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Rogue River fire levy defeated A stepped-up campaign for the Rogue River Rural Fire District levy produced more voters and votes Tuesday, but it didn't quite do the trick. The $1.1 million levy to replace aging fire equipment and add one firefighter was winning 3 to 1 Tuesday night, but the measure didn't have the 50 percent voter turnout required by state law. "That's what hurts," said Fire Chief Greg Winfrey. He said the district asked for a slightly larger levy last November, but it failed "because we failed on educating the people on what we were trying to do." That measure saw only a 28 percent voter turnout, he said. This time, 42 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. Final, unofficial results Tuesday showed 1,364 votes for the levy and 545 votes against. "It makes me feel more confident that the voters do have confidence in our fire district," Winfrey said. "We did a lot more aggressive campaigning this time and it shows," he said. If it had passed, the levy would have paid for another full-time firefighter and replaced a 27-year-old engine, a 31-year-old tender and a 14-year-old off-road engine. The fire district has seen a 100 percent jump -- from 396 to 781 -- in the number of fire calls crews responded to between 1989 and 1998. As a result of the levy failure, Winfrey said the department will not meet its goal of having three firefighters in the station at all times, and will cut the purchase of protective clothing and training devices from its budget. The fire district will rely on volunteers, but the smaller staff means longer delays in responding to calls and more reliance on mutual aid agreements with other fire agencies. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA