Established
in 1937
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Letters to the Editor
(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.)
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Typed, double-spaced letters written solely to this newspaper and/or Website are considered for publication. Hand-written letters that are double-spaced and legible also can be considered.
Cards of thanks are not accepted as letters.
* * *Looking forward to 25th annual Blackberry Fest
From ‘Bear’ Marston
Cave JunctionI understand that the folks who have been running the Blackberry Festival have decided to back out.
OK! I have also heard that there a group of people that want to assume running the festival, and elect a new Blackberry Board.
I believe that the forthcoming Blackberry Festival will be the 25th year anniversary. Wow. Twenty-five years. I’ll let that some thought it wouldn’t last.
I’m sure that the Blackberry Festival this year will be a memorable one.
Meeting of ‘berry good’festival directors set
From Mark Russo
Cave JunctionPursuant to ORS Chapter 65, members of the Illinois Valley Wild Blackberry Arts & Crafts Festival will meet Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Josephine County Bldg. in Cave Junction to elect new directors for the 2006 festival season.
The 25th annual Wild Blackberry Festival is slated for the second weekend of August. It is a fun, carnival-like event for people of all ages that brings crafters, vendors and entertainers together to display their wares and talents while stimulating the local economy and promoting tourism.
Four candidates have already expressed an interest in taking on this important event and will hold an informal mixer over coffee and doughnuts at 7 p.m. prior to the main meeting. All past and current members, as well as interested citizens, are encouraged to attend.
Necessity seen for another Raffenburg
From Tony Corriea
Grants PassDuring the recent strikes by county employees, the unionized county workers had their rally on the street by the courthouse, screaming, using a bull-horn for four days and often disrupting traffic.
Commissioners Riddle and Ellis broke down and retreated from any serious attempt to control costs. The strikers prevailed, with Ellis and Riddle agreeing, and Commissioner Jim Raffenburg opposing, to keep what they had agreed on a secret from the taxpayers.
You can be sure of one thing: Riddle and Ellis are going to ask the taxpayers to increase their property taxes. Raffenburg is in opposition to the agreement. In fact, the implications are that nothing has changed.
County spending continues unchecked. Riddle and Ellis believe the taxpayers should pay more taxes. In four months we will have an election. Let’s hope that we as taxpayers can find another Raffenburg so we can turn around this insane situation.
It’s very apparent that we, as taxpayers need to wake up or we will be squeezed to a point not seen since the founding of this Republic. It’s time to say enough is enough.
Pregnancy Center offers ‘season for love’ help
From Pregnancy Center of the Illinois Valley
Cave JunctionMost everyone associates February with Valentine’s Day, the day that we celebrate romantic love, and love for our families.
For many, it’s a day of flowers, celebrations, and being thankful for what the Lord has given.
For some though, it can be a lonely day. For the separated, divorced or windowed it can be very difficult. In these instances, it may help to remember that there are seasons in life, and that God is always beside them. One of the most difficult situations to face on Valentine’s Day is the loss of a child through abortion.
Maybe the abortion happened before the person became a Christian, or before they married and had a committed and stable home.
Whatever the situation, God is waiting to heal them from the pains of the past. They don’t have to face this alone. In fact, their attempts to drown out the pain have made the situation worse.
Instead of arising each day and seeing a hollow shell of themselves in the mirror, they can awake with anticipation about what the day will bring.
Instead of going through the motions of life, they can have joy and peace again. Instead of having problems sleeping, they can get the rest they so badly need.
Statistics say that one out of every four women has had (or will have) an abortion by age 45. That is a lot of hurting women out there, and many more hurting men.
Those who are post-abortive and want the pain to stop can obtain help through the Pregnancy Center. Through a class, “Your Choice to Heal,” women can finally find peace and begin living their lives again.
They no longer have to suffer with nightmares, depression, anger, crying, feelings of hopelessness, or even thoughts of suicide. This is not the way that God wishes to see them living the rest of .
Isn’t it time to put away the winter things and begin enjoying spring?
Phone 592-6058, or use PregnancyCenter@cavenet.com
‘Panacea’ found for drooping O&C funds
From Sandy Raymond
Cave JunctionDuring an approximately 30-minute meeting with Josephine County commissioners, county health department, animal control, “dog fanciers” and members of the Rogue Valley Kennel Club (RVKC), it became abundantly clear that our elected “Bureaucratic Representatives” are faced with more than just an economic dilemma.
Fanciers and RVKC members were welcomed with a brief history regarding the dwindling O&C funds and the need for the various county departments to become self-sufficient. Each had been required to submit its own set of objectives in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency, and as an example a 33 percent increase in the fees charged by county parks was offered.
There was, however, nothing mentioned regarding the reduction in county parks usage by Josephine County residents due to the increased fees.
More to point of this letter is the proposal by animal control which eliminates a long-standing licensing agreement known as the “Fanciers License.” Exhibitors of dogs, registered with the American Kennel Club, often own and compete with numerous dogs, and for this reason the “Fanciers License” was created.
The "Fancier/Exhibitors” program provided licensing for up to seven dogs at a reduced fee, and in doing so increased compliance and revenue for animal control.
The Fanciers License was also exclusively limited to “Exhibitors,” who by definition are those whose dogs participate in one or more of a variety of AKC-sanctioned competitions. Proof of entry into such competitions was also a requirement by animal control as a means of governing the license program.
Animal control justified the elimination of the Fancier program simply by saying, “The program only served to provide additional workload on their already overworked staff and that the program was in reality biased and unfair to the general public.”
Rather than eliminating a working “Biased” program, it was suggested that the program be expanded to include all owners of
multiple dogs. This approach would potentially improve licensing compliance throughout the county, as well as achieving the desired result of increased revenues. There was neither comment nor discussion on this suggestion by the commissioners or animal control.As additional justification, the commissioners and animal control presented statistics from other counties as a basis for their increase in fees. It seems that whenever a bureaucrat is at a loss for substantive reasoning, they resort to the use of comparisons as justification for their actions.
The reality of the situation is that Josephine County is not statistically compatible with the counties mentioned; the statistics offered were incorrect; and the bovine excrement extremely thick. The presentation, however, was a “masterful” example of “Legislative License” or “Creative Writing” at work.
Besides the blatant suggestion that animal control’s present dilemma was the direct result of the sheriff’s office effect on the general fund, it became abundantly clear that animal control had failed in its sufficiency directive. The elimination of the Fanciers License was merely an attempt to show that an effort had been made at solvency, with the loser being the compliant Fancier/Exhibitors.
In the past, as a means of raising revenue, animal control attempted to conduct a door-by-door search for unlicensed canines. This activity, prior to the resulting outburst of public comment, did produce a few unlicensed dogs. However, the expense politically and monetarily, brought quick end to that program.
This new attempt at solvency involves the elimination of an approximate 15-year-old working program and will produce dual results, economically and in the reduced number of allowed dogs. To this end, the improbable financial windfall for animal control needs little comment.
There was however, a very predictable outcry from those in attendance, when animal control suggested “euthanization” as a means of achieving numerical compliance.
The meeting concluded with a request on the behalf of those in attendance to extend the issuance of the Fancier License through 2006. This additional time would provide opportunity not only to evaluate the benefits of the existing program, but perhaps time to develop a more readily accepted licensing program.
Fancier/exhibitor Paul Bodeving, former RVKC president, was appointed spokesman and was to be informed of the commission’s decision regarding the licensing program. As of the date of this writing there has been no change.
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