Local News

The deadline to purchase a paver for the Owl Plaza is June 1st at 5 p.m.

For just $250, people wishing to add their personal touch to the Owl Plaza can purchase a brick with up to three lines of text engraved on a brass plaque and embedded in the brick. The bricks will form part of the patio base of the Owl Plaza near the 5th and H Street sidewalks.

Approximately 470 bricks are expected to be available for purchase. Civic groups and businesses headquartered in Josephine County are also eligible to purchase a paving brick. For this campaign, the City is restricting the lines of text to names only, not slogans, quotes, or phrases of any kind.

The City reserves the right to refuse submitted text if it deems it inappropriate and will notify people and give them the option to edit the submission. Refunds will be issued if an appropriate compromise cannot be reached.

Visit www.grantspassoregon.gov/FormCenter to fill out the form online, or come to Suite 202 at City Hall to fill out a paper form and make your payment. For more information, call 541-450-6014.

 

Jackson County Public Health is alerting the community to a detection of measles found in sewage samples through routine wastewater testing.

According to a release, the positive sample was collected May 6th from a wastewater treatment plant in Jackson County and met a low threshold level. This represents a rapid increase from non-detectable to detectable measles concentrations in wastewater. This is the first low level detection in Jackson County since measles wastewater collection began in October 2025.

The detection indicates that at least one person in the local area serviced by the wastewater treatment plant was infected with measles, and that limited spread may be occurring in the community. While this detection does not indicate sustained community transmission, it suggests that the measles virus was recently present within the wastewater system.

If someone is concerned about contracting measles, it is a great time to check their vaccination status and the family’s vaccination status. The best and safest way to prevent measles is the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. Most people born before 1957 are considered immune.

Jackson County Public Health Immunization Clinic offers the MMR vaccine for children and adults. Call 541-774-8209 to schedule an appointment or to speak to a nurse.

 

A Jackson County Grand Jury indicted a man Thursday on 10 charges including stalking, attempted kidnapping, assault, and unlawful use of a weapon. The charges stemmed from a Jackson County Sheriff’s Office investigation involving a 42-year-old man posing as a utility worker attempted to kidnap a 25-year-old woman from a mobile home park in rural Medford. The suspect, Matthew Aranda, 42, is charged with two counts of Second Degree Assault, two counts of First Degree Attempted Kidnapping, Second Degree Attempted Kidnapping, two counts of Stalking, Unlawful Use of a Global Positioning System Device, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Menacing. The victim was working as a caregiver at a mobile home park in the 3900 block of South Stage Road the morning of May 8th. The investigation revealed Aranda, posing as a utility worker, waited for his victim for several hours before using a taser to incapacitate and physically attack her.

 

Two grass fires were reported in Cave Junction within minutes of each other, prompting the response of the Illinois Valley Fire District.

The first fire was reported Thursday at 3:43 p.m. in the 6200 block of Caves Highway. The IVFD responded to the escaped open burn, holding it at half an acre. The blaze was extinguished and crews conducted mop up operations. The Oregon Department of Forestry was also dispatched to the scene.

That same day at 3:59 p.m. another grass fire was reported in the 3400 block of Rockydale Road in Cave Junction. IVFD arrived at the scene and determined the cause of the fire was an escaped open burn.

The blaze was contained to 0.1 acres, and no structures were involved. Occupants on the scene were able to put out much of the fire before crews arrived. Rural Metro Fire was utilized to provide district coverage until additional units became available. Both fires are under investigation.

 

Grants Pass Police lodged an aggressive and reportedly intoxicated man after he was detained at The Weekend Beer Company.

A call to 911 reported the suspect, James Anderson, was cut off part way through his second beverage at the 1863 NW Washington Boulevard location. Staff had told Anderson to leave several times, but he refused and poured the beer on one of the employees.

A group of individuals escorted Anderson out of the business around 8:27 p.m., when he attempted to punch and bite those restraining him. Police arrived, but he physically resisted them as well, attempting to bite an officer before a use of force incident occurred.

Anderson was taken into custody, and he complained of pain. Medical crews arrived but he refused assistance. Officers then transported him to the Josephine County Jail for charges including Attempted Assault of a Peace Officer, two counts of Fourth Degree Attempted Assault, Harassment, Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, and Resisting Arrest.

 

Arthur O'Hare was designated as the Budget Officer during the Commissioners 1:30 p.m. workshop.

The board met in the BCC Conference Room and approved without objection four Public Works Department Requests: Two WECO Invoices and a Three Rivers School District. Next on the agenda was an Oregon Department of Transportation Intergovernmental Agreement.

The agreement, in the amount of $215,000, is for a multi-year project to be delivered by ODOT on a private property in Fruitdale. The motion to approve passed 3-0.

Commissioner Colene Martin was voted in as the Rogue Valley Council of Governments Liaison for the board, and an order in the matter of Delegating Authority to the Airports Manager to Execute Documents was reviewed.

Commissioner Gary Richardson volunteered to bring a corrective board order to Legal Counsel where the board would receive signed agreement copies and regular report updates of Airport business.

 

Josephine County Sheriff's deputies apprehended a man following a vehicle pursuit for multiple charges and a warrant Wednesday.

A black truck was hauling a trailer with a popped tire on Rogue River Highway near Gordon Way. The driver was splitting the lane, and at one point went into the oncoming lane. Deputies were notified by another driver that the suspect was possibly driving under the influence and had both a child and pregnant woman in the vehicle.

The suspect eventually stopped and was detained near the 1700 block of Savage Creek Road after a brief foot pursuit. Deputies identified the suspect as Scott Ireys and found him to be wanted on a Jackson County Felony Warrant for Methamphetamine Possession.

Ireys was taken to jail and lodged on his warrant as well as charges of Third Degree Escape, Reckless Driving, and both Felony and Misdemeanor charges of Attempt to Elude. According to the Sheriff's Office's Facebook page, there was no child in the vehicle, contrary to initial reports

 

The Oregon Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Board (OSPTR) has allocated more than $90 million statewide for substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services and supports over the last two years.

This news comes according to a new report detailing spending in 2024-2025. A total of 81 cities and counties received 55% of Oregon’s opioid settlement funds. From July 2023 to June 2025, the OSPTR Board allocated 30% of the state portion of opioid settlement funds, around $27.7 million, to the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon.

The board funds have paid for a range of care around the state, including $13 million to establish new recovery community centers in Coos Bay, Roseburg, Grants Pass, and in the Gorge. The funds were also utilized for expansions of existing recovery community centers in Klamath Falls, Portland, and Medford, with a focus on expanding access to culturally specific services across the state.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man wanted on a warrant for Methamphetamine Possession at the United States Postal Service office.

The suspect was seen near the Visitor's Center at the corner of SE 6th Street and SE G Street Wednesday at 2:16 p.m. Officers contacted him shortly thereafter in the SE corner of the post office, identifying him as James Hall.

He was wanted on a Grants Pass Police Department warrant, so officers took him into custody. He was transported to and lodged in the Josephine County Jail for his meth possession warrant. Jail logs show he was also lodged on a Post-Prison Supervision Sanction.