Letters to the Editor
From our weekly issue dated August 27, 2008
Click here to learn more about how you can tell us what you think
Cave Junction perceptions
From Don Moore,
President, Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce; and Cave Junction City Council member
Many in our community are dismayed and concerned at the harmful picture painted by the three-part series in the Daily Courier regarding what is portrayed as an unsafe Cave Junctioncommunity full of crime, unruly “street people” and thugs on our streets.
In fact, the city of Grants Pass has a much higher crime rate than the city of Cave Junction -- and Grants Pass has a full-time police force. This is not to condemn the Grants Pass officers. It is simply a statement offact that armed robberies, major incidents of criminal mischief, occur in Grants Pass.
Police officers anywhere, Grants Pass included, cannot be everywhere at once. They do the best they can with the resources and schedules available. It’s the same for Cave Junction.
Yes, there have been and there are crimes in Cave Junction. However, the two incidents so vividly outlined by the Courier -- the murder of former Mayor Tom Green and an incident outside a downtown bar -- are not part of the main fabric of our city. They are, for the most part, isolated incidents.
Our situation is nowhere near as grave as depicted by the Courier articles. We have a fine community, with upright citizens doing their best. And we have, as all cities and towns, a handful of trouble-makers.
Our city is on the verge of major development. Good things are happening. The Courier’s misleading, pessimistic and harmful approach has caused great harm to our community that will serve as an impediment to many who might have wanted to move here or relocate their businesses.
The damage is irreparable.
‘Misleading, negative’
From Linda Corey-Woodward
Cave Junction
I am writing in response to the misleading, negative stories in the Daily Courier about the Illinois Valley. Shaun Hall and Patti Richter, who do not live in Cave Junction, wrote front-page stories dramatizing how lawless we are out here in the “remote Illinois Valley.”
I beg to differ on the slant of their stories.
Approximately 20,000 people live in this part of Josephine County. We are ranchers, merchants, winemakers, retirees, school children, preachers, teachers, wood-carvers, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, writers and medical professionals. We operate tourist attractions, some work in Grants Pass, and we care very much about our community.
Many residents are volunteers with nonprofit community service organizations, including me. We have phone trees and community message boards on the Internet to communicate information about fires, thefts, lost dogs, hay for sale, and local craft-and-skill workshops. Some monitor the police radio for trouble and alert neighbors.
Most of us are armed; we lock our homes and vehicles and take other precautions to protect life and property. We are a tight-knit community, and we come together to help our neighbors.
Despite the slanted picture painted with a wide brush in the Grants Pass newspaper about two events in July, the Illinois Valley is a wonderful place to live. We love it here. The air is clean (except when the south wind blows smoke in from fires in California).
It’s quiet. We don’t have traffic jams, malls or big box retail, and we like it that way. We are 45 minutes from the Pacific Ocean or from Grants Pass and I-5. Close enough for travel or weekend jaunts.
We see several sheriff’s office patrol cars around the Illinois Valley more than just 40 hours a week. We also have state troopers keeping busy along Redwood Hwy. We are not as isolated and lawless as the articles make it appear.
The criminal problems mentioned in the articles are the same all over Oregon. In fact, Grants Pass is far worse and more dangerous than Illinois Valley. These stories are just more of the same old Grants Pass attitude toward the Illinois Valley. Apparently, the Courier profits by perpetuating this myth that we are all homeless or hippies. Not!
In truth, we have no more problems than any other small town. We do have many benefits in living away from cities and interstate highways. We enjoy our community where everyone knows everyone else. Illinois Valley residents wouldn’t trade places with the harried people in Grants Pass for anything.
Kickin’ back in my hammock, watching a hawk over Hope Mountain or riding my horse is my idea of quality of life.
(Editor’s Note: For full disclosure, we wish to note that the author, a free-lance writer for this newspaper, submitted her letter as a concerned citizen.)
Safe in Cave Junction
From Zina Booth
Cave Junction
“C.J. ‘Hornet’s Nest’ keeps buzzing.” “C.J. businesses ‘button up’ at night.” “Criminals running amok in Cave Junction?”
Oh please, don’t be such a ‘Worrier’.
The Daily Courier recently ran these dramatic headlines in a three-day series of crime in Cave Junction, trying to make CJ sound like a really scary place to live.
Based on my experience living just outside CJ city limits for three and a half years, yes, I absolutely do feel safe here.
Is there crime here? Of course, isn't there everywhere? Nearly three years ago, my home was broken into, with nearly $4,000 stolen -- everything from jewelry to food to my grandchildren’s Christmas presents. The responding deputy handed me a loss report and told me to drop it off when I had a chance.
When asked if he was going to test for fingerprints, he told me “What do you think this is, CSI?” He informed me that it was the “norm” between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year for a rash of home burglaries. He also warned me to “Get used to it, because if the levy doesn’t pass, and the O&C funds dry up, you’ll have even less protection.”
So I prepared myself. I started talking to fellow CJ residents. They told me to “Get a dog, and get a gun.” My “vicious dog” is excluded from my home owner’s insurance policy, but I haven’t had any more burglary claims.
Radio Shack sells quite inexpensive, but very effective alarm systems.
Neighbors have graciously offered to bring their artillery; if I ever need back-up, I am calling them, not 911.
Yes, we have transients here. In fact, a neighbor recently advised me that one had taken up camp on my property. My neighbors stood by, armed and ready in case of trouble. I walked through the poison oak and blackberry bushes, and indeed, there was David, quite cozy in a little den carved out of the undergrowth. He had obviously been there a while, as there were two different “rooms” decorated with a CD hanging from the branches.
I asked him what he was doing, and he told me his story. He had just received his Oregon Trail card, and was heading to Grants Pass in the morning. He moved his belongings about in a grocery cart. I told him that he couldn’t just live there in the bushes, and true to his word, he moved on.
Was he scary? No, he was a person living amid poison oak, wearing a child’s jacket on a 6-4 man’s frame. Did he try to hurt me? No, I never even knew he was there.
One Daily Courier article quoted Becky Johnson, a drug and alcohol counselor: “Many people are homeless, and others are unemployed. Many also have limited transportation, and others suffer from mental illness. Others lack education, and many don’t have health insurance.”
Gee, and here I actually thought this was a nationwide problem.
Johnson went on to say “Still, people like it in the valley.”
Doesn’t that say it all? I drove through Grants Pass and Medford after 1 a.m. Sunday and saw plenty of blue-and-red flashing lights. I saw no law enforcement in Cave Junction after 2 a.m., but there weren’t any criminals running amok either. Businesses were buttoned up and secure: just like in Grants Pass.
You know what they say about hornets -- leave them alone and they won’t bother you, but don’t ever disturb their nests.
(Editor’s Note: The preceding letter is from an employee of this newspaper, submitted as a concerned citizen.)
Public safety funding
From Josephine County
Sheriff Gil Gilbertson
We have all been waiting with anticipation for someone from the state level to provide us with an opinion or some clarification of what to expect with our foreseeable future.
Reportedly, nine of our 36 counties are in serious trouble. The loss of the federal subsidy (frequently referred to as the O&C) is having a devastating effect on the many of us that have become dependent on those resources. Our federal government now has terminated its commitment in continued funding; causing a definite hardship on many aspects of our lives, including public safety.
Josephine County is at the very top of that list. However, it should not come as a surprise to anyone. Although we enjoy the lowest tax rates in the state, there is a downside; and we are now facing that reality. Albeit there are many other dimensions to this dilemma, we are concerned with our public safety and the quality of life we all deserve.
This sheriff’s office administration is committed to cutting as close-to-the-bone as possible to stretch out our funding to provide the best service possible. We recently turned in 11 vehicles; some deputies are now sharing a vehicle to save on gas; our volunteers on patrol have been put on hold.
We are looking into different uniforms for jail personnel which could save us more than $100 per uniform; we’ve recently relocated our substation in Cave Junction to save more than $7,300 per year; we continue to aggressively seek grants and other funding sources – we have even approached private industry to seek funds.
We have relocated our jail personnel to a more confined area to enhance their productivity, without loss of safety – evidenced by our ability to book more inmates last year; we assumed our own dispatch center at a savings of approximately $130,000; and to control our overtime and provide some level of safety to our deputies we operate one shift per day.
We cannot answer for what other administrators may or may not have done. Finger-pointing does little to solve any problem. We believe in dealing with what we have in front of us, plan for the future, and move forward. Today, we have become a very transparent organization, embracing public scrutiny (i.e., establishment of the Citizens Sheriff Advisory Committee).
We are dedicated to our goals, ideals, objectives, and performance – which revolve around the community. We are asking that citizens also look to our future. “Earning” that trust was one of the compelling forces driving the changes in this administration. We will continue to strive toward that goal.
Driving to college
From William Robert
Johnson
Kerby
I can barely understand why most students in certain programs; for example, Human Services and others, who live in Josephine County, must drive to Medford to attend classes. I have always considered the Redwood Campus in Grants Pass the core campus, as have many others.
Gas prices, construction, driving through the heart of a city, and losing precious study time are big considerations for students. I realize that certain sacrifices must be made, but the aforementioned conditions are unbearable for a lot of low-income and working students. I have heard it mentioned by many students that the reason they dropped out of school was because of the commute and the associated hazards.
I totally realize that times are tough all over, but concessions are always a good stepping stone to serenity. Stress and tension are definitely counterproductive, and I have noticed a lot of it concerning the above issues. I remember driving to the Table Rock Campus, and although it was a very efficient campus, the three-hour round-trip was very stressful as well as counterproductive.
Not to be sarcastic, but most students are not in college to sharpen their driving skills.
Simple math
From Curt Bynum
Grants Pass
If ever there were an issue that needs to be freed from politics it’s our families’ safety. If ever there was a time we need clarity of facts it is now.
I know it can be hard for any of us to get our arms around things involving hundreds of people and services and tens of millions of dollars. Maybe there is an easier way to understand the magnitude of the county’s funding crisis and what it means to public safety and our shared quality of life.
Timber and O&C payments have always been the largest part of the General Fund, recently providing approximately 67 percent of the money available. With the loss of O&C support, we are left with only 33 percent of the money required for all of the things paid for from the General Fund, most importantly, our sheriff’s office.
Clearly, no form of cost efficiencies, organizational magic or higher math can replace two-thirds of the whole with the remaining one-third without major and wholly intolerable consequences. Even if the entire remaining 33 percent were dedicated to the sheriff, it would not begin to cover the already reduced cost of operations and declining services, let alone return us to the level of safety that the tax districts will support.
It would shut down essential services including the assessor, treasurer, surveyor, and juvenile justice including all detention and shelter facilities. In addition, it would badly affect essential programs including Legal, Finance, IT, HR and the County Clerk. Libraries, anyone?
In point of fact, the average county resident pays little more than $6 a month for county services, excluding money collected for the schools, cities and bond payments. Under the proposed tax districts the average rural household can expect to pay less than $25 per month, and for Grants Pass it’s approximately $12 per month. This is truly a bargain for the benefits we stand to receive and the consequences we can avoid.
Why are we confused? Our unfortunate political experience has lead to a public discussion that gets twisted and is deceptively off topic. A small, yet loud, faction is dominating the public discourse, confusing facts and actively misleading our community. They portray the entire county budget as being far bigger than it really is and make us think it is available to spend any way we like.
I too am adamantly against new taxes, and I really wish their claims were true and their proposals could even be implemented. Unfortunately, to spend grants, fees and pass-through monies like state gas taxes in ways not mandated is either illegal or highly unethical. To those who have a grasp of facts and are in search of solutions, these antagonistic voices have become the “Noise that Destroys.”
It has been my privilege to meet and become involved with many of the kind-hearted people who I believe represent the vast majority of Josephine County to get involved. Truth withstands scrutiny and exposes deception. We need to be a people in search of facts, come to our own conclusions and focus on our shared concerns and opportunities. We need to reason together in a spirit of careful consideration and mutual respect.
Prosperity without public safety is not a reasonable expectation. I believe that collectively we can find new sources of revenue as alternatives to taxes and write a new prosperous chapter in our history. First, we need to ensure our safety. Then we can enjoy the Quality of Life that we all share and so deeply value for ourselves and those we love.
Government insanity
From William Schneider
Cave Junction
Being a fool at times myself, I would surely rather be called a fool for seeking and trying to uphold truth than to find one day that I was one who in my ignorance accepted lies for truth, handed over the destiny of a nation to liars, murderers and thieves and consequently built the dreams of my future on sand held together only by wishes and hopes.
The truth, though sometimes a bitter pill, is always the best medicine. That being said, I have to ask what exactly do the American people think is going to change for the better for a population that is in large part steeped in lies and ignorance. For a population that has yet to confront the sitting administration as to the truth of 9/11/01 and the lies leading to war. For a population that cannot seem to understand the complete and utter unconstitutional and erring enterprises called the Federal Reserve and the federal income tax and the unconstitutional and criminal strong arm called the IRS.
None of the pathetic examples of representative government, not one that I know of, with the exception of Ron Paul, has even mentioned the crimes of the Federal Reserve and the income tax; and even he strays from confronting the greatest attack on the American people since the Civil War. That includes Pearl Harbor. Remember that Pearl Harbor was Japanese on America. 9/11 was, according to the mountain of evidence that I have read and seen, some members of the U.S. government on the Americans. Very bitter pill.
To keep doing the same thing over and over and to expect different results is clinically deemed insanity. Sadly it appears that is the state of affairs for the pharmaceutical pill-popping public of drug-free America. Much like a dog that barks too much, government needs to be confronted and kept in its place. Failure to address the issue results in who knows what sort of chaos. Let those with ears hear.
Electronic voting machines
From James Walmsley
Cave Junction
Regarding an article in Wednesday’s Medford Mail Tribune about electronic voting machines by Deborah Hastings of the AP: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen banned the devices, saying that they were susceptible to fraud.
There is overwhelming evidence to support her findings. Bowen did not go far enough though. She also needs to ban the optical scanners that are used to count the paper ballots, as they are equally corruptible. The only way we are going to have honest elections with verifiable results is to use hand-counted paper ballots.
Deborah Seiler, San Diego County Registrar, disagrees with the Secretary of State on the susceptibility to fraud. She is a former employee of the machine manufacturer.
Misinformed election officials will tell us that the Help American Vote Act (HAVA), mandated that these machines be used. This is simply not true. There are strings attached to the acceptance of the federal dollars that suggest certain protocol and is misapplied as mandates.
Detractors tell us that these machines are necessary to help the disabled and handicapped vote so they don’t become disenfranchised. Absentee ballots are used for this purpose. In Oregon mail-in ballots are used, so this argument is specious at best.
Other arguments are that hand-counting is too slow and is fraught with human error. Speed over accuracy is never acceptable. Hand-counted ballots in a public forum with citizen oversight and participation is the only acceptable election procedure. It served this country well for more than 200 years and is still used in Canada.
These electronic vote-counting machines serve only one purpose and that is to manipulate the election results, in my opinion.
The sheriff is the top law enforcement officer in the county. With his or her oversight, election fraud involving ballot counting can be eliminated. Illegal voters are another problem to be addressed.
With this knowledge, the public can call for a revote on Measure 49. Paper trails or receipts from electronic vote-counting machines are not acceptable either. They are equally corruptible.
Don’t believe me? Go to www.blackboxvoting.org and download thousands of samples or order the book, HACKED, High Tech Election Theft in America.
I want my vote to count, and it won’t be for either of the two bozos that the two-party dictator system is throwing at us. Incumbents need to be voted out and no one should be elected that doesn’t respect and support our Constitution. Debra Bowen is a patriot in my book.
Kerby Ditch Association (KDA) seeks resolution
From Robert Kerivan, KDA president
(Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to Gov. Kulongoski. Besides Robert Kerivan, it is signed by the association secretary, Joy Shinerock; and treasurer, Ted Davis.)
We have a problem in the town of Kerby in Josephine County that only you can solve. We feel it was started by the DSL (Division of State Lands) in 1998, when the DSL sent its employee Bob Brown out to threaten farmers and equipment operators with making felons out of them, jail time, fines, and cancellation of DSL permits for local gravel operators.
We have sworn testimony from three state employees, one being the temporary head of the DSL, Steve Purchase, that criminal law was used against farmers only in Josephine County, but not in any other county in Oregon. I feel that in itself is against state law.
The problem began when the Kerby Ditch Association tried to put in a push-up dam in the East Fork of the Illinois River as it has been doing since 1887. Due to the DSL threats, 1998 was the last year water flowed in the Kerby Ditch. The association has been trying to solve the problem by changing the point-of-diversion and raising money through grants to put water back into the ditch.
By the way, many of the wells of the homes in town have also gone dry since the ditch went dry (i.e. no city drinking water).
To help solve the problem the first step you can take would be to order the clock to stop on the forfeiture of all 55 water rights. (copy of the March 13, 2008 letter from the Watermaster enclosed.) Second would be to have the DSL arrange for the cost of restarting the water either in a pipe or ditch. The state already issued a grant for $250,000 from the lottery funds, but when we ran into problems with new ditch easement from the new point-of-diversion to the ditch everything fell apart and the grant was canceled.
We can solve the easement problems between the river and the ditch at a different point-of-diversion. We think this is all doable. However, if it does not happen, I have been instructed to hire a lawyer to start a $15 million class action lawsuit because if the water rights are forfeited it will cause the property values of the whole town to decrease in value by as much as 60 percent.
I hope you can see that this can be solved and that the money was available at one time. The letter from the Water Resource Dept. signed by Bruce Sund (deputy region manager) is self-explanatory. We have approximately 60 days left to work out this problem. We are sending a copy of this letter to the Watermaster, all 30 state senators and all 60 state representatives.
We are hopeful that maybe some political pressure will knock some sense into the mindset of the DSL, which you control.
CJ ‘crime wave’
From John H. ‘Biff’
Woodward
Cave Junction
To say that I was disappointed in the recent articles in the Grants Pass Daily “Wormer” regarding the “crime wave” in Illinois Valley would be an understatement.
The management of this bastion of the “not-so- free” press must have run out of local news to report. Is there no crime or homelessness in Grants Pass on which to report? You better believe there is. Yet management of the Daily Courier spent the time, effort, and money to send two reporters (they no longer employ a local reporter) and a photographer all the way to Cave Junction.
They could have, at the very least, found something positive to fill the news space. With all the good news, exciting happenings, and feature stories available to report from the Illinois Valley, and there is a multitude, they chose to focus instead on the negative. I guess “negative” sells more newspapers, like the tabloids.
So is readership up? Seems to me that they could have taken the “higher” road, the road less traveled, but they chose not to. Alas, they should have heeded the admonition in Matthew 7:3.
Lack of confusion
From Kay, Marcy, Betty, Jean, Ruth, and Linda
Selma Farmers Market
We wish to clear up any confusion, so the Selma Farmers Market managers want everybody to know that the market is open through September.
We want to hear from you!
Add your thoughts through the link below.
Advertisment:
