Established 1937
50c
illinois-valley-news.com
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 2 Sections, 12 Pages, Volume 74 No. 11 Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
Dutch Bros. sets sights on CJ
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
Illinois Valley residents craving another dose of
caffeine might get their fix this summer.
According to city recorder Ryan Nolan, the
Grants Pass coffee chain applied for a major zoning
clearance permit in February 2010 from the City
of Cave Junction for a coffee stand at 115 North
Inside :
Redwood Highway.
Nolan said the city of CJ approved the
application, and that the company still had to obtain
permits from Josephine County.
But so far, it looks like the project will move
forward and the new coffee stand is projected to open
this summer. ROBCO Inc., a contracting company in
Grants Pass, took on the project.
ROBCO contractor Byron Robertson said the
company is moving to finalize the county permit
and start preliminary work, possibly as early as next
week.
Dutch Bros. representative Alan Harper said he
was excited for a new coffee stand in Cave Junction
to further expand in Southern Oregon.
Continued on A-7
New faces
chosen for
Three Rivers in
special election
Clowning around
IVHS Teacher
Retires
Page A-3
“Music in the
Vines”
Page A-6
3 Rivers Chorale
Page A-3
“Slices of Life”
by Jill Pertler
Page A-4
May’s Most
Wanted -
ARRESTED
Page A-5
IVHS Equestrians
Page B-1
IVHS Scholarship
Recipients
Page B-4
Obituaries
Sudoku
Crossword
Classified
Blotter
A-2
A-6
A-7
B-3
A-5
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Lions, Tigers and Clowns were in town Monday, May 23 as the Cave Junction Lions Club sponsored the
Culpepper & Merriweather Circus.
Preliminary results for
the May 17 special election
for Three Rivers School
District and Illinois Valley
fire personnel are showing big
changes for the school board.
According to unofficial
results from Josephine County,
Ron Crume defeated incumbent
Dave Strahan for the Three
Rivers Director position in
Zone 4. Crume took 48 percent
of the vote compared to 37
percent for Strahan. Margaret
Duncan was third with almost
14 percent of the vote.
For Three Rivers Zone
2, another incumbent Jim
Weaver was turned out by Jadd
Horban, who had about 55
percent of the vote to Weaver’s
44 percent.
Illinois
Valley
Fire
District elections were not
as close: James Minervini
won Position 1 as the only
candidate. Jerry Lamb won
Position 4 with 78.58 percent
of the vote, with Richard
Bouchard in second with 20.68
percent.
For Position 5, Edwin
‘Bob’ Butler took 72.56 percent
compared to Bill Waggoner,
who had 26.54 percent of the
vote.
The Kerby Water District
also held elections for three
Commissioner positions. Gail
Lebowitz won as the only
Position 1 candidate; Position
4 also had one candidate
submission, with Geraldine
McLean the winner.
Commissioner Position
5 had no candidate filed, and
17 write-in votes submitted.
The results of that position are
not confirmed as of Thursday,
May 19.
Airport Board discusses needs New flower
baskets adorn
for future manager
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
In an ever-growing to-do list, the
I.V. Airport Board meeting Monday, May
23, focused on the need for a new airport
manager following Alex Grossi’s recent
resignation to oversee Grants Pass and
Illinois Valley airports.
On Monday, board members shared
their ideas on what the I.V. Airport needs
from an airport manager, and whether
they could play a role in advising the
hiring process. Board chair Dave Bassett
discussed a brief history of past airport
managers and their approaches, both good
and bad, to the two airports.
Board members made a motion
Monday with a request to participate in
the selection process for a new airport
manager. According to Josephine County
commissioner Sandi Cassanelli, 13
people had applied so far for the full-time
position.
With the position open once again,
Basset and other board members stressed
the need for expertise not only in logistics
and aviation, but for skills in marketing
for the best interests of the I.V. Airport as
well.
Board
members
said
some
responsibilities of a successful airport
manager would include having good
relationships with airport tenants,
overseeing upkeep and maintenance and
communication with the Federal Airline
Administration (FAA).
In recent years, several board
members brought up how communication
problems between the I.V. advisory board,
the airport manager and the FAA reflected
a lack of transparency and ability to stay
informed.
“The good thing about the planning
process is, when you get to the end,
everybody knows about everything,”
Basset said. “The whole purpose is to
keep people informed.”
There was also discussion Monday
about whether one or two managers would
be needed to best oversee the two airports.
As the position was advertised full-time,
most agreed one would be best due to
funding and concerns about competing
interests.
In other agenda items, board
members further discussed actions to take
on the noxious weed Yellow Tuft Alyssum
that has spread at the I.V. Airport and
nearby areas. Residents Gordon Lyford
and Suzanne Vautier informed the board
about their work monitoring and trying to
stop the spread.
Board members passed a motion
to prioritize the fence project, due to
concerns that Good Earth Organics was
on airport property that could interfere
with the fence location.
Gary Buck and Roger Brandt
also updated the board on the historic
Smokejumper Base. According to Buck,
the annual Smokejumper Reunion is
coming up June 10-12, with a work party
June 13-17.
Brandt hopes to have 24 historical
photos hung up in local Valley restaurants,
and said he was working on a website for
future marketing purposes.
Also planned for the Valley this
summer is the Moontree celebration,
fly-in and run in honor of the Apollo 14
moon mission, involving the ceremonial
planting of the moon tree. Despite some
road blocks, Brandt said this would be
the year to smooth things out for future
events.
“The [Moontree celebration] isn’t
going to be a one-time event,” Brandt said.
“I think it’s going to be a legacy here.”
Valley streets
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
As part of an effort to clean up and revitalize the downtown
areas of the Illinois Valley, local volunteers, the I.V. Chamber
of Commerce and city employees teamed up to hang flower
baskets in front of downtown businesses.
On Friday morning, May 20, residents put up flower
baskets in Cave Junction to bring a fresher and more inviting
look to the businesses on the main street. Business owners in
Selma and Kerby also coordinated on their own to hang flower
baskets in front of their stores.
According to Ann Padgett, co-owner of Harmony Gardens
with her husband Ron, Dylan’s Nursery built the flower baskets
of Wave Petunia, which she says are especially suited to handle
hot weather and high winds.
Padgett, chairperson for the CJ flower basket project, said
local landscaper Joe Jackson volunteered for the important role
of watering the flower baskets every day.
“These kinds of things have to be community efforts,”
Padgett said. “It’s not about improving the look of any one
individual, but rather the downtown as a whole.”
City employee Doug Garman brought a lift to attach the
baskets to high fixtures throughout downtown.
Padgett said she hopes to get in contact with O’Brien
business owners soon to find out if they want to get their own
flower baskets in the area.