Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2017)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, May 10, 2017 VOTE ... Continued from A-2 We won’t solve the ills of our community by throwing money at it - much of which is embedded in the “green rush,” similar to the old gold-rush days when communities were at the mercy of thugs who could only be reined in by the gun-toting sheriffs, who had little use for public relations or political correctness. What happened to all the permit-fee money from the thousands of cannabis operations that have proliferated in our county? Shouldn’t some of that money go back into the community that has allowed them to grow their cash crops? Hasn’t the cannabis industry overtaken the timber industry in our area? So many complain about the loss of funds from the timber industry that used to pay for policing, fire stations, and libraries, so shouldn’t the cannabis industry fill in that gap? But I’m getting beyond my point: please vote no on all new tax measures. I am an active neighborhood watch/patrol person and there is no crime in my neighborhood. And if there were, then the promise of more policing by these new levies would not change such situations as when an abducted individual, bruised, cold and restrained in layers of duct-tape, comes knocking on our door (the first house he came upon after escaping from his captors up the mountain) and asks for our teenage daughter to borrow the phone to call 911. What was the response - oh, call us tomorrow (probably logged - BAR [“beyond available resources”]). They did ask my daughter if she was alone with this terrified and irate, duck-taped stranger, but never had the thought to call back and check on her wellbeing (what do you expect her to say with him standing right next to her - uh, that she’s scared?). How would the extra funding help that situation when I saw two Josephine County sheriff vehicles parked at Siskiyou Market chatting to the owner of a van when I was driving home from IVHS Track Practice at about exactly the same the abductee was dialing 911, with my daughter alone in the house with him? They were just down the road and couldn’t go check on my daughter to see if she was all right? If the law enforcement in our area is greatly incompetent at keeping our community safe and free of riffraff with the funds they are receiving now, then what guarantee is there that they would improve with more funding? If a child who squanders the few dollars you can spare for her college education, do you say “job well done” and find a way of rewarding her with extra, hard earned money? Or do you save those extra funds for a child who did the best she could with a mere pittance. Ray Brown Cave Junction Dear Editor The fact that a small group of local dysfunctional teenage boys are vandalizing Cave Junction is a symptom of a much larger problem - a dysfunctional local, state and federal government expensive mandates and despotic regulations. It’s not a lack of funding; it’s a failure of good leadership and despotic bureaucracies. It’s happening in large cities too. With well funded law enforcement and strict laws. Also out of control murder rates and organized crime. We no longer live in a proud free constitutional democratic republic. We live in a highly regulated bureaucratic corporate socialist republic. With a justice and law system that benefits lawyers and bureaucrats. With the largest prison population in the world that benefits the prison guard union and its membership. The only reason the government can function is because of a $20 trillion dollar debt. Can a government so bankrupt claim any legitimacy? We the people are in a state of intergenerational servitude. Also we the people are not allowed to vote on this debt. Another word for that is a state of tyranny. It’s true -freedom is not free anymore. If these young vandals are not stopped they will move on to robbery, assault and murder. Sooner or later they themselves will be murdered or imprisoned. This could be stopped locally by empowering the local neighborhood watch. Pay them each at least $1,000 a month. That’s not much but they are doing it for free now. Give them proper authority and a badge. A couple of guard dogs for foot and bike patrols. Catch these dysfunctional teenage boys in the act. Put signs around their necks. Make them do public community service and work off the damage and mischief they have done. More expensive does not mean better. Just say no more taxes. Even if this tax levy does pass there will always be new dysfunctional teenage boys. The vandalism will go on and on and on. The question is what kind of men will they grow up to be? Page A-3 Mark Wichers Cave Junction (Editor’s note: In the second to last sentence of Mark Wichers’ May 3 letter to the editor, it should have read: An expensive highly regulated corporate police system is not freedom. We regret the error.) Yes on 17-81 Freedom isn’t free, nor is police and firemen. So, who doesn’t want the jail levy to pass? Mark Seligman, Bill Hunker, a few others who have high jacked the Republican party and the criminals. What is the safety of your loved ones worth? What are your possessions and family heirlooms worth? If the jail and I.V.F.D. fail, your insurance rates will increase more than your property tax. Who should you call if the levy fails and you are robbed, burglarized or otherwise victimized? Mark and friends? Good luck! Please vote yes on the jail, fire and animal shelter and please always vote no on Mark, perennial commissioner candidate with no viable solutions. I know a guy who was a cop for 25 years and his favorite statement was, “The only deterrent to crime is swift and just punishment,” and we have neither. Steve Lyons Cave Junction Vote yes on levy 17-80 REWIND TO: April 9, 2017. OSP troopers assigned to the Grants Pass Patrol Worksite, responded to a reported shooting occurring in front of well- known bar in Cave Junction. Upon arrival, one male was observedlaying in on the street with a gunshot wound to the chest. Fact: Shortly after 2 a.m., the call for assistance was processed through dispatch in Central Point. Fact: Because a crime was committed, EMT/first responders (who were on the scene with IVRFPD shortly after the shooting) had to wait a safe distance from the scene for law enforcement from out of area to arrive before they could begin life-saving measures on the victim. Total wait was 22 minutes. Fact: The City of Cave Junction does not have a police force. Fact: The City of Cave Junction opted to rely on the county of Josephine to provide services of the Josephine County Sheriff. Fact: The City Council of Cave Junction voted unanimously to support jail levy, Measure 17-80, by way of Resolution No. 815 which they passed on April 10. Local neighborhood watch and patrol programs need the support and backing of the Josephine County Sheriff. If this levy does not pass, Cave Junction will lose their contract deputy after July 1. OSP stated that they will no longer provide backup to rural Josephine County after July 1. Since 2012, voters opted for “No New Taxes” in spite of dire predictions by budget experts. Predictions that are now reality. On the May 16 special election ballot, it’s time to do the right thing and “JUST SAY YES” on measure 17-80 and 17- 78. Because saying No hasn’t worked. Tim Campbell Cave Junction The Archive Zone Blotter Edition: by Hillary Mohr from the Illinois Valley News archives You have the right to remain silent! Everything you read will remind you that you live in one of the wildest and unique valleys in the nation. You have the right to enjoy the following Police Blotter Archive Zone. Date: June 3, 1992. Location: Cave Junction and the Illinois Valley. Tuesday, May 26 *At the request of OSP a vehicle driving from Selma to Cave Junction was stopped, as a motorist reported the driver might be drunk. It turned out that a small dog in the car caused the driver to swerve a couple of times. *Four loose donkeys near Kerbyville Ghost Town were reported. *In the 200 block of Lakeshore Drive at 11:39 p.m. two men had a disturbance. One brought out a sword. The other was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving. Wednesday, May 27 *Although a woman believed she had locked a burglary suspect inside a storage area, the report was unfounded. Thursday, May 28 *Marijuana plants were seized at a location in the Siskiyou National Forest. Friday, May 29 Art’s Red Garter M i c h a e l Homestyle DINNER SPECIALS Mon - Sat 5-9 PM in Lounge KARAOKE Wednesdays @ 9 p.m. cruz F r i d a y, M a y 1 2 @ 5:30 from Taylor’s Country Store *Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team officers arrested three people on Murphy Creek Road on drug charges. Two were charged in connection with methamphetamines; the other involved marijuana. *Theft of prom pictures from East River Street was resolved when they were returned. *Two gunshots and a woman’s scream were reported on June Drive. It turned out to involve a man who had an altercation with his brother; then went outside and fired the weapon. Saturday, May 30 *When a man arrived home at 1:45 a.m. KARAOKE w/ Steve - OH dale hopper Friday, May 12 @ 9 p.m Saturday the 13th @ 6 p.m. Saturday Pool Tourney @ 7 Every Wednesday Open MIC Night 6 - 8 p.m. J Barley Fridays @ 6 p.m. Free pool on Sundays Sportsman Tavern in the 27000 block of Redwood Highway he found that his front door was broken and a man was sleeping in his bed. The man was warned about trespassing. *After staying at a ranch in Selma for nine days, a man refused to pay for his room and board and left. *In the 6000 block of Takilma Road a deputy found a weapon. The G SPOT Hump day Karoke w/ Jammer Dave 8 - midnight Open Mic w/ B Eric Leadbetter of Jive Coulis Thursday, May 11 8 PM, free The Spence Brothers Blues Band Friday, May 12, 7 p.m. Thurdsays @ 7 I.V. STRING BAND SAT, MAY 13 8-11 p.m. $5 cover @ McGrew’s!
