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Josephine deputies are back on night patrols Nights won�t be quite so tempting for criminals in rural Josephine County anymore. Since last month, after failure of a May tax levy, deputies haven�t patrolled rural areas of Josephine County between midnight and 8 a.m. Emergencies were handled by Oregon State Police. Now, thanks to contracts with the Wolf Creek/Sunny Valley Community Response Team and the Grants Pass Daily Courier, two deputies are back on night patrols. "The response times are going to be better and we�re able to handle more calls," said Sheriff Dave Daniel. One deputy will work the graveyard shift five nights a week in conjunction with an OSP officer. The Courier contract calls for that deputy to check the newspaper office once an hour. The other deputy will patrol only the Wolf Creek area. The two organizations signed contracts with the sheriff�s department to hire the deputies for three months. The $4,800 per month covers wages, benefits and vehicle maintenance. Daniel said he believes additional deputies will discourage criminals from taking advantage of rural areas in the late hours. In a case just last week, deputies said, a man confessed he decided to rob a market outside city limits because he thought no one would be on duty to catch him.Daniel said he hopes a November tax levy will provide money for more deputies after the contracts expire. The failure of the May levy chopped $1.96 million from the sheriff�s department budget. Forty-one positions were eliminated, including 17 patrol officers, three patrol corporals and four patrol sergeants. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA