Good Afternoon SOS!

NOTE: The regularly scheduled Tuesday SOS meeting on October 21^st will not be held as planned. Instead, it will be held on Thursday, October 23^rd at the Evergreen Room at Taprock from 6-8pm.

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What does the Dollar bill mean inside of our Tax Bills?

Connie Roach

Tax bills this month contained a dollar bill chart showing the distribution of the taxes to be collected for 2014.  Josephine County takes in $61 million in tax money for all the taxing districts within the county.

For every dollar collected, Josephine County keeps 8.2 cents to run all of county government (including Public Safety). The rest of the money goes to the other taxing districts such as the cities of Grants Pass & Cave Junction, the school districts, the rural fire protection districts (Illinois Valley, Williams, Wolf Creek & Applegate), RCC, etc.

Because not everyone is in every district within the county, you can’t make a comparison between an individual tax bill and the distribution. Tax rates range from approximately $12.50 in the City of Grants Pass to a low of about $6 for rural residents who are not in a fire protection district. The distribution formula is set by state law to see that all districts get a share of the taxes collected based on their own “permanent rate” and any bonds or levies that have been approved by the voters.

The County does the collection for all the other taxing districts and the taxing districts do not pay the County any kind of administration fee for this service.

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Casino Night Felita Short

• Purpose of Casino Night: AWARENESS of our Criminal Justice System plight; to get others in our community involved; to raise money
• We still have tickets!
• $50 admission includes admission, food and a chance at some awesome donated prizes!!!
• Tickets available at the Chamber of Commerce, at our website: www.securingoursafety.org and at our SOS meeting!

• Mark Gatlin is dealing at one of the BLACKJACK tables
• Poker has a $500 gift certificate top prize (for use at any business in Josephine County)
• Casino has at least 15 great prizes!

Continue reading SOS Meeting Notes – October 14, 2014 →

Good Morning SOS!

Our next meeting is:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014,  5:15pm to 6:15pm

Location: Newman United Methodist Church, 132 NE “B” Street in Grants Pass 

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Meeting NOTES:

SOS Sponsor Report Jennifer Essick

• Weekly success report
• SOS Emblems (Cliff Thomason) We have 100 of them!
• New additions include: Cary’s of Oregon, E Street Express, Roger’s Rods
• If YOU have a business or know of a business who would like to join our unified effort in making our home safe, please contact Jennifer @ etopps_08@hotmail.com
• NUMBER OF SOS Business SPONSORS:
• 70

Chris Bydenburgh Saga

What Happened this Weekend?

Chris lives in West Jones Creek area, less than two miles outside of Grants Pass. There are several nuisance drug houses in his neighborhood, which are becoming increasingly aggressive. Unfortunately, they go, for the most part, unchecked due to a lack of law enforcement.

In the past two months, two Search Warrants have been served: one by the City of Grants Pass, where numerous stolen vehicles were recovered, and another by the Oregon State Police SWAT Team. The drug traffic has quieted down immediately after the Search Warrant service, but picks up again days later.

Last Friday night, Chris’ saga began with a neighbor screaming, and the situation escalated to gun shots. Chris called OSP. OSP said they wouldn’t respond because the parties were separated (not in close conflict). A girl could be heard screaming and shots were fired. Chris said that the neighbors had AR15s and both auto and semi-auto guns. Chris has called 911 this past weekend several times and they wouldn’t help. He called 911 repeatedly. Finally OSP Troopers from Medford and Douglas County responded.

Chris and other neighbors were incensed when, after the Troopers finally arrested one male, who was apparently in some type of drug-induced psychosis, they warned him about false reporting, claiming there were never any shots fired.

As Chris was telling his tale, his neighbor called and said the same man who had been arrested Friday night, was now on her property with a knife threatening her and telling her to mind her own business and never call the “cops” again. Chris said the State Police refuse to respond to a trespass incident. He said they don’t want to get involved in something already going on.

What are Chris and his daughter to do?

Continue reading SOS Meeting Notes – October 7, 2014 →

Good Evening SOS!

Our next meeting is:

Tuesday, October 7, 2014,  5:15pm to 6:15pm

Location:  Wild River Brew Pub, 533 NE F Street, Grants Pass

So as I prepare to write notes from last Tuesday’s meeting, I have just received a text message from one of our newest SOS members who live in the West Jones Creek area, just outside of the Grants Pass city limits, informing me that the Oregon State Police had just arrived. He wrote: “The woman has stopped screaming and gunfire and yelling has also stopped…”

He had frantically called me earlier, reporting how several neighbors were exchanging gunfire in the dark, with a person who was obviously under the influence of some type of drug. “Did anyone get hit?” I wondered.

He reported that the Sheriff’s Office was unable to respond, they are closed and he reported that the Oregon State Police said they did not have the manpower to intervene in a gunfight, especially in that area, in the dark, where the friendlies and the aggressors appear to be mixed amongst one another.

I would not want to go up there.

Again, this isn’t Redwood Highway, Mile Post 19. This is just outside Grants Pass.

In the last two months, two Search Warrants for drugs and stolen property have been served at different residences up in that area. One Search Warrant was actually served by the City of Grants Pass, chasing stolen property from the city out into the rural county (4 stolen vehicles were recovered) and the most recent by the Oregon State Police Swat Team.

My heart went out/goes out to people in these situations. God Bless the Oregon State Police for showing up.

This is just one Friday Night example in Josephine County of why we as a united group are doing what we are doing.

New Text Just In: “Sound like a stand-off. Maybe waiting for SWAT. Hard to tell. I think he yelled F#@! OSP! The guy is very high and not too bright!”

What can we do?

Exactly what we have been doing.

Figuring out long term funding solutions for our Criminal Justice System.

SOS MISSION

“A citizen-voiced plan to provide for a secure, stable and sustainable Josephine County.”

Get involved!

Do what you can when you can to help!

This is our community.

MEETING NOTES:

SOS Sponsor Report Jennifer Essick

• Weekly success report
• SOS Emblems (Cliff Thomason)
• If YOU have a business or know of a business who would like to join our unified effort in making our home safe, please contact Jennifer @ etopps_08@hotmail.com
• NUMBER OF SOS SPONSORS: 57

Continue reading SOS Meeting Notes – September 30, 2014 →