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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 2014)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Page A-3 New superintendent takes helm, hopes to ease tensions By Judy Hoyle IVN Contributing Writer David R. Holmes, the next su- perintendent of Three Rivers School District, will begin his new job effec- tive July 1. He’ll be stepping into an atmosphere which has grown conten- tious over the past 6 months. In May, interim Superintendent Patricia Adams filed a tort claim; which threatens to sue former Chair- man Ron Crume and the rest of the school board, claiming harassment and retaliation. In the document, Ad- ams, whose one-year term ends June 30, accuses Crume of harassment after she told him it was “not proper to conduct Christian prayers prior to school board meetings.” The tort also charges that “Mr. Crume has attempted to remove Ms. Adams’ ability to govern the school and has attempted to intimidate her and prevent her from hiring or firing employees and in carrying out the school district’s disciplinary policies with employees under her supervi- sion.” Crume’s opposition to the na- tional education standard “Common Core” curriculum was also a point of conflict for the two. The tort also accuses Crume of subjecting her to “various political videos and arti- cles…” that had nothing to do with her job and claims he and two other board members attempted to illegally meet in violation of Oregon’s Public Meetings Law. The tort claims Crume used anti- homosexual epithets while the two were in a private conversation. At the time, they were discussing proposed anti-bullying and sexual orientation protection policies prior to a school board meeting last autumn. If the tort becomes a lawsuit, the school district would be forced to spend a large sum to defend itself. In lieu of filing a lawsuit, Adams is demanding $100,000 in damages for legal fees, medical bills and stress as well as assurances that the school board would stop interfering with her in the performance of her duties and take “necessary steps to ensure that Mr. Crume and other school board members will not violate school board policy, state, and federal law.” Ms. Adams’ attorney, Ryan Vanderhoof is also representing the school board secretary and Adams’ assistant, Shelly Quick, in another potential claim against Crume and the district. Crume stepped down as board chair in March, citing personal reasons and needing more time for family and work. Crume and his wife removed their two sons from Fort Vannoy El- ementary School and placed them in a private school in January. In discussing the selection of the new superintendent, current Board Chair Kara Olmo stated, “We had an excellent field of 17 candidates for our superintendent position. How- ever, Dave Holmes emerged as the right choice. He was impressive at every stage of our search process for his leadership skills, depth of knowl- edge, comfortable communication style and strong record of success.” The Board reviewed the candi- date applications with the assistance of a screening committee including administrators, staff, and community members which selected several can- didates for initial interviews. Following the initial interviews, the board investigated the candidates’ backgrounds and references, then in- vited Holmes and one other finalist to meet the staff, students and commu- nity. During their day in the district, the two finalists were interviewed a second time by the board. Holmes has been the Assis- tant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning since 2010 for the La Center School District in La Center, Wash- ington; which serves approximately 1,500 students. Prior to accepting his current position, he served as the principal at La Center High School for 11 years. S ee Holmes on A-10 City ... Continued from A-1 Much of the county patrolling has now fallen to Oregon State Police. The state agency answered over 800 calls in Josephine County last year, while only answering around 285 in the more popu- lous Jackson County. Miller expressed relief that the county commissioners have come up with funding for four more deputies and also mentioned that ODOT’s new proposal would reduce speeding through town, since there will be only one lane go- ing north and one going south through Cave Junction. The councilors agreed that they wanted the next dep- uty to be more visible around town. They then opened the meeting to the public. Carol Dickson pointed out that the $150,000 city contract is valuable to the sheriff’s office and that the councilors have more power than they’ve used in the past to direct, or even dismiss a contract deputy if that person is not performing up to their standards. “I was a deputy who pa- trolled without backup,” she said. “I know it can be done.” Dickson also happily noted that Deputy Travis Sny- der, who just started working in Cave Junction again, has already arrested a felon. Mark Dickson, also a retired police officer, experi- enced the same thing. “There were times when I was the only law on the road,” he said. Mark Dickson then suggested that the city create an advisory board of retired police officers to help the city work with the sheriff’s office to get the level of service they’re funding. “Start with parameters that are quantifiable and measurable, like giving a time frame for creating a 10 percent reduction in crime,” he said. Illinois Valley Fire Dis- trict Chief Dennis Hoke stated his concerns about reducing the number of traffic lanes through town. “Every 30 seconds a fire doubles in size,” he said. “We need to be able to get through town quickly to respond.” Hoke said another prior- ity should be to change the deputy’s hours, “so we get coverage at 3 a.m.” At the end of the session, an initial list gave the most importance to responding to violent crime, night activities, and drugs and dealers. Those were followed by traffic stop enforcement, patrolling Jubi- Instructor: Lisa Sherier 541-761-4342 • Monday • Wednesday • • Thursday • 6:00 PM lee Park, domestic violence, burglary, and enforcing two youth curfews. Those that are 16 and younger must be off the streets between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and between mid- night to 6 a.m. Friday and Sat- urday. The curfew for those that are 17 and 18 is midnight to 6 a.m. every night unless they’re accompanied by an adult or it’s an emergency. It was also announced in April that citizens are encour- aged 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. Volunteers staff the sheriff’s office substation, located below City Hall, three days a week from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. More volunteers are needed. Those interested are encouraged to drop in dur- ing posted hours or visit the sheriff’s office website for further information. FREE Cupcakes for first 75 Guests Visit Live Alpacas for FREE FREE Kids Crafts FREE Sports & Games FREE Raffle for Gift Baskets FREE Pocket-Sized Constitutions Kerbyville Natural Farm Practicing Natural & Sustainable Farming 23790 Redwood Hwy., Kerby $5.00 for Drop-in $40.00 a Month 770 Caves Hwy • Cave Junction Arts Red Garter Firday of Circle Night Open Stone Mic and Friday & Karaoke! Saturday 9 p.m. Dale Hopper Friday, June 27 @ 5:30 p.m. Taylor’s Country Store Tim Mitchell Sat. June 28 @ 6 p.m. Every Friday Jay Barley Every Wednesday Open Mic. Night From 6-8 p.m. Saturday night Pool Tourney Madd Moose! @ Phil King Sportsmans Tavern Saturday Karaoke with SMASH Wed. June 28 6-9 p.m. Selma Ore. Summer 2014 June 26 • The “J” Barley Band July 4 • No concert scheduled July 10 • Lonesome Road: Country Blues Rock July 17 • Guppy Whimsical duo July 24 • Dawna Crocker & Rosie: Coffee House singer songwriters July 31 • East Fork County Bluegrass Aug 7 • Ras Cricket and the Cultivators: Reggae @ McGrews of Course!
