Local News

With the New Year here, Oregon health officials are asking people to resolve in 2024 to get vaccinated against respiratory viruses that are on the rise in the state. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, health officer and state epidemiologist for the Oregon Health Authority, says vaccination remains the best way for Oregonians to protect themselves against COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- and it's not too late to get any of the vaccines. The renewed push for vaccinations comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published the latest version of a report on Fall 2023 respiratory virus vaccination coverage among adults. The report includes national and jurisdiction-specific estimates for influenza, COVID-19 and RSV vaccination coverage among adults 18 and older from the National Immunization Survey-Adult COVID Module. CDC forecasting predicts a steady increase of hospitalizations. According to the report, 25% of eligible Oregon adults have received the 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine, 40.8% have received the influenza vaccine, and 20.3% have received the RSV vaccine.

 

If you made a New Year's resolution to get more involved in local government, the City of Grants Pass has several opportunities for you. There is one position open on the Grants Pass Parks Advisory Committee and the deadline for applications is this Friday, January 5th. There is one position open on the Grants Pass-Josephine County Collaborative Economic Development Committee. The deadline for applications is January 12th. There are four positions open on the Grants Pass Budget Committee, with the application deadline on January 26th. There is one position open on the Committee on Public Art and the deadline for applications is February 2nd. For more information on these committee openings, visit the City of Grants Pass website at "grantspassoregon.gov."

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing merchandise from Walmart and then trying to drive away with the goods. The Police Department reports officers responded to a shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Saturday at about 11:50 a.m.. Police said 35-year-old Nikola Markovic collected around $113 worth of items from Walmart and passed all points of sale, depriving the store of its property. He was seen leaving the parking lot in a red vehicle that was stopped in short order. Markovic was placed into custody and lodged at the nearby jail facility for 2nd-Degree Theft. The stolen property was returned to Walmart.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving after a weekend traffic stop in the downtown area. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by 22-year-old George Arthur Bedollatinajero near the corner of SE 6th and H streets on Saturday at 1:45 a.m.. Police said Bedollatinajero was observed committing multiple traffic violation, so he was pulled over. They said numerous indicators of impairment were displayed and the suspect refused to participate in field sobriety tests. He eventually agreed to provide a breath sample that was well over the legal driving limit. George Bedollatinajero was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. A sober passenger took control of the pickup.

 

Grants Pass Police incarcerated a man for threatening the manager of a fast food restaurant and others with a knife. The Police Department reports officers arrested 44-year-old Danial Bryan Cook for the incident at Carl's Jr. on NE Terry Lane on Saturday at 12:54 p.m.. Police said Danial Cook was asked to leave by the restaurant manager due to his disorderly behavior. They said Cook pointed a large fixed-blade knife at the victim and threatened to kill him. The suspect reportedly remained in the general area of the restaurant swinging the knife around and threatening other people, generating at least four more callers due to his conduct that was causing public alarm. Responding officers tracked down Cook south of WinCo Foods and placed him into custody. The suspect had dropped the knife, but a search of the area located the weapon and it was seized as evidence. Danial Cook was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Menacing and Disorderly Conduct. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for six alleged crimes after he was caught trying to steal gasoline from trucks at the new U-Haul facility in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a theft complaint at the U-Haul yard in the 2300-block of NW Hawthorne Avenue early Friday morning. Police said the manager called 9-1-1 to report a male subject was walking around the trucks with a fuel can before the yard opened for business. Responding officers contacted 30-year-old Chance Vaughn-Edward Kersten amongst the trucks while carrying a fuel can, a rubber hose and smelling like gasoline. Kersten admitted to unsuccessfully attempting to siphon fuel from at least one of the trucks. While he was being placed into custody, he was found to be in possession of a counterfeit driver's license that had his photo but the name and information of another person. The fake identification was seized as evidence. Chance Kersten was subsequently lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Aggravated Identity Theft, Identity Theft, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, 1st-Degree Theft, Attempted 3rd-Degree Theft and Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested two men on outstanding warrants during a weekend patrol check in the Illinois Valley. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted 44-year-old Justin Dwaine Eidem and 54-year-old David Lesley Ingram near the intersection of Happy Camp and Takilma roads on Saturday around 11:35 a.m.. Deputies said Eidem and Ingram were cutting firewood without permits and both were warned for Unlawful Collection of Forest Products. It was determined that Ingram was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Probation Violation related to 3rd-Degree Theft. He was placed into custody. Eidem reportedly gave deputies a false name -- but once his true identity was revealed, it was determined that he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for Probation Violation related to 4th-Degree Domestic Assault. He was charged with Furnishing False Information to Police and placed into custody. Justin Eidem and David Ingram were transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on no-bail probation detainers. Their vehicle was towed.

 

A Grants Pass man is facing charges of impaired driving after he crashed a vehicle into a power pole near Westholm Park and deprived local residents of electricity. The Grants Pass Police Department reports officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash near the corner of SW Wildwood Avenue and G Street on Saturday at 10:40 a.m.. Police said residents in the area reported a small blue car speeding down the street before hitting a utility pole and dropping the pole and attached wires into the road. The callers said the car was upside-down and smoking. Residents worked to free the male driver from the wreckage. He was identified by police as "Rhett Bassett." Witnesses said Bassett was traveling at about 60 miles per hour before he left the roadway, striking a retaining wall and cable box before fish-tailing across both travel lanes and striking the utility pole, completely severing it and knocking out power to the area. The suspect was extricated and transported to the hospital. Bassett was interviewed at Three Rivers Medical Center and probable cause for impaired driving was established after a legal blood draw was completed. Rhett Bassett was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. He was cited to appear in court and released to the care of hospital staff. His damaged car was impounded and Pacific Power crews arrived to restore electricity to affected customers. Service restoration took several hours.

 

Authorities were investigating a weekend fire that broke out at a vehicle dumpsite in the Sunny Valley area. On Saturday at 3:25 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to the reported fire on BLM land off Copper Queen Road. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found abandoned motorhomes and vehicles on fire at the remote location. They said firefighters from both agencies extinguished the flames with little spread to the surrounding wildland. Officials said there was evidence that someone may have been occupying one of the RVs, but no one was located at the scene. There were no injuries reported.