*New Three Rivers School District board member Pat Kelly laid out some of his goals during the March 13 district meeting. These included mandating students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and salute the American flag, are able to pass the naturalization test given to immigrants and fostering better communication between the district and community.
*Data was provided showing Illinois Valley High School was well above the state of Oregon’s 81.3% average graduation rate. Of the 62 IVHS seniors in 2023, 59 graduated for a rate of 95.2%. Hidden Valley High School had an 84.3% and North Valley High School’s rate was 95.2%.
*The Josephine County government identified five more amendments to the county code for the JoCo Commissioners to review: The commissioners repealed a section on the Urban Area Planning Commission; the Jackson-Josephine Region Regional Board section was repealed; the section on the disbanded Jefferson Behavioral Health was repealed; the Job Council section was repealed; finally the name Josephine County – City of Grants Pass Solid Waste Agency was changed to just the Josephine County Solid Waste Agency due to Cave Junction joining in 2009.”
*On April 10, the commissioners tabled an ordinance that would allow the construction of accessory dwelling units on properties in rural residential zones. It was tabled while the matter of whether ODF was an eligible fire protection entity was settled.
*Dorothy Yetter, a former officer of the JoCo Democratic Party, sparred with Commissioner John West over an ethics complaint she filed regarding the county’s effort to “weaken” structural fire protection standards by considering ODF a viable fire suppression service. The vote to initiate an investigation by the Ethics Committee was 4-3, but would have needed a supermajority to proceed, not a simple majority.
