Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Page A-7
City discusses underage drinking IVHS Grads
Continued from A-1
City councilor Margaret Miller
asked if King would consider choosing
a different date for playing music, saying
she had no problem issuing a permit but
was concerned the music conflicted with
the Concert in the Park series, also planned
for Thursday evenings. The council agreed
to table King’s permit request for the next
city council meeting June 27.
“We’re trying to have the community
be more cohesive, not so spread out,”
Miller said. “I have no problem with the
[amplification] request.”
In the first of four resolutions, city
councilors approved Resolution 751,
a special city allotment allowing for
the appropriation of money from state
highway funds, a total of $1 million, to
improve Watkins Ave. between South
Kerby Ave. and South Caves Ave.
The second, Resolution 752,
authorized $6,719.30 to be transferred
from the reserve Vehicle/Equipment
Replacement Fund to buy new playground
equipment for Jubilee Park.
City councilors enthusiastically
approved the new park equipment,
agreeing it improved the quality of the
park and Cave Junction itself, and would
encourage parents to interact with their
children in the park. The Ford Family
Foundation and many Illinois Valley
residents have also been working for
several months to upgrade play equipment
and improve the grounds at Jubilee Park.
Resolution 753, extending Cave
Junction worker’s compensation to city
volunteers from the council and those
on the budget committee for policy year
2011-2012, was also approved June 13.
The fourth item, Resolution 754,
authorizes the mayor to recommend
denial for liquor license renewal upon
receiving unfavorable comments from the
Josephine County Sheriff’s Office about
an applicant, or if an applicant has not
paid the required processing fees.
After the resolution, three points
from city councilors included a request
from Tarry Frank for reimbursement in the
cost of a retention pond installed on his
property, a submission for the “If I were
Mayor” contest and the opening for an
Illinois Valley resident on the Josephine
County Housing and Community
Development board.
Nolan said that according to city
attorney Kelly, the city could not reimburse
Frank for the cost and liability. Frank said
in public comment that his family has had
to pay almost $800 per year to ODOT and
that he was hoping for some relief in his
efforts.
“I’m very disappointed to hear about
the [lack of] reimbursement,” Frank said.
“It feels to me that the city has turned its
back.”
In the sheriff’s office update, deputy
George Gasperson said law enforcement
tested a “shoulder tap” program in the
Illinois Valley on June 3, providing a
decoy under age 21 to ask adults to buy
him alcohol.
Similar “shoulder tap” programs
have been used for a variety of reasons,
often to check how much adults were
buying alcohol for minors and to educate
the public about the consequences of
furnishing alcohol to minors.
According to Gasperson, the
decoy was used in two locations in the
Valley, resulting in four citations, one of
which lead to a Failure to Appear (FTA)
warrant.
“This is a serious situation that
seems to come to a head in the summer
months,” Gasperson said of the frequency
of underage drinking. “We need to work
with parents … and we also need to give
[youth] an activity for something to do.”
Former city council member Rita
Dyer also asked during public comment
why councilors had not allowed more
public input on the resolutions before
they were passed. She suggested they
considered hearing more public opinion,
even if it might not make a difference in
final decisions.
The next city council meeting is
scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, June
27, at Cave Junction City Hall on 222 W.
Lister St.
Signal, median project still raises worry
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
In an effort to
relieve some concerns
about the concrete
median
planned
for installation on
Hwy. 199 at River
Street, Oregon Dept.
of
Transportation
(ODOT)
officials
Dick Leever and Gary
Leaming met at River
Valley
Restaurant
with owner Beverly
Thomas and others on
Friday, June 10.
Thomas invited
other business owners
to attend to help gain
a better understanding
from ODOT officials
why a median might
be needed.
For many years
in the making, the
city of Cave Junction
has worked to get a
traffic signal installed
at River Street to
alleviate
safety
concerns. Recently,
ODOT
approved
a
signal
along
with
restructuring
Hwy. 199 through
downtown from four
lanes to two between
Palmer and W. Lister
Street.
However,
ODOT also requires
installing a five-inch
concrete
rounded
median,
something
several
business
owners oppose.
Many
have
agreed the traffic signal
is a much-needed
safety improvement
to
River
Street.
However, some Cave
Junction
business
owners have said they
were not sufficiently
informed about the
median and feel it
will severely hinder
business access.
“It’s a public
forum, and what’s
going to happen [here]
is going to happen to
everybody in the area,
not just me,” Thomas
said. “I thought I
might as well share
the whole experience,
talking about [the
project] and learning
about it too.”
Construction was
originally scheduled
to begin in early June,
but has been pushed
back to start in early
July, according to
ODOT officials.
According
to
Thomas,
ODOT
converted Hwy. 199
in Cave Junction
from two lanes to four
lanes ten years ago
due to rising tourism.
But now, concerns
about speeding have
prompted the move
back down to two
lanes, plus a third turn
lane.
“I don’t get
ODOT’s
logic,”
Thomas said. “Ten
years ago they swore
up and down this
was the wave of the
future. And now
we’re stepping back
to two lanes? To me,
ODOT is spending
state money that could
be spent somewhere
else.”
Thomas said she
donated part of her
property for the signal
project,
something
she said she would
not have done if she
had known about the
median.
“I believe with
three schools you need
a stoplight,” Thomas
said. “But I don’t
think we need all the
other stuff. Take [the
funding] where it’s
really needed.”
Shearing course
set in CJ
Continued from A-1
Physical
education
teacher and coach Matt Knight
also spoke to the class, as
Knight arrived at Illinois
Valley when the Class of
2011 started out as freshman.
Knight recalled his four years
of teaching the graduating
class, from his first year of P.E.
dealing with students eating
chips in the corner, to watching
students gain success in sports
and as people.
Valedictorians Audrey
Mechling, Kieran Rose and
Marissa Litak, each with a
4.19 GPA, took turns speaking
to their class, emotionally
thanking
their
families,
teachers and the “table friends”
they’ve grown up with.
Mechling plans to attend
Willamette University in
Salem and has been president
of the IVHS student body
and National Honors Society.
Rose was varsity soccer co-
captain and has participated
in Mathletes, Cougar Pals
and International Club with
Mechling and Litak, and has a
nearly full ride scholarship to
Yale University next year. Litak
won first place in Academic
Masters in the social studies
category and tutored Spanish
to students. She plans to attend
University of Puget Sound and
pursue a career in editing or
publishing.
A highlight of the night
included recognition of three
longstanding IVHS staff,
Janie Pope, Jay Grosenbach
and Steve Morgan. Together,
Bethany said they have
more than 60 total years of
experience at the school. Pope
and Morgan both announced
Suri Futures, an alpaca
farm in Cave Junction, plan to
offer an alpaca shearing course
with expert Steve Murray from
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday,
June 29 and Thursday, June
30.
According to Christine
Gardiner, the course will be
held at Suri Futures on 400
Daisy Hill Rd. off of River St.
in Cave Junction.
Gardiner said Murray
is one of the most respected professional
alpaca shearers in the field. More information
about Murray and his business, Lassen
their retirement this year
and said goodbye along with
graduating seniors.
“I am proud to say that
I, too, am part of the Class of
2011,” Morgan, a longtime
social studies teacher, said.
In Morgan’s speech to
the class, he described how the
2011 class changed his views of
underclassmen as he saw many
of them thrive in an advanced
composition class when they
were only sophomores.
Morgan has taught for
34 years total, seven at Lorna
Byrne Middle School and 27
at Illinois Valley. When asked
how many audience members
were taught or knew a relative
taught by Morgan, at least one-
third of the crowd stood up.
Salutatorian
Sabrina
Van Tassel also spoke to her
class, encouraging them to
seek happiness in their lives.
Quoting John Lennon, she
said: “When I was five years
old, my mother always told
me that happiness was the
key to life. When I went to
school, they asked me what
I wanted to be when I grew
up. I wrote down happy. They
told me I didn’t understand the
assignment, and I told them
they didn’t understand life.’ ”
After Van Tassel sang
the class song, “Time of Your
Life” by Green Day, graduates
walked single-file onstage to
receive their diplomas. Finally,
the Class of 2011 got to turn
their tassels, throw up their
graduation caps and depart the
IVHS stadium as graduates for
one last hurrah: the All Night
Safe and Sober Grad Party
organized by the IVHS Grad
Committee.
View Alpacas, can be found on his website,
lvalpacas.com.
Those interested can find more
information and sign up for the course by
calling Gardiner at (541) 415-2614.