Inside:
New business
C&R Automotive
Page 4
Barter Faire
Weekend event
Page 5
Weed warriors
FAC vs. star thistle
Page 8
Sports
Soccer, football
& more
Pages 9 & 13
Projects at north end of city await economic uptick
By LINDA
COREY-WOODWARD
For IVN
People ask, “What’s go-
ing on north of town?”
Now that the Oregon
Dept. of Transportation has
completed the road project at
the north end of the city of
Cave Junction, residents won-
der about the development
projects along that strip of
Redwood Hwy. People driv-
ing through this area see sec-
tions of cleared land, three
new houses and driveways
leading to the east and west.
Questions have been
raised about whether those
projects have died. According
to the entities involved, the
projects are temporarily on
hold due to the economy.
Larry Osborn, of Manor
Communities Development,
plans a neighborhood shop-
ping center, anchored by a
grocery store. The retail
buildings he envisions would
encompass 70,000 square feet
of space. Plans include res-
taurants, a drug-and-soft
goods store, auto services,
and other retail stores to com-
plement the center.
Osborn said that he is not
looking at “big box” retail
types of businesses. Rather,
he wants neighborhood stores
to serve Cave Junction as
well as people passing
through Illinois Valley.
No deals have been
struck, and no detailed plan
has been filed with city hall,
but Osborn intends to move
ahead with this project some-
time during 2009. He said
that it will include plenty of
parking, safe and easy access
from highway, and the types
of stores and services Illinois
Valley residents want, but
don’t necessarily have now.
His plan includes ex-
panding Illinois Valley Golf
Course and remodeling the
club house. Osborn also plans
to build an upscale RV park
just beyond the city limits to
provide overnight stays to
people traveling between
Grants Pass and the coast. He
commented that the RV park
is just in the planning stage at
this point.
Osborn suggested that
the 90-mile stretch of Red-
wood Hwy. between the coast
to Illinois Valley and into
Grants Pass could generate
approximately $50 million a
Car seat clinic
IVFD in Selma
Page 13
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(Continued on page 13)
Pot, ammo,
weapons in
GP seized
Court rules:
$5,577 for
fire district
A former administrative
aide for Illinois Valley Fire
District (IVFD) charged with
felony crimes has made resti-
tution, Chief Harry Rich re-
ported.
Rich addressed the board
of directors during its
monthly meeting Thursday
night, Sept. 11 at administra-
tive headquarters. He referred
to a case involving Elisabeth
Ann “Beth” Beards.
The chief reported that
on Aug. 26, a restitution
check for $5,577.22 was re-
ceived from Josephine
County Circuit Court. The
amount settles a matter of
restitution, he said, while not-
ing that through plea bargain-
ing, three of six felony
charges were dropped, and
that the case is closed.
Rich said that the finan-
cially strapped district can use
the money. He said that he
still is looking at ways to re-
duce fuel consumption
through a restructuring of
which units respond to calls.
“It’s hard to choose,”
said Rich. He lamented that
not responding, as for medi-
cal calls handled by Ameri-
can Medical Response, “is
not in the best tradition of the
fire service or the fire district.
“But our backs are
against the wall,” he contin-
ued, “so we need to make a
decision. I am seeking a reso-
lution to a problem, and I will
bring that resolution to the
board of directors.”
Directors also:
*Approved five more
annexations to IVFD recom-
mended by Fire Marshal Jerry
Schaeffer.
*Heard from Rich that he
wants to contact Director
Dusty Bouchard, absent from
the past three meetings under
a six-month medical leave, to
find out how she’s doing and
when she plans to return.
*Learned from Deputy
Chief Jeff Gavlik (who turned
34 on Sunday, Sept. 14) that
he remains optimistic at the
district’s chances for a grant
to obtain new self-contained
breathing apparatus.
*Set the next meeting for
Oct. 9.
year in revenue from retail,
lodging, recreation and tour-
ism, if thoughtfully and at-
tractively developed by others
like him. He pointed out the
new Radio Shack/CJ Video
Mart and Home Valley Bank
in Cave Junction as two ex-
amples of what he thinks is
attractive. He wants to see
more businesses along the
highway, but carefully de-
signed and with adequate
parking for cars, trucks and
large motor homes.
Currently, RVers stop-
ping in the city of Cave Junc-
Winds were strong enough
that they kept the smoke
moving through the weekend,
and it was anticipated to con-
tinue through at least the first
part of this week. To check
for real-time air quality and
health index readings, visit
www.deq.state.or.us/aqi/
index.aspx.
DEQ reminds area resi-
dents – especially those who
might be sensitive to smoke –
that there are precautions they
can take to mitigate breathing
problems or other symptoms
from smoke. Additionally,
there are helpful media and
Web-related tools available
that may help individuals
determine when to take pro-
tective measures.
Smoke is comprised of
tiny particles (particulate mat-
ter) that can be harmful to
breathe, especially for chil-
dren, older adults and those
with asthma and other lung or
heart conditions. This particu-
late matter also reduces visi-
bility, causing the haze that’s
been noticeable in the area.
Symptoms that people
may experience from smoke
include degrees of repeated
coughing, shortness of breath,
scratchy throat, wheezing,
chest tightness, heart palpita-
tions, nausea, unusual fatigue,
or lightheadedness.
Conditions can improve
or worsen rapidly, depending
on location. Should smoke
events occur, officials urge
residents to take the following
Lawmen in Josephine
County dealt with two armed
men -- including one with 13
weapons, some 3,000 bullets
and around 50 pounds of
black powder -- during the
past few days.
Cloverlawn Drive resi-
dent Jacob Tokio Watanabe,
34, who besides weapons had
91 growing marijuana plants,
was cited by Josephine
County Sheriff’s Office
(JCSO) on Friday, Sept. 12.
Grants Pass Police on
Sunday, Sept. 14 arrested
Donn Reeves Fincher, 28, at
4:35 p.m. on Park Street. He
had been released from
county jail earlier that day,
police said.
Fincher was charged
after a report that a man, try-
ing to sell a 9mm pistol at a
yard sale, tucked it into his
trousers and walked off.
Neighbors helped locate him,
and during investigation it
was determined that Fincher
had been involved in numer-
ous crimes in the area prior to
police contact.
He was charged with
first-degree theft of a firearm,
two counts of unauthorized
entry into a motor vehicle,
first-degree theft by receiv-
ing, three counts of second-
degree criminal mischief,
third-degree theft, felony pro-
bation violation, being a felon
in possession of a weapon,
and possession of less than an
ounce of marijuana.
Fincher was described as
a transient.
Watanabe was charged
with being a felon in posses-
sion of a weapon, and posses-
sion and manufacture of a
controlled substance/
marijuana. Deputies had re-
ceived information from state
child welfare officials about a
report to them about Wata-
nabe growing marijuana and
giving it to children.
He and his wife have
three sons, 5, 7 and 11. Wel-
fare officials interviewed
them and found indications
that the suspect had given
them illegal weed stalks to
chew on because it calmed
them, said JCSO.
Officers found 50 pounds
of black powder in the
home’s living room. They
also found 3,000 rounds of
various caliber ammunition,
around 20 blasting caps in the
master bedroom, a body ar-
mor ballistic plate and a bal-
listic helmet.
Additionally, deputies
reported finding five har-
vested marijuana plants, two
pistols, a shotgun, and 10
rifles, including one reported
stolen in the county in 2002.
JCSO said that Watanabe
is a registered sex offender
and a felon, who had an Ore-
(Continued on page 13)
(Continued on page 7)
Exploding propane tanks marked a motor
home fire in Kerby reported at approximately
2:05 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15. Heavy black
smoke attracted many spectators on Sixth
Street for the blaze listed at 24131 Redwood
Hwy. on the hill behind Kerbyville Museum.
Firefighters from Illinois Valley Fire District
(IVFD) and Oregon Dept. of Forestry re-
sponded with medics from American Medical
Response. Indications were that the fire was
caused by a man using gasoline to start the
engine on the RV.
(Photo above by Illinois Valley News ;
photo at left by Dale & Elaine Sandberg,
VFD Media Dept.)
Area wildfires prompt smoke warnings, suggestions
Smoke concentrations in
Southwestern Oregon includ-
ing portions of Josephine and
Jackson counties again have
The driver of a Ford Explorer
was transported by American
Medical Response following an
accident near 24583 Redwood
Hwy. in Kerby on Friday, Sept.
12 around 5:10 p.m. It ap-
peared that a semi-truck and
trailer struck the rear of the
SUV, which was stopped to
make a left turn into High Pine
Trailer Park. Other details were
unavailable.
(Photos by Illinois Valley News )
reached the “moderate” level
on the Oregon Dept. of Envi-
ronmental Quality (DEQ) Air
Quality Index.
Moderate winds are
pushing smoke from two
wildfires, one near Prospect
and another near Glide.