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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Year in Review: January
• 2017 New Year’s Storm is
one for the record books! The 2017
New Year’s Storm came in waves: A
foot of the white stuff piled up Jan.
2; then another foot; and a few days
later, another six to 10 inches fell
- and in some locations, even more!
The schools never opened last week.
Many businesses and the Siskiyou
Community Medical Center were
closed much of the week as well.
Phone lines went down and 6,497
Illinois Valley households lost power
at the storm’s peak. “The Valley was
the epicenter for this storm and was
much harder hit than other areas,”
said Tom Gauntt, Pacific Power
public information officer.
• Meteorologists say stay
prepared for weather challenges:
The current series of storm systems
impacting the Illinois Valley could
bring up to 6 inches of rain and
possibly more snow on the Valley
floor by the end of the week,
according to National Weather
Service meteorologist Dan Weygand
• Past council members said
their farewells, and a new mayor
and council members were sworn
in, Monday, Jan. 9, at the first Cave
Junction City Council meeting of the
year. After the outgoing councilors
said their goodbyes, new councilors
Lindsey Gillette and Mark Dillinger
were sworn in and took their seats
on the council. New mayor, Daniel
Dalegowski, then gave the State
of the City address, which the city
charter mandates must happen at the
beginning of every year.
• Newly elected Josephine
County Commissioners Lily Morgan
and Dan DeYoung hosted a town hall
meeting at the Cave Junction County
Building, Monday, Jan. 23, to
introduce themselves to constituents
and answer questions.
• Little League building
broken into ... again: Illinois Valley’s
Little League just can’t catch a
break. Last week, once again, the
Little’s League’s building at Jubilee
Park was vandalized. Little League
supporters have lost track of how
many items the building has been
broken into in recent years. “There’s
nothing there of value. It’s senseless.
They are just making a huge mess,”
said Little League organizer Shelley
Davis. “Though they did burn some
things this time, so we have the state
fire marshal working on this case
now.”
• Library burglary: Sometime
in the evening of Jan. 14 the Cave
Junction Library was broken into
through a window long thought to be
screwed shut-in the aging building.
Although there’s an alarm that has
a battery backup and connects to a
satellite for instant communication
with authorities the burglar made off
with a box of blank checks, the keys
to every lock the building, a handful
of donation checks from individuals
amounting to $270, a $50 toy from
the children’s program, and of
course—this burglar not being one to
leave any details out—a small pile of
change in branch manager Roberta
Lee’s desk.
• The United Community
Action Network (UCAN) has opened
a satellite office at the I.V. Family
Coalition in Cave Junction. The
umbrella agency’s focus is creating
solutions to poverty and improving
lives in Douglas and Josephine
counties. “Having this office in
Cave Junction is more efficient. It’s
certainly more customer friendly
for individuals who are seniors or
disabled and will help people avoid
unnecessary travel.” Kelly Wessels
UCAN chief operating officer
explained. UCAN offers specific
days of the week for certain services.
Applicants will still need to call
UCAN’s main line at 541-956-4050
to schedule appointments at the Cave
Junction site.
• Lady Cougs lead league:
The Lady Cougars are now at 3-0
in the Southern Cascade League;
seniors Aundrea Miller and Tori
Johnson led the Cougars in points
scored.
• In two separate occurrences
last month the Western Plaza
shopping center has been the victim
of vandalism and attempted burglary.
Unfortunately, this sort of activity
has become a normal occurrence
for the family that owns the land.
In both incidences a gate was cut
to allow the perpetrator access to
the alleyway that connects the back
parking lot with the 199 highway.
• Once again, the Josephine
Community Libraries, Inc. (JCLI),
the nonprofit that runs the libraries
of Josephine County, wants to take
the issue of library funding to the
voters. Unlike the Library District
effort of 2014, which did not pass,
the newly proposed district would
not encompass the entire county, but
only those precincts in which voters
supported the district. The proposed
taxation rate will be the same as
the last effort at $0.39 of $1,000 of
assessed property value.
Year in Review: February
• Jean Ann Miles
was recently appointed by
Mayor Daniel Dalegowski to
complete his remaining two
year term. She was sworn into
office as a Cave Junction City
Councilor Feb. 13.
• Josephine County
Commissioners have been
warning about a fiscal
financial cliff and according
to Sheriff Dave Daniel the
eta is July 1. In a meeting
Feb. 2, Daniel met with
Commissioners Simon
Hare, Lily Morgan, Dan
DeYoung and County Legal
Wally Hicks. In that meeting
Daniel laid out what his next
budget will look like and
asked for one quarter of the
approximately 4.5 million in
reserves to get through the
next six months of current
staffing levels. To offset the
budge short fall Daniel floated
a new levy, for jail services
only. The initial details are
for a five year 84 cents per
thousand of assessed property
value.
• Frontier upgrade:
After years of abysmal
internet connection rates and
instability a great deal of the
Illinois Valley is finally going
to make a huge step forward
into the digital age. Frontier
Communications reported
that they are currently in the
process of upgrading their
servers with fiber optic cable
and soon those that use, or are
forced to use, their services
will be better connected to
the internet and the world.
“We’ve been in the process
for almost two and a half
years,” said Joel Walter local
manager for the area. “We
added a lot of bandwidth
from where we were at
before,” Walter stated before
explaining that the main issue
was extreme congestion at
peak hours.
• There will be
a special Illinois Valley
Garden Club (IVGC) 90th
birthday meeting at Immanuel
Methodist Church. Roger
Brandt will be giving a talk
about the IVGC’s 90-year
history and a horticulture table
will feature forced blooms and
plants with a winter interest.
• A proposed five-
year levy by the Illinois
Valley Fire District of 50
cents per thousand will allow
(Photo by Dan Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
Commissioner Dan DeYoung (left) with Sheriff
Daniel during a Thursday Feb. 27 meeting.
the district to hire and outfit
four firefighter/emergency
medical technicians (EMTs).
Fire Chief Dennis Hoke said
that the district’s sole reliance
on volunteer firefighters is
not sufficient to meet current
demands on the district.
• An introductory
session to learn about the
different levels of certification
required to provide paid
child care was offered with
a presentation by Michelle
Gallas of Imagine That!
Creative Children’s Center.
Gallas discussed the joys
and hurdles of running a
child care business. This
project was one of the first
developments generated by
the Illinois Valley Community
Development Organization’s
(IVCanDO) I.V. 20/20
Community Vision &
Strategic Plan.
• The Cave Junction
City Council met Monday,
Feb. 27, to discuss potential
policies for volunteer code
enforcement officers. The
city has begun to recruit
volunteers to help enforce
existing ordinances, and
although there are already
rules on the books in regard to
volunteer ordinance officers,
they have never been put
into action.
Currently,
the city’s code enforcement
policy is complaint based.
Residents must come to the
city and lodge complaints
about garbage accumulation,
unkempt lawns, illegal fences
or business signs that are
not maintained, among other
things. The city then issues
notices to property owners to
fix the problem or face fines.
This process is slow and relies
on people to come forward
to make the complaints. At
the urging of Councilor Mark
Dillinger, the council has
begun looking into ways to
streamline the process and
clean up problem properties
around town.
• The Illinois River
Forks State Park’s disc golf
course is going to receive
significant upgrades soon. The
course path will be widened
with decomposed granite
over the next few weeks. This
improvement will enable both
wheelchair and stroller access
to the course
• There was something
of a public uproar aimed
at Pacific Power, primarily
in Jackson and Josephine
counties, regarding power
bills which were higher than
normal. In some cases the
customer’s bills were two to
three time more expensive
than they allegedly were in
past years
• Snowplow caper: It
was found that one truck used
to plow snow was missing,
along with assorted smaller
tools from the Josephine
County’s public works garage
in Kerby. Rob Brandes
Josephine County Public
Works Director said, “The
cost of the plow, smaller tools
and fixing the gate look to be
in the range of $5,000.”
• The Three Rivers
School District Board
of Directors is pleased
to announce that David
Valenzuela has been approved
as permanent superintendent
of Three Rivers School
District.
• The entire Illinois
Valley High School wrestling
team, consisting of Chase
Nelson, Ayden Lindsey and
Dillion St. Onge, made it to
the state competition this year
held Feb. 24 and 25.
Obituaries
John Gasparini born in Las
Angeles, Calif. to John and
Gladys (Swanson) Gasparini.
Gasparini was an avid musi-
cian who played harmonica
for many local bands from the
70s through the 90s. Gasparini
moved to Selma in 1974 and
married Janet Holt Goodrich in
1980. Gasparini along with his
wife owned and operated Selma
Video from 1993 until retiring
in 2011. He had been on dialysis
for 13 years and suffered other
health issues.
Gasparini is preceded in death
by his parents. Gasparini is
survived by his wife, Janet; son
Derek Gasparini; two step-sons,
Adam Goodrich and Jeremy
Goodrich; one granddaughter;
two grandsons and his brother,
Fred Gasparini in Helena, Mont.
I LLINOIS V ALLEY F UNERAL D IRECTORS
WWW.SINCE1928HULL.COM
541-592-4110
Save the date
Jan. 4
I.V. Wrestling Lasagna Dinner Auction
Jan. 4 at the Senior Cneter, 520 E. River St. in
Cave Junction from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Come Support
I.V. Wrestling, Adults $10, Children $5 and the
auction starts at 7:30 p.m.
Continuing
Your public library has activities happen-
ing every week! New Storytime reader, Mela-
nie, has crafts and stories for kids of all ages
Saturdays at 12 noon. Families at Play baby-
parent group is for babies the first Wednesday
of the month from 1-2 p.m. Early literacy skills
are taught within a thirty-minute storytime of
songs, bounces, and reading, followed by a
Illinois
Valley
News
Published weekly by
I.V. News LLC
Daniel J. Mancuso, Publisher
half-hour of play and chat time. For more infor-
mation contact Roberta Lee at 541-592-4770.
IV Branch, Josephine Community Libraries,
209 W Palmer St, CJ
*Illinois Valley Community Watch Meet-
ing every Monday from 5 - 6 p.m. at Wild River
Pizza, 249 Redwood Hwy. – Cave Junction. A
Public Safety Outreach Campaign effort with all
I.V. Neighborhood Watch Groups – representa-
tives, including businesses and churches, and
support for anyone wishing to start a neighbor-
hood watch. Includes a 2-way hand held radio
program briefing from 4:20 - 4:50 p.m. Contact
Guenter - 541-415-1929 / ivwatch541@gmail.
com.
POSTMASTER: Please send
address changes to P.O. Box 1370,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Illinois Valley News is published at
221 S. Redwood Hwy.,
Cave Junction, OR 97523
Telephone (541) 592-2541
Since 1937 periodicals postage
paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
P.O. Box 1370 USPS 258-820
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine
County - $35
One year in Jackson and
Douglas counties - $36
One year in all other
Oregon counties and
out-of-state - $43.00
Illinois Valley News does not refund subscriptions.
Remainder of subscription will be donated to the
charity of your choice.
*The I.V. Senior Thrift Store: Join the
crew and make new friends. You don’t need to
be a senior citizen to volunteer at the store. Call
us at 541-592-6630. Open Monday – Saturday,
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
*The Sheriff’s Office Substation in Cave
Junction is now open on Mondays, Tues-
days, and Thursdays, 10 to 2. Volunteers are
still needed to staff additional days. Appli-
cations are available at the substation or on
line at http://www.co.josephine.or.us/Files/
Volunteer%20Application.Mar%202014.pdf.
News - Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Editor -Laura Mancuso
laura@illinois-valley-news.com
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laura@illinois-valley-news.com
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laura@illinois-valley-news.com
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Dan Mancuso
dan@illinois-valley-news.com
Mailroom - Millie Watkins
*Cave Junction Patrol, LLC is looking for
volunteers. CJ Patrol is a private citizen volun-
teer organization dedicated to effectively ad-
dressing heretofore-unchecked property crime
in our city and neighborhoods. The primary
mission of CJ Patrol is to prevent, interrupt,
report and decrease property crime in the city
of Cave Junction. Call 541-592-9665 or visit
cjpatrol.org.
*Committee Meeting STATE OF JEFFER-
SON Josephine County 1st Thursday of each
month at 5:30 p.m. Black Forest Restaurant,
Grants Pass and 3rd Thursday of each month at
6 p.m., Wild River Pizza in Cave Junction.
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