Public Comments Dominated Josephine County Board of Commissioners Meeting
The Josephine County Board of Commissioners had no public hearings or action items on its agenda for Wednesday's business session.
The 22-minute meeting started with an invocation by Chad Hanson, a pastor with Edgewater Christian Fellowship, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
The session was dominated by public comments including one man who opposed the religious invocation based on his belief of separation of church and state, and because he feels it discriminates against those who are not Christians.
Other citizen comments involved opposition to the recent firing of Board Secretary Wendy Watkins and opposition to a Grants Pass couple who are once again trying to be removed from the Josephine Community Library District.
Right-wing activist Mike Pelfrey and his wife are the couple attempting to be removed from the library district. He had commentary on the recent injunction placed on the City of Grants Pass for restricting homeless camping, saying that the injunction was approved by "a left-leaning liberal judge."
Former Commissioner John West testified that he is concerned that the Board is considering the transfer of $200,000 from the Forestry Department to the Juvenile Justice Department. He said it could lead to the liquidation of County Forestry.
Board Chair Andreas Blech said he would review the Charter based on West's comment, Board Vice-Chair Chris Barnett praised Public Works crews for working to keep rural roads clear of snow and Commissioner Ron Smith said he stands firm against the Statewide Wildfire Hazard Map, adding that he was amazed by the huge crowd that gathered for last week's meeting on Senate Bill 762.
Posted on 2/6/25 6:45AM by Sam Marsh
