Green to be honored
Inside:
Community remembers Tom
Kerby water
District project
under fire
Page 1
A community memo-
rial fund raising effort to
honor former Cave Junc-
tion Mayor Tom Green is
planned for Wednesday,
Dec. 19 in Ken Mann Me-
morial Gym at Illinois Val-
ley High School beginning
at 6:30 p.m.
An open mic setting
will give folks an opportu-
nity to speak or offer a
song. Those interested in
performing should contact
De Spellman, who has co- A memorial has materialized at
ordinated the effort. She the site of the murder, and can-
can be reached at 415- dlelight vigils have been held.
(Photo by Illinois Valley News)
1380.
Many people have
expressed a desire to re-
tion cans will be seen at
member Green’s legacy, and
various businesses.
to that end, efforts are being
Also a fund for funeral
made to set up a scholarship
expenses has been estab-
fund. The ‘Tom Green
lished at Sterling Savings
Good Kids Scholarship,’
Bank; donations can be
Spellman said, will be avail-
made there.
able to graduating seniors
A memorial service also
from Illinois Valley High
will be held at 9 a.m. Satur-
School who have turned
day, Dec. 22 at Bridgeview
their lives around. Collec-
Community Church.
Letters to
the Editor
Your community
forum
Pages 2 & 3
County funding
Safety net lack
concerns board
Page 5
Music and motors
T. Lund a man of
many talents
Page 7
CJ Art Walk
Final ‘07 program
conducted
Page 10
Need help?
Service Directory
Page 17
Murder suspect sent
for mental evaluation
Kerby H2O
project has
detractors
A 19-year-old youth,
who listed the name of the
man he is suspected of mur-
dering as a contact person
when booked into Josephine
County Jail, has been sent to
the Oregon State Hospital in
Salem for psychiatric and
medical assessment and
treatment.
Kerby resident Timothy
M. “Tim” Waddell, charged
with the Monday, Dec. 10
murder of former Cave
Junction mayor Tom Green,
attended a competency hear-
ing at the Josephine County
Courthouse in Grants Pass
on Friday, Dec. 14. Circuit
Court Judge Allan Cook
presided.
Following the 30-
minute hearing, during
which Waddell claimed that
he is being poisoned in
county jail and asked for a
motel room, the judge OK’d
an order to take the suspect
to Salem. Waddell also
asked that he be shot, rather
than poisoned.
He had been held with-
out bail on a charge of mur-
der following the death of
Green, 70, said Sheriff Gil
Gilbertson. Additionally he
was charged with second-
and third-degree assault in
connection with an incident
with jail deputies while he
was being booked.
He also was under a
suicide watch at county jail.
Waddell is suspected of
attacking Green without
provocation and repeatedly
banging Green’s head on the
pavement in front of “Tom’s
Home” on S. Sawyer Ave-
nue in Cave Junction.
At the time, he told per-
sons at the scene that God
had spoken to him, telling
him that Green was evil.
After the attack, Waddell
stayed at the scene, and kept
a white cloth in front of face
because, he said, the air was
poisoned.
Green for many years
opened his home to young
people needing a place to
stay. He is highly regarded
in the community by many
for what are seen as selfless
efforts to aid youth for no
other reason except to help
them.
Waddell, one of the
By MICHELLE BINKER
IVN Staff Writer
Although still at least a
year away from delivery to
subscribers, the Kerby Water
District (KWD), many years
in the planning, could be said
to be in the home stretch.
Finding a location for a
reservoir and linking to the
city of Cave Junction munici-
pal water supply are among
the final steps in securing
reliable domestic water for
many Kerby residents.
Through aerial and on-
the-ground surveys, a site
zoned and approved by Jose-
phine County Planning Dept.
for this use was chosen for
the new storage tank. KWD
Executive Director John Plute
said that the location was
chosen because it is at a suit-
able elevation to take water
on an on-demand basis from
the Cave Junction system.
Of all eligible sites, Plute
said, one property owner was
really receptive to locating a
tank on his property.
However, not all is flow-
ing nicely. Because of a plan
to place the 125,000-gallon
storage tank on the ridge
above Glendon Road, ten-
sions erupted during a KWD
board meeting Wednesday
night, Dec. 12 at the RCC
Kerby Belt Bldg.
Some Glendon residents
have been circulating a peti-
tion to prevent KWD from
locating the tank on the ridge
above their homes. Among
those neighbors, Mike
McNelly says that his con-
cerns are about the design of
the connection and safety of
(Continued on page 4)
Letters to Santa
and
Holiday Greetings
from merchants
Pages 11 through 15
Holiday happenings Satur-
day, Dec. 15 in Cave Junc-
tion included a visit by Santa
Claus (top photo) during the
Illinois Valley Merchants
Association Santa’s Village
at the county building.
Games and gifts were pro-
vided free. At I.V. Family
Coalition (above and right)
toys and food were given.
Attendees received grocer-
ies from Josephine County
Christmas Basket Program,
and toys through the Ore-
gon Dept. of Human Ser-
vices. (Photos by Illinois
Valley News)
County home repair funds possible
Josephine County is con-
sidering applying for 2008
Community Development
Block Grant funds from the
State of Oregon to continue
the Josephine County Home
Repair Loan Program.
The county has applied
and received funding during
2003, 2005 and 2006. The
funding for the ‘06 grant year
is fully committed to individ-
ual home owners, and the
county is assessing the need
for additional funding.
Each year the state holds
a competition for block grant
funds from the U.S. Dept. of
Housing & Urban Develop-
ment. This is the portion of
such funds distributed to the
state for the rural areas.
These areas must compete,
and are given based on need.
The funding can be used for
“Public Improvements and
Community Facilities in addi-
tion to Housing.”
The Josephine County
Home Repair Program assists
low-income home owners
with needed repairs to their
homes by providing zero per-
cent interest, and deferred
payment loans up to $25,000
per home. The program is
often the only solution for
many low-income home
owners whose needed repairs
are beyond their limited
budgets.
Home owners faced with
urgent, often dangerous situa-
tions such as faulty wiring,
outdated electrical panels,
leaking roofs, failing septic
systems and broken heating
systems many times are un-
able to get a bank loan to
complete these repairs. Even
smaller, less-pressing repairs
can be too expensive for
home owners on fixed in-
comes.
Often these ADA repairs
or improvements, such as the
addition of wheel chair
ramps, handrails or bathroom
alterations are necessary in
order for them to continue
with their daily lives. This
program makes these repairs
possible because there are no
payments due until the home
is sold.
The program has reha-
bilitated more than 30 homes
during the past several years
and 12 more are in process.
Said the Housing Authority
of Jackson County:
“The homes are not only
repaired for the individual
currently living in the resi-
dence, but it upgrades the
structure for the future, con-
tributing to a better housing
stock in the community. This
grant funding has the added
benefit of contributing to the
local economy by employing
small contractors and provid-
ing funding for materials pur-
(Continued on page 4)
TIMOTHY WADDELL
(Josephine County Jail photo)
youths who had awhile back
lived at Tom’s Home, re-
portedly blackened Green’s
eyes in an unprovoked as-
sault at the residence three
days before the murder for
which he is charged.
Green was known for
insisting that those at his
home find work, gain edu-
cation, and behave them-
selves. He washed their
clothes and fed them, all at
no charge.
Through the years, per-
haps as many as 25 or 30,
the easy-going Green helped
hundreds of youth.
At the scene of the mur-
der on Dec. 10, a woman
said that Waddell had exhib-
ited characteristics of
schizophrenia. She said that
she was retired from two
decades of social work, and
extremely familiar with the
condition.
Others have indicated
the possibility of the condi-
tion, and it was noted on
Dec. 10 that the suspect is
known to use methampheta-
mine and marijuana, the
sheriff said.
Wikipedia states in part,
“Schizophrenia is a psychi-
atric diagnosis of mental
illness characterized by im-
pairments in the perception
or expression of reality. It is
most commonly manifested
as auditory hallucinations,
paranoid or bizarre delu-
sions or disorganized speech
and thinking.
“The onset of symp-
toms typically occurs in
young adulthood. Diagnosis
is based on a patient’s self-
reported experiences and
observed behavior. No labo-
ratory test for schizophrenia
exists.”