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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 7, 2005 Selbicky fighting back against vandals and thieves By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune SHADY COVE — By most accounts, Neil and Teri Selbicky’s brush with boat-ramp lawlessness along the upper Rogue River ended quite painlessly Saturday with a broken window and the loss of nothing with real value. "They found a funky old pair of sunglasses that I sometimes wear driving," Neil Selbicky says. "And a pair of fairly nondescript keys." But the violation of their space and the loss of trust in parking at a public boat launch in broad daylight angers Teri Selbicky enough that the Talent woman is saying loudly and forcefully to all who will listen that enough is enough. In an effort to take boat ramps back from vandals and thieves who have preyed on anglers’ parked vehicles for years, Selbicky is trying to organize a neighborhood water-like presence at upper Rogue ramps to deter break-ins. Advertisement Selbicky is trying to generate a force of volunteers who will provide a presence at these tucked-away ramp sites so thieves won’t get easy access to vehicles, trailers and the personal items in them. "Words like ‘awareness’ have lost meaning," Teri Selbicky says. "I say let’s get rid of the sons of bitches." She also wants all boat-ramp users to keep their eyes open for suspicious people, write down license plates and report anything unusual they see at Jackson County ramps like Rogue Elk, Takelma, Dodge Bridge and Shady Cove. Those ramps, along with the facilities at TouVelle State Park, for years have been the sites of numerous vehicle break-ins for years. Arrests are rare. "It’s like having a cockroach infestation and thinking you have to live with it," Selbicky says. "But you don’t have to live with it. "If you squish every cockroach you see, you’re making a difference." Selbicky’s message is striking a chord among upper Rogue driftboaters and others who either have a break-in story of their own or who know someone who has suffered loss from the roaming riff-raff. "I can think of three times I’ve had my whole tool box taken out of my rig," says Ray Downing, a Shady Cove sport-fishing guide and president of the Rogue Sportsmen and Guides Association. "And a couple other times it was just a pair of old sunglasses," Downing says. "But every time it happens, you’re violated." Downing says the association in the past has talked of boat-ramp watch efforts. Members even have considered posting signs and offering rewards for tips that lead to arrests. Fueled in part by Selbicky’s energy, Downing says his association should try to galvanize guides and sport-anglers — the main victims of these break-ins — against increased exposure to criminals. "I think it’s time to bring it back up again and organize a neighborhood watch and organize some volunteers," Downing says. The association likely will discuss boat-ramp thefts when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at J.J. North’s Grand Buffet, 1016 N. Riverside Ave., Medford. Anyone interested in volunteering help also can telephone Downing at 878-2100. The boat-ramp watch movement comes at a time when mad-as-hell volunteerism is rising across the country. Hundreds of volunteers angered about illegal immigration are scanning the border between Mexico and Arizona this week to report any suspicious activity. Selbicky says she envisions a similar, small-scale version of the border-watchers. No vigilantes, just a presence when police cannot be there. "I want them to think that every single person around is watching them, writing down license plates," Teri Selbicky says. "I want them to think a volunteer may drive up. Maybe it’ll scare them off." That’s where a ramp-watch program is most likely to have the greatest impact, says Lt. Dewey Patten of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, which is responsible for enforcement at county-maintained ramps. "It stops the break-ins, if they know someone’s watching," Patten says. "They’ll quit for a while and maybe go somewhere else until the people go away." Vehicle break-ins at ramps are similar to break-ins at trailheads and other places where vehicles are parked for extended periods of time — they are targets of opportunity, Patten says. Often, they are sporadic and typically the work of just one or two people at a time, Patten says. Sheriff’s deputies at times have used "bait" cars in sting operations at boat ramps, but the thieves are tough to catch, Patten says. So providing a deterrent, in the form of watchful eyes, could be the volunteers’ greatest contribution. "It stops the break-ins if they know people are watching," Patten says. The Selbicky’s, whose break-in occurred during daylight at Rogue Elk Park, have had to replace their SUV’s broken window with the help of insurance. But they are not willing to chalk up their loss as part of the cost of enjoying the river. "It’s another form of Homeland Security, except we’ve got the cockroaches in our own house," Teri Selbicky says. "It doesn’t take much," Selbicky says. "All it takes is people saying, ‘Yep, I’m going to do it.’ " Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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