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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