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Shady Cove mourns council member who died in boat accident By Melissa Martin SHADY COVE � Flags are flying at half-staff this weekend in this river community to remember City Council member Wendell McCaleb, who died in a drift boat accident Thursday. "My heart goes out to his wife, Pat, his grandson, Matt, and the rest of the family," said Shady Cove Mayor Tom Anderson. "They lost a loving husband, father, grandfather; the community lost a wonderful man; and the city lost a very strong contributor," said Anderson, talking on his cellular phone while returning from a trip to California. "Many of us lost a very dear friend," Anderson said. "He�s going to leave a real void." McCaleb�s body was recovered from the Rogue River Thursday by a Fire District 4 rescue team. He had been fishing with a friend in a drift boat that capsized in a popular fishing hole between Lost Creek Lake and Shady Cove. McCaleb was completing his final year of a four-year term on the City Council. He served as police commissioner. "He was a great supporter of our department," said Police Chief Jim Johnson, noting that McCaleb stopped by his office in City Hall almost daily. "Wen and I were working on the reorganization of our reserve program." McCaleb�s daughter, Linda Olsen, caught the "law enforcement bug" from her father. She graduated from a reserve academy in Phoenix last year and now serves as a reserve officer in Shady Cove. "My dad and I had so much more in common after I graduated from the academy; it brought us a lot closer," Olsen said. "The police department was very near and dear to my dad�s heart. He really enjoyed working with them." McCaleb won a drift boat in a police fund-raising raffle during the city�s annual salmon barbecue two years ago, Johnson said. Because he had just purchased a used drift boat, McCaleb sold it and gave half of the money to the police reserve program. "He did an excellent job for the city," said council member Fred Wendt. "I sat right next to the guy all the time at all the meetings; we were like Mike and Ike. His loss has been hard to take." McCaleb and his wife, Pat, moved to Shady Cove six years ago from Mount Shasta, Calif., where he served on the school board, was a volunteer firefighter and led the local Boy Scout program. He was a retired line crew foreman with Pacific Power and Light. The McCalebs were raising their 11-year-old grandson, Matthew. The couple would have celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in July, and McCaleb celebrated his 70th birthday on June 11. McCaleb was elected to the City Council in 1996; his term expires in December. He promised his wife he wouldn�t run for City Council again because of time commitments. "Wen was very devoted to his family," said friend Arlene Cooper. Real estate broker Mike Malepsy described McCaleb as Shady Cove�s ambassador: "He was fair and full of common sense," Malepsy said. "He always had a smile on his face and always had time for everybody." McCaleb�s absence leaves an empty chair in the City Council chambers. The mayor will appoint a replacement next month and the position is up for re-election in November. "I have an empty space in my heart," said council member Lois Holland, who ordered City Hall closed Friday because of McCaleb�s death. "I can�t believe he�s gone. We were like family and we will all miss him." In addition to his wife, McCaleb is survived by three children, Olsen, of Shady Cove, Steve McCaleb, Mount Shasta, Brenda Lovelace, Portland, and five grandchildren. His service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at Perl Funeral Home, 2100 Siskiyou Blvd., Medford. The family requests that any donations made in McCaleb�s name be sent to the Shady Cove Police reserve unit, City Hall, 22451 Highway 62, Shady Cove, OR 97539. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA