Cave Junction street crews are working hard to stay up with the impact of rain on top of snow melt. There have been some reports of problems with culverts and crews are out there working. Homeowners in front of 600/620 Schumacher are beginning a Small Street Improvement Project that includes a 330-foot road widening, new curb and gutter on the north side, 5-foot sidewalk, storm drain and two streetlights. This will be a significant improvement for our busy Schumacher street.
Last week the Cave Junction City Council held an emergency meeting to pass a Homelessness Emergency Declaration after finding out that the Josephine County Commissioners declined the opportunity to be included in the Governor’s Declaration. The City of Grants Pass also submitted an Emergency Homelessness Declaration. Unfortunately, the city declarations were not accepted by the Governor’s Office, and Josephine County is back in the smaller pool of funding for all the rural counties.
The Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, Main Street Cave Junction, the Southern Oregon Art Guild and the mayor attended a great meeting with the Travel Southern Oregon Destination Ready program staff. There are some exciting ideas out there about how to make our Cave Junction downtown experience a more welcoming and inviting destination. Some of the ideas we brainstormed were local art, murals, fun outdoor restaurants, pocket gardens and gathering places, fun/funky architecture, and attractive store fronts to list a few. We also brainstormed other communities in Oregon that have downtown development elements that we may want to see in our town. The Downtown Destination Ready program is a real opportunity for our community to step up its game plan. Being more visually appealing inspires pride, brings in more tourism dollars, creates stronger local businesses, a more unified community, and may keep more of our youth here involved. This is an exciting opportunity for our community, and you can get involved and help make this happen. April 25 and 26 there is going to be two days for assessing and participating in planning. More information about this exciting opportunity to see real change in our community will be coming out soon. I hope that as many people who can will participate. If you want more information, contact Megan Pugh at the Chamber of Commerce at illinoisvalleycc@gmail.com.
