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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”
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r osie ’ s
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M & TH 11-6
FRIDAY 11-7
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SATURDAY 9-1
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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.