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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2007)
Page 9 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Citizens for Safe Communities urging turnout Honesty could be included as part of that domestic spending. “We’re going to try and convince the congressional folks that this is an emer- gency,” Toler said. He said that even if the domestic spending is sepa- rated from the military fund- ing, it should be considered by Congress at about the same time. The fate of that legislation most likely would be decided by Memorial Day weekend, Toler said. But he added that there’s “at least a 50 percent chance” that county payments will “not happen at all.” “It’s more and more likely that it isn’t going to happen,” Toler said. “The chances are dwindling.” But rather than wait for the federal government to come to a final decision, members of the Citizens for Safe Communities are focus- ing their efforts on passage of Measure 17.19, the public safety levy. Radio commercials have been purchased. Committee members have canvassed the Growers Market in Grants Pass twice, as well as that city’s First Friday Art Night and a parade in Merlin on Saturday, May 5. More than 1,000 addi- tional handbills have been ordered for committee mem- bers to distribute. And signs supporting the levy are pop- ping up countywide. Toler said that merchants are beginning to understand the severe scenario of life without federal dollars or funds to replace them. “My impression is that the business community has really gotten it,” Toler said. “The business community has really seen the light on this.” The past few weeks have been particularly busy for Jim Frick, a committee member and broker for Century 21 Harris & Taylor. Frick has spent countless hours volunteering to help support the levy and encour- age voter turnout, although he admits that it has been diffi- cult at times. “It’s continuously been an uphill battle,” Frick said. As part of the push, he has placed approximately 200 yard signs encouraging levy passage. That has led to some interesting interactions. “I’ve had people slam on their brakes, turn around and come back to chastise me,” Frick said. Once he explained his position, Frick said, he was able to persuade some to change their minds. He admits that he’s stick- ing his neck out a long way by advocating for the levy. A former chairman of the Jose- phine County Republican County Central Committee, Frick now finds himself in the position of asking voters to voluntarily raise their taxes. “It’s not normally some- thing I like to do, but we’re going to pay now or pay later,” he said. “This is not a political, partisan issue.” Frick said that his deci- sion to become involved is based on a “combination of things” including genuine concern for the safety of county residents and the area economy. This week, Citizens for Safe Communities is plan- ning to phone voters through- out the county to urge them to turn in their ballots. Frick, who will be among the call- ers, said that the primary em- phasis will not be on persuad- ing voters to pass the levy, but to simply participate in the process. “If you agree or disagree with it, please vote,” Frick said. “Use the American privilege you have to vote.” IVHS views CIM/CAM abolition with mixed perspective By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer On Wednesday, April 18, the Oregon House of Repre- sentatives voted to pass House Bill 2263-A, which would abolish the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and Certificate of Advanced Mas- tery (CAM) from the state’s education standards. CIM/CAM was estab- lished by the Legislature dur- ing 1991 as part of the 21 st Century Schools Act, an edu- cation reform bill. According to Illinois Valley High School Principal JoAnn Bethany, the school has never issued a single CAM certificate. “We’re never awarded anybody CAM at this point,” Bethany said. “It was always so loosely defined and in transition at the state level that we as a district haven’t done a lot with that.” Rep. Linda Flores (R- Clackamas) sponsored legis- lation during the 2003 and 2005 sessions to eliminate CIM/CAM. Flores’ proposal passed the Republican- controlled House in 2005, but did not pass the Senate. Flo- res, who chaired the House Education Committee during the 05 session, said that CIM/ CAM was never widely used by Oregon schools or em- ployers. “I’m of the opinion that there were zero good reasons to have it around,” Flores said. “I heard from a lot of folks about concerns with problems with CIM/CAM. They felt it was a top-down driven, failed experiment that had lasted beyond its reason- able shelf life.” Cop memorial scheduled for Monday, May 14 A Police Memorial Cere- mony to honor those who have given their lives on duty will be held Monday, May 14 at the Josephine County Courthouse, said Sheriff Gil Gilbertson. The ceremony on the front lawn at the flag pole will begin at 10 a.m. The event will include a 21-gun salute. Law enforcement offi- cers will attend from Jose- phine County Sheriff’s Of- fice, Grants Pass Dept. of Public Safety, Oregon State Police, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Manage- ment. Don’t drink and drive Rep. Ron Maurer (R- Grants Pass) said CIM/CAM “never lived up to its billing.” “It was never accepted by the people that it was sup- posed to be impressing,” Maurer said. “CIM/CAM was a dinosaur. It was ill- conceived, in my opinion, and time passed it by.” Prior attempts to elimi- nate CIM/CAM were met with strong resistance by Ore- gon Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo. “She bitterly opposed them every time they have come forward,” Flores said. During May 2005, Casti- llo expressed her support for keeping the CIM/CAM stan- dards. “I opposed this path to eliminating CIM and CAM because it is a destructive action that will result in insta- bility and confusion, causing more harm than good for our students and schools,” Casti- llo said. However, during a Dec. 9, 2005 speech at the Portland City Club, Castillo stated that she had changed her mind on the issue. In a press release last month, Castillo said that im- plementation of higher gradua- tion standards helped make CIM/CAM unnecessary. “The State Board of Edu- cation has passed a new set of high school graduation re- quirements, standards, assess- ments and credentials,” she said. “I firmly believe that the new diploma provides us with a better, more rigorous, more relevant system for stu- d e n t achieve- ment. “Because today’s world moves fast and de- mands a more ambi- tious approach to high school education, removing the CIM and CAM is a step forward. Oregon’s standards and assessments will con- tinue, but we will do away with the confusion.” However, IVHS long has encouraged students to par- ticipate in CIM. “We’ve been making a big deal out of it,” Bethany said. “We try to look for ways to make it important and make it something that kids want to do.” IVHS attaches an honors diploma to students who earn a CIM, and issues them pur- ple tassels for the school’s graduation ceremony. A bul- letin board hangs in the hall- ways throughout the entire school year, and features pho- tos of CIM completers. The school also has of- fered other incentives for stu- dents to participate in CIM. “For a couple of years, we’ve done a drawing of old cars donated for kids who do the CIM completion,” Beth- any said. “We’ve given away two cars.” But as much as IVHS has encouraged CIM participa- tion, Oregon universities have never made it an admissions requirement. “I think it’s very telling that the university system and employers never adopted it as criteria to be listed on a job application or give considera- tion as far as entry to the uni- versity system,” Flores said. “Other schools in other state don’t look at it, either.” Bethany said that there are currently 18 IVHS juniors who are CIM completers. The school is still encouraging students to earn that certifica- tion, and a CIM awards breakfast is scheduled for May 24 at the school. “We’re still pushing for- ward as though it isn’t going to go away,” Bethany said. “We’re still working to get kids there.” A public hearing on HB 2263-A was held on May 3. No subsequent action has been taken on the bill, which still sits in the Senate Educa- tion and General Government Committee. However, Maurer said that HB 2263-A has a good chance of passing into law. “I would assume that given the circumstances, with Superintendent Castillo now in support, that the bill will fly through the Senate and, of course, the governor will sign it,” Maurer said. Dependability Attention Buyers! Besides need for public safety levy, group encourages voters to participate in ballot process By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer With a Tuesday, May 15 public safety levy vote getting closer every day, the Citizens for Safe Communities politi- cal action committee is start- ing its final push to get resi- dents to submit their ballots. The committee met Thursday, May 3 to discuss strategies aimed at overcom- ing the state’s double major- ity requirement, requiring that a tax measure must have at least a 50 percent turnout in order to pass. Josephine County Com- missioner Dave Toler up- dated its members on events unfolding in Washington, D.C., as congressional De- mocrats battle President Bush over Iraq war funding. County payments legisla- tion was attached to an emer- gency spending bill for the continuing War on Terror, as well as a timeline for with- drawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Bush vetoed that bill in opposition to the timeline. 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