Inside:
Game on?
Council refers social
gaming to voters
Page 3
Sound off
News Website offers
discussion board
Page 4
Troopers score
Four pounds of pot
seized on Hwy. 101
Page 9
Cougar sports
Girls B-Ball,
wrestling results
Page 10
Airport
museum
lease back
on county
table
A group advocating a
smokejumper museum at the
Illinois Valley Airport on
Hwy. 199 between Cave
Junction and O’Brien has
submitted a draft lease agree-
ment to Josephine County.
But county officials ex-
pressed concerns about the
document regarding the for-
mer Siskiyou Smokejumper
Base during a Thursday, Jan.
7 meeting between the board
of county commissioners and
(Continued on page 4)
Wyden tours Merlin-
based Recoil facility
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
(R-Ore.) made a whistle stop
in Josephine County last
week as part of a larger tour
throughout the state, which
included town hall meetings
in Ashland and Corvallis.
On Thursday, Jan. 7,
Wyden visited the headquar-
ters of Recoil Suppression
Systems, a Merlin-based firm.
The company, an aircraft
parts and auxiliary equipment
manufacturer, recently re-
ceived a $3.2 million federal
allocation to provide a wild-
land fire suppression fixed-
belly tank system for the U.S.
Army National Guard’s UH-
60A, L&M Blackhawk heli-
copter.
Approximately 50 people
were present for the product
demonstration, including
members of the news media,
the three Josephine County
commissioners, Sheriff Gil
Gilbertson, Grants Pass
Chamber of Commerce Presi-
dent Jon Jordan, a representa-
tive from the office of state
Sen. Jason Atkinson (R-
Central Point) and employees
of Recoil and other Merlin
companies.
Joseph Rice, Recoil man-
aging director, said that the
company has been working
on developing the wildfire
suppression system for three
years. He added that Wyden,
the county, state and Southern
Oregon Regional Economic
Development Inc. (SOREDI)
all have aided the company in
its efforts.
Recoil was granted
$25,000 by the Josephine
County commissioners in
February 2009. The grant
was used to draw additional
funds from SOREDI and
other public entities.
Wyden stated that the
appropriation could create
perhaps 30 jobs. He said that
although Recoil’s system still
has to demonstrate its “air
worthiness” to officials at the
Pentagon, “We’ve got a good
shot” to showcase the region’s
workforce and its skills.
During a presentation,
Rice said that the 575-pound
tank system has a 1,000-
gallon capacity, a 30-second
fill time and can be installed
in 30 minutes or less. Rice
also pointed out that Recoil
uses several Grants Pass and
Medford firms as suppliers.
(Continued on page 4)
Cougar Ben Kendall (right)
strives to outpace a St. Mary’s
defender while concentrating
on a layup; Tobin Mikels
(above) executes a fading
jump shot against Henley on
Friday, Jan. 8. (Below, right)
Roger Hults defends in the
hard-fought loss to St. Mary’s
on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
(Photos by Michelle Binker,
Illinois Valley News )
Cougars’ play tough in two close losses at home
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
A couple of close games found the Illinois Valley High
School boys’ basketball team coming up short last week.
The Cougar squad hosted St. Mary’s School on Tuesday,
Jan. 5 and lost 56-53.
Junior Jesse Bethke led I.V. scoring, with 19 points. Roger
Hults, also a junior, scored 16. His brother, sophomore Fred
Hults, scored 9.
Coach Jeff Winters said that the team improved its defensive
game and its offensive rebounding in that showing and commit-
ted only nine turnovers. However, he said that the squad still
needs to work on its shooting from the field and the free throw
line.
On Friday, Jan. 8, the team hosted Henley High School and
lost 48-41.
Roger Hults scored 12 points, and Fred Hults scored 11.
Senior Tobin Mikels and Bethke each scored 4.
The Cougars committed 19 turnovers in that effort, and
missed 50 shots.
“We’re trying to cut those down,” Winters said.
IVHS will hit the road on Friday, Jan. 15 to play North Val-
ley High School. That squad failed to win any games last year,
but has a new coach and increased participation in its program.
“They seem to be getting competitive,” Winters said.
“They’re on the way up.”
But despite that, the Cougars have beaten NV in their last
six contests.
“We
usually
match up pretty well,”
Winters said. “It will
be a close game.”
In order to win,
Winters said that his
team needs to concen-
trate on keeping its
defense and rebound-
ing strong, improving
its shooting and limit-
ing its turnovers.
“One of these
days, we’ll do all four
of those, and some-
body is going to be in
trouble,” he said.
Commissioners choose to skip Cassanelli as board chairman
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Josephine County Com-
missioner Sandi Cassanelli
thought that she might spend
2010 serving as chairman of
the county board, as she was
vice chairman last year, and
insists that tradition dictates
her advancing to the top spot.
But Cassanelli was un-
able to convince Dwight Ellis
and Dave Toler — her two
fellow commissioners — of
that during the board’s
Wednesday morning, Jan. 6
weekly business session at
the Anne G. Basker Audito-
rium adjacent to the court-
house in Grants Pass.
Approximately 60 people
were present for the meeting,
including television news
crews and most of the
county’s elected officials and
department heads. Addition-
ally, a deputy from Josephine
County Sheriff’s Office stood
by in the auditorium foyer.
Ellis, current board chair-
man, called for nominations
for the chairman and vice
chairman positions. Toler, an
Josephine County Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli (center) defends her qualification to serve
as chairman of the board as fellow commissioners Dwight Ellis (left) and Dave Toler look on.
Toler (far right) later received a ‘Crock of Fudge’ award from Grants Pass resident and video-
grapher Dale Matthews (Photos by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News )
Illinois Valley resident,
moved to nominate Ellis as
chairman and Cassanelli as
vice chairman.
Ellis asked for a second
on the motion, and Cassanelli
declined. In response, Ellis
provided the second.
Cassanelli asked her fel-
low commissioners for an
explanation. She held up a list
of all the county board’s
chairmen and vice chairmen
since 1962, noting that the
“history has been for dec-
ades” that the vice chairman
take over as chairman.
“That’s the logical rota-
tion,” she said.
The only time the vice
chairman didn’t become
chairman was because of
recall or resignation, Cas-
sanelli said.
She pointed out that Ellis
and Toler served as chairmen
after one year in office. She
added that she received more
votes than Ellis in the No-
vember 2008 general elec-
tion, and more than Toler
received in 2006.
“I think is an egregious
procedure,” Cassanelli said.
“If it goes the other way, I am
determined to fight this.”
Ellis stated that he
thought about this issue “long
and hard for months,” and
provided some of the ration-
ale for his decision.
“I have some problems
with her experience,” he said.
Ellis cited his own ex-
perience as president of the
Grants Pass Chamber of
Commerce, and Toler’s
as a former longtime
member of the Three
Rivers School District
Board of Education.
“We know how to
run a meeting,” Ellis
said. He added that he
thinks Cassanelli has a
hard time making mo-
tions; is inexperienced in
land-use hearings; has
had ex-parte contact with
a land-use applicant; and
has a problem handling
county employees in public.
“That’s not a sign of a
manager or a leader,” Ellis
told the audience.
He stated that he would
“reluctantly accept the chair-
manship if elected.” Toler’s
motion passed 2-1, with Cas-
sanelli dissenting.
The meeting was then
opened to requests from citi-
zens. Grants Pass resident
Dale Matthews took to the
podium and presented Toler a
“crock of fudge” award, and
implied that the commis-
sioner would not be re-
elected to his office.
“By far, this belongs to
Dave Toler,” Matthews said.
“It’s well-deserved.”
Selma resident Bill
Waggoner stated that he has
regularly attended public
meetings since moving to the
area in 1972, and that he’s
seen all the rotations of the
chairmanship positions.
“This is the first time
I’ve seen it altered,”
Waggoner said.
Margaret Goodwin said
that the motion sends a “very
bad message.” She decried
the fact that the only woman
on the board was denied her
chance to be chairman.
Selma resident Mark
Seligman, who has stated his
interest in challenging Toler
(Continued on page 3)