By Richard Emmons As the editor of the Josephine County Eagle, people often seek me out to share story ideas, complain about local problems, or ask me to do a major journalistic investigation into something that affects only a handful of people in Josephine County. Sometimes an idea seems too good to be true yet intrigues me enough to sit …
By Richard Emmons On Aug. 10, the Josephine County Commissioners voted unanimously to place a 3% seasonal sales tax before the voters in November. The proposed sales tax would be 3% on the first $2,000 of most sales of products and services. Transaction amounts above $2,000 would not be taxed. The sales tax would be charged for the six-month period …
By Richard Emmons The May 17 election resulted in a November run-off for county commissioner between John West and Brian DeLaGrange, voters repealing the county code enforcement ordinance and voters saying “No” to a ballot question about moving Josephine County to the state of Idaho. Josephine County Counsel Wally Hicks ran unopposed and was reelected with 16,458 votes. Statewide voter …
By Richard Emmons On June 1, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners adopted a $196.7 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The budget prioritizes funding for the Sheriff’s Office to maintain patrols at current levels while eliminating some currently unfilled positions. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger commented afterwards, “we use some one-time fixes to backfill the Sheriff’s budget.” The …
By Karen D. Austin I have owned a small business that serves children in Grants Pass for 32 years; the first three decades as All That Jazz Dance Studio, and since 2020, rebranded as Southern Oregon Dance Center. We had been planning to relocate downtown, remodel and rebrand right before COVID and the lockdowns hit. Our long history and great …
Today, The Flying Lark’s application for horse racing machines was blocked by the Oregon Racing Commission. The ORC members voted this way due to pressure by Gov. Kate Brown. Here are excerpts from the Oregonian’s report with my comments in brackets: === Oregon Racing Commission, under pressure from governor, moves to block Travis Boersma’s Grants Pass gambling center The Oregon …
By Jay Meredith Most in Grants Pass are excited about the new entertainment venue called The Flying Lark, which is on the verge of opening soon right next to the county fairgrounds. That’s because we know that one of our locals, Travis Boersma, successful co-founder of the famous Dutch Bros, will bring the same “Dutch Luv” to this venture, and …
Before we get to leaders generally, let’s talk about you leading you. Individual self-government is the foundation of all governmental units in society. I begin with self-government because without people controlling themselves, there will either be anarchy or tyranny. If all of us first pay attention to governing ourselves, then other forms of government in society will be just. Most …
For many decades, Riverside Park has been the gem of the Grants Pass parks system. Now Riverside Park is known as a haven for homeless people sleeping overnight on park benches and tents, questionable bathrooms and drug users who leave needles on the ground. Many moms don’t feel safe taking their kids to Riverside Park because of this situation. Unfortunately, …
By Richard Emmons “You were fired but not for misconduct with work.” Thus read the Oct. 28, 2021, legal conclusion of the Oregon Employment Department in its ruling for Katie Medart’s unemployment claim against the Grants Pass School District 7. Rachel Damiano’s unemployment claim against District 7 was denied on Aug. 9, 2021. However, on Oct. 8, that denial was …