Page A-8
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 21, 2021
CITY
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Continued from A-1
“Citations are being
issued and non-registered,
non-insured, non-licensed
water trucks are being
drained and towed “as we
speak.” There was also
a water truck towed on
Arrowhead Drive.”
Rogue Valley Council
of Governments (RVCOG)
contract planner Ryan
Nolan was in attendance
to present a land use
request. An application
for annexation by Randall
and Laurie Pointer for
328 Hamilton Avenue
was submitted in order to
designate the property to
single family residential
with services from the city
of Cave Junction. The tax
lot is currently zoned Rural
Residential 5 (RR5) and is
part of an island of county
property within the city
limits.
Nolan reviewed the
application to make sure the
land use fits properly with
the Cave Junction Urban
Growth Boundary. Nolan
said, “The annexation
meets all necessary
requirements in order to
be compliant with Oregon
Statutes.” The property is
adequate to be connected to
city services such as sewer
and water. The motion was
approved by council and
the second public hearing
on the annexation will be
held Aug. 9.
Martell said, “I
am pleased to get the
experience of closing
one of the county island
properties within the city.”
Laura Mancuso,
COUNTY
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Continued from A-1
Guenter Ambron of the Illinois
Valley piggybacked on comments made
by the Hinkles, using his time to slam the
pharmaceutical industry and alluded to
potential criminal prosecution of Coronavirus
Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci over
vaccine patents, citing no provable instances
of wrongdoing by the longtime director of the
National Institute of Allergies and Infectious
Diseases.
Selma resident Mark Seligman offered a
program coordinator from
I.V. Wellness Resources,
informed council that the
Food and Friends program,
operating out of the I.V.
Senior Center Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays
from 10 a.m. - noon, is
looking for Meals on
Wheels volunteer drivers
and servers. You can
learn more information
by calling Rogue Valley
Council of Governments
Food and Friends program
at 541-955-8839 or call
the local Meals on Wheels
coordinator, Jim Nelson, at
541-415-4218.
Jean Ann’s Gem: “If
you don’t like something
change it. If you can’t
change it, change your
attitude about it.”
(Photo by Laura Mancuso, Illinois Valley News)
A water truck is filling up at the water plant on S. Junction Avenue Monday,
July 19. The city recently had to repair the street due to water truck traffic.
counterpoint to other commenters’ anti-vaccine
rhetoric, saying that Oregon has reopened and
COVID-19 deaths and infections are down
because of the increasing vaccination rate.
“You guys and all your constituents wanted
Josephine County open again… Many states
are reopening; they’re reopening because more
and more people are safe from the vaccine, that
unfortunately, you three do not support.”
Seligman went on to criticize the
commissioners individually, calling Vice
Chairperson Herman Baertschiger a
“nontransparent figure” for not responding to
any of his emails over the last three years when
Baertschiger was a state senator. He also noted
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his disgust as a Jewish person over a “flippant
remark” made by Baertschiger and DeYoung
allegedly comparing hand sanitizing protocols
at the Josephine County Jail to actions taken by
the Nazis during the Holocaust.
At the end of his remarks, Seligman
commented on the county’s parting of ways
with YouTube, saying that the reason the social
media company took down video of board
meetings was because the commissioners would
not push back on conspiracy theories about the
pandemic and the vaccines. He accused the
board of “censoring” people when they don’t
like what they say, but let misinformation slide
when they do like what is said.
Off the topic of the pandemic, Judy Erins
spoke about supporting educators and opposing
critical race theory; David Darnell raised
concerns about land preservation legislation
sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden called the
River Democracy Act, which he feels would
have a negative impact on landowners; and
Leo Goodman of Takilma said that natural
immunity is far superior protection against
COVID-19 compared to vaccines.
During commissioner responses,
Commissioner Darin Fowler slammed the state
government for stripping away “freedom of
choice” and forcing mandates upon the people.
He also addressed requests from the Hinkles
to pass legislation against future lockdowns by
saying it can be “tricky” to have a “preemptive
resolution” in place that prohibit unknown
contingencies. However, he listed off other
actions the commissioners have taken against
pandemic mandates. “I think you know what
side we’re on on this one,” Fowler concluded.
Baertschiger said that there’s so much
conflicting information on COVID-19 that he
doesn’t know what to believe anymore. “I think
the biggest takeaway from this whole pandemic
is people don’t have a lot of trust in government
anymore. It’s really sad. So, you know, I hope
we’ve learned from this pandemic on how to
handle these situations a little bit better.”
DeYoung argued against Seligman’s
accusations of censorship, and said that the
Selma resident was nearly asked to step away
from the podium for being “abusive” as a result
of his comments. He also said he was taken
aback by a letter he got saying he “has blood on
his hands for not stopping COVID.” “Nothing
could be further from the truth,” said DeYoung,
and he went on to assert that the board followed
all the state rules that were put in place.
“We don’t believe anybody anymore,
so I just say you believe yourself,” DeYoung
commented on the conflicting information being
shared about COVID-19.
DeYoung concluded, “This America is
supposed to be you can feel any way you want
here and not be persecuted because of it. Not
true anymore…”
JONES
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classroom. “This will be especially nice
and helpful for the kiddos that live with
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder).”
To better engage the students with
in-classroom learning, Evergreen will
be updating its teaching techniques with
TVs, tablets and speakers. With this
system, teachers will be able to be both
interactive and available to the students.
Using speakers and tablets, teachers can
continue to demonstrate examples to the
class while walking around the room to
help individual students.
A major goal Jones has is to
remodel the oldest building on the school
campus that was the original elementary
school.
If you would like to donate money
to Evergreen Elementary School for
their outdoor learning space tables with
a personalized plaque you can call the
front office at 541-592-3136 and the
mailing address is 520 W. River St, Cave
Junction, OR 97523.
Eventually this area will hold
three or four rows of outdoor metal
tables coated for heat resistance with
an umbrella insert for shade. There
will also be an ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act) table included for those
in a wheelchair. “I’m checking around
for the best prices and would like to buy
four tables at a time. So far, the tables
are costing around $700 a piece by the
time you include shipping,” explained
Jones.
Another project completed under
Jones’ watch is the installation of 21 high
resolution security cameras, which she
feels is critical to keeping her students
and building safe.
In addition, Jones understands the
special needs of some of her students.
Starting in the fall, Jones will be
inserting at least two standing desks with
silent swivel bars in the back of each