Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Court ...
Continued from A-1
The largest single difference which has
taken place has been the severe reduction of the
county sheriff’s office patrols a year ago. This
followed a drop in public safety funds from
over $20 million in 2011-12 to $8,468,000 in
2012-13, when an extra O
C Secure Rural
Schools Act payment was made to the county.
This year’s budget is down even further, to $5
million.
As a result, Sheriff Gil Gilbertson was
forced to reduce his staff last year from 98 to
34 people a 65 percent drop. or the past few
months, only Sgt. Ray Webb was available to
patrol the entire county. Last week, Deputy Tra-
vis Snyder was added to the patrol roster. The
Patrol Division is currently budgeted for one
Deputy and one Sergeant, who patrol rural Jo-
sephine County eight hours a day, five days a
week.
Previous Cave Junction contract officer
Deputy George Gasperson, and later, Deputy
Travis Snyder, had more fellow officers avail-
able as back-up when more deputies were on
patrol. Patrolling has now fallen to Oregon
State Police who answered over 800 calls in Jo-
sephine County, while only answering around
285 in the more populous Jackson County.
Now, when the Sheriff or his deputies
aren’t available, Heller must also handle emer-
gency calls outside of Cave Junction, along with
his regular duties. At the city council workshop,
Heller stated his assigned priorities are People,
Crime and Traffic in that order.
An additional factor is the new reporting
system that went into effect last year requiring
Heller to write reports on every type of call,
from citations to welfare checks further re-
ducing his time available to patrol. Currently,
he must spend around 25 percent of his time
writing reports.
Nolan stated, “The point of Municipal
Court is not to make money but to encourage
good behavior.” He also explained that the goal
of impounding vehicles is to get those in non-
compliance off the road.
Although city council decisions cannot be
made during workshops, several solutions were
posited, including severely reducing the types
of crimes for which Heller must write reports.
Another possibility is to arrange to have Oregon
State Police write citations to be adjudicated at
the Cave Junction Municipal Court. Another
idea was to reduce Municipal Court frequency
to every other month.
Polk also suggested Gilbertson and Hell-
er meet with Jacobson and Nolan to work out
which types of written reports to abbreviate or
Caves ... Continued from A-1
199 ... Continued from A-1
Cave tours are 90 min-
utes long and rated moderately
strenuous. The cave tour route
includes over 500 stair steps
that are uneven and wet with
low passageways that require
bending and twisting while
walking. Children must be 42
inches tall and able to walk
independently to go on a cave
tour. Visitors in wheelchairs
can access the first room of
the cave. The temperature in-
side the cave is approximately
44°F (7°C) year round, pro-
viding a cool refuge on warm
summer days. Warm clothing
and good hiking shoes are al-
ways recommended. Cameras
with ash are allowed in the
cave, but not tripods, ash-
lights, or backpacks.
Tours are on a first-
come, first-served basis. The
basic cave tour fee is $8.50
for adults and $6.00 for youth
ages 16 and under. The Mon-
ument accepts the Interagency
Senior Pass, the Interagency
Access Pass, The National
Park’s Golden Age Passports,
and Golden Access Passports
which provide the card holder
half price for a basic cave tour
in accordance to the provi-
sions of the individual pass.
Tour fees help to fund projects
that improve Monument facil-
ities and visitor services, such
as restoration of the historic
Chateau and new interpretive
displays.
That rather awkward northbound
right merging lane, just after the Lister
signal, will go away, and safety at the
crosswalk in front of Taylor’s Sausage
and other locations will be improved, as
pedestrians will only have to cross two
lanes of traffic.
“Crash rates will go down,” Leam-
ing said. “By eliminating the potential for
people to make poor passing decisions in
town and making traffic wait to make safe
left turns, without the potential of getting
rear-ended, overall safety will be greatly
improved.”
“There were rumors in town that
there will be a lot of concrete median
strips, which is false,” Leaming added.
“No concrete medians are planned, it’ll
all be paint on the ground. Primarily, this
is a safety project for the community that
will also benefit businesses.”
Highway 199 is classified as both
a freight route and a state highway. Ac-
cording to ODOT analysis, about 10,000
vehicles drive though downtown Cave
Junction daily. Recent ODOT studies as-
sessed system deficiencies and explored
improvements for vehicular and non-ve-
hicular traffic. Planning goals include
discerning the best linkages between the
community’s neighborhoods, schools
and businesses to move both people and
goods safely throughout the Highway 199
Bat populations at the
caves are threatened by the
spread of “white-nose syn-
drome,” a fungal disease that
is devastating bat populations
east of the Rocky Mountains.
The Monument is trying to
protect its bat population and
needs your help. f you have
any items that have been worn
or used in a cave or mine east
of the Rocky Mountains in
the US or Canada or a cave or
mine in Europe, please leave
those items at home.
Entrance to the surface
areas of the Monument is al-
ways free and there are an
assortment of beautiful forest
trails always open and invit-
ing. Look for other exciting
tours and programs to begin
when summer arrives. Lis-
ten to a free evening Ranger
Program, take a Candlelight
tour on special evenings, learn
about Oregon’s past on a free
guided tour of the historic ho-
tel, and watch for additional
family and science tours this
year! For the more adventur-
ous, off-trail tours for $30.00
each person are offered by
reservation during the sum-
mer months.
or more information on
cave tours call 541-592-2100
or visit www.nps.gov/orca.
For lodging or reservations
at the Chateau, call 541-592-
3400.
READ
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eliminate.
Citi ens are encouraged to self-report for
non-emergency crimes through the Sheriff’s
Office website at www.jocosheriff.us . Also,
a new communications service allows the
Sheriff’s Office to send information directly to
residents via cell phone text messages and/or
e-mail. People can register through the website
for these updates.
olunteers staff the Sheriff’s substation
located below City Hall only three days a week
from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. on ridays. More volunteers are
needed and those interested are encouraged to
drop in during posted hours or visit the sheriff’s
website for further information.
corridor, both now and in the future.
The city is reviewing locations of
planned facilities, services and street
connectivity issues, taking into account
residential growth. Goals include main-
taining and maximizing current assets;
optimi ing performance through technol-
ogy; and integrating transportation, land
use, economic development and environ-
mental considerations.
“ODOT, the schools and the
am-
ily coalition are all involved,” Nolan said.
“We’re working together to discern the
spots where folks need better pedestrian,
wheelchair, stroller and bicycle access.”
During a five-year analysis period,
between 200 and 2011, 86 crashes were
reported within the Cave Junction study
area, with 53 of these accidents occurring
at intersections. Of these reported crashes,
51 resulted in minor injuries 32 caused
property damage only; and three crashes
resulted in a fatality or severe injury.
The intersection of Lister Street and
Highway 199 experienced 11 crashes,
with most of these resulting from left-turn
con icts off of the highway. The River
Street and Highway 199 intersection ex-
perienced the second highest number of
crashes, mostly related to failures to yield
the right-of-way.
Two other tricky spots experiencing
higher numbers of crashes are at the in-
tersection of Highway 46 (Cave’s High-
way) and Frederick Court, where there
were three rear-end crashes during the
study period timeframe, due to following
too closely or speeding; and six crashes
at Laurel Road and Highway 199, where
half involved fixed-objects like ditches,
signs and guardrails. These collisions did
not exhibit clear patterns, but were deter-
mined to be due to driver error. Vehicles
were either traveling too fast for condi-
tions or making illegal traffic maneuvers.
During the May 9 Art Walk, between
5 and 8 p.m., ODOT staff, including Dor-
rell, will be on hand with maps and visual
aids in front of the County Building, to an-
swer questions and get feedback. Anyone
with concerns, questions or comments are
encouraged to stop by.
People can also call or go to city hall
to get more information and view maps.
Folks can also attend the regular city
council meeting May 12 at p.m., where
recommendations to ODOT regarding
the repaving project will be discussed.
City officials also plan to host an open
house where the public can view potential
changes and make comments.
Work on these transportation proj-
ects is slated to begin and be completed in
the summer of 2015.