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Illinois Valley News
Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 1 Section, Volume 79 No. 27
34 arrested
in sex
offender
sweep
According to a Josephine County Sheriff’s Office press
release, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 through Thursday, Sept. 15,
2016 the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office in cooperation with
the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, Oregon State
Police, Josephine County Parole and Probation and the U.S.
Marshals Service conducted Operation Sex Offender Sweep. A
task force consisting of the above listed agencies collaborated
with the primary mission of locating convicted sex offenders
who were not in compliance with their obligation to report as
sex offenders per Oregon Revised Statue. Also, subjects with
outstanding warrants pertaining to unlawful firearms possession
and use in conjunction with drug offenses were sought. Lastly,
officers conducted compliance checks on those who lawfully
registered as sex offenders to confirm their compliance with
Oregon Revised Statue.
The three day operation involved over 25 law enforcement
personnel throughout Josephine County. Over 80 investigations
were conducted for noncompliant offenders; approximately 300
compliance checks were conducted of those who had registered.
Thirty-one Josephine County residents were arrested and
detained in jail of which two were arrested in Jackson County
and lodged there. Three more subjects were arrested and issued
citations to appear for minor offenses raising the total arrested
to 34. During the course of these arrests, no officers or suspects
were injured.
The Operation Sex Offender Sweep task force wishes
to extend their gratitude to the many Josephine County
residents who came forward and provided information during
the investigations. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office
also wishes to thank all of the agencies involved for their
partnerships and assistance in conducting the operation for
without the partnerships the operation would not have been
possible.
$1.00
Published Weekly Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
Selma gathers for the Tuckers
(Photo by Laura Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
The J Barley Band with John Nolan (left), Dave Smith and J Barley entertain almost 100 attendees at
the Tucker Family Fundraiser held by Cheryl’s Bar & Grill in Selma Saturday, Sept. 17.
By Laura Mancuso
IVN Staff
After the Tucker family lost their 78-year-old
home in the Redwood Highway Fire in August, Cheryl
Nicholas and Chuck Cavanagh thought they should do
something to help.
“Chuck and I thought of it; right away after
the fire we put out a donation jar for the family and
then thought of this fundraising idea.” Nicholas was
prompted to help the family because she went to school
with one of the Tuckers and has known the family for
over 30 years. It was also reported that Nicholas and
Cavanagh made a $500 donation to the cause.
On Sept. 17 Cheryl’s Bar & Grill in Selma held an
event including entertainment from the J Barley Band,
a feast cooked by “Selma Phil” and “Grill Tender Bob,”
beer donated by Wild River Brewery and Pizza and a
live auction.
After the event it was reported by Nicholas and
Cavanagh owners of Cheryl’s Bar & Grill that the event
raised $3,000 and was attended by almost 100 people.
“Selma Phil,” who cooked the dinner, helped
collect donations for the event and was the fundraising
auctioneer, said he felt bad about the family’s house burning
down and “loves to cook.” Phil is known to feed the local
residents of Selma who are down on their luck.
Other local businesses that donated to the fundraising
evening were Lions Club, Rock N Soil, McGrew’s, NAPA
of Cave Junction, Ewing Irrigation, Taylor’s Sausage and
Cartwright’s Valley Meat Co.
The J Barley Band (consisting of J Barley, Dave
Smith and John Nolan) was the highlight of the evening;
many people in attendance came because they heard an
announcement about the event at Wild River Pizza’s Open
Mic night where the band regularly plays. The band donated
their time and songs to the Tucker family. A special song
donated to the family was “Imagine That” by Don Williams.
The band made it fun by inviting audience members to
come sing. Musical guests included Paul and Maureen
Hanson, Linda May Housah, Scott Simpson and Renney
Doser.
Alan and Linda Tucker were present during the
evening’s festivities and wanted everyone to know that
words could not express how much this meant to them.
“You only hear bad things about the Valley but a lot of good
happens here and we are thankful for the support.”
Gardiner has a vision for Cave Junction
Caroline Griffith
IVN Contributing Writer
A passion for helping the
community and building the local
economy was what motivated John
Gardiner to run for his first term
as a Cave Junction City Councilor,
and it is that same passion that is
pushing him into a re-election bid
this November.
Gardiner, who has served in the
City Council Position 4 since 2012,
is about to celebrate his 10-year
anniversary in Cave Junction. He and
his wife, Christine Perala Gardiner,
moved their alpaca farm from Sandy,
Oregon to its current location on
West River Street in the winter of
2006.
A professional civil engineer,
with a specialty in river basin
management and restoration,
Gardiner is proud of the work that he
has done as a city councilor to help
update the city’s water supply and
sewerage functions. Infrastructure
is a key city responsibility, and
Gardiner believes that the work he
has done will help attract federal
grants, which are integral to the city’s
water treatment system. He has also
hosted meetings with the Oregon
Department of Transportation about
their plans for Highway 199, which
included plans for needed sidewalks
and bicycle lanes within the city. “I
personally took great satisfaction
from the vote to become a ‘Bee-
Friendly’ City, and the vote to
support the extension of the Cave’s
Monument to protect the headwaters
feeding the River Styx, and,
ultimately, our city water supply,”
Gardiner said.
When asked if he had any
regrets about his first term as a
city councilor, Gardiner brought
up the current lawsuit that the city
is embroiled in over the legality of
licensing cannabis related businesses.
“I’m sorry that the city spent over
$30,000 on seeking injunctive relief
for allowing cannabis dispensaries a
city license,” he said. “We’ve missed
a great opportunity to benefit early
from the ‘green gold rush’ and only
recently voted unanimously not to
tax future sales because it was clearly
unethical, given our outstanding
court case over the last couple of
years. Other cities have taken a
more pragmatic approach.” As a city
councilor, Gardiner voted against
pursuing the lawsuit.
As a board member of several
local organizations, including
the Illinois Valley Community
Development Organization, I.V.
Wellness Center, Spiral Living
Center and Rusk Ranch Nature
Center, Gardiner often acts as a
bridge to enable more ways to benefit
the youth of our community. “Getting
youth involved in civic issues has to
be a powerful way forward,” he said.
One aspect of Gardiner’s vision for
the future of Cave Junction involves
the development of a City Parks &
Recreation Master Plan, which could
help the city to win grants to expand
parks and recreation facilities. He
also supports the ‘localization’ of
our economy and would like to see
more people spending their money
at locally owned businesses, and is a
supporter of the arts.
“My vision for CJ is that it
shows real leadership in realizing the
Strategic Plan, created by hundreds
of Valley residents and now up for
implementation,” said Gardiner.
“This is a personal challenge because
so few councilors were involved
in the process, but I am part of the
leadership group on Valley security
and safety, along with other key
organizations. I am also promoting
positive change in areas such as
community development and
beautification, which is known to
reduce crime.”
One thing that Gardiner
has learned throughout his city
council term, and his years of
civic involvement, is how to work
with groups. “I’ve learned the
power of teamwork based on good
communication skills,” he said. “No
one can achieve much in isolation.”
Dillinger wants to seize opportunities
Caroline Griffith
IVN Contributing Writer
It’s not what he sees happening in Cave
Junction that has motivated Mark Dillinger
to run for City Council Position 4, it’s what
Mark Dillinger
he doesn’t see happening that has inspired his
jump into local politics. “I don’t see a lot of
things unfolding with the current city council,”
said Dillinger in a recent interview. “I see a lot
of opportunities being passed by.”
Dillinger and his wife moved to Cave
Junction six years ago, after he retired from a
career as an hotelier in Southern California.
A cousin who lived in the Rogue Valley had
shown him some pictures of the area, and, as
he said, “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing
and had to come check it out.” He had always
wanted an acre of land on a body of water,
and that is exactly what he found here in Cave
Junction. He says he is never going to move.
When asked what his vision is for the
future of the city, Dillinger replied, “Mayberry.
No, I shouldn’t say Mayberry, but everybody
wants to feel a little more secure.” One of
the ways to accomplish this, according to
Dillinger, is to empower the city to enforce
existing laws. “Code enforcement is what is
needed,” he said emphatically. He has taken
it upon himself, as often as once per week, to
walk his street talking to the “vagrants” that
he sees panhandling and drinking alcohol in
public. He talks to them respectfully, “I talk to
them like they are people,” and asks them to
move along. As a member of the city council,
Dillinger would work to get our contract law
enforcement agent, Deputy Lehman, to follow
a similar approach. “Lehman is worn thin,
but he is a very nice person, a very respectful
person, and if he could walk the streets of
Cave Junction, he may have some affect on the
people on the street.”
The way Dillinger sees it, the city of
Cave Junction is in a “distressed situation.”
As he describes it, the city is putting band-
aids on top of band-aids, working to deal
with immediate problems without fixing
the underlying issues at the core of the bad
situation. “We need to peel the band-aid off.
Start fresh.”
One of those underlying issues, as he sees
it, is the structure of the common council as
laid out in the city charter. “The city charter
needs to be changed,” he said. “Councilors
should serve for two years, not for four.”
After serving for a few years, “your fresh
ideas become fewer and fewer, especially in
my age bracket,” he joked. These fresh ideas
and creative solutions are fundamental to
Dillinger’s vision for the city. “If you always
do what you always did, you always get what
you always got,” he said. He also advocates
for more city-held workshops because, “I
don’t think a meeting a month can fix the big
problems we are dealing with now.”
Dillinger describes himself as pragmatic,
brash, and big on compromise. “I believe in
compromise, without it we get nowhere.”
“I am running because I wanted to have a
voice. I think that we need an alternative voice.
I have no hidden agenda,” he added. “The
things I want are for the city, not for me.”