Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man who was illegally camping on the east side of the city early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint near the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and NE Agness Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday. Police said the 33-year-old man had been warned for trespassing on the easement between Agness Avenue and Foothill Boulevard last weekend, but he had returned and set up a brown tarp with his belongings scattered everywhere. The property owner was contacted and wanted the man to be arrested after he refused to leave. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Criminal Trespass. His belongings were logged into evidence for safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted six campers for committing ordinance violations at city parks on Tuesday. At Lawnridge Park, a man was cited for Illegal Camping as his campsite had been posted last week and he did not leave. He was trespassed from the park for 30 days. At Westholm Park, a man and woman were cited for Scattering Rubbish. They were issued 30-day park exclusions. Another man who was sleeping in the street next to the park was cited for Methamphetamine Possession. At Tussing Park, a man and woman were cited for Oversized Camps, another woman was cited for Buffer Zone Violation and Scattering Rubbish, and another man was cited for Illegal Camping and Buffer Zone Violation. Two of them were trespassed from the park for 30 days. At Baker Park, a woman was cited for Buffer Zone Violation and Scattering Rubbish. She was issued a 30-day exclusion. Back at Westholm Park, a man was cited for Scattering Rubbish. The two people cited earlier in the day were in the process of removing their personal belongings from the park. A neighbor complained that there was a tent set up in the street.

 

Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) jailed a Cave Junction man on a warrant for drug trafficking this week. The Grants Pass Police Department reports detectives arrested a 54-year-old male subject at a home in the 100-block of Ken Rose Lane on Monday evening. RADE detectives said the man was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant which contained a secret indictment for Manufacture, Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl, as well as Unlawful Possession and Delivery of Methamphetamine. No other details about the arrest or charges were disclosed by RADE or GPPD. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held in lieu of posting $75,000 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on an outstanding felony warrant early yesterday after investigating a northwest city trespassing complaint. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to man ringing the doorbell at a home in the 2500-block of NW Lassen Way on Tuesday at 5:12 a.m.. Police said the caller told dispatchers the male subject was standing on their front porch and when they called out to ask who he was, he said "Jo Jo." They did not know the man and requested that he be trespassed from their property. Officers arrived on scene, contacted the 43-year-old man at the end of Sinclair Drive and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for failing to appear in court for Probation Violation related to a previous arrest for 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was placed into custody without incident. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was trespassed from the Lassen Way residence. His probation officer was advised of his client's arrest.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving this week after a traffic stop on Williams Highway in south Grants Pass. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Ford F-150 driven by a 51-year-old man near the intersection of Highway 238 and New Hope Road late Monday night. Troopers said they stopped the pickup for speeding and the driver showed signs of impairment. They said he consented to field sobriety tests, but refused to cooperate with the testing. He was placed into custody and transported to the Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was well over twice the legal driving limit. The suspect was issued citations for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His pickup was impounded.

 

The Oregon State Police was looking for the driver of a vehicle who fled from a traffic stop on Rogue River Highway this week. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Chevrolet Blazer on Highway 99 near Carnahan Drive on Monday night. Troopers said when they stopped the vehicle for traffic violations, the driver bailed out of the SUV, fled on foot and was not located. No description was provided for the driver. The Chevy Blazer was described as black with Oregon license plate "CL79022." It was towed to an impound yard. Anyone with information on the whereabouts on the driver is urged to dial *OSP.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for extreme speeding on Interstate 5 in the Hugo area this week. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a Dodge Charger driven by a 27-year-old man in the southbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 66 on Monday afternoon. Troopers said the motorist was observed driving in excess of 135 miles per hour on the descent down Mount Sexton just prior to the traffic stop. The motorist was arrested and charged with Reckless Driving along with some other traffic violations. He was cited to appear in court and then released.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners has scheduled five public hearings for its weekly business session this morning. The first public hearing is for seven requests for annexation to the Josephine Community Library District. The annexations are by petition of the landowners. The four other hearings are on the first readings of ordinances repealing and amending chapters of the Josephine County Code, with the second readings set for May 15th. They pertain to the Southern Oregon Library Information System, Law Enforcement Data System, Law Library and Public Works Revolving Fund. Not on the meeting agenda is the proposed sale of the Pipe Fork timber property near Williams. The offer tendered by a nature conservancy organization expires today. As part of the Consent Calendar, the Board will make an appointment to the Parks Advisory Board. Today's public meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

The City of Grants Pass is soliciting applications for new construction of residential housing developments that will serve qualified low- and moderate-income households. The city has $479,379 from the Oregon Housing Opportunity Fund to distribute to qualified projects. The deadline to apply for the funds through this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is June 21st at 3 p.m.. To be eligible for this funding, the resulting units must serve households whose income is at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for rental housing or 100% AMI for homeownership units. The city's current housing incentives such as the Affordable Housing System Development Charge Waiver, Urban Renewal Funding and Community Development Block Grants are expected to be available and may supplement projects under this NOFA. In 2021, the City of Grants Pass adopted the Affordable Housing Construction Excise Tax (CET), which is the funding source of the Housing Opportunity Fund. The overall purpose of the CET, per Senate Bill 1533 and its accompanying rules, is to help local jurisdictions address their communities' housing needs. The Grants Pass City Council elaborated on those rules by stating the fund should be specifically used to support the creation of new housing units.