Page A-10
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Boys & Girls Club update: by Jenna Larkin
I.V. Boys & Girls Club has had an
exciting few months! We finished off the
school year with an average attendance of
90 kids a day and many others attended club
through-out the year for our sports program.
During the school year the Club offered
many programs to help kids stay busy and
engaged in after school activities. Monday
through Thursday club kids had an opportunity
to get one on one help with homework during
Power Hour and earn points towards winning a
tablet at the end of the school year. This year’s
winners were Kylie Campbell and Jonathan
Sanchez.
Some of the other programs that were
offered were WILD; a program that teaches
wilderness survival and camping skills.
SMART Moves focuses on everyday life
that children face; everything from personal
hygiene to the many different emotions that
come with growing up and making friends
along the way. Club kids get excited when
Healthy Habits is offered for the pure fact
that they get to eat something they created at
the end of each class. Healthy Habits teaches
youth about proper portion control, what
foods are good to eat and foods that should
be eaten in moderation. Triple Play engages
kids physically for at least an hour a day.
Triple Play is offered daily and provides many
different physical activities; anything from
group games to challenges to tournaments.
Along with offering programs to Club
kids there were a few improvements to our
Teen Room that began during the school year
and were just completed earlier this month.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley were
fortunate enough to receive monies from
the four Rotary Clubs of Josephine County
through the Duck Derby a couple of years
ago. Through the Duck Derby grant money
and other donations I.V. Club has been able
to improve the look of the Teen Room with a
newly built deck, like new furniture and game
tables.
“With the improvements we are hoping
to see a fuller Teen Room; a safe place where
teens can come and socialize after school,”
said Terry Larkin, I.V. teen coordinator. “We
are also hoping that the improvements will
bring in more teens for Teen Nights.”
A dedication ceremony will be scheduled
for the near future, please watch the I.V. News
for future date and time.
For the first time in about seven years
the Club is able to run a full nine-week
Summer Program, five days a week. This
would not have been possible if it weren’t for a
sponsorship from Primary Health of Josephine
County and the support of the community.
Summer hours currently are Monday-Friday,
7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Weekly themes provide
opportunities for the kids to experience new
ideas, activities and adventures on a daily
basis.
In addition to the themes, youth that
attend the club have a chance to take weekly
walks to Dutch Bros. and the public library;
where they learn what the library can provide
for them. On Thursdays they can take club
field trips and experience something that
they might not have had the opportunity to
otherwise. So far this summer some of the
field trips have included Wildlife Safari, a hike
at the Oregon Caves, a visit from Bugs-R-Us,
Emigrant Lake Waterslides and Kerbyville
Museum. Future field trips include a hike
through the Redwoods and team building
activities at Siskiyou Field Institute.
“We haven’t reached our goals for the
number of kids we would like to see on a daily
basis but for not being open full days in a few
years, we are doing good,” a club staff member
stated.
Currently the Club sees on average 23
kids a day depending on what activities or field
trips are being offered that day.
The Club will be open until Wednesday,
Aug. 16 and is always accepting new
members. Thursday, Aug. 17 the Club will host
an End of the Summer Bash at Jubilee Park
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Past, current and future
club members and families are welcome. The
Summer Bash includes games and activities,
a waterslide bouncy house, BBQ lunch, water
games and much more.
Staff members will be available the last
week of August for membership registration
for the 2017-18 school year, Monday through
Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Evergreen
Elementary in the cafeteria. For more
information on the Illinois Valley Boys & Girls
Club please call 541-244-8490.
Winding Trails: by Al Hobart
Thursday, 17 August 1967
Illinois Valley News
Old Fang-Puss
Old Fang-puss has bit the
dust. He has departed this life
and, presumably, has joined the
happy throng of his long-departed
forebears out in that special section
of space that has been set aside
(presumably) for the eternally
happy residence of all good reptiles.
Potentially very bad, I’ve
no way of knowing whether poor
old Fang-puss actually ever did
anything wrong, and I only hope I
did the right thing by hustling him
off to that wonderful section of
space when he scared the daylights
out of me by suddenly appearing
practically under my feet – and on
my own private premises.
My small front yard is a
sort of sanctuary and perpetual
feeding ground for any and all
wild creatures who choose to avail
themselves of such benefits, being
off-limits to only a few, such as
tigers and rattlesnakes. The late
Fang-puss, belonging in this latter
category, thus foolishly stuck out
his long neck by trespassing on
forbidden ground, and may Allah
forgive him for his reckless derring-
do.
The untimely demise of
Fang-puss occurred late yesterday
evening. Just before dark I went out
to shift the running garden hose.
Before throwing down the hose
in the new dry location I walked
with it the few steps along the path
toward the end of the porch to get in
squirting range of a nice clump of
thirsty-looking California poppies.
Just at the corner of the porch a big
rattler crept from under the lilac
bush and crawled insolently a-cross
the path 2 feet in front of me.
Startled into immediate
action, as though I were about to
be assaulted (actually, unless I had
stepped on the snake, I was in no
danger), I attacked the innocent but
dangerous intruder with a savagery
that might more plausibly have been
directed against something like a
full-grown panther. Using the only
weapon at hand, the garden hose I
was holding, I soon laid himby the
heels with the brass-bound end of
the hose, the warmth of the waning
day plus the heat of the battle being
kept within moderate bounds by the
shower of cold water flying from
the hose as I flailed away at the
writhing rattler.
Rattlesnakes, because of their
dangerous, sometimes deadly,
poison fangs are traditional enemies
of our society and are killed
whenever opportunity offers. I
don’t approve of killing everything
that flys, creeps or crawls just
-because such creatures don’t wear
pants or carry a social security
card, but I feel no compunction
about killing rattlesnakes, black
widow spiders, fire-ants, and their
ilk unless they’re so far away from
civilization as to pose no threat to
our health and happiness. But when
one of these goes so far as to invade
the privacy of my home premises
I feel that I owe neither him nor
myself an apology for knocking
him off.
Just the day before my
rattlesnake showed up, my
cousins from Los Angeles and
Covina showed up for a short visit
– Kathleen (the one-time wee
shin-kicker who was featured in
one of my stories not long ago),
her husband Glenn, and her sister
Marian. Like every visitor who ever
comes here, they wanted to know if
I ever see any rattlesnakes around.
“When Old Harry and the Brown
family were here the other day
(with all that yummy hot food) they
asked the same question. None of
them will ever believe me after this,
that I told them, truthfully, that I
hadn’t seen a rattlesnake in Packers
Gulch for a good many years.
In fact it has been at least
20 years since one other rattler
made his appearance here near
the cabin. And once before that
I dynamited a den of them just
around the bend in the trail a
hundred yards below the cabin.
And now, after all that
time, and just after I’d assured
all those nice folks that my little
paradise is never plagued with such
horrors as rattlesnakes or other
natural threats, old Fang-puss has
to come slithering his vile way into
my dooryard to make me out a liar.
If it weren’t for my gentle
Christian upbringing I’d wish I
could bring him back to life so I
could give him a more prolonged
and still more refined going away
party.
NATIONAL
HEALTH
CENTER
WEEK
AUG 13-19
2017
Saturday, August 19, 2017 ~ 8 am to 4 pm
Celebrating America’s Health Centers:
The Key to Healthier Communities
FREE CHILD DENTAL SCREENING
CLEANING & FLUORIDE TREATMENT
FREE SPORTS PHYSICALS
FREE BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS
IN GRANTS PASS
IN CAVE JUNCTION
TUESDAY
AUG.
15
9:00am - 1:00pm
THURSDAY
AUG.
17
9:00am - 1:00pm
Free Backpacks & Free Children’s Books
(First 50 Kids)
(While Supplies Last)
AT BOTH LOCATIONS
GRANTS PASS - 1701 NW HAWTHORNE AVENUE • CAVE JUNCTION - 25647 REDWOOD HWY
(541) 472-4777 • WWW.SISKIYOUHEALTHCENTER.COM
Outside clearance sales on Sunday ~ 9 am to 1 pm
We are now accepting applications for Vendors
Inside and outside spaces are available
Outdoor spaces must bring your own tables
$25 with a $5 refund for a cleaned space.
RCC Kerby Campus, IV Learning Center / Belt Building
24353 Redwood Highway, Kerby, OR
Reservation Deadline is August 14, 2017
Last day for refunds is August 16, 2017
Contact Hazel Griffith—541-592-6433
Or Jean Shubert — 541-592-6150
Sponsored by the Western Star OES Social Club
New photo
goes here