Illinois Valley News

Illinois Valley News welcomes Letters 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 The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity.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 letters. Letters are used at the discretion of the publisher.

(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.)

Advice from JFK
Cathy Slavin
Cave Junction, OR

This letter is in response to “Next Christmas Let’s Light-Up Cave Junction” which appeared in Letters to the Editor last week. After reading that letter, I walked around town and caught up with some of our local business owners to see how things went during the holidays. I also spoke with a couple former business owners who couldn’t make enough to pay the rent and utilities and had to close their doors.

One of my friends who has a nice shop told me they had very few customers before Christmas and that this week they’d only brought in $15. My friend, who is very community minded, was a bit upset by the letter and told me they wish they could afford to put up a nice display for Christmas but they’re barely covering the utilities as it is.

Other business owners stated have had to lay off staff. Several said in order to stay open, they can’t afford any staff and have to run their stores themselves. Not one of them had a money tree growing in their backyard.

Those of us who have been around for a while know that Cave Junction is not Jacksonville and it’s really unfair to compare the two. Some of us can remember Jacksonville when it was a dead little town until the time a major movie company came in and rebuilt the town for filming. Jacksonville capitalized on the themed refurbishing. That together with the musical festivals held there every year keep Jacksonville from becoming a real ghost town.

So what does Cave Junction have to offer“ When’s the last time you really looked“ First of all it’s a great little community surrounded by beautiful mountains offering unlimited outdoor activities available in every direction you look. It has good schools, a grocery store, hardware stores, lumber yard, a couple gas stations, pharmacies, several doctors and veterinarians, a good selection of churches, bars, thrift shops, beauty shops, gift shops, auto shops, quite a few restaurants, a power equipment/ATV store, a Radio Shack, a liquor store and even a health food store. Perhaps if local residents were more supportive of the local business, the shop owners would be able to do more than just pay the bills.

But how can they as long as the money keeps flowing out of Cave Junction“

Maybe if we were to Ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community next Christmas Cave Junction could be lit up like a Christmas tree.

Kerby expectations
Sharon Reasor
Selma, OR

I guess I missed something. Re: the Editorial which seemed to say “Buy Local”; shopping in Europe, then finding the jewelry at the airport shop. I surely expected the bottom line to be “I found it in Kerby”.

Fasching bashing
Marilyn Mooshie
Selma, OR

It seems to me there’s been a whole lot of Fasching bashing around the Valley in the last few years. We all have a right to our opinion, but I haven’t heard anything based on FACT about why he is being targeted.

And to find an “opinion” from the editor of the only Valley newspaper spouting accusatory doubts about the man, I find highly unprofessional. Is there anyone out there who thinks Gilbertson’s regime is not 500% more productive, efficient, and responsive than DANIELS’“!! If Gilbertson finds an under sheriff to be a valuable part of police heirarchy, he’s got my support, along with Fasching himself. And I’m aware of plenty of others who feel the same. I think they’re both doing a great job.

PS: The IV News needs a proofreader!

Boy, O’Boy, O’Boy
Ken LeGaux
Selma, OR

What have we now“ It was my understanding that one of the very first things you need to do before becoming president of the United States is show and prove the original birth certificate showing you were born in the United States of America.

My question is, and I presume thousands of other Americans, where is the birth certificate“ Is one being made to look authentic“ Is that why it hasn’t shown up yet“ Here’s where I’m going with this“ The law of the land has been broken. Literally dumped on by powers-to-be. And there’s a hell of a lot more than one person behind this crap. First things first “Wake up America, before it’s too late.”

I was taught, the law is the law. And that goes for everyone. It’s important that we the people stick together. So please continue to vote the corrupt out of office and get rid of the drug cartels in our country.

Get off your seat and stand up for our kids and grandchildren’s future. Your parents and grandparents did it, and it’s your turn. If you don’t make a stand, you will all be enslaved, and sooner than you think.

Not being able to move about as a free person and go about as you please“

Having your choice to raise your children the best in the world without being told what, where, when and how to“ Stand up people before it’s too late.

The government is supposed to take care of home first. As we all should. They are obligated to do so by law“ By doing so they should take total control of all our borders first!

Are we “ our military so weak that countries like Mexico can kick our butt“ The answer is no.

So bring our troops home to take care of business.

There are men and women dying, losing limbs, etc. and the battle is not being fought to win. We are looking like weak fools to other countries.

Maybe some of you have seen the original birth certificate, but many have not. Why not plaster it over the TV media once and for all.

Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t run, so why can anyone else“ Haiti can’t account for millions of your tax dollars and a large amount of these folks are still living in tents and are disease-ridden and still dying off. Why are we allowing money to keep pouring in other countries when we need money and jobs here.

Remember when we voted for the lottery to help boost Oregon’s economy“ I don’t see much happening. Do you“ Most of that money was to go for schools, not state parks.

No, I don’t have all the answers but without jobs in this country we’re doomed.

Bring our jobs back to this country. Example: I purchased a U.S. flag about a year or so ago at Wal-Mart and displayed it to some friends and it was marked “Made in China”.

Can you believe that“ True story. And I proved it too.

The American flag, like other products, should be produced in America.

That alone would bring many thousand jobs back to American and begin to bring us back to solvency.

Remember the words “ Together we stand, divided we fall.

God bless you all and Happy New Year.

Teacher Response
Cathy Bosse
Teacher, Evergreen Elementary School

This letter is written in response to Mr. Gregory Anderson’s comments regarding a letter I wrote to another publication. I must say that although Mr. Anderson’s comments towards me were quite complimentary, I was totally dismayed and extremely disappointed by his remarks towards my fellow teachers. He obviously has no idea of how dedicated and caring teachers are. How can anyone possibly believe that teachers don’t care about their students“ I have been a teacher for many years and have NEVER known a teacher who hasn’t put his/her heart and soul into their teaching. Who would one ever choose to work tirelessly and endlessly for anyone but children“ It certainly is not for the pay. If you were to take an average salary of a teacher and divide the salary by the number of hours a teacher actually works, you would most likely discover a wage that is quite low. Mr. Anderson, your remarks were cruel and totally unfounded.

You also completely misread my original letter in the other newspaper. If you had read the letter correctly, you would have understood that it is not the teacher’s nor Three Rivers Education Association’s fault that our school days are being cut. I stated that lack of preparation and planning on the part of our district has led us to this point. Finally, to my dear friends and fellow teachers I apologize profusely for being responsible for such a horrible response from an extremely misinformed individual.

Crosswalk Concerns
Lloyd Franklin
Cave Junction, OR

Thank you for the compliments concerning my previous letters about the crosswalk. Again we must all complain about the crosswalk to do some good. We need a light, drainage system, and/or repaint the crosswalk, since it’s being used a lot lately.

We could wait until there’s an accident and someone gets seriously hurt or injured or worse. Let’s do something about it now, before anyone gets hurt.

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