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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2017)
Page A-8 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, February 15, 2017 COPS . . . . Continued from A-1 “We were just recently speculating about this very topic,” said CJ’s Mayor Daniel Dalegowski. “These cars are there to be used at some point. One car is in decent condition, but the other one is in bad shape. I’d be open to the idea of our community patrol operating these cars, but I think a major concern is potential legal issues and that has probably held us back from bring more involved with CJ Patrol. “We are moving forward to help support the patrol more, as long as we’re not putting ourselves into an enhanced liability situation,” Dalegowksi added. “For example, we recently removed a whole section of the city’s code that regulated citizen’s patrol or private security companies. That section of code was pretty draconian and far more strict than even state regulations and was a real handicap to anyone who wanted to operate within the city.” Dalegowksi explained that the city’s top priority remains to improve the law enforcement situation and said discussions about contracting PARK . . . Continued from A-1 After the IVCRT became the IVCDO, the organization became a fiscal sponsor for Back Country Horsemen to develop 7 miles of equestrian and hiking trails on the west side of the river. “The most important project on the horizon is construction of a bridge over the West Fork and development of a trail to the top of Woodcock Mountain,” Brandt explained. “This will make it possible for residents to walk from home to enjoy the trail network on the west side of the park.” Woodcock Mountain is about 2 miles from Downtown Cave Junction and the Kalmiopsis Wilderness is another 5 miles from there. Since the IVCDO involvement, the park has seen steady improvement, for law enforcement services with the city of Grants Pass have begun. He added that this conversation is partly in response to the almost inevitable loss of CJ’s county contract deputy in the future. “We’re in very early stages of this conversation,” Dalegowski said. “But we like that they can respond at night and seem to be a well equipped police force with plenty of officers.” He also said that city officials continue to explore strategies to create a Cave Junction Police Department but explained that the current annual budget for law enforcement, $165,000, won’t get the job done. “It’s a matter of getting more revenue sources for the city so that we can have a patrol, staff to man the jail, and for other support personnel, like dispatch,” Dalegowski said. “It will really depend on how much money we can get together. This would cost approximately $500,000. We’ll also potentially pursue grant money for start up costs. Ideally, we’d really like to have our own police department.” including installation of a concrete wheelchair accessible ramp and walkways, replacing old picnic tables with precast concrete tables; and installing a concrete floor and roof vents for the pavilion. A park host site, information kiosks, vault toilets, and the disc golf course were all added over the past four years and many more trees have been planted as well. Brandt recently wrote and won a Title II grant for wheelchair accessibility for Forks Park and Rough and Ready Wayside and emphasized the importance of public surveys for his grant writing success. “You have a much stronger chance to win grants if you can demonstrate what the community wants through third party surveys.” Brandt pointed out that the successful developments at Forks Park reflect the success the IVCDO has achieved through the strategic planning process. “The Illinois Valley received federal designation as one of 36 Enterprise Communities during the Clinton administration and we’re the only one still in existence.” The organization has been able to attract over $20 million for development by leveraging the original $1.5 million as the matching funds grantors require. “It’s like a cash steppingstone,” Brandt said. IVCRT / IVCDO projects have included I.V. Family Coalition Building, Siskiyou Community Health Center, Kerby Water District and remodeling Kerby Belt Building and Lorna Byrne Middle School. BILLS . . . Continued from A-1 “Those are not as big a users as electric space heat,” Gauntt said, when asked about why the abnormally high bills had also been handed out to wood stove operators. After saying this he urged people to call their customer service team and have their bill investigated or tested or both if they felt that something was wrong. Another reason for higher than normal bills, according to Gauntt, was that the typical billing cycle for Pacific Power is usually 28-30 days but, because of heavy weather, it was extended in some cases and therefore reflected in the bill; sometimes by as much as nine days more. A further reason for higher than normal bills, in the view of Pacific Power and the Public Utilities Commission, was because people were stuck at home rather than being at work or school. Setting the record straight about second tier energy cost, or an increased cost per kilowatt-hour if the meter in question goes over 1,000 any given month, Gauntt said, in relation to the longer billing cycle that, “It’s prorated by day. For instance if you went to the 37th day you wouldn’t go into the second tier till you reached 1,332 kilowatt- hours.” Gauntt said that in any given month about 1.8 percent of all meters can’t be read. They are not always the same meters and during the storm that number went up to about 2.8 percent. “I did the math,” Gauntt said of the issue, “That’s about 1,400 estimated bills out of the Jackson and Josephine county area.” Even though estimated bills will be reconciled in the next billing period Gauntt urged people to check their meter to verify estimated accuracy and to report it if it is incorrect. Days without power are not calculated into an estimated bill since it is based on previous averages and Pacific Power will check meters that a customer feels is reading inaccurately. So far, although many meters have been checked by Pacific Power, none were found to be reading incorrectly. “In some cases,” Gaunt said of people who cannot pay, “you can get referred to some of the agencies I know— ACCESS for Jackson County and I also think it works for Josephine County too. These agencies might be able to provide some assistance.” There is also the option of payment plans and the equal payment billing model which charges an average usage number across the year. One such person who opted into the equal payment model, Crystal Reed of Taklima and small-business owner in Cave Junction, was hit especially hard by the price of her energy bill. Reed received two bills that were abnormally high; one for her business and one for her residence. PATROL . . . Continued from A-7 Thursday, Feb. 9 *Running into neighbors is fine, except when they swerve their car to try to run folks off the road. The demolition driver lives in the 6400 block of Lakeshore Drive, and is reportedly involved with a group that has been scaring those living nearby. *Josephine County Sheriff’s Office was searching for a couple regarding a stolen EBT card Feb. 8. At 10:34 a.m. the guy was sitting inside a store in the 200 block of W. Watkins Street, but there were no deputies in the area at that time to deal with him. *A 1993 Toyota pickup truck with a camper shell was stolen overnight from the 300 block of Fir Drive. The truck is easily rec- ognizable, because it is painted gray, black and rust-colored, with things glued all over it like a Mad Max truck. *At 3:11 p.m., a fellow with a brown goatee was pushing a red motorcycle near Western Plaza. Which seemed suspicious since the motor was running. Outside the Valley *Eighteen incidents. Friday, Feb. 10 *A tenant in the 300 block of Caves Hwy. has been behaving erratically since he was released from the hospital, doing crazy things like walking down the center of the road. He was given an emergency eviction order with a 72-hour notice to vacate. While he “So I got my power bill,” Reed said, “I usually get it by email. I can see all of my usage history over a period of one year. I was looking at my bill and found that my business had somehow used something like 2,095 more kilowatts than the previous January.” Reportedly the bill was $250 more than December and normally it’s about $190 in January.” Reed’s business was closed for six days in January because of New Year’s Eve, day, and for the first few days during and after the snowstorm.” She also reported that the power was completely out in Cave Junction for a day or two of that sum. The power was out at her residence, like many in the area, for four days. The bill for her residence was $438 and she estimated that the previous January was about half that number. When Reed called Pacific Power it was told to her that in January she was using an average of 100 kilowatt hours a day. Currently she is using about 80 and in the past month of January the average was about 50. “It still seems like its burning kind of high,” Reed stated anxiously of her business’s meter before mentioning that all the businesses in the building had abnormally high bills. Undoubtedly, many citizens of the area will be keeping an eye on their meter from here on out and perhaps will do some testing, either personally or by Pacific Power, to ensure that it reads accurately. was in the hospital, multiple cats and transients took over his residence. The landlady was skittish to enter the home, so she consulted her attorney regarding the eviction process. (A big dog might be cheaper and more effective.) *An ungrateful guy has been living with a woman and her mother in the 100 block of Tracy Lane for the past two years. When the mom asked him to clean up a mess, he started yelling and hitting the walls, then left carrying a big stick. He usually carries at least one or two knives. (No wonder, with his attitude.) The ogre has threatened them, and damaged the sickly woman’s property. They were advised to seek an elder abuse disabilities act restraining order against the beanie-wearing bully. *Industrious thieves were dismantling a fence and loading it into a U-Haul truck at Hogue Meadows. Between 30-40 boards were removed in the early morning hours of Feb. 10. (Let’s hope they get nailed.) Outside the Valley *Twenty-three listings. Saturday, Feb. 11 *A firearm turned up missing from the 500 block of Indian Creek Road. The owner lost the keys to his vehicle six months ago, and the key for the lockbox for the gun was on the key ring. He recently realized the bronze metal Smith & Wesson 38 Special, model 36, valued at $300 was gone. *At 10:15 a.m. a woman was deceased in the 8700 block of Takilma Road. *An abandoned white vehicle was located at 1:02 p.m. near the green bridge, approximately two miles down Eight Dollar Mountain Road. 6WDUWLQJRU*URZLQJD%XVLQHVVLQ,OOLQRLV9DOOH\" 1HHGPRQH\" 0LFUR%XVLQHVV/RDQ)XQGLQJ$OZD\V$YDLODEOH 6WDUWXSH[LVWLQJKRPHEDVHGRURWKHU EXVLQHVVHQWHUSULVHV PLQLPXP WR PD[LPXP $SSO\DWWKH,9&'2RIILFH&DYHV+Z\ 4XHVWLRQV"3KRQH Outside the Valley *Nine items. 0108 H&R Block 210 W. Lister St. Cave Junction 592-3667 Ted Crocker, LTC Bob Litak, LTC Licensed Tax Consultants B14914
