50¢
Wyden forum
Friday, Feb 23
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.) will host a Jose-
phine County Town Hall
meeting on Friday, Feb. 23
at noon at Grants Pass City
Hall, 101 N.W. “A” St.
County residents can
attend the open forum to
voice their questions and
concerns.
During Wyden’s first
Senate campaign in 1996, he
promised to hold a Town
Hall meeting in every Ore-
gon county each year. Since
being elected he has held
430-plus such gatherings.
Locked-up federal land tied to reduced tax base, county income
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
The severity of the
situation for Josephine
County without federal
O&C income is stressed by
the county’s leaders.
Jim Raffenburg. Chair-
man of the county board of
commissioners, and Sheriff
Gil Gilbertson went to the
state capitol in Salem Thurs-
day, Feb. 15 to testify before
the House Agriculture and
Natural Resources Commit-
tee regarding the discon-
tinuation of federal O&C
funds.
They testified in support
of House Joint Memorial 5,
which urges the federal gov-
ernment to continue pay-
ments to rural counties.
During the committee
hearing, Raffenburg empha-
sized the severity of the
county’s pending financial
woes.
“Unlike the counties of
the Willamette Valley, Jose-
phine County’s taxable land
base is comprised of less
than 10 percent of the total
county land mass,” he
noted. “More than 60 per-
cent of our land is locked
away in federal ownership.
“Of the remaining, 30
percent is held either in state
ownership or privately held
timber resource reserves that
pay little to no property
taxes. As a result, we do not
have the tax base necessary
to permanently support local
Josephine County’s
population rose by 1,480
from July 1, 2005 to July 1,
2006, reaching 81,125, ac-
cording to information from
Portland State University.
The city of Cave Junc-
tion went from 1,380 resi-
dents to attain a total of
1,600. The city of Grants
Pass now has a population
of 39,390; up from 27,195.
Populations of other
Southwestern Oregon coun-
ties also show increases.
*Curry: 21,365 (+175).
*Jackson: 198,615
(+4,100).
*Douglas: 103,815
(+910).
*Coos: 62,905 (+210).
By MICHELLE BINKER
IVN Staff Writer
Supporters of Cave
Junction’s swimming pool
already are trying to figure
out how to get this season
off the ground.
Without much-needed
repairs the pool is not fit to
open this year, said Shawn
Carmody, CJ Pool Commit-
tee president.
The committee has a
target fund-raising sum of
$250,000, which would
fund much-needed repairs
and operating costs for
opening this year.
“To replace the pool
would cost millions of dol-
lars,” said Carmody.
The critical repairs --
which Carmody said could
net an additional 15 years of
pool life -- include resurfac-
ing inside the pool and retil-
ing; replacement of the
pump and filtration system;
and repair of the solar water
heating system.
Loss of the solar hot
water system, which Car-
mody said failed dramati-
cally last year, required pool
operators to use significantly
more propane to heat the
water, which was expensive.
Other noncritical up-
grades on the wish list in-
clude new lockers, a diving
board and a mobile life-
guard chair.
“We’re really hoping
that someone with a big
heart and wallet will step
forward to help make this
happen,” Carmody said
“I think it would be a
loss for the valley if the pool
went away.”
All donations to the CJ
Pool, when made through
the Josephine Parks Founda-
tion, are tax-deductible, and
are earmarked solely for use
on the pool.
“The city can’t use that
(Continued on page 3)
ing legislation that would
allow for newly constructed
homes and existing homes
sold on the open market to
be assessed at their real mar-
ket value instead of the arti-
ficially adjusted lower val-
ues currently required.
“The current system of
funding local governments
is broken and failing fast,”
Raffenburg said. “Failure to
take action in the state Leg-
islature in this session will
(Continued on page 3)
Siskiyou Health Center
nearly ready for opening
Figures show
population up
Pool group
diving into
solutions
or state-mandated services,”
said Raffenburg.
He urged the legislators
to pass laws that would al-
low counties with tax rates
less than $2.24 per $1,000
of assessed property value a
one-time option of adjusting
their permanent tax rates to
the statewide median level.
“Rural counties in Ore-
gon need the help of the
state Legislature,” Raffen-
burg said.
He also suggested pass-
HOOP, HOOP HOORAY! - Second and third graders in the Boys & Girls Club basket-
ball team from Illinois Valley defeated the Redwood Elementary team from Grants
Pass at Evergreen Elementary School Wednesday night, Feb. 14. The Junior Cou-
gars next home game will be Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Evergreen. The season lasts
through March 3. (Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg for ‘IVN’)
There will be a 26th annual berry festival
Organizers Mark and Judy Russo dispel rumors that Junction function defunct
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
For months, there have
been whispers around Cave
Junction that the annual
Blackberry Festival would
not be returning.
But organizer Mark
Russo would like to put that
speculation to rest once and
for all.
“There is no truth to the
rumor that there won’t be a
Blackberry Festival this
year,” Russo said.
In fact, Russo has been
working quietly behind the
scenes to make the festival
bigger and better than ever.
“I’m excited,” Russo
said. “There are all kinds of
ideas being tossed around.”
He and his wife, Judy,
planned, organized staged
last year’s 25th annual event.
Among improvements
being discussed are multiple
stages to allow for more
musical performances and
spread the festival through-
out a larger area of Down-
town Cave Junction.
“That will give all the
businesses a chance to have
something nearby,” Russo
explained.
He said that businesses
and individuals have started
donating to the festival, and
that applications for vendors
and artists will be sent at the
end of the month. Approxi-
mately 60 vendors partici-
pated in last year’s event,
and Russo said that he
would like to increase that
number to 90.
Last year’s beer garden
was so successful that Russo
said it would “mostly likely”
be coming back. Russo said
he also would like to have a
kick-off dance for the festi-
val, tentatively scheduled to
start on Saturday, Aug. 11.
As part of his vision,
Russo said he is looking for
a local organization or per-
son to coordinate youth ac-
tivities.
“We want to make eve-
ryone happy, from infants to
teen-agers,” Russo said.
A spring garage sale is
in the works, with all pro-
ceeds going toward the festi-
val. Russo said that he is
accepting donated materials,
and that a date for the sale
will be announced soon.
Long-term, Russo said
he wants to change the festi-
val and transform it into a
year-round entity.
“I would like it to
evolve to become a more
benevolent organization that
can become more self-
supporting,” Russo said.
Russo said he wants to
change the festival organiza-
tion’s status to a 501c3 non-
profit, which would make it
easier to pursue grants and
obtain donations. The or-
ganization could then offer
support to other valley
groups.
“I would like to see it
utilized by other organiza-
tions in the community,”
Russo said. “It needs a fo-
cus. And I believe that if the
focus is on something com-
munity oriented, it will be
easy to keep members.”
He said that he is seek-
ing volunteers and is open to
suggestions and ideas on
how to improve the festival.
“We’re looking for vol-
unteers with vision,” he said.
Blackberry Festival
meetings are scheduled for
first and third Wednesdays
at the county building in
Cave Junction at 7:30 p.m.
Russo is also available every
Wednesday at noon at Wild
River Brewing & Pizza Co.
in Cave Junction for infor-
mal meetings.
For more information,
phone him at (541) 592-
6509
or
e-mail
itstheberry@yahoo.com.
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
After eight years of
planning and months of con-
struction, the new Siskiyou
Community Health Center
(SCHC) is nearly ready to
open its doors.
Once “the clinic” opens,
it will be
able to ser-
vice
pa-
tients with
private in-
surance, the
Oregon
Health Plan
and Medi-
care.
A
discounted fee schedule will
be available for uninsured
and underinsured patients,
Mason said.
Two full-time physi-
cians already have been
hired, along with one part-
time physician and a part-
time physician’s assistant.
The clinic is in the process
of recruiting another physi-
cian to start in July, and Ma-
son said that the new facili-
ties have made it easier to
bring in top talent.
“The new clinic has
been a great recruiting tool,”
said Sheila Mason, SCHC
regional director.
SCHC will work with
Asante Health System’s
Three Rivers Community
Hospital. It will provide im-
aging and X-ray services.
Although construction
on the building along Hwy.
199 at the north end of the
city of Cave Junction has
been complete for months,
sewer and water connec-
tions still need to be in-
stalled. The sewer work has
been finished, and a water
meter should be in place
within the next few days.
It was hoped that “the
clinic” would gain its certifi-
cate of occupation by
Wednesday, Feb. 21, ac-
cording to Susan Scheufele
SCHC chief executive offi-
cer. Once that is obtained,
equipment necessary for
clinic operations can be
moved in.
Mason said that she
hoped to start that process
during March, and that the
center plans to have a grand
opening.
“There have been de-
lays, but people have been
working hard with us to get
the facility open,” Mason
said. “A lot of people in the
community have given lots
of time and resources to
make this happen.”
Nurses will be taking
phone calls during the
move, Scheufele said, and
patients still will be able to
receive services.
“We’re going to make
sure people have access to
care while we’re in the proc-
ess of moving,” she noted.
Mason stated that the
clinic will serve an increas-
ingly crucial role in the pro-
jected growth of the city,
and its environs.
“It really brings pride,
and I think that’s very im-
portant,” Mason said. “It’s
part of the future of Cave
Junction.”
Northwest to benefit from benzene reduction
DEQ Air Quality ex-
perts like the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency
(EPA) decision to institute a
nationwide cap on the
amount of benzene in gaso-
line that will reduce levels in
the Northwest threefold.
EPA had previously
proposed a rule that could
have left levels in the North-
west higher than other parts
of the country.
In response to concerns
expressed by Oregon and
Washington environmental
experts, and Sen. Ron Wy-
den (D-Ore.), EPA has es-
tablished a benzene cap on
each refinery in the country.
Controls must be in
place by 2012. In the North-
west, this means that ben-
zene in gas will be reduced
approximately 70 percent by
2012; the largest reduction
in total percent of benzene
fuel content of anywhere in
the country for less than a
cent a gallon, said DEQ.
ILLINOIS VALLEY GARDEN CLUB celebrated its 80th
anniversary Friday afternoon, Feb. 16 at Immanuel
United Methodist Church in Cave Junction with a
luncheon and garden-themed cake. Among displays
was a collection of past minutes. Notes taken at the
inaugural meeting of the “Friday Afternoon Garden
Club,” held Feb. 12, 1927 indicate eight members were
in attendance. (Photo by Michelle Binker /‘IVN’)