News and Viewpoint

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DA THOMPSON GETS THE "CHALLENGE" DELIVERED TO HIS DOOR. The DA and others have received a challenge to declare they have never used drugs in the past nor presently do so. The door to this challenge was opened by the Committee to Retain Judge O'Neal. The committee paid for a newspaper ad carried in the Daily Courier on June 6th depicting recall supporters as drug users who have no use for a so-called fair and honest judge.

I have challenged the DA and other public and non-public individuals to do as I have done and that is to sign a statement before a public notary that they have not used drugs in the past nor do they presently do so. Mr. Thompson and others were heavily involved in the support of the judge and allowed their names and elected titles to be used by the Committee to Retain Judge O'Neal. The DA even went so far as to voice a radio commercial announcing that, "I am District Attorney Tim Thompson. The recall is a bad idea." They can't escape accountability for the actions of the committee. So far none of these individuals has made a public apology for this ad.

I am especially interested that all the Department heads and employees in the Josephine County Criminal Justice System and Grants Pass Police Department be accountable by publicly stating in a notarized statement they have never used drugs. These are the people who arrest drug users and then prosecute them in court. These are the people the public expects to set an example for the young people of our community. Are they a band of hypocrites glued together with expensive titles and taxpayer dollars? What kind of an example are they setting for the public and especially the young people by attempting to ignore my challenge? They voiced no objection to the ad depicting me and others as drug users and unfair individuals.

I delivered my "Challenge" to Mr. Thompson's office on Friday, June 11th. So far he and many others have been strangely quiet. Could silence be an admission to the fact that they can't honestly accept the challenge?

I will make it easy for the DA and others to take the challenge. All they have to do is call me, and I will bring the challenge to them along with a notary to witness the signed signature. How is that for an offer, Mr. Thompson?

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MELODRAMA PLAYS OUT ON REDWOOD AVENUE TO SELECT AUDIENCE. Add the following ingredients to a large pot: JCTA board member Jim Rossi, the giant corporation U-Haul, Grants Pass City Police Department, the JoCo Sheriff's Department, including UnderSheriff Lt. Williams, and Corporal Darby, two police cruisers, a special fax delivered by the sheriff's department's guaranteed one hour fax delivery service, and John Taft. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil and you will soon have a fine stew. Smell the aroma!

Mr. Rossi had a problem with a rented U-Haul truck that wouldn't start last weekend when he was ready to leave his Pottsville barbecue. He was authorized by U-Haul to have the truck towed. He used his own towing service and brought the truck to his place of business. Mr. Rossi placed a service lien on the truck and the notice was posted in the courthouse. A $30 a day storage fee started ticking and this excited U-Haul. U-Haul made a complaint to the G.P. City Police who requested the JoCo Sheriff's Dept. to investigate the missing truck. U-Haul already knew where the truck was. The deputy could have saved taxpayer funds if he had checked the records first.This would have shown there was a legal lien on the truck and where it was. Instead of doing this preliminary investigation a deputy drove 12 miles and used limited resources, time, and equipment to determine this information. The stew thickens at his point with Mr. Rossi saying the deputy said if he didn't release the truck to U-Haul he would be arrested. The deputy claims he said he could be arrested. In a conversation immediately after the deputy's visit Mr. Rossi told me the story and he used the words, " would arrest."

This resulted in a trip to the Sheriff's office by Mr. Rossi, and myself as an observer, to make a harassment complaint against the deputy. Sheriff Daniel is out of town for two weeks attending police academy certification classes. The Undersheriff Lt. Williams listened to his complaints on alleged past and present shabby treatment by the department while at the same time sending body signals indicating he wished Mr. Rossi would go away.

The next day, Friday the 25th, deputies and a U-Haul representative appeared at Rossi's residence. The U-Haul rep.was ready to pay the towing and storage fees. The problem was Mr. Rossi wouldn't release the truck to anyone but an authorized U-Haul rep. representative with the proper credentials. When I arrived I greeted Mr. Rossi and Lt. Williams in a cordial manner and asked where the matter stood. Lt. Williams informed me they were waiting for a fax. I questioned Lt. Williams why he was there. He indicated he was there for Mr. Rossi. It appears Mr. Rossi has moved up on the totem pole from the time County Sanitation Inspector Bruce Cunningham called the cops to the Redwood Market a couple of years ago to cite Mr. Rossi for barbecuing without a license. Mr. Rossi was subsequently cited by a deputy. After the smoke cleared, former Sheriff Calvert resolved to never again send a deputy to one of Mr. Cunningham's roasts. Mr Cunningham got his fingers burned and the Sheriff's Department was roasted.

Lt. Williams was a captive audience for a while so I mentioned the drug challenge I have made to the criminal justice system department heads. He indicate he had heard of the challenge.

At about 3:55 PDT Corporal Darby brought the long awaited fax which Mr. Rossi accepted and this completed the strange melodrama except for the following snub. After the U-Haul issue was resolved Lt. Williams walked over to Mr. Rossi shook his hand, ignored me, turned his back, and walked away. It appears Lt. Williams has shown his complete contempt for me as a person and my position on local political issues (The Challenge)

The following questions need to be answered. (1) Was this an efficient use of two deputies' time? (2) Was it proper to use a patrol car to carry a fax from the sheriff's dept. to Mr. Rossi's business? (about 5-6 miles from town) (3) Should the sheriff's dept. have been involved in this civil matter? (4) The Sheriff's Department's use of time (two hours for each deputy?) and resources appears to be have been ill advised and a waste of taxpayers' money for this present incident. (5) Why didn't the deputy check to see if there was a towing lien on the truck? (6) The cameraman on scene reports that both deputies were wearing bulletproof vests. Is this standard procedure on all calls? If the deputies were wearing vests, were they expecting a shoot out or believing Mr. Rossi was a criminal and they were in mortal danger? If indeed they were wearing bulletproof vests then the allegation of harassment by deputies would seem to be ripe for picking.

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KAJO RADIO HOST GIVES SNOOK THE SHAFT AND THE JUDGE GETS THE MINE DURING AN INTERVIEW. Judge J. Loyd O'Neal hit pay dirt when he and Edward Snook of the Oregon Observer were recent guest speakers discussing the Judge's recall. News Director Sam Marsh remained neutral while Edward Snook discussed the reasons for the recall of Judge O'Neal. Snook read the transcript of the judge's interview of a juror during a hearing for a third trial requested by Claudia Brown, the defendant's counsel. This juror had a so-called alleged flash back of having been molested as a child by her grandfather. T.J. Burris was found guilty by the second jury of several molestation charges and sentenced to 100 months in prison. The juror admitted she had not revealed this information during voir dire (jury selection questioning). Snook hit the point hard that the juror appeared to have lied during Judge O'Neal's questioning. The transcript seems to show that the judge repeatedly asked the former juror leading questions until the former juror's answers would support his rejection for a third trial. The question here is not if Burris is a molester but if he got a fair trial.

News Reporter Sam Marsh's neutrality on the second half of the show rapidly descended down the black shaft of no return.

Marsh appeared to willingly allow the judge to use him to make his points much like an old Laurel and Hardy comic routine in play. Snook was the first speaker and the judge second, thus allowing the judge to rebut Snook's points. Snook was not given the opportunity to rebut the judge's arguments. Marsh also aided the judge by feeding him questions about points Snook had made during his presentation.

The final insult to fair play was when KAJO played a radio commercial by a local businessman supporting the judge during the judge's interview time out. The Committee to Recall the Judge had radio ads on KAJO but none were run during Snook's time out.

Marsh has previously been a good reporter and well received in the community. Perhaps he has learned a lesson about wily lawyers who wear black robes and some of the courthouse players.

This reporter believes KAJO and Marsh owe the public and Ed Snook an apology.

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"BIG BUCKS" FUNNELED INTO JOCO BY THE OREGON BAR ASSOCIATION TO PROTECT JUDGE. In a conversation with Attorney Chris Mecca in the courthouse he admitted to me that the OBA had given $50,000 to fight the recall. The continual barrage of newspaper, radio, and TV ads was a spectacular display of the monetary resources behind those fearful the judge would be recalled.

It will certainly be interesting to see the names and amounts contributed by the pro and anti recall factions. This information will all be published in due course. The big question will be how much money did it take to keep a judge in office?

Each dollar from the OBA coming into JoCo represents outside influence arriving to sway public opinion. The OBA members all depend on the court system as the catalyst to insure a continual income into their checking accounts. Anytime a judge is recalled this creates a serious challenge to the money machine that feeds attorneys. This is the reason the tremendous sums of money were poured into JoCo.

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It looks like the present jail property owner Charlie Morrison missed the golden ring this time around the merry-go-round. Morrison had earlier agreed to the process with value set. The payoff number came in at $782,000 (appraisal). The county had set aside $1,000,000 and Morrison no doubt had hoped the appraisal would come in higher to take a bigger bite of that cool million. At least Morrison has something to take to the bank.

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HIGH SCHOOL GRADS FORGET WHO PAYS THE BILLS. I attended the Hidden Valley graduation ceremonies in early June. Some eight valedictorians spoke to the assembled teachers, family, and audience. Each generally said thanks to Mom, Dad, a favorite teacher, friend, etc.

But absent from this list of thanks was any mention of the Taxpayer who shouldered the costs for 12 years of education. I wonder if a teacher has ever pointed this fact out to his students? I have yet to see a letter to the editor by a student saying "thank you taxpayer for my education." I have seen letters scolding the taxpayer for being too cheap to give the schools more property tax dollars.

As I recall each student costs the taxpayers over $50,000 for 12 years of school. The taxpayer is regarded by students and the government as the at-your-service tax cow, unappreciated, but milked regularly.

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DAILY COURIER RUNS SCURRILOUS DRUG AD INDICTING RECALL SIGNERS. This ad bordering on defamation of character should find no place in a family daily newspaper. Dennis Mack, the publisher, admitted to me the ad had to be approved by him before it was published, but politely refused to accept responsibility for it. Mr. Mack referred me to the Committee to Retain Judge O'Neal.

This appears to be policy authorized by the paper's owner John E. Voorhies and probably indicates a behind the scenes connection with the O'Neal Committee and several local attorneys.

The drug ad was created by an employee of Evergreen Federal Savings and Loan. Mr. Voorhies is Chairman of the Board and Oregon State Senator Brady Adams is CEO of Evergreen Federal. Mr. Adams gave his name and Senator title to the Judge O'Neal Committee to be used as an endorsement. Connecting all the dots does suggest the strong possibility of collusion.