Local News

A Wolf Creek man was arrested early yesterday after he was found to be in possession of a vehicle that had been stolen in Jackson County. The Oregon State Police reports troopers located a stolen Toyota Camry in the 200-block of Old Highway 99 on Friday at 12:37 a.m.. Troopers said 38-year-old Joshua Gary Young was found next to the stolen car, he had belongings inside the vehicle and the vehicle's keys were on his person. The man admitted to driving and being in possession of the stolen vehicle on Thursday. The Camry had been reported stolen from a 39-year-old Central Point man. Joshua Young was transported to Grants Pass and booked into the Josephine County Jail on a felony charge of Possession of a Stolen Vehicle. According to OSP, attempts were made to contact the registered owner of the car and they were unsuccessful, so they had it towed to Grants Pass.

 

Grants Pass Police assisted Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) this week with the arrests of three people wanted on state and local warrants. The Police Department reports officers were requested by RADE to make a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Tahoe containing 66-year-old Donald Ray Gregg, 52-year-old William Leon Bradley and 35-year-old Alicia Louise West in the 1900-block of NW 6th Street on Thursday afternoon. Police said they were informed that Gregg was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation while Bradley was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Theft and Negotiating a Bad Check, and West was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for Criminal Contempt of Court. Donald Gregg was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. William Bradley and Alicia West were lodged in jail on their outstanding warrants. The Tahoe pickup and a trailer behind it were towed to the local impound yard.

 

No one was hurt when a log truck lost some of its cargo in a Friday morning crash on Redwood Highway in Selma. The Oregon State Police, Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Transportation were dispatched to the crash on US Highway 199 at 7:26 a.m. yesterday. IVFD officials said the truck driver was not hurt in the wreck, but some of the logs he was transporting fell off the trailer and temporarily blocked the highway. ODOT handled traffic control while the scene was active. The Sheriff's Office was investigating the cause of the accident.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department is congratulating Officer Michael Potts, who graduated from the Oregon Public Safety Standards Training (DPSST) Academy late last month. Officer Potts has now entered into the GPPD Patrol Training Program that started this week. GPPD officials said Officer Potts is one of those people who always has a smile on his face and somehow makes your day better just by being around him. They look forward to the great things he will accomplish in his career as a police officer. Congratulations Officer Potts and best of luck as you continue your training here in Grants Pass!

 

Motorists heading to the coast from Southern Oregon should expect delays starting next week as construction resumes on US Highway 199 to repair damage done by the Smith River Complex. CalTrans District 1 has announced that Redwood Highway construction between the Collier Tunnel and Gasquet will begin on February 6th. Starting Tuesday, travelers should anticipate up to one-hour delays weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Crews have removed hazardous trees, replaced damaged guardrail and signage, and addressed impacted slopes in the Smith River Corridor with the installation of net drapery and rockfall catchment systems. Work to repair the highway from wildfire damage continues, with Caltrans not providing a date for completion of the project. The Smith River Complex temporarily shut down Redwood Highway between the Illinois Valley in Southern Oregon and Gasquet in Northern California last summer while burning a total of 95,107 acres in Josephine, Curry and Del Norte counties. Before heading to the coast, motorist are encouraged to check on the latest road conditions by visiting "quickmap.dot.ca.gov."

 

US Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the City of Ashland has received a $10 million loan from the US Department of Agriculture to help finance a re-lending program for the implementation of energy efficiency measures. The USDA's Rural Energy Savings Program will help finance a re-lending program in that city for qualified consumers to implement energy efficiency measures that will help combat "climate chaos" and save consumers money. The USDA lending announcement heading to Ashland Municipal Electric Utility comes from a bipartisan program Merkley authored that has helped thousands of families and businesses in rural communities across America make critical energy efficiency improvements to their homes and workplaces. Low-cost loans from the program are provided to rural electric cooperatives and utilities, which helps provide homeowners and businesses the opportunity to make energy improvements with favorable financing options. This lending is expected to benefit 21,600 Ashland area residents over the course of the next 20 years.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department received the vast majority of calls in the latest 9-1-1 Dispatch Week in Review. Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications reports GPPD received 913 calls for service out of a total 984 calls fielded by dispatchers between January 25th and 31st. American Medical Response received the next highest number of calls during that time period with 273 while Grants Pass Fire & Rescue got 82. Rural Metro Fire Department was next with 48 followed by the Illinois Valley Fire District with 27. The Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District and Oregon Department of Forestry each received three emergency calls while the Williams Rural Fire Protection District got just one. Local 9-1-1 dispatchers thanked their "Partners in Protection" for all they have done and continue to do in order to protect our community.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a Grants Pass man for assaulting a family member and threatening him with a firearm at a local residence last night. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 37-year-old Kelly Griffith for the incident at a home in the 2600-block of Azalea Drive on Thursday at 9:33 p.m.. Deputies said a man they identified as "Calvin Griffith" called 9-1-1 and the call-taker could hear an altercation taking place between two men. The dispatcher said they could hear one man complaining of pain and stating that the other man pulled a pistol on him. The other man -- later identified as Kelly Griffith -- dismissively said "I barely touched you." The Oregon State Police was called in to assist. Responding deputies and troopers interviewed both men while noting the victim's injuries. American Medical Response was placed on standby, but the ambulance was canceled when the victim refused transport to the hospital. No other details were available in the Sheriff's Log except that a 40-caliber pistol was seized. Kelly Griffith was placed into custody, transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Assault and Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman on a local warrant and added a domestic violence charge to her criminal bill after an altercation at a local mobile home park last night. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a residence in the 300-block of Beechwood Drive at Country Village Mobile Home Park on Thursday at about 8:30 p.m.. Deputies said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her father had been assaulted by their female roommate whom she identified as 51-year-old Angelique Morrison. The caller said Morrison hit her father in the face and likely injured his jaw. She told dispatchers she did not understand why her father did not make the 9-1-1 call. Upon arrival, deputies interviewed the involved parties and photographed the victim's injuries -- but he denied medical treatment. During the investigation, they discovered that Morrison was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. Angelique Morrison was placed into custody and transported to the Josephine County Jail where she was lodged on the warrant and for probable cause of Physical Harassment. She was being held without bail.