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Illinois Valley News
Wednesday, August 16, 2017, 1 Section, Volume LXXX No. 21
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Published weekly for the residents of the Illinois Valley
Rapid response keeps fire in check
County
Cannabis
Ordinance
changes
Jason McMillen
IVN Contributing Writer
(Photos by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
On Wednesday, Aug. 9 a single engine aircraft (top) drops retardant next to the salvage yard to prevent
additional spread of the fire. Vehicles (bottom left) burning in the salvage yard. The plumb of smoke from
the second bridge where helicopters dipped into the river for water.
According to a press release from the Illinois Valley
Fire District (IVFD) Aug. 9, after 1 p.m. IVFD responded to a
reported grass fire located near the 30000 block of Redwood
Highway near Cave Junction. Downed power lines started fire
moving north and south along 199.
A second alarm was called to Grants Pass Fire Department
(GPFD) and Rural Metro Fire District (RMFD). Eventually the
fire made it into Jerry’s Towing auto salvage yard and that’s
when things got alarming because nearby residents were placed
at Level 2 for evacuations.
The release stated “Engines were deployed to protect
structures as wild land resources work to stop the forward
spread of the fire. Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)
requested air resources for type 1 and type 2 helicopters which
did multiple drops, keeping the fire in check. Two-seated planes
were brought in which made several retardant drops on the
fire this helped stop the forward spread of the fire. In all, we
estimate 200 cars burned and 10 acres including spread to wild
land no structures were lost.”
A third alarm activated the “Rouge Valley task force
2 from Jackson County bringing additional resources from
Medford Applegate and District 5. All agencies worked
extremely hard to extinguish this fire. The highway was also
shut down for approximately four hours while emergency
personnel worked to extinguish the fire,” the release continued.
A grass fire on Wild Park Lane was also underway during
the salvage yard fire.
City holds law priority workshop
By Laura Mancuso
IVN Editor
Night patrols were on the
majority of citizens’ minds at the law
enforcement priority workshop hosted
by the Cave Junction City Council
August 14 at City Hall.
According to Mayor Daniel
Dalegowski this was an experimental
workshop set up to see if it was a
useful tool for the city council to get
valuable feedback from the community.
The purpose of this law enforcement
workshop was to get input from citizens
for the city council when they set
guidelines for the sheriff’s office when
they are conducting business in Cave
Junction.
“Ultimately is will be the city
council that will set the priorities,” said
Dalegowski who went on to explain the
workshop process was borrowed from
the Ford Family Foundation and the I.V.
20/20 Strategic Plan.
Councilor Lindsey Gillette was the
moderator and she explained to a room
of almost 40 participants the workshop
process which was to break off into
groups in order to state opinions,
brainstorm about law enforcement
needs, summarize ideas and then finally
vote upon the priorities.
“The stakeholders - citizens that
live in the city of Cave Junction, own a
business or are in a nonprofit in the city,
have their vote weighted two-to-one
over ‘other’ residents involved in the
workshop,” said Gillette.
After the voting was tallied the
following were the priorities provided
from citizens and how many the votes
the priorities received:
• Night patrols, 59
• Drug houses, 53
• Multi-agency stings, 49
• Vagrancy, 36
• Crime locations, 26
• 911 dispatchers, 25
• Response times, 23
• More officers in I.V., 22
• Mental health, 15
• Property crimes, 8
• Staying current with marijuana
grows, 4
City recorder Becky Patton said
the priorities in the Josephine County
Sheriff Deputy’s city contract had not
been updated for five years and that this
workshop was to help the city council
set current priorities.
“This is a formal opportunity for
the community to give their input about
law enforcement priorities instead of
just guessing about what they may be.
It is also a fertile place for other ideas
to surface for the IVCDO (Illinois
Valley Community Development
Organization) Strategic Plan,” said
Kate Dwyer, IVCDO’s community
development coordinator. Dwyer who
is also the chair of the Three Rivers
School District Board of Directors was
present at the workshop to vote for law
enforcement priorities on behalf of the
school board.
Another public workshop to
further define the need and language
for the city’s contact with the sheriff’s
deputy is set for Wednesday, August 16,
7 p.m. at City Hall.
Little League wraps up season, girls softball went to state tourney.
Read about it on A-3
As of Aug. 2, 2017, Josephine County
Commissioners approved Ordinance No, 2017-
001 which makes changes to the Rural Land
Development Code regarding fences, structures,
lighting, runoff and erosion. 2017-001, approved
by the commissioners three to zero, will go into
effect Oct. 30, 2017. The ordinance came to
fruition following a series of complaints regarding
unsightly fences, light pollution that’s both irritating
for neighbors and harmful to nocturnal species,
environmental concerns and a lack of clarity in some
existing code. This set of changes has been in the
works since October 2016.
As with all of Josephine County’s recently
adopted ordinances, there is a 90-day period for
citizens to draft and sign a petition which addresses
their concerns and gives them an opportunity to refer
it to the voters.
First and foremost, the ordinance assigns
legal definitions for both “fences” and “sight-
obscuring fences” and mandates more clearly when
a development permit is necessary with relation to
the construction of a fence. Although development
permits have always been required for a fence
over 7 feet in height, Julie Schmelzer, community
development director and Simon Hare, county
commissioner, stressed that the requirement of a
fence in association with a cannabis grow site is not
a county rule and is rather a state requirement. When
the ordinance goes into effect, fences, regardless
of height, can no longer be constructed out of tarp,
stacked up cars or appliances, root balls, shade cloth
or any other type of improvised material.
SEE CANNABIS ON A-9
Wildfire at Oregon
Caves National
Monument and
Preserve contained
In a press release Superintendent Vicki
Snitzler of the National Park Service at Oregon
Caves National Monument and Preserve is pleased
to report that a wildfire at the park is contained. A
lightning strike the night of Aug. 10, ignited a fire
approximately a mile south of the Oregon Caves
Chateau and the cave entrance.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) from
the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest responded
quickly, and used significant air support to stop its
spread on Friday. The size of fire is an acre and a
half and it did not pose an immediate threat to the
Oregon Caves Historic District. Cave tour operations
proceeded normally and the Chateau remained open.
“As of Aug. 13, the fire is considered
contained. We express our deep appreciation to the
USFS firefighters and to the Grayback Forestry
crews for their efforts in fighting this fire.They
have our heartfelt thanks for protecting the national
treasures at Oregon Caves.” said Snitzler in the press
release.
As the fire crews monitor and patrol the fire
area, the No Name Trail and Cave Creek Trail will
remain closed.