Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on statewide and local felony warrants as well as for weapons crimes after he was caught looking into vehicles at a northeast-city apartment complex. The Police Department reports officers arrested 44-year-old Eric Wayne Beck at Taser point in the 1800-block of NE Fairview Avenue on Friday around 8 p.m.. Police said at least one resident of the Fairview apartments reported a male subject on a bicycle kept coming onto the property and looking inside parked vehicles. The caller believed the man's behavior was suspicious, so they called 9-1-1. Responding officers detained Beck and found him to be in possession of a set of brass knuckles and a knife. They also discovered that he was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a burglary conviction along with a Grants Pass warrant for Probation Violation related to domestic assault. Eric Beck was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the no-bail warrants plus two counts of Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon. Police checked the complex and found no evidence of vehicle break-ins.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a young motorist for impaired driving after he wrecked a vehicle into a metal pole in a northeast neighborhood last weekend. The Police Department reports officers and emergency crews responded to the single-vehicle crash in the 700-block of NE 8th Street on Saturday at about 4 a.m.. Police said an investigation determined that 18-year-old Vincent Paul Hagenbuch was driving a Ford Fusion when he lost control of the car, went up on a curb and collided with a pole. They said the driver was not injured, but the car sustained heavy front-end damage from hitting the pole, which was knocked over. Hagenbuch reportedly displayed "indicators of impairment to a noticeable and perceptible degree." He performed poorly in field sobriety tests at the scene and at the Josephine County Jail, where he was lodged for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. The damaged car was impounded. City street crews were notified about the damaged pole, but a nearby utility pole was not damaged.

 

Is pushing a vehicle while suspended the same as driving a vehicle while suspended? That's the question someone will have to answer after Grants Pass Police made an arrest late last week. The Police Department reports officers contacted 56-year-old Scott Adams at the south end of SE 8th Street on Friday at 5:46 p.m.. Police said Adams advised them that he had pushed his vehicle to that location and became stuck in potholes in the road. He told them he had pushed his vehicle from L Street before it became stuck and added that he has been living in the vehicle. A routine records check revealed that Adams had a suspended driver's license. He was advised of his Miranda rights and asked for an attorney. He was cited to appear in court for Driving While Suspended and released. Adams' vehicle was pushed to the curb with strict instructions that he is not to operate it in the future. He was told that he must have someone else move his home-on-wheels because driving it is a crime.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted two people from a city park after they committed a serious ordinance violation late last week. According to the Police Department, officers were performing a patrol check at Fruitdale Park on Friday morning when they contacted Donnie Snow and Lori Signs. Police said Snow and Signs were cited to appear in court for having propane tanks inside the park, which is a misdemeanor offense but a serious city violation. Both admitted to knowing it is against the law to have propane tanks inside city parks. Snow and Signs were trespassed from Fruitdale Park for 30 days.

 

The Grants Pass City Council is holding its first workshop session of 2024 today followed by a special meeting. There was no regular meeting held last week. The first order of business for today's workshop is to elect a new City Council President. Then, the panel will continue its discussions regarding public safety funding. It's looking at funding options to supplement police and fire services. The workshop will conclude with a review of the agenda for the next regular meeting which includes a motion from the Parks Advisory Committee. Following the workshop, Mayor Sara Bristol will convene a Special Council meeting. Items for the meeting include a motion appointing three people to the Committee on Public Art and a Consent Agenda containing various items. The Special Meeting will conclude with the Council convening as the Urban Renewal Agency and acknowledging the receipt of the annual report for 2023. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

Winter weather is heading for southwest Oregon again -- and this time it's packing a more powerful punch. The National Weather Service has posted a Winter Storm Warning for the region above 2,000 feet from 1 a.m. Tuesday through 4 p.m. Wednesday. Heavy snow and blowing snow are expected above 2,000 feet in Josephine, Jackson, eastern Douglas and eastern Curry counties. Total accumulations of up to 12 inches is expected, with up to 24 inches possible over the highest terrain. Winds could gust up to 50 miles per hour. Affected areas include the foothills of the Cascade, Siskiyou and Klamath mountains. Affected roadways include portions of Interstate 5 and Highways 62, 140, 199 and 227. Travel could be very difficult to impossible due to the weather conditions. Blowing snow could cause whiteout conditions. Significant winter weather impacts are possible for the Interstate 5 passes between Grants Pass and Canyonville if snow levels are only 100 to 200 feet lower than expected. The most likely time for this to occur will be Wednesday morning and Wednesday evening. Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications and a fully-charged phone with you. The safest place during a winter storm is indoors.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters started 2024 the same way they finished 2023 -- working hard to protect the community. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 659 calls for service along with 232 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 40 arrests, 36 citations 34 warnings and six highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 104 traffic stops in the city and made 17 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The Community Response Team (CRT) made a total of 89 contacts with potential trouble-makers while arresting six people, citing 32 more and warning 30 others. The CRT unit also trespassed 19 individuals, posted 63 transient camps and cleared trash from 28 campsites. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 97 calls last week including 36 for emergency medical service, two for reports of fire or smoke, nine lift assists, five rescue situations, five assists to other agencies and three false alarms.

 

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has a local presence through a partnership with the Josephine Community Library District. Sign up your child to receive a free age-appropriate book in the mail each month. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book-gifting program that mails free books to children. All children under the age of 5 living in Josephine County qualify to receive a book by mail -- at no cost to their families -- every month until their 5th birthday. Since launching the Imagination Library in May 2018, more than 4,500 Josephine County children have received over 120,000 books. A diverse batch of books is selected for each age group including bilingual books in English and Spanish, with options for Braille and audiobooks. Register your children for free online or stop by your nearest library branch in Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Williams or Wolf Creek during open hours and fill out a paper form. Use your residential address to sign up. For more details, visit "josephinelibrary.org," e-mail "info@josephinelibrary.org" or call (541)-476-0571.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a local warrant for felony-level sex crimes this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 21-year-old Caden John Morrison at the Gospel Rescue Mission on Wednesday afternoon. Police identified Morrison as an unhoused person who had recently moved into the local mission. They said the mission did not know that he was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for two counts of 1st-Degree Sex Abuse. No details about the crimes were provided by the local law enforcement agency. Caden Morrison was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held in lieu of posting $250,000 bail.