Public safety levy shot down in flames by county’s voters
No patrol deputies, fewer prosecutions will follow 126 employees who will be layed off due to lack of funds
“A dark day” in Jose-
phine County history is how
county commission Chair-
man Jim Raffenburg de-
scribes the overwhelming
defeat of a public safety
levy in the Tuesday, May 15
special election.
Voters were asked if
they favored a three-year
levy that would have re-
sulted in $42.6 million for
the sheriff’s office, D.A.’s
office and related offices.
Without the levy, and
with the loss of federal
O&C funds, there will be no
patrol deputies, Sheriff Gil
Gilbertson stated earlier.
Raffenburg announced
that as of Wednesday, May
16, termination slips would
be sent to 126 county em-
ployees. The three major
sections and their losses:
sheriff’s office, 42 employ-
ees; Juvenile Justice, 28;
and D.A.’s office, 11. The
layoffs will be effective as
of May 31.
“The days ahead will be
filled with challenges that
will surprise a great many
people,” said Raffenburg.
During the past few
weeks commissioners had
discussed the possibility of
pursuing a similar levy in
September. However, Raf-
fenburg said that if the “No”
vote reached more than 60
percent, “I don’t think it
would be wise” to make
such a request.
County officials and
members of the Citizens For
Safe Communities (CFSC)
political action committee
gathered Tuesday night in
Wild River Brew Pub in
Grants Pass to await elec-
tion results. D.A. Stephen
Campbell initially said that
he was “hopeful,” but well
aware of what lies ahead for
his office.
“If it goes down,” he
said prior to the apparent
defeat, “we’ll all have very
difficult decisions to make
over the next few months.”
While some at the pub
seemed detached from elec-
tion night, as they watched a
basketball game on TV, it
was a completely different
scene for the election watch.
County commission Vice
Chairman Dave Toler and
Nerissa Armstrong, presi-
dent of CFSC, had been
dispatched to retrieve unof-
ficial results from the
county clerk’s office.
At 8:30 p.m. Toler
came in with Armstrong
close behind. His announce-
ment was mixed. The
county had met the required
50 percent turnout; how-
ever, with 25 percent of the
votes counted, 41 percent
had voted in favor of the
levy and 59 percent against.
The group applauded
achieving the turnout
threshold, but concessions
of defeat soon followed.
“This is a dark day for
Josephine County,” said
Raffenburg, “but the people
have spoken.”
Toler said, “I’m proud
of county citizens for com-
ing out for this vote.”
By 9 p.m., Wild River
had pretty well cleared out.
Herb Carter, chairman of
the Josephine County Re-
publican Central Commit-
Clinic open house Saturday
Fed funds
for JOINT?
An open house with a ribbon-cutting and refreshments will
be held at Siskiyou Community Health Center Friday, May 18.
The Illinois Valley community event will run from 4 to 7
p.m. The ceremonial ribbon-cutting will be held at 6 p.m.
Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will part of the observance
highlighting the new and expanded health center on Hwy. 199 at
the north end of Cave Junction.
Tours of the new facility will be provided.
(See the advertisement on page 16).
USPS stamps out old rates
Information in a page 1
story in the May 9 issue about
new U.S. Postal Service rates
effective Monday, May 14
was incorrect.
Following are some of
the more common new -- and
correct -- prices and fees.
Cave Junction Postmaster
Lynne Hval noted that not all
prices have risen.
*First-class mail letter (1
ounce), 41-cents (up 2-cents).
*First class mail letter (2
ounces), 58-cents (down from
63-cents.)
After 1 ounce, the new
cost is 17-cents per ounce.
*Postcard, 26-cents.
*Priority mail (1 pound),
$4.60.
*Priority mail flat-rate
box, $8.95.
*Express mail (1/2
pound), $16.25.
*New Express mail (1
pound), $19.50.
*Express mail (2
pounds), $21.40.
Other new prices for vari-
ous services are available
from post offices.
County Fair Board aims
for fiscal sustainability
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Because the Josephine
County Fair Board only has
until June 30 to get its finan-
cial house of cards in order, a
fund-raising series is sched-
uled to try and close the gap.
In November 2006, the
county commissioners
learned that the fairgrounds
was failing to make payroll,
and was $68,000 in debt.
The fairgrounds have
operated at a deficit for the
past five years, but the county
always made up the differ-
ence through a series of short-
term loans issued during the
slow winter months. Those
loans typically were repaid in
June, after activities picked
up at the fairgrounds.
However, the discon-
tinuation of federal funds
prompted the commissioners
to stop issuing the loans and
order the fair board to make
its operations self-sustaining.
During a Wednesday,
May 9 board meeting in
Grants Pass, Fair Manager
Jackie McBee said that the
fair still owes approximately
$52,000 to the county. Com-
munity organizations have
thus far donated around
$23,000 to help make up the
difference, and McBee said
that she anticipates other
groups will contribute during
the next few weeks.
Two fund-raisers were
held last weekend at the fair-
grounds. A horse event and
“Save the Fairgrounds” con-
cert are scheduled for June 2,
and wine-tasting June 23.
Fair Board Chairman
Steve Swearington said that
the board has come a long
way toward meeting its fund-
raising goals.
“We’re going to make
it,” Swearington said, but
added, “There’s no 100 per-
cent way to say we’re home
free.”
The Fair Board also is
discussing the possible for-
(Continued on page 3)
tee, was among those pre-
sent as things wound down.
“From my standpoint I
thank all the Republicans
who voted for it though it
goes against our grain to
support additional taxation,”
he said.
A few blocks away,
there was an eerie silence at
the county courthouse as
election workers counted
ballots behind closed doors.
As of 9:17 p.m., 39.56 per-
cent of votes favored the
levy, and 16.44 voted “No.”
Approximately 72 per-
cent of the total ballots had
been counted.
-Scott Jorgensen
Shawn Carmody and friend push for pool support. (Photo by Scott Jorgensen/IVN)
It’s sink or swim time for CJ pool
On Thursday, May 17,
the circus is coming to town.
Culpepper & Merri-
weather Circus, based in
Oklahoma, will bring its tent
show to the Junction Inn va-
cant lot, with shows at 5 and
7:30 p.m.
There will be high wire,
trapeze and gymnastics per-
formances, plus clowns. A
percentage of funds raised
from advance ticket sales will
go toward helping Cave Junc-
tion Pool Committee with its
efforts to repair that facility.
Advance tickets are
available at Jefferson State
Financial Services, Illinois
Valley Visitor Center,
SOFCU Community Credit
Union, Home Valley Bank,
Illinois Valley Family Re-
source Center, and Sterling
Savings Bank.
Pool Committee Presi-
dent Shawn Carmody said
that the group must raise
SHOES WITH STYLE were the object when
Cave Junction Head Start children met their
mentors, ‘The Doodlebugs,’ from Elaine
Barker’s Illinois Valley High School art class.
nearly $200,000 to repair the
facility on E. River Street.
“If it is not fixed, it will
remain closed forever,” she
said. “It will not open this year.
“Unless we come up
with the funds by the end of
this year or early spring next
year, there’s a good possibil-
ity that it will be closed next
year as well.”
Carmody said that the
committee is actively seeking
grants. However, most re-
quire matching funds, thereby
increasing the need for com-
munity support.
“If this community wants
to have the pool at their dis-
posal, we need its backing,”
Carmody noted.
“We can’t do this alone.”
The pool needs to be
resurfaced and have new tiles,
Carmody said. A new pump
and filtration system also are
required.
“Those are the two big
things,” Carmody said. “If we
don’t have those, the pool’s
dead.”
Also needed, she said,
are a new solar heating sys-
tem, diving board and port-
able guard stand.
Carmody said that “with
repairs, hopefully, we can
sustain the pool for another
10 to 15 years.”
Besides the circus, I.V.
Pool Committee is consider-
ing a variety of subsequent
fund-raisers. And a Website,
ivpool.org, can accept online
contributions.
Advance-sale tickets for
the circus are $8 for adults
and $6 for youngsters. Tick-
ets at the show will cost $11
for adults and $7 for kids.
Information about serv-
ing on the pool committee is
available from Carmody at
(541) 291-9251 or e-mail
shawn@ivpool.org.
-Scott Jorgensen/IVN
Photos by Scott Jorgensen
‘Illinois Valley News’
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Josephine County Sher-
iff’s Office (JCSO) has re-
ceived federal funding since
the late 1980s for the sake of
eradicating marijuana grown
on public land -- but the
county’s financial difficulties
may mean the end of such
efforts this year.
According to a Sept. 27,
2006 press release from Dave
Daniel, former sheriff, JCSO
usually hires one full-time
officer to lead the Josephine
Marijuana Eradication Team
(JOMET) and five part-time
officers to assist. Last year,
funding allowed for one part-
time JOMET team leader and
three part-time officers.
Under the current budget
scenario for fiscal 2007-08,
funding for JCSO’s Narcotics
Unit is nearly identical under
the county’s proposed Service
Level 1 and Service Level 2
figures, due to federal grant
money.
County budget docu-
ments state that there is “very
little change to this program
under Service Level 1,” in
which the county receives no
federal O&C funding and the
public safety level fails. Both
the Service Level 1 and Ser-
vice Level 2 budgets contain
funding for four full-time
(Continued on page 3)
Two fairness
bills passed
Two bills “ensuring that
all Oregon families are
treated with basic fairness and
that all Oregonians can live
and work free from the sting
of discrimination, regardless
of sexual orientation or gen-
der” were signed into law
Wednesday, May 9 by Gov.
Kulongoski.
House Bill 2007, the
Oregon Family Fairness Act,
creates legal recognition for
same-sex couples and their
families through Domestic
Partnerships. These provide
some, but not all, of the pro-
tections, rights, and responsi-
bilities afforded to heterosex-
ual couples through marriage
contracts.
It is different from mar-
riage in several ways, includ-
ing the lack of portability to
other states and lack of more
than 1,100 federal rights like
Social Security survivor
benefits, supporters said.
Senate Bill 2 outlaws
discrimination based on sex-
ual orientation in areas such
as employment, housing,
public accommodation, pub-
lic education and public ser-
vices. Religious employers,
organizations and institutions
are exempt.