Local News

The Butte Falls Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will close the Upper Table Rock trailhead and trail on weekdays from October 16th through November 22nd. The trail and trailhead will be open on the weekends. BLM will be working with contractors to re-route steep and unsustainable portions of the existing Upper Table Rock Trail. Small excavators and motorized trail-building equipment will be used to complete the work. The closure will allow for public and worker safety during construction periods. The project will create a more sustainable trail that will require less maintenance in the future. Currently, steep areas along the trail wash out during large rain events, removing gravel and creating channels in the trail. These sections become muddy and create the potential for hikers to fall. The new sections will reduce the slope of the trail, providing a safer and more durable route to the top of Upper Table Rock. Until the trailhead and trails officially reopen, members of the public may not enter closed areas, and all uses -- including hiking and hunting -- are prohibited. BLM officials said there are still plenty of other exciting hiking opportunities to explore during the closure. Lower Table Rocks -- located five miles west -- will remain open.

 

Awards totaling more than $1.38 million will be distributed to 171 state arts organizations through the Oregon Arts Commission's operating support program for Fiscal Year 2024. Ranging from $3,000 to $25,000, the unrestricted awards are available to nonprofit organizations with arts at the core of their mission and budgets of over $150,000. The Oregon Arts Commission (OAC) determines awards based on number of applications and available grant funds. The largest local recipient of the OAC awards is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association in Ashland with $25,000 followed closely by the Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival Association in Medford. The Rogue Valley Art Association in Medford is receiving $5,316. Local organizations receiving awards of $4,128 include the Grants Pass Museum of Art; Collaborative Theatre Project, Rogue Valley Chorale Association and Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon in Medford; and Rogue World Music, Southern Oregon University Chamber Music Concerts and Southern Oregon Repertory Singers of Ashland. Anima Mundi Productions in Phoenix is getting $3,781.

 

Grants Pass Police Officers arrested two wanted suspects after a traffic stop Monday night just after 9 o’clock. Officers observed and recognized Alex Tallman riding as a passenger in a Dodge Ram pickup. Having probable cause for a stop due to an improper lane change, Officers made contact with Tallman and arrested him on outstanding warrants for hit and run/property damage and the resulting parole violation. He is lodged in the county jail. The pickup’s driver provided a fake name to police and was eventually identified as Michael Anthony Gaglione, 29, who also was wanted on active warrants. Gaglione as found to be in possession of a spring assisted knife and was a felon. He was also lodged in the county jail on the out of county hold warrant. At the jail Gaglione attempted to smuggle fentanyl into the facility, but it was detected by jail staff during a very thorough search. So Gaglione is facing additional charges of being felon in possession of a restricted weapon, giving false information to law enforcement, failure to carry and display an operator’s license and supplying contraband-drug paraphernalia.

 

Today, Northwest Team 12 assumed command of the Anvil and Flat Fires. Firefighters continued to engage in repair and clean-up work as weather permitted yesterday. No growth was reported by the new team, but containment has risen to 77%. Staffing has been reduced marginally to 561, still with 14 crews supported by 13 engines and two helicopters. Containment was added to the perimeter along the northern finger. Infrared flights showed no heat along the eastern edge. This area will continue to be monitored. Crews hand piled brush on the northern line and will continue that work today. An excavator will begin repairing and closing dozer lines in the China Mountain area to reduce the potential for future erosion. Chipping will continue along the 5502 Road as weather permits. The Flat Fire also showed no growth and remains at 34,242 acres and 93% contained.

 

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a suspect wanted for stealing multiple vehicles this month as well as eluding law enforcement. Joshua Edward McLaughlin, 33, of Shady Cove, has felony warrants for elude and theft. He is described as a white male adult, 5’9” tall, weighing 170 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. He frequents the Wimer, Shady Cove, and Butte Falls areas. There is also probable cause for his arrest on two stolen vehicles and a burglary where he attempted to steal a firearm.

 

As part of Governor Tina Kotek's One Oregon Listening Tour, Kotek toured Rogue Community College's Table Rock Campus in White City last Friday. Governor Kotek's One Oregon Listening Tour is comprised of her commitment to visiting every county in the state in her first year in office and building strong, working partnerships. These efforts focus on housing, mental health, addiction care and education. Kotek spent an hour at the RCC Table Rock Campus where she was provided with information, demonstrations and a walking tour of the school's Emergency Medical Services Simulation Lab, Health Professions Center, Nursing Simulation Lab and Allied Health programs. RCC President Randy Weber said it was a great opportunity to show the governor how the community college is preparing the future workforce and supporting local industry in these high-demand fields. The Health Professions Center and High Tech Center on the Table Rock Campus are designed to promote professional and skills-based training with the newest technology in a collaborative learning environment for students, the community and business partners.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve an ordinance amending the Rural Land Development Code for farm and forest zones during its weekly business session tomorrow. The Board will hold a public hearing on the second reading of the ordinance and then vote to approve the amendments to exclusive farm, farm resource, forest commercial and woodlot resource zones. The amendments are the result of new laws mandated by the Oregon Legislature and the code concerning farm and forest lands in Josephine County has not been updated since 2005. The code amendments were vetted by the Rural Planning Commission, which recommended their approval to the Board. In a second public hearing, the Commissioners will consider two annexations to the Josephine Community Library District. The annexation requests were made by petition of the landowners. There will also be Requests and Comments from Citizens when citizens are given three minutes to speak to the Board on just about any topic concerning Josephine County.

 

Activity is winding down as containment increases on the most dangerous wildfire still burning in southwest Oregon. Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1 reported Monday that the Anvil Fire was 22,170 acres with increased containment of 60%. There were 636 personnel assigned to the wildfire yesterday including 14 hand crews backed by 14 engines and two helicopters. Crews on the east side of the Anvil Fire completed backhaul of equipment and continued to monitor remaining areas of heat last weekend. Excavators in the area are completing suppression repair on dozer lines. Chipping along the 81 Road on the northwest perimeter of the fire is complete. Suppression repair is ongoing on the northern dozer lines. An infrared flight in this area showed minimal heat that well inside the containment line. Suppression repair near Elk River Road is nearly complete. On the south perimeter, mastication is complete and chipping operations are almost to the end of the 5502 Road. Transfer of command from Southwest Team 1 to Northwest Team 12 will occur this m

 

A Douglas County teenager was cited for causing a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 5 in northern Josephine County. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency crews responded to a two-vehicle collision in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 73 last Saturday afternoon. According to OSP, an investigation indicated that a 17-year-old Azalea boy was driving a Hyundai Elantra when he merged into the fast lane in front of a Mercedes Benz van driven by a 30-year-old San Francisco, California, woman. They said the young motorist misjudged distances, was hit by the Mercedes and overcorrected, coming to an uncontrolled rest in the freeway median. No one was hurt, but the Hyundai sustained heavy overall damage and was towed to Grants Pass. The Mercedes sustained minimal damage and was driven away.