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Shady Cove will depend on wells SHADY COVE -- Residents will continue depending on private wells for their water after voters said no, 492 to 391, to the city's request to build the first municipal water system in Shady Cove's history. Some 58.5 percent of Shady Cove voters returned their ballots, said Kathy Beckett, Jackson County Clerk. The measure failed by 101 votes in partial, unofficial returns. The city of Shady Cove asked for a $7.5 million, 40-year bond issue to build a system that would pipe treated water from the Rogue River to Shady Cove homes and businesses. Half of the bond would have been repaid from property taxes and half from monthly water rates. "We're not against the water system," said Eli Diestler, a member of Citizens Opposed to Bond Authorization. "If it was presented a little better and with more realistic figures, making it equitable for all, then we would support it. "The way it is now, it's the old adage, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer." Mike Malepsy, chairman of Citizens For Water For Future Generations, said he is proud the community had the highest voter turnout in Southern Oregon. But his committee is not easily accepting defeat, he said. "We will start immediately on another campaign," Malepsy said. "This was just the beginning of our effort to get the inevitable water system that Shady Cove needs." Shady Cove Mayor Tom Anderson also expressed disappointment Tuesday night. Before he was the town's mayor, he campaigned for the first water bond proposal that voters defeated in 1992, two decades after the town's incorporation. "Those who were willing to take advantage of the right to vote, said no. We had a representative turnout, which makes the result the choice of the majority," Anderson said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA