50¢
Forum for sheriff candidates
set March 8 by I.V. Chamber
Four men who have filed for the office of Josephine
County sheriff have been invited to a public
forum in Cave Junction.
Sponsored by Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, the
public event will be held Wednesday, March 8 in the county
building beginning at 7 p.m.
Each candidate will be allowed to state their platform and
qualifications. There will be a question-and-answer period.
Candidates invited to the forum are Brian Anderson, of
Merlin; Donald L. Fasching, of Selma; Gil Gilbertson, of
Grants Pass; and William Spike Kelly, of Williams.
Cave Junction resident Craig “Rio” Heiller withdrew
from the sheriff’s race, as he did not meet qualifications. But
he is running for a seat on the county board of commissioners.
Current Sheriff Dave Daniel is not seeking re-election.
However, he is running for the board of commissioners.
Deputies wound man in
oncoming car situation
Open burn
scorches
four acres
Land owner faces ODF
fines; maybe IVFD too
A wind-driven escaped
open debris burn Sunday,
Feb. 26 posed a threat to
several homes on Holland
Loop, but was contained to
approximately four acres of
brush and slash, and at least
one log deck that burned.
Dense smoke marked
the site in the 8900 block of
Holland Loop when Illinois
Valley Fire District (IVFD)
units began responding
shortly after the 12:02 p.m.
alarm was sounded.
Wes Nicholson was
identified by IVFD as the
property owner with the
open burn. There is no re-
cord of a permit filed with
IVFD, said Chief Harry
Rich. This means that he
could be cited by IVFD.
He will be cited by Ore-
gon Dept. of Forestry
(ODF), which sent one en-
gine to the blaze, said Rich.
Nicholson will be cited by
ODF for an escaped debris
burn, and for the costs of
suppression efforts by ODF,
according to Rich.
He said that Nicholson
told him he had been burn-
ing for approximately three
days, and that he thought the
fire was out. It apparently
rekindled, possibly due to
wind, Rich said.
The chief added that he
was advised by ODF that
the fire spread from Nichol-
son’s property to that owned
by Steve Glove.
“There was potential for
flames to reach several
structures,” said Deputy
Chief Jeff Gavlik, “but the
wind direction was in our
favor. If it had jumped a
road there was nothing but
dry grass between it and
several structures.”
IVFD, which was on-
scene for five hours, sent
four brush rigs, three en-
gines and three water ten-
ders. Rural/Metro Fire Dept.
sent an engine to cover the
Cave Junction station.
Gavlik said that the
wind, with gusts estimated
by Rich at 25 to 29 mph,
blew smoke around, which
made it difficult to approach
the fire. Smoke was visible
from several miles away.
Initially, the application
of water was hampered by
wind, but eventually it died
(Continued on page 10)
Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) firefighters, assisted by Oregon Dept. of Forestry,
controlled an escaped open burn on Holland Loop. (Photos by Dale Sandberg/IVFD)
Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce President Terri Hill (left) with Bertha & Jerry
Miller, whose Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. was chosen by chamber directors as
2005 Business of the Year. (Photos by Dale Sandberg)
An officer-involved
shooting Sunday, Feb. 26
near O’Brien, that resulted
in a civilian being wounded,
is being investigated by the
Josephine County Major
Crimes Unit.
Two deputies, not identi-
fied, were involved and are
on paid administrative leave,
a standard procedural step in
such incidents, said Oregon
State Police (OSP), lead
agency in the investigation. A
woman is sought in connec-
tion with the investigation.
At approximately 8:20
p.m., two Josephine County
Sheriff’s Office (JCSO)
deputies responded to a re-
port of a burglary and as-
sault in the 37000 block of
Redwood Hwy. on the south
side of O’Brien.
OSP continued:
Upon arrival, they con-
tacted the complainant, Wil-
liam Neith, 38. Neith re-
ported that three to six peo-
ple entered his residence,
held him at gunpoint and
assaulted him with the han-
dle of the firearm before he
was able to escape and
phone 911.
While interviewing
Neith at an area away from
his residence, a vehicle con-
taining five men approached
and was ordered by the
deputies to stop. The vehicle
stopped and backed up. The
operator exited the vehicle,
and the right-front passen-
ger, Kurtis Korff, 39, from
Cave Junction, got into the
driver’s seat.
Both deputies began to
run to their vehicles when
one of them slipped in mud
and fell. While on the
ground, Korff allegedly ac-
celerated toward the deputy,
who was able to get to his
feet. Both deputies fired
their weapons. Korff was
struck in the head.
There was an uncon-
firmed report that one dep-
uty had to leap onto the
hood of the vehicle to avoid
being struck, and fired
through the windshield, but
that was not confirmed offi-
cially.
Korff initially was
transported to Three Rivers
Community Hospital in
Grants Pass by American
Medical Response. He was
transferred to Oregon Health
Sciences University at Port-
land in critical condition.
OSP is being assisted
by JCSO, Grants Pass Dept.
of Public Safety, Josephine
County District Attorney’s
Office, and OSP Forensic
Services Division.
The investigation is
continuing. Investigators are
asking for the public’s assis-
tance in locating a woman
believed to be associated
with this case.
OSP identified her as
Sherie Irene Wright, 48. She
has a last-known address in
the Brookings area. Wright
is wanted for burglary and
assault, and she is believed
to be armed and dangerous.
She may be in a white
1982 Chevrolet Camaro with
Oregon license plates similar
to YKR 353 or TNZ 338.
Anyone with informa-
tion regarding her location
or this investigation is asked
to contact OSP’s Southern
Communications Center at
(541) 776-6111.
A church banner de-
scribed by Cave Junction
Mayor Tony Paulson as
potentially offensive be-
cause of its content and
format was to be removed
this week.
The banner, ostensi-
bly promoting an all-
church congregational
gathering, stretches across
Hwy. 199 in the center of
Downtown CJ.
Wild River, Lyons honored by chamber Mayor orders banner removal
more than 30 years ago,
Steve Lyons, and Wild
River Brewing & Pizza Co.
are the honorees in the an-
nual recognition program
sponsored by Illinois Valley
Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber conducted
its awards ceremony Satur-
day, Feb. 25 at Wild River
in Cave Junction. Approxi-
mately 75 persons attended.
Other nominees for 2005
Citizen of the Year, besides
Lyons, are Cori Allen, Fred
Ball, Jerry & Bertha Miller,
Linda Oncay, Robert
Schumacher, and Dave Toler.
Nominees for ’05 Busi-
ness of the Year, besides
Wild River, are Cabin
Chemistry, I.V. Community
Development Organization,
and Pacific Power.
Lyons is several times
past-president of I.V. Lions
Club, and is on the board of
directors. He serves on nu-
merous committees, and last
year headed those for the
Labor Day Parade & Festi-
val, and crab feed.
He is one of the primary
ticket sellers for the club’s
annual motorcycle raffle,
and is a good friend of the
Easter Bunny, who appears
at the club’s annual egg hunt
for valley children.
Last year he boosted the
I.V. Bikers Toy Run, which
STEVE LYONS
was in jeopardy. He is active
at Bridgeview Community
Church, and one of the top
producers at Century 21
Harris & Taylor. It also was
noted that he carries wheel-
chairs in his car to be able to
provide them to anyone.
Jerry & Bertha Miller,
who came to the valley
were recognized not only
for last year’s efforts as co-
owners of Wild River, but
for their years of dedicated
community service.
Their longtime commit-
ment to valley youth, even
though their children are
grown and moved away,
was noted. Additionally,
they were recognized for
sharing their time and re-
sources for I.V. High School
sports, and for providing
youth employment.
Also, in line with their
level of commitment, Jerry
devoted 12 years service as
a director on the Three Riv-
ers School District board.
Bertha, working with
her husband, was a major
leader for the chamber’s
Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival
and golf tournament last
year. They also support one
of the valley’s soup kitchens.
As well, the Millers are
big supporters of the cham-
ber’s annual auction. And
they are active in leadership
roles at Good Shepherd Lu-
theran Church.
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in O’Brien by Cheryl
& Harry Johnson.
*Fri., Feb.17: 42-31, .03
*Sat., Feb.18: 45-23, .05
*Sun., Feb.19 48-21
*Mon., Feb.20: 51-20
*Tue., Feb.21: 54-27
*Wed., Feb. 22: 59-26
*Thurs., Feb.23:62-28
Following are the high-and-
low temperatures, and rainfall,
recorded in Cave Junction at
Mountain Wind Farm.
*Fri., Feb.17: 43-31
*Sat., Feb.18: 47-24
*Sun., Feb.19: 50-19
*Mon., Feb.20: 54-18
*Tue., Feb.21: 55-23
*Wed., Feb.22: 60-23
*Thurs., Feb.23: 65-25
Don’t drink and drive
(Continued on page 10)
Illinois Valley
Wednesday, March 1
Rain
High--51 Low--33
Thursday, March 2
Rain, Snow Possible
High--45 Low--28
Friday, March 3
Mostly Cloudy
High--48 Low--27
Saturday, March 4
Cloudy
High--49 Low--31
Sunday, March 5
Scattered Showers
High--53 Low--28
Monday, March 6
Chance of Rain
High--53 Low--27
Tuesday, March 7
Rain
High--49 Low--25