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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 8, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 11, 2005 Cops will purge Greenway By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Medford police say they plan a sweep through the Bear Creek Greenway to crack down on illegal activities and illegal camping after a 15-year-old girl reported she was dragged into the bushes and raped by three men on Friday. In addition, a special mower offered by Naumes Equipment could soon be ripping out the blackberry brambles along the Greenway to make it safer and cleaner. Community members say they are shocked by the suspected rape of the Rogue River girl as well as the amount of trash left behind by transients, who set up tent camps in the thick brush next to the Greenway path south of McAndrews Road near the Rogue Valley Mall. Medford police have arrested Christopher Richard "Ricky" Valdez, 33, of Phoenix on suspicion of first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault. Two other men suspected of raping the girl are also being sought by police, who will have an artist’s drawing of the suspects today. Lt. Tim George said the exact day for the sweep hasn’t been set. Social service agencies will be involved to help any homeless people with drug and alcohol-abuse problems. Advertisement "The other thing is you have to find a place for these people to go," he said. "There are all kinds of collateral problems. We don’t want to push it out on our neighbors." A high percentage of transients have criminal histories, he said, and many carry pocket knives or knives in sheaths. But George doubted any would have guns. The Bear Creek Greenway Foundation held an emergency board meeting Thursday to discuss options such as fund-raisers to clean up the creek area. "I don’t want long-winded, drawn-out proposals that take five years before we do anything about it," said Joy Olson, executive director of the foundation. She applauded the Naumes offer, saying, "A lot of people ask me, ‘Do you think eliminating the blackberries will eliminate the problem?’ Well, yeah." Naumes is offering the use of an "articulating flail" mower that pulverizes blackberry bushes into pulp. "We’ll make it happen," said Jason Thomas, general manager of Naumes. "It would take down the majority of everything at a pretty rapid clip." Thomas, who said his company wanted to do something to make the Greenway safer, will offer the $5,000 machine for as long as it takes to get the job done. "It’s not doing me any good just sitting here not doing anything," he said. His company is looking for a tractor that would pull the mower, and Thomas also has contacted orchard owners to see if they might contribute any equipment to speed up the effort. Olson said she has been receiving calls from community members asking what can be done to fix the problem. "The community has really reacted to this," she said. After seeing a Mail Tribune photo of an abandoned encampment Thursday, Olson said, "I never realized what was behind all those bushes." Transients have created a maze of trails that connect various camp sites, littered with debris. Olson, who has taken part in previous cleanup efforts along the Greenway, said the kind of debris "looks so bad I don’t even want to touch it." Corrina Scott, a Medford mother of three, said that since the incident she will not let her 13-year-old daughter or two younger sons on the Greenway unless they are accompanied by their parents. "I probably won’t let her down there until I see some changes down there," she said. Scott said people need to band together to clean up the Greenway, suggesting that nearby businesses do something like the adopt-a-highway program. "I really feel like our community needs to get involved," she said. She also dismissed talk she’s been hearing minimizing the girl’s plight because she had run away from home. "Whatever her issues are, a rebellious teen or whatever, she didn’t deserve to be raped," Scott said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, 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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