Local News

Every 30 minutes, a fire agency in Oregon responds to a fire.

To help prevent these tragedies, Oregon recognizes January 19-25, 2026, as Community Risk Reduction Week.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal is urging everyone living in and visiting the state to take action for home fire safety. In Oregon, the top three causes of home fires are cooking, home heating, and electrical issues. There are simple steps that every Oregonian can take to prevent home fires:

Stay in the kitchen while cooking. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires. If you must leave the room, turn off the burner. Use a timer to remind yourself that you are cooking.

Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected annually. Furnaces, wood stoves, and chimneys should be serviced annually by qualified professionals.

Use electrical equipment safely. Don’t overload electrical outlets or power strips. Plug major appliances like heaters, stoves, and refrigerators directly into wall outlets, not into an extension cord or power strip. Test smoke alarms every month, and create and practice a home fire escape plan.

Community Risk Reduction Week is a nationwide effort to reduce risks in local communities to prevent emergencies. The Oregon State Fire Marshal reminds the public that everyone has a role in reducing risk, especially at home.

For more home fire safety tips, visit the Oregon State Fire Marshal website, www.oregon.gov/osfm.

 

Grants Pass Police recognized a woman wanted on two warrants, one of them out-of-county, Sunday afternoon at a 7-Eleven.

Officers detained Whitney Word around 3:13 p.m. at the 790 SW 6th Street store. After being positively identified, Word was transported to the Josephine County Jail. She was lodged for her two warrants out of the Grants Pass Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

Charges against Word included Second Degree Criminal Trespass and Parole Violation Elude.

 

Grants Pass Police observed a suspect wanted on active and serviceable warrants at Domino's Pizza Monday night.

At 6:58 p.m., Shayna Dowell was seen leaving the 407 NE E Street restaurant in a blue Volvo heading north. She was found to have two warrants out of the Grants Pass Police Department.

Law enforcement initiated a traffic stop at NE 7th Street and NE Steiger Street and located Dowell in the passenger seat of the vehicle. She was taken into custody for her two warrants.

The charges against Dowell included a Superseding Indictment, a Secret Indictment, Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine, Second Degree Theft, Identity Theft, and Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, a Class C Felony.

Dowell was transported and lodged in the Josephine County Jail.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners will meet for their workshop, Weekly Business Session, and a Vacancy Appointment meeting.

Today at 10 a.m., a meeting with interviews and an appointment for the vacant board seat on the agenda will be held in the BCC Conference Room. Then at 1:30 p.m., the board will reconvene in the conference room for their County Administration Workshop.

Only Human Resources will present during Department Business with personnel requisitions. Following other matters members of the board may introduce, the meeting will adjourn.

On Wednesday at 9 a.m., the board will meet for their Weekly Business Session in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium. Other than requests and comments from citizens, other matters, and announcements, no board business is on the agenda.

All meetings will be livestreamed at www.josephinecounty.gov/livestream. Those wishing to attend in person must abide by the clear bag policy.

 

A driver and passenger were arrested by Grants Pass Police following a witness report Saturday morning.

At 10:37 a.m., a witness called 911 and identified the suspect vehicle as a red Ford Fusion. It didn't look safe to drive and had pulled over on the side of the road on Fruitdale Drive near Overland Drive.

The caller spoke with the driver and observed he had blood shot eyes and was slurring his speech. Law enforcement soon arrived and contacted the suspects. The Ford had expired registration, and one of the occupants, Dean Buckle, admitted to having a baggy of a white crystallized substance on his person.

A consent search took place, the officer located the baggy, and conducted a field test, showing the substance to be presumptive positive methamphetamine. The baggy was seized and logged for evidence. Buckle also had an open alcohol container in plain view.

His Parole Officer was contacted and a detainer was requested. Buckle was taken into custody for the detainer and a charge of Meth Possession.

The second suspect, Dustin Van Hulzen, was found to have a valid and serviceable warrant for his arrest out of the Josephine County Sheriff's Office. His identity was confirmed and he was taken into custody for the Contempt of Court warrant.

Buckle and Van Hulzen were transported and lodged in the Josephine County Jail. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

 

Officers with Grants Pass Police arrested a wanted suspect downtown early Sunday morning.

Zane Hatcher was recognized by law enforcement at 3:51 a.m. walking westbound near SW G Street and SW 4th Street. He possibly ducked into an alley after seeing the officer.

Hatcher was subsequently detained near 5th Street, and he was found to be wanted on a Josephine County Sheriff's Office warrant for Larceny. During the arrest, a taser was displayed only.

Officers confirmed Hatcher's identity and lodged him in the Josephine County Jail for his warrant.

 

UPDATE: FOUND SAFE
The family of a 15-year-old Medford girl is asking for the public’s help after she was reported missing late Friday night, reports Medford Alert News. Ava Wall was last seen between 8:20 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. Friday on Coleman Creek Road in rural SW Medford. She is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 120 pounds, with blue-green eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing light blue jeans and a brown puffy jacket. A witness reported seeing a gray sedan with its hazard lights on in the same area and time frame, with a male driver and a young girl in the front seat. Authorities say the sighting aligns with the period when Ava disappeared. The case is currently classified as a runaway, but her family says they are deeply concerned for her safety. Ava reportedly left a note saying she was with a “trusted adult,” though no such adult has been identified despite extensive outreach. Ava may have had access to an older phone that works only on Wi-Fi and was previously used for Snapchat communication. Anyone with information, sightings, or security footage from the Coleman Creek Road area between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday is urged to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and reference Case Number 26-270. As of the latest update today (January 19th), the search is ongoing.

 

Grants Pass Police pulled over a man and found him to be wanted on an Assault warrant.

The suspect, Michael Tognoni and a female passenger were pulled over by officers for no bike lights. He attempted to provide a false name, but his true identity was revealed upon placing him into handcuffs.

Tognoni was found to be wanted on an active and serviceable warrant out of the Oregon State Parole Board for Assault. A consent search was then conducted, which located a loaded needle and meth pipe in his backpack.

Officers took Tognoni into custody and transported him to the Josephine County Jail. He was lodged for his warrant and a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine.

 

The Josephine County District Attorney sided with the Daily Courier and directed the city of Grants Pass to release original city manager performance evaluations to the newspaper.

According to the Courier, the DA noted the city broke Oregon public meetings laws and tried to stop the documents from becoming public.

In the January 6th decision, District Attorney Josh Eastman said the city admitted to engaging in multiple illegal closed-door meetings in 2025. There was an illegal chain of behind-the-scenes emails about the city manager's performance evaluations after the Courier requested the documents.

Some discussions involved potentially costly raises for city workers, including City Manager Aaron Cubic. There also appeared to be actions to intentionally ensure the original evaluations were not made public.

The city argued that encouraging frank communication is necessary, final performance evaluations are public records and the illegal meetings were "inadvertent not nefarious."

Eastman wrote, "City's reasoning may have been persuasive had it not been for the illegal meeting(s), the appearance of intentionally modifying/changing the process to subvert political oversight, and the general (as well as drastically heightened current) public interest in transparency."

He continued, saying "this is not a close case," and directed the city to release the original unredacted performance evaluations of the city manager.