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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2006)
50¢ Coug girls run at state falls short County withdrawing from some health aid Arrangements under way for outside help as state, federal fund sources drying up Win some, lose some. Sometimes you get the breaks: sometimes not. So it was for the Illinois Valley girls basketball team -- this year’s champion of the Skyline Conference with a 21-2 mark -- but which lost twice in the state 3-A playoffs in Corvallis against some big guns. The Cougars were de- feated 53-33 by the Burns Hilanders on Wednesday, March 7; then lost 52-50 in a nail-biter Thursday, March 9 vs. the Marist Spartans. In the latter game, the Cougars looked as though they’d be staying at the playoffs, as they were leading Marist 46-38 in the fourth quarter. But the Spartans came from behind, outscoring I.V. 14-4 during the final four minutes. The Cougars ex- perienced three turnovers during the final minute of the game. SOME SNOWFALL on Thursday and Friday, March 9-10, and early this week, caused icy roads and accidents, as top and left photos show on Hwy. 199 in the O’Brien area (Photos by Dale Sandberg/I.V. Fire District) On Thursday morning, some Lorna Byrne Mid- dle School students (below) made a giant snowball. Schools were closed Friday. (Photo by ‘Illinois Valley News’) (Continued on page 3) Zonta cites four of I.V. for service Four Illinois Valley residents have been honored by the Zonta Club of Grants Pass for their dedication of service to the community. Cited for their achieve- ments are Illinois Valley High School (IVHS) Principal JoAnn Bethany, I.V. Senior Center (IVSC) President Don Fulk, and Stuart and Chris Freedman, of Fire Mt. Gems. Each received a single long-stem yellow rose and a certificate of thanks and appreciation. They are among 11 per- sons Zonta cited in Jose- phine County. Fulk, 78, was nomi- nated by Cathy Putney, IVSC treasurer. She noted that he has been a Mason for more than 50 years, and has served as IVSC president for three years. “Under his leadership,” she wrote, “the senior center supported the financially strapped Cave Junction Swimming Pool with a $1,000 donation so that the children and families in Illi- nois Valley would have a source of recreation. “As president, he has actively pursued the expan- sion project for the center, which provides educational and recreational activities for members and the com- munity. “He supports the IVSC scholarships to IVHS stu- dents, and the school pro- gram advocating interaction of teen-agers with senior citizens. He’s a member of the Laurel Cemetery board, and a former director on the I.V. Golf Course board.” Putney added that Fulk “is never too busy to help a neighbor.” Bethany, IVHS princi- pal since 2003, was nomi- nated by Jann Taylor, cur- riculum director for Three Rivers School District. Bethany “has made the commitment to stay at IVHS until she retires. Although she lives in Grants Pass, her commitment and passion is clearly for students of Illi- nois Valley,” Taylor wrote. (Continued on page 10) Due to financial woes, as of July 1, Josephine County is withdrawing from a number of health and hu- man aid programs, including direct mental health service. The board of county commissioners announced Monday, March 13 that the county no longer will pro- vide or administer the fol- lowing programs: *Direct mental health services. *Addiction services. *Developmental dis- ability services. *Early intervention ser- vices. The county will main- tain the local Mental Health Authority for mental health and addiction services, but will contract with local ser- vice providers to provide and administer the help. “By retaining the local authority,” said the commis- sion, “the county will moni- tor the services provided by the contractor to assure the quality in the future.” The county board added that it is “involved in discus- sions with the nonprofit ser- vice provider, Options for Southern Oregon, in an at- tempt to enter into a contract where it would assume the administration.” Developmental disabil- ity services will be “returned to the state of Oregon. Early intervention services will be returned to the Douglas County Education Service District (ESD).” Letters have been sent to all affected organizations, said the commission. They are the Oregon Dept. of Hu- man Resources, Douglas County ESD, and American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. The board met with affected county employees Monday to explain the changes and answer ques- tions. Data about how many county jobs might be lost because of the changes was not immediately available. Announced the com- mission, “These changes will help to assure the con- tinued success of the af- fected programs, allowing for the continued delivery of services to the public, in an increasingly difficult fiscal environment. “This is due in part to the continued rising county costs, and due to an uncer- tain future regarding county revenues from federal and state of Oregon sources.” M.D.-aided suicides higher Thirty-eight Oregonians ended their lives under the Death with Dignity Act dur- ing 2005 compared to 37 who did so in the previous year, according to the eighth annual report released last week by the Oregon Dept. of Human Services (DHS). “Once again, our report shows little change in the demographics and charac- teristics among those who are using this law,” said Dr. Mel Kohn, state epidemiolo- gist. “And again, these Sheriff candidates present varied viewpoints To a man, the four can- didates seeking the office of Josephine County sheriff believe that stable funding is needed. Ideas ranging from grants to citizen volunteers and greater use of reservists were among ideas. Each indicated that more citizen involvement is needed. The four also generally agreed that a source of fund- ing other than the federal “safety net,” based on tim- ber receipts, must be found. C a n d i d at e s B r i a n Anderson, Donald Fasching, Gil Gilbertson, and William Spike Kelly addressed a crowd of approximately 60 persons Wednesday night, March 8. The public forum in the county building in Cave Junction was spon- sored by Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce. Voters will cast ballots in the May 18 vote-by-mail primary for the office, being vacated after eight years by Sheriff Dave Daniel, who is running for county commis- sioner. If none of the four gains a majority, the top two will run off in the November general election, but if one gets a majority, only his name will show Nov. 7. Each candidate was allotted six minutes to pre- sent qualifications and plat- forms. This was followed by written questions from the audience. Each candidate has ex- tensive experience in law enforcement. Anderson, of Merlin, is the current county un- dersheriff. He has some 20 years in law enforcement, 17 with the county sheriff’s office in many areas of con- siderable responsibility. Fasching, of Selma, has more than 32 years law en- forcement background, in- cluding wide-ranging ex- perience at the San Diego Police Dept., from which he is retired. Gilbertson, of Grants Pass, is a retired police offi- cer of nearly 30 years. And as a law enforcement con- sultant he has served in Bos- nia, Kosovo and Iraq. He has served at many levels. Kelly, of Williams, is currently a corrections dep- uty at the county jail, and a lawman of 30 years. Like the others, he has a range of experience in many facets of law enforcement. Each of the candidates said that they would strive to be available to citizens, while working to beef up coverage for their protec- tion. Kelly said that he would have quarterly com- munity meetings. In response to a query about citizen review boards, comments included: Gilbertson said that as sheriff he would have an oversight committee watch- ing him, and that he would monitor his subordinates. “There would be employee evaluations,” he said, “to identify problems and prob- lem officers.” Fasching said that is “not in favor of a citizen review board. They start thinking that they have power,” he said. “I am in favor of support by citizens” through communication with him. Eschewing such a board, said Kelly, “could be underestimating the intelli- gence of the citizens. If they tell us what kind of job we’re doing, we could make it better.” (Continued on page 9) deaths reflect a very small portion of the average 31,000 annual deaths in Oregon.” Physician-assisted sui- cide was legalized in 1997, and since then, 246 Orego- nians have died under terms of the law. As in prior years, par- ticipants were more likely to have cancer (84 percent), be younger (median age of 70 years) and have more formal education (37 percent had at (Continued on page 4) Following is the weather re- corded in O’Brien by Cheryl & Harry Johnson. *Fri., March 3: 48-36,.04 *Sat., March 4: 56-32 *Sun., March 5: 43-38, .83 *Mon., March 6: 50-38,1.26 *Tue., March 7: 50-36, .67 *Wed., March 8: 46-35, .43 *Thurs., March 9: 38-32, .05 rain, 6 in. snow Following is the weather re- corded in Cave Junction at Moun- tain Wind Farm. *Fri., March 3: 49-35,.04 *Sat., March 4: 51-31,.01 *Sun., March 5: 42-39, 1.13 *Mon., March 6: 50-38,1.26 *Tue., March 7: 51-33, .56 *Wed., March 8: 46-34, .40 *Thurs., March 9:38-30, .38 Illinois Valley Wednesday, March 15 Showers High--47 Low--36 Thursday, March 16 Rain & Wind High--48 Low--34 Friday, March 17 Showers High--44 Low--29 Saturday, March 18 Partly Cloudy High--50 Low--30 Sunday, March 19 Partly Cloudy High--49 Low--33 Monday, March 20 Mostly Sunny High--55 Low--36 Tuesday, March 21 Mostly Cloudy High--55 Low--35 BRIAN ANDERSON DON FASCHING GIL GILBERTSON WILLIAM ‘SPIKE’ KELLY
