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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017
Her life in
the Valley
of Riches
by Laura Mancuso,
editor
As I was listening to the public comments during the
commissioners’ weekly business session Wednesday at City
Hall, a young man from Merlin looked me in the eyes and
told his story of how he started growing medical marijuana
for his father who was diagnosed with cancer and that he
was frustrated with the proposed RR-5 ban. It really made
me think that I agree with Commissioner Hare, “This is a
complicated issue.”
Why should we make a new ordinance to ban
commercial cannabis grows on RR-5 when there are
already zoning laws in place? It seems to me no matter
what plant you are growing or material you are producing,
you should be a good neighbor and abide by the zoning
laws already in place. I think it is time we invest in code
enforcement and force growers to be good and honest
neighbors, but at the same time it is not fair to penalize our
local farmers who have grown for years and years without
being a problem.
Do we really want to hurt the cannabis economy?
I know for certain that the “green rush” has indirectly
contributed to feeding my children. I have only lived in
Cave Junction for five years but I still know that many of
the Cave Junction businesses have increased their profits
since legalization. When I first moved here, Illinois Valley
Building Supply was not as busy as they currently are, and
I have witnessed the same thing at Shop Smart and all of
the restaurants.
I wish all the old prejudices and attitudes about
marijuana would change. I, for one, think cannabis is a
beautiful plant that blooms in the fall and blends in with
our green trees, and needless to say it can be a miracle
plant for medical issues. I would much rather drive by
a cannabis farm than black plastic and wooden fences.
After all, I drive by vineyards without fences every day.
And health statistics tell us that overconsumption of wine
has far greater consequences than consuming too much
cannabis.
Don’t worry, Dan is in Chicago visiting his father and
will return next week with his commentary.
Thanks for reading this week’s paper!
Letters to the editor
Illinois Valley News welcomes let-
ters to the editor.
Please e-mail them to
dan@illinois-valley-news.com.
POLICY ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encourages
letters to the editor provided they are
legible and not libelous or scurrilous.
All letters must be signed, including
name, address and telephone number.
The latter need not be published, but
will be used to verify authenticity. The
“News” reserves the right to edit let-
ters. Letters are used at the discretion
of the publisher.
***
(Editor’s Note: Views and commen-
tary, including statements made as
fact are strictly those of the letter
writers.)
Hypocrisy
A few weeks ago the I.V. News
posted a front page story detailing the
Crime of the Century - a homeowner
moved some rocks in the river next
to his home to help stop erosion. You
would have thought he had started an
open pit mine.
Compare that to the countless
hundreds of illegal marijuana grow
ops in our valley alone - how many
are stealing water from every creek,
stream and river branch - without
water rights? What about draining the
acquifer with commercial ag on land
zoned RR-5? Since there are only 100
legal grow ops in the whole county
(according to Josephine County), it’s
obvious the vast majority of these
so-called “family farms” are illegal.
Where is the outcry about this mas-
sive water theft from those who are
concerned about the environment?
(Crickets...)
Also noteworthy is the fact that
last year 80% of the legal grows failed
the test for allowed chemicals, accord-
ing to an article in the I.V. News. Just
imagine the over use of all kinds of
ag chemicals on the vast number of
illegal grows - pouring into the dwin-
dling waterways and land all over
the county. Where is the outcry about
this? (Crickets...)
The followers of the marijuana
business/cult really care about “green”
all right - folding green.
P. Kisiela
Cave Junction
Reader calls out Peter
To the Honorable Peter DeFazio:
Wildfires are a fact of life in the West
but certain policy shifts by the U.S.
Forest Service have made them much
worse since the 1980s. The concept
that conflagrations are more numer-
ous as a result past suppression efforts
has led to ignoring lightning strikes
which rapidly spread into 100,000 acre
monsters. None of this summer’s fires
should have been allowed to get away
and I would be hard pressed to con-
ceive of any summer fires that should
not be suppressed immediately.
In my youth, during the drought
years of 1964-1965, I fought wild
fires for the State of New York in the
Catskill Mountains. I worked also
for the Forest Service on the Allegh-
eny and Siskiyou National Forests. I
fought fires and mopped up alongside
smoke jumpers on many occasions,
and know how effective a small detail
of “commandos” can be in stopping a
fire in its infancy.
Between 1970 and 1987 we
had almost no major campaign fires
in our jurisdiction and never a pall of
sickening smoke like we’ve seen over
the recent month. We had in Cave
Junction an active Smoke Jumper
Base, we had manned lookout towers
on many peaks and a suppression crew
of 40 trained Forest Service employ-
ees, locally stationed in the Illinois
Valley, who stood by ready to go on a
moment’s notice. I know, I was one of
them, and very proud to have had the
job.
Then it all changed. Suppres-
sion crews were contracted out and
stationed hours away from the Illinois
Valley, the Jumper Base was closed
and is now a museum and the towers
either tumbled down or were rented
out to tourists. Hundreds of miles
of forest roads, which were put in
at taxpayer expense as a timber sale
deduction to provide fire access, were
never maintained and became totally
impassable. After that, big fires took
hold for lack of action: Silver, Long-
wood, Mendenhull, Biscuit, Chetco
Bar and many others, all caused on
Forest Service land by unattended
lightning strikes. “Oh they are way out
in the wilderness”, we were told, “no
danger to the public.” But the wilder-
ness has edges and there are always
human populations on the other side.
After six weeks, even without evacua-
tion considerations, smoke levels have
brought air quality down to hazardous
levels for outdoor activity.
The loss this summer to com-
mercial activity has been significant.
Outdoor concerts and rafting trips have
been cancelled, sports events post-
poned, Ashland’s Shakespeare forced
inside. Tourism is one of Southern
Oregon’s biggest industries but no one
wants to visit in a cloud of unhealthy
air. Furthermore, the long term loss to
another major industry in your district,
forest products, has been devastating.
Fires in old growth forests burn slow
and cool but once the flames get into
second growth stands, all the young
trees of similar size and species burn
like a bonfire. This was supposed to be
tomorrow’s timber crop, planted and
nurtured at tremendous expense to the
taxpayers, now set back 50 years.
If our military technology is
advanced enough to pick off a car load
of Taliban leaders halfway around
the world in Afghanistan then we
should be able to hit a lightning strike
ten miles from Cave Junction. Small
airports in such places as Gold Beach,
Gasque, and Happy Camp could be
staffed with a small, seasonal crew
and an advanced fixed wing, drone, or
helicopter aircraft which could be de-
ployed to hit a burning snag with fire
retardant immediately after a lightning
strike and knock it down until ground
troops or jumpers could get there.
Also, and most important, the Cave
Junction Smoke Jumper Base should
be reopened as an active fire fighting
center. Yes this will cost money, but
far less than what is now spent to keep
thousands of fire fighters in the field
for months at a time and the indirect
loss to the economy.
These fires have all happened,
and are now happening in your district,
although I am sure this is also true
throughout the West. The Oregon State
Forestry crews are excellent respond-
ers; they protect state, private and
BLM land and, along with local fire
departments, do a great job of initial
attack. It is the U.S. Forest Service that
is now unwilling or unable to get with
it in a timely manner. Furthermore,
back in the day there was always a
“closest forces” policy but now juris-
dictional squabbles emerge and fires
go unattended for many hours even
though fire fighters are in the vicinity.
It is time now to, not only spend
the funds it takes fight fires, but
change Forest Service policies back to
a commitment to suppress all lightning
strikes within hours after the event. If
I can sit at my home computer and see
a strike’s specific location, why can’t
Fire Management do the same, and
then take aggressive action? The pres-
ent “let it burn” strategy is unsustain-
able.
I appreciate you and your staff
taking time to consider my comments.
Sincerely yours,
Robert C. Hirning,
Takilma, Oregon
Come out and cheer on our
Cougars Friday night!
IVHS football will host Bandon
High School at home, 7 p.m.
Obituaries
Eddie “Roy” Evans, 87, of Cave Junction, died September 12, 2017 at Asante
Rogue Regional Medical Center.
Arrangements are pending with Illinois Valley Funeral Directors.
I llINoIs V alley F uNeral D Irectors
www.since1928Hull.com
541-592-4110
Save the date
Sept. 20-30
Sept. 22
Back to School Fine Amnesty
at your I.V. Library! Now accepting
nonperishable food items in lieu of
cash payments for the last two weeks
of September from Wednesday, Sept.
20 through Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017.
For more information contact Rober-
ta Lee at 541-592-4778. I.V. Branch,
Josephine Community Libraries, 209
W Palmer St, CJ
Last Day for judging the Guild’s
Up-cycle Contest will be Friday,
Sept. 22 at the last CJ Farmers’ Mar-
ket at Jubilee Park
Sept. 20
IVHS boys’ varsity soccer game
at Rogue River High School at 4:30
p.m.
Sept. 21
IVHS girls’ JV volleyball game
at Rogue River High School at 5
p.m.
IVHS girls’ varsity volleyball
game at Rogue River High School at
6:15 p.m.
Sept. 22
IVHS boys’ varsity football
host Bandon High School at home at
7 p.m.
Illinois
Valley
News
Published weekly by
W.H. Alltheway, LLC
Daniel J. Mancuso, Publisher
Sept. 23
IVHS cross-country varsity
Invitational at Rogue River High
School, TBD
IVHS girls’ varsity and JV Vol-
leyball tournament at St. Mary’s High
School at 8 a.m.
IVHS girls’ varsity soccer game
host Rogue River High School at
home at 10 a.m.
IVHS boys; varsity soccer game
host Lakeview High School at home
at 1 p.m.
Sept. 23
Pie-In-The-Sky KXCJ Dinner
and Pie Auction! Saturday, Sept. 23,
4-8:30 at the Kerby Belt Building
24353 Redwood Hwy, Kerby.
Join us for a fun and lively
event-BBQ dinner, $7 to $10, sliding
scale, plus live music, and of course,
the not-to-be-missed pie auction!
All proceeds will go to help keep
POSTMASTER: Please send
address changes to P.O. Box 1370,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Illinois Valley News is published at
221 S. Redwood Hwy.,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Telephone (541) 592-2541
Since 1937 periodicals postage
paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
P.O. Box 1370 USPS 258-820
your very own community-powered
radio station, KXCJ, on the air!
Sept. 30
10th annual Acorn Festival, Sat-
urday, Sept. 30 at the Selma Commu-
nity Center on Hwy. 199 in Selma,
11 a.m. – 6 p.m. This FREE outdoor/
indoor event includes: *Hands-on
workshops on acorns and their pro-
cessing, *Acorn cooking basket
demonstration, *Historic photos of
traditional acorn processing, *IRVAC
free nature crafts table for all ages, *
Fun and educational activities all day
long and *Scarecrow contest with
$100 prize. Karuk Elder speaks; all
are welcome rain or shine. Brought
to you by the Cultural & Ecological
Enhancement Network (CEEN). For
more information contact Suzanne
Vautier 541-291-8860.
I.V. Garden Club plant sale, 9
a.m. - 2 p.m. True Value Hardware
parking lot. Winter veges, rare plants,
trees, houseplants. All sales benefit
IVHS scholarship program.
Oct. 5
Family Fun Fair Oct. 5, 5:30-
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine
County - $35
One year in Jackson and
Douglas counties - $36
One year in all other
Oregon counties and
out-of-state - $43.00
Illinois Valley News does not refund subscriptions.
Remainder of subscription will be donated to the
charity of your choice.
7:30 p.m. at Evergreen Elementary
520 W. River Street, Cave Junction
Join us for games and chili din-
ner FREE! Be a judge in the Healthi-
er Dessert Contest: $4-$10
Do you want to enter the Health-
ier Dessert Contest?
Sign up/Questions: healthyu-
center@gmail.com or call 541-592-
4888
Continuing
Your public library has ac-
tivities happening every week! New
Storytime reader, Melanie, has crafts
and stories for kids of all ages Sat-
urdays at 12 noon. Families at Play
baby-parent group is for pre-walk-
ing babies Wednesdays from 1-2pm.
Early literacy skills are taught within
a thirty-minute storytime of songs,
bounces, and reading, followed by a
half-hour of play and chat time.For
more information contact Roberta
Lee at 541-592-4778. I.V. Branch,
Josephine Community Libraries, 209
W Palmer St, CJ
*Illinois Valley Community
Watch Meeting every Monday from
News - Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Editor -Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
Classified Ads -Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
Circulation - Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
Advertising / Composition -
Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Mailroom - Millie Watkins
5 - 6 p.m. at Wild River Pizza, 249
Redwood Hwy. – Cave Junction. A
Public Safety Outreach Campaign
effort with all I.V. Neighborhood
Watch Groups – representatives, in-
cluding businesses and churches, and
support for anyone wishing to start a
neighborhood watch. Includes a 2-
way hand held radio program briefing
from 4:20 - 4:50 p.m. Contact Guent-
er - 541-415-1929 / ivwatch541@
gmail.com.
*The I.V. Senior Thrift Store:
Join the crew and make new friends.
You don’t need to be a senior citizen
to volunteer at the store. Call us at
541-592-6630. Open Monday – Sat-
urday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
*Volunteers are needed in the
Cave Junction Substation to provide
support service hours to the pub-
lic. Applications are available at the
Merlin Substation, 100 Acorn Street,
Merlin, 541-474-5135, and on-line
at
http://www.co.josephine.or.us/
Files/Volunteer%20Application.
Mar%202014.pdf.
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POLICY ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encour-
ages letters to the editor pro-
vided they are legible and not
libelous or scurrilous. All let-
ters must be signed, including
name, address and telephone
number. The latter need not be
published, but will be used to
verify authenticity. The ‘News’
reserves the right to edit letters.
Letters are used at the discre-
tion of the publisher.