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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 13, 2022
From the mayor’s desk: by Meadow Martell
There are many positive things happening
in our community. The Kerbyville Museum and
History Center had its open house last weekend.
As someone who loves to visit museums, I
was impressed by the quality and diversity of
exhibits on Native Americans, mining, logging,
and life of the pioneers of the Illinois Valley. You
can walk through the Naucke House, built in
the 1880s, which is on the National Register of
Historic Places. You can also view the Grimmit
School house, a miner’s cabin, a blacksmith
shop, and barb wire museum. The museum is
open Thursday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The gallery of the Southern Oregon Guild
of Artists and Artisans in Kerby is now open.
Check out the ever-changing array of art and
fine crafts created by local and regional artists.
It is quite impressive. Their hours are Tuesday-
Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Here is some great news for businesses,
organizations and residents in Cave Junction
and the Illinois Valleyd: The City of Cave
Junction, IVCanDo (Illinois Valley Community
Development Organization-IVCDO), and the
Chamber of Commerce are working with Energy
Trust of Oregon to bring energy upgrades into
our community.
The first program kicks-off this week:
No-Cost lighting upgrades to help businesses,
community organizations, churches, and similar
buildings save money and energy.
Energy-efficient lighting reduces energy
use, so you can save on utility bills and decrease
monthly operating costs; improves light quality
and consistency resulting in brighter, safer
spaces; and decreases maintenance costs and
time spent on frequent replacements or repairs.
Your site is eligible if you: are a Pacific
Power customer; have less than 20 employees/
staff, or, total site space is under 20,000 sq. ft.;
site is a commercial-type building, multifamily
property or industrial facility; or you are a
community organization that provides free or
reduced-cost assistance or services; or a religious
center or place of worship. While many types of
sites and lights will qualify, some may not.
Starting this Thursday, April 14, the team
will be conducting walk-throughs to begin
assessing lighting eligible for free upgrades.
Both a lighting expert and an energy efficiency
expert will be there to answer your questions.
Don’t miss this opportunity! If you are interested
in getting on the list to meet this team, call
Forrest Roth at IVCDO, 541-592-9279. We will
be rolling out other energy saving opportunities
with Energy Trust in the future, including for
residential buildings.
Le tte rs to th e e d ito r
Illinois Valley News welcomes
letters to the editor.
Please e-mail them to
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
(Editor’s Note: Views and com-
mentary, including statements
made as fact are strictly those
of the letter writers.)
POLICY ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encour-
ages 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 letters. Letters are used at the
discretion of the publisher.
***
Reader seeks revenue
source for JoCo
In last week’s article
about his department’s lack
of funding, Commissioner
Baertschiger tried to make
the point that Oregon has
gone away from timber as
a revenue source, because
the harvest on Federal lands
has been reduced. However,
anyone who drives through the
Illinois Valley and sees all the
deforested hillsides can easily
see that timber harvesting is
still alive and well. It’s just
that it’s mostly conducted by
private corporations these
days, and their thousands of
acres of clearcuts provide
almost no revenue to our
county. They pay only about
10% the property tax that
regular private property
owners in this county do, and
over the 50,000 acres that
they own, that lost revenue
really adds up. There used
to be a harvest tax, so that
counties received money
when trees were cut, but
Oregon ended that in 1999. It
is estimated that the Western
Oregon counties have lost
over $3 BILLION in harvest
revenue as a result. Timber
harvest continues unabated
and Oregon hasn’t stopped
it or even slowed it: it’s just
that Oregon decided to give
all of the profits to private
corporations, instead of to
the counties that should be
getting a share for their local
budgets, such as our sheriff
department. John Hancock
Life Insurance harvested 1,200
acres in Josephine County last
year. Globally, they made
$26 billion from timber last
year. Josephine County got
zero dollars and a bunch of
decimated hillsides and dried
up creeks out of the deal.
Why are we putting up with
this when we so badly need
the timber income for our
county budget? How about a
substantial harvest tax, or how
about ending the property tax
breaks for the corporations?
Publisher’s note: A
landowner pays 20 percent
of the property tax through
the annual property tax
system. The remaining 80
percent is paid when timber
is harvested. Additional
taxes come from the
Forest Products Harvest
Tax which is $4.9252 per
thousand board feet, or
Small Tract Forestland
Severance Tax of 6.51 per
thousand board feet.
Cindy Palacios
Cave Junction
I llInoIs V alley F uneral D Irectors
www.since1928Hull.com
S a ve th e d a te
April 14
The Dome School is hosting
a Open Mic for a fundraiser every
second Thursday starting a 6 pm,
starting Thursday, April 14
April 15
Illinois Valley Garden
Club meeting will feature Frank
Cordeiro, presenting “Seeds,
seeds, seeds in a Nutshell”, from
saving seeds, to planting, and saving
again. The meetings are at Immanuel
Methodist Church, 200 Watkins, Cave
Junction, 12:30 - 3:00.
April 16
Rough & Ready Wildflower
Hike Saturday, April 16 at 10 a.m.
Meet at the parking area at Rough &
Ready Botanical Wayside south of
Cave Junction on Hwy 199 at mile
marker 34. The walk through the
rough and Ready Wayside is geared
for plant enthusiasts and novices
alike. This is a great opportunity for
folks to come out and enjoy the spring
wildflowers no matter what your skill
Illinois
Valley
News
Published weekly by
I.V. News LLC
Daniel J. and Laura M.
Mancuso, co-publishers
541-592-4110
level on plant identification might
be. This is a shore hike on rocky, but
relatively level ground, with lots of
beautiful wildflowers to see, many
of them are rare or of limited range.
A portion of the hike will be along a
wheelchair accessible path so folks
of limited mobility can come out and
enjoy the wildflowers too. Be prepare:
bring water, dress in layers and wear
comfortable shoes. Bring lunch if you
like, there’s a picnic table overlooking
Rough & Ready Creek.
April 18
Aglow 2nd & 3rd Monday,
April 18 Tony Armida is sharing.
10:30 a.m. at Fountain of Life, 451
S Junction Ave. C. J. More info, call
Victoria 541-592-4743.
May 6
Pacific Northwest Prairies and
Climate Change, May 6, 6:30-7:30
PM, Siskiyou Field Institute, Selma,
OR.
“Join us for a free public
seminar to hear from ecologist Paul
POSTMASTER: Please send
address changes to P.O. Box 1370,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Illinois Valley News is published
weekly except the first week of
January at 219 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
Reed about the results of the recent
study ‘Heating of Prairie Systems,’
and ongoing efforts to facilitate native
prairie restoration in an era of climate
change.
Prairies in the western Pacific
Northwest, such as those found in the
Rogue and Illinois Valley regions,
are critically endangered ecosystems.
A variety of factors, including the
disruption of historical fire regimes,
land use change, and invasive species,
have all contributed substantially to
their decline. Now, climate change
threatens to add to these existing
threats. As conditions become hotter
and drier, many plant species native to
these ecosystems are at risk of decline.
To understand how climate change
will affect Pacific Northwest prairies,
researchers from the University
of Oregon conducted a multi-year
experiment at three sites across
western Oregon and Washington,
including at the Siskiyou Field
Institute.” Event info: https://fb.me/
e/334mMBtPZ
June 18
Recycled Raft Race at
Hathkapasuta River Celebration June
18 at Illinois River Forks State Park.
Categories include: Fastest, Most
Creative, Funniest and more! This
event is about ingenuity, creativity and
FUN! Free and open to the public Call
Jill Talise at 541-415-6699 for more
information Hosted by the Cultural
& Ecological Enhancement Network
(CEEN).
Ongoing
Wednesdays
GAME ON! Grab a friend, drop
in, and Game On at your local public
library. Try your hand at a variety of
games, including chess, Pictionary,
Uno, cards, and BUILDZI, the fast-
paced block-stacking game!
Every Wednesday from 4:30-
5:30 pm.209 W Palmer St, Cave
Junction. For more information call
541-592-4770.
**Food Pantry Tuesdays
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Cave Junction
Adventist/Community Services Food
Distribution, 265 S. Old Stage Rd.
Volunteers are needed to help stock,
date check, sort food, pack boxes and
handout food boxes, etc. to volunteer
please email cavejunctionacs@gmail.
com. Contributions can by made out
to the CJ Seventh- day Adventist
Church and identify that they are in
support of the Community Service by
writing “CJACS” in the memo section
of your check. Mail to: Cave Junction
Seventh-day Adventist Church PO
Box 330, Cave Junction, OR 97523
** The Illinois Valley Safe
House Alliance after-hours crisis line
can be reached at 541-415-9367.
The new local crisis line will be
answered any hours the Safe House
is closed. The line will be answered
by an advocate who will be able to
respond locally, also recognizing the
barriers that may come up due to our
rural location. For more information
contact the Illinois Valley Safe House
Alliance 541-592-2515.
editor -Laura Mancuso
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
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One year in Jackson and
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One year in all other
Oregon counties and
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Illinois Valley News does not refund subscriptions.
Remainder of subscription will be donated to the
charity of your choice.
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
copy editor - C.J. Schatza
classified ads - Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
circulation - Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
advertising / composition -
Dan Mancuso
dan@itheivnews.com
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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.