Underground grow sites yield huge marijuana crop
Law enforcement offi-
cers last week raided four
locations – two in Illinois
Valley – and uncovered
three underground mari-
juana grow sites; seizing
some 5,440 plants, said
Josephine Interagency
Narcotics Team (JOINT).
The illegal weed will
be destroyed by burning,
but not in the form of
ma r i j u a n a c i ga r e t t e s
known as joints.
On Thursday, Dec. 11
at 7:30 a.m. 60 lawmen
from 12 agencies raided
two locations in Illinois
Valley and one in Wolf
Creek, and uncovered
three underground sites for
growing marijuana.
At 1620 Reeves Creek
Road in Selma, officers
found a 50-by-50-foot be-
low-ground grow site with
more than 3,500 plants.
They also found a three-
story underground grow
site under construction,
and investigators estimate
it would have been capable
of growing another 5,000
to 7,000 marijuana plants,
said JOINT.
Investigators believe
that the confiscated mari-
juana was destined for an
organized crime distribu-
tion network in California.
The case represents one of
the largest during the past
several years in Josephine
County.
Flu season
hits valley
fairly hard
By MICHELLE BINKER
‘Tis the season. For
the flu, that is.
And this year’s strain
is wreaking havoc through-
out the northern hemi-
sphere. Illinois Valley is
not immune.
This rampaging virus,
a Fujian strain of Influ-
enza A, has sent thousands
of people to hospitals, and
is responsible for the
deaths of several children
in the western United
States, and six children in
England and Scotland.
In Illinois Valley,
health workers are dealing
with a fair number of peo-
ple with flu and flu-like
symptoms.
Eve Marsh, a regis-
tered nurse who works at
Siskiyo u Communit y
Health Center (SCHC) in
Cave Junction, reported
that only a few children
from the valley have been
sent to hospitals, and they
have recovered quickly.
Marsh noted that underly-
ing asthma may have con-
tributed to the severity of
those cases.
School absences in-
creased considerably dur-
ing the past week. At
Lorna Byrne Middle
School’s Health Center,
registered nurse Ruth
McBride said they’ve been
sending a few students
home every day. Ever-
green Elementary had 150
(nearly one-third of the
student population) out
sick on Monday, Dec. 8
although attendance has
improved since.
Principal Lise Van
Brunt credits parents for
being very aware of the
outbreak, and keeping sick
kids home.
“We haven’t really had
too many feverish kids in
class,” she said, though
during one point early in
the week there may have
been “20 or 30 kids per
hour” in the office having
temperatures taken.
Cathy Zook, adminis-
trator at Dome School, said
they “have definitely been
hit. Fortunately, we have-
n’t had too many absences
all at once.”
Sudden onset of a fe-
ver is a typical flu symp-
tom, as are severe body
aches, headache, weak-
ness, dry cough and nasal
discharge. In the event of
illness, it is important to
prevent dehydration, and
to contact a physician if
the condition lasts for
(Continued on page 3)
Mentioned in connec-
tion with the three search
warrant services are Rex
Denham, 26, of the Reeves
Creek Road address;
Freddie Tamayo, 34, of
5565 Westside Road; and
James Conn, 34, of 4201
Coyote Creek Road in
Wolf Creek at the north
end of Josephine County.
No arrests were made, and
investigation is continuing.
JOINT said that its
detectives have been work-
ing for two years on leads
to develop information
about “several under-
ground grow sites in op-
eration in Josephine
(Continued on page 6)
New I.V. Fire Chief Rich
has 34 years under belt
HOLIDAY
HOOPS -
Glide High School cap-
tured first place in the
girls and boys categories
at the annual Holiday
Tournament hosted by
Illinois
Valley
High
School in Ken Mann Me-
morial Gym on Friday
and Saturday, Dec. 12-
13. Named to the girls
all-tourney team: Kim
Hamilton and Emily Dud-
ley of I.V. High, Katie
O’Brien
of
Cascade
Christian, Krista Meeks
of Gold Beach, and
Brooke Smith of Glide.
Glide’s Amy Croll was
named Most Valuable
Player. On the boys side,
the Cougars’ Jon Riley
attained
the
all-
tournament team, along
with Brandon Fair from
Cascade Christian, Nic
McNair and Wil Price of
Gold Beach, and David
Hill of Glide. The boys
MVP was listed as
Brandt Petersen, also
from Glide.
Early ‘I.V. News’ deadline for the next
two issues (Dec. 24 and 31):
*Noon Thursday, Dec. 18; paper comes out Tuesday, Dec. 23
*Noon Wednesday, Dec. 24; paper comes out Tuesday, Dec. 30
By MICHELLE BINKER
Harry Rich, who has
34 years of fire fighting
experience in California,
will start as chief of Illi-
nois Valley Fire District on
March 1.
District directors con-
vened for a special, one-
hour meeting on Sunday
night, Dec. 14 in Cave
Junction City Hall. After
brief discussion of the
compensation package and
probationary period, Direc-
tor Joe Malcolm moved to
accept Rich as the dis-
trict’s new fire chief. The
board approved the motion
5-0.
Rich was among six
candidates; five of whom
were interviewed by the
board Saturday, Dec. 13.
Rich, who has 34 years
experience as a firefighter
and EMT in the city of Los
Angeles and Big Bear City
fire departments, brings to
the job a goal-oriented ap-
proach and a resolve to
work in concert with the
policies set by the board to
shape the future of the dis-
trict.
“I want to bring the
board solutions, not prob-
lems,” he said, accepting
the board’s approval. “I
look forward to the chal-
lenge, and the opportu-
nity.”
The first item on the
new chief’s agenda is to
bring more volunteers on
board. Board Chairman
Joel Downing concurred
on this issue. “We would
all support a more active
drive” to recruit more vol-
unteers, Downing said.
Additionally, Rich said
he would like to have a
school program to get
youth involved in the fire
service.
Rich cited his exten-
sive experience in risk
management, and proposed
a “support team” to ana-
lyze and mitigate risks to
district firefighters. Fur-
thermore, Rich said he
would pursue funding
through bonds, obligation
grants, or state funds, to
replace old equipment.
Rich, 56, and his wife,
Lorraine, are building a
home in Cave Junction,
and are committed to stay-
ing for the long haul. “This
is where I want to finish
my life; this is where I
want to raise my dog,” said
Rich, smiling. The couple
have four grown daugh-
ters.
When he retired from
his position as a fire cap-
tain in L.A., Rich said his
wife, who is originally
Harry Rich
from Grants Pass, allowed
him to choose “anyplace
within a 100-mile radius”
of GP. He chose Cave
Junction. After reading
about the fire district’s
need to hire a new chief in
the “Illinois Valley News”
and elsewhere, he decided
to apply.
“I take great pride in
having been an L.A. city
firefighter,” said Rich. “I
will take great pride as a
firefighter for the Illinois
Valley.”
Board member Larrick
Jones was enthusiastic
about the new hire. “He’s
very sharp,” said Jones.
“He’ll make a good chief.”
The district’s training
officer, Jeff Gavlik, who
has been serving as interim
fire chief since March,
when Kyle Kirchner re-
signed, is pleased with the
new hire. “This is a posi-
tive movement for the dis-
trict,” he said.
Rich asked the board
for 65 days to finish work
on his house and wrap up
business in L.A. before
getting down to work in
Illinois Valley on March 1.
The fire chief’s salary
will start at $55,000, and
after a six-month review
could rise to $65,000.
Biscuit comments extended
Jan. 20 is the new
deadline for public com-
ments on the Biscuit Fire
Recovery Project Draft
Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS), accord-
ing to the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice.
The Jan. 20 date is the
result of a 15-day exten-
sion announced by the for-
est service’s Rogue River-
Siskiyou National Forest
office in Medford on Fri-
day, Dec. 12.
In choosing the length
of the extension, Forests
Supervisor Scott Conroy
(Continued on page 3)