Josephine County Commissioners Meetings May 30th, 2023 4H Budget Meeting A 4H fracas turned into a full-fledged War on Woke after Josephine County Commission Chair Herman Baertschiger and Commissioner John West voted to cancel the modest levy funding the youth program for 27 years. Also, a casualty of this war is the Master Gardener program, […]
According to the Grants Pass Daily Courier Josephine County Commissioners decided to de-fund the 4H and Master Gardner programs because of rumor and innuendo…a conspiracy theory has been created around an alleged incident regarding religion 4H representatives say was not true. Commissioners canceled a long-standing voter-approved levy that brings in $414000 to the programs. If […]
May 17 2023 Commission Business Meeting Josephine County Commissioners have suddenly become very interested in children. Feeding on information from Commission regular Judy Ahrens, whose social concerns come from right-wing conspiracy theory sources and religious media, Commissioners regularly blast schools for teaching too much sex and not enough history. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger tells people from the […]
“It could be a political setup you know.” That’s what Josephine County Commission Chair Herman Baertschiger said about criticism of their refusal to take steps to get state funding for homelessness during a Legal Council meeting April 18. In one of her first acts in office, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed three executive orders addressing […]
Business was light at the Josephine County Commissioners’ Weekly Business Session April 5 so those who came to comment were in the spotlight. First up, usually always first up, was Judy Ahrens who brought Commissioners her legendary cupcakes representing sin, topped with strawberries she said represented the blood of Christ. She then proceeded to tell […]
3/23/23 Do we have to have an emergency management department? Read on… this should scare you. That’s what Josephine County Commission Chair Herman Baertschiger asked when Commissioners learned their Emergency Management Director had resigned, effective mid-April. Scofield appeared before the Board’s March 23 Administrative Workshop to let them know Ring had handed in her resignation […]
A seed was planted for change during the March 29 meeting of the Josephine County Commissioners. During the public comments Jim Gower asked that the Charter Review Commission keep local county elections non-partisan but expand the Commission from three to five members with a county administrator. While Gower didn’t say so in the brief, three-minute […]
3/2/23 Administrative Workshop Commissioner John West said he had several complaints about permit fees being charged for projects less than 200 square feet so he wanted to see the fees looked at and possibly revised to be more fair. West said some of these fees are around $300 just to build a well-house or woodshed. […]
Even though a half-dozen people showed up at the March 1 Josephine County Commission meeting to urge the Board to declare an emergency and make the county eligible for funding to help get the homeless out of Grants Pass parks, it didn’t happen. Why? Commissioners say declaring an emergency means they hand over power to […]