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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2004)
Sheriff chastises CJ for comments Deputies don’t want to serve in city RURAL SOUL - A large, appreciative crowd at- tended a bluegrass- country music jam on Sunday, Jan. 11 at Tay- lor’s Sausage Country Store in Cave Junction. CJ gets sidewalks, trees facelifting By SHANE WELSH If you’ve strolled through Downtown Cave Junction during the past couple of weeks, you have probably noticed crews of men working to finish the city sidewalk restoration project. Although weather has hindered the estimated pro- ject completion of Dec. 31, 2003, project coordinator Gary Biggs stated that his crew should have the job done by the first week in February. Currently, crews are removing the old walk- ways and tree roots throughout town. The new trees will have smaller, less intrusive root systems than the trees they will replace, so as not to dam- age the sidewalks, said Biggs, director of the city public works department. There will be three types of trees planted: *Jap anese Cherr y Yamigowa: This short tree has long, narrow branches with bright green foliage that can be seen in early spring. *Golden Desert Ash: This brown bark tree has green leaves in the summer and yellow ones in the fall. *Prairiefire Flowers Crabapple: This small tree has pinkish red flowers in late April to May. Its small dark red fruit and reddish green foliage offer a nice contrast to the flowers. Along with the trees, the Cave Junction Lions Club selected a variety of flowers to be planted in pots throughout the city. Funding fo r the $59,000 project comes from by Oregon Economic and Community Develop- ment Dept., U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Devel- opment, and local public and private funds. The contractor is Reed Construction of Eagle Point. Work is progressing on sidewalk renovation in CJ. (Photo by Shane Welsh) By MICHELLE BINKER Taking aim at critical comments regarding patrol coverage in the city, Sher- iff Dave Daniel said that the current contract officer wants to get out. The top Josephine County law enforcement officer spoke before Cave Junction City Council dur- ing its regular meeting Monday night, Jan. 12 in city hall. Daniel addressed the state of the sheriff’s office contract for service with Cave Junction, noting that the current contract dep- uty, John Auborn, has re- quested to be pulled from the city. Citing “unfortunate statements which have ap- peared in the ‘Illinois Val- ley News’,” Daniel said that not one deputy has expressed interest in being located here. “The mayor has made a number of derogatory remarks about the sheriff’s department which have appeared in the ‘Illinois Valley News’,” Daniel said. “If the city has diffi- culties with the sheriff’s office, they ought to be addressed to the sheriff’s ffice, or to Lt. Harman.” Lt. Lee Harman is as- signed to the CJ Substation as officer-in-charge. Daniel also spoke about the expenses of maintaining a deputy dedi- cated to 40 hours per week patrol in Cave Junction. Besides the $83,000 paid by the city for wages and vehicle costs for the contract officer, the sheriff provided an itemized list of expenditures he said are absorbed by the sheriff’s office totaling $31,128. These include the costs of overtime pay, uniforms, dispatching services, sup- plies (ticket-books, flash- lights, film, picture proc- essing, ammo, batteries), legal counsel, liability in- surance, and supervision. Daniel tells council that a number of costs are absorbed without charge. Furthermore, Daniel noted, the sheriff’s office provides “other services to the city,” such as perform- ing criminal history checks on liquor license appli- cants. Unlike other entities, which must pay for this service, the city is serviced at no charge, he said. Responding to the sheriff’s comments later in the meeting, after Daniel left, City Recorder Jim Polk noted that the sheriff “seemed quite upset.” Councilman Rita Dyer recommended quarterly or semi-annual meetings with the sheriff or Harman to better address issues of concern. “We want to make sure (the sheriff’s office) knows where we’re coming from,” said Mayor Ed Faircloth, “because we certainly got to hear where they’re coming from.” Searching for right site for safe house goes on A decision to find a site, other than one that was sought on Hwy. 199 (Redwood Hwy.) within a 3-mile radius southerly of Cave Junction, was made last week by directors of Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance (The Alliance). Executive Director Chris Mallette said that after making three offers on a parcel, all were re- jected because “The seller wants to hold out for the full asking price.” The board met on Monday night, Jan. 12 to develop final criteria and priorities for the planned two phases of the safe house initiative. Such a facility will be used to ac- commodate victims of do- mestic abuse. Criteria already set are that a site consist of 5 to 10 acres and be within 3 miles of the CJ city limits. In addition, the site “must accommodate the suppor- tive services facility and the safe house, and must be either zoned” properly for the facilities, or it must be possible to obtain a con- ditional-use permit. “The next step,” said Mallette, “will be to ac- tively pursue improved and unimproved properties that meet the criteria.” Those who know of such a site should contact Tami Feldhaus, chairman of The Alliance Site Com- mittee. Her telephone numbers are (541) 597- 2344 and (541) 659-9995. Her e-mail address is jen- tami@earthlink.net. Meanwhile, The Alli- ance is continuing its fund- raising efforts. “All funds received will be placed in a designated and interest- bearing account until the right property is found,” said Mallette. “The organi- zation hopes to secure the funds and property by March. Depending on the particulars,” she said, “the organization could be moving into new head- quarters by summer’s end.” The Alliance currently uses rented space at the Illinois Valley Family Coalition Center on E. River Street in CJ. For more information about the project or The Alliance -- or to donate -- phone 592-5332, or visit the office in the coalition center. Andy Brooks I.V.’s Brooks sole cyclist from Oregon in int’l. event By SHANE WELSH Illinois Valley High School student, Andy Brooks, 17, is honored with an invitation to join the U.S. team at the World Cyclo-Cross Champion- ship in Pont Chateau, France. Brooks will be the only Oregonian on the U.S. team. The two-day champi- onship race on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, is organized by UCI, the French acronym for International Cycling Union, and represents ado- lescents and adults. To receive the invita- tion, Brooks, an IVHS jun- ior, had to earn a set num- ber of UCI points compet- ing in various events. During his most recent race, in Portland, Brooks competed while recovering from the flu, but managed to finish in 17th place. Although Brooks had been in training for several months anticipating the event, he only learned Jan. 7 that he had earned the honor of joining the team. The entire U.S. team is comprised of 18 cyclists in four age classes, Elite men, Elite women, U23 (under 23), and the Junior class. The rugged course will be a test of endurance, challenging riders mentally and physically with off- road twists and turns. This will be Andy’s first time out of the coun- try, and he is looking for- ward to the experience. Biscuit deadline Tuesday, Jan. 20 Those who wish to comment on the draft envi- ronmental impact state- ment (DEIS) regarding the Biscuit Fire Recovery Pro- ject have until Tuesday, Jan. 20. All written, faxed or el ect ronic co mment s should be sent to Scott Conroy, c/o ACT2 Enter- prise Team, P.O. Box 377, Happy Camp CA 96039; faxed to (530) 493-1776. Or they can be e- m a i l e d t o r6_biscuit@fs.us. The DEIS is posted at www.biscuitfire.com. For more information about the DEIS, including the recommended alterna- tive for harvesting timber, contact Judy McHugh at (541) 471-6500.