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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2007)
Page 13 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 17, 2007 Cave Junction Citizens Patrol serving as eyes, ears to help thwart criminals By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer It’s a quiet, cold Friday night in Cave Junction. Cars are covered in frost, and ice sheets blanket the parking lot of River Val- ley Restaurant. Mark Rodgers sits in his pickup truck, which idles as its engine roars. Rodgers and other members of the all-volunteer Cave Junction Citizens Patrol (CJCP) are wide awake as 1 in the morning rolls around. Most residents are asleep by now, but Rodgers knows that he has a long night ahead. Rodgers is somewhat surprised on this evening, as a Josephine County Sher- iff’s Office deputy sits nearby in a patrol vehicle. “It’s not too often that we see cops in the parking lot,” he said. “I can’t believe this.” Rodgers notices another deputy driving south on Redwood Hwy. as his walkie-talkie blurts the oc- casional bit of static. He puts the truck in gear and heads off to rendezvous with other patrol members. A short drive later, Rod- gers and the other CJCP members confirm multiple deputy sightings in the area. The news is particularly unusual, as Illinois Valley tends to lack a strong police presence. But CJCP is happy to be getting some help, and its members split up as soon as they’ve coor- dinated the frequencies on their walkie-talkies. The evening sky is completely clear as Rodgers makes his way through resi- dential neighborhoods, with starlight shimmering on the horizon and leftover snow still clinging to the treetops. Rodgers pulls out a flashlight as he approaches Evergreen Elementary School. Vandals tend to tar- get schools, Rodgers said, but are less likely to do so if they know someone might be watching them. “Bright light at night catches people off guard,” he observes. Rodgers began his CJCP involvement after a series of vandalism inci- dents at Jubilee Park. He felt an obligation to help make the community safer, and he began patrolling the city on foot. It may be easy for some to mistake CJCP as some sort of vigilante group, but its members follow ex- tremely strict rules of opera- tion. CJCP members are not allowed to make any physi- cal contact with suspects, and are not allowed to inter- vene directly to stop a per- son committing a criminal act. Their main function is to provide information to law enforcement officials, such as descriptions of sus- pects and their vehicles. Members are allowed to be armed while on patrol, but under strong, specific conditions, and for the sake of self-defense. After making his rounds, Rodgers meets up again with the other patrol members. It’s a few minutes until 2 o’clock, which means that the bars will be closing soon. This hour of the night usually tends to be pretty busy for CJCP. But things are remarkably calm this time, perhaps because there’s a sheriff’s deputy parked almost directly across from one bar. The Evergreen Federal Bank sign reads that it’s 20 degrees outside. Rodgers exits his vehicle and visits with CJCP member Victor Aries as bar patrons file out onto the street. They both keep a close eye on the situation, then get back into their cars to continue patrol. Aries said that he de- cided to join the patrol last spring when his car was broken into and ransacked. “That’s what prompted me to help reduce crime here,” Aries said. He also was disturbed after constantly seeing groups of young children out and about at all hours of the night. “If it’s 3 o’clock in the morning, they should be home in bed,” Aries said. Aries said that the patrol is more difficult during the week, due to its members’ career and family obliga- tions. CJCP currently con- sists of five members, but is actively seeking more vol- Victor Aries (left) and Mark Rodgers on duty for the Cave Junction Citizens Patrol. (Photo by Michelle Binker/‘Illinois Valley News’) unteers. Aries said he ex- pects the patrols to become more frequent during the next few months. “During the summer, we need it all during the week,” Aries said. He spends the next hour circling residential areas, but doesn’t come across any- thing suspicious. And by the time 3 a.m. rolls around, he’s off to regroup with the other patrol members. All indications are that it’s been an uneventful eve- ning, but that’s exactly what CJCP is striving for. Having done their duty for the eve- ning, CJCP members retire to the Junction Inn for cof- fee and some food. Aries said that the streets of Cave Junction ap- pear to be less rowdy these days. He’s unsure whether or not it’s strictly because of the weather or some other external factor, but one thing is certain: He and the other patrol members are deter- mined to keep it that way. “It seems to be settling down,” Aries said. “I think we’ve been making an im- pact, too.” Admitting guilt starts path to recovery Addiction to drugs, alcohol can be overcome with specialized treatment By GARY W. SMITH One of the final barriers to the harness and trap of addiction is “Guilt.” An addict is filled with guilt. He feels guilty be- cause he has lost his integ- rity; he has become a dis- honest person and conse- quently loses his self- esteem. For any rehabilitation method to be successful an addict has got to face his or her transgressions. They must be able to clean up the wreckage in their life that is there because of their addic- tion and the dishonest deeds that are part of this life style. A person who becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol doesn’t wake up one day and say, “Gee, I think I’ll start using drugs until I destroy my family, my relationships and my life in general.” Addiction starts with a problem; drugs or alcohol are chosen as a solution to relieve the discomfort one is experiencing by not being able to solve the problem. Then the physical and men- tal complications occur, all adding up to the person’s quality of life in a state of decline. Before the life cycle of addiction starts, addicts start as basically good people with some sense of right and wrong, and with no inten- tion or desire to hurt oth- ers. As the cycle of addic- tion progresses, and the cravings and other mechan- ics of addiction begin to dissolve self-control, they begin to get into situations where they are doing and saying things they know deep down aren’t true or right, all to cover up or hide their drug use. If the pattern of abuse continues they eventually become trapped in a vicious cycle of using drugs, hiding the fact, lying about using -- and even stealing to support more drug use. At each turn, the addict is committing more dishonest acts and with each act is creating more damage in their life and relationships, all of which has been committed to memory. When the addict com- mits a harmful act or dis- honest deed, they develop a memory of that deed and all the surrounding circum- stances at the moment the deed was done. Contained in each memory is who was involved, the time and place the deed occurred and what the end result of the dishon- est deed was. The addict knows these negative actions are wrong. And because the person himself -- not the addicted personality -- is good, they will feel bad or guilty after the dishonest act was com- mitted. These memories of guilt accumulate, and can be triggered in the present or future when they see the people and places that were involved when the trans- gressions occurred, and they feel bad about it. In time these transgres- sions are committed more and more often, and the peo- ple in the addict’s life where these transgressions have occurred become “triggers” that remind the person of the dishonest act or deed. The people, family members, loved ones and friends ap- pearance to the addict trig- gers the guilt. Family or friends don’t necessarily have to say a word to the addict -- just the sight of them can trigger the guilt. Guilt is an unpleasant feeling and so can prompt the addict to use more drugs to temporarily relieve them- selves from this unwanted condition. Addicts also will begin to withdraw more and more from friends and family as the transgressions increase in number. They will even- tually pull away from the family, seclude themselves, and/or become antagonistic toward those they love. Remember, the basic personality of an addict is good. The reason they end up withdrawing from those they love is because they know they are doing the wrong thing, and the act of withdrawing from those places and people that the addict has harmed, is their attempt to restrain them- selves from committing further transgressions to those places and people they care about. (Gary W. Smith has more than 30 years experi- ence in the chemical de- pendency treatment field. He is executive director of Narconon Arrowhead Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation and Education Center.) Williams man reports his beating, kidnapping A Williams man told sheriff’s officers that he was held at gunpoint while he was beaten with an ax handle after being accused of stealing medical marijuana. Josephine County Sher- iff’s Office added that four suspects face charges of kid- nap, assault and burglary. Based on information from the victim, identified as Christopher S. Murray, 36, four men known to him forced their way into his home. It happened around mid- night Thursday, Jan. 4, ac- cording to information re- ceived Monday, Jan. 15. Murray said that after being beaten, the men forced him into a vehicle and drove him to two undisclosed loca- tions in the city of Grants Pass. One suspect fled his home in Williams when de- tectives went there. Information about the case can be given via the JCSO confidential tip line at 474-5160; or phone 474- 5153, Ext. 3523. IN OBSERVANCE of Mar- tin Luther King Jr. Day, and in continuing protest of the war in Iraq, approxi- mately a dozen somber persons stood in front of the Josephine County Bldg. in Downtown Cave Junction Monday, Jan. 15. (Photo by Scott Jorgen- sen/‘Illinois Valley News’) Gunman robs motel clerk, police say A tall, gun-wielding man robbed a Grants Pass motel desk clerk Wednes- day night, Jan. 10, and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, said Grants Pass Dept. of Public Safety (GPDPS). The 37-year-old desk clerk who reported the rob- bery, at Shilo Inn on N.W. Sixth Street at 9:40 p.m., said that the gunman was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and fled the scene on foot. She was not injured in the incident Officers searched the area with the aid of K-9 offi- cer “Denny,” but could not locate the suspect. Anyone with informa- tion about this case is asked to phone 474-6370. First office at I.V. Medical Center Monday - Friday by appointment Pain - Stress - Injuries Deep massage CranioSacral Therapy Senior Discounts Gift Certificates MANSFIELD R. CLEARY Attorney at Law General Practice in Illinois Valley since 1980 Practice includes but not limited to: Bankruptcy - Eliminate financial problems Living trusts - Avoid probate Estate planning - Wills, power of attorney Domestic relations Auto accident - Personal Injury Criminal - DUII Real Estate contracts - Foreclosure 592-2195 Drive safely 200 W. Lister
