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Letters to the Editor
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* * *‘Destructive plans’ seen as part of official plot
From Shannon Wilson
Eugene (formerly Selma)So, the U.S. Forest Service, following orders from Portland or D.C. bureaucrats, has again closed Eight Dollar Mountain Road to keep out those pesky protesters trying to save the valley from further plunder.
It’s sure reassuring that, in the name of public safety, federal law enforcement personnel can commandeer 20 some miles of public right-of-way, the Illinois River, and access to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness regardless of what economic harm it will do to the local economy.
No one in Oregon has jurisdiction over these feds. In fact, their only supposed commander is the chief of the forest service in Washington, D.C.
It is almost like they have turned the area into a gated destination resort for the local timber barons, John West’s logging company, federal law enforcement and other feds. It sure sounds like a great “good ol’ boy” party at the expense of Oregon and Illinois Valley.
I guess we should be accustomed to it. Oregon or the whole damn West Coast has been a resource colony for timber barons, the forest service and BLM bureaucrats, and the wealthy elite for at least the last half century anyway, and they could not care less if we oppose their destructive plans.
Industrialization seen destroying environment
From Linda Wigger
Cave JunctionThe heat wave of 2006 has caused me to start thinking about global warming in a more serious way. I’ve read Al Gore’s book, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and learned some facts he’s gathered from scientists worldwide for 25 years.
Just as the tobacco companies told us it’s OK to smoke, the oil companies are spending big bucks to tell us that there is not a problem. But there is.
It is accelerating, and we are going to be affected one way or another. Our atmosphere is a thin layer like a coat of varnish on a ball. Carbon dioxide is released when we burn oil and coal, and is trapped and compressed to where the heat cannot escape.
This is causing the climates to change, the oceans to heat, the soil to dry, the polar regions and permafrost to melt, and storms and droughts to become more severe -- all caused by human activities.
In the past we have been able to start repairing the hole in the ozone because our country took a leading role in stopping the use of cfs in cooling systems. The ozone is healing.
Humans have become a force of Nature by our numbers and technologies to alter Nature’s natural systems and disrupt the balance necessary for our survival.
As we heat the Earth by burning fossil fuel, many changes are beginning. Insects killed by heavy frost, like the pine beetle, are thriving; 14 million acres of pine forest in Alaska have died from infestation. There is a dead zone, where nothing can live, off the Oregon coast from Florence to Lincoln City this year. All the crabs and starfish gone.
If we change nothing on our present path during the next 15 years, the scientific fact is that in 45 years it will be too late. But there is hope. Many people have been working on a solution. There are technologies that can take us into a new future of living in harmony with our planet.
Biodiesel is oil made from cornstalks and any organic material. Wind, solar and geothermal energies are all available. Elected representatives should be contacted to support alternative fuels, clear air, clean water and safe food.
We should support family farms and local produce; buy Blue Sky power; plant trees, and recycle, bicycle, compost and be kind to the Earth.
Jim Feldkamp gets nod for Congress
From Owen W. Dykema
RoseburgFor the Nov. 7 election in Congressional District 4, who are the candidates?
One has been a lifetime professional politician, is now approaching retirement age (59), and has already purchased a home in New Zealand.
The other is just 43, has already been a U.S. Navy flight officer and special agent in anti-terrorism for the FBI, and has no plans to leave America -- Oregon is his home.
One spent a few unassuming few years at Tufts, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. The other was a
member of the national champion football team at Linfield College, graduating Oregon State University with a bachelor of arts degree in business.One has no civilian job experience. The other has worked in his local family business and currently teaches at a local college.
One was an NCO in the Air Force Reserve for four years while going to school, and was discharged upon graduation. The other was a naval flight officer for 12 years, and is currently a commander in the Naval Reserve.
One never headed a committee in Congress, voted strict Democrat party line 91 percent of the time, and “earmarked” $1.6 billion in pork for Oregon highways. The other flew 30 combat missions in the first Iraq war and was awarded two Air Medals and a Navy Commendation Medal.
One will soon have to retire, the other is just swinging into stride, and is ready to represent Congressional District 4 for a number of years.
It’s a no-brainer for me. I’ll vote for the “other” (better) man: Jim Feldkamp.
Regarding off-roaders and Biscuit Fire rights
From Larry Warnicke
KerbyAs many of you may know, just west of O’Brien, Cave Junction, Kerby, and Selma, are some of the most beautiful places in Southwestern Oregon.
Between Kerby and Selma, just north of Sauer’s Flat, off Hwy. 199 going west, you’ll find Eight Dollar Mountain Road. There is access to many dirt roads, rivers, hiking and back-packing trails, old mines from the 1850s and just some of the most pristine land in S.W. Oregon.
A large amount of gold has been removed from Josephine Creek during the years, and amateur prospectors come from miles around just to find that big nugget. Anglers love to fish the catch-and-release Illinois River that runs around Eight Dollar Mountain, and eventually into the Rogue River.
As early as last year the state installed several rest rooms where Josephine Creek meets Illinois River. This is a peaceful place to bring family and friends, to camp, or just spend the day in the woods or along the many streams and rivers. Many people come from miles around just to enjoy this pristine area and all it has to offer.
This in turn, brings much-needed revenue to the valley merchants who survive on tourism. Also, for the people in Illinois Valley, and with gas prices as high as they are, we need to use our back-yards even more
Now the problem is, last summer this area was closed to public use, as well as this summer due to Biscuit Fire salvage logging. We have lost access to our public land due to commercial logging of our forest. How can they do this, you may ask?
Well, it seems that the logging going on is drawing many protesters against logging, causing problems in the roadways that have been deemed unsafe.
So they just closed the road.
The people who paid for the timber have the right to harvest it. The protesters have the right to protest the harvest. However, what about the rights we have as anglers, prospectors, hikers, camper -- not to mention us off-roaders who spend thousands of dollars on our rigs just to use them on our public land.
I feel that we are being discriminated against, and this can’t be right. There may be a law on the books that allows our government to close public land for private use. But is it right?
Now there is talk among the off-roaders of Illinois Valley about forming some kind of radical protest of their own, and you know this can’t be good. It’s the “McCoys and Hatfields” all over again. So we have a bunch of otherwise, peaceful people breaking the law, and it’s all about violation of our rights.
Many people who complain, however, never have a solution to the problem. It’s simple: “The Law.” We all have the same rights, and if you abide by the laws that protect those rights we won’t have a problem. The timber companies have laws on how, when and where they can log.
The people have laws on how we can use our public land, and anytime we don’t agree with the laws, we have the right to protest them. However, that has laws within its own. When conducting our protest peacefully, and by the law, there should be no problem.
If not, you go to jail, and everyone involved loses their right to protest and made to leave the area. With this, everyone can exercise his or her rights to use public land.
I don’t know who made the decision to close the road or who even has the power to do so. However, I do know it’s not right. So someone needs to step up and tell us what’s going on. Is it big money or a power game pushing us little people around again?
I’m sure that “Illinois Valley News” will allow space to help us to understand the thinking.
Why can’t we all get along?
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