Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2008)
Info meet Sept. 2 in CJ on taxing districts Inside: Letters to Editor Citizens sound off on many issues Pages 2 & 3 Measures to fund sheriff’s office patrol, jail, court security set for Nov. 4 ballot Crime response CJ mayor plans city rebuttal Page 5 Rural Congress Group seeking economic fixes Page 5 Bus schedules Three Rivers ready for classes Page 6 Action, activities and attractions will again be featured during the 37th annual Labor Day Festival & Parade sponsored by the Illinois Valley Lions Club. Scenes from last year include the Tuff Truck event, greased pole climb and sweet treats. The schedule of events is on page 15. Other festival stories and information on pages 7 and 15. ( Illinois Valley News file photos) Holiday program Labor Day Festival schedule provided Page 15 It’s elementary Playground tribute to Doug James Page 16 Got crime? Does Cave Junction have a crime problem? Although crimes occur in the city of Cave Junction and surrounding area with the 97523 ZIP Code, the areas of Grants Pass, Rogue River and Medford have higher risks when it comes to crime, ac- cording to Crime Index statis- tics compiled by OnBoard for homefair.com. For example, Grants Pass is listed with a total crime risk of 144, while Cave Junction is given a 69. The Crime In- dex is a score created by On- Board, an information/ statistic business, that repre- sents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault, rob- bery, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft compared to a national average of 100. Grants Pass surpasses Cave Junction in all catego- ries. For personal crime risk, Grants Pass is given a 57; Cave Junction a 46. Grants Pass gets 171 for property crime risk; Cave Junction 59. Rogue River has a total crime risk of 126; 47 for per- sonal crime risk; and 153 for property crime risk. Medford is listed at 172 for total crime risk; 81 for personal crime risk; and 191 for property crime risk. Benefit set for Coultas, Renno Through an outpouring of support from friends and neighbors of two Illinois Val- ley residents involved in the Iron 44 Incident, a fund- raising event will be held Sat- urday, Sept. 6 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Lake Selmac. Proceeds from Fun in the Sun, an all-day event, will go to assist with paying medical bills for helicopter pilot Bill Coultas, 44, who was seri- ously burned in the fire- fighting accident in Northern California on Aug. 5. Funds (Continued on page 4) Serious injuries were suffered by a Cave Junc- tion resident when a pickup truck rolled at Illi- nois River Forks State Park. Story on page 9. (Photo by I.V. Fire District Media Dept.) ‘Wheels of Fire’ to roar in parade By LINDA COREY-WOODWARD For IVN On Labor Day, people can see flashy three-wheeled motorcycles in the annual Illinois Valley Lions Club parade in Downtown Cave Junction. Parade watchers will get to enjoy all the usual compo- nents of the I.V. Lions Club parade and festivities. For many, the highlight is seeing the colorful and innovative trike designs in the parade. Among them will be Loren Conner, a Cave Junc- tion resident, who will pilot his shiny black tricycle with bright orange flames on the fenders, engine cover and body. This is no store-bought trike. It was designed, built and painted during the course of four years by Conner, his wife, Patricia, and friends, and first shown at a 2005 Medford show, where it took a first-place trophy. Their trike is made of parts from some interesting vehicles. The rear body was a 1928 Dodge sedan, which now sports rear lamps from a 1914 Model-T. The vehicle is powered by a 2000cc Porsche engine covered by hand- crafted sheet metal. The head- light came from a 1913 REO automobile. The upholstery was by Engles Upholstery. Others who worked on the machine are Valley Muffler & Hitch, Baker Body Shop, and CJ Auto Electric. Since it was finished, the Conners have enjoyed carry- ing home awards from motor- cycle and tricycle shows throughout the Northwest. It was featured in Trike Maga- zine, the official publication of the worldwide “Brothers of the Third Wheel” organiza- City and other regional shows. In 2006, they won 2nd place at the national trike show near Branson, Mo., Conner said. He, his wife and their enthusiastic Jack Russell Ter- rier, Taz, enjoy riding the eye- popping trike in parades and poker rides. Taz even has his own goggles for their jaunts. Conner and his wife used to By MICHELLE BINKER IVN Staff Writer A political action com- mittee (PAC) calling itself Citizens for Public Safety Education (CPSE) is hosting an event to provide informa- tion on proposed public safety tax districts for Jose- phine County. The districts, designed to provide stable funding for county law enforcement, are set for the Nov. 4 ballot. Any- one can attend the educa- tional gathering at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Jose- phine County Bldg. in Down- town Cave Junction. Unless successful at passing the two taxing dis- tricts, Josephine County Sher- iff’s Office (JCSO) is facing an estimated budget of only $2.1 million next fiscal year. Its current budget is approxi- mately $10 million. This essentially curtails patrol functions and juvenile justice services; practically closes the jail; and eliminates the JCSO’s ability to generate self-sustaining revenue. Responding to confu- sion about the taxing dis- tricts and what passage could mean for county resi- dents, Jeff Wolf, chairman of the CPSE, said that the PAC, through town hall meetings and an informa- tional Website, “is trying to get the information out about the tax districts so people can make an in- formed choice.” Added Brian Bailey, “The thing the taxpayers really need to understand is that for most people it will cost less than a buck a day to maintain these services.” Bai- ley, who has served as chair- man of the county Budget Committee, speaks from a working knowledge of the county’s fiscal situation. “In the long term,” he said, “(voting for the tax districts) is more cost- efficient for the taxpayers because they will not be paying all the shut-down costs of mothballing build- ings and programs.” Joe McMannis, another PAC member who also serves on the Sheriff’s Advi- sory Council, said that he regularly engages people to discuss details of the tax dis- trict proposal. “I had a conversation at the barbershop the other day,” McMannis said, “and got everyone engaged – fully engaged – when I asked someone, ‘How are you go- ing to vote on this?’ and he said he was going to vote against it,” “I said, ‘If you want no law enforcement in the county, then we have nothing more to talk about. But if you do and you could get it for less than a dollar a day, would you be interested?’ I show them this document. We do the math. They get it.” The document, a sample tax bill, shows that, among the many entities for which property taxes are collected, only the relatively small por- tion allocated to the county is affected by the tax districts. “The real issue,” said Curt Bynum, another advi- sory council member pulling double duty with the PAC, “is that 98 percent of the people, when they sit down and look at the numbers, irrespective of their ideology, they go: ‘Oh my God,’” Bynum pointed out, “Of all the counties (as listed in the Governor’s Taskforce on Forest Payments report), Jo- sephine County is losing 67 percent, by far the most of any of the affected counties, of its general fund. “Then you look at the tax rate, and Josephine County is by far the lowest. You juxta- pose those and it’s like: ‘Duh. We’re broke.’ Subjectivity flies out the window.” More information, a sample tax bill and a video presentation on the county budget numbers can be found online at JOCOToday.com. (Related story, page 13.) Crash closes Hwy. 199 90 minutes, both ways Seven persons in three vehicles injured The traveling trike trio. (Photo by Linda Corey-Woodward) tion. Some 15 tricycle riders from Washington, California and Oregon, who are former members of a local chapter of “Brothers of the Third Wheel,” will have a reunion in Cave Junction. They plan to enjoy Oregon Caves Na- tional Monument and The Chateau, and participate in the Labor Day Parade. The Conners regularly compete during the Brook- ings Azalea Festival car show, Kool Knights Car & Motorcycle Show at Crescent ride motorcycles, but they gave it up and decided to try tricycling, after Patricia suf- fered a broken leg. They readily took to the new trike in 2005 and en- joyed the friendships formed in the tricycle organization. Conner says that there were approximately 25 members in the original chapter. Many came from Northern Califor- nia in the Bay Area. Now the remaining group of 15 is sim- ply a group of old friends (Continued on page 7) Three vehicles were in- volved in an accident on Red- wood Hwy. at Round Prairie Road on Friday, Aug. 22 that caused closure of the highway for more than 90 minutes, said Oregon State Police. Seven people were re- ported injured in the crash, between Wonder and Wil- derville, some 9 miles south of Grants Pass. Grants Pass resident Jaime L. Smedley, 32, was cited by OSP on charges of careless driving. He was the driver of a vehicle that struck a stopped car and pushed it into another car. Six of the injured were taken by ambulances from American Medical Re- ...with a one-year, paid subscription to the I.V. sponse and Rogue River Fire Dept. to area hospitals. But Noah F. Jenkins, 18, passenger in one vehicle, was taken by Mercy Flights helicopter. OSP said that Smed- ley’s passenger was Gayle Smedley, 26. Others re- ported injured were Zecha- riah G. Heck, 18, of Grants Pass, who was in a car stopped behind another, as it was making a turn; and his three passengers, Eric A. Stewart, 18; Jenkins, and Shawn M. Nance, 18; and the driver of the first vehicle that stopped. That driver was identified by OSP as Wilderville resident John M. Hamlin, 78. News * One entry in the 2008 Rogue Duck Derby, Saturday, Sept. 27, Riverside Park, Grants Pass. Grand Prize $20,000 toward purchase of a new vehicle from one of five Grants Pass dealers. Many other prizes. Duck Derby details at sponsoring businesses: Illinois Valley News, Bi-Rite Auto, and Home Valley Bank. Supplies very limited, GET YOURS NOW! 321 S. Redwood Hwy. 541-592-2541 www.illinois-valley-news.com
