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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2022)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, September 21, 2022 Page A-5 County addresses outdated zoning classification CJ Schatza IVN copy editor The Sept. 14 Board of Josephine County Commissioners’ weekly business session took place at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. The meeting kicked off with a public hearing to consider a zoning change to a property that currently houses the Grants Pass Over-Niters RV park. Tami Smith of the JoCo Planning Department gave the rundown on this proposed zoning change, noting that the comprehensive plan map for Josephine County would be amended to reflect the change. “The subject property is 5941 Highland Avenue,” said Smith. “It’s an existing campground/RV park from around the 1960s. “Just to recap, the Josephine County Planning Commission held a public hearing May 23, 2022, and a decision of approval for the comprehensive plan map changes comply with the amendments of the Nifty Tidbits: Originally printed in the Nov. 6, 2002 edition of the Illinois Valley News Two of our children and five of our grandkids live in Medford and so we go there quite often, especially when they need some help. Every trip, on going over Gold Hill and down into the Rogue Valley, I look at Mt Mcloughlin to check out the snow level. This is the tall volcanic peak east of Medford that is indicated by a sign along the freeway. The book, Oregon Geographic Names by Lewis Mc Arthur, relates the complicated story of how the mountain received its name. The first available map of the Josephine County and state law.” Smith pointed out that no appeals were filed in response to the planning commission voting in favor of the zoning change. Commissioner Dan DeYoung sought clarification on how an RV park could avoid being zoned commercial for so long, and Smith said it was because the establishment of the campground in the 1960s predated county zoning laws, which went into effect in the 70s. This zoning change brings to a close half a century of improper classification for Grants Pass Over-Niters. “Jiminy Christmas, how did this thing go that long?” DeYoung expressed. “I’m glad we’re trimming that off and getting it marked up the way it’s supposed to be.” Meeting frequenter Judy Ahrens was concerned about the implications of rezoning residential land as commercial, such as if an increase in traffic will be seen or other nuisances for nearby residents. In response, DeYoung stated, “Anytime there’s any zoning change or anything, there’s a really long process that goes into it. First off, this thing’s been there since 1965, or somewhere along in there, but they send out, I think 10 adjacent property owners get a letter of any kind of zone change, and an opportunity with a long process to respond to what’s going on and share their concerns.” DeYoung also found it unlikely the new commercial zoning would affect traffic, given that the property has been a business for decades and is already filled to capacity often. “Our planning department, sometimes I disagree with them, but I’ve found they’re pretty malleable when they say, ‘You really need to go out and look at that.’ And oftentimes they’re right… They’re the professionals in this organization so we rely on them heavily.” Board Chair Herman Baertschiger agreed with his colleague’s conclusions, commenting, “We didn’t have any land use or any of that until 1973 with Senate Bill 100, then it took another 10 years to actually get a handle on regulating all that, so we’re into the ‘80s. This activity has been taking place since the ‘60s. And Judy, there was a list of letters that went out to every government agency you could ever think of to comment on this, and the citizens, so to get to this point, where we’re actually reading this, it’s a long checklist.” The commissioners approved the zoning change’s first reading and scheduled the second reading for Sept. 28. Moving on in the agenda, the week of Sept. 17-23 was proclaimed U.S. Constitution Week. Commissioner DeYoung read the proclamation aloud, which stated in part, “Our U.S. Constitution means an opportunity for each, protection for all, justice for everyone, and liberty, both civil and religious, for the strong and weak, and for the rich and the poor.” The brief proclamation also recounted some of the historical milestones of the holiday, including: The signing of the first draft of the US. Constitution was by 39 delegates Sept. 17, 1787; President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed in 1955 the first U.S. Constitution Week; and in 2004, at the urging of Senator Robert E. Byrd of West Virginia. Congress passed a law designating Sept. 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. by Chuck Rigby area, printed in 1838 by Samuel Parker uses the name Mt. Mcloughlin. Later, records by Peter Skene Ogden, a trapper, and by the cartographer for John C. Fremont use the name Mt. Pitt for the same peak. Because it was spelled with two t’s it implies that the name was to honor a person such as William Pitt, a famous British statesman, or an early settler. However, there is no record to substantiate that assumption and there were no settlers living in that area when the name was first used. In 1855 a government railroad survey states that Mt. Pitt was named for the pits dug in the vicinity of the mountain by local Indians to trap animals, as is the name Pit River further south in northern California. Why the double t’s were used is not known. Journals of early Rogue Valley settlers showed that other names such as: Snowy Butte and Big Butte were occasionally used but Mt. Pitt was the most common name in printed reports and journals. This name was superseded in 1905 when the Oregon Legislature designated Mount Mcloughlin to be the name and this was accepted by the United States Board on Geographical Names in 1912 making it official. John Mcloughlin was named “Father of Oregon” in 1957 by the Oregon Legislature and his name is found all over Oregon on streets, schools, museums, and parks. Mcloughlin was born in Quebec Province, Canada on Oct. 19, 1784. Trained as a doctor, which occupation he followed for a time, he later joined the fur trading business. He served in various posts in Canada and then was sent by Hudson Bay Company to be in charge of their Columbia River region. He arrived at Ft. George on Nov. 8, 1824 which was the headquarters at that time. Fort George started as Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River and was built in 1811 by the Pacific Fur Company founded by John Jacob Astor. Astoria was turned over to Hudson Bay Company in 1813 because its leaders were convinced that the British would capture it anyway during the War of 1812. There was no bloodshed involved and England returned it back to the United States in 1818 as part of the final treaty of the war. One of John McLaughlin’s first duties on taking over as Chief Factor for Hudson Bay was to build a new fort where they would be free of American interference. In the spring of 1825 Fort Vancouver was started on the north side of the Columbia River near the mouth of the Willamette River. It became the main center for all activities in the area which included fur trapping, but also military visits, settlement attempts, missions for the Indians and natural history collectors. John Mcloughlin became the benevolent dictator of an empire which reluctantly allowed and even provided for the beginning of what is today known as the State of Oregon. Today in History: The Associated Press Today is Wednesday, Sept. 21, the 264th day of 2022. There are 101 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On Sept. 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. On this date: In 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy. In 1937, “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London. In 1938, a hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming some 700 lives. In 1957, the legal mystery-drama “Perry Mason,” starring Raymond Burr, premiered on CBS-TV. In 1961, the first Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter made its first hovering flight. In 1973, the U.S. Senate confirmed Henry Kissinger to be Secretary of State. In 1982, National Football League players began a 57-day strike, their first regular-season walkout ever. In 1985, in North Korea and South Korea, family members who had been separated for decades were allowed to visit each other as both countries opened their borders in an unprecedented family-reunion program. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo crashed into Charleston, South Carolina (the storm was blamed for 56 deaths in the Caribbean and 29 in the United States). Twenty-one students in Alton, Texas, died when their school bus, hit by a soft-drink delivery truck, careened into a water-filled pit. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act denying federal recognition of same- sex marriages, a day after saying the law should not be used as an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against gays and lesbians. (Although never formally repealed, DoMA was effectively overturned by U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 2013 and 2015.) In 2001, Congress again opened the federal coffers to those harmed by terrorism, providing $15 billion to the airline industry, which was suffering mounting economic losses since the Sept. 11 attacks. In 2011, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, two Americans jailed in Iran as spies, left Tehran for the Gulf state of Oman, closing a high-profile drama that brought more than two years of hope and heartbreak for their families. The state of Texas executed Lawrence Russell Brewer for his role in the gruesome dragging death of James Byrd Jr. Ten years ago: People lined up to buy Apple’s iPhone5 as it went on sale in the United States and several other countries. A man was bitten multiple times after leaping from a monorail into a tiger exhibit at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Five years ago: Millions on Puerto Rico faced the prospect of weeks or months without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss the ongoing crisis involving North Korea. Facebook said it would provide congressional investigators with the contents of 3,000 ads that had been bought by a Russian agency; it had already released the ads to federal authorities investigating Russian H&R Block 210 W. Lister St. Cave Junction 592-3667 Ted Crocker, LTC Bob Litak, LTC Licensed Tax Consultants B14914 interference in the U.S. presidential election. One year ago: In his first address before the U.N. General Assembly, President Joe Biden urged the world’s nations to address the global issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses. A coroner confirmed that human remains found in remote northern Wyoming were those of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old who disappeared while on a cross-country road trip with a boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. (Laundrie’s body would be found in a Florida swamp in October; the FBI later said he had admitted killing Petito in a notebook that was discovered hear his body.) Melvin Van Peebles, a playwright, musician and movie director whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s, died at his New York home; he was 89. Today’s Birthdays: Author-comedian Fannie Flagg is 81. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is 79. Former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is 78. Musician Don Felder is 75. Author Stephen King is 75. Basketball Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore is 73. Actor-comedian Bill Murray is 72. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is 65. Movie producer-writer Ethan Coen is 65. Actor-comedian Dave Coulier is 63. Actor David James Elliott is 62. Actor Serena Scott Thomas is 61. Actor Nancy Travis is 61. Actor Rob Morrow is 60. Actor Angus Macfadyen is 59. Retired MLB All-Star Cecil Fielder is 59. Actor Cheryl Hines is 57. Country singer Faith Hill is 55. Rock musician Tyler Stewart (Barenaked Ladies) is 55. Country singer Ronna Reeves is 54. Actor-talk show host Ricki Lake is 54. Rapper Dave (De La Soul) is 54. Actor Billy Porter is 53. Actor Rob Benedict is 52. Actor James Lesure is 51. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro (rih- BEHR’-oh) is 51. Actor Luke Wilson is 51. Actor Paulo Costanzo is 44. Actor Bradford Anderson is 43. Actor Autumn Reeser is 42. TV personality Nicole Richie is 41. Actor Maggie Grace is 39. Actor Joseph Mazzello is 39. Actor Ahna O’Reilly is 38. Rapper Wale (WAH’-lay) is 38. R&B singer Jason Derulo is 36. Actor Ryan Guzman is 35. Actor Nikolas Brino is 24.
