Local News

The Josephine County District Attorney's Office has upgraded charges against a man who was seriously hurt in a motor vehicle accident that he caused near Rogue Community College late last year. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 25-year-old Matthew Davis Trevino this week and lodged him at the adult jail facility on felony charges of 3rd-Degree Assault, 4th-Degree Assault and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. On December 1st, 2023, the Sheriff's Office, Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to a two-vehicle collision in the 3500-block of Demaray Drive. An investigation determined that Trevino was driving a Ford Focus with his father as a passenger when he turned right in front of a Toyota Corolla driven by a female motorist. Trevino, his father and the woman identified only as "Cover" had to be extricated from their wrecked vehicles and all were transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of various injuries. Trevino reportedly displayed signs of impairment at the crash scene. He admitted to drinking a beer and taking two shots of hard alcohol before driving. His father said he did not remember the crash and did not wish to pursue charges against his son. He was initially charged with DUII, Reckless Driving and 4th-Degree Assault. The suspect was cited and released to the care of hospital staff. It was unclear why the Sheriff's Office waited nearly three months to arrest him.

 

A Josephine County Sheriff's Office investigation led to the arrest of an Illinois Valley woman on a theft charge this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 40-year-old Stacy Elizabeth Schwarz in the 3500-block of Rockydale Road on Thursday afternoon. Deputies said they had probable cause from an ongoing investigation to arrest Schwarz for 2nd-Degree Theft. No information about the alleged theft was available except that deputies had been looking for her for several days. Stacy Schwarz was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail without bail. Jail records show that Schwarz was arrested for Endangering the Welfare of a Minor twice last year -- on September 8th and November 15th.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug possession this week while they were conducting a burglary investigation in the downtown area. The Police Department reports officers responded to the break-in of apartments in the 800-block of SW 5th Street on Thursday afternoon. Police said two apartments had been burglarized after both were entered by force from their back doors. They said approximately $5,000 in household items were stolen from the residences. One tenant reported that her safe was missing. Officers processed both crime scenes and some fingerprints were lifted. The upstairs neighbor -- identified as "Calvin Bertik" -- gave consent to search his apartment where small amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine were found. Bertik was cited to appear in court for the two narcotics violations and released. According to GPPD, the burglary investigation was continuing.

 

One person was injured early yesterday in a weather-related motor vehicle accident west of Merlin. Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response responded to the single-vehicle crash on Galice Road around 9:45 a.m. Friday. Rural Metro officials said the unidentified motorist appeared to have lost control of their vehicle when there were slushy conditions on the roadway. The driver was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. First responders are reminding motorists to monitor changing road conditions that are related to winter weather. Snow- and slush-covered roads will vary across the area, depending on elevation.

 

The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center received more than 1,000 emergency calls during the past week. In its "Week in Review" post on Facebook, the local dispatch center reported a total of 1,020 emergency calls received between February 22nd and February 28th. The Grants Pass Police Department received the vast majority of the 9-1-1 calls, with 1,000. American Medical Response received 255 calls during the same time period while Rural Metro Fire Department got 48. Other emergency calls were forwarded to the Illinois Valley Fire District with 17, while the Oregon Department of Forestry, Williams Rural Fire Protection District and Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District each received three emergency calls. Dispatchers also received over 400 calls on their administrative lines and they made a total of 450 outbound calls. Officials expect the call volume to remain busy through the weekend as the winter storm continues to impact the area.

 

The National Weather Service has extended the Winter Storm Warning for southwest Oregon through Sunday afternoon and lowered the elevation where snow is likely to fall. The Winter Weather Advisory for the lowest elevations in the region expires at 10 a.m. today. Under the Winter Storm Watch, additional snow accumulations of 4 to 10 inches are expected until 4 p.m. Sunday with up to 40 inches possible over the highest terrain. Winds could gust as high as 40 miles per hour. The Warning includes terrain above 1,500 feet including Interstate 5 passes north of Grants Pass along with US Highway 199 from Hayes Hill to the California border including Selma, Cave Junction and O'Brien. Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. High winds could knock down trees and debris onto roadways. Travel is strongly discouraged this weekend because of dangerous conditions. If you must travel, keep tires chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications and a fully charged phone with you. Do not detour during winter storms. A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is occurring and poses a threat to life and property. The safest place during a winter storm is indoors.

 

Pacific Power crews have been responding to multiple scattered outages caused by winter weather across the Southern Oregon service area. As of Friday, roughly 1,300 local customers were affected by power outages. Field crews are actively working to restore electricity in these areas as soon as it's safely possible given the adverse conditions on the ground. For restoration updates, visit "pacificpower.net/outages". Pacific Power's meteorology team has been closely monitoring the storm and crews were on standby in Southern Oregon and Northern California, with snow expected through the weekend. Pacific Power encourages customers to always be prepared for outages, and the utility supports state and local emergency management agencies that recommend Oregonians have an emergency plan for up to 72 hours without essential services. As a reminder, stay away from all downed power and utility lines. Even if the lines are not sparking, they could be energized and extremely dangerous. Customers should avoid both downed trees and powerlines. If you spot a downed line, first call 9-1-1 and then report the outages to Pacific Power at 1-(877)-508-5088.

 

Oregonians investing in the Cultural Tax Credit contributed more than $5.4 million to support arts, heritage and humanities nonprofits in 2023. The Oregon Cultural Trust announced the total -- which represents a 3.5% increase over calendar year 2022 -- will fund grant awards to cultural organizations across the state this summer and continue to build the Trust's permanent fund, now valued at more than $31 million. The $5.4 million fundraising total represents 10,271 donations and 978 donors new to the Cultural Trust. More than half of the money raised will be distributed directly to Oregon's nonprofit cultural community this summer while the remainder will grow the Cultural Trust permanent fund. A total of 86 projects will be supported this year. Locally, Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau of Grants Pass will receive $21,403 to complete the Chateau's Historic Furnishings Report. The report and its accompanying maintenance plan are vital elements to ensure that the restored and reopened Chateau remains a National Historic Landmark.

 

Four people were injured yesterday in a multi-vehicle crash on Redwood Highway near Selma. On Thursday at 10:42 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and Oregon State Police were dispatched to the three-vehicle collision on US Highway 199 at Wild Park Lane. State troopers said a preliminary investigation indicates a Honda Odyssey driven by 66-year-old Randal Roy Town of Cave Junction was traveling north when he lost control on the icy and snow-covered roadway and slid into the opposite travel lane where he struck a southbound Volkswagen van driven by 50-year-old Michael Gonzalez. A southbound Ford Transit van driven by 21-year-old Corban Spangler then struck the Honda. All four occupants of the involved vehicles were transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of various crash-related injuries. One of the occupants had to be extricated from the wreckage. The Oregon Department of Transportation pulled the damaged vehicles off the highway and Jerry's Towing responded to haul them to Cave Junction. Following the investigation, Town was issued either a citation or warning for an unspecified moving violation.