Sorry Grants Pass Oregon, Collecting Bottles is NOT a Crime

 

Sadly based on my daily collecting of bottles that I then turn in to the Oregon Bottle Drop Center here in Grants Pass and then use the 20% additional bonus to help with my weekly grocery bill, one would think it is illegal here in Grants Pass Oregon.

Besides the fact I am keeping trash that I find in public receptacles and along the roads from ending up in landfills or simply as trash along the highways, I am providing for my family and making up for shortfalls that my small business now faces due to the demise of the professional aquarium industry (in large part due to Amazon & Google).
Further References:
Buying Aquarium Products via Amazon (& Chewy, eBay)
American Aquarium Supplies & Information

This is not to say that I do not meet polite and respectful individuals and local businesses, but I've found that these are often in the minority here in Grants Pass Oregon.
What is interesting is I collected bottle/cans along with cardboard in Southern California many years back to help make up for shortfalls due to family emergencies (a very sick son and a predator that harmed my family). This was originally recommend by a friend who was a chef at a restaurant I took care of aquariums for. He actually used this money to help make a down payment for a home for a family.
During this time in Southern California, I met many persons and businesses who stopped me to talk and encourage me. I can think of two in particular that we became friends (Allen at a machine shop and Ian who was the park manager at an LA County Park).

Why the difference? Well in defense of many who are rude and act like I am committing a crime, I know that here, the majority of those collecting are homeless persons looking for money for their next alcohol or drug fix.
Back in Southern California, most of the others I met doing the same thing were like me or the chef/friend who suggested this as a method to work around regular work schedules and make extra money.

HOWEVER, this does not excuse poor treatment of me any more than it is OK to treat all men with contempt just because men commit more violent crime than women (there are many more example/analogies I can make as to making generalized accusations).
The facts are I often pick up trash as I go and ALWAYS leave any area I currently collecting cleaner than when I came by. So do NOT blame me for others making a mess!!!
Sadly many have been rude even acknowledged this yet still treated me with contempt!!

This does not also excuse the condescending way some will speak to me making excuses that they are only concerned that I might hurt myself by getting stuck by a needle (this was exemplified by a dishonest and condescending lady assistant manager at the Grants Pass 7-Eleven on 6th Street who clearly needs a business management education).
First, I am a big boy with a college business management education and decades of experience in management and well know the dangers and in fact only look at the top of any container for just this reason.
Second as this one lady when confronted with her fake concern then went on to say that they could be sued. Sorry, strike two as they would have to be careless intent. Someone could just as easy get stuck placing an empty container in their often full trash cans. Legal case example would be a hospital that is required to place "sharps" in containers and does not, then they are liable, but 7-Eleven is not responsible for what goes into their outside public containers.

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On a positive note I will again note that there are some really nice people who encourage me with kind words or even save bottles for me.
A few business examples I want to thank:
* DJ's Bump & Paint
* 3 Boys Classic Towing And Auto Sales
* Hays Oil Co (F Street)
* Home Depot
* Safeway

Unfortunately there are many more businesses who either allow staff or encourage staff to treat me like I was the lowest of life forms for only trying to provide for my family.
Here are some of these businesses I will call out for this rude treatment:
*Fred Meyer
*7-Eleven (6th Street, very condescending lady assistant manager)
*C & D Short Stop Market
*Walmart
*Grants Pass Shopping Center
*Jiffy Lube
*Mill Street Car Wash
*Crater Car Wash
*Concierge Home and Business Watch
*Riverside Inn

Finally, let's get to the legality of this.
It is NOT illegal to pick up bottles along the road (like I do even in rural areas riding my bike often a considerable difference).
Nor is it illegal to pick up bottles in parks (although I ALWAYS respect other's space).
As well the Supreme Court of the USA ruled that it is legal to collect bottles in public areas (this does not include areas closed to the public or labeled "Employees/Staff only").

QUOTE from information provided to me many years back as to this Court Ruling (that covers the entire USA, not just California where the case started)
California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988).
The Court believed it to be "common knowledge" that garbage left out in receptacles in public places* is readily accessible to "animals, children, scavengers, snoops and other members of the public."

*Legal Note:
"Receptacles in public places", while it may include general parking access of shopping centers or similar, it does NOT include areas marked employees, staff, etc. only.
As well, this constitutional right does not supersede laws such as litter laws, in other words making a mess while scavenging can be considered a violation of the law. Nor does this court decision protect an individual if they break loitering laws, impede ingress or egress of employees, patrons, etc., or if said individual acts in a manner that could endanger others around them.
Telling a customer they cannot pick up recyclables in a public parking (even if private property as long as it is open to the public) is no different than telling an African American to go to the back of the bus. Both are a violation of your Constitutional rights.

Is Grants Pass Oregon Business Friendly?

 

Updated 4/25/17

Is Grants Pass Oregon Family Business Friendly?

The obvious and resounding answer is most emphatically no based on experience.

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Attack on My Internet Business July 2014

While I have spoken with an understanding community development director, the fact remains the way my family business has been treated by this city as well as the chain of events that led up to our being required to move my business out of my "out building" is utterly ridiculous.

This started with an anonymous complaint that we are blocking our driveway.
This was never properly investigated as per even the community development director. Instead a person who in my opinion would work well within the old Soviet Union sent me a 7 day cease and desist order (since we are in vacation season, I could have been gone too, so Really, 7 days, who are you kidding, Putin maybe?).
I checked with my neighbors and none had any complaints which makes this all the more suspicious of why the attack on my business (especially since Grants Pass has been less than friendly toward my business since day one and since we have a trouble maker in California who looks for any way to harass and threaten our family including false reports to DHS).

Even more of note is we own the entire drive all the way to the street, the house next door in the duplex have an easement ALLOWED BY ME. So the fact remains is I can park on my own driveway if I want.

The red line in the picture above clear shows that the vast majority of the driveway is on our property (and then some). When Fedex trucks dropped off, they were there but a short time and never were on our neighbor's property, but our corrupt city government could not even do the most remedial of research or even return emails but for one person.

However this evolved into where number #5 in the city charter that does not allow for any persons to work at the business who does not reside there.
While I can understand this, I also have to point out that many businesses across the country and even here in Grants Pass have a few employees that come and go or work some regular hours in a residential area.
My 4 employees work part time at the residence and part time out of their own homes. The part time here is due to getting orders ready for our internet based business.
The home time is writing computer code, pictures, articles, and a lot of customer service.

It is noteworthy that we are well within compliance of 9 of 10 city requirements for a city business operating out of a home or a building on the residential property.
AS WELL. when I first started this business in Grants Pass I stated my intentions and every year claimed how many employees I have, so Grants Pass had known this for years and granted me a business license in the first place along with renewals every year!!!

In speaking with others, along with the fact many businesses here in Grants Pass work out of homes, garages, and have employees on the premises, this begs the question of the intent or spirit of the law.
Does one get a ticket for going 56 in a 55 mph zone? No, not usually unless we are dealing with a power hungry officer, but we certainly would deserve a ticket for going 75 mph.

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When you consider the fact we are well within every other aspect of the code, and by a wide margin (such as not allowing customer traffic to our business, nor having any business vehicles parked at or near the home), any reasonable person would come to the conclusion that some sort of witch hunt is in progress by persons or at the very least persons in the Grants Pass City government need to step back and look at what they are doing.

Another noteworthy point is many businesses have started out in garages or homes such as Amazon, or YouTube. These had employees as well and frankly when one considers how hodgepodge the zoning is here in Grants Pass, again a reasonable person has to say REALLY, is this the kind of anti small business Grants Pass wants to foster?

One more noteworthy point is this neighborhood has mixed businesses within it. Only three lots away was a Boathouse business that has since burned down.
There also is a video store, an industrial business and more within a few blocks, ALL mixed within this same residential neighborhood. Other examples even include the web site "I Love Grants Pass" which has employees on the premises. As well as a tattoo parlor, a taxi service and a barbershop are also run out of a building on residential properly on our street.

So this begs the question as to one very minor violation on the city charter (#5, when our business is well within compliance on all other points), as to the intent of this charter "is to maintain residential integrity" when these other clear businesses are clearly NOT maintaining residential integrity, while our business is quite the stealth business being a computer based family business with a few employees coming and going being the only clue that there might be a business on the premises.
Even more to the point, after spending some time reading the Grants Pass City web site and the many pages and pdfs with rules and ordinances for business, building, etc.; no where can this obscure rule #5 be found.
Does this mean it does not exist? No, but the fact it is not published adds to the suspicion that this obscure rule is being used as a tool for very immoral attack on our business by someone in the City Government or a tool using our City government.

IN OTHER WORDS, MORE PROOF A CLEAR WITCH HUNT IS UNDER WAY BY THE CITY OF GRANTS PASS!!!

Reference: Grants Pass; Doing Business

Below is a recent picture of our home with the building in the back where I run my business partly out of, although much of the work online is down inside the home up front by me and and my daughter, as well as at the home of my employees online.
DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IT IS AFFECTING THE RESIDENTIAL INTEGRITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD??

In speaking with Tod Harrison, who was the person in the City government who filed this complaint WITHOUT ANY RESEARCH, and whom took the leap from blocking a driveway to employees at the home (which are clearly separate issues), he did concede to 30 days instead of 7, however in the time we have been spending valuable time that should be going into running a business, we have quickly realized that even the most remotely affordable and useful facilities are 60 plus days from occupation.

More importantly; Tod Harrison called me back a little later telling me in the mean time to not park any extra vehicles in the driveway.
REALLY? First when employees do come by, they park in the street, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, this is 100% my driveway and WHO IS THIS MAN TO TELL ME WHERE I CAN AND CANNOT PARK ON MY PRIVATE PROPERTY!!!
If this does not tell you where this man is coming from, I have some beach front property to sell you in Barrow Alaska!!
Everyone I told this point dropped their jaw and stated I SHOULD NOT TAKE THIS LYING DOWN AS I HAVE prior to writing this blog post!

Frankly, this man should be in the unemployment lines as he is trying to do with me, except that with me being privately employed, I cannot get unemployment!

In the mean time, we are having little success in finding something that will both work and we can afford.
Believe me, we would love to expand and business was growing until the USA voted that clown into office in Washington DC who also allows his buddies at Google to monopolize the internet.
But I would be willing to bet that these persons in Grants Pass government think Google is the greatest thing since sliced bread and only help exacerbate the situation by using their crap search engine instead of the moral and frankly better ones such as DuckDuckGo.com.
Maybe then we would be growing like we were with our extremely unique aquarium and pond information articles, instead we have to constantly spend copious amounts of man hours and money promoting our business either with terrible Google Adwords, forums where persons can be very vile toward my staff, Facebook, and many more outlets.
Now we must take on another expense when we can least afford it, at a time when my Doctor wants me to get more staff so I can cut back on hours do to health problems (including scheduling back surgery).
Of course this will not happen now; THANKS Grants Pass!!!!

I should note that it is interesting that I get positive feedback from many persons for my many free and in depth articles world wide, yet I get nothing here in Grants Pass (with a few exceptions). This includes "getting talked around" in Grants Pass forums (which I have since left), the Courier (who we were advertising with at the time) ignoring my expertise about fish care and poisonous fish when they did an article many years ago and then getting their facts WRONG.
Interestingly, one of these GP forums is run out of a home where employees outside the residence work.
I am sorry to bring up the past, since I have long ago moved on and promoted my business elsewhere where we are appreciated, but when ridiculous city orders such as this are presented, REASONABLE PERSONS have to question whether there really is something going on more deep?

What is also sad about this attack on my business by the City of Grants Pass is the economic FACT that the best kind of business to have is one that employs persons while bringing in money from outside the community, which 99.9999% of the money we bring is not only from outside Josephine County, but even some is from outside the USA.
But I am guessing many working for the Grants Pass City government have no understanding of basic economics.

As of now, I am still looking in trying to turn a bad situation into good, but this is so far not going well. Others have stated I should seek legal counsel and work to get Tod Harrison fired for his alleged misguided attack on our business, but for now I am still trying to work within the system and hopefully honest persons will step forward and fix this problem, but I am not holding my breath.

I will state that the mayor was very understanding, but I get the feeling his hands are tied.
As well the Community Development Director was also more reasonable, he for one has extended it to 90 days (but this is not looking as easy as I thought). I get the impression that he too has his hands tied and that since Tod Harrison filed this order, it cannot be rescinded unless the City Council steps in.

I have been told to contact my City Counsel members of my Ward or elsewhere, since they have the authority to fix the situation by better clarification of what the purpose of these ordinances are for, which is most certainly NOT to use as a way to anonymously attack others the way the DHS is also used.
This is clearly what happened and now the City of Grants Pass has become the tool of another anonymous person to destroy a family based business.

What is also making this more difficult besides my health issues and needing to cut back on hours, not take on hours to cover letting go staff to pay the extra expenses the City is forcing me to incur is the fact this comes at a difficult time for my family with the loss of my wife's sister (whom she was very close to). So thanks too to Grants Pass for this show of compassion!!!!

Hopefully I can edit this article to a more "happy ending" (or delete it), but it may have to go the other way. Either way since I know this blog is well read, I am hopeful that this will warn others thinking of moving a business here, or better, get the honest persons in Grants Pass to rise up and say "NO MORE!"

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Update 9/13/14
After investigation, reading laws online, speaking with neighbors, and speaking with a City Council member, it is quite clear that Lawrence (Larry) V. (of CENTURY 21) allegedly made this complaint where by he provided false information and made false charges.

False information since the City clearly thought that the drive was split down the middle and that he had permission to park on the driveway when IN FACT the property line included almost the full main drive on my property (as I showed to a City Council member), as well as THE FACT Lawrence V. only had an easement from me for ingress and egress.

This was a false complaint since there was no blocking of the drive way), EVER as per my neighbors too. A FedEx/UPS truck that delivers cannot be counted since we and our neighbors still receive deliveries and the onetime a neighbor needed to leave, the FedEx truck that was dropping off a package immediately moved.

Compare this to Lawrence V. who regularly blocks ingress and egress with his truck (talk about hypocrisy!!)

Below is just a recent picture of his truck blocking ingress and egress of OUR driveway (often he has a trailer attached making it even more difficult to get by)

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Update 7/10/14
Little has been done to this point.
Sadly, for a community that has strong Christian ties with the many churches, etc., this speaks very poorly as per the parable of the Good Samaritan where those who can help are clearly acting as the Priest did in the parable by walking away.
Currently this includes City Council Members whom I have contacted with ONLY ONE even having the decency of returning my emails. I also attempted to contact Lily Morgan via Social Media (besides email), she too could not be bothered!!
The exception was Mark Gatlin (who will be the only one getting my vote or likely that of my family, friends, or employees).

I did get some contact with the mayor who expressed sympathy, but was unwilling to do ANYTHING else than a "there- there".

In the end, it is not just me who they will put out of work with their actions or lack there of, but my few employees (including those who work out of their home), and local businesses such as Grovers Electrical & Plumbing whom we purchase a considerable amount from on a weekly basis to build parts for aquarium filters and plumbing systems that are then sold worldwide!

Thankfully in the end, a friend in the city found us an excellent location that allows my daughter to help and along with reasonable rent and the pay off of a loan, we should be able to make it here.
This is definitely a case just like an issue with the Oregon DHS where other meant this for evil, but God has made good out of it with a much larger and workable location (albeit at much higher monthly expense that as of Jan. 2015, we have not been able to cover).

HOWEVER, this does not relieve those in the city who at the very least did not do their homework, and at the worst showed favoritism, cronyism, and corruption. To be bluntly honest, I now have little positive feeling as to Grants Pass as a place to do business or even as a place to live out my life, so if an opportunity would present itself to move my business, I will take it out of this town (including taking the jobs and spending at local businesses such as Grovers)

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If you still feel the City of Grants Pass needs to clean up its act:
Please call the city at 541-450-6000 and in your own words ask them to stop looking the other way while a City employee uses an obscure law to attempt to shut our business down. Please call every day until they cease their attacks on our family business.
The facts are there are much more offending businesses as to affecting the residential integrity of the area.
The City Council could easily write a waiver or amend this obscure provision if they wanted to as well.

As well, in my opinion, I would certainly never do business with a man like Real Estate agent Lawrence V., since he clearly knew our family was going through much with the loss/death of my sister and my health issues. So to pile on when I had done him a favor with the ingress and egress easement says a lot about his character.

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Update 8/04/15, Sales Tax Proposal

Now we have a sales tax proposal drawn up by unelected and thus job protected City Manager Aaron Cubic.

Council President Dan DeYoung and councilors Jim Goodwin, Dennis Roler, Roy Lindsay and Rick Riker voted for the issue. Councilors Lily Morgan and Ken Hannum voted no.
Councilor Mark Gatlin was not in the room, but he participated via Skype at times and via a cell phone at other times. He argued against the question, but apparently lost a connection just before the vote was taken.

Once more Grants Pass in their misguided non-business friendly attempts to fix miss-management issues are willing to push businesses such as mine out of Grants Pass.
What persons such as the City Manager & City Council with no business sense do not seem to grasp is that Grants Pass is a tough place to conduct a business that is not service related, in part due to the location and cost of moving product in and out in a cost efficient manner. What GP does have is a statewide sales tax free business zone that partly makes up for this and allows us to compete with the "big boys" in our industry who have advantages we do not have.

Now the City Manager proposes to take away this one advantage we do have for having a business that brings in ALL outside money and employees persons with this money in a good job.
Let me put it simply so that our City Council can understand; We operate on a thin 9% margin after cost of goods and expenses, after paying off the mob (the City of Grants Pass) we will now have a 7% margin. Put into dollars, a property tax levy will cost my family maybe $300 while this tax will cost my family $8000. Maybe the City Council can do the math here????

As for passing it on via customer service as one poorly informed council person stated on KAJO Aug. 4, we already provide the most in depth library of aquarium and pond information in the world, but most persons just take our help and customer service and shop price, so we MUST be in the ball park. This council person needs to wake up and realize this is the 21st century, not 1970 where customer service made a huge difference.

Maybe he needs to look at salaries of highly paid city staff to fund the police and jails?

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References:
Just Two of my Business Websites (I run MANY MORE for the Aquarium/Pond Hobby)
*American Aquarium Products and Aquatic Information Here is the information links page: Aquarium & Pond Information Articles
*Aquarium & Pond Answers

Further References:
*CHICAGO STYLE CORRUPTION IN GRANTS PASS OREGON
By Former City Councilor Bob Anderson, December 21, 2013

OTHERS (my articles):
*Google Adwords Manipulation of Results; Failure in Advertising
*Buying Aquarium Products via Amazon (& Chewy, eBay)
*DHS, DCS, CPS; Oregon, LA, Children Protective Service Abuse of Authority
*Google IS Evil, Content Plagiarism, Aquarium Fish Searches
*List of Obama Failures

Josephine County Budget Deficit, Tax Levy Defeat

 

Updated 7-23-13

Josephine County Tax Levy Defeat has heralded grave consequences by officials of the county, but should this truly be the case?

While my opinion is likely not going to be taken seriously as it never is in Josephine County (as a few friends/supporters have noted the similarity of my situation to the Bible book of Mark, 6:4-6), despite my years of business success and well regarded skills in organizational management.
I will give my suggestions anyway and hopefully some honest county commissioner will read these suggestions.

I will also state that I find the local media coverage insulting to me and especially to those who literally could not afford this property tax increase without the REAL danger of losing their home!
In fact while the decision to vote NO on the ballot measure for a tax levy to keep staffing for the Sheriff department was probably the most difficult voting decision I have ever made, the main factor in voting NO (I was originally leaning toward a yes vote) was the many people I knew of that would have the real risk of losing their home due to this tax increase.
For me, my financial situation is much improved over a few years ago (although I still have debts from this period due to situations beyond my control).
HOWEVER my feeling was and is; What right do I or others have to potentially force others to loose their home just because I can afford to pay this tax???

This brings me to my points to keep current staffing or even improve staffing for our important county services such as the Sheriff and Road department:

Update 5/22/13 The latest measure to fund the jail and sheriff went down to defeat 51 percent to 49 percent. While I will admit I voted yes this time, I certainly respect the reasons many I know who voted no. Again, lack of good County Management (including from those inside the county government) was one of the major reasons cited. As well lack of accountability of the funds generated by this measure was cited by others I talked to. Sadly, few if any of the ideas I put forth a year ago were considered, but then that is not a surprise either. Please read these suggestions after this update

1. Since I know for a fact that many have asked to volunteer payment of this tax to keep staffing, yet it was refused due to lack of a way to accept this money; this MUST BE CHANGED!
   This should be administered similar to a pledge so that reasonable planning of funds can be done by county commissioners/staff.
   In other words someone would pledge say $25 per month ($300 per year) and a form could be filled out or better; an automatic credit/debit card, or bank account could be drafted (even PayPal could be used).
   This would also allow for those willing/able to pay more to do so which may make up for the many who cannot pay much or anything.


2. Fee for service;
   As with Rural Metro Fire, a fee for service can be imposed, which includes a sliding scale for those who abuse police/sheriff services with many more than normal calls, especially for often minor issues.
   This could be mixed with the voluntary "pledge" i noted above where-by a pledge of say $25 or more per month (that is kept current) does not pay anything for services.


3. County Parks use fee;
   As someone who loves and uses our parks for camping, I personally think most all parks should be self sustaining, just as a Private RV Park must be.
   If not, the use fees should be higher.
   
   While I am not for big government of a fee for this and a fee for that, why should someone subsidize my camping anymore than I should be expected to subsidize their activities?
   An example would be to have county run movie theaters where the county tax payers subsidize the shows, regardless of whether or not every tax payer utilizes the facility.
   
   Also, as pointed out by a friend and co-worker, sometimes (as with business) finding the "sweet spot" in a fee is also important.
   An example of what I am referring to is the fee to play Frisbee golf, where-by she stated that she finds the fee too much for an hour of Frisbee golf, but would pay this fee it were lower.


4. Road Use Fees;
   While this may require State approval, charging say $.02 per gallon of gas at all county gasoline stations may help offset county road maintenance costs.
   This again is a "use tax" where-by those who due not drive and use a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle can avoid this tax by simply not driving.
   I know California has similar taxes, although often these funds are raided for other uses, which must be avoided by correct legal terminology if this means of revenue generation is used.


5. Since I operate a business within the Grants Pass city limits;
   See: American Aquarium Products
   I pay a business tax and while many business taxes (such as gross revenue taxes) are oppressive and anti business, a reasonable tax similar to the Grants Pass tax (maybe a bit less though) would help with budget deficits.
   I would also add that businesses by nature use more city or county services such as roads, fire, police and thus this too can be looked at as a user fee assuming it is applied reasonably and not oppressively


6. Cut the County Commissioners pay
   This idea is not one I thought of, but it has been proposed and certainly is a good one that may not help a lot on its own, but taken with other ideas I already suggested, it should be "part of the mix"


7. Necessary Services?
   In looking over the county's online business statements it caught my eye that Health Services was the second largest expenditure; WHY?
   While I did not dig deeply, I could not find any up-front explanation of what this money was used for.
   My personally opinion is that health services is often a cash cow for oppressive and unconstitutional government agencies such as the Oregon DHS.
   Whether this is the case here with Josephine County, I do not know, but the answer is also not readily found
   See: Oregon DHS, Abuse of Authority

I feel VERY STRONGLY that taken in part or together that these can and will work and may even have the potential of generating MORE revenue than Josephine County previously had with the Federal Timber payments and property taxes.

HISTORY BEHIND THIS TAX SHORTFALL

For decades, Josephine, Curry, and other Oregon timber counties relied on millions in federal timber sales to pay for sheriff's deputies, jails, roads, prosecutors, health clinics and other services.
Federal land makes up 60 percent of the land base in counties such as Josephine County Oregon, but isn't subject to property taxes. So the federal government shared harvest revenue with these counties.
However the near shut-down of logging on federal forests due to extremist environmentalist concerns cost these counties dearly.
Congress in 2000 approved a payment program to replace the timber money, and extended it twice, but this was not renewed this past year.

By Carl S.

Grants Pass Police; Alleged Corruption, Dishonesty, Compassion

 

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Updated 6/8/20

With what has happened with George Floyd, followed by protests, riots and even killing of police offices, please take this post in context that it was written many years ago.
First; locally things HAVE improved in the GPPD.
Second; even with these problems I still support the police and realize that the vast majority are good people trying to do a good job in a tough environment.
I do NOT support dismantling or cutting back of the police, sheriff, etc. in the USA.

More on this subject:
Was The Murder Of George Floyd Racism Or Something Else?

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Our society has many checks and balances, however sadly many of these fail when it comes to government organizations where the abuse of authority or power comes into play.
I have witnessed this with persons in the teaching profession where 95% are excellent, but a few bad apples can really soil the reputation of the good ones, however this is to be expected in any job or similar. The problem really starts when others that have the ability or authority to correct the situation choose to look the other way or worse, promote dishonest and immoral behavior.

When this problem manifests itself in police, sheriff, etc. with just one individual, this can become a major "black eye" even when most officers conduct themselves in the the best moral conduct any human can possibly perform (which being human, I believe we all make mistakes, but when a police department covers up mistakes, this becomes a major issue of abuse of authority).
I want to point out I have personally witnessed officers showing the utmost of compassion, in particular a deputy with the Los Angeles Sheriff Department who who checked in regularly with our family and business after a few traumatic events befell our family and business, including the horrible individual who became the primary reason for our move to Grants Pass.
My personal/family bio:
http://carlstrohmeyer.com/
My business bio:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumBio.html

My point is this was incredible compassion and I do not think it is fair to label all police, sheriff as bad because of a few bad apples.
A recent well publicized example of how I think most officers should be known and likely many are of this caliber:
NYPD Officer Whose Act of Kindness Went Viral, My Heart Went Out to Him



This brings me to the Grants Pass Police Department, as I noted I believe the vast majority of police, Sheriff, etc. are good honest and moral persons (& likely many if not most in the GPPD as well), the Grants Pass Police has a terrible reputation and those in authority to stop the few bad apples refuse seem to not have any interest in doing so, rather they make excuses.
This includes Sergeants (one Sergeant in particular is a real power hungry a## that should be picking up trash by the side of the road, not be a police Sergeant), the Deputy Chiefs, the local courts, and the City Counsel/Mayor.

I will also admit I was in disbelief (as to rumors I heard about the GPPD) and hid my head in the sand as to the truth of the alleged corruption and arrogance of the GPPD (or at least those who had the authority to correct the known problem officers).
In my defense my first real contact came two years after moving to Grants Pass with officer Mike Miner.
He was so professional, compassionate, and courteous that it led me to believe that ALL these persons comments about problems within the GPPD must be wrong (maybe this officer should be Chief, as I know he still works with the GPPD). I would also note that I have met others too in the GPPD that also appear to be good moral police officers. As well, my mostly positive experience with LA County Sheriff led me to believe that I should expect the same in Grants Pass (not all experiences with LA Sheriff were positive, but a major difference is the few less than positive experiences led to talks with supervisors that actually acknowledged and addressed the issue).

For this reason it is even more frustrating that the few bad apples are allowed to give our city this poor reputation as a business person in this community, I want to be proud of my local police, not have to place a "but" or axterix next to GPPD (I should note that my Stat software shows MANY searches from around the USA and in particular Oregon with the search query of "Grants Pass Police Problems" or similar, so it is obvious we have a problem that needs fixing).

Before I give examples of the alleged problems with the GPPD, let me once more emphasize that the purpose of this article is NOT to attack the GPPD and the people working hard to do the best job they can, but to hopefully get attention to these problems with a few bad apples and get them fixed (instead of looking the other way) so that the only rumor about the GPPD is how it is the best police department in the the country!!

For those shaking their heads while reading this and wondering what I am talking about, let me give several alleged examples (a couple are my own, while other examples are from other upstanding community members here in Grants Pass, Oregon)

• 12/1/16
  Officer Shali Marshall pulls over my daughter on her way to a therapy session. It is noteworthy that these therapy sessions are required because the GPPD FAILED to protect her and my family from a sociopath predator that sent many threatening correspondences after he located where we fled from him to hide her from his initial harm in Southern California.
  I know this intersection well myself, as it is notorious for short green lights for the major north south street. This said, my daughter admits she was still in the intersection as the light turned red, so the citation/ticket is legitimate, but is also questionable considering likely one second separates a legitimate ticket and non legitimate ticket, especially since officer Marshall was hiding, obviously looking to try and make questionable stops.
  
  She explained to officer Shali Marshall too that she needed to get to this therapy session, but the officer obviously was not moved and felt it not important.
  As in 2009 and another incident that I do not have permission to post and in 2010, the GPPD once again at the very least failed at the most basic of compassion.
  Just teaching GPPD officers how to listen, learn discernment, and have the most basic of compassion is something the leadership has yet to address and the GPPD still seems to want to be an embarrassment to our community.
  
  Even the therapist could not get her to understand why the world hates her and she is now multiple steps backwards in any progress she may have made.
  
  I spoke with the officers supervisor, and while polite, he was robotic and showed no compassion and was clueless as to why I was complaining. He noted in reviewing recordings, the she indeed was still in the intersection when the light turned red, which in Oregon is a traffic infraction, but we are here dealing with a citation akin to writing a ticket for going 36 mph in a 35 zone. The officer was clearly lying in wait, the officer clearly could see based on her own questions and observations that she was tired/stressed.
  
  In the end, as per the legitimacy of the citation/ticket, giving the officer the benefit of the doubt here, I have to question her morality in a citation for a difficult intersection where literally one second separates a legitimate and non-legitimate write.
  But even more so I have to question her compassion and discernment in how she held her up making her miss part of her important therapy session for this questionable citation all the while showing no compassion whatsoever (while admittedly being "cooly polite")
  
  I know once while going through a difficult divorce many years ago, I took off from a signal very quickly and hit 50 in a 35 zone, a definite and clear violation. The Los Angeles Sheriff deputy who witnessed this and pulled me over, also quickly sensed there was more going on here and actually took the time to have a heart felt talk (which was really nice), but then also rightly lectured me about maybe not driving while in this mood, but then waved it off.
  In this case, this was very marginal violation, where this officer made my daughter late for a very needed therapy session (which earlier incidences with the GPPD had a hand in causing by not taking seriously threat against my family by a stalker), where showing some compassion rather than a desperate need to write up the most narrow of violations leaves one wondering is the Grants Pass Department of Safety (as the GPPD refers to themselves as) or the Grants Pass Gestapo code enforcement bureau?
  
  Thank you GPPD for once again failing my daughter and shame on officer Shali Marshall for her failure at basic compassion, discernment, how to listen, and honesty!


• 11/29/12
  Employees at the Grants Pass BiMart have their vehicles broken into. between approx. 6am & 7 am.
  What makes this crime egregious is these vehicles were locked and alarmed an just behind where the employees were working in a well lit area, so this took some major "balls" (pardon my language) and was clearly NOT a crime of opportunity.
  The vehicles were damaged beyond being drivable, so these were clearly hardened probably violent criminals that should NOT be roaming the streets of Grants Pass.
  
  So what was the officers response? He was rude according to a witness and refused to even take a police report, he simply handed his card to the victim.
  Not only should a police report have been taken, this crime should have been investigated by detectives as this was NOT a crime of opportunity, rather a crime committed by person who likely would not be safe to meet on the street.
  
  SHAME on Deputy Chief Landis for not disciplining this and other rogue officers and SHAME on the Grants Pass City Council for continuing to not take action against the problems with this police department which continues to give the city of Grants Pass a bad name and all the good officers here and elsewhere a bad name as well!!!!


• An upstanding citizen of Grants Pass (she ran a well known Day Care) had a malicious call that she was suicidal. The GPPD shows up at her home and rather than investigate this call for what it was (& considering what she does for a living), they hand cuffed her in front of her children, neighbors, & husband. The officers did not conduct an investigation by asking her kids, husband or neighbors, not did they ask the Pastor of the church that employed her as the director. These offices simply made a presumption of “guilt” and took her into a hospital for a psychiatric exam.
  Upon release she called the Sergeant in authority at this time who (typical of the GPPD) treated her rudely and with contempt.


• A local businessman parks in the parking lot at G and 6th Street to drop off packages for his business at the post office, he walks by several officers standing on 6th Street; upon return these same officers stop him and question him like he was a criminal, even though it was obvious what he was “up to”.


• A lady is side swiped shortly after turning north on 7th from Manzanita, she has to chase down the other driver who was obvious distracted. She contacted the GPPD where the officer did not conduct a thorough investigation and instead cited her for an unsafe turn (not even considering the damage to her vehicle as proof)


• I have sat in personally in traffic court and noted that one officer in particular (officer JJ) display his total lack of compassion, ability to tell the truth (even when evidence to the contrary is presented), and simply lack of morals and obvious power hungry abuse of power.


• On July 30 2009 an out of control officer (he does not remember the name, but the dishonesty reeked of Officer Jamie J. & this name is whom he seems to remember) stopped an employee of mine for running a yellow light (not a red) and was rude, hassled him, and worst of all accused him of being on drugs since he was shaking from being nervous. It does not take a brain surgeon to recognize the difference between being nervous and taking drugs. Furthermore everyone who knows this young man knows that he is the nicest person you could meet without a mean bone in his body, as well he does not even touch a drop of alcohol, yet alone drugs.


• Sergeant TH when complained to about Grants Pass Police abuse after an officer bangs on the back door of a home falsely accusing of using illegal fireworks is condescending and corrects the caller for using the word “officer” and stated that he must be addressed as “Sergeant”, if this is not a person with abuse of power problems, I do not know what is.
  In this same incident he defended this officers actions (which admittedly although are wrong, was an innocent mistake as he did not know this families personal situation and why banging on the back door sent chills down their spines) by stating he can bang on “any door he wants to at any time”.
  
  Sorry Sergeant TH, this is not the Peoples Republic of China, check your location as this is the United States of America!


• I received a citation for following “To closely” in a minor accident that caused essentially no damage to the other vehicle (it happened under 15 mph), this accident occurred while under the extreme stress created by my daughter’s improper removal from our home by DHS. See: DHS, DCS, CPS, DCFS Abuse of authority problems
  
  The Officer (JJ) (who lied in court again) never asked me what led up to this and showed ZERO compassion. As well Sergeant TH made up false claims as to insurance companies position and putting words in their mouths (both my insurance agent and my best friend works as a broker for Farmers have denied the officers statement), this classifies this as a lie IMO. Sadly I was in a similar accident where I was rear ended in this same truck several years back with no damage to my truck and mild/moderate damage to his vehicle, the deputy who responded actually talked to us both and decided to not write the other driver a citation (this was at Don Julian Rd. & 7th Av. North in the City of Industry). No one would argue that going 36 in a 35 zone is speeding, however most reasonable persons would agree that writing a ticket for this would be abuse of authority, which in my view (besides the typical lack of compassion the GPPD displays) is what happened here.
  I also looked up the legal definition of Careless or Reckless driving which this uncompassionate sergeant implied I could have been cited with rather than the “kinder” citation of following to close (which is a blatant lie) and they do not apply, especially Reckless Driving.
  
  I have been contacted by a friend who has worked as an executive in the insurance industry for decades that stated the Deputy Chief and other’s statement as to the insurance industry preferring that citations be issued regardless of whether a traffic violation was actually broken is an ABSOLUTE LIE.


• As per the Grants Pass Courier Letters; a man who was traveling down 6th St, with his an infant and young child in the car. He spotted his wife & honked and waved at her and was immediately pulled over by a GPPD (probably Officer JJ). The man stated in his letter that the GPPD officer was extremely rude & obnoxious and even addressed the small child asking if he would like to see his father arrested. This behavior by the officer upset the child considerably.
  The police chief cited that honking the horn is illegal except in an emergency, while this is true, do we really wants an overly aggressive police force that hands out tickets for something this absurd? Why not tickets for going 31 mph in a 30 mph zone? This can be taken to the extreme.
  Has the chief ever heard of the spirit of the law and the intent of the law? Please do the citizens of Grants Pass a favor and retire pal.


• There are many citizens that are also aware of Officer Jamie J. alleged selling of Steroids while the officer on duty at Grants Pass High.
  Once again a cover up ensued and the local courts participated in the cover up of what in my personal experience as well as the many persons in town consider an extremely dishonest and slime of a human being that sadly disgraces the badge.


• A lady with the Grants Pass Public Safety Department (the title of this department is laughable IMO based the total condescending lack of compassion here), wanted to argue that everyone else is wrong; which includes my previous attorney, LA Sheriff Deputies, to two insurance agents, to others I respect in the business community. Apparently only the GPPD has it right and everyone else is wrong.
  This is also arrogant, and although she and others at GPPD may be correct on some points, however this "we" (GPPD) are right and everyone elsewhere is wrong attitude is despicable.


• Once again officer J.J. argues with a witness of a minor traffic collision outside Boatnik Festival telling the witnesses that they did not see what they saw???.
  Commentary: This officer just cannot help himself to stop his lying and making up stories to back up his corrupt behavior; is there no one in this department with the integrity top stand up to this guy and finally give him the boot?


• Complaints by our family about a person that HAS harmed their family in many ways (including a young girl) which is the reason for our move here to be near other supportive family members, have literally been laughed off by the GPPD.
  Sergeant TH laughed in a phone call about this problem, likely due to the strange, sickly twisted manner of the continued emails sent by this person. Unfortunately this is not a laughing matter and any professional Police Officer would understand this as a dangerous person that can one day totally snap and the progression of emails & similar presented PROVE this progression as well.
  Sadly this incident and the first noted about the Day Care Administrator really display the total incompetence, corruption and lack of morals displayed by what appears to be an inept police department.

What is also interesting to me (after this was pointed out by another citizen frustrated with our police department) is the number of Officers for a town of this size which I have been told is 35. When you consider that the Josephine county Sheriff’s Department does not have anywhere close to this number for about the same number of citizens and vastly more territory to cover, it has got to leave one scratching their heads if we have too many officers with too much time on their hands; this of coarse is an opinion, but a valid opinion/question for any reasonable person. The only way this is going to stop is not only for citizens to stand up and say “No More”, but for those reading this that are even considering visiting the heavily tourist dependent Grants Pass area to boycott Grants Pass. This will send a message that police corruption or dishonesty is not tolerated and soils the reputation of those elsewhere (& even in this department that likely are forced to be quiet) that strive for excellence and morality.

In Summary; I am not saying all the officers are bad, dishonest, corrupt or whatever adjective one would choose, I suspect that the majority GPPD officers are good moral persons, however the buck stops at the top and when the top makes excuses, lies or denies the laws of the United States in defense of bad officers, then we clearly have a problem of alleged corruption or at the very least blatant dishonesty & indifference. I also certainly do not want to encourage a "piling on" as the liberal media has falsely done with sheriff Joe Arpaio (of Arizona).

If this department wants to clean up its act, I can think of at least two officers in particular that should be in the unemployment lines (Officer JJ and Sergeant TH). Worse if something were to happen in the case of last complaint listed here, the City of Grants Pass will be liable for a lawsuit (especially in lieu of what happened in Tucson since this guy has much in common); is this what this town can afford?
BTW, after showing these incoming emails from this predator whom Sergeant TH found so entertaining, most have been horrified as to that something has not been done and how dangerous this person is;
My point is Sergeant Todd H is clearly scum especially as of Jan of 2012, this dangerous person is still attempting to contact my family that this putrid scum with a badge could care less about!

Sadly we had a solo accident in front of our home (Spring of 2011) involving a drunk driver (our maple tree was damaged), but since no one was hurt, both me and my wife decided to not get involved based on our terrible experience in the past with the GPPD. I still feel bad that we feel that calling 911 is a bad choice in this town, but unfortunately ours and others treatment by our so-called police department has made us feel this way; Is this how a local police force should condition their community to feel???

Hopefully those reading this post will do the right thing; either boycott Grants Pass, call their City Council Person (if they live in Grants Pass, OR), or even call the GPPD to complain.
Remember this quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”

OR better hopefully the City Council will DO THEIR JOB AND GET RID OF THE PROBLEM OFFICERS, as well as make changes that does allow future problems of this sort, so that I can update this blog post that I do not enjoy posting since I have otherwise always been big supporter of law enforcement!
UPDATE: It appears as of the latest update, that the two known alleged problem officers (Todd H & Jamie J) have "moved on", hopefully not to become another communities problem. This stated, I hope those in charge will have a better attitude in dealing with any future problem officers so that our community can have a police department we can be proud of!

Maybe the sad reality is that I was spoiled by the several deputies I dealt with in Los Angeles County who showed respect, compassion, and honesty, as well as the Motto; "To Serve and Protect" and frankly I have not seen this positive attitude from the Grants Pass PD.

Further References:
*CHICAGO STYLE CORRUPTION IN GRANTS PASS OREGON
By Former City Councilor Bob Anderson, December 21, 2013

Another Issue with the Good Ole Boys that run Grants Pass where our City Government has once again looked the other way:
Is Grants Pass Oregon Family Business Friendly

Please continue to read the comments that have since come in after this article was published

Grants Pass Schools; North Middle, Parkside

Grants Pass Schools; Thanks to North Middle, Parkside Elementary


In this post I would like to express my thanks to North Middle School and Parkside Elementary School of Grants Pass Oregon for the many of the staff’s excellent care of my children, in particular Timothy (who has high functioning autism) and Danielle (who is/was also need some special education).
See also this resource:
Grants Pass Information, events, climate zones, police, fire

While this may not seem like much to point this out, I would like to preface this post by stating my school years were terrible with one teacher who was beyond reprehensible (many of my classmates have confirmed this at my most recent reunion), as well Michelle has had difficulties with poor school staff care at GPHS and at Palm School in Hacienda Heights, CA.
So for me this is very refreshing to see excellent staff care by these two schools.

Starting with Parkside Elementary School, both Timothy and Danielle has had excellent teachers starting with Mrs. Hammervold for his first grade class who was an awesome Christian that showed both love, yet firmness he needed (she also has a special needs child herself which probably helps with her understanding). Timothy finished school with Mr. Pinster who also was excellent in dealing with Timothy’s difficulties such as not understanding when to speak.
The special education teacher is Mrs. Cutillo who although she had a difficult start with Timothy, she never gave up and really tried with the best of her abilities to help both us (me and my wife Joanne) and others at school mainline Timothy.
Mrs. Cutillo also did an excellent job with Danielle, although she was much easier to work with, so it is her work with Timothy that impressed me over the years.
The year end trip to the coast to see tide pools full of starfish and other sea life (as well as Ocean World and more) for graduating 5th graders is a neat event as well that provided my kids with awesome memories.
See my product link for starfish I sell in my business:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/StarFish.html

Joann Pilcher was the vocal music instructor who did an excellent job with Danielle and deserves our thanks as well.
Finally the principle is Diane Mease whom took much over her valuable time to help with Timothy.

North Middle School has had all three of my kids. Michelle (my oldest) was home schooled by my sister who is a College instructor by profession as she was not ready for elementary school when we first moved here while Dr. Safko counseled her through difficulties thrust upon her while in the Los Angeles area (he still continues to see her as of this blog entry and does an excellent job in earning her trust, while attempting to help her deal with her the past and more importantly how she deals with the present).

Starting with the principle; Mr. Dan Smith, I cannot say enough about him, as I consider him a friend and probably the best principle anyone could ask for their children.
He is a compassionate and understanding person who understands others struggle in (he also has a special needs child, which I personally think helps him understand others). It is clear he loves the kids in his charge and treats them, his staff, and parents with respect, as well he is a good Christian man that does not wear this on his sleeve, rather he shows this through his actions (which is what I believe the Bible truly asks of us).
See this blog post: My Thoughts Standing for Truth

There are too many teachers to name them all and although some have not been as good as others (I recall a science teacher that was not fair to Michelle), this has been the exception and the as a whole most have been excellent. The special education teachers that help Timothy and Danielle have been very patient & understanding.

Grants Pass High; since I am primarily writing this post thank those who have helped change some of my views towards public schools, I will not comment too much here, as so far I am much less impressed with this schools dealings with Michelle, in particular the Counseling Department that cannot seem to even contact others such as her counselor that has spent years with her, nor deal with the horrible teasing she receives.
I will leave it at this for negatives (maybe another post someday for this subject).
I will say that Mr. Dennis DeCasas (a special education instructor) has been excellent with my daughter and it shows in how she relates to him and how he genuinely cares for students in his “care” (Ken Belcher was also an excellent teacher that showed genuine compassion toward her).

BTW, I recommend concerned conservative Christian parents avoid the website GreatSchools.net as this website ONLY publishes concerned parent letters that meet narrow minded editorials that are only positive or “pseudo negative”.
This is unfortunately common nowadays where many could do well to Read Luke 10 and the parable of the Good Samaritan and stop following in the dishonest actions of President Obama