LBMS FAM FEST - Family Night has been canceled.

ASSET BUILDERS - Several Illinois Valley residents will be recognized Friday, March 2 for “going above and beyond” to support and encourage youth. Honorees from I.V. include Jann Taylor, David Valenzuela, Rachel Goodman, Les Lesiecki and Marshall Hamilton. Honors will be bestowed by the Josephine County Commission for Children & Families, and the Focus Teen Council during the sixth annual Asset Builders Celebration. The public event will be held at Grants Pass High School beginning at 6 p.m.

CRIBBAGE, ANYONE? - Al and Bob Hurt, of Hometowne Interiors, are sponsoring a fund-raising open cribbage tournament to benefit Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance. The event, for anyone at least 18, is set for Saturday, March 10 at Hometown Interiors, 139 S. Caves Ave. Signups are being taken there until 9 a.m. the 10th. There is a fee. There will be door prizes, cash prizes, and coffee and doughnuts. There will be no smoking or alcoholic beverages. For more information phone 592-2413.

CAN YOU DIG IT? - Riparian Tree-Planting Day scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 was postponed due to snow. The sponsor, IBIG (Illinois Basin Interest Group) Forestry Action Committee (FAC), has rescheduled the annual volunteer effort. Planting now is planned for Saturday, March 10 at McCaleb Ranch Boy Scout Camp out Illinois River Road; and Saturday, March 17 will be for general planting at various valley venues. Participants should meet at 9 a.m. at the FAC site at the U.S. Forest Service lower compound in Cave Junction.

‘CROCODILE HUNTER’ HONORED - A 6-foot long crate full of materials donated by area residents is on its way from Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center in Merlin to Beerwah, Australia and the Steve Irwin Memorial. Irwin was an Australian wildlife expert and TV personality, who achieved worldwide fame from the TV program, “The Crocodile Hunter.” He and his wife, Terri, who had visited Wildlife Images several times, owned and operated Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. On Sept. 4, 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine at the Great Barrier Reef. In the crate are donated letters, photographs, and a custom-made steel bench honoring the late “Wildlife Warrior.” The bench was designed by Wildlife Images staff and manufactured by Memory Garden Benches of Grants Pass. Also included are letters from schoolchildren and other well-wishers, and a “beautiful photograph” of a cougar kitten taken by Dave Siddon, executive director of Wildlife Images. The big
gest donation came from Federal Express which volunteered to deliver the 250-pound crate.

NOTEPAD - Girl Scouts are selling a variety of tasty treats during the annual cookie sale. Watch for them (cookies and Girl Scouts) around the valley … A Spring Gala will be held to benefit Wildlife Images on Saturday, March 10 at Bear Hotel in Grants Pass. There will be a four-course gourmet meal, and seating is limited. Phone 476-0222 … Beer brewing at home will be taught March 10 at Jackson County Extension Auditorium on Hanley Road in Central Point. Phone 776-7371 to pre-register … Bumper stickers: *Retired. I was tired yesterday and I’m tired today. *I used to have a handle on life, but it broke. *Quoting one is plagiarism. Quoting many is research. *Wrinkled is not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up. *Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!

LAST WORDS - There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action. (Bertrand Russell)

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