Hot off the Press
Commissioners Week of 6-21-22
The county web site is undergoing an updating so the last meetings posted were from June 2. Guess we’ll have to settle for the Bill and Herman Show this week. The Courier had articles about last week’s meetings but they don’t always include the subtle comments.
6/24 Friday 5 pm We Won’t Go Back – Women’s March in Grants Pass
COURTHOUSE
Women’s March – Bans Off Our Bodies
Bring your signs and your fury. We will be standing up for reproductive rights. It’s time to take action to let the Government know we disagree with the decision to over turn Roe V Wade. Now is the time to act.
County Commissioners Week of June 14
Commissioners got stung during the height of COVID after being accused of “playing doctor” with their anti-mask stance and refusal to endorse vaccinations so regarding the legal use of psilocybin in clinical settings they decided to let the voters play doctor and determine if it should be used in Josephine County. Proponents of the substance, derived from a certain kind of mushroom, say it is showing great promise for people with treatment-resistant mental health issues. Opponents, like Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel and Community Development Director Mark Stevenson, say it will just be another headache to enforce if legalization brings illegal manufacturing of psilocybin. However, medical professionals say psilocybin is used in such small amounts it probably wouldn’t be a very lucrative to produce. And of course every kid has known where to get hallucinogenic mushrooms since Baby Boomers were young. It was surprising to learn that two of our Commissioners had no idea what Juneteenth celebrates. It appears, at the very least, they aren’t very proficient at using Google. And Herman is back on the radio, giving his expert advice on all things fire and all things political. One thing you learn about Herman, an avid Trump supporter, is that he doesn’t understand irony. He says “…..I love, I love to dig down and find the facts and that goes back to my years in the senate and that’s what you do and I’m kinda committee driven and I love to dig down and get the facts but when somebody just spouts out something and says ‘Hey this is what I believe’ and you should take it as a fact,’ I don’t go there.” Then later when asked if the January 6 hearings are having any effect he says, “I think the only people plotting are the far left Democrat supporters. I even think the moderate Democrats are rolling their eyes. So, they’re basically just placating to their base and hoping, hoping that something can come out of it, you know, that they can make stick. But I don’t think so. You know, it’s more of a dog and pony show.” Just-the-Facts Herman doesn’t actually want to look at the facts.
Did you miss our meeting this week?
We recorded our speaker, Dr. Rosa Colquitt, who talked about racial and gender justice, equity, and inclusion, to honor Pride month and Juneteenth.
See it here.
Here is the companion presentation provided by Dr. Colquitt — with the following note:
Good evening leaders,
Before heading off to bed, I just wanted to again express my joy at having the opportunity to spend time with fellow Democrats in Josephine County. Please know that I felt welcomed with genuine warmth. Hopefully I did some good, created some real interest, and encouraged all towards greater inclusiveness.
Do feel free to post the PowerPoint presentation on your website if you think it would be useful. Although I shared the first three slides on Sunday at SCC, I developed the presentation specifically for Josephine County. Thank you for your leadership, and for all that you do in the fight forward to “democracy for all.”
Take care and stay safe and healthy,
~Rosa 🌷
And THANK YOU Rosa!
County Commissioners July 7 and 8 2022
Includes, the conclusion of Sportsmans Park handover. Also, keeping Legal Counsel Hicks busy with drafting ordinances for regulating psilocybin (after next week’s “deep dive” from public health director Weber), and ballot measures for funding mechanism(s) for the Sheriff: local sales tax, a levy, or a district.
Commissioners report June 7 and 8
County Commissioners Week of May 31st
This week Commissioners Dan DeYoung and Herman Baertschiger were channeling Fox News during their encounter with SOREDI’s Colleen Padilla, invited by Commissioner Darin Fowler to give a report who didn’t bother to show up to hear it. Their pessimistic take on Josephine County’s business climate will probably not win them many friends in the Chamber of Commerce. Herman didn’t appear on KMED this week, not that I could find anyway. Could be because he has been careful not to say anything too crazy lately which is boring to KMED’s audience. That demographic did, however, get a full dose of crazy from state Sen. Dennis Linthicum who shows up regularly on KMED to spread conspiracy theories.
Support Grants Pass HS Students Walk-Out Against Gun Violence
WHERE: Grants Pass High School 830 NE 9th St, Grants Pass In front of the school
WHEN: Wednesday June 8th. 1:30 pm
WHY: They are asking us to show up as they take their stand against this national horror-show.
Join us in letting them know we have their backs!
Take Action Against Gun Violence!
FIRST: “MARCH FOR OUR LIVES”
Date: June 11th, 2022
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Josephine County Courthouse, 500 NW 6th Street
Bring: Placards, signs, banners
Who started MARCH FOR OUR LIVES? Started by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting February 14, 2018
In light of the tragedy at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX, March For Our Lives is demanding action from our representative.
Since 2018 March For Our Lives helped pass lifesaving legislation in states across the country – it’s not enough. From January to May 2022 there were 287 mass shootings.
It’s time to hit the streets once again. March For Our Lives on Saturday, June 11 is demanding that President Biden and lawmakers act immediately to stop the gun violence epidemic. Organizers across the United States are putting on local gatherings and marches.
Action: Gather with us to show our displeasure with lack of legislation to stop mass shootings.
Contact Your Representatives: Demand universal background checks and ban of military-style weapons.
Please join us for this non-violent, informal gathering to have our voices heard in Josephine County.
SECOND: SIGN STATE INITIATIVE 17 (IP 17)
Oregon is the only state in the U.S. that has a chance of placing a gun control initiative on the ballot in November 2022. We can thank “Lift Every Voice Oregon” for starting this process last fall. This organization submitted two initiatives:
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- Initiative 17 (IP 17) states that all firearm purchasers will need a permit to buy a firearm. Before issuance, the permit applicant must successfully complete a background check (regardless of how long it takes), as well as pass both a firearm safety training class and a live-fire training session. IP 17 also restricts and prohibits the sale of large-capacity magazines greater than 10 rounds.
- Initiative 18 (IP 18) bans the future of assault weapons.
Their current focus is on IP 17. They must gather 112,020 qualified signatures by July 8th to place the initiative on the November 8th ballot. They currently have around 30,000 signatures. You can sign the initiative petition from home by doing the following:
Go to their website: Sign Initiative Petition from Home — Lift Every Voice Oregon – Reduce Gun Violence. There you will find the full texts of both initiatives and ability to print the petition and sign it. Please closely follow the directions.
More information is available at their full website: Lift Every Voice Oregon – Reduce Gun Violence
The Real Story about HB 3294
So what’s behind Oregon’s House Bill 3294 mandating menstrual products in boy’s bathrooms at school? Oregon Democrats and Republican Christine Drazan, who voted for it, caught hell for this during the gubernatorial primary and continue to be the laughing stock of right-wing media across the nation.
At first glance you might ask yourself “what were they thinking?” However, there is a large constituency for the bill, also called the Menstrual Dignity Act, which aims to end “period poverty” and the shame and stigma society places on menstruation. Support and lobbying for the bill came from student organizations, teachers, the Oregon Education Association and the Oregon School Boards Association. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) put out a “Menstrual Dignity for Students Toolkit” for educators, students and parents to learn about the “Four Pillars of Menstrual Dignity;” Privacy (having safe private places to access, use and dispose of menstrual products), Inclusivity (affirming and honoring differences), Access (equitable access to products for all students) and Education (understand how bodies work without shame or stigma).
The ODE will fund the project through a $5,595,000 carveout of the State School Fund each biennium. School districts will get grants to pay for the dispensers and products based on their average daily attendance.
Teachers and social workers testified that a significant number of students come from families that can’t afford menstrual products so they are forced to stay home a few days a month to avoid embarrassment. Others, including students representing the advocacy group PERIOD, say they want the appearance of menstrual products in all bathrooms to “normalize” menstruation as a bodily function as well as show respect for the needs of trans youth. These students shared stories about getting their periods unexpectedly and not being able to find someone with any to share. One said this severely compromised her scores on her ACT test.
Right-wing media, of course, launched into jokes and criticism about how boys will clog toilets with tampons or stick sanitary napkins to the mirrors in their restrooms and how much this effort will cost taxpayers. Republican candidate for governor, Bridget Barton, said “Radical leftist woke policies are destroying Oregon…I can’t believe we’re even discussing putting tampons on boys’ bathrooms.” Christian media says it encourages children to become trans, some critics said the quality of the items supplied for free would be poor and boys complained they’d be subject to harsh punishment for disrespectful abuse of the products.
House Bill 3294 passed with a flurry of other legislation in the last days of the regular 2021 session and it was signed by Governor Kate Brown. A similar bill proposed in 2019 died in committee. It requires all public institutions of education, including charter schools, colleges and education service districts, to provide free menstrual products in at least two bathrooms in each building by July of 2022. The bill also expands access to gender-neutral restrooms. The state of Illinois passed a bill like this one in 2021. Their bill extended free menstrual products to homeless shelters as well, but for some reason Oregon gets the brunt of the right-wing scorn.
County Commissioners Week of May 19-26
Short meetings and a wildfire discussion between KMED’s Bill Meyer and Josephine County Commissioner Herman Baertschiger that would make a climate scientist weep were the gist of our elected officials’ duties the last two weeks. During their meetings Commissioners heard from the District Forester regarding wildfire readiness, finalized RV sites for Whitehorse Park, shuffled money around to keep the sheriff’s patrol going and approved some appointments. Next week things should be a bit more exciting as they bring the Sportsman Park issue back for public comment as they go through the terms of the agreement that turns the property over to the Sportsman Association.
Commissioner Report May 19 thru 26