OregonState:
Overview
The Enterprise Communities of Josephine County, Oregon, embody the pioneer spirit that settled the land many years ago. They are independent and tenacious, they are diverse and hardy, they are innovative and practical, and they love the land. Residents came to the valleys for many reasons, but they stay for basically one. They are beautiful places to live and work. The natural surroundings are a constant reminder to all the community members of the importance of preserving and enhancing the "good life" for the diverse set of people that live here. At the same time extreme poverty, unemployment and the lack of necessary services are major stumbling blocks to daily living to many residents.
Historically, as well as today, the Enterprise Communities describe their homes as either from the Illinois Valley, Wolf Creek, Sunny Valley, or Galice. The residents are the driving force behind positive change in the areas where they live. The designation of an Enterprise Community has been a major step forward in causing improvements to happen. Changes are occurring because the community members demand them and are willing to make them happen.
The Josephine County Enterprise Community consists of two separate geographic areas, each with its own community organization responsible for development. In northern Josephine County, Sunny Wolf Community Response Team (SWCRT) works with residents of Sunny Valley, Wolf Creek, and Galice. In southern Josephine County, the Illinois Valley Community Response Team (IVCRT) works with residents of Cave Junction, Selma, O’Brien, Takilma, Kerby and the rest of the unincorporated areas in the Illinois Valley. Both organizations are 501 C-3 non-profit corporations, and both receive their direction entirely from local residents, most of whom are low income. In both organizations, residents make all programmatic and funding decisions.
This unusual situation has developed because at the outset, the Josephine County Commissioners, for a variety of reasons, decided that they did not want to participate in the decision making process. They have not wavered in this over time. The lead entity for the Enterprise Community is the Enterprise Community Coordinating Council (ECCC). It is made up of eight members, four designated by each of the Community Response Teams (CRT’s). It is an official advisory council to the Board of County Commissioners. Its Bylaws state under Section III, Responsibilities, that "it is to act as a networking coordinating, and negotiating body whose authority comes from the Illinois Valley Community Response Team and the Sunny Wolf Community Response Team". In practice, the Coordinating Council automatically okays the programmatic and funding decisions of the Community Response Teams and the Commissioners add their official stamp of approval. This rather cumbersome organizational structure has facilitated total control by local residents.
Key Activities
The Illinois Valley Community Response Team and the Sunny Wolf Community Response Team each have their own web pages. Below are links to each of their web pages, which describe in detail the key activities of both organizations:
139A Redwood Hwy
P.O. Box 1824
Cave Junctions, OR 97523
PH: (541) 592-4400
P.O. Box 127
Wolf Creek, OR 97497
PH: (541) 866-2660
FX: (541) 866-2449
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