Crime ring
annoys CJ
merchants
Hickerson
move loss
to valley
By STEVE FAIRCHILD
A growing burglary
ring has Cave Junction
area business owners up in
arms about not enough
protection and lack of in-
volvement from city offi-
cials, lawmen and parents
in keeping the town safe.
A late night burglary
Wednesday, July 2 -- that
led to $20,000 in lost mer-
chandise and damage to
Bear Images, a boutique
and gift store -- is the latest
in a series of crimes perpe-
trated against Downtown
Cave Junction businesses.
On Thursday, July 31,
a customer who stopped by
the business at around 9:30
a.m. discovered that the
front door to Bear Images
was kicked in and that
items inside the store had
been thrown around.
Josephine County
Sheriff’s Office deputies
took a report for second-
degree burglary, first-
degree theft and criminal
mischief.
An emplo yee at
Dave’s Perfect Pizza dis-
covered that the cash regis-
ter and tip jar were taken
when he went to open the
business on Wednesday,
July 30.
The burglars forced
their way through a small
bathroom-size window and
left through a back door,
he said.
On Saturday, Aug. 2,
an employee at La Caverna
Restaurant, which is in the
same shopping center as
Bear Image, noticed that
the door to the restaurant’s
storage shed had been bur-
glarized and that beer was
missing. The shed was bro-
ken into again the next
night, and deputies said
$100 worth of beer was
taken.
During the past six
months several other busi-
nesses have been the vic-
tims of burglaries. They
include Video Explorer,
The E-Store, Puff ‘N’
Stuff, CJ Radio Shack and
Video Store and others that
were not reported to depu-
ties.
Colene Talley, owner
of Bear Images, said the
crime ring is being per-
petuated by youngsters
riding around town on bi-
cycles. But they are getting
more sophisticated or may
be led by an experienced
thief, she believes.
When her business
was broken into, the sus-
By BRITT FAIRCHILD
Staff Writer
After living in Illinois
Valley since the sixth
grade, Bill Hickerson is
moving on.
The former city of
Cave Junction employee,
who quit his job at the city
of Cave Junction Waste-
water Plant last month af-
ter five years there, said
he’s ready for a change.
“I’ve lived here
(almost) my whole life,”
Hickerson said.
Don’t get him wrong.
He’ll always treasure the
valley -- 24 years of volun-
teering for I.V. Rural Fire
Protection
District
(Continued on page 10)
Cave Junction
citizen patrol meeting
Friday, Aug. 8 at 7p.m.
Jubilee Park
Pavilion
No injuries were reported in a Selma mobile home fire fought by I.V. firefighters. (Photo by Steve Fairchild)
I.V. firefighters battle Selma home blaze in 107
A mobile home lo-
cated at 375 Squaw Moun-
tain Road in Selma burned
to the ground Wednesday,
July 30.
Illinois Valley Rural
Fire Protection District
Division Chief Joe Feld-
haus, who lives nearby,
was on scene in 45 seconds
after hearing the fire an-
nouncement on his radio.
Upon discovering that
the house was fully en-
gulfed, IVRFPD firefight-
ers focused successfully on
keeping the flames out of
the nearby woodlands and
fought to save a motorcy-
cle shop behind the house.
Nobody was reported
injured in the blaze includ-
ing the home’s residents
Bruce Mueller and Two
Feathers Man Killer.
According to Feld-
haus, firefighters saved
approximately $100,000 in
tools by preventing flames
from overtaking the motor-
cycle shop, but the con-
tents of the house includ-
ing several computers used
to operate a key and the
motorcycle business were
destroyed.
The fire was most
likely started when some-
one at the house dropped a
cigarette onto a wood pile,
Feldhaus said. The 107-
degree weather probably
made it difficult for them
to detect the flames.
Members of the I.V.
Fire District spent five
hours mopping up the
blaze. Four firefighters, a
water tender and a brush
truck left the scene to help
fight a fire in Grants Pass
on Robertson Road.
Sentencing
pending in
GP arson
A sheriff’s deputy dusted for fingerprints in Bear Images after a burglary.
Forest restrictions rise due to fire risk
Due to the hot weather
and increasingly dry forest
conditions, campfires,
smoking and off-road vehi-
cle use is restricted in the
Rogue River and Siskiyou
National Forests.
As of Friday, Aug. 1,
open campfires are prohib-
ited in both national for-
ests, except in approved
fire rings and fireplaces at
specific developed and
dispersed recreation sites.
The use of pressurized,
liquid or gas stoves is al-
lowed in the forests.
Smoking is prohibited in
the forests, except in en-
closed vehicles and build-
ings, in designated recrea-
tion sites, or while aboard
watercraft on rivers or
lakes. Off-road vehicle use
is prohibited, and all mo-
torized vehicles must stay
on developed forest roads
and within established
parking areas.
In Illinois Valley
Ranger District Grayback
Campground and Day Use
Area, Cave Creek Camp-
ground and Bolan Lake
Campground are approved
for campfires.
A 17-year-old boy
could be sentenced to 15
years in prison in connec-
tion with 16 counts of first-
degree arson involving
fires that destroyed two
Grants Pass complexes for
senior citizens.
Michael C. Stephens, a
student at Grants Pass
High School was sched-
uled for sentencing on Fri-
day, Aug. 8 after entering a
plea of “no contest” on
Monday, July 28 in con-
nection with a major blaze
on March 6. It left 62 peo-
ple homeless.
Subsequently he has
asked to withdraw that
plea and the court is con-
sidering the request. A new
sentencing date is pending.
The fire caused more
than $6 million damage at
Oakview Gardens and Jas-
mine Park. The major
blaze was fought by fire-
fighters from several agen-
cies. They included Grants
Pass Fire & Rescue, Illi-
nois Valley Fire District
and Rural/Metro Fire Dept.
A defendant who
pleads no contest admits
no guilt, but acknowledges
that he could be convicted.
Bill Hickerson
(IVRFPD) demonstrates
his commitment to this
community. However, he
said, the skills he’s learned
are viable in other places,
such as Grants Pass.
Hickerson began his
new job at the GP Waste-
water Treatment Plant on
July 28.
He and his wife, Lar-
rieann, who also works in
Grants Pass, plan to sell
their house on Caves Hwy.
and build somewhere in
Grants Pass.
That she has been
commuting to work for
some time was the main
reason he changed jobs,
Hickerson said.
Although the situation
surrounding former Fire
Chief Kyle Kirchner’s res-
ignation also played into
his decision, he added.
“It just made it easier
(to leave),” Hickerson said.
Kirchner accepted a
deal from the IVRFPD
board for his resignation at
a June 18 board meeting
following accusations that
he spent district money
and used a district card for
personal purchases.
Kirchner also noted at
the time that had he not
settled, three of the five
board members would
have voted to fire him.
The way in which
board members handled
the situation, from placing
Kirchner on leave months
(Continued on page 9)
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