YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1937
Illinois Valley News
Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 1 Section, Volume LXXIX No. 34
Published weekly for the residents of the Illinois Valley
Fall Colors
JoCo Sheriff
responds to
shooting death
on Waldo Rd.
According to a press release from the Oregon
State Police (OSP) Jason George, 25, was found
dead from a gunshot wound Nov. 4. The Josephine
County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) received a report
of a male who had been shot at 595 Waldo Road in
O’Brien. Upon arrival of the sheriff’s deputies, it
was confirmed that the male was deceased due to a
gunshot wound. The Josephine County Major Crime
Response Team was requested to respond and assume
the investigation. The investigation is being led by the
OSP Major Crime Division.
George is originally from North Carolina
however has been residing in the Cave Junction area
for the last couple of years. The investigation is an
active homicide investigation and the suspect(s) are
still outstanding.
Anyone with information in regards to the
investigation is asked to call the OSP Dispatch Center,
541-664-4600.
The Josephine County Major Crimes Team is
made up of members from the OSP Major Crime
Division, The Grants Pass Department of Public
Safety Criminal Investigation Division, The Josephine
County District Attorney’s Office and the JCSO.
No further information to be released at this time.
$1.00
(Photo by Laura Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Not to be outdone by the fall flowers, Illinois Valley foliage gave a show of colors Thursday, Nov. 3.
Valley rallies for the hungry
By 3 p.m. the numbers of clients had
swelled to around 30 as the line started to
move through the food bank process.
It was “organized chaos” at the Doug
Things were far different on Halloween
Hoskins Resource Center (DHRC) Monday
following a weekend burglary that emptied
as volunteers quickly unloaded a van filled
the shelves and forced volunteers to turn
with food for a line of clients waiting
families away empty handed due to the loss
patiently in the cold.
of inventory.
Pantry manager Tim
Leyba estimates over
$1,000 worth of food was
stolen after thieves broke
in and made off with the
food using grocery carts.
Over $600 of the loss
was chicken reserved for
Thanksgiving.
“It’s sad that we
couldn’t feed people
because someone was very,
very greedy,” he said.
He said there’s no
reason to steal because
the burglars could have
(Photo by Judy Hoyle, Illinois Valley News)
received free food during
business hours. The pantry
Volunteers Suzanne Vautier (Clockwise from Left),
is only open Mondays from
Paul Grad, Bruce Engdahl, David Henry, Don
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Young, Debbie Taylor and Doug Hoskins Resource
News of the loss shot
through the region following
Center’s pantry manager Tim Leyba thank the
a Channel 10 News report
community.
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
and donations started flowing in.
Leyba said, “Because of the publicity,
people have been sending in donations of
food and cash, so, just like last year, we’ll
be able to sponsor the free Thanksgiving
Day dinner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Jubilee
Park.”
The event will be co-sponsored by
DHRC and the Cultural and Ecological
Education Network (CEEN).
The tradition of serving a free
Thanksgiving dinner to all comers began
with Lynn Boucher, who created the CJ
Cares event 28 years ago.
Boucher fractured her hip last year and
decided to retire, but a last minute flurry of
activity by Eliot Feenstra, Leyba, Vautier
and many volunteers resulted in a successful
continuation of the annual community
highlight.
“We’re looking for anyone who’s
willing to cook a turkey for us, we’ll
probably have about 10,” Leyba said.
Volunteer cooks are asked to call 541-291-
8860 to arrange pickup and drop off the
day of the event. The contact number will
also work for those willing to help with the
dinner in other capacities.
Leyba made a point to thank DHRC
Pantry donors including the Central Point
Gleaners, Kerby Market patrons who passed
the hat, Riverside Home Health Care, Table
Rock Rood Pantry and Wilbourn Family
Farms among others.
“The Turkey Lady gave us a wonderful
donation and Lloydeen Davis donated some
pies and cakes,” he said.
Volunteer Suzanne Vautier said, “We
haven’t had much food to distribute this past
year, so it’s great that so many people are
willing to help out.”
A free Thanksgiving dinner will also
be served 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the I.V. Grange
located at 3763 Holland Loop Road.
Organizer Roy Barto said, “We’re
asking those who can to bring potluck dishes
to pass. We’re cooking two turkeys and all
the trimmings.”
Bridgeview Church will be providing
free rides to the Grange. Those interested
are asked to call 541-295-7579 to make a
reservation.
The Grange also donated $400 to the
I.V. Baptist Church food bank recently
using proceeds from I.V. Haunt, an Oct. 23
spaghetti feed at the Grange and a donation
from the Cave Junction Lions Club.
The church distributes food every
Monday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the
Selma Community and Education Center,
located at 18255 Redwood Hwy.
Don’t know who to call? 211 can help you find services
By Laura Mancuso
IVN Staff
Health and social services can
be found right at your fingertips.
On Friday, Nov. 4 at the
Illinois Valley Family Coalition
(IVFC) there was 211 training for
employees of various nonprofit
organizations in the Valley.
The purpose of 211 training
was to educate community
organizations about 211 Info.
which is a Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) designated
Quick Dial phone number similar to
the 911 emergency services except
this phone number is for getting
information about health and social
services.
“In Oregon we are very
fortunate to have 211 covered
throughout the whole state. One
database covers the whole state,”
said Carrie Prechtel, community
engagement coordinator for
Jackson and Josephine counties.
Prechtel explained that the
resources you can find in the
211 info system include: Crisis
situations, shelters, food, bill
paying, transportation, recreation,
employment, school/GED, housing,
renter resources, legal assistance,
physical health, dental, adult and
youth mental health, addiction,
sexual health, abuse intervention,
parenting, foster youth, LGBTQ,
disabilities and more.
“There are multiple ways
to access 211 information,”
explained Prechtel. You can dial
211 by phone, text your zip code
to 898211, search 211info.org
by website or email questions to
help@211info.org. And currently
there is a free Smartphone app
sponsored by the Department of
Human Services available for
iPhones or Androids that you can
download by searching for “211
Info.”
Prechtel said her favorite ways
to use the service would be to call
or text.
“The call center is located
in Portland and they have wrap-
around services,” she said, meaning
that if someone calls in with one
need they can get help with other
needs at the same time. “It is
easier to call rather than to look up
information on-line because you
might not know the correct name
of a resource and a live technician
can help with that. For example if
someone called and was looking
for food stamps, a technician
would know that is called the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) program.”
According to Prechtel dialing
211 is confidential and available
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.
- 6 p.m. and texting is available
Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 5
p.m. She said that at some point the
call center would like to be open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The
only information that is required
from callers is their zip code. All
other demographic information that
is asked for is optional.
During the 2015 calendar
year, 432,167 contacts were made
in Oregon to 211 and the top five
needs of callers were housing and
rent; energy assistance; SNAP and
food pantries; shelters; and health
clinics and dental care.
Prechtel wanted to assure the
organizations that the community
information specialists in the
information and referral staff
were accredited, professional and
that they were trained to be very
positive and compassionate to all
callers. It is also a bonus that they
have a bi-lingual staff available.
Some specialty programs
now available through 211 are free
child care referrals for parents and
caregivers; a foster parent support
line; and a maternal, child and
reproductive health information and
referral service.
If you have questions about
211 you can contact Prechtel
at 541-210-8631 or visit their
Facebook site at 211 info.