Local News

Grants Pass Police were alerted to a man throwing a bike near vehicles and threatening to shoot others Sunday afternoon.

Dispatch was notified of the incident near the Valvoline Instant Oil Change at 1502 NE F Street. He had a backpack and bike with him, the latter of which he was throwing at parked cars while threatening to shoot people and the police.

He was described as a bald man in his 40's with stubble, a white hoodie, black jeans, and black shoes. He was soon located by officers near Arby's, and taken into custody.

Officers identified the suspect as Rell Baty, and transported him to the Josephine County Jail for lodging on a charge of Second Degree Disorderly Conduct. Due to a lack of jail resources, he was released from custody.

Police learned via a receipt of the bike Baty was throwing that the transaction had declined. A call to Walmart confirmed the bike wasn't purchased, so it was returned.

 

Walmart Loss Prevention reported a shoplifter, leading to the man's arrest by Grants Pass Police officers.

Saturday around 2:54 p.m., the suspect, Terry Carnicello had reportedly stolen a pair of shoes valued at $23 before being confronted by 135 NE Terry Lane staff. He was cooperative, even telling loss prevention he had warrants out for his arrest.

Police arrived and contacted Carnicello. His active warrant was out of the Josephine County Sheriff's Office charging him with Resisting Arrest and Possession of Methamphetamine. Officers then conducted a consent search.

Carnicello was found to be in possession of glass pipes with white residue, which tested positive for the presence of meth. He further admitted to the theft, but Walmart staff didn't press charges. Officers lodged Carnicello in the Adult Jail Facility for his warrant and a misdemeanor Meth Possession charge.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man under the influence and refusing to leave Safeway on trespass and disorderly conduct charges Sunday afternoon.

The suspect, William Damon, was located by police after he was reportedly yelling and screaming on the east side of the 115 SE 7th Street grocer. He had been asked to leave prior to being contacted, but refused. No weapons were observed on his person, and his claims of being hit by someone's car were unsubstantiated.

It was requested Damon be trespassed from the location around 12:54 p.m. Law enforcement contacted Damon and took him to the Grants Pass Sobering Center for a breath test. He refused upon arrival, so he was promptly lodged in jail for charges of Second Degree Criminal Trespass, and Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree.

According to jail logs, the charges have not been filed by the District Attorney's Office.

 

A body, believed to be a missing rafter, was recovered by Josephine County Sheriff's deputies and Search and Rescue personnel. The 911 dispatch center received a message August 4th at 1:16 p.m. from a Garmin GPS device stating there was a rafting accident at Wildcat Rapid in the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. The caller was unable to locate the rafter, 65-year-old Reid Litwack. It was reported he was in an inflatable raft when it got pinned in the rapid and was swept underwater. The next morning at 5:30 a.m., deputies and BLM personnel made their way out to the rafters’ location. The party was able to hike themselves out of the area. Between the time of the initial report and the rescue, Reid never resurfaced. Friday, August 7th, at 11:14 a.m., dispatch was alerted to an unrelated rafting party that had discovered a body in the river downstream from the initial incident. Deputies, SAR, and BLM began a recovery mission attempting to find the body Markers left to assist them were no longer there and after an extensive search of the area, they were unable to locate the body.

 

The Board of Commissioners approved a continuance for further consideration during a Land Use Hearing for a Lower River Road property.

The request for an appeal objecting to the Josephine County Planning Director's decision to deny the placement of a Non-Farm Dwelling on the property, located in the Exclusive Farm zone, was considered. Dirling Revocable Living Trust, the appellant and owner of the property, objected to the decision.

The basis for the appeal was argued the decision improperly treats mapped soils as detrimental without considering all aspects of the land. It was felt the 2.71 acre parcel cannot reasonably be farmed in conjunction with adjacent agricultural land due to its small footprint.

Other reasoning cited the director's own findings confirming the remaining approval criteria were satisfied, including not materially interfering with accepted farm practices, not altering stability of surrounding land. It was also felt there is no economic value in farming the parcel.

In opposition, it was said the current position is that there's a complete failure of evidence by the applicants to prove they've met the necessary criteria. It was suggested the property was mis-zoned as farmland, and that the County rezone the land. The opposition continued saying that would not be possible, however, since the parcel is similar to adjacent properties due to the agricultural soil.

With the choice to either deny the appeal, or keep the record open, a motion was made for a continuance for August 17th at 10 a.m. It passed unanimously.

 

Overnight crews pushed containment on the Fork State Park Fire to 40% while completing mop-up 75 feet into the blaze. The Oregon Department of Forestry reports all lines held overnight, putting day shift resources in position to continue further securing of the fire. The fire is estimated at 11 acres. Today’s resources include three 20-person hand crews, three engines, two water tenders, and one falling module. Crews will systematically grid the burned area, checking logs, stumps, vegetation and other fuels that can hold heat. As firefighters work farther into the interior, they will cool any extinguish heat, increasing the distance between any remaining heat and the fire’s edge. Aircraft are available as needed to support firefighters on the ground. The official cause of the Fork State Park Fire remains under investigation. All evacuation warnings have been lifted.

 

An intoxicated man trespassing at the 238 Bar was arrested by Grants Pass Police Sunday night.

Dispatch was alerted to the incident at the 1620 Williams Highway location at 10:02 p.m., when a call to 911 reported the suspect was screaming song lyrics and bothering customers.

He brought his own liquor to the bar, and was described as having a shaved head and wearing a blue hoodie. The caller did not wish to pursue a trespass charge, and law enforcement arrived to contact the suspect.

He was identified as Kyle Waycott, and he was found to be wanted on a warrant for Third Degree Theft out of the Police Department. The officer took Waycott into custody and transported him to the Josephine County Jail where he was subsequently lodged.

 

Emergency crews were dispatched to a rollover crash on Cloverlawn Drive near Malone Way.

Rescue crews from Rural Metro Fire, American Medical Response, Grants Pass Fire, and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office were mobilized Sunday at 7:03 p.m.

Two occupants were able to exit the vehicle unaided, however a third was found partially pinned underneath. Using specialized rescue equipment, firefighters were able to lift the vehicle enough to extricate the occupant, who was transported to the hospital with moderate trauma injuries.

A power pole impacted at the crash site received insignificant damage, resulting in no fire or known outages.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District and emergency crews were dispatched to three incidents over the weekend.

Saturday at 11 a.m., a grass fire was reported on the Redwood Highway at Hidden Creek Road and Anderson Creek Road in Selma.

The IVFD, Oregon Department of Forestry's Southwest Oregon District, Rural Metro Fire, Grants Pass Fire, the Rogue River U.S. Forest Service, BLM resources, American Medical Response, Grayback Forestry, Inc. and Oregon State Police responded to the vegetation fire.

The fire was extinguished and is presently undergoing mop-up operations. Pacific Power assisted in making sure there were no issues with power sources at the scene.

That same night at 11:15 p.m., another grass fire occurred on Caves Highway at Little Grayback Road in Cave Junction. IVFD and ODF crews responded to the quarter-acre fire and promptly extinguished it. Rural Metro provided district coverage during the incident.

Lastly, on Sunday at 3:13 p.m., crews responded to a traffic accident on the California side of Collier Tunnel.

IVFD and AMR were dispatched by Gasquet Fire and Del Norte Ambulance in response to the traffic accident. Upon arrival, units observed two vehicles with moderate damage. All individuals involved were assessed, and no transports were required.

The scene was subsequently released to the California Highway Patrol, and all units returned to service.