Inside:
We get letters
Community
speaks mind
Pages 2-3, 5
Salmon, birds
Stories highlight
wildlife events
Page 7
Duck bucks
Rotary Club gives
check to I.V. High
Page 13
Money matters
Treasurer hopefuls
present platforms
Page 14
Mayoral race?
Candidate Moore
queries write-in
Page 15
Illinois Valley News
is an equal-opportunity
advertising medium
Phone 592-2541
Valley vehicle wins 800-mile contest JCLI given
Nonpetroleum-fueled roadster achieved 70 mpg in Berkeley ‘Escape’
ble oil with no change in performance.
“Bio-diesel,” said McCornack with a
By MICHELLE BINKER
First prize in the “Escape” run was laugh, “is not ‘green’ enough for Berke-
IVN Staff Writer
In its June 25 issue, Illinois Valley $5,000. They also were awarded the ley.”
News reported on the progress of vehicle “Sexiest Vehicle” citation.
Of the dozen “Escape from Berkeley”
design work by Jack McCornack to create
After spending a week in the open top entries, only five made it off the starting
a 100 mpg contender for the X-Prize, a and doorless roadster, McCornack and line. By the end of the three-day trek over
cross country road rally next spring.
navigator Sharon Westcott, also of Illinois mountain passes and through the heat of
McCor-
Death Val-
nack, an Illi-
ley, only two
nois Valley
competitors
resident, re-
remained.
cently took
The Prisoners
an open-air
of Petroleum
prototype on
arrived in Las
the road, fin-
Vegas three
ishing first in
hours ahead
the 800-mile
of the Green
“Escape from
Team,
a
B e r k e -
wood -fired
ley” (by any
gasifier-
nonpetro-
equipped
leum means).
D o d g e
The competi-
pickup truck
tion, an alter-
sponsored by
native-fuel
Auburn Uni-
road
rally,
versity
at
originated at
Montgomery,
Designer Jack McCornack with the vegetable-oil fueled MAX. (Photo by Michelle Binker, IVN ) Alabama.
Shipyard
Labs
in
The
teams
Berkeley, Calif. on Oct. 10 and concluded Valley, returned home Thursday after- were permitted to leave Berkeley with
Monday, Oct. 13 at the Sahara Hotel and noon, Oct. 16, road-weary and with only the equivalent of 1 gallon of fuel, and
Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
chapped faces. Crew chief Dave Levison, they were not permitted to buy more. In-
McCornack’s design, a 1,200-pound friends and co-conspirators gathered at stead, the teams had to scrounge or other-
Lotus 7 replica named MAX (for Mother’s Illinois Valley Airport to congratulate the wise obtain more fuel “for free.”
Alternative X-Prize), was repainted and team (dubbed the Prisoners of Petroleum)
Westcott describes pulling onto a
fitted with flashy fenders to resemble the and hear about the trip.
grocery store parking lot, and whipping
car featured in the cult-classic television
McCornack recalls an “only in Berke- off the car’s bonnet. Before long a crowd
show, The Prisoner. Its Kubota Diesel ley” moment as they arrived in the city. would gather to ask about the head-
engine was fitted with a Plant Drive con- “A guy on a bicycle came up and asked, turning vehicle. The team would explain
verter, which allowed the green-and- ‘What’s that running on?’ I answered the race premise; then make their pitch to
yellow-colored vehicle to run on vegeta- ‘Bio-diesel.’ And he glared at me.
convince others to buy fuel -- canola oil --
(Continued on page 6)
Illinois Valley High School
Homecoming 2008 festivi-
ties on Friday, Oct. 17 in-
cluded (clockwise from top,
left) a halftime routine by
the Cougars cheerleaders;
crowning of the King and
Queen, seniors Brett Latva
and Brittany Loyd; a spirit
parade in Downtown Cave
Junction; a halftime per-
formance by the Cougar
band, led by Sean McKee;
and quarterbacks Jacob
Nichols (#11) and Roger
Hults (#7) watch from the
sidelines near the end of
the game. Additional story
and photos on pages 6 and
13. (Photos by Illinois
Valley News )
$300,000
by board
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
For IVN
Members and supporters
of Josephine Community
Libraries Inc. (JCLI) packed
the Josephine County Board
of Commissioners conference
room on Tuesday morning,
Oct. 14 as the board consid-
ered a request by that group.
Several months ago, the
county commissioners had
pledged a $300,000 matching
grant to the nonprofit organi-
zation for the sake of re-
opening the county’s librar-
ies, which have been closed
for more than a year. How-
ever, that grant amount was
reduced to $100,000 by the
county’s Budget Committee
in June when it appeared that
timber payments legislation
would not be signed into law.
Most of that $100,000 came
from the library trust fund.
A four-year extension of
the timber payments legisla-
tion was included in the $700
billion bill aimed at helping
failing financial firms. That
bill was signed into law by
President Bush on Oct. 4,
which prompted JCLI to re-
quest the full $300,000 grant
(Continued on page 6)
JCSO goes
JOINTless
For more than 20 years
the citizens of Grants Pass and
Josephine County have re-
ceived drug enforcement ser-
vices from an interagency
squad, the Josephine Inter-
agency Narcotics Team,
known as JOINT.
It was comprised of per-
sonnel from the Josephine
County Sheriff’s Office
(JCSO), the Grants Pass
Dept. of Public Safety
(GPDPS), Oregon State Po-
lice (OSP), and Josephine
County District Attorney’s
Office.
On March 3 JCSO in-
formed its JOINT partners
that due to budgetary con-
straints it no longer was able
to participate, and that it
would conduct its own nar-
cotics investigations in the
communities it covers.
As a result, during the
past several months, the re-
maining team members have
worked together to restructure
the team without JCSO par-
ticipation. Because the sher-
iff’s office had provided of-
fice space, a supervisor, and
clerical support, the with-
drawal from JOINT required
restructuring of the squad.
The restructuring re-
sulted in a new interagency
agreement, a new member
agency on the team, the
award of a grant, and a new
name for the team: Rogue
Area Drug Enforcement
Team, referred to as RADE.
The team is composed of
representatives from OSP,
GPDPS, county D.A.’s of-
fice, and Josephine County
Community Corrections
(Adult Parole & Probation).
Each agency provides support
through the provision of per-
sonnel or equipment or facili-
ties; or a combination.
RADE recently moved
into its new facility and is
available for narcotics investi-
gations within the city of
Grants Pass and immediate
surrounding areas.
The team also reported
that it has been selected by
the Edward Byrne Grant to
(Continued on page 6)