Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 1, 2006 Staff Sgt. Kevin Wilson of the 1st Battalion of the 162nd Infantry in Gresham plays a piano in the auditorium at a high school in New Orleans, where Oregon Army National Guard troops were stationed to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Top stories of 2005 Oregon’s property rights measure, the repercussions of a teenage drunken driving crash, and local efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina head the Mail Tribune’s choices for top stories of 2005. Here is a recap of stories that made the biggest headlines last year: 1. Measure 37 Both praised and berated, Measure 37 remains the subject of much controversy locally and throughout the state. The property rights initiative required governments to compensate property owners when regulations lowered land values, or to waive the regulations. It was rejected by a Marion County Circuit Court judge in October, but not before Jackson County commissioners had approved 89 claims. A year after the measure went into effect (Dec. 3, 2004), only 17 of the property owners had followed through with applications for buildings or subdivisions in the county planning department. Advertisement The city of Ashland sued Jackson County on Oct. 28 in a legal action that could overturn all approved claims if successful. The Oregon Supreme Court is scheduled to hear testimony this month before deliberating on the constitutionality of the measure, approved by 61 percent of voters in November 2004. 2. Kevan Thatcher-Stephens car crash The February crash that killed Ashland teen Kevan Thatcher-Stephens caused a ripple effect, touching some of the county’s highest-ranking officials. A lengthy investigation led police to the Ashland home of Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Orf, who refused to cooperate with detectives. Police reports suggested Thatcher-Stephens had been drinking at the Orf home during the week leading up to the Feb. 11 crash. Yet investigators could not determine whether he consumed alcohol there before driving from Ashland to Medford and wrecking his Jeep Cherokee at the intersection of Jackson Street and Riverside Avenue at about 9:32 p.m. An initial test showed the 17-year-old’s blood-alcohol content was about .16 percent when his Jeep smashed into a Chevrolet Blazer driven by Charles Ashley Bench of Shady Cove. Bench, 26, was killed, and his passenger, Mark Louis Robustelli, 27, was seriously injured. The high-speed police pursuit of Thatcher-Stephens along Riverside involved the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department’s then-second-in-command, Capt. Joe Puckett. Immediately following the crash, Puckett was placed on administrative leave, and he resigned four months later. Police reports indicated Puckett prematurely left the collision scene with an unauthorized female rider. The deaths of Thatcher-Stephens and Bench likely will be scrutinized in court. Pending lawsuits filed against the teen’s estate seek judgments of about $8 million in favor of Robustelli and Bench’s widow. Thatcher-Stephens’ parents also have announced plans to sue the county and the city of Talent for what they said was Puckett’s and Talent officer Jeff Price’s "unreasonable" pursuit of their son. 3. Local National Guard troops in New Orleans. The Oregon Army National Guard battalion headquartered in Ashland joined troops from around the nation in September to respond to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana. About 330 troops from the Ashland-based 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry flew into New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to provide security, recover bodies and evacuate survivors. During their three-week deployment, they cleaned up and set up camp at Delgado Community College in the Orleans Parish before moving to Lake Charles to respond to Hurricane Rita. The devastation along the Gulf Coast spurred an outpouring of tens of thousands of dollars in donations from local residents, as well as volunteer work and rescue efforts. 4. Record Powerball winners in Southern Oregon. A 48-year-old Medford landscaper and his father-in-law parlayed $40 worth of Powerball tickets into the world’s second-largest jackpot — $340 million — on Nov. 8 at the Oregon Lottery offices in Salem. Steve West and his wife, Carolyn, and Carolyn’s parents, Bob and Frances Chaney of Jacksonville, took lump-sum payments and split them among nine family members. 5. Record gas prices. Record crude oil prices and Hurricane Katrina pumped up gas prices to record levels during the summer. Motorists were shocked when the prices peaked at a record average of $3.07 in the Medford-Ashland area on Sept. 4. Prices dropped 10 cents nearly overnight in mid October and continued to fall, leveling out at an average $2.22 this week. 6. Community effort to fight methamphetamine. Jackson County’s decades-old scourge of methamphetamine prompted local officials and other community members this year to find a solution. The county’s first summit for its newly formed methamphetamine task force was held in January. Members were asked to identify priorities in drug treatment, prevention, public safety, community awareness and family stabilization. Efforts received a boost from $200,000 in county funds pledged to create a new intensive program aimed at keeping 20 local families drug-free. The program will attempt to fill any need, including employment, food and housing, said County Administrator Sue Slack. Methamphetamine is blamed locally for overburdening public resources, including jails, courts, social services and schools. 7. Lithia Motors headquarters in downtown Medford? Two 10-story buildings housing Lithia Motors headquarters have been proposed as part of Middleford Commons, a Medford Urban Renewal Agency civic neighborhood project planned for downtown Medford. The plan also includes two office buildings, four mixed-use residential/retail buildings and park space where Lithia automobile dealerships are now located. The area encompasses most of the property between Central and Riverside avenues and Main and Jackson streets. The city of Medford is in charge of the negotiations with Lithia. The $147 million project, which would bring a large work force and housing component to the downtown area, could begin as soon as 2008. 8. Greenway sweeps. The rape of a 15-year-old girl on the Bear Creek Greenway last March in Medford triggered public furor, spurring local law enforcement agencies to clean out transient camps. A jury in December convicted Christopher Richard Valdez, 34, of rape. Two other men who allegedly raped and sodomized the girl in a transient camp were not found. After the rape, government officials began removing blackberry bushes that concealed the camps. The Greenway Foundation also has worked toward a management plan for safety and security among all seven jurisdictions along the 21-mile trail. 9. Wal-Mart Supercenters . Wal-Mart has struggled for several years to place a Supercenter in Jackson County, with proposals submitted in Medford, Central Point and Eagle Point. A 207,000-square-foot store proposed for the Miles Field site in Medford was denied by the City Council in May 2004, then remanded back to the city by the state Land Use Board of Appeals last March. The council voted in November to send the application to the Site Plan and Architectural Review Commission. In Central Point, the City Council denied plans for a Supercenter in April 2004, a decision which LUBA upheld in June 2005. Twenty-four hours after LUBA’s decision, Wal-Mart nevertheless purchased 21 acres at East Pine Street and Hamrick Road from Naumes Inc. for $6.1 million. Wal-Mart received an easy reception in Eagle Point. In June, the Planning Commission approved an application for a Wal-Mart Supercenter at Highway 62 and Hannon Road. 10. Rash of armed robberies. This year’s 20 percent spike in citywide robberies — including heists of two Medford banks in just one day — confounded police until last month’s arrest of Edward Jay Silva. Police said they can link the 28-year-old to at least a dozen robberies of Jackson County banks and businesses in 2005. A convicted burglar, Silva told police in his past dealings with them that he committed crimes for the thrill of it. The Sept. 7 hold up of the Washington Mutual branch in Gold Hill led to Silva’s capture. Police traced a get-away car to Silva’s Medford residence. He and two accomplices remain in jail awaiting trial on federal bank robbery charges. Honorable mentions Medford’s two hospitals continued to grow in 2005. Rogue Valley Medical Center completed a three-year, $110 million expansion that includes private rooms for patients and a larger emergency department. Providence Medford Medical Center expanded its emergency department, the first step in a plan that also includes a new parking garage and new patient rooms. After a full session of Legislative wrangling, Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University received state funding for a shared classroom building in downtown Medford. Officials expect work on the roughly $25 million building to get under way in the coming year. The project is a flagship in the governor’s effort to encourage collaboration among all levels of education. Local officials hope it will spur continued downtown rejuvenation. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement