Local News

The Grants Pass City Council has decided on the level of public safety services it wishes to provide, but it remains undecided on how to provide additional funding. During its bi-weekly workshop session on Monday, the City Council was in favor of a phased-in level of service increase that will add 29 more full-time positions to the Grants Pass police and fire departments as well as parks and facilities maintenance over the next five years. The Council voted 5-3 to approve the five-year plan in which an additional $1.5 to $1.8 million will be needed next year to fund three more police officers and a crime analyst. City Manager Aaron Cubic said staff recommended the stair-step option to keep employee health and morale high and to aid in employee recruiting and retention. Cubic unveiled the results of a public safety funding survey in which citizens voted for their preferences from among six potential options. According to the survey results, the highest number of respondents chose the food & beverage tax, followed in order by reduced staffing, a public safety utility fee, a general sales tax, a utility fee plus food & beverage tax, and a utility fee plus sales tax. The Council immediately eliminated the reduced staffing option, vowing to do something to bolster public safety funding instead of nothing. Nothing was decided by the City Council, but a majority of the panel favored a combination of the public safety utility fee and food & beverage tax. Four members favored a 2% general sales tax because it spreads the funding burden to more businesses and it includes non-residents helping to pay for public safety.

 

The City of Grants Pass is soliciting written expressions of interest for the purpose of identifying qualified housing developers for a new development on Williams Highway near Allenwood Drive. The city is seeking a qualified housing developer and/or coalition of residential development partners to construct 65 to 75 housing units on approximately eight acres of land. Respondents to this Request for Interest (RFI) will collaborate with the City of Grants Pass to determine an innovative design, a mix of housing types and household income levels for the property, recognizing the objective to maximize the use of the site to help address the city's affordable housing needs. The deadline for responses to this RFI is March 12, 2024, at 3 p.m. local time. For details regarding this RFI, contact the Grants Pass Community Development Department located at 101 NW A Street by calling Housing & Neighborhood Specialist Amber Neeck at (541)-450-6068, e-mailing "aneeck@grantspassoregon.gov" or visiting the city's website at "grantspassoregon.gov" under the heading "Bids" on the homepage.

 

Open enrollment for 2024 health insurance is underway. Open enrollment is the primary time of year when people who do not have coverage through a job, the Oregon Health Plan or Medicare can enroll through the Marketplace. Around 96% of Oregonians have health insurance and 80% of people who applied for financial help qualified this year. These numbers show how accessible health coverage can be. Health plans sold through the Marketplace include a robust set of health benefits, even before deductibles are met. Services like preventive and wellness care including visits to naturopaths, chiropractic and acupuncture specialists are little-known services included in all Marketplace health plans. "OregonHealthCare.gov" offers a quick and easy-to-use window-shopping tool where users can preview what plans and savings are available to them. "OregonHealthCare.gov" also has a tool to help you figure out if coverage offered from an employers is considered unaffordable, which may open the gate for financial help through the Marketplace.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for trying to steal items from a local store and then fighting with an employee in an attempt to retain the stolen merchandise. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the shoplifting call at The Magic Man in the 1600-block of Williams Highway on Friday at 2 p.m.. Police said 43-year-old Elijah Samuel Greene entered the store and selected two disc golf discs valued at $21.90. They said he concealed the discs in his jacket and left the store without paying. The suspect physically fought with a worker to retain the stolen property, but the discs were recovered by the employee. Officers located Greene in a nearby parking lot and placed him into custody. Elijah Greene was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Robbery, 3rd-Degree Theft and the resulting Probation Violation related to previous arrests for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Felon in Possession of a Weapon, 3rd-Degree Robbery, 2nd-Degree Theft, Menacing and Criminal Mischief. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for violating his post-prison supervision after a "dine-and-dash" incident at a south-city restaurant. The Police Department reports officers arrested 32-year-old Brian Fletcher Ellington, Jr., for the incident at Herb's La Casita on Rogue River Highway on Saturday at 5:04 p.m.. Police said Ellington entered Herb's, ordered a meal valued at $15.25, consumed the meal and left without paying. They said a restaurant worker chased the suspect and reported that he was last seen heading west on Fruitdale Drive. Officers found him and placed him into custody near Safeway in the Williams Highway Plaza. Brian Ellington was charged with Parole Violation stemming from convictions for Felony 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Disorderly Conduct. The restaurant did not want to press theft charges, but they did press charges for Criminal Trespass. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known felon for dining and dashing at a north-city restaurant over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the Black Bear Diner on NW 6th Street on Saturday around 2 p.m.. Police said 31-year-old Whitney Ann Word went to the Black Bear, ordered $46 worth of food and drink, consumed the meal and then left after flipping off the manager. Officers contacted her a short distance away where she told them she was going to meet someone to pay for the meal, but she changed her mind when they offered to drive her back to the restaurant. Whitney Word was placed into custody and booked into the Josephine County Jail for Theft of Services. Due to her lengthy local criminal history, she was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Merlin man for felony impaired and suspended driving following a weekend traffic stop in the North Valley area. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Ford pickup driven by 40-year-old Robert Brian Bachman near the intersection of Merlin and Pleasant Valley roads on Saturday at 11:15 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped Bachman for a traffic violation and he immediately informed them he had a felony-level suspended license. They also observed strong signs of impairment and placed him into custody. Robert Bachman was transported to the Josephine County Jail where he provided a breath sample that was more than twice the legal driving limit. He was booked into jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, Felony Driving While Suspended and Reckless Driving. His pickup was parked and secured.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist on a local warrant after a weekend traffic stop in downtown Grants Pass. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 36-year-old Alexander Lewis Kuckuck near the corner of SE 8th and G streets on Friday at 3:31 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped Kuckuck for multiple traffic violations and quickly discovered that his driving privileges had been suspended. They also learned that he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Alexander Kuckuck was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail. His vehicle was impounded.

 

Authorities believe squatters may have started a weekend fire at a vacant house in the Hog Creek area west of Merlin. On Saturday at 5:46 a.m., Rural Metro Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire in the 4400-block of Galice Road. Rural Metro officials said arriving units were able to contain the fire before it was able to advance very far and destroy the house. They said there was evidence of squatter activity in the dwelling and attempts to locate the property owner were underway. With the cold weather and a growing unhoused population in Josephine County, fire officials encourage property owners of vacant buildings to secure and monitor the structures to guard against unexpected damage or loss.