Page A-10
MINER
...
Continued from A-1
“We hold there is no local
jurisdiction to regulate this
particular activity, and that a
developmental permit is not
appropriate or requisite here,” Hare
said.
John West and his business
partner in the Brimstone Natural
Resource Company want to use
excavators and dump trucks above
the high water mark of Brimstone
Creek to mine for what he believes
is $250,000 worth of placer gold on
a patented mining claim.
The site is less than 2 miles
(3.2 kilometers) from the site of
another controversial Brimstone
mining project. It’s another 4 miles
(6.4 kilometers) to the Sunny
Valley Sand & Gravel site east of
Interstate 5 on Placer Road, where
residents fought a plan to mine
millions of cubic yards of gravel.
Both projects were approved by the
county after a long legal process
that included appeals to the state’s
Land Use Board of Appeals.
“They got it right,” West
said of Friday’s decision. “They
followed the law.”
Disagreeing was Steve Rouse
of the group Rogue Advocates,
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 21, 2017
which has fought every Sunny
Valley mining project in recent
years. He said rules adopted more
than a decade ago direct the county
to regulate mining in riparian
corridors.
“We’re sorting through this
very unusual set of events with our
attorneys, and we will pursue this
by all means necessary to make
sure county and state laws are
complied with,” Rouse said.
Residents from the dozen
or so households on Brimstone
Road were also unhappy with
commissioners. They are concerned
about noise, safety and truck traffic.
The victory for Southern
Oregon miners came days after they
suffered a defeat in Salem.
The Oregon House gave final
legislative approval to a bill that
would ban suction dredges on most
waterways in the area. Wild-salmon
advocates say the process damages
spawning grounds and rearing
habitat. Miners contend that current
laws already protect salmon habitat
and that no peer-reviewed study
on suction dredging proves it’s
ruinous.
“A certain amount of mining
activity has to be, or should be
allowed, before you get into this
whole bureaucratic hassle,” said
Tom Kitchar of Cave Junction.
HIKER
...
Continued from A-1
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Perennial class favorite Mr. Ryan Lathen readies to
address the Class of 2017 Wednesday, June 7.
IVFD
...
Continued from A-1
Dickson is well-
known within the area for
her community service.She
founded the “To Catch a Thief
Illinois Valley” Facebook
page back in 2008, was on the
board of the Illinois Valley
Safe House Alliance, was part
of one of the Ford Foundation
cohorts that helped put in
the disc golf course at Forks
Park, was one of the founding
membersof the Valley Girls
Quilt Show and is also on
the scholarship screening
committee for the Illinois
Valley High School’s Alumni
Association.
Reflecting back, her
favorite part of being on the
IVFD’s Board of Directors
was getting to know the staff
and volunteers and learning
more about what the fire
service is and what they do.
“I would like to thank
the public for supporting
the levy to hire the four new
firefighters,” Dickson said
in her final statement, “They
will put them to good use
and the citizens of the Illinois
Valley will benefit greatly
from that.”
So Denberg headed
back the way he came, toward
Babyfoot Lake, OK with
cutting his trip early with an
out and back. But by then, the
Chetco was too high to ford
safely.
Monday afternoon
came, and Matt’s friends grew
worried. By Tuesday, June 15,
Josephine County Search and
Rescue had planes searching
for Denberg along the Leach
Memorial Loop.
Denberg had heard the
planes, and tried to wave them
down with his orange bag.
“Because of the canyon, they
could not see him,” McGloon
said.
By Wednesday, the U.S.
Coast Guard had mobilized
and McGloon was flying
along the loop, which she was
familiar with after going to a
recent presentation on hiking
in the Kalmiopsis in Grants
Pass.
She took the helicopter
toward Bailey Mountain,
and from there down to the
Chetco. “We had him in
seven minutes,” she said. “He
was waving a white piece of
tyvek.”
Then pilots let down a
300 foot rope with a radio so
Denberg could confirm his
identity and that he needed
help.
“These guys were
amazing. The hilo didn’t
move. We confirmed it was
him and he was happy to see
us. They found a spot and
they lowered the basket and
got him and all his stuff. They
got that done in two minutes,”
McGloon explained.
Denberg, a Eugene
resident, is in good condition.
“He was in good
spirits,” McGloon added. She
emphasizes the importance
of using a good signal when
trying to get found. “A
cellphone, the flash of your
camera; you don’t think of that
stuff when you’re stressed.”
With unseasonably high
streams, and the potential
of marine storms to bring
them even higher, hikers and
backpackers need to take
careful diligence in planning
ahead. “He was testing the
water level with a stick,”
McGloon said. “It didn’t go
down much.”