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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 5, 2017 SEARCH ... Continued from A-1 Members of the I.V. Fire District and our local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) also assisted the operations. Summer X training was coordinated by Deputy Cory Krauss, who has been the county’s SAR coordinator for over five years. Prior to that, he was the sheriff’s office search manager for 12 years. His position keeps him on-call virtually around the clock and he states he couldn’t keep up with the work if he didn’t have a dedicated team of volunteers. “SAR currently has 85 members with a core team of about 20 people I can count on to respond at any given time,” Krauss said. Local members handled 35 call-outs in 2015 and even more in 2016, including last year’s ocean search for three local victims of a small plane crash July 4. The pilot, John Belnap, his 17 year old son Maxel, and his Grants Pass High School track and field teammate Ryan Merker all died in the crash and it took many days to find and recover the bodies. The recovery mission was particularly difficult because John Belnap was a SAR member. “We all had an emotional connection with that situation,” Krauss said. SAR members range in age from young adult to mid-80s. They include people who work full-time in various professions as well as retirees. All are drawn to community service. The county SAR team also has Emergency Medical Responders, a certification just below Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) level. To become a SAR member, volunteers must complete a three- weekend training academy held each spring. The academy included classroom and field sessions in rescue and survival skills taught by experienced SAR members. Volunteers are expected to attend at least six membership meetings a year and help with community events and fundraisers. The county doesn’t financially support SAR, so the non-profit Friends of SAR does fundraising throughout the year to pay for equipment and training. Volunteers pay a $25 fee for academy materials and must provide their own backpack of essentials to sustain them on an overnight search. To avoid becoming a victim, Krauss stressed that outdoor enthusiasts wear proper clothing and carry extra to prepare for “the unexpected night out” as well as adequate provisions of food and water. He also recommended that people “make a plan, express that plan to friends and family and then stick with that plan so SAR has a better chance of locating you” in case of emergency. To learn more about SAR, email Krauss at CKrauss@co.josephine.or.us. CITY ... Continued from A-1 Dalegowski holds that creating a system which automatically records content in-house might be Page A-9 Welcome Friends: by Robert Hirning It is really refreshing to see so many new faces here in our beautiful valley and a big welcome goes out to all of you. After decades of decline, the moribund timber industry is finally being replaced by a new economic base. The last time a large influx of youth moved into the Illinois Valley was over 40 years ago with the “back-to-the-land” hippy migration and now that generation is grey haired and aging. Many of their kids moved away long ago with so little to do here and the local economy spiraled down. But the cannabis industry has infused huge amounts of capital into the valley and, along with tourism and retirement, our economic base has been revitalized. So welcome friends and maybe take a few minutes to hear a few tips from the old timers. Many of our ways are rural and quaint but as you gain time depth you will appreciate them too. This community is a small one where personal relationships are highly valued and provoking conflicts with your neighbors is really bad karma. We’re not big on lawsuits and enforcements around here but simple empathy for your neighbor’s feelings is very important. If your lights and fans are disturbing to others nearby, try to mitigate the problem with meaningful alternatives. Remember you are now farmers and, despite climate change, the weather is unpredictable here. Fall rains and winter storms may ravage your crops and greenhouses. You may need your neighbor’s tractor to dig you out of the snow or help you move your stuff in a forest fire evacuation. Love thy neighbor. Another major difference out here is how to drive these rural roads. First, and of foremost importance, is that staying on your side of the yellow line is not optional. Furthermore, being in a hurry is not an excuse for catching up on your calls or texting as you careen down the highway. Pull over for that kind of thing, not a challenge but is confident that either himself or a volunteer can handle setting it up at a very low resource cost to the city. “What it provides is enhanced communication,” Dalegowski said, giving the same explanation as Gillette in saying that none of the content would be exclusive to Facebook because it’s the law but because your neighbor’s life is at stake. Also the roads here are largely narrow two lane affairs and driving at a high rate of speed endangers wildlife, bicyclists, pets, pedestrians, as well as other motorists. Our roads are used by more than the late model sedans and pickups you may be accustomed to on urban expressways. There are slow moving farm tractors and hay bailers, young women pushing strollers, old folks with their pets going out to the mail, lost tourists trying to find the road to Happy Camp, and a whole lot of old rigs that just can’t go any faster. So don’t tailgate or go roaring past on a double line; these are your neighbors and your new friends, keep them out of harm’s way. This is a beautiful, sacred place and you will be touched by the magic and the old timers will look forward to your community participation too. There are so many wonderful non-profit organizations you may want to join: the Garden Club, the Grange, Chamber of Commerce, the new KXCJ radio station, the Law Enforcement Task Force, the I.V. Fire Department, to name a few. Even if you are here only seasonally this year, it won’t be long before you may want to stay on. In the fall the “trimigrants” will be arriving in droves; clue them in on our country ways and welcome their respect for this land. Coming into this valley from a very different social environment, they also may need a few words about community ethics and putting back a little of what they take out. In short, the Illinois Valley offers our greetings to you all who have just arrived. This community welcomes you as our new friends and neighbors and knows that you will come to feel the love and respect that is such an important part of our lives together here. alone, “If it became financially burdensome it would pretty quickly not seem like a good idea.” The page is predicted to be launched in about a month but Dalegowski admitted that that timeframe was a very rough estimate and that a firm deadline has yet to become apparent. S portSman taver n K araoKe e very Friday Serving CoCKtailS Get Any Iced Tea for $ 1 Try It with a white coffee or rebel shot, Free! R ♥ G R EAT E v e ry T u e s d ay i n J u ly Tea Party B A JOSEPHINE COU NTY 17-1059B F OOD ♥ C ♥ SI F U LL E L IV M U C an ’ t wait to see and hear all of you
