Payroll jobs in Josephine County climb to 32,979
Payroll employment in
Josephine County rose by
250 jobs from July to Au-
gust, with the unemploy-
ment rate at 7.2 percent,
little changed from the 7.1
figure from July.
So said Oregon Employ-
ment Dept. (OED) in report-
ing that 32,979 persons in
the county had payroll jobs
at the end of August.
The August 2004 rate
was 7.9 percent.
The increase last month,
said OED, is due mostly to
gains in manufacturing,
transportation and local edu-
cation employment.
So far this year, payroll
employment in Josephine
County rose by 1,000 jobs --
a gain of 4.1 percent. The
county job growth rate was
slightly faster than statewide
during that time, said OED.
During August, the con-
struction sector gained 20
jobs, bringing the increase
since the same month last
year to 210. Wholesale trade
gained 20, while employ-
ment in retail trade fell by
10 during the month.
During the past 12
months, retail and wholesale
trade employment rose by
80 jobs each, said OED.
Gains were noted in furni-
ture and home furnishing
stores, as well as building
material and garden supply
stores.
Manufacturing employ-
ment rose by 50 during Au-
gust, with wood products
accounting for 30. Through
the year, manufacturing em-
ployment rose by 170 jobs.
Professional and busi-
ness services employment
has added 90 jobs this year;
financial activities employ-
ment gained 30. Leisure-
and-hospitality employment
added 20 jobs; 120 so far
this year, OED said.
Government employ-
ment during August rose by
110, the agency said.
The jobless rate in Jack-
son County last month was
6.3 percent. Oregon’s sea-
sonally adjusted rate was
6.7; the country’s 4.9.
‘Katrina’ evacuee staying afloat
New Orleans resident finds safe harbor in Takilma
Christine Pacheco (center), from New Orleans, with
Teri & Jim Dougherty, of Takilma (‘I.V. News’ photo)
Christine Pacheco was
in El Salvador when civil
war erupted, and she was
forced to flee in 1967.
As a New Orleans resi-
dent, she was temporarily
displaced by flooding due to
16 inches of rain in 1995.
She celebrated her
birthday last week. On 9-11.
And she is among emer-
gency evacuees from recent
flooding in New Orleans in
connection with Hurricane
“Katrina.”
With those experiences,
she’s beginning to wonder,
“So what’s next?”
Now staying in Takilma
with her brother and sister-in-
law, Jim & Teri Dougherty,
the 25-year resident of New
Orleans is biding her time
until early in October, when
she’ll be allowed back to her
suburban, flooded apartment
in Jefferson Parish.
She was able to return to
her ground-floor residence in
a three-story building shortly
after “Katrina,” but only for
an hour.
“We had to use flash-
lights,” she said, as the power
was out. “Everything was
soggy, -- I could see by the
water mark that there’d been
a foot of water inside -- and
mold already was forming,”
she recalled. “I was able to
retrieve some of my medi-
cine, some documents and
some clothing.”
However, she’s uncon-
(Continued on page 7)
Officers seize explosives, firearms, drugs in Grants Pass
Explosives, firearms
and drugs were seized at
two Grants Pass locations,
when Grants Pass Dept. of
Public Safety (GPDPS)
served warrants based on
investigation into kidnap-
ping, robbery and assaults.
Seven persons were
arrested or cited during
search warrant service on
Fruitdale Drive by the
GPDPS Special Activities &
Felony Enforcement Team.
Because of the probabil-
ity of encountering armed
and dangerous suspects,
GPDPS was assisted by Jo-
sephine County Sheriff’s
Office and Oregon State
Police.
Arrested last week were
Grants Pass residents:
*Amber K. Lairson, 18,
charged with two counts of
menacing, and under a war-
rant charging unlawful use
of a weapon.
*Tabitha D. McGee, 27,
arrested under a warrant
charging probation violation.
*Alicia A. Harrington,
26, charged with possession
of a controlled substance/
methamphetamine, and
three counts of being a felon
in possession of a firearm.
*Jason T. Haynes, 21,
and Kris L. Harrington, 20,
each charged with posses-
sion of an explosive device,
second-degree assault, first-
degree kidnapping and first-
degree robbery.
The five were jailed.
Additionally, Revis W.
Hultquist, 18, a transient,
was cited under a warrant
charging unlawful posses-
sion of a firearm, plus ob-
structing governmental ad-
ministration, and failure to
carry or present a driver li-
cense; and GP resident
Michael Mitcheff was cited
under a warrant charging
three counts of menacing.
Investigation is continu-
ing, and more arrests are
anticipated, said GPDPS.
Come-from-behind win
gives Cougars 3-0 tab
It was the stuff of those
classic football movie
clichés -- but it was real life
for Illinois Valley’s varsity
football team.
Despite being 13 points
behind in the fourth quarter;
the Cougars took the score
to 22-21 against the Suther-
lin Bulldogs with less than
three minutes remaining in
Cave Junction on a chilly
Friday night, Sept. 16.
The clock read 2:57,
and I.V. could go for a punt
to tie the score. Or it could
“go for the gusto” and run
the ball for a 2-point score,
thereby winning 23-22.
Coach Bob Thornhill
instructed his charges, and
they responded, with Zach
Pagnotta earning the 2-
pointer. He had just earned 6
points for the Cougars on a
6-yard run.
As they say, “The
crowd went wild,” and Illi-
nois Valley became the
proud possessor of a 3-0
nonleague record, continu-
ing to foreshadow what ap-
pears to be one of its best
seasons.
I.V. will play in
Winston on Friday, Sept. 23
against Douglas High
School in the final non-
Skyline Conference game.
The season will open offi-
cially Friday, Sept. 30
against Hidden Valley on
the Mustangs’ field.
Against the Bulldogs,
despite their tenacity and
power, the Cougars perse-
vered and prevailed. The
expression, “ … where sel-
dom is heard a discouraging
word ...” comes to mind.
Among standouts Fri-
day were Dalton Reagan
and Steven Paul, who
crushed the Bulldog kicker
with less than five minutes
left in the game, preventing
his punt.
Their handy efforts
gave I.V. the ball at the 50,
providing the Cougs another
shot of adrenalin, as they
had reached 22-15 on the
scoreboard and were feeling
the power. Pagnotta had hit
Ian Moore on a halfback
pass: a 34-yard TD.
Only seven plays later,
Pagnotta secured the game-
winning score, followed by
Moore snagging a Bulldog
pass. At that point, slightly
less than two minutes re-
mained in the game.
I.V. faced a strong Suth-
erlin squad that was good
COUGAR GIRLS GO - Illinois Valley girls took 3rd place in a pre-district cross coun-
try meet Thursday, Sept.15 at Lake Selmac. The boys team took 6th. For the I.V.girls,
McKenzie Yeoman was 5th, and Michelle LaPierre 9th. For the boys, I.V.’s Graham
Baker was 12th; Ben Bennett finished 19th. The Hidden Valley girls captured 1st and
Phoenix girls 2nd. On the boys side, Phoenix was 1st, and Hidden Valley was 2nd.
(Photo by ‘Illinois Valley News’)
A community wildfire
meeting regarding the Deer
Creek Conflagation will be
held Wednesday, Sept. 28 at
Illinois Valley Fire District
(IVFD) Station 2 in Selma.
There will be an open
house at 5:30 p.m., followed
from 6:30 to 8 p.m. by pres-
entations and a question-
and-answer session.
The open house will
continue until 9 p.m., said
IVFD, which is co-
sponsoring the program
with Oregon Dept. of For-
estry, Josephine County, and
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment.
The purpose of the
meeting “is to reflect on
lessons learned from the
Deer Creek Fire and identify
opportunities to reduce fu-
ture wildfire risk.”
FBI warrant
served at
Kerby home
FBI agents, assisted by
officers from several agen-
cies, served a federal
search warrant in connec-
tion with a continuing rob-
bery investigation Thurs-
day morning, Sept. 15, said
Josephine County Un-
dersheriff Brian Anderson.
The warrant was
served in the 24000 block
of Redwood Highway, and
no arrests were made.
There have been five
armed bank holdups in the
Rogue Valley during the
past two weeks.
FBI agents were as-
sisted by officers from Jo-
sephine and Jackson
County Sheriff’s offices,
and Grants Pass and Med-
ford Police departments,
said Anderson. He added
that the warrant service
was aided by JoCo patrol
deputies and the Grants
Pass Police SWAT Team.
The investigation in-
volves multi-jurisdictional
boundary lines, according
to Anderson.
Here’s the weather
report from Cheryl & Harry
Johnson in O’Brien.
*Fri., Sept. 9:
73-52
*Sat., Sept. 10: 65-49
*Sun., Sept. 11: 71-39
*Mon., Sept. 12: 78-41
*Tues., Sept. 13: 81-41
*Wed., Sept. 14: 84-46
*Thurs., Sept.15: 82-47
Illinois Valley
Wednesday, September 21
Sunny & Clear
High--81 Low--42
Thursday, September 22
Mostly Sunny
High--76 Low--37
Friday, September 23
Plenty of Sunshine
High--76 Low--37
(Continued on page 16)
Fire restrictions cooled down
Fire and off-road vehicle use restrictions are lifted in the
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice announced. They had been in effect since Aug. 13 due to
wildfire hazards,
Rescinded are personal-use restrictions to build, maintain,
attend or use fires.
Also lifted are fire restrictions on smoking and operation
of internal-combustion engines on forestland.
Restrictions on operating off-road vehicles on other than
designated forest roads, trails or parking areas also are cur-
tailed, except in those areas with signs restricting off-road
traffic.
Selma blaze
review, tips
meeting topic
Saturday, September 24
Sunny & Nice
High--79 Low--39
FOR LAND’S SAKE - A landmark auction, the first of its extent in Southwestern Ore-
gon, was conducted in Cave Junction Saturday, Sept.17 by Jim Frick, of Century 21
Harris & Taylor. He conducted the auction from his promotional fire truck. The auc-
tion at Hanby Vista Estates for owner Larry Osborn resulted in the sale of 21 of 50
lots at a minimum $60,000 each, said Frick. (Photo by ‘Illinois Valley News’)
‘Illinois Valley News’-- The community’s best local news and advertising medium.
Shouldn’t you take advantage of the excellent marketing opportunities?
Don’t be left out! Phone the ’Noose’ at 592-2541.
Sunday, September 25
Partly Cloudy
High--84 Low--44
Monday, September 26
Sunny
High--80 Low--42
Tuesday, September 27
Sunny & Warm
High--88 Low--51