Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Page A-9
Family Coalition honors John Meengs
Judy Hoyle
IVN Contributing Writer
A gathering of family
members, past and present
executive directors, board members
and various agency staff gathered
Nov. 29 to dedicate the I.V. Family
Coalition (IVFC) building in honor
of John Meengs.
His sister, Marsha Meengs,
called him her best buddy and
related to the group that their father
was a member of the clergy who
inspired his children to fight for
social justice. She recalled that John
Meengs had strong convictions, “He
was no wimp,” she said. “He had
goals and made sure they got done.”
One of those goals was a
single location for social services in
the Illinois Valley. More than one
speaker credited the development of
the IVFC building to the vision and
perseverance of Meengs.
Longtime friend and colleague
CITY . . .
Continued from A-1
Shotwell has chosen
his location based on its
proximity to downtown and
envisions a facility in which
residents can walk to the
grocery store or pharmacy.
“Mobility of the elderly
population is important,”
he said to the council, “and
the proposed project will
include accessible sidewalks
and participation in off-site
sidewalks connecting the
facility to local shopping and
services in the area.”
Oregon law requires
that two public hearings be
held and that the public be
given a chance to weigh
in before the council votes
to change the zoning of a
particular property. Neighbors
of the property came forward
to encourage the council
to vote to re-zone, saying
that the proposed use of the
Menno Kraai was the first executive
director of the IVFC and gave a
moving tribute to Meengs as a
community leader who used his
education and training to help
others.
Meengs earned masters’
degrees in both counseling and
political science.
“He was the kind of person
who was always looking for ways
to make things better for people and
dedicated 24 years of service to the
IVFC as a member of the board. He
served as chair for many of those
years,” Kraai said.
“He knew that breaking the
cycle of poverty and improving
outcomes for Illinois Valley families
would be more efficient with
integrated services,” Kraai added.
Meengs’ professional career
included positions as a counselor
for Women’s Crisis Support Team,
therapist for Family Friends, and
child development specialist with
property would benefit the
neighborhood. The property
currently has no buildings
on it and is heavily wooded,
a fact that neighbors say
contributes to crime. One
neighbor joked about living
“on the corner of drunk and
disorderly,” and said that she
dreamed of the day that she
could look out her window
and see the sidewalks filled
with elderly people walking to
the grocery store. The former
property owner complained
of constantly having to
hire people to haul away
truckloads of illegally dumped
trash. Seven members of
the public spoke in favor
of the project and the re-
zoning proposal, none spoke
against it. Councilor Dan
Bosch encouraged Shotwell
to consider the smoke from
Taylors’ Sausage Factory
before going through with the
project, rather than coming to
the council to complain about
it after the fact. There will
Three Rivers School District
(TRSD).
While a clinical supervisor
for Plowshare, Meengs wrote a
letter to other service providers
suggesting a central location would
facilitate increased communication
and coordination and better serve
individuals and families in need
of assistance through the various
programs available in the Valley.
Kraai read the 1992 letter to
the gathering and went on to explain
that the group led by Meengs
developed a partnership with TRSD
and leased land then owned by
TRSD to build the center.
The one-stop service concept
included child care, parenting skills
training, crisis intervention, housing
assistance, alternative education and
jobs programs and drug and alcohol
counseling.
Kraai explained the timing
allowed for the concurrent
development of a Head Start facility
be a second public meeting
Monday, Jan. 9, after which
the council will vote on the
matter.
The council also voted to
repeal the section of the city
code that pertains to security
patrols. The State of Oregon
already regulates security
patrols and the verbiage of
the city code was hampering
the ability of groups like
CJ Patrol to do volunteer
security work. Councilor
Bosch expressed reticence
at repealing the regulations
suggesting that, perhaps, there
was a reason why those rules
had been put in place and that
the council should consider
what those reasons might be
before acting. Despite his
objections, the council voted
to amend the city code so CJ
Patrol could get back to work.
Next, the council heard
from Kate Lasky, executive
director of Josephine
Community Libraries, who
asked consent to pursue a
adjacent to IVFC and the group won
a $128,000 grant to build it.
Kraai related that Phase 2,
construction of the IVFC, was
funded through a Community
Development Block grant for
$599,000 and the city of Cave
Junction administered the grant for
the organization.
In 1995, a third grant for
$71,000 from the I.V. Community
Response Team (now called
I.V. Community Development
Organization, or IVCDO) allowed
for the purchase of the property.
Phase 3, the expansion of
IVFC to house the local branch of
the Oregon Department of Human
Services (DHS) was funded through
a $450,000 USDA Guarantee Loan.
Trish Kennedy, an early board
member said Meengs was “solid as
a rock” and said of the IVFC that
“this was John’s ministry.”
Former board president
Michael Yanase was proud of the
library district. Josephine
Community Libraries, Inc.
(JCLI) is the nonprofit that
was formed by citizens to run
the four libraries in Josephine
County after the County
declared them “nonessential
services” and de-funded them
in 2007. Currently those four
libraries, in Grants Pass, Cave
Junction, Williams and Wolf
Creek, are majority funded
by private donations, with
additional funding coming
from grants, and fines and
fees. The library branches
are almost entirely staffed
by volunteers and open
hours are limited. Josephine
County’s library services,
such as expenditures on new
materials, staffing and open
hours are well below those of
our neighboring counties. But,
Lasky said, library usage in
the county is holding steady
and use of online databases
is up 280 percent. “We know
that libraries are vital and that
people want them,” she said.
fact that the federal loan was paid
off before Meengs passed away.
“As you know, board service
can be contentious,” Yanase said.
“But In the years I was on the
board with John, this board was
always kind and helpful.” He
credited Meengs’ influence for the
difference.
Current board President Hazel
Griffith said Meengs was a great
inspiration to her.
Carol Ronan, another former
IVFC executive director called
Meengs kind and compassionate
and former board member Monet
Talty said Meengs “would forever
leave an imprint on my heart.”
DHS operations manager Gena
Grizzard said, “I’m glad I had a
chance to spend time with John.”
Meengs’ wife, Della, a former
Evergreen Elementary teacher
thanked those who attended and
termed the gathering a “circle of
appreciation.”
In 2014, JCLI collected
petition signatures to get a
library district on the ballot.
Though it failed in the
county, the library district
was approved by the majority
of voters in the population
centers like Grants Pass, Cave
Junction and Kerby. Based
on this fact, JCLI is now
proposing a smaller, non-
contiguous library district
that would include the city of
Cave Junction. The County
Commissioners have voted
to refer it to the voters, but
in order for Cave Junction to
be included, the council has
to grant consent. The council
voted unanimously to grant
the approval, and now the
voters of Cave Junction may
have the opportunity to vote
on the matter in the May 16,
2017, election. The proposed
tax rate is $0.39 per $1,000
of assessed value. A public
hearing about the proposed
library district will be held at
9 a.m. Jan. 25, 2017 at Anne
Basker Auditorium.
The council also
briefly discussed the issue of
cannabis business ordinances,
but neglected to make any
binding decisions. One
workshop has been held
on the matter already, and
another will be held at the
beginning of next year,
though no date has been set.
Councilors are gathering
information so they can come
to the next meeting ready
to move forward. One topic
under consideration is how
to proceed with processing
Land Use Compatibility
Statements, which are one
of the first required steps in
the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission recreational
marijuana application process.
A special meeting will be held
at Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. to discuss
the matter.
The Cave Junction City
Council meets at 222 W.
Lister Street. The public is
always welcome.
S PORTSMAN TAVER N
K araoKe
e very
Friday
Serving
CoCKtailS
C an ’ t wait to see
and hear all of you
OREGON MANUFACTURERS.
LOCAL BUSINESSES.
YOUR NEIGHBORS.
ALL GETTING MORE FROM THEIR ENERGY.
with
Lisa Sherier
Mondays & Wednesdays
$5 Drop-in
6:15-7:15 pM
at Healthy U
535 E river St.
541-761-4342
Here in Oregon, thousands of businesses and individuals are saving money with
help from Energy Trust of Oregon. With cash incentives for energy improvements,
we can help you get more from your energy.
+
Are you ready to get more from your energy?
Visit www.energytrust.org/more or call us at 1.866.368.7878.
Serving customers of Portland General Electric,
Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas.