The Valley’s #1 News Source Since 1937
Illinois Valley News
Wednesday, July 6, 2016, 1 Section, Volume 79 No. 16
Restricting
marijuana leads
to rowdy meeting
$1.00
Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
IVHS 2001 vintage
Caroline Griffith
IVN Contributing Writer
Josephine County Commissioners Cheryl Walker and
Keith Heck faced a standing-room-only crowd, Tuesday,
June 28, at their final forum seeking public input about
potential changes to county zoning laws in regard to
cannabis cultivation. The crowd became raucous at times,
and, at one point when they were unable to retain order, both
county commissioners walked out of the meeting.
The topic on the table was the board of
commissioner’s decision to examine options for the potential
regulation of cannabis production in rural residential zones.
Though agriculture and farming are already allowed, with
the proper approval, on properties zoned rural residential,
the current county land-use regulations have no mention of
cannabis-related uses. According to Commissioner Walker,
they are focusing on properties zoned rural residential
because, “this is where we have the most complaints, the
most issues, the most violations.”
Multiple attendees voiced concern about water
usage, light pollution and increased traffic on residential
roads. When one woman, who lives in a small rural
neighborhood in the Illinois Valley, complained about the
smell of a neighbor’s grow, she was noisily booed by the
crowd. Another man spoke of “the grower next door” who
had “run rough-shod over everything.”
As evidenced by a show of hands, the crowd was
largely comprised of medical marijuana growers worried
about new regulations. Some attendees carried signs reading
“Educate before you regulate,” “Patients’ Lives Matter,”
and “Enough With the Lies.” A few stated concern about the
commissioners’ motives. Marijuana advocate and former
county commissioner candidate Mark Seligman suggested
that Commissioner Walker supported restricting medical
marijuana grows on properties zoned RR5 because she
wants to eliminate competition for her medical marijuana
grow, which is on land zoned for exclusive farm use.
Commissioner Walker did not respond to the accusation.
Cave Junction resident Catherine Austin referenced
a recent meeting of the Illinois Valley Airport Advisory
Board at which Commissioner Walker and the advisory
board were reputed to have discussed the possibility of
cultivating cannabis at the airport to raise revenue for the
county. At this, Josephine County Planning Department
community development director Julie Schmelzer delivered
an impassioned plea to attendees to educate themselves.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” she said. After
having attended all four of the countywide meetings, she
had “yet to hear anything constructive. All I keep hearing
are lies.”
“We do not do Google Earth spying,” Schmelzer
said. “We are complaint-driven only.” She then encouraged
those involved in medical marijuana cultivation that may
have constructive suggestions to join the committee which
the planning department is forming to explore regulation
options.
The yelling and heckling were interspersed
with calls for cooperation and increased communication
among neighbors and local government. One grower
from the Williams area admonished his fellow farmers to
“communicate, adhere to the rules, and be good neighbors.”
Local farmer, Christopher Hall, pointed out that
many small farmers in Josephine County grow produce on
their rural residential land and then sell at the Cave Junction
Farmers’ Market or the Grants Pass Growers’ Market. He
asked Walker and Schmelzer if the new regulations would
target all small farmers, or just those small farmers who
grow cannabis. Hall grew up on a farm in Vermont and
asked, “When, in the history of America, did people who
farmed not live on their farms?” This was greeted with
applause and cheering.
SEE MEETING ON A-10
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
The class of 2001 enjoy a sunny day at Deer Creek Vineyards in Selma July 2. Nicole K. Fox, Ashley
Durham, Josh Scott, Ben Campbell, Cindy Wright, Alicia Linnell, Greg Arnold, Shelly White, Ryan Miller,
Mike McDowell, Ryan Christensen, Jerrod Bruner, Julie McDowell, Lynelle Franks, Alina Squires and
Brandon Henry.
IVHS Alumni take over
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
The annual IVHS
Alumni Reunion weekend
was another grand success
with reunion events taking
place for members of the
Classes of 1951, ’56, ’61,
’66, ’71, ’76, ‘86, ’91, ’96,
2001 and 2006.
The weekend
culminated in a warm, family
celebration Sunday morning
with alumni, their spouses,
children and grandchildren at
Jubilee Park Pavilion.
Breakfast was prepared
by I.V. Fire District
volunteers as a fundraiser for
their organization, with 10
percent of the proceeds going
toward the scholarship fund.
The crew included members
of the I.V. Community
Emergency Response team.
Over 150 meals were served.
The Valley Girls
Opportunity Quilt raffle ticket
sales garnered over $200,
according to Carol Dinkel
Dickson (’74). The funds
raised by this annual project
go toward the Boys and Girls
Club and one additional
organization each year with a
portion going toward alumni
scholarships.
IVHS Alumni and
Friends raise funds to benefit
others, including contributing
to the IVHS Grad Night, and
IVHS girls basketball and
awarding scholarships for
graduating IVHS seniors.
This year’s award
winners were Alia Parker,
who received a $4,000
academic scholarship
and Greg Klingbell who
received a $4,000 vocational
scholarship.
Klingbell will attend
Cascade Culinary Institute in
Bend with plans to become a
chef. Parker plans to become
a renewable energy engineer
and will attend Rogue
Community College followed
by Oregon Institute of
Technology in Klamath Falls.
The Sunday morning
silent auction featured gift
baskets assembled by the
participating classes as well
as various treasures and
bargains.
The annual Grand Prize
Raffle included a bistro dining
set, barbecue and utensils, and
an overnight stay for two at
Vertical Horizons Treehouses,
a Taylor’s Country Store $30
gift certificate and 2 tickets to
the Britt Festival. The winner
was Colt Hill.
The O’Brien second
prize package of a two night
tipi stay and dinner for two
at McGrew’s, an Out ‘n’
About zip line package and an
Augustino Estate wine basket
went to Darnell Smith.
The Caves Package,
including an overnight stay
at the Chateau, $50 dinner
voucher and a Great Cats
World Park tour was awarded
to Karen Stiles.
The fourth prize was
a Galice rafting trip plus
overnight stay at Lake Selmac
Resort . It was awarded to
Shanna and Dennis Rhoten.
President JoAnna
Granville Gavlik (’99) was
MC for the day’s activities
and announced all the
winners.
The 23rd annual
membership meeting took
place at noon with Gavlik
presiding. Donna Zimmerman
Tellyer (’56) gave the
treasurer’s report.
SEE ALUMNI ON A-10
Ghost Cars: No tow if no value
By Dan Klapheke
IVN Staff Writer
(Photo by Dan Klapheke, Illinois Valley News)
Cars waiting to be crushed at Jerry’s Towing
impound yard. Swift states he has not crushed in
three years.
When a vehicle wrecks in the Valley,
there’s a good chance Jerry’s Towing
will eventually clean up the mess. The
company has a contract through Oregon
State Police (OSP) for such incidents, and
law enforcement or Illinois Valley Fire
District (IVFD) will call if they deem
the wreckage a hazard to the road or
environment.
However, when a vehicle is
abandoned on the side of the road, and
even though Jerry’s towing has the salvage
rights to it, it’s near-worthless.
“If it’s something I can make some
money on--if I can make a couple hundred
bucks out of the rig--I’ll go get it,” said
Ken Swift, owner of Jerry’s. “If it’s a burnt
shell and it’s on somebody’s property, then
I want some money to haul it off.”
Swift bought Jerry’s from his father-
in-law, but the service has been around
since the 1970s. Swift said he’s noticed the
rise in abandoned vehicles, but only picks
up about 10 in a year. Recently, however,
he’s stopped picking them up altogether.
“We used to be able to make a couple
bucks off of them, tonnage-wise, for
scrapping them out,” Swift said. “And you
got lien sales, there’s paperwork to pay for;
so I’ve quit taking them.”
The lien sale process gives Jerry’s
the right to salvage an abandoned vehicle.
For example, if Swift tows an abandoned
vehicle from along the side of Redwood
Hwy., he has to fill out paperwork on
the vehicle’s information in an attempt
to contact the owner. The owner is sent
a notice and given a deadline for when
they can still claim the vehicle, and if they
don’t, it’s Jerry’s to collect any worth on it.
But there’s a cost to the paperwork,
both monetary and in time. Swift said
each case is different, but the price of the
paperwork can range from $25-$125,
depending on where the vehicle’s from.
Then the paperwork can take anywhere
from three weeks to three months, again
depending on the vehicle’s origin. Oregon
is generally painless, Swift said, but a
Florida vehicle’s paperwork is a long and
expensive ordeal.
The lien sales used to be a smaller
part of the towing and salvage process, but
Swift said the main reason is the value in
scrap metal has plunged.
“Tonnage-wise, it ain’t worth
nothing,” Swift said. “Now, three or four
years ago it was $217 a ton. So that makes
it well worth your while.”Since then, the
value has dipped to $10-$15 a ton.
SEE CARS ON A-10