Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving late last night after a Redwood Highway traffic stop in Selma. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a 49-year-old man on US Highway 199 near Illinois River Road on Thursday around 11:40 p.m.. Deputies said they stopped the vehicle for traffic violations and the driver showed signs of impairment. He was placed into custody after performing poorly in field sobriety tests. The male subject was transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. He was lodged on charges of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His vehicle was impounded and hauled to Cave Junction by Jerry's Towing.

 

The Oregon State Police cited a truck driver for losing control of his semi and wrecking on Interstate 5 in Sunny Valley yesterday. OSP reports troopers and emergency crews responded to the commercial vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 71 on Thursday at 2:47 p.m.. Troopers said when they arrived on scene, the semi driven by a 45-year-old man was a few miles away from where he crashed into a guardrail. The driver -- who was not hurt -- stated that he was attempting to get out of the way of another vehicle when it caused him to collide with the guardrail. Following the investigation, the truck driver was cited for Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage. The Oregon Department of Transportation was called in to assess the damage for which the trucking company will be billed.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted two campers for committing ordinance violations in city parks on Thursday. At Riverside Park, a man was cited to appear in court for Unlawful Possession of a Schedule 2 Controlled Substance and he was trespassed from the park for 30 days. The unspecified narcotic was seized for destruction. At Baker Park, a man was cited for Buffer Zone Violation and Staking a Tent. He was issued a 30-day exclusion.

 

A motorist was seriously injured this week when he apparently crashed a minivan into a power pole and sparked a brush fire in the Jerome Prairie area. Rural Metro Fire Department was initially dispatched to reports of a brush fire in the 2100-block of Stringer Gap Road late Wednesday night. Arriving units found a small fire burning in brush and trees, with arcing power lines in the area, prompting a call to Pacific Power. Rural Metro officials said an adult subject was located lying in the roadway with apparent injuries to his face, which prompted a call for an ambulance to American Medical Response. Crews extinguished the fire and located an overturned minivan inside the perimeter that was fully-involved with flames. The patient was transported by AMR to a Medford trauma hospital with serious injuries. The relationship of the injured subject to the crash was pending an investigation by Rural Metro and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office. Officials said the incident was being investigated as a vehicle crash that knocked down a utility line, sparking the fire.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple crimes this week after he allegedly strangled and assaulted a woman at a residence in a southwest city neighborhood. The Police Department reports officers responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 1800-block of SW Topaz Lane on Wednesday. Police said the 31-year-old male subject had strangled the female victim a few days prior to this call for service, which restricted her airway and blood-flow. They said the man punched the woman on Wednesday, causing her to lose consciousness and suffer substantial pain. His actions put the victim in fear of serious injury or death. Responding officers interviewed both parties and documented visual injuries to the woman before placing the suspect into custody. He was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Domestic Strangulation, Domestic 4th-Degree Assault and Domestic Menacing. The victim refused medical treatment. She contacted GPPD later in the day to report finding a small baggie of methamphetamine in a suitcase owned by the suspect. Officers responded, seized the meth and booked it into evidence for destruction.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant after responding to perform a welfare check on Williams Highway this week. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a male subject in a wheelchair who was on the shoulder of Highway 238 near the 7th Street onramp on Wednesday night. A caller said they felt the handicapped man was in danger. Police said they contacted the 44-year-old man a short time later at Walgreens and discovered that he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. He was also found to be in possession of narcotics. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and cited to appear in court for the drug violation. The methamphetamine was seized for destruction and the rest of the man's belongings were placed in safekeeping.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested two motorists for impaired driving due to traffic complaints on the same day this week. According to OSP, the first incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when state troopers stopped a Nissan Sentra driven by a 23-year-old man near the intersection of Williams Highway and Jaynes Drive. Troopers said they stopped the suspect vehicle due to a traffic complaint and the driver displayed signs of impairment. They said the man performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was nearly twice the legal driving limit. He was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. The second incident happened Wednesday night when troopers pulled over a Ford Taurus driven by a 41-year-old woman in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 58 in north Grants Pass. Troopers said they stopped the suspect due to a traffic complaint and the driver showed signs of impairment. They said the woman performed poorly in sobriety tests and she was wanted on a failure to appear bench warrant. She was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw and then taken to the Josephine County Jail where she provided a breath sample that was nearly twice the legal driving limit. The suspect was lodged on charges of DUII, Reckless Driving, three counts of Reckless Endangering and the warrant. Her car was impounded and the father of the three juvenile passengers arrived on scene to pick them up.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a Josephine Community Corrections client on a local warrant this week. According to the Police Department, officers placed the 50-year-old male subject into custody at the Community Corrections Office on NW 4th Street Wednesday. Police said they were alerted the man was there and that he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. After the warrant was confirmed, the suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail.

 

Josephine County Right to Life is hosting the annual "March for Life" on Sunday in Grants Pass. Participants will meet in front of the Josephine County Courthouse at 1 p.m., with the march through downtown Grants Pass starting at 1:30. The event will culminate with a Right to Life Rally at the main pavilion of Riverside Park at 2 p.m. The program will include "live" worship music, prayer with local pastors, pro-life messages from local and state representatives, and a "Sanctity of Life" proclamation by the Josephine County Board of Commissioners. Organizers say free refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Steve Raycraft at "sraycraft54@gmail.com" or Rick Nelson at "gpcats@charter.net."