Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a male transient known for frequently exhibiting bad behavior on two outstanding warrants. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 40-year-old Matthew Richard Williams near the NW 6th & A Street resting site at 8:52 p.m. Friday. Police said they performing a patrol check when they spotted Williams and knew that he was wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Disorderly Conduct. Both warrants were issued last Thursday. Williams was placed into custody without incident and lodged at the Josephine County Jail where he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for returning to a coffee stand from which he had already been trespassed. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a male transient at the Human Bean stand on NE F Street on Saturday shortly before 6 a.m.. Police said 50-year-old Brian Jay Steffen had been loitering near the stand and refused to leave when asked to do so by a 17-year-old female employee who was working alone and feeling uncomfortable about his presence. He reportedly threw his coffee in the street and fled to the Grants Pass Shopping Center when he saw the employee on the phone. Steffen was contacted and placed into custody in the PetCo parking lot. He had been trespassed from the same coffee stand on July 6th. Steffen was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted two women from a downtown resting site due to repeat violations of city ordinances. On Saturday evening, officers were performing a patrol check at the NW 5th Street resting site when they contacted Rachel Beeman and Jennifer Condon. Beeman was cited for Utilization of Space and Scattering Rubbish before she was issued a 30-day trespass from the homeless encampment. Condon was cited for Utilization of Space and Scattering Rubbish, and she was also issued a 30-day exclusion notice. Due to her behavior, she was also contacted by her corrections officer. Officers said three people they identified as Aaron Storm, Shani Fedosky and Keith Fisher were "hanging out in absolute filth" including urine bottles, clothing, wire and trash. The trio advised all of the items belonged to another man whom officers planned to contact at a later time.

 

Emergency agencies rescued a seriously injured swimmer from a popular Illinois River campground over the weekend. The Illinois Valley Fire District and American Medical Response were dispatched to a reported traumatic injury at Little Falls Campground on Eight Dollar Mountain Road on Saturday around 3:15 p.m.. IVFD officials said a patient with a possible fractured leg was extricated from the river with a Stokes basket and then carried up a steep incline to an ambulance, which transported them to Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass. Officials said a US Forest Service hand crew provided additional support during the patient retrieval. No other information about the incident was available.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a woman wanted on a statewide felony warrant while investigating a weekend disturbance in the southwest part of the city. The Police Department reports officers arrested 60-year-old Tanya D'aun Reeves at a residence in the 600-block of SW Sunwood Way on Friday around 8:30 p.m.. Police said the property owner called 9-1-1 and reported she was arguing with people who are living there illegally and selling her items. The caller was engaged in an argument with Reeves' daughter while Reeves stayed inside the residence. She told dispatchers she has served Reeves with several eviction notices and has been trying to get them out of the house since January. According to the report, Reeves changed the locks on the residence without the homeowner's permission. Reeves' daughter talked her mother into coming out of the house and speaking to officers who discovered that she was wanted on an Oregon state warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a larceny conviction. Reeves was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man on an outstanding felony warrant and for impaired driving after he crashed his vehicle into a fence near Murphy. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 42-year-old Daniel A. Newell in the 4500-block of New Hope Road on Saturday at 1:36 a.m.. Deputies said a property owner called 9-1-1 to report the male driver of a Dodge Ram pickup went off the roadway and hit their fence. The caller said the driver was not hurt, but their fence was damaged and the driver was trying to leave. The caller's son kept the driver from fleeing by pushing him back into his truck. Upon arrival, deputies contacted Newell and discovered that he was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for 1st-Degree Theft and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The suspect displayed strong signs of impairment and he was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw that documented impairment. Newell was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus new charges of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief. His pickup was impounded.

 

Multiple agencies knocked down a weekend structure fire in the Cave Junction area. On Saturday shortly before 9 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District, Rural Metro Fire Department, Oregon Department of Forestry and American Medical Response were dispatched to a residential structure fire in the 1200-block of Golf Club Drive. Arriving units observed light smoke emanating from the garage. The fire was contained to the garage, but smoke impacted the residence. All occupants safely escaped the home and no injuries were reported. The American Red Cross was contacted to provide assistance to the temporarily displaced occupants. According to IVFD, the cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry pounced on a small weekend wildfire in the mountains between Ashland and the Upper Applegate Valley. ODF reported firefighters responded to the Anderson Butte Fire early Saturday morning and were successful at holding it to just six acres. Just after midnight, ODF received a report of a fire off Anderson Butte Road between Ashland and the small community of Buncom. Arriving units found an estimated five-acre fire burning through grass and brush on a steep slope. Crews worked quickly to line the fire with water, slowing its spread. This allowed them to reinforce the line by hand, digging down to bare dirt. Firefighters spent Saturday morning extinguishing flames and hot spots, keeping the fire out of the trees and contained to its small footprint. By noon, the fire was fully lined and 60% mopped up. The work was nearing completion by 2 p.m.. ODF officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation. They said hot temperatures continue to dry out vegetation, steadily increasing the risk of fires starting and spreading.

 

The Cave Junction City Council will tackle an interesting agenda during its monthly meeting this evening. As part of the Consent Agenda, the City Council is expected to approve a park use and amplified sound request for the Labor Day Festival at Jubilee Park. Following Public Comment, the Council will consider renewal of a collective bargaining agreement with city employees and two resolutions. The first would authorize the Mayor to approve requests for amplified sound and the second would accept a three-lot land donation from Creekwood Capital. After a staff presentation on Federal Emergency Management changes, the panel will consider an update to an ordinance on grass, weeds and noxious vegetation. Tonight's meeting starts at 7 at Cave Junction City Hall, 222 Lister Street.