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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Shooting for improvement ... Arson suspect may not understand plea deal ... Memorial services set for Sen. Bates ... Shooting for improvement ... Arson suspect may not understand plea deal ... Memorial services set for Sen. Bates ... LAW ENFORCEMENT LEVY Josephine County signature drive beats the deadline Comment By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 5:58 PM By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 5:58 PM » Social News Capping a frenzied five-day effort, petitioners turned in nearly 3,500 signatures by Wednesday's deadline in support of a law enforcement tax measure that now likely will go before Josephine County voters Nov. 8. At 3 p.m., two hours before the deadline, organizers turned in nearly double the number of signatures required to make the ballot. "We knocked it out of the park," said a tired but happy Colene Martin, who credited nearly 50 volunteers and five paid signature-gatherers for hustling to community events and public areas following a court ruling on Friday allowing them to proceed. "It's a testament to what this community could do." County Clerk Trisha Myers said the process to verify signatures will take place next week. Martin and co-petitioner Jim Dittmer submitted more than 400 pages containing signatures. "I was very impressed with the public's expression of concern for community safety," said Dittmer, who owns a storage unit facility near Merlin. Whether that concern translates to a majority remains to be seen. Voters have rejected four straight public safety levies since 2012, when budget cuts decimated the Sheriff's Office and forced closure of the county juvenile shelter/detention center. The proposed levy would impose a tax of $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed value. The county's existing permanent rate of 58 cents is the lowest in the state of Oregon, which averages about $2.50 per county. It was perhaps fitting that one of the last signatures gathered on Wednesday came from a former Circuit Court judge. Dittmer said he was leaving the Merlin post office after gathering signatures there and was in a hurry to report to campaign headquarters by noon, but the man asked him to wait a moment so he could sign. "You know who I am?" the man told him. "I'm Judge Neufeld." Gerald Neufeld retired from the bench a decade ago. The campaign to put the measure before voters was a roller coaster of emotions and frustrations capped by near exhaustion. It began nearly a month ago, July 15, when Martin, Dittmer, Josh Balloch of AllCare Health and retired public policy consultant Chuck Rund formed a group called the Josephine County Safety Levy Committee and announced they had submitted paperwork to the County Clerk. The group planned to hire signature gatherers and work the popular Back to the '50s event in Grants Pass, in order to turn in 2,038 needed signatures by Wednesday to get on the Nov. 8 ballot. However, anti-tax activist and scrap car business operator Jim Rossi filed a court appeal challenging the ballot language as too wordy and vague. That challenge pushed back the effort to gather signatures, until Judge Michael Newman ruled on Friday that the language was adequate. At about 3 p.m. Friday, with paperwork approved for circulation, the real effort began. "I put it out on Facebook," said Martin, who is president and CEO of the Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce. "It got 100 shares." That evening, volunteers manned a table along historic G Street, during First Friday events. The next morning, Saturday, others gathered signatures at the downtown Grants Pass Growers' Market. Dittmer manned a table Saturday at Sixth and L streets, and volunteers were at it again there on Sunday despite the presence of anti-tax activist Mark Seligman. Seligman protested again on Monday and Tuesday outside the downtown Grants Pass post office, where signature gatherers were at work. On Sunday, Martin and Ken Smith, an organizer of past levy attempts, decided to set up shop at Shop Smart in Cave Junction, where strangers arrived shortly after noon to take over for them that day and in subsequent days. Emblematic of the polarizing nature of tax levies in Josephine County, Martin remembers shoppers running "either toward us or away from us." By Tuesday morning, with the confirmed number of signatures standing somewhere "well over 1,000," efforts continued, including at a Concerts in the Park event at Riverside Park, where about 200 signatures were gathered, according to measure proponent Becky Best, who said another 200 signatures were gathered at Club Northwest. By Wednesday morning — hours before the deadline — 2,000 signatures were confirmed, as volunteers swarmed Chamber offices to turn in signed petitions, and citizens stopped in at the last minute to sign petitions. Martin called about noon, saying she was sitting in her car and getting a moment to herself outside her office — campaign headquarters — where she described the scene as "chaos." Later that day, at the courthouse, County Tax Assessor Connie Roach stopped by the Clerk's Office when Martin and Dittmer arrived to turn in petitions. "Congratulations," Roach told them. "It's an amazing feat." By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 5:58 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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