Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man in his vehicle parked outside his place of employment yesterday morning.

Officers contacted Tyler McCauley outside the Dollar General, 1290 Redwood Avenue. He had been nodding off in his still-running vehicle for over an hour.

He was identified by his name and date of birth, and found to have a Parole Board warrant for his arrest.

After being advised of his Miranda Rights, McCauley admitted to being in possession of Fentanyl. Officers located a small bag with him containing a white powdery substance.

After a positive field test confirming the controlled substance, McCauley was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and possession of a controlled substance (Fentanyl).

 

The Grants Pass Police Department apprehended a woman for multiple charges at a local park after hours.

Officers contacted Jessica Tope at Tussing Park Tuesday night, but she provided a false name and date of birth.

She was identified by her tattoos and booking photos. Dispatch confirmed she had an active warrant out for her arrest.

She was taken into custody, and found to have a history of trespassing charges. She was transported to the Josephine County Jail on the warrant, Second Degree Criminal Trespass, Giving False Information to Police, and Possession of a Controlled Substance (Meth).

 

After almost a decade of planning and legislative advocacy, the Rogue River School District announced the opening of its new Early Learning and Wellness Center. This milestone represents years of effort to expand early learning opportunities and provide vital health services to children and families in the Rogue River and Wimer areas. Efforts to establish an early learning and wellness center in the district date back to the late 2010's. Over the years, numerous community members, regional medical providers, education advocates, members of the Rogue River School Board, and state legislators worked hard to secure funding and support for the project. Funding for the $3 million facility was secured in 2021 through SB 5534, utilizing lottery bond dollars with the intent to address critical gaps in health care and early learning. The center features a student-based health clinic operated by La Clinica, as well as expanded preschool programming provided by Head Start.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry was ready to tackle potential lightning-sparked fires Wednesday.

The lightning cell that moved through western Josephine County yesterday resulted in 5-7 fires out in the general area of Marial, Cold Springs, Calvert Airstrip country, and in the mountains NW of Galice.

ODF Southwest Oregon District launched an aggressive ground assault on each fire reported. U.S. Forest Service, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest also reported fires on their ground.

All fires are remote and outside of the Mid Rogue Fire District, and pose no concern to populated areas.

 

The Grants Pass City Council Wednesday night cancelled the previous request for proposal for the $1.2 million dollar grant and created a new RFP to create a 24/7 managed, low barrier shelter with a capacity of at least 150 individuals at maximum capacity. All previous applicants would be eligible to reapply. Proposals would be initially scored by the full council instead of a task force that had two councilors for the initial round of proposals. At that point all information would be available to the public. The council extended the timeline for the RFP to five and a half weeks. Extending the process means the earliest a managed camp could be available for full capacity.

 

The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team joint inter-agency task force arrested five suspects Wednesday on a total of 39 encouraging child sexual abuse felony charges. Investigations led to arrests throughout Jackson County including Medford, Ashland, White City, and Eagle Point. Although the cases are not connected, total felony charges included 30 counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, and nine counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. The first arrest came in Eagle Point in the 400 block of Stevens Road in Eagle Point where the task force located and arrested Kevin Lee Bratton, 46, of Eagle Point, on 10 felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff’s office released information Wednesday afternoon on a Marijuana Enforcement Team raid on August 26th that netted 2,500 pounds of processed marijuana, 11,600 marijuana plants and resulted in the arrest of one. The Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) executed a search warrant in the 700 Block of Althouse Creek Road, Cave Junction.). 33-year-old Richard James Bassett Jr. was taken into custody and lodged in The Josephine County Jail. He is charged with Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, and Unlawful Appropriation of Ground Water. The property also had multiple electrical, water, and solid waste code violations. These violations could result in the civil forfeiture of the property. All the marijuana was destroyed and additionally, one firearm was located and seized.The warrant was executed with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADEAt the time of this press release the investigation is ongoing and no further details are being released.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff’s office is asking for the public’s help in locating 16-year-old runaway boy from the Merlin area. William Herren is a white male, five feet five inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds and has brown/blond hair with blue eyes. William is suspected to be wearing dark clothing, a hoodie and dark jeans and may have a cowboy hat. He may be trying to conceal his face with a bandana. William is known to frequent the Cave Junction area, particularly Jubilee Park.
Please contact Josephine County Sheriff's Office if you have any information. 541-474-5123

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a suspect while on a welfare check for a dog and puppies.

Officers were called out to the park at the end of South Old Stage Road in Cave Junction Tuesday. People were camped in the area with a pit bull and her puppies in the area. Some appeared to be malnourished and were in a small cage.

While on the welfare check, they contacted Shannon Petersen. She was uncooperative and was taken into custody on an Oregon Parole Board Warrant for a Post-Prison Supervision Sanction.

She was lodged at the Josephine County Jail. All the dogs appeared healthy in weight and had access to water.