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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2003)
Page 8 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Crime ring (Continued from page 1) patrols. He also encour- aged residents to join the sheriff’s volunteer pro- gram. There is currently one volunteer from the Cave Junction area, he said. After some discussion about that possibility, as well as some tense and angry comments pointed at the sheriff, it was decided that a citizen committee would be formed. Mayor Ed Faircloth took down names of those who would be interested in joining CJ citizens patrols. Faircloth also noted that Auborn’s hours would be adjusted to allow for better patrol times. A follow-up meeting regarding the citizens’ committee will likely be planned for after the Labor Day holiday. DRILLS -- Illinois Valley High School head varsity football coach Bob Thorn- hill leads members of his offense through drills Mon- day at IVHS (photo above). Quarterback Josh Coronado makes a pitch during play drills (photo left). The Cou- gars open their season Fri- day, Aug. 29 at Reedsport. (Photos by Steve Fairchild) - Britt Fairchild con- tributed to this story. All is quiet in CJ during a late night C-FAC patrol By STEVE FAIRCHILD Staff Writer It’s 9:30 p.m. on Fri- day, Aug. 22 and two members of Concerned Fathers Against Crime (C- FAC) are giving me a ride in a pickup truck for a pa- trol of Cave Junction to keep an eye out for suspi- cious behavior. The two men, Darryl and Bruce, (it is the or- ganization’s policy to not disclose their last names in print) move over and give me a spot on the bench seat. For the next two hours we talk about everything from honeymoons, Oregon Caves National Monu- ment, job history, the economy, crime and fam- ily. This is the first time the two men have been sent to the city of CJ. The group is based in Grants Pass and has ap- proximately 300 members who work in eight-week rotations. Founded to stop crime in Grants Pass, C-FAC has made a dent, according to Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel, who invited the organization to patrol Illinois Valley when sev- eral businesses here were broken into and vandalized during the last several months. On his lap, Darryl holds a scanner so he can listen to any calls sheriff’s deputies respond to, and offer assistance on, if needed. During my time with them we don’t see any sheriff’s vehicles or hear calls on the scanner. The policy of C-FAC is to make its presence felt in the community. Members doing the rounds in pairs are in- structed to patrol the area in their vehicle and report any suspicious activity to police. They are not supposed to get involved; just be the “eyes and ears” of law en- forcement. Deputies receive a fax in the evening that C-FAC patrols will be out. They receive the names of the men and a description of their vehicles. The truck we are rid- ing in is loud and con- spicuous. To the average citizen, we look like three average guys driving around town. We drive past just about every section of town -- behind Shop Smart ‘Concerned Fathers’ help fight crime By STEVE FAIRCHILD Staff Writer For seven years a group known as Concerned Fathers Against Crime (C- FAC) has been sending its members on late night pa- trols to help decrease crime in Grants Pass and outlying areas. With a policy of com- plete non-involvement, members travel in pairs with a scanner and a cell phone to provide extra pairs of eyes and ears to law enforcement. According to Terall Blalock, one of the found- ing members of C-FAC, the group shares a com- mon bound of wanting to keep the community free of crime for its upstanding citizens. “We choose as fathers to look after our commu- nity and take ownership of our parks and schools,” Blalock said. When Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel asked Blalock to lend a hand to Cave Junc- tion following a rash of burglaries in the area, C- FAC didn’t hesitate. “We’re extending our love to Illinois Valley to a bunch of folks who don’t know us,” he said. Recently during public meetings, business owners, city officials and citizens have complained about the lack of law enforcement in the city. Cave Junction con- tracts with the sheriff’s office to have one deputy in CJ for 40 hours a week. Deputies are also loaned to the community as needed as a regular part of the sheriff’s coverage of the county. Blalock has patrolled I.V. at least once since C- FAC began its patrols the first weekend of August. He said he is surprised at the vulnerability of the town. “We observe a lot of activity at night more than I thought we would,” he said. “Your community is very different at 1 a.m. It’s quite obvious that it is very vulnerable (to crime).” All the members of C- FAC are carefully screened by the sheriff’s office and undergo a background check and informal train- ing. On any given night there can be one to four cars out on the road, or none at all. Only the police and C-FAC know, and it keeps the criminals guess- ing, according to C-FAC. So far, the program has been a success. From writing down license plates numbers of suspicious ve- hicles, to testifying in court, C-FAC is helping to save the community from crime. “C-FAC is a real good group. They do a bang up job for us,” Daniel said. “I’m hoping we can get some recruiting out there (in I.V.) with C-FAC. As short-handed as we are, we need all the help we can get.” C-FAC is also looking into using hand-held video cameras and helping busi- nesses with video surveil- lance. C-FAC founder and president Bob Just was the brainchild behind C-FAC. He developed the group under the direction of for- mer Josephine County Sheriff Dan Calvert in 1994. Once a man is trained as a C-FAC member, he usually becomes more aware of his community even when he is not on patrol, Blalock said. For more information on the Concerned Fathers Against Crime, visit the Web at www.c-fac.org. Help support the Illinois Valley High School football team and other school sports programs. Food Warehouse, through Jubilee Park, around Junc- tion Inn, behind the high school, through Laurel Cemetery, behind and around several churches, around businesses on Caves Hwy., on an ally behind downtown busi- nesses, by the post office, through residential neighborhoods, by Ever- green Elementary School and through several other places in the valley. We’re equipped with a flashlight so we can “light up” anybody that is acting suspicious. During the night we see few suspicious people. There are some teenagers sitting on the curb drinking what looks like soda near Speedy Mart, and a couple of cars that stop as the drivers communicate with each other. Besides that, it is a quite night in Cave Junction, just like it should be. I say “goodbye” and wish Darryl and Bruce good luck for the rest of their night. They will continue to patrol the town until an undisclosed time. C-FAC members are scheduled to patrol CJ and nearby areas at least two nights per week. This book presented by Senior Library Specialist Jennifer Berubee and is available at the I.V. Library. Phone 592-3581 for more information. (Public service announcement) ‘T-Rex is Missing’ Author & Illustrator: Tommie DePaola Ages: 2 to 5 A boy accuses his friend of taking his doll T-Rex, when it was really misplaced in the house.
