GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The sheriff of Josephine County has some straight talk for voters: No new taxes means he will be the only county lawman left available around the clock.
Sheriff Gil Gilbertson told about 50 voters assembled at the fairgrounds Wednesday that if the law enforcement levy on the May 15 ballot goes down, he won’t have much left to fight crime.
For those who figured they could just take the law into their own hands, Undersheriff Don Fasching had some advice: Don’t pull your gun unless you can prove you faced a threat of death or serious injury.
Josephine County is the only one of several rural counties in Oregon that is giving voters a chance to raise taxes to make up the loss of federal timber subsidies.
