seed funds to upgrade the current range to a commercial propane gas range. We’re also looking at a refrigeration upgrade to a 35 cubic foot commercial unit,” Goss said. “We’re in the process of getting commercial certification for the kitchen. The bond would then provide additional funds for a Steam Proofer (steam cabinet) Steamer (vegetables), and a commercial dehydrator; all essential farm-to-table food processing equipment.” “We plan to partner with the OSU extension office to create a food technology group that would create labeling and evaluate potential shelf life. This way we could help entrepreneurs to turn their home grown recipes into commercial products,” Goss said. RCC SBDC partners with the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCDO) in managing the I.V. Business Entrepreneurial Center (IVBEC) at the KBB. Goss said, “The IVBEC is poised to increase utilization of the kitchen and through our SBDC micro-loan enterprise project, we can help potential entrepreneurs. We hope to make this facility more of an enterprise center to support business ideas for folks who want to grow or expand a business. The real key to getting them started is access to capital, and the IVCDO Small Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) does just that.” IVBEC business development coordinator Kenny Houck said, “The IVCDO Small Business RLF is the only small business lending fund available in our county whose sole purpose is for small business loans and development. We currently have $280,000 lent out in 20 active loans.” Classes currently offered through the SBDC at the KBB include: Quickbooks, Excel and social media marketing, business planning through “Smart Start Your Business” and assistance with human resource management. For example, last year SBDC consultant Tim Busald helped management at the Chateau at the Oregon Caves with team building exercises that helped improve employee morale and cohesiveness. In addition to these services, longstanding RCC services at the KBB include remedial training to prepare students to pass the General Education Development (GED) test, a high school equivalency diploma in science, math, social studies, reading and writing. SEE BELT ON A-10
