Document 6604694

Grants Pass
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November 18, 2014
Tuesday
75 cents
Campbell resigns as district attorney
Weather
His last day will be Feb. 28
Showers coming
By Jim Moore
There’s a chance of rain
every day this week. See
Page 2A.
Josephine County District
Attorney Stephen Campbell has
resigned effective Feb. 28.
Campbell notified Gov. John
Kitzhaber of his resignation in a
letter dated Nov. 10.
“It’s a retirement with other
options down the line,” Campbell
told the Daily Courier on Monday. Campbell said he is not pre-
Overnight low
Wednesday’s high
36
54
What’s inside
Helping Juan
A Sunday fundraiser at Hidden Valley High School
raised more than $7,600 for
Juan Granados-Gonzales, a
father of four who was critically injured in a hit-and-run
accident on Nov. 5.
Page 5A
Sweet things
Get some
new ideas
for holidayworthy
desserts
from a
Master
Food Preserver.
FOOD / Page 9A
Step up
The new
dance studio
Candela has
a grand
opening Friday, offering
West Coast
swing, salsa,
bachata and belly dancing
lessons — so far.
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 10A
GP tradition
The Grants Pass High football team is embracing tradition during the team’s current playoff run.
SPORTS / Page 1B
What’s online
Web highlights
Videos, photo galleries,
even a Fun Finder. There’s
always plenty going on at ...
thedailycourier.com
A look ahead
Bus line just fine
Ridership of the new bus line
between
Grants Pass
and Medford
is growing at
a modest
rate. For
some, the
service is a big welcome.
WEDNESDAY
Where to find it
Abby . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10A
Classified . . . . . . . . .5-10B
Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . .4B
Entertainment . . . . . . .10A
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . .7A
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . .4A
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3A
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3B
Stock markets . . . . . . . .8A
of the Daily Courier
pared to discuss the options he
alluded to.
In his resignation letter,
Campbell recommended that
Josephine County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Mulkins be
appointed to fill the remainder of
his term.
“I know you are aware that
Josephine County continues to
face serious budget problems.
The challenges my successor
will face will be significant,”
Campbell
wrote. “It is
my hope that
you
will
choose
to
a p p o i n t
Deputy District Attorney
Ryan Mulkins
to lead the
very loyal and
resilient team
CAMPBELL
of attorneys
and support staff that remain in
Josephine County.”
Campbell also told the Daily
Courier that Mulkins is interest-
ed in the job. The appointment
will be made by Kitzhaber. A
timeline
has
not
been
announced.
Campbell said he will turn 62
in February and that he is “at
retirement age.”
As a member of the Oregon
Public Employee Retirement System, Campbell could have retired
with full benefits at age 58, but he
chose to remain on the job.
“I stayed on to try to take
this office though some major
fiscal challenges,” he said.
Campbell pointed out that he
had to lay off four attorneys in
June 2012. Then he slowly
rebuilt the office by cobbling
together local and federal funds
with some grant money.
“It’s a house of cards. Some
of those may or may not get
funded,” he said.
Campbell started with the
DA’s office in 1988 and ran unopposed in 2004 to succeed Clay
Johnson. He was also unopposed
in 2008 and 2012. The term is for
four years.
———
Reach reporter Jim Moore at
541-474-3721 or [email protected]
GMO LABEL SUPPORTERS NOT GIVING UP
Measure 92 backers hoping rejected
ballots could change final outcome
By Jeff Duewel
of the Daily Courier
Ballot Measure 92 backers
have not given up yet, hoping to
change the razor-thin lead of
their opponents’ votes in the
Nov. 4 election.
About a dozen local supporters of the measure, which
would require labeling of genetically modified ingredients in
food, took to the streets Monday
evening. They were hoping to
take advantage of a state law
that allows the public release of
names of people with rejected
ballots, said Art Harvey,
Josephine County Clerk. That
list became public last week, on
Wednesday.
Measure 92 vote
Yes votes
No votes
As of today
741,488
746,012
49.85%
50.15%
Yes on 92 volunteers have
been beating the streets, trying
to persuade nearly 500 local
voters with invalid ballots to
fix the problem.
Mary Middleton said her
Yes on 92 group was going to
knock on another 100 doors
Monday evening, in Grants
Pass, Williams, Selma, Kerby,
O’Brien and Cave Junction.
“We’ve knocked on doors,
offered rides, trying to help
people make their vote count,”
Middleton said. “If people took
the time to fill out a ballot and
get it to the election office,
they want it to count.”
Opponents of the measure
also are believed to be contacting households with invalid
ballots.
Senate Bill 1515 which
amended ORS 254.431, also
extended from 10 to 14 the
number of days voters had to
fix their ballot after an election.
“Before, it wasn’t public
during the time which voters
JEFF DUEWEL/Daily Courier
Measure 92 backers Eli Dumitru of Medford, left, and Mary Middleton of Grants Pass, right, go over strategy for canvassing voters who had their ballots rejected for invalid or missing signatures.
could make the fix,” explained
Tony Green, spokesman for
the Oregon Secretary of State’s
office.
The county list was purchased for $25 by three people
the affiliated with the Yes on
92 campaign, Harvey said.
Meanwhile the actual vote
on the measure is creeping
closer and closer.
As of this morning the tally
was 746,012 against and 741,488
in favor, a margin of just 4,524
votes, or 0.3 percent. The day
after the polls closed, the no
votes led by a margin of about
13,000 votes.
A margin of 0.2 percent or
less triggers an automatic
recount, Green said. A recount
can be paid for by those
requesting it when the margin
is higher than that.
“I’m not aware of the last
time we had a statewide ballot
measure recount,” he said.
Harvey said about 480 vot-
ers in Josephine County either
forgot to sign their ballot or
had signatures that did not
match the one when they registered to vote.
“Everybody’s signature
changes over time,” Harvey
said.
Those who needed to update
their signature were mailed a
form, which could be mailed or
brought in with the new signature. Those who forgot to sign
are required to come to the
clerk’s office in person and
sign.
As of Monday, half of those
approximately 480 voters had
fixed the situation.
“Undoubtedly this is bringing more awareness,” said
Harvey of the amended
statute.
Green said typically 1 percent of voters who botch their
ballots take the time to correct
them, while this year it is
about 6 percent, statewide.
Police still looking for those responsible for Saturday shooting
Grants Pass police are looking for a
suspect or suspects in the shooting of a
24-year-old man early Saturday morning in the Redwood area.
Police were called out shortly before
2 a.m. to the area of Kellenbeck Avenue
at Medart Lane, where 24-year-old
Christian R. Mitchell had been shot.
The gunman had fled.
Deputy Chief Jim Hamilton said
Monday morning that when law
enforcement arrived Mitchell was outside, either on the street or sidewalk.
Police searched the area with dogs,
but couldn’t find the shooter. The investigation continues.
Mitchell was taken to Three Rivers
Medical Center, where he was listed in
critical condition on Monday.
Citing federal privacy rules, Three
Rivers this morning released no updated information about Mitchell’s condition, or if he was still hospitalized locally.
Anybody with more information
about the incident is asked to call police
at 541-450-6260.
Lt. Dennis Ward said investigators
talked to Mitchell on Monday at the hospital.
Detectives told Ward that Mitchell
was still in intensive care today.
Toyota to start sales of fuel cell car next month
Associated Press
TOKYO — There will only be a few hundred, and
they won’t be cheap, but Toyota is about to take its first
small step into the unproven market for emissions-free,
hydrogen-powered vehicles.
T h e
world’s
largest
Call us at 541-474-3700
email [email protected]
Volume CV
No. 44 Issue 31526
2 Sections, 20 Pages
TOYOTA MIRAI
automaker announced today that it will begin selling
fuel cell cars in Japan on Dec. 15 and in the U.S. and
Europe in mid-2015.
The sporty-looking, four-door Toyota Mirai will retail
for 6.7 million yen ($57,600) before taxes. Toyota Motor
Corp hopes to sell 400 in Japan and 300 in the rest of the
world in the first year.
“In time, the fuel cell vehicle will become
mainstream. We wanted to take the first step,”
said Mitsuhisa Kato, a Toyota executive
vice president, at the vehicle’s
launch today. “We want to be at
the leading edge.”
Fuel cell vehicles run on
compressed hydrogen
gas, which in the Mirai’s
case is stored in two
tanks
mounted
underneath
the
vehicle. They emit
no exhaust, though
fossil fuels are used
in the production of
hydrogen and to
pressurize it. Both
Honda and Hyundai
are also experimenting
with limited sales and leases of fuel cell cars. Honda
Toyota
Mirai
• Will
sell for $57,600,
but price could be
reduced to as low as
$45,000 with government incentives
• The biggest hurdle
for fuel-cell vehicles is
a lack of hydrogen fueling stations around the country. Toyota’s announcement includes plans to build hydrogen stations
in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and
Rhode Island. California currently has nine hydrogen stations,
with 49 more in development, according to the California Fuel
Cell Partnership.
showed a fuel cell concept car on Monday.
Besides the relatively high cost, buyers will have to
contend with finding fuel. Only a few dozen hydrogen
filling stations have been built worldwide, though governments are subsidizing the construction of more.
It’s an uncertain future that depends both on
whether makers can bring down the price, and a wideenough network of filling stations is built.
Turn to TOYOTA, Page 8A