Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Page 12 County board announces lease, union agreements By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer Thanks to a new tenant, the Josephine County Bldg. on Redwood Hwy. in Down- town Cave Junction is one step closer to paying for itself. A tentative lease agree- ment between the county and Illinois Valley Baptist Church was announced during a county commission adminis- trative meeting at the court- house in Grants Pass on Tues- day, July 21. The issue also was raised when the board visited the county building Monday night, July 27. Commissioner Dave Toler said that the church will rent the four to five offices formerly used by the sheriff’s office, which has since moved to the basement of Cave Junction City Hall. Toler said that the church will use the building’s large meet- ing room on Sundays and Wednesday nights. “That will come a long ways towards closing the gap” between the building’s costs and revenues, he said. Also discussed during the board’s visit to Cave Junction was a series of col- lective bargaining agreements between the county and some employee unions. Agreements with Service Employees International Un- ion and American Federation of State, County and Munici- pal Employees were to be ratified by the board during its Wednesday, July 29 weekly business session at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. Agreements are to run through June 30, 2012. A separate agreement with the Federation of Oregon Parole and Probation Officers (FOPPO) also was slated for approval by the board on July 29. That agreement will expire June 30, 2011. Commissioners de- scribed the agreements as “status quo.” Vice Chairman Sandi Cassanelli said that some FOPPO employees will be given Cost Of Living Ad- justments of 1 or 2 percent, based on their certifications. Debate challenge put to Toler By SCOTT JORGENSEN IVN Staff Writer If Josephine County Commissioner Dave Toler seeks re-election next year, it looks as though he might have to go through Selma resident Mark Seligman. Seligman informally announced his candidacy when the county board met in Cave Junction at the county building Monday night, July 27. Approximately 15 people attended. In his prepared state- ment, Seligman praised com- missioners Dwight Ellis and Sandi Cassanelli for their efforts. Seligman said that he supported Toler, an Illinois Valley resident, when the commissioner first ran for office in 2006. “I thought he’d be a new face with new ideas,” Selig- man said. He then slammed Toler for his support of new taxes and for refusing to appear on the KAJO Radio talk show for most of last year. He also accused the commissioner of walking out of meetings. “Is this the commissioner we voted for in 2006?” Selig- man said. Before concluding his remarks, Seligman chal- lenged Toler to a debate. Toler did not immediately respond to the challenge, but Ellis characterized it as a “campaign speech.” Kerby resident John Bowler stated that Toler has been doing what he expected the commissioner to do in office. Cave Junction resident Roger Brandt advised Toler not to debate Seligman. Brandt characterized Seligman’s remarks as “wrong” and “poorly in- formed.” Seligman stated that Toler’s position on taxes is counter to the will of county citizens, who consistently vote down such measures. After the meeting, Toler said that if Seligman files for Position 1 on the board of commissioners, the chal- lenger will be able to partici- pate in a variety of debates and candidate forums. “That opportunity will come,” Toler said. An Evening of Art & Wine was held throughout Kerby on Fri- day, July 24. Among participants (From top) Michael Yanase at Yanase Jewelers, where wines from Deer Creek Vineyard were featured and acrylic and graphic art (above) by Debbie Wilson was on display; at Kerbyville Museum, Jan Walker (above, right) had copies of her new book, Field Guide to Shrubs of Southwestern Oregon; Jackie Henry-Ross (right) brought classical guitar music to Southern Oregon Guild’s gallery at the Kerby Belt Bldg.; Mary Reynolds shares ‘how- tos’ of her intricate bead-work quilts at The Dove Tail Joint. At Hampton’s Rock Shop, Fredrick Hampton (left) shared freshly baked focac- cia bread from Bagel Junc- tion and Bridgeview Vine- yards Wine; Wally Aiken (below) performed at Yanase Jewelers. Other par- ticipants included The Dove Tail Joint, and Kauffman Wood Products. (Photos by Michelle Binker, I.V. News ) Sheriff warns of two scams Josephine County Sher- iff’s Office (JCSO) warns of two current scams. The first is described as a “simple but effective” homemade trap which, when inserted into the card slot of an ATM machine, captures the victim’s card. Enter the thief, who, while pretending to help, attempts to gain the victim’s personal identification num- ber. The thief will convince the victim he can recover the card if the PIN is entered while other buttons are pushed. After the victim gives up and leaves, the thief re- trieves the card and makes a large withdrawal. “If your card is not re- turned,” said JCSO Sheriff Gil Gilbertson, “examine the ATM slot and card reader for any signs of tam- pering. If you observe a glued trap, carefully pull it out and recover your card.” The second scam tar- gets family members of ser- vice personnel who use Facebook to keep in touch online. Said Gilbertson, “Grandparents are being contacted through Facebook under the guise of being their (grandchild) returning home on leave from Iraq. The ‘soldier’ asks the grand- parents to keep his/her pres- ence a secret so that he/she can surprise his/her parents. “The ‘soldier’ advises that he is stranded because his buddy’s car broke down enroute. He asks them to wire several thousand dol- lars to cover the cost of car repairs.” It is recommended that military members provide family members with a codeword or phrase to ver- ify their identity, as well as assess their Facebook ac- counts for exploitable infor- mation. Chateau friends gain $7,500 cultural trust grant Friends of the Oregon Caves & Chateau is to re- ceive a $7,500 grant to re- store, preserve and protect the rare collection of Mon- terey furniture at Oregon Caves Chateau, said the Oregon Cultural Trust. The grant is among those amounting to $1.45 million from July 1 this year through June 30, 2010. The fiscal year granting repre- sents a 12 percent reduction from the prior year’s $1.65 million due to a slight de- crease in donations and a drop in interest earned by the OCT endowment. Oregon Caves National Monument, 22 miles east of Cave Junction, was desig- nated a National Landmark in 1907. The Monterey fur- niture was built by Mason Manufacturing from 1929 to 1943. The other grant in S.W. Oregon is $35,000 to Ash- land’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival to design and pro- duce a new stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Edsen Donato, DPTSc, PT, OCS, CHT, CSCS Jeff Wood, MS, PT “ Joint Replacement Susan DeLand-Garten, PT “ Back & Neck Injury Jim McCall, PTA “ Sports Injury Austin Nickerson, PTA “ Certified Hand Therapist Three Convenient Locations   Concrete   Remodel   New Construction illinois-valley-news.com CCB 174891 592-6609 For a cumulative list, visit FlashAlertPort- land.net/. 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