Local News

The Grants Pass Police Department partnered with local law enforcement agencies to crack down on retail theft last weekend. GPPD, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Josephine County Community Corrections, Walmart Loss Prevention and WinCo Foods Loss Prevention targeted thieves stealing from both Walmart and WinCo on Saturday. Six thieves were apprehended during the single-evening operation and four of them were lodged at the Josephine County Jail. They included 23-year-old Dylan Andrew Thatcher, 30-year-old Thomas Murphy Grady O'Hara, 37-year-old Kendra Marie Anderson, 26-year-old Nick Dustin Farmer, 36-year-old Chauntelle Nadine Stulce and a 15-year-old male juvenile. Anderson was also arrested for Methamphetamine Possession. Stulce was released with a citation due to her young children being with her. The male juvenile was also released with a citation. In a Tuesday Facebook post, GPPD said it plans to continue these operations and pursue all retail theft with "zero-tolerance."

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for "amplifying" his role in an ongoing neighbor dispute in the southeast part of the city. The Police Department reports officers responded to a vandalism complaint in the 2,000-block of Doris Ann Lane during the noon hour on Monday. Police said a man called 9-1-1 to report that his neighbor had damaged a fence, broken a window and threatened to shoot his dogs over the past three weeks. The caller claimed he had sustained total damages of $15,000. He also said he had taken photos of the damage and his neighbor's blood was still on the window. The man -- identified as 57-year-old James William Russell -- stated he would deliberately use a large amplifier to cause annoyance to his neighbor. Even though he was warned against it, Russell wheeled the amp up to the fence-line and played music so loud it was impossible to hear a conversation. The suspect continued to play the extremely loud music for an extended time until he was placed into custody. Russell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for harassing doctors and staff at Three Rivers Medical Center early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to a trespassing complaint at the hospital on SW Ramsey Avenue on Tuesday around 3:30 a.m.. Police said 42-year-old John Charles Haltom was trespassed by staff when he became hostile toward doctors and was moved to the front of the hospital. They said he showed signs of marijuana use, admitted to eating several cannabis edibles and believed his legs did not work. While placing Haltom into custody, officers said he tried to pull his arms and hands free. He continued to fight with deputies at the Josephine County Jail. Haltom was eventually booked into jail for Resisting Arrest. He was trespassed from Three Rivers Medical Center.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Washington woman for impaired driving this week while investigating a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 5 near Grants Pass. OSP reports troopers received a report about the incident and located the driver in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 58 late Monday night. Troopers said they contacted 69-year-old Kristin Estelle Harlan of Port Townsend, Washington, and she displayed signs of impairment. They said she also performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so she was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where she provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. According to OSP, Harlan hit a Toyota 4-Runner driven by a 38-year-old Medford woman and failed to stop to exchange information. No one was injured. Harlan was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage. She was lodged at the Sobering Center and her Ford C-MAX was impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving following a traffic complaint in the Redwood area early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a black Jeep driven by 33-year-old Katy Lee Hermes in the 1800-block of Medart Lane on Tuesday at about 3 a.m.. Police said they received a call from a fellow motorist that the suspect vehicle was swerving all over the roadway before the driver parked far away from the curb in the area of SW Esther and Waterstone. The caller said they talked to the suspect and she admitted that she was very drunk. Officers stopped Hermes after she drove away and they said she displayed strong signs of impairment. She performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was placed into custody. She was cited for Driving under the Influence of Intoxicants and then released. Her Jeep was parked and secured.

 

Black bears are waking from their winter slumber and hunger is driving them to town for an easy meal. Ashland residents: please don't give bears a free lunch. With a sense of smell about seven times greater than a bloodhound, bears zero in on the scent of unsecured garbage, dirty barbecue grills, bird feeders and pet food left outside. They stop at nothing to get at this food, causing property damage and breaking into homes and sheds. Along with highly-sensitive noses, bears are smart, learn fast and have a memory bank of information on where they got easy meals in the past. And those locations are where they head to first. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Ashland Police Department urge residents and visitors to be "BearWise" and remove these food sources. Last year, 137 cases of bear conflict were reported in Jackson County, with 38 of those inside the Ashland city limits. Reports included aggressive actions, nuisance behaviors and loss of wariness around people. Eight of these complaints were human safety concerns. Most reports resulted from bears accessing garbage, compost, bird seed and other types of food rewards. Report non-emergency bear activity in Ashland through the City's bear-reporting website or by calling ODFW directly at (541)-826-8774. Dial 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to human health and safety.

 

The City of Grants Pass will hold a Listening and Learning Session next week that is aimed at shedding light on a state law that governs how cities must regulate their unhoused populations. The session regarding House Bill 3115 is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street. House Bill 3115 -- enacted in 2021 -- requires cities that wish to regulate the use of public property by people experiencing homelessness to enact "objectively reasonable" time, place and manner restrictions. Unfortunately, making sense of what constitutes "objectively reasonable" regulation is tricky. This session will provide an overview of where things stand legally with House Bill 3115 including insight into some recent court decisions that have attempted to interpret "objectively reasonable." There will be an opportunity for people to submit questions regarding this topic before the session begins -- either in person or via email -- to "kfrerk@grantspassoregon.gov."

 

Applications are now being accepted for eight positions on the new Grants Pass Development Code Review Task Force. The appointments will conclude at the end of the panel's mission. The purpose of the Task Force is to review and evaluate the Grants Pass Municipal Development Code to help simplify and streamline the City's land use process and various development standards. The desired outcome is a written recommendation to the City Council containing specific actions to modernize the code to reduce ambiguities and barriers to new construction investment and development projects within the Grants Pass Urban Growth Boundary. Special qualifications for these positions are a licensed civil engineer or architect, local builder, residential developer, commercial developer, land use attorney, real estate agent/broker and an at-large citizen representative. Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 22nd. The appointments will be made on June 4th.

 

The Mount Ashland Ski Area has announced a transformative infrastructure project to replace two of its most iconic chairlifts. After more than four decades of service, Ariel and Windsor Chairlifts are set to be replaced with new, state-of-the-art fixed-grip triple chairs, with the project set to begin in Spring 2026. Ariel Chairlift, in operation since 1964, and Windsor Chairlift, which began service in 1978, have been cornerstones of Mount Ashland Ski Area, providing generations of skiers and snowboarders with access to more than half of the mountain's terrain. Despite years of diligent care and maintenance, both lifts are at the end of their serviceable lives, and the increasing costs to maintain, difficulty in sourcing parts and decreasing efficiency by modern standards have made the need for upgrades increasingly evident. The original chairlifts will continue to operate until their replacements are installed. These modern lifts will be more energy-efficient and resilient to wind and weather.