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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2008)
Inside: Portland bound Cougar wrestlers headed to state Page 1 Councilor selected Arias appointed to Atteberrry’s seat Page 4 Art Ed LTA project has colonial twist Page 5 Sweet treats Valentine ideas for everyone Page 13 Fire: ‘total loss’ Family of five displaced by blaze Page 14 I.V. Airport lease looks up in the air By WALLY AIKEN For IVN Illinois Valley Airport was once again a topic for discussion by the Josephine County Board of Commis- sioners, this time during a meeting Tuesday, Feb. 5 in the county courthouse. All three commissioners were present for the meeting. The agenda item that spurred the discussion was a request for clarification of airport lease agreement pro- cedures. Prior to the departure of Chief Operating Officer Marie Hill, she had the re- sponsibility for reviewing the agreements. However, upon her leav- ing, that responsibility was shifted to county Property Manager Phil Killian and county Airports Manager Alex Grossi. Commissioner Jim Raffenburg is the “liaison commissioner” for the process. Initially the discussion was tabled, as Raffenburg had not had the opportunity to speak to Grossi to obtain his input. On Thursday, after Killian and Grossi exited the meeting, Illinois Valley resi- dent Roger Brandt requested that the commissioners re- open the discussion, and they allowed Brandt to voice his concerns. Brandt’s complaint cen- ters on a proposed lease agreement the county is con- (Continued on page 3) Man charged in shooting Troy Charles MacBeth, 45, is charged with murder in the shooting death of a rural Grants Pass man in connec- tion with a mutual relation- ship with a woman. Josephine County Sher- iff’s Office (JCSO) added that the shooting occurred Friday, Feb. 8 at approximately 8:13 p.m. The victim was identi- fied as Dennis Harold Roper, 52, of 405 Fir Canyon Road. MacBeth apparently went to Roper’s residence, a travel trailer, and demanded to be let in. When the victim refused, the suspect dis- charged a firearm, striking Roper’s torso, said JCSO. The suspect was located on foot in the neighborhood at approximately 9:48 p.m. After being charged with murder, he was placed in county jail in Grants Pass. Rockydale gravel work must cease, says JoCo the excavation is to further By WALLY AIKEN agricultural goals. For IVN These distinctions are Barlow Rock & Gravel is critical because if an opera- to be notified that it must tion is decided to be mining cease operations at a contro- in purpose, a conditional-use versial site on Rockydale permit is required and this Road until a conditional-use means an involved process permit is obtained. that includes public meetings. A request for clarifica- Barlow is currently seeking tion on mining vs. agricul- just such a permit for a pro- tural land use by the Jose- posed mining operation in the phine County Board of Com- Holland Loop area. missioners brought several The state’s opinion was Illinois Valley residents to the offered by Frank Schnitzer, a courthouse in Grants Pass representative of Oregon Thursday morning, Feb. 7 to Dept. of Geology & Mineral hear county planner Mike Institute (DOGAMI). He said Snider respond. that the Little Commis- Elm site is an sioner Jim ‘Growing rocks is not example of a Raffenburg a farm use.’ - County Commissioner s i t u a t i o n was on vaca- Dwight Ellis where there is tion. no reason to Clarifi- believe agricultural goals are cation was requested by the even being considered. commissioners in response to “A report is filed by the the Little Elm Ranch opera- county,” he said, “which in tion on Rockydale Road in part concludes that removal rural Cave Junction where of sand and gravel is occur- Barlow Rock & Gravel has ring in the process of farming been removing aggregate and the project should there- material. Its stated purpose is fore be exempt from DOG- to create an agricultural pond AMI regulations.” to irrigate an adjoining grass The DOGAMI statement field. adds, “There is no farming on Nearby residents and this tax lot, there are no im- others in the neighborhood mediate plans to irrigate, claim that despite Barlow’s there is no water right to al- claims to the contrary, the site low irrigation. The farm cur- is primarily a mine. They rently utilizes a water right contend that the agricultural from the river.” The report benefits of the pond are mini- also makes it clear that there mal compared to the negative are no farming benefits to be effect a mining operation is gained from the pond and that having on the Rockydale the material being removed neighborhood. could easily be used on-site Snider produced a 17- for the pond embankment. page document discussing County Commissioner county regulations and its Dwight Ellis commented that jurisdiction in such matters. “Growing rocks is not a farm But many felt that his work use.” He and commission did little to clarify or resolve Chairman Dave Toler agreed the problem which is, in the that a letter be sent to Barlow case of Little Elm Ranch, the stating that all operations at actual definition of a mining the Little Elm site must cease operation and an agricultural until a conditional-use permit operation. is obtained. The state uses a 5,000 Toler said that the clari- cubic yards of material re- fication of regulations is still moved and 1-acre size as its needed and will be addressed benchmark for mine defini- in the case of Little Elm tion. Josephine County regu- Ranch. But because Barlow lations use the same 1-acre noted on state documents that figure, but considers 1,000 the purpose of the project is cubic yards of removed mate- to mine aggregate, it could rial to define a mine. How- therefore be dealt with imme- ever, exemptions are consid- diately. ered if the primary purpose of Zonta promises funding for libraries from raffle Josephine Community Libraries Inc. (JCLI) has been advised that Zonta Club of Grants Pass will donate approxi- mately $10,000 as its sole beneficiary of Zonta’s Xtreme Dream Raffle, the proceeds of which will be used to purchase 10 public- access terminals. Raffle tickets will be available from May through July for major prizes. “Zonta’s mission is to improve the status of women through service and advocacy,” notes Illinois Valley resident Carol Dick- son, club president. “By supporting the four libraries,” she said, “we will be able to help a large number of women and children (and men, too) throughout the entire county. “The 10 computers will provide access to the library collec- tion and will be for general public use. This will benefit all li- brary patrons, especially those who do not otherwise have access to computer technology and the Internet, which help with school work, job skills development, and job searches.” Incorporated as a nonprofit organization in September 2007, JCLI’s mission is to provide a public library system lasting for generations of Josephine County residents. To accomplish this, JCLI forecasts that it will need between $600,000 to $1 million worth of in-kind donations and monetary support. To raise the money, JCLI proposes to solicit memberships along a public radio/public television model. Its goal is to reopen Josephine County libraries by the end of 2008. For more infor- mation, visit josephinelibrary.org. Donations can be made payable to “RCC Foundation/ Josephine Community Libraries” and sent to P.O. Box 1684, Grants Pass OR 97526. Presidents Day, a federal holiday, will be observed Monday, Feb. 18. Banks, schools, post offices and other public agencies will be closed. I.V. News deadlines will remain the same. Illinois Valley wrestling coach Jay Miller (rear left, above) was chosen Coach of The Year in the Skyline Conference; the Cougar team captured its fourth consecu- tive district championship; and Sam Win- ter (left) was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler in the 103 to 140-pound weight classes. Illinois Valley is sending 13 wres- tlers to the 2008 state championship, which will be held Feb. 14-16 in Portalnd’s Memorial Coliseum. Bracket information is available online at osaa.org. (Photos by Ward Winter) Cougars chew up Skyline competition IVHS wrestlers earn yet another district championship; Miller Coach of Year Illinois Valley High School wrestling team emerged from the mats at Skyline District end-of- season competition with its fourth consecutive district championship. The district meet was held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8 and 9, at the Rogue River High School gym. Besides the team champi- onship, coach Jay Miller was honored as Skyline Coach of the Year. And Cougar wrestler Sam Winter was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler in the 103 to 140-pound weight class. The Cougar victory also means that 13 I.V. wrestlers will go to state competition. At the district meet, I.V. mat- men achieved the following: First places were won by Chris Culver (103) Rhino Prince (112), Sam Winter (135), Jacob Miller (145), Jesse Swift (160), Lance Tau- saga (189), and Tim Pope (215). Second-place victories went to Zach Anderson (112), Larry Ragsdale (119), Quayde Fishcer (130), and Jerrad Miller (152). Third-place wins were achieved by Jacob Ellis (152), and Eric McConico (189). The Cougars amassed 344.5 points. Phoenix was second with 288.5, and Henley was third with 250.5. Other scores: North Val- ley 198, Hidden Valley 106, and Rogue River 23. Busy bevy backs county commission with its behind-the-scenes expertise By WALLY AIKEN For IVN Linda Langford, Angel Osipovich, and Linda McElmurry are among the busiest employees at the Jose- phine County Courthouse, although they’re not exactly household names in our com- munity. But they are the behind- the-scenes public face for the Josephine County Board of Commissioners. They are the team tasked with making a politically charged office run smoothly. Yet many people are unaware of the vital roles they play in county government. McElmurry, the self- described “point man,” is the lead board assistant and has a Angel Osipovich long association with county government. Her father was a school superintendent from Glide. She says that she was exposed to small town poli- tics at an early age. She spent 12 years working for Douglas County, the last seven as of- fice manager for the health department. She has been Linda Langford with Commissioner Dwight Ellis with the Josephine commis- sioners’ office since 2005. Osipovich came to the county commissioners after owning and operating her own business, a clothing bou- tique that also offered tanning booths. As a married mother of two, she was seeking a more stable job situation. She will start her third year with the commissioners in April. Langford is the newest member of the team, but has worked 15 years for the county. Her last county posi- tion was administrative su- pervisor for Marie Hill, the former chief operating offi- cer. Having started in the commissioners’ office in Au- gust, Langford said that she is still learning how the work- place functions. All three have clearly defined roles within the of- fice, but also are required to operate as a team. Osipovich is Commissioner Jim Raffen- burg’s assistant, and generally considered to be the person charged to deal with the pub- lic, a particularly thankless position given the ire some visitors to the office feel. She also is required to deal with the logistics of county public presentations such as town hall meetings. Langford is assistant to Commissioner Dwight Ellis, and also assists county Prop- erty Manager Phil Killian. She staffs two advisory com- mittees -- fire protection and mental health -- and serves as accounts payable clerk. McElmurry is commis- sion Chairman Dave Toler’s assistant. As lead board assis- tant she is the coordinator for Linda McElmurry (right) with Rosemary Padgett, chief financial officer. office operations. Besides individual re- sponsibilities, the three are required to keep minutes of various meetings, track mail, and prepare resolutions and orders. They have to keep commissioners advised on coming meetings, and deal with the myriad details arising during the day-to-day func- tioning of county business. They are consistent in one belief: They all feel that the job is the most challeng- (Continued on page 3)
