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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2017)
YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1937 Illinois Valley News Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 1 Section, Volume LXXIX No. 49 City addresses disposal of surplus property $1.00 Published weekly for the residents of the Illinois Valley Uncle Dennis wants you! Caroline Griffith IVN Contributing Writer The Cave Junction City Council met Monday, Feb. 13 for its monthly meeting. The first order of business was the swearing in of newly appointed councilor, Jean Ann Miles, who was chosen to fill the seat vacated by Daniel Dalegowski when he became mayor. She will serve for the remaining two years of his term. Miles is a regular attendee of city council meetings and is well-known to many members of the council. City code provides that when a seat on the council becomes vacant, citizens may apply to fill the vacancy and the council will appoint the candidate they find to be best qualified. Miles is involved in a number of projects throughout the community and has addressed the council on numerous occasions as a representative for the “Illinois Valley, Naturally” committee. Before taking the oath of office, Miles said, “I just think this is an awesome place and I would be honored to be a part of the group that helps make that happen. This is the spiritual and economic hub of the Illinois Valley, and I really honor the Illinois Valley.” Miles was then sworn in and took her seat as Council Position No. 3. Miles promptly volunteered, and was approved, to be the council liaison to the Joint Economic Development Committee, which is a countywide group comprised of individuals from local government and business groups. The committee solicited the Cave Junction City Council to get involved. They are still seeking someone from the Illinois Valley business community to join their group. Next, came another appointment, this one to the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, a group that was established in 2006 to review policy and proposals for public safety and then report to the county commissioners. Commissioner Lily Morgan had approached the city and requested its involvement. Councilor Mark Dillinger volunteered to be the council representative. City recorder Ryan Nolan will represent city staff on the council. The council then heard from Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCDO) community development coordinator, Kate Dwyer, who updated the council on the I.V. 20/20 Visioning Plan. The plan, developed through public input, outlines the main goals of the community and strategies by which to achieve those goals. Dwyer encouraged council members to get involved. More information is available at ivcdo.org. Council also approved a request by volunteer Roger Brant to pursue grant funding to help rebuild the baseball field at Jubilee Park. Brant has worked to come up with a parks and recreation master plan, and is now looking to find the funding to implement parts of this plan. The council granted him permission to go forward and seek funding for this project on behalf of the city. The council then turned to the subject of the property at 223 Millie Street, a property that was acquired by the city after years of nuisance complaints and nonpayment of fines. The property has been declared surplus, which is the first step in the process of selling it, but now the city must clean up the burnt building that currently sits on the property. The main issue with the cleanup is asbestos abatement. SEE CITY ON A-10 (Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News) A display ad in the Feb. 13, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News shows the more things change, the more they stay the same. Graffiti sparks Miles to get in the game Judy Hoyle IVN Contributing Writer Jean Ann Miles was recently appointed by Mayor Daniel Dalegowski to complete his remaining two year term. She was sworn into office as a Cave Junction City Councilor Feb. 13. Since moving to the Illinois Valley six years ago, the civic-minded Miles and her husband, John, have devoted many hours volunteering for the community by joining the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a support group for the I.V. Fire District (IVFD); I.V. Community Development Organization (IVCDO); Ford Family Leadership Institute Program that organized the “I.V. by Candlelight” walk last summer; and the I.V. Pride Committee, a 20/20 Vision Strategic Plan group. Miles said she began attending city council meetings four years ago after she noticed graffiti on the wall of the I.V. Senior Thrift store. “That really bothered me, and I wanted to get rid of that,” she said. “I knew that if I wanted to help make a difference where I lived, I needed to get involved.” When asked what she hopes to accomplish during her term of office, Miles said, “I want to make a difference. I’d like to help make the city stronger economically. I also think families need to be better represented. I really feel the city needs that perspective.” And, Miles is no stranger to volunteer work, “I’ve always done volunteer work,” she said. “It’s an important part of contributing to the community.” Miles taught first grade for 16 years in Anaheim, California and when her own five children were in school, she served as both choir and volleyball booster club presidents, volunteered for 10 years with the local parent-teacher association (PTA) and served as PTA president at two different schools. Currently, Miles works as a substitute aide at Evergreen Elementary and Lorna Byrne Middle School while she works to complete her Oregon teaching credential. She is also helping to coordinate a “Prepare Fair” slated for April 15 at I.V. High School. This event is a project of the Public Safety Task Force and is a joint effort by the city, IVFD, IVCDO and I.V. Chamber of Commerce to help residents plan for emergencies. Even though Miles comes from Southern California, she is passionate about the city of Cave Junction. “People here are so friendly. I think I fit better up here. I’m really a small town girl at heart. I felt like this was where I was supposed to be for a long time.” For 15 years, Miles drove here from Southern California three or four times a year to help her parents. And when explaining her move to Cave Junction she said, “When we moved here we did it on faith. In everything I do, I rely on the Heavenly Father. It’s far less stressful,” she explained. “Faith is a verb. You have to exercise faith. I’m learning that and trying to have it as a practice. So far it’s working well.” SEE MILES ON A-10 Trump win boosts Josephine County Democratic Party Anita R. Savio IVN Contributing Writer Josephine County is known as a Republican-majority county. But subsequent to Donald Trump’s election, the Josephine County Democratic Party is seeing a surge among those residents wanting to become involved with the Democrats. According to Josephine County Democratic Party Chair Howard Owens, “Democrats and other concerned citizens are energized and ready to take positive but peaceful action to resist Trump’s attack on our nation’s values.” Owens has a lifetime of experience behind his leadership. He is now a wheelchair user, but for most of his working life he was a United Auto Workers organizer and negotiator for the western United States. He has met with many of our presidents, as well as multiple heads of state from around the world. He had talks in China with Deng Xiao Ping during the Carter administration, and he met with All-Trade Unions Council representatives in the Soviet Union. He is an organizer and negotiator. Owens said that for many, whether Democrat or Republican, the opportunity to be involved in party politics starts by serving as a precinct committee person (PCP). Josephine County is divided into 47 precincts, of which five are located in the Illinois Valley. Each precinct has one male and one female for every 500 registered voters. In the Illinois Valley, as some precincts are more populous than others, that translates into 26 slots for the Democrats and 26 for the Republicans. But not all those slots are filled. Currently, 12 of the Republican slots are filled and five of the Democrat. Countywide, the Republican numbers are slightly stronger, working out to 47 percent of Republican slots, versus 11 percent for the Democrats. That’s a problem for the Democrats, because PCPs are the bedrock of party politics. They knock on their neighbors’ doors, make telephone calls and help to get out the vote. They also elect officers of their party’s central committee and select delegates to district committees and to the state central committee. “We’ve had a great deficit of PCPs,” said Owens, because we haven’t concentrated on that for a while. However Republicans don’t necessarily have active PCPs on their lists. A 96-year-old person is not going to be an active PCP.” And Owens is buoyed by the fact that the list of Democratic PCPs is growing. “Before the election we had 17 PCPs. We currently have 25, and 12 new applications. And we have a growing number of registered Democrats asking how to become PCPs.” Independents are also joining the ranks, added Owen. “Independents, especially our Bernie friends, see the extreme positions of Trump and are coming on board. We have individuals who registered independent and who are now re-registering Democrat so that in 180 days they can become PCPs.” Becoming a PCP is not the only way an energized person can contribute to the Democratic cause. Illinois Valley resident Gary Eby is one such example. Rather than becoming a PCP at this time, he has opted to form a Resist Committee. A retired mental health and substance abuse specialist in the Veteran’s Administration and published author of two books, Eby describes himself as a lifelong Democrat who was not really involved in the party in terms of volunteering. “But my disappointment with the results of the election caused me to get involved in an organized approach.” SEE PARTY ON A-10 Josephine Democratic Party Chair- man, Howard Owen.
