Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Page A-9
Winding Trails: by Al Hobart
Thursday, June 9, 1966
Illinois Valley News
Missing child
The disturbing episode that
has taken place in our small Illinois
Valley community lately is not an
unfamiliar one, as anyone knows
who is alert to the offerings of the
various news media. But the shock
and drama are brought home to us
with much greater impact when the
event takes place in our very midst,
as this one did, especially when the
object of our concern was a tender
little three-year-old boy.
Little Wilson Mann, who
supposedly strayed from his home
into the surrounding woods, never
came back and cannot be found.
His disappearance touched off a
manhunt that could not be surpassed
in intensity of both feeling and
endeavor. For several days and
nights the intensive hunt went on,
all likely and impossible places
for miles around being peered
into hopefully by the hundreds of
eager searchers, but little Wilson’s
whereabouts remains as much a
mystery as ever.
Now the intensive but
fruitless search has been called
off. Frustrated and sad, the army
of searchers has been forced to give
up. The small, wide-eyed object
of their search has eluded them. It
seems incredible that when so many
have tried so hard for so long that
the missing mite could have been
overlooked. Yet such a circumstance
is entirely possible. In the near-
freezing right temperatures the little
chap could very well have bur rowed
under a heap of forest debris, lost
consciousness from hunger, fatigue
or exposure, and lain undetected
within feet of passing hunters. But
considering the scope and intensity
of the search, this seems improbable.
Then what has become of
the sweet-faced missing boy, only
a short space of time away from
babyhood? Terrified and helpless
against the rigors of cold, rain and
panic, there is no predicting what
he might have done. Accident is
the logical assumption – falling
into water, old mining shafts, or
pits -- but it can be reasonably
assumed that no such deathtrap has
been overlooked by the dedicated
multitude that has almost literally
covered every foot of terrain within
a reasonable distance of the boy’s
home.
Failure to find the little fellow
is, of course, a bitter disappointment
to the community, whose collective
heart went out to the child the instant
he was reported missing. Crews of
the Valley’s workers left their jobs
to search for the missing boy; the
women flocked to the search area
with mountains of home-prepared
food and drink for the hundreds
of tired, hungry searchers. It was
all a heartwarming demonstration
of community one-ness in time of
heart-breaking trouble – even though
the end result was apparent failure.
Now the search has officially ended,
but the question still remains: What
has happened to little Wilson Mann?
The logical action to have taken
when the boy was reported missing
was to institute a thorough search of
the immediate neighborhood, then
broadening the field to a perimeter
beyond which he couldn’t have
reasonably strayed. This was done,
with the result we are now familiar
with.
There are other alternatives,
including the possibility of
abduction. Whether any other
investigations into the disappearance
are contemplated doesn’t seem to
be known locally. But this much is
definitely known: There are many
persons in our community, and
among them those who came in from
outside to help, who are very much
concerned about the disappearance
of one small boy from our midst
and want to know what has become
of him. If he is alive, we want him
brought back. If he is dead, we want
to know it, and to know why and
how he met his death. Only then
will we consider the search ended,
the case of little Wilson Mann
closed.
ROGUE VALLEY Senior Corner
For local resources call the ADrC at 1-855-673-2372
COUNCIL
OF GOVERNMENTS
Food & Friends Menu
Friday – JUNE 10
Let’s talk about driving
Did you know 90 percent of se-
niors say they rely on driving for
the independence to go where they
want, when they want and the idea of
giving up driving sparks feelings of
anger, frustration and helplessness.
Having an open conversation with
seniors about what options they have
can make them feel more comfortable
during this transition.
To help families start this conversa-
tion – and keep families safe on the
VEGETABLE LASAGNA
MoNday – JUNE 13
CHICKEN A LA KING
WEdNESday - JUNE 15
ROAST TURKEY
W/ GRAVY
If you need meals
delivered please call
541-955-8839.
road – the Medford Home Instead
Senior Care has launched a free
community program called Let’s
Talk about DrivingSM (www.Let-
sTalkAboutDriving.com). With this,
families will find a Safe Driving Plan-
ner to help seniors assess their driving
habits, along with free resources and
tips to help families create a roadmap
for reducing or stopping driving when
the time is right.
Please visit this website to let them
know if they can connect you with
Sponsored by
Illinois Valley Wellness Resources
recently received a letter from a Cave
Junction man. We will repeat some of
that letter here. We have changed things
a bit so he probably will not be recog-
nized:
‘I remember going to the doctor and
having a complete looking into. I have
been a patient here for several years
and I don’t remember having my eyes
looked into, nor my nose, nor my ears,
nor my throat. My neck hasn’t been felt,
my armpits haven’t been felt. My stom-
ach hasn’t been prodded either. Much of
my skin hasn’t been looked at.’
What this man is revealing is a
memory of a high quality medical
i.V. Wellness resources
physical examination and what appears
to be a complaint about the results of
a decreased standard of care. Are you
getting a high quality medical exam? IV
Wellness Resources will try to give you
the basics of a good medical exam and
the reasons all aspects of that exam are
important. To begin, here is an outline
of the different components:
-Personal Medical History
-Vital Signs: Blood Pressure, Heart
Rate, -Respiratory Rate, Body Tempera-
ture
-General Appearance
-Heart Exam
-Lung Exam
-Head and Neck Exam
Poets Portion
newly emergent
Springtime dreams
our sister river
sings her frothy tune
invisible crickets
serenading the moon
some catchy liquid lullaby
a sylvan syncopation
-cord macguire
OPEN CLASSIC & ANTIQUE CAR SHOW
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Jubilee Park Cave Junction, Oregon
In the beautiful Illinois Valley Gateway to the Oregon Caves
Hosted by
The Cave Junction Lions Club
~~ EVENT SCHEDULE ~~
Registration at Gate - 7 to 11am
ch
lun se
Show & Shine - 12noon to 4pm
d
an rcha
t
s
u
p
50/50 and Raffle Drawings - throughout the day
fa
for
eak
Br lable
i
Trophies and Awards - 3pm
va
50’
s an
d 6
0’s
DJ
Mus
10a
ic
m t
o 3p
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a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-registration $25.00
Trailer Parking Available
Registration $30.00 at the gate
Vehicles MUST be 1986 or older
No Burn Outs or Excessive Noise
More information: Harry Johnson 541-596-2104 cavejunctionlions@frontier.com
Make check payable to, and mail by June 11, 2016 to:
Cave Junction Lions PO Box 1971 Cave Junction OR 97523
(Pre-Registration entry forms must be postmarked by June 11 th )
Printed Name: _______________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________
City: ________________________ST: ____ Zip: ________Club Name: __________________
email: ___________________________________Phone: ____________________________
Signature (required) __________________________________________ Date: ______________
Please complete reverse side for car information and signature for Hold Harmless
There is a limited quantity of t-shirts available; and are only available as long as each size lasts.
EVENT
Indicate
Large ____
quantity
XXL ____
XXXL ____
POCKET
XL ____
ordered:
T-SHIRTS
FOR SALE
With
pre-registration
$10 each
$10 each
$10 each
After 6/11/16:
$20 each
$20 each
$20 each
a local aging and senior care expert,
who is available to discuss the pro-
gram, along with:
•Why it is important to proactively
speak with seniors about this, so they
can have an active role in the process,
•How to start the conversation with
older loved ones, and
•Solutions to help seniors continue
driving safely.
For more local resources call the
ADRC at 1-855-673-2372.
Senior Bulletin
FREE Chair Fitness
Classes Monday and
Wednesdays from 2-2:45
p.m. at Healthy U at 535 E.
River St, 541-592-4888.
For assistance with
spaying and neutering cats
please call 541-956-7587.
-Abdominal Exam
-Neurological Exam
-Dermatological Exam
-Extremities Exam
Check the Classifieds on
-Different Specific exams for Men and
A-11 for a caregiver ad.
Women
A quality exam should include all of
these components. Each component has
Free for Seniors
its own important aspects. We will try
If you are a senior and
to cover the most important of these. If
any of the components is missing from
want to place a FREE
the exam, for example the skin isn’t
AD for a living or health
looked at, a life threatening condition
care need call Laura at
(melanoma) could be left undetected.
541-592-2541 or email
All the components listed above are im-
laura@illinois-valley-
portant. In coming articles we will give
news.com.
you specific information.