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Wednesday, December 24, 2014, 1 Section, 12 Pages, Volume 77 No. 42 Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
Commissioner
Hare in hot water
for racy texts
75c
illinois-valley-news.com
Bill to expand Caves signed
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
Josephine County Commissioner Simon Hare has found
himself in hot water for sending lewd text messages to two
young women.
The Dec. 5 incident, which took place at the Cedarwood
Saloon in Grants Pass, came to the public’s attention after Doug
Deakins, the father of one of the girls, spoke up at the county’s
Dec. 17 weekly business session.
“The more I thought about it and looked into the background
on Simon, the more I felt compelled to come forward,” said
Deakins, a helicopter pilot with Swanson Group Aviation, who
was not acquainted with Hare before this incident.
Deakins and his wife, Stefani, were sitting at a table with
some friends, including Jennifer Putnam, who was the treasurer of
Hare’s recent re-election campaign, when the incident occurred.
When Stefani Deakins left the table, Hare picked up her
cell phone. Hare claims he thought the phone belonged to
Putnam and he sent the messages to the last two contacts in the
text message feed as a prank.
The first message: “Dude, you are so hot,” went to Deakins’
18-year-old daughter. A second message: “God, I gotta get in
your pants,” was sent to Deakins’ 23-year-old niece.
Both girls were stunned by these suggestive messages and
texted back to Deakins’ wife, who told the girls that somebody
had taken her phone and had sent the messages.
Determining that Hare was responsible, Deakins confronted
him at the bar.
“Simon admitted he sent the messages, but became very
defensive,” said Deakins, adding that it nearly became a fistfight.
“Simon said my wife shouldn’t leave her phone lying on the table
and that she should have had it locked. I told him he shouldn’t
be picking up stuff that wasn’t his and the argument continued...
Simon also said that I would ‘lose every day of the week’ if I
did anything about this and then told my wife he knows a lot of
attorneys and we don’t wanna ‘mess’ with him.”
See Hare on A-10
(Courtesy photo for The Illinois Valley News)
The Oregon Caves Monument received a shot in the arm last week when it was expanded to 4,000
acres. Proponents say this will protect the watershed that feeds the caves and its inhabitants.
Oregon Caves Expansion offers community economic opportunity
By
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
The Oregon Caves received a grand
Christmas present when President Obama
signed a bill Dec. 19 to expand the national
monument from 480 acres to over 4,000
acres, creating the Oregon Caves National
Preserve. The bill was one of 20 park service
improvement initiatives attached to the
National Defense Authorization Act.
The monument’s expansion facilitates
the protection and unified management of
the entire watershed that feeds the cave and
provides drinking water for visitors. Managing
this critical wastershed as one unit will better
serve the globally significant ecology of both
the cave and surrounding wildlands, preserving
these wonders for future generations.
“We also anticipate expanded recreation
opportunities for visitors including hiking,
hunting and new ranger programs,”
said Oregon Caves National Monument
Superintendent Vicki Snitzler.
The expansion transfers lands
surrounding the Oregon Caves from the U.S.
Forest Service to the National Park Service.
The legislation also designates the River Styx
that flows through the cave as the nation’s first
ever underground National Wild and Scenic
River.
“A lot of people have worked for a long
time to make this a reality,” Snitzler said,
acknowledging her gratitude to those who
shaped several versions of the expansion plan,
Cave Junction man
faces charges from
Dec. 20 incident
A Cave Junction man
was arrested and is currently
being detained at the
Josephine County Jail on six
charges.
According to the
Josephine County Sheriff’s
event log Saturday, Dec. 20,
Josephine County Sherriff’s
Dept. was called to the 200
block of Schumacher Road
where Brian Joseph Maxwell
30, was alleged to have
Brian Maxwell
pointed a firearm at his wife
and 6-month old daughter.
When officers arrived
on scene Maxwell was not
at the residence and a search
of the area was performed
before detaining the suspect.
The log also contained a
comment from his wife that
she believed he was using
meth and has shot her in the
past. Maxwell was charged
with two counts of Menacing,
two counts
of pointing
a firearm at
another and
resisting
arrest. All five
charges are
misdemeanors.
The sixth charge
Unlawful
use/Carrying
a dangerous
weapon is a
felony.
going back to 1909.
“Over 1,000 people sent in letters
supporting this expansion and Greg Walter
really deserves a special mention for his
tireless efforts,” said Oregon Caves Chief of
Resources Management John Roth. “Greg
made trips to Washington D.C. and gave
countless presentations over the years.”
Roth also acknowledged the Klamath
Siskiyou Wildlands Center, which was a key
player in resolving the grazing issue that had
killed previous expansion proposals.
“There had been concerns for years about
cattle grazing in the Bigelow Lakes watershed,
which now is part of the new park,” said
Klamath Siskiyou Wild Executive Director
Joseph Vaile. “The Applegate Valley rancher
involved agreed to retire his allotments and
this will prevent cryptosporidium, a parasitic
organism, from entering the park’s drinking
water supply.”
Some local leaders did not support the
expansion.
“My biggest fear is around fire
protection,” said Jim Frick, a realtor with
Century 21 Harris and Taylor. “I don’t think
the Park Service is equipped for that. This just
seems like a ploy to control the watershed on
the Illinois Valley and Applegate side of the
mountain. Plus, I doubt most of the public will
ever use all those hiking trails, many of which
are on 45 degree slopes. And, I wonder if there
is really going to be much of a major economic
impact around the valley as a whole.”
See Caves on A-10
Library seeks donations
By
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
Since the failure of a library district measure on the
November ballot, Josephine County libraries continue to seek
donations in order to keep their doors open.
Dubbed the Yellow Envelope Drive, library supporters
are being asked to match what they would have paid in taxes if
Library District Measure 17-62 had passed. Potential donors are
asked to divide the assessed value of their property by 1,000 and
multiply that figure by 0.39 to arrive at the amount they would
have paid annually.
“The IV branch is within walking distance of all three
schools and is heavily used by IV residents of all ages as well
as by groups for community centered activities such as our free
baby-toddler play group, and occasional evening presentations,”
said IV Branch Manager Roberta Lee. “Clubs are welcome to
use the building when we’re not open and only need to make
arrangements to use the library. We have many volunteers that
are willing to help organize this.”
Lee said she wants to make the library building available to
the community as an information hub.
“Currently, even when we’re not open, patrons can use our
WiFi from the comfort of their cars,” Lee added.
As of last week, volunteers working to support Josephine
Community Libraries (JCLI) have raised $114,500. With just two
weeks remaining in the year, they still need to bring in $35,500
to stabilize the library budget by Dec. 31.
“I’m constantly impressed with the generosity of our
library supporters,” Lee said. “They’ve come to us with their tax
receipts, we sit down, figure it out and they write out a check.
The average is about $60, which works out to $5 a month. We’ve
had people just come in and drop off checks. It makes me so
grateful to be part of this community.”
Of the 33,074 people who voted in the recent election, 47
percent voted “yes” and 53 percent voted “no.” The number of
“yes” voters increased significantly from the last library district
vote in 2006, gaining seven percent more votes for library
funding and gaining support from 12 additional precincts in
Josephine County.
“We are reaching out to the 15,000 people who voted ‘yes’
this past November to form a library district,” said Executive
Director Kate Lasky. “Even though the measure failed, if
everyone who voted ‘yes’ made a donation, we’d be able to meet
our budget goals for the year.”
Josephine County libraries closed in mid-May of 2007.
Four months later, committed community members formed
Josephine Community Libraries, Inc., a nongovernmental,
nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring long-term library
services for every county resident.
By December 2009, less than two years later, JCLI had
reopened all four shuttered locations, including Grants Pass,
Williams and Wolf Creek. They continue to operate, thanks
to donations, grants and the contributions of more than 350
volunteers annually. Anyone interested in getting involved to help
save this important community resource and valuable industry
attraction for the county, can e-mail info@josephinelibrary.org.
Potential volunteers are welcome to drop in or call 541-592-4778
during regular business hours.
For more information, or to request a yellow envelope, stop
by the Illinois Valley branch at 209 W. Palmer during regular
business hours: Wednesdays, from 2 to 6 p.m.; Fridays from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
See Library on A-5