Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Page 6
County budget committee considers, indulges fund requests
(Continued from page 1)
formed soldiers attended, and
some audience members
wore T-shirts to show support
for the Humane Society.
Committee members
continued their previous dis-
cussion
regarding
Gilbertson’s compensation.
Cassanelli said that she con-
tacted officials in Curry
County and learned that its
sheriff makes less than
$66,000 per year.
“They’re paying a lot
less for their sheriff than we
are,” Cassanelli said.
Commissioner Dave
Toler countered that Curry
County receives less revenue
than Josephine County.
DeLashmutt reminded
committee members that state
statue requires county sheriffs
to be paid more than anyone
else in their departments. She
said it could even be as little
as $1 more.
Gilbertson took to the
podium and stated his inten-
tion to reject any raise ap-
proved by the committee. He
said that the economy is bad,
and that his deputies have not
asked for a raise in five years.
If given a raise,
Gilbertson said, he will write
a check back to the county at
the end of the year for the full
amount. His remarks earned a
strong round of applause
from audience members.
Ellis moved to increase
Gilbertson’s salary by 2 per-
cent as of Jan. 1, 2011. West
seconded, and the motion was
approved 6-0.
The salary of county Sur-
veyor Peter Allen also was
taken up by the Budget Com-
mittee.
An annual salary of
$7,680 was recommended by
the Compensation Commit-
tee, and DeLashmutt said that
was calculated using a base of
20 hours per week at $32 per
hour. She added that the
change would not affect the
budget.
West moved to approve
the change, Ellis seconded,
and the motion passed 6-0.
Lisa Shipley from the
county’s veterans office gave
a presentation to accompany
her department request for
$20,000 to hire half of a Full
Time Equivalent (FTE) posi-
tion for support staff to im-
prove outreach efforts.
Josephine was the first
county in Oregon to develop
a veterans services office,
Shipley said, and did so in
1944 to educate veterans on
the various state and federal
benefits available to them.
She said that the program
came under the county’s
authority in 2006 and has
been able to “thrive,” bring-
ing millions of dollars in
veterans benefits back to the
county.
The department serves
between 2,000 and 2,500
veterans per year, a figure
that could jump “rather sig-
nificantly,” Shipley said, with
the recent return of some Iraq
War veterans.
Ellis praised Shipley’s
efforts. He described her de-
partment as one of the state’s
best, and declared his inten-
tion to support the request.
“As far as I’m con-
cerned, this is a no-brainer,”
said Ellis, a military veteran.
Toler moved to approve
the request, and Hill sec-
onded. Cassanelli said that
she planned to vote against
the request.
“We don’t have spare
money,” Cassanelli said.
“The county is faltering.”
Strom expressed his pref-
erence for approving the en-
tire budget at once. Ellis
countered that he wanted to
vote on the request and move
on, which prompted applause.
Toler’s motion passed 4-
2, with Cassanelli and Strom
dissenting.
Iraq War veteran David
Tscherny confronted Cas-
sanelli on her vote, and dared
her to look him and the other
veterans in the eye while de-
nying them access to services.
Cassanelli defended her vote.
“We’re not going to have
a county if we continue to do
this,” she said.
Public Health Director
as crocheting, textile arts and
hand-drumming. Two moth-
ers who volunteer at the
school have studied African
drumming, and are teaching
students how to maintain two
rhythms simultaneously.
Entrepreneurial skills
also are being taught, as stu-
dents have taken to starting
their own microbusinesses,
complete with art, cooking
and gardening guilds.
Zook said that one of the
school’s main missions is to
develop students’ leadership
skills to prepare them to be
successful in life.
“The goal is to get kids to
love learning,” she said.
Many future valedictori-
ans and salutatorians began
their educations at Dome
School, Zook said. She fur-
ther noted that students begin
giving oral reports as young
as 6 years of age.
Nutrition also is a prior-
ity at the school, as a U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture program
provides meals for breakfast,
lunch and after-school activi-
ties.
“We have a real high
percentage of organic foods,”
Zook said.
She said that her involve-
ment with the school began
when she brought her own
children to the facility. She
instantly became impressed
with Dome School’s learning
environment, and decided to
increase her participation.
“I love to come here,”
she said. “It’s a real positive
enforcement of your own
life.”
Dome School students
are preparing for the Friday,
May 14 Cave Junction Art
Walk. Their plants, arts and
crafts will be for sale, along
with food, at the Josephine
County Bldg. in Downtown
Cave Junction.
~ By Scott Jorgensen
Belle Shepherd detailed her
request for $75,000 in general
fund dollars for the Animal
Control program. With those
funds, she said Animal Con-
trol could have a staff of four
FTE employees, be open to
the public 22.5 hours and five
days per week, and have two
officers in the field.
For the 2009-10 fiscal
year, Shepherd said that the
department was budgeted for
three FTE employees, and
was open 22 hours and four
days per week. One officer
was in the field, she said.
Shepherd said that with-
out the general fund dollars,
Animal Control operations
would be reduced to having
two FTE employees, and be
open six to 10 hours and two
days per week, with one half-
time officer in the field.
She added that the pro-
gram is mandated by the
county charter, and animals
are at the shelter seven days
per week, regardless of staff-
ing levels.
Ellis said that he had e-
mails of support from people
who could not attend the
meeting. He said that the
county needs to shorten its
response times for animal
incidents, and that adding one
more position would do that.
If those calls are not handled
by Animal Control, Ellis said,
they will become the respon-
sibility of the sheriff’s office.
Cassanelli said that in-
creasing the number of FTEs
in county government is “not
appropriate.” Gilbertson said
that it would cost more to
operate the program from his
department.
Toler moved to approve
and Ellis seconded. The mo-
tion passed 4-2, with Strom
and Cassanelli dissenting.
The county is required to
have a balanced budget
passed before the beginning
of the next fiscal year July 1.
Takilma’s Dome School
(Continued from page 1)
hands-on learning activities
for the youth. Much time has
purposes. They include en-
ergy production and garden
soil supplements. Students
Cathy Zook, whose two children attended the Dome School,
serves as co-administrator. (Photo by I.V. News )
been spent this year on study-
ing bio-char, a form of char-
coal mixed with organic ma-
terials such as seaweed that
can be used for a variety of
have even learned how to
make bio-char stoves using
tin cans.
Also being learned by the
students are areas as diverse
Bowers makes commish pitch
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Grants Pass resident Ed
Bowers, one of 11 persons
seeking election to Josephine
County Commissioner Posi-
tion 1, addressed members of
the Josephine County Chapter
of Americans for Prosperity
Thursday evening, April 29.
Approximately 40 people
attended the meeting in a
Grants Pass restaurant.
Bowers discussed how he
ran a construction business in
Alaska with his brothers and
father. The firm built schools,
water and treatment plants and
a shipyard, Bowers stated.
“Over the years, the
company became quite suc-
cessful,” Bowers continued.
“I’ve run a business and I
know how they work.”
If elected to the commis-
sioner seat currently held by
Illinois Valley resident Dave
Toler, Bowers said that he
would institute performance
audits to determine the effi-
ciency of county government
programs. He said that he
also would look into privatiz-
ing some county functions,
but cautioned that such ac-
tions be taken in a “realistic
manner.”
Bowers referred to the
county’s 2006 decision to
privatize its mental health
services. The American Fed-
eration of State, County and
Municipal Employees suc-
cessfully challenged that de-
cision in court. Subsequently,
the county has been ordered
to rehire the affected workers
and pay their union dues,
retirement benefits and other
related costs.
“We don’t want to pri-
vatize like that,” Bowers said.
Many municipalities
throughout the nation have
consolidated their police
forces, Bowers said, and have
saved money by doing so. He
added that Josephine County
might consider the same.
“I’m not suggesting
that’s what we should do
here,” Bowers said. “But we
should look at it.”
Bowers, who has lived in
the county for around 10
years, said that he is “not op-
timistic” about the chances of
receiving further federal
funding. The county should-
n’t be too aggressive when
pursuing those dollars, he
cautioned.
“They’ve got a lot more
U.S. marshals than we have,”
Bowers said.
Because so many in the
county receive public assis-
tance, Bowers said that rely-
ing on them to solve the
county’s revenue problem
might prove problematic.
“There’s no way we can
support any kind of tax in-
crease in this county,” he ob-
served.
Private property rights is
a “hell of an issue down
here,” Bowers said, and is
the main reason he became
involved in local politics.
Bowers recalled that
around five years ago, the city
of Grants Pass decided to
build a pathway that went
right in front of his house.
“It took two years, but
we beat them,” Bowers said.
“It was the first time anyone
ever had.”
The county also should
think about selling some of its
surplus properties and return-
ing them to the tax rolls,
Bowers said, including the
former hospital site on Dim-
mick Street in Grants Pass.
Among other qualifica-
tions, Bowers cited his stints
on various county and city
boards, and on that of the
Seattle Zoo Society.
Rural Cave Junction resident
Mattie Moore is officially a cente-
narian; she turned 100 on March
22, 2010.
Nearly sixty family members gath-
ered to honor her milestone birth-
day including a couple of grand-
daughters and a great-great-grandson traveling all the way
from Tennessee.
Mrs. Moore has five children, 22 grandchildren, 49 great-
grandchildren and 29 great, great grandchildren.
She was born in Watson, Oklahoma and married Elbert
Moore in 1940. They moved to Cave Junction in 1949 where
her husband began work at a sawmill. Mrs. Moore has been
a member of Jehovah’s Witness for 40 years.
Mattie’s secret for longevity is “to never give up.”
Thursday, May 13, 2-2:50 pm
Evergreen Elementary Library
This is an opportunity for next year’s Kindergarteners and 1st graders who will be attending Evergreen for the
first time to attend an orientation, meet the teachers, visit the classrooms, and submit paperwork. Students
must be five years old, on or before the first day of September, to attend Kindergarten (NO EXCEPTIONS).
Oregon law requires children initially entering school to be fully or currently up-to-date on
immunizations prior to enrollment. Please bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate
to verify age and immunization records. Please contact the school office,
541-592-3136, if you have questions.
“My hospital
is part of my
community.”
Melanie
Family Birth Center Patient
Lorentz discovers ‘Life after wartime’
(Continued from page 1)
Washington state for two
weeks of demobilization and
reintegration training. Lorentz
spent part of the time in
Canby taking tests to join the
Oregon State Police.
Lorentz, who is on active
duty until May 20, was
among the soldiers in a demo-
bilization ceremony in Forest
Grove. They were escorted
by fire trucks, police cars and
the Freedom Riders motorcy-
cle group as citizens lined the
streets in a sign of support.
Even though he could
indulge in some well-needed
rest, Lorenz already has be-
gun looking into applying to
work at OSP and other law
enforcement agencies so that
he can begin the next phase
of his career. He’s also spend-
ing time with his family and
contemplating long-term
plans to finish his education.