Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Weed killer ingredient going
on California list as cancerous
By
Scott Smith
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Regulators in California took
a pivotal step on Monday toward becoming the first state to
require the popular weed killer Roundup to come with a label
warning that it’s known to cause cancer.
Officials announced that starting July 7 the weed killer’s
main ingredient, glyphosate, will appear on a list California
keeps of potentially cancerous chemicals. A year later, the
listing could come with warning labels on the product,
officials said.
However, it’s not certain whether Roundup will
ultimately get a warning label.
Monsanto, the chemical’s maker, has filed an appeal
after losing in court to block the labeling, arguing that
Roundup doesn’t cause cancer and that the labels will harm
the company’s business.
State health regulators must also decide if there’s a high
enough amount of the chemical in Roundup to pose a risk to
human health. State officials received more than 1,300 public
comments.
CODE
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Part of Dillinger’s duties, and the most confrontational,
consists of personally approaching loiterers and telling them to
leave. “People feel the wrath when you tell them to move along
and so they’re a little disgruntled but there’s no real shouting
matches or anything,” Dillinger said. However, he noted that
there was a singular instance in the line of duty where he felt
physically in danger after confronting an offender.
Dillinger is actively looking for volunteers to assist him in
enforcing codes but so far has met with little success. “It’s hard
to go out and tell somebody to move along,” Dillinger said,
theorizing why he is having trouble finding a code enforcement
volunteer to assist him, “Not everybody is comfortable in
asking people to move along.” Although someone who is
willing to confront people in violation of city code would be
most helpful, there are other duties that can be performed and
anyone who is interested can pick up an application at City
Hall. When turned in, they will go directly to Dillinger’s hands
for consideration.
Though his aim is to fulfill his campaign promise,
he doesn’t limit himself to only enforcing codes related to
vagrancy and brings his focus to other code issues around the
area. Currently, the city council is in the process of enforcing
better business signage around town, enforcing weed abatement
and addressing graffiti with a new ordinance that has recently
passed.
Although the city has an ordinance that allows anyone in
possession of graffiti tools to be penalized, it has thus far been
ineffective. As such, the new ordinance allows the city to force
business owners into dealing with graffiti. The businesses are
first contacted by a letter of notification. On the topic, Dillinger
noted that the Illinois Valley High School’s principal is
interested in creating a program for students to assist business
owners in removing graffiti but, as it stands now, it hasn’t been
acted upon to any serious degree.
Additionally, the high school might also be willing to help
“spruce up” the regular use banners commonly strung across
the Redwood Highway in Cave Junction.
With regard to weed abatement, the city sends out letters
every year to little effect because none of the penalties are
enforced. This year, according to Dillinger, the council is
planning on changing that by demanding that offenders comply
or respond within 10 days or suffer the enforced consequences.
Many of those who are notified are habitual and careless
offenders who violate the code every year. The main goal of
enforcing weed abatement, other than to beautify is to tackle
the fire hazard that it causes before the fire department is forced
to get involved.
“When you have a town that’s just full of weeds and
empty signs and things like that it’s just uninviting,” Dillinger
said, hoping to make the town more appealing to tourists,
outsiders and citizens alike.
“Slowly but surely I think that things are happening—
nothing’s going to be overnight.”
“We can’t say for sure,” said Sam Delson, a
spokesman for California’s Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment. “We’re reviewing those
comments.”
Glyphosate has no color or smell. Monsanto
introduced it in 1974 as an effective way of killing
weeds while leaving crops and plants intact.
It’s sold in more than 160 countries, and farmers
use it on 250 types of crops in California, the nation’s
leading farming state.
Attorney Michael Baum, who represents more
than 300 people who claim a loved one became sick
or died from exposure to Roundup, says the fight to
protect Californians is not over.
He said that the state’s failure to set the proper
risk level would undermine protections California put
in place by listing harmful chemicals.
Scott Partridge, Monsanto’s vice president of
global strategy, said in a statement that glyphosate
does not cause cancer and there’s no need to list it as
harmful in California.
“This is not the final step in the process,”
Partridge said. “We will continue to aggressively
challenge this improper decision.”
Fire board shenanigans create a stir
Jason McMillen
IVN Contributing Writer
Carol Dickson, former IVFD
board member, parted from the
council with harsh words during her
last meeting, June 8, after weeks of
controversy regarding the actions of
President Ron Humphfres. “I would
like to caution the board and new
member coming on that you better
have some back bone and you better
stand up for what’s right and you
better vote your conscious because
you can be sued personally, the board
can be sued and this is not a good ol’
boys system,” Dickson said.
The controversy came to a head
about two months ago when Dickson
reportedly received a phone call from
the district’s Fire Chief, Dennis Hoke.
Dickson was told that Humphfres
and the former employee, who was
leaving on disability, spoke with
the chief about a policy that would
give all employees who left in good
standing and worked for 10 years
or more in the department, lifetime
medical coverage. Hoke did not agree
that lifetime medical was practical
and Dickson agreed, firmly rejecting
the idea.
Soon after being told about
the discussion, Dickson found
that Humphfres had signed a
memorandum of understanding which
granted all long-term employees six
months of medical coverage without
consulting the rest of the board.
Allegedly it was time enough for the
employee to start receiving disability
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with Dickson going so far as to say
that the memorandum was created
specifically for them and was never
intended to be permanent as it would
be repealed quickly in the future
before anyone else could benefit from
it.
Dickson, outraged, said that
Humphfres didn’t have the authority
to sign such a memorandum without
bringing the proposition to the board.
After debating over it, Hoke
received a call from a lawyer’s office
informing him that there was a bill
to be paid at a rate of around $200
an hour. Since the special district has
their lawyer fees compensated, if they
go to their assigned lawyer, it was
deemed unusual.
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Graffiti (above) on the wall of C.J. Post Office June
26 is becoming all too common in Cave Junction.
0108
K e r b y , or
Page A-3
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6 - 8 p.m.
Selma Center
Drive - In
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reasonable $ concessions
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