Page 2
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Because of last issue’s reference to my having the honor-
ific title, Mexican Trashman, from some times in Poway, Calif.,
before it became an incorporated city in San Diego County, this
is your opportunity to learn about those thrilling days of yester-
year. Or stop reading here, and go to “Police Blotter” or some
other page. The choice is yours.
I think it’s still “true” that from Rancho Bernardo and
Penasquitos north to the Riverside County line, the area is
known as North County. I always thought that the middle
locales should be known as Central County. The North Coast
reference makes sense, as it encompasses communities that
include Del Mar, Encinitas, Cardiff (or Cardiff-by-the-Sea for
purists), Carlsbad and Oceanside. And Camp Pendleton.
Before talking trash, I recall that my first fatal accident (it
wasn’t me) was in Poway. I was a fuzzy-cheeked cub reporter,
and some poor guy had gone off Poway Road between Espola
Road and Hwy. 67, apparently because of dense fog. Also, the
fact that he was intoxicated didn’t help. He had been ejected
from the vehicle as it rolled down a long, steep embankment. It
was sad to me, and my first exposure to the black humor used
by emergency personnel. It didn’t take long before I caught on.
But about that trash. We lived in an extremely rural part of
Poway on Twin Peaks Extension, which was then a dirt road
with only two abandoned farm houses and five homes. It
seemed like a good idea to haul our own rubbish to save
money. Plus, two of our neighbors, with whom we also were
friends, were willing to help pay the freight if I removed their
trash, an offer I couldn’t refuse, so to speak.
Most Saturday mornings would find my late friend, Tom,
and I loading my ‘66 GMC window van with trash cans. For a
while we were able to use a landfill at the top of Espola off
Poway Road, but once it was filled, we had to drive to Ramona.
(The “had” is subjective.) It was OK by us, as we enjoyed each
other’s company, and seemed to always have cold beverages
for the trip up and back. I don’t want to say what beverages, but
highway patrol and sheriff’s deputy vehicles made us nervous.
We had a jolly time at the dump, sometimes finding
“treasures,” as long as we didn’t take the “No Scavenging”
signs seriously. And if a county employee wasn't watching.
Some of the stuff we recycled turned out to be trash, as far as
our wives were concerned, but we felt that we had made wise
choices. Probably the best item I ever got was an ornate, older
bird cage someone had callously tossed. We also got a really
neat 55-gallon drum. All we had to do was remove the hog guts.
It was a lovely drive way before all the extensive develop-
ment that has occurred in that area during the past 36 or so
years. In fact, the first time I went to Poway as an adult (see
“fatal accident” above), the length of Poway Road from old U.S.
395 up to Hwy. 67 was nearly bare. Now it’s wall-to-wall busi-
nesses and homes. Homes on hills, homes in valleys, homes
on flats, homes on homes. Expensive homes. The median price
for homes in San Diego County reached $500,000 this month.
Wow. Our first “boughten” home, which was in Poway, was
$28,500. Long time ago.
Now it’s time for El Jefe to stop rambling and reminiscing.
But sometimes I just can’t avoid talking trash.
The man who has no imagination has no wings.
- Muhammad Ali -
Illinois Valley News
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by Robert R. (Bob) and
Jan Rodriguez - Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe
Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as Official Newspaper for
Josephine County and Josephine County Three Rivers School District, published at 321
S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523
Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330
Volume 68, No. 14
Staff: Kacy Clement, Michelle Binker,
Becky Loudon, Bryan Harley, Nina Holm Consulting.
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
(Editor’s Note: Views and
commentary, including state-
ments made as fact, are strictly
those of the letter-writers.)
* * *
Typed, double-spaced let-
ters written solely to this news-
paper are considered for publi-
cation. Hand-written letters that
are double-spaced and legible
also can be considered.
Cards of thanks are not
accepted as letters.
* * *
‘A simple request’
From George F. Long
Grants Pass
(Editor’s Note: The fol-
lowing letter to the Josephine
County Board of Commis-
sioners was submitted for
this column.)
1
I would like to make a
simple request. While my
request is simple I believe
you will experience great
resistance to it from within
the county government, but
it is something the people
should have access to with-
out having to request infor-
mation.
Indeed, this information
is routinely available from
governments nationwide;
and where governments have
refused to release it, such as
Washington State, courts
have ordered it released.
In the past, citizens who
voiced their concerns about
the county’s finances were
routinely labeled as misin-
formed or told their figures
made no sense or were just
dismissed out of hand. The
county’s response many times
was to say that the “Public”
needed to be educated.
This request will pro-
vide more data about this
county’s employees than
any other thing you can do;
and then we citizens of Jose-
phine County, who employ
the county government, will
have a more transparent
view of people we employ.
On April 27, the Jose-
phine County Human Re-
sources Dept. released an
employee roster. This docu-
ment contains the depart-
ments, job titles, names, the
status, salaries and the num-
ber of employees in each
department on that date.
The information is the
most accurate snapshot of
the government we employ.
And the citizens of this
county should have infor-
mation at their fingertips.
Therefore I request that
this information be placed
on the county’s Web site
and be updated twice a year.
Additionally I request that
the information be sent to
the Daily “Courier,”
“Illinois Valley News” and
“Sneak Preview” with the
request that it be published
as a public service.
I believe I have heard
just about every excuse
from county employees as
to why this should not be
done. Reasons range from
fear of identify theft, which
is absurd, to getting their
email spammed, to not
wanting the public to know
what they make or who they
are. And that last reason is
precisely why it needs to be
published.
This document shows
some very interesting things,
like Mental Health had 157
employees, but the sheriff’s
office only had 116. It
shows that all the library
employees except the man-
agers and the employee at
the Law Library are part
time, the only county de-
partment so structured.
It will show we have a
Communications Dept. with
only three employees: a
manager and two line staff.
It will also show that the
manager is paid $22,630.44
or about 54 percent more
than the most senior line
staff employees in that de-
partment.
And there are many
more things to learn by study-
ing this information. Indeed I
chose the previous examples
just because the information
stood out so much.
During the last election
the citizens were made
aware of many problems
within the county, and
elected Dwight Ellis and
Jim Raffenburg with the
mandate to change the way
this county functions. This
information, if made readily
available, will allow the
public greater knowledge of
just who we employ and
what the costs are.
There are those who
will say that merely publish-
ing the “wage tables” will
serve the same purpose. It
will not, and it will be
viewed as an attempt to hide
information.
We have a right to the
information. If you wish to
have transparency in county
government you will do the
right thing and put this in-
formation on the Web site.
‘Open your eyes’
From David Korrell
Cave Junction
As a young boy I re-
member going to the store
with my grandfather.
I reminded him that he
left the keys in the car. He
calmly replied, “This is
Cave Junction,” left the keys
and walked into the store.
Try that now, and not
only will your car be gone
when you return, but if your
house keys were on the key
ring your house will get
robbed too.
Recently our “Law En-
forcement” had what I would
consider a lapse in judgment
that cost the taxpayers al-
most $50,000. This money
was spent in overtime and
increased patrols to control a
group of motorcycle riders
(also known as tourists), who
were described by every
business they visited as
“model citizens.”
For our $50,000 they
did manage to break up one
fight and hand out 40 cita-
tions to the group. I would
like to believe some residual
effect on our real problem
occurred with the increased
police presence.
What is the real prob-
lem? Methamphetamine --
plain and simple. If only a
fraction of that money were
spent to control this prob-
lem, we might see some
reduction in the out-of-
control crime in our city.
Since December 2004 I
have fought this problem at
my business, spending
3 P.M. FRIDAY
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine County - $20.80
One year in Jackson and Douglas counties - $24.40
One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state - $36
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to
P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR 97523
each truck holding around
30 gallons, it costs them
more to fill the tank than
they get from the rental.
You do the math: It
won’t take long.
‘Thieves and vandals’
From (Name withheld by
request because the writer
‘fears for his life’)
Unfortunately, thieves
and vandals are overwhelm-
ing us. Robbie (Robbie’s
Auto Care Center) has suf-
fered greatly recently, as
thieves have taken nearly all
his tools. I can certainly un-
derstand and sympathize
with his frustration.
Things have certainly
changed at his U-Haul store
in recent days. It is my un-
derstanding that he has hired
a night watchman, accord-
ing to the sheriff’s office.
It is inconceivable that
this could be true, as the cost
of such would be enormous
and hardly worth the value
of the gas theft he had been
experiencing. Perhaps the
state would be interested in
whether the “watchman” is
getting minimum wage and
Workers Comp. Talk about
substandard housing.
It also is my under-
standing that he has been
notified he is in violation of
city laws, and basically has
thumbed his nose. Maybe
all the CJ businesses should
pick and choose the laws
they wish to abide by?
What is this all about
really? The fact of the mat-
ter is that a vagrant commu-
nity has blossomed at the
rear of the U-Haul lot. There
is trash, stray dogs, drinking,
fights and drunken behavior.
What does hiring a “night
watchman” have to do with
five to 10 homeless people
hanging around 24/7? It
makes me wonder how the
transient “watchman” can
tell the good vagrants from
the bad.
Most everyone knows
the saying about if it looks
like a duck, acts like a duck,
sounds like a duck, then …
What is the deal with all the
traffic back there?
Car after car stops
briefly; then leaves. What is
the attraction to so many
people about a guy living in
a U-Haul? I cannot prove
that there is drug dealing.
But a man in a recent traffic
accident was one of the visi-
tors to the transient camp.
Robbie used to help
children cross Hwy. 199.
Thank goodness summer is
here, and children no longer
have to walk past.
I want to note that this
community of vagrants is
causing far more problems
than I can relate here. In my
opinion, and I am not alone,
this is a bad situation that
should be cleaned up.
Flowers on the Flat
The new greenhouse
on Sauer’s Flat
NOW OPEN
DEADLINES:
News, Classified & Display Ads, Announcements & Letters
(Classified ads & uncomplicated display ads can be
accepted until Noon, Monday with an additional charge.)
POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters to the editor provided
they are of general interest, in good taste, legible and not libelous. All letters must be
signed, using complete name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number.
The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify authenticity. The ‘News’
reserves the right to edit letters. Generally, one letter per person per month at publish-
ers’ discretion. Letters are used at the discretion of the publishers. Unpublished letters
are neither acknowledged nor returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is
inordinately long in the publishers’ opinion.
POLICY ON “HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE,” DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADS &
NOTICES: All submissions must be hand delivered, faxed or e-mailed to us for publica-
tion. Submissions must be resubmitted weekly if the item is to run more than one week.
around $1,000 on an alarm
system with six cameras, and
another $500 repairing it af-
ter it was repeatedly vandal-
ized. Then I spent two weeks
working nights, as this was
when it was happening.
The pictures of the
criminals are in the hands of
our “Law Enforcement.”
However, no action has
been taken, and no arrests
have been made. Further I
was told that I could not
take any action against them
unless I caught them in the
act. Pictures are worthless.
Even the homeless are
victimized by those respon-
sible; they have little, but
what they do have is fair
game for the meth users.
My next attempt at pro-
tecting myself and the tools
of my trade has created
quite a stir. I lock up the few
belongings of three of our
homeless in exchange for
their watching my shop at
night. It is not a perfect solu-
tion, but it works.
Most of the other busi-
nesses in the area appreciate
the drop in crime and night-
time traffic in the area.
However, one business
owner did express his dis-
like for the situation, by call-
ing the police repeatedly, the
fire district (a barbecue grill
was on fire, cooking food),
and the city demanding that
they be forcibly removed.
The business owner
claimed that it was affecting
his business that is not yet
open. This same business
owner, when asked if he had
an extra garbage bag to
clean up the neighborhood
replied, “I don’t give a damn
about this neighborhood.”
Does he expect the
neighborhood to support his
place when and if it finally
does open? Maybe he
should care.
When I got word from
U-Haul reps that a city offi-
cial had taken pictures of
our night watchmen and
sent them to U-Haul with a
nasty letter, it became appar-
ent I had stepped on one too
many toes.
I understand how cut-
ting off the supply of free
gasoline to move meth
around has hurt their econ-
omy. And I do feel bad that
other innocent folks are be-
ing victimized. But as least
I’m not. I’m just defending
what is mine.
I have returned my
business license to the city,
and have no plans to reopen
in Cave Junction. That
makes two businesses in one
location that have been run
out in favor of the meth
trade.
The third will soon fol-
low, as with no protection,
Joan and Robbie Robinson
do not stand a chance. At
$2.49 a gallon, and with
Members of
Western Star
Order of Eastern Star
Will be selling lunches in the pavilion at
Jubilee Park, Cave Junction
on Friday, June 24, 10:30 to 3 and Satur-
day, June 25, 11:30 to 3:30.
This is in conjunction with the
C.J. Lions Club Classic Car Show
on these two dates.
Thank you for your support.
Saturdays & Sundays, 10 to 5
Perennials & Annuals
Do-it-yourself Hanging
Basket Kits
We have lots of
new plants just in!
Come check us out.