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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2017)
Page A-12 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 7, 2017 Ryan Nolan heads over the hill Weather Watch By Dan Mancuso IVN Staff Cave Junction Thursday, June 8 Rain High --60 Low -- 48 Friday, June 9 Showers High -- 58 Low -- 45 Saturday, June 10 AM Showers High -- 58 Low -- 45 Sunday, June 11 Mostly Sunny High -- 69 Low -- 45 Monday, Jun 12 Sunny High -- 76 Low -- 48 Tuesday, Jun 13 Sunny High -- 78 Low -- 48 Wednesday, Jun 14 Sunny High -- 76 Low -- 49 Following are the high & low temperatures, and rainfall recorded at The End of the Road in O’Brien by Cheryl Johnson: May 26 27 28 29 30 31 6/1 High 84.7 88.7 89.6 88.5 72.6 76.3 75.4 Low 41.4 45.1 49.4 50.4 50.1 46.2 55.2 May Rain: 1.55” YTD Rain: 114.86” T ry r osie ’ s PIZZA B Y -T HE -S LICE Today 415-0517 OPEN: M & TH 11-6 FRIDAY 11-7 aT C hevron in CJ SATURDAY 9-1 aT G ranTs P ass G rowers ’ markeT FIND US ON FACEBOOK! The Illinois Valley lost another gem but this time for good reason - love. City recorder Ryan Nolan’s last day was May 19. Nolan took a position with the city of Grants Pass as a deputy planner. The move was prompted in part due to his marriage to Sammie McClure May 27. “Sammie and her children have roots in Grants Pass so it seemed better to start our life there,” Nolan said. Nolan was hired in August 2010 by then mayor Don Moore to replace the retiring Jim Polk. Nolan an IVHS grad with strong community ties was a good fit for the position. Nolan’s position was filled by Rebecca Patton, previously the city’s utility clerk. After graduating from IVHS in 1997, his love for small town life had him thinking what he could do to earn a living in Cave Junction. With interests in how government works and politics, Nolan went to Western Oregon University earning a bachelor’s in political science before moving on to Southern Oregon University for a master’s in education. Being a teacher was not what Nolan expected, “You learn about how to teach and make lesson plans in school but when you get into the classroom, most of what you do is actually social work. I had children telling me horrible stories about their home lives, and here I am dealing with DHS and never get to teach.” Instead of teaching civics, Nolan decided he would step out of teaching and get some real life experience, but may go back to teaching at a later time. Nolan feels Cave Junction was a great place to grow up: “It’s like growing up in Mayberry. I have always been proud to have grown up here, there are some great people.” Outside of work Nolan enjoys working on his family’s farm and music: “I play a few cords on the guitar and even sing a few corny old country songs.” Nolan is involved in many civic activities that include the IVHS Alumni Association, Academic Masters, the Bluegrass Festival and Rotary. “I love the I.V. Rotary, what a fun group, and the variety of people which is something I appreciate about Cave Junction, its diversity.” His call to volunteerism started with his grandfather, “I remember sitting with my grandfather in front of the Brown Barn laundry mat raising money for the March of Dimes.” Accordingly, Nolan’s soft touch came in handy dealing with people at City Hall’s counter. “A lot of interactions start off with an unhappy person, I listen to them and treat them fairly, the goal is for them to leave happy or at least understanding of why the situation is what it is.” Nolan spoke highly of the work done by the city saying that CJ is the perfect example of how to run a good water department and waste water system. “It’s 90 percent of what we do; the rest of it is streets and parks.” When asked what Nolan would pursue, or what the city could improve on, he replied that if we had our own police force it could be a positive effect. Back in the ‘70s the city took advantage of a program started by the Nixon administration, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act also known as CETA. The goal of CETA was to train workers and provide them with jobs in the public service, and in Cave Junction’s case it was a police and parks. Another area Nolan feels would make a positive impact is a planned senior care facility, saying that it “would make a huge impact on the quality of life in CJ, I’m hopeful it will happen. As far as I know, things are moving forward on that project.” Great things are happening for Nolan personally, … “Stuff you hope for and that’s great, but it’s sad; I love this town, it is my home.” Nolan concluded with praise, for not only the city employees but the elected officials. “We have a great crew, probably the best crew of any small city around and that’s important. I feel like we have a smart mayor that understands the process and a council that is on the ball. There could be some really exciting things in the next few years.” (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Masters for the Illinois Valley News) The newly wed Samantha McClure (left) and Ryan Nolan Saturday, May 27.
