Page 8
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Daniel suit reversed ...
(Continued from page 1)
and any changes he wanted to
make other than that had to
come to us with a personnel
change or request form.”
That original dispute
lead to the filing of three
lawsuits and much public
acrimony between Daniel
and the commissioners.
Daniel said the commis-
sioners were attempting to
micromanage his depart-
ment, and that court action
was very necessary to de-
fend the sheriff’s authority
over its operations.
“Their job is to supply
funding for the different
county departments,” Daniel
said. “They got a big head
and decided to run all the
different county depart-
ments, so we butted heads.
“I felt like I was pushed
into a corner and had no
alternative but to file a suit
against them because they
controlled all the money.”
A Jackson County Cir-
cuit Court subsequently
ruled in Daniel’s favor in all
three cases. Ellis said that
the commissioners were
advised by their attorney to
appeal the ruling regarding
Bank’s promotion.
We felt all along that
the Circuit Court judge had-
n’t come to the right deci-
sion,” Ellis said. “That’s
why we appealed it.”
Daniel said the recent
ruling is “terrible” and will
undermine sheriffs through-
out the state.
“It sets a terrible prece-
dent,” said the former sher-
iff. “A case like this impacts
all the sheriffs in Oregon
because it’s basically taking
away (our) sheriff’s inde-
pendence.
“The commissioners
should not be involved in
trying to run the sheriff’s
office. This ruling gives
them more authority to tell
the sheriff who he has to
have where. It’s a very bad
ruling.”
Daniel said the decision
should be appealed to the
Oregon Supreme Court.
However, he cannot be a
party to any such litigation,
because he is now a private
citizen.
“The problem is, I’m no
longer the sheriff, so I lost
my standing in the case,”
Daniel said.
Current Sheriff Gil
Gilbertson said late last
week that he still is review-
ing the ruling, and plans to
consult an attorney and the
state sheriff’s association.
“I don’t want to make
any rash decisions, so I want
to look at this thing in its
entirety,” Gilbertson said.
“Before deciding which way
to go with this, I want all the
facts. But I want to be very
careful when I analyze it so
we don’t waste the public’s
money or recklessly throw
away the authority that was
granted to us by law.”
Ellis said he is pleased
with the appellate court rul-
ing, and that Gilbertson and
the commissioners have a
good enough relationship to
work through any potential
disputes.
“I expect no lawsuits
out of the current sheriff,”
said Ellis. “We can sit down
and talk with (him) and set-
tle most of the disputes and
questions we have between
our two offices.
“We’re just going to do
business as we usually do
and work with the sheriff for
any changes he wants to
make,” Ellis said.
Gilbertson said that he
is optimistic that any poten-
tial future disagreements
between him and the com-
missioners could be settled
outside a courtroom.
“The last thing I want to
do is have any litigation or
lawsuits,” Gilbertson said.
Guv in D.C. for O&C funds
(Continued from page 1)
cluded in an appropriations
bill for the U.S. military
action in Iraq and Afghani-
stan. But a provision also
was attached, calling for a
timetable for the withdraw
of U.S. troops from Iraq,
and President Bush has
vowed to veto the legislation
due to that issue.
Taylor said that the veto
threat will not deter Kulon-
goski’s efforts, as there are
“other avenues” available to
ensure the procurement of
the federal funds.
“What we’re hearing is,
it’s going to be tough, and
that’s the reason the gover-
nor’s going back to lend
whatever hand he can,” Tay-
lor said. “There’s still work
to be done, and that’s part of
the reason he’s going back
to make the case.”
Kulongoski is sched-
uled to return to Oregon on
Saturday, April 21, Taylor
said. After he comes back,
the governor plans to visit
several of the rural Oregon
counties that would be most
affected by the federal fund-
ing loss.
It is not yet known
whether he will visit Jose-
phine County, as details have
yet to be finalized.
“We are looking at
some travel,” Taylor said.
“We’re very busy with ses-
sion right now, but we’re
looking to incorporate some
travel into his calendar in
the next couple of months.”
Taylor said that Kulon-
goski has been in contact
with House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-San Francisco)
and Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“The governor has had
conversations with both of
their offices and they’ve
indicated their support,”
Taylor said.
Kulongoski is deter-
mined to ensure the survival
of Oregon’s rural communi-
ties, Taylor said.
“The governor is still
optimistic that the program
will be reauthorized,” Tay-
lor said. “He’s not giving
up. He doesn’t give up eas-
ily, and he’s not going to
give up on this.”
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- Mother Teresa -
Golf group
seeks par
financially
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
When it first opened in
1976, the nine-hole Illinois
Valley Golf Course was a
heaven of sorts for golfers
from throughout the area.
Membership was high,
and people regularly came
from as far away as Ash-
land, Grants Pass and Med-
ford to take advantage of its
affordable golf games.
However, declining
membership and rising
maintenance costs have
caused the course’s board of
directors to seek new man-
agement and ownership pro-
posals.
“Basically, it’s time to
look for a different way out
of our financial doldrums,”
said Kit Fluck, golf associa-
tion board chairman.
Continued financial
difficulties prompted the
board to call a shareholders
meeting in March. During
that meeting, the sharehold-
ers directed the board to
seek proposals for improv-
ing the balance sheet.
Kerby resident Jerry
Work is among the board’s
newest members. He joined
earlier this year to replace a
member who resigned.
Work, who also serves as
board president of the
Southern Oregon Guild, said
that he hopes to use his ex-
perience to help turn around
the course.
“Each year for the past
several years, it’s been run-
ning at a deficit,” Work said.
“One of the reasons I was
asked to come on board is to
help find a proper path for-
ward.”
Work said that for
years, the board has bor-
rowed against the value of
the course’s 58 acres of land
in order to cover its operat-
ing losses.
“It’s incurred $325,000
of indebtedness at this
point,” he said.
Further complicating
matters is the fact that the
course is down to 56 active
members. Work said that it
would need another 50
members for solvency.
“If we had around 100
members, our financial pic-
ture would look very differ-
ent,” Work said. “We would
no longer be losing money.
We would be able to create
enough of a surplus to pay
off our existing indebted-
ness and start building the
kinds of reserves we would
need for improvements in
the future.”
The board has begun
advertising that it’s seeking
proposals from golf profes-
sionals, existing golf
courses, real estate compa-
nies and developers within a
180-mile radius of the area.
Options include the
“outright purchase of the
land and golf course,” Work
said, but the board is open to
suggestions.
“We don’t want to shut
anyone out with a good
idea,” Work said. “We just
know that we can’t keep
trying to do the same thing
and expect different results.”
The board will accept
proposals until July 15, and
it’s anticipated that it will
make a decision by July 31.
“If we can’t find a pro-
posal that is acceptable that
allows golf to be continued,
we’re going to have to do
something different that
might not result in having
golf here,” said Work. “But
we’ll try our very best to
have golf here if we can.
“We’re not closing the
doors. It’s not like we’re
hanging a ‘For Sale’ sign on
it or walking away,” he said.
BRUSH RIG CRASH - A Type VI fire vehicle used primarily for suppression of wild-
land blazes was totaled Tuesday night, April 10 on Squaw Mountain Road, said Chief
Harry Rich of Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD). The driver, identified as 10-year vet-
eran, Capt. Joe Feldhaus, was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to
Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. He was examined and released,
Rich said. The cause of the accident, which occurred while Feldhaus was in a non-
emergency mode is still under investigation, the chief said. Feldhaus has returned
to duty. (Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg/IVFD Media Dept.)
RCC President Angstadt decries budget
proposed for community college support
Oregon’s community
colleges will be unable to
adequately serve students
and train needed workers
based on the 2007-2009
biennium budget, said Peter
Angstadt, president of
Rogue Community College.
The budget, recom-
mended March 22 by the
co-chairmen of the State
Legislature’s Joint Commit-
tee on Ways and Means,
lists $458 million for the
Community College Sup-
port Fund, “far short” of the
amount the State Board of
Education and community
college advocates have
sought.
“Community colleges
need $529 million this bien-
nium or we will never meet
the demand of providing the
663,000 skilled workers the
state says must be ready by
2014 to stabilize the state’s
economy,” Angstadt said.
“We have been very clear
that Oregon’s 17 commu-
nity colleges need to receive
$529 million to support Ore-
gon’s students.
“We cannot make the
investments in skill training
that Oregonians are asking
for,” Angstadt noted. “We
must start training now to
ensure that Oregonians who
want to work have the ca-
pacity to meet industry de-
mands.”
During the past six
years all community col-
leges, including RCC, have
been cutting budgets, elimi-
nating programs, and laying
off employees. This year,
with state revenues at record
highs and support from
businesses across Oregon,
the community colleges an-
ticipated funding that
marked a real investment in
workforce training, he
added.
The co-chairmen’s
budget shuts the door on
that opportunity, Angstadt
said. There are currently
more than 350,000 students
in Oregon community col-
leges.
Gov. Kulongoski had
proposed an appropriation
of $483 millions in his rec-
ommended budget, Ang-
stadt said. While community
college representatives ap-
preciated the effort to in-
crease the fund, they also
recognized that even at the
governor’s number, some
colleges would still be cut-
ting classes and services and
raising tuition.
“This is just one step in
a long process,” said Dr.
Kevin Talbert, RCC Board
chairman. “Between now
and the end of the session,
legislators will be hearing
daily from community
members, college board
members, employees, and
students as well as business
leaders from across Oregon.
“Community colleges
can provide powerful solu-
tions for Oregon’s future,
but they can’t do it without
an investment that mini-
mally meets the needs of
students.”
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