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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 BIOCHAR . . . Continued from A-5 This also works with a stack of old lumber: crisscross the boards in layers making sure there is an inch or two of air space between each board. Pile small brush on top and light it. Old boards can be the worst for smoky smoldering, but your pile will burn quick and clean. Now comes the final requirement for a clean, safe burn that makes biochar for your garden: you need water. Have a hose on hand, and when your pile collapses to a mound of glowing coals, spray it with water. Spread the charcoal out thin to cool and keep spraying with water till it’s cold. Wait a day and then gather up the charcoal and put it in your compost pile. The carbon that would have gone up in smoke will go back into the soil instead where it can do the most good. Make sure you get your burn permit and follow the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality open burning rules. Your burn will not only be cleaner and safer, it will also get done much more quickly and save you time. Wilson Biochar Associates and the Umpqua Biochar Education Team will be demonstrating this biochar burning method at the Southern Oregon Firewise Expo at Jackson County Fire District 3 headquarters in White City May 12-13. We hope to see you there. You can also find more information about biochar and clean burning at the UBET website: www. ubet.blogspot.com and at my website at: www. wilsonbiochar.com. Page A-9 it’s no wonder things have changed in wonder Jason McMillen IVN Contributing Writer The Wonder General Store on Redwood Hwy. recently came under new management as of Jan. 28. Nik Baker, a seasoned small-business owner with around 30 years of experience, mostly from his auto body shop in Kerby, is confident that the business will continue to thrive under his ownership. The previous owners spent an entire month training Baker and his wife Susette because it was their first experience running a grocery. It resulted in a decidedly smooth transition. “Without that we would have been in big trouble,” Baker concluded, “They were really at good teaching us.” The previous owners decided to sell the store to retire and then Baker, who has had back problems that ultimately forced him to quit the auto body business, jumped at the chance to buy the store for his wife who will be running the day- to-day operations. “My back went to hell after about three surgeries,” Baker said, laughing for a moment before continuing, “I’ll be doing the repairs and helping her if she needs it.” Not content to just leave the store “as is” Baker has several projects all focused toward renovating the building. “We went and painted the store and we’re doing all kinds of improvements and all the locals are high-fiving us,” Baker said, proud to be exciting the community. In addition to cleaning up the place and renovating where necessary, he also plans to physically add onto the building so that he can include and sell hardware supplies. This addition is planned to start within the next few weeks and will become the first and only hardware store in Wonder. “I don’t want to leave the Valley. I like the Valley. Got all my kids here—my grand babies,” Baker said, when asked why he bought a business here as opposed to anywhere else. In total, he has been living in the Illinois Valley for 22 years and the vast majority of his family resides here as well. When asked about why the Illinois Valley was where he planted his roots all those years ago he simply replied that, “It’s real friendly.” In the future, the husband and wife team may decide to open a second location but for the moment they are taking things “one step at a time.” The Wonder General Store and Sandwich Shop is located at 11465 Redwood Hwy. and you can call them at 541-476-5954. (Photo by Laura Mancuso, Illinois Valley News) Susette (left) and Nik Baker behind the counter greeting and helping a customer in the newly renovated Wonder General Store Saturday, April 1. Now Open for Recreational Sales Monday-Sunday: 6aM-8pM
