Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2017)
YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1937 Illinois Valley News Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 1 Section, Volume LXXIX No. 51 Judge finds Stranger Davis guilty of murder GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has been convicted of murder in the shooting death of a man he once considered a father figure. Stranger Davis, 30, of Cave Junction said he was suffering from mental problems when he walked up to Michael “Dirty” MacDonald in broad daylight in August 2014 and fired four rounds into his upper torso. But Josephine County Judge Lindi Baker rejected the insanity defense in a nonjury trial that concluded Wednesday, the Daily Courier reported. Baker also found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The judge cited extensive evidence that Davis carefully planned his actions. Several mental health professionals who evaluated Davis before trial found that his mental health problems did not rise to the level of criminal insanity. Davis stole a .45-caliber pistol from his sister’s property in Cave Junction, prosecutors said. He wore an orange vest and hardhat while walking through private properties to get to MacDonald’s cabin, so no one would contact police, prosecutors said. After killing MacDonald, he fled to a town near Chico, California, where his mother lives, according to his arrest warrant. Davis allegedly told authorities that MacDonald, whom he called “Dad,” needed to die. He said MacDonald, 61, was a ringleader in organized criminal activities in the Illinois Valley of southwestern Oregon, and had persuaded him and others to commit a number of violent crimes. The defense said the trauma suffered by Davis during his experiences with MacDonald caused him to lose his ability to reason. Moreover, Davis asserted that seeing MacDonald taking on another young apprentice caused an extreme emotional disturbance. MacDonald lived on a property that was known as a hub for fencing stolen property, the Daily Courier reported. He was named as a person of interest in the November 2013 killing of a Cave Junction man, but a different man was later convicted of negligent homicide. Prosecutors said MacDonald was a witness and his death undercut their case. After the verdict, Davis tearfully addressed the judge and prosecuting attorneys. “Thank you for your time and energy in this . I know that you were just doing your jobs,” Davis said. “I am not delusional, these things happened but I know that doesn’t excuse my actions.” IVFD responds to trailer fire At 11:52 p.m. Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD), personnel were dispatched to a reported large vehicle fire located near the 2500 block of Reeves Creek Rd in Selma. Upon arrival, units found a large fifth wheel fully involved. First incoming unit took working com- mand and was able to get a quick knock down of the fire. Once knock down was complete, units conducted mop up operations. No one was injured. There was one person living in the fifth wheel at the time of the fire. Cause of fire is under investigation. (Photo by, IVFD Media Dept) $1.00 Published weekly for the residents of the Illinois Valley Snowpack in great shape! The first five months of the 2016/2017 water year has brought 90.36 inches of moisture. The aver- age total is 72 inches for the 12 month season that ends Sept. 30, 2017. Bill to revamp employment laws Jason McMillen IVN Contributing Writer Senate Bill 828 is legislation being proposed that will force employers, among other things, to create “predictive scheduling” for their employees and most stringently focuses on restaurants, retailers, and hospitality businesses. Despite having only been introduced to the Senate Feb. 21 of this year it is already causing a stir among the business community. The Oregon State Chamber of Commerce (OSCC), which represents 84 local Chambers of Commerce and 24,000 local businesses opposes such a bill because they say that it, “is patently unfair and will kill small businesses and local job opportunities.” In addition, the OSCC believes that with the recent increases to the minimum wage and the paid sick leave mandate it is “unrealistic” to layer this bill on top of it without significant losses to small businesses. The OSCC also believes that Senate Bill 828 will likely be “watered down” if it survives a vote and has thus far testified in opposition. In a summary of the bill written by the OSCC, it is said that it requires employers to pay a minimum of four hours to their employees when they are sent home early or when an employee’s shift is canceled; or if the hours to be worked are reduced with less than 24 hours’ notice. As far as the more stringent provisions for restaurants, hospitality and retail jobs, it is written that employers must have an “interactive scheduling process” which “must accommodate employee scheduling requests.” Also, it is claimed that employers must issue schedules 14 days in advance. For any changes made to an employee’s schedule with less than 14 days’ notice the employer must compensate the employee with one hour of regular wage. Conversely, if the change results in a loss of hours worked then it requires one-half of regular wages for the total hours that a shift is reduced or canceled by. Despite the summary written by the OSCC the bill states that, in its summary section, only “large employers,” or businesses that have 100 or more employees in the United States and at least 25 in Oregon have to engage in the interactive scheduling process as well as the 14 days’ notice stipulation. Whereas “small employers” will only be made to pay at least four hours wage if a scheduled shift is reduced while on the job or if the shift is reduced or canceled less than 24 hours prior, large employers must pay the aforementioned penalties for any changes with less than two weeks’ notice. The bill will also require “large employers in specific industries” from scheduling work shifts that don’t allow sufficient break time in between shifts unless the employee earns 1.5 times the scheduled rate of pay. Sufficient rest time is defined as 10 hours or more. That being said, if this bill is passed,then all employees will be able to identify limitations or changes in their work schedule availability without fear of retaliation. An employer must accommodate these requests unless they have a “bona fide” reason not to do so. However, one such “bona fide” reason not to accommodate an employee’s request is if the change will cause, “a significant inability to meet customer needs or demands.” To enforce the bill, all businesses will be forced to maintain comprehensive records relating to compliance for three years and will be penalized for violations.Those interested in reading the 14 page bill in its entirety can find it at http://gov. oregonlive.com/bill/2017/SB828/. Criminals have field day in CJ after hours Annette McGee Rasch IVN Senior Contributing Writer Cave Junction’s criminal element is most active in the wee hours - prompting business owners to call for a late-night police presence in town. Last week, numerous incidents added to the list of businesses repeatedly ravaged by local thieves. CJ Coffee’s drive up window was “bashed out” in the early morning Feb. 28, according to manager Mercedes Shuck. “Our insurance does not cover that,” she said. “And last Christmas Eve, four windows were broken out. It’s really sad, I don’t know what’s going on; it’s mostly a lot of vandalizing. We’ve been open for just over a year and we’ve had four break- ins.” Shuck has both an alarm system and a security camera which recorded this incident. Dairy Queen was broken into as well. Shift Supervisor Holly Miller said the front door was broken. “They cut the power so we have only limited video of what they did,” she said. “They stole some DQ jackets, black with the DQ logo.” Miller said the video indicated two younger guys in hoodies, both on the lean side. The owner of DQ also contacted the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office after she found a red and black backpack stashed near the construction cage behind her business. The backpack apparently held keys from numerous vehicles, post office boxes and gas caps; and also contained tools, a lighter, lighter fluid and some personal items. The pack was turned over to the police. The Crossroads Veterinary Clinic, located on Caves Highway, was broken into; and next door, an attempted break-in occurred at You Dirty Dog, a pet grooming business. “A few months ago, they tore my back door open and stole stuff,” said You Dirty Dog owner Jody Stark. “Last week, they attempted to break in around 3:30 in the morning. But I’m not taking any chances anymore - I take everything of any value home with me. You can spend a ton of money on security systems, but they’ll still break windows and vandalize - and they’re really stupid, they take random stuff and leave valuables behind.” She added that the Crossroads clinic, currently open a few days a week, doesn’t leave any drugs or cash on site. Another seemingly senseless break-in attempt occurred at the Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance (IVSHA) building, located next door to the Motor Vehicle Department on South Kerby Avenue. SEE CRIME ON A-10
