Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant after responding to perform a welfare check on Williams Highway this week. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a male subject in a wheelchair who was on the shoulder of Highway 238 near the 7th Street onramp on Wednesday night. A caller said they felt the handicapped man was in danger. Police said they contacted the 44-year-old man a short time later at Walgreens and discovered that he was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Felony Attempt to Elude Police, Reckless Driving and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. He was also found to be in possession of narcotics. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and cited to appear in court for the drug violation. The methamphetamine was seized for destruction and the rest of the man's belongings were placed in safekeeping.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested two motorists for impaired driving due to traffic complaints on the same day this week. According to OSP, the first incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when state troopers stopped a Nissan Sentra driven by a 23-year-old man near the intersection of Williams Highway and Jaynes Drive. Troopers said they stopped the suspect vehicle due to a traffic complaint and the driver displayed signs of impairment. They said the man performed poorly in field sobriety tests and was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was nearly twice the legal driving limit. He was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. The second incident happened Wednesday night when troopers pulled over a Ford Taurus driven by a 41-year-old woman in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 58 in north Grants Pass. Troopers said they stopped the suspect due to a traffic complaint and the driver showed signs of impairment. They said the woman performed poorly in sobriety tests and she was wanted on a failure to appear bench warrant. She was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw and then taken to the Josephine County Jail where she provided a breath sample that was nearly twice the legal driving limit. The suspect was lodged on charges of DUII, Reckless Driving, three counts of Reckless Endangering and the warrant. Her car was impounded and the father of the three juvenile passengers arrived on scene to pick them up.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a Josephine Community Corrections client on a local warrant this week. According to the Police Department, officers placed the 50-year-old male subject into custody at the Community Corrections Office on NW 4th Street Wednesday. Police said they were alerted the man was there and that he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. After the warrant was confirmed, the suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail.

 

Josephine County Right to Life is hosting the annual "March for Life" on Sunday in Grants Pass. Participants will meet in front of the Josephine County Courthouse at 1 p.m., with the march through downtown Grants Pass starting at 1:30. The event will culminate with a Right to Life Rally at the main pavilion of Riverside Park at 2 p.m. The program will include "live" worship music, prayer with local pastors, pro-life messages from local and state representatives, and a "Sanctity of Life" proclamation by the Josephine County Board of Commissioners. Organizers say free refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Steve Raycraft at "sraycraft54@gmail.com" or Rick Nelson at "gpcats@charter.net."

 

May is Wildfire Awareness Month. Oregon experiences its heaviest wildfire activity during the summer months, but fires occur all seasons of the year including spring. Keep Oregon Green -- in partnership with federal, state, tribal and local fire agencies -- will be spreading the word about the steps we all can take to prevent the start of careless, unwanted wildfires this summer as well as encouraging Oregonians to create defensible space around homes and outbuildings. Each year, over 70% of Oregon's wildfires are started by people. Many are a result of escaped debris burn piles or gas-powered equipment and vehicles casting sparks or catching on fire. During the 2023 fire season, the Oregon Department of Forestry reported that people were directly responsible for sparking 823 wildfires that burned 6,197 acres. Any spark can gain traction in dry vegetation, spread quickly and impact lives, personal property and the many benefits provided by scenic natural areas. Before heading outdoors this summer, contact the agency or landowner who manages the land at your destination for an update on current fire restrictions. Any visitor to Oregon's natural areas should be familiar with these restrictions before building campfires or using equipment that could ignite a wildfire.

 

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is moving into the application phase of the Homeowner Assistance and Reconstruction Program (HARP) after receiving nearly 800 eligibility questionnaires from survivors of the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. OHCS officials said this is a significant milestone only made possible because of the partnership of local organizations. ReOregon -- an OHCS program -- launched HARP at the end of March to help homeowners with low to moderate incomes who still need assistance to repair, rebuild or replace their homes in the wake of the disasters. ReOregon is now working on notifying more than 300 of the 800 people who submitted questionnaires with instructions on how they can apply for HARP. Local culturally-specific organizations are helping households that may need additional support navigating the application process. Program officials estimate there may be more survivors who may be eligible for assistance in later phases of HARP. Those who are interested can still fill out the Eligibility Questionnaire on the "re.oregon.gov" website where eligibility requirements are also listed.

 

US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently announced that the US Department of Agriculture is sending a total of more than $4.4 million in Rural Energy for American Program (REAP) grants to support 20 renewable energy projects in rural communities across the state. The investments will be used to help farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners adopt renewable energy technologies, conduct critical energy audits, and cut costs and carbon pollution with energy efficiency improvements. Since launching in 2008, the REAP program has proved essential to rural America by providing grants and loans to help agriculture producers and small business owners expand their use of wind, solar and other forms of clean energy. Standing Tree Properties, LLC, of Williams will receive $50,672 to help it purchase and install a 19.44 kilowatt ground-mounted solar PV on their unused plot of land. The solar array will replace 72% of the business's energy use with renewable electricity, reducing its energy bill by $2,740 per year.

 

A motorist was seriously injured last night when he apparently crashed a minivan into a power pole and sparked a brush fire in the Jerome Prairie area. Rural Metro Fire Department was initially dispatched to reports of a brush fire in the 2100-block of Stringer Gap Road on Tuesday at 10:26 p.m. Arriving units found a small fire burning in brush and trees, with arcing power lines in the area, prompting a call to Pacific Power. Rural Metro officials said an adult subject was located lying in the roadway with apparent injuries to his face, which prompted a call for an ambulance to American Medical Response. Crews extinguished the fire and located an overturned minivan inside the perimeter that was fully-involved with flames. The patient was transported by AMR to a Medford trauma hospital with serious injuries. The relationship of the injured subject to the crash was pending an investigation by Rural Metro and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office. Officials said the incident was being investigated as a vehicle crash that knocked down a utility line, sparking the fire.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple crimes yesterday after he allegedly strangled and assaulted a woman at a residence in a southwest city neighborhood. The Police Department reports officers responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 1800-block of SW Topaz Lane on Wednesday at 11:20 a.m.. Police said the 31-year-old male subject had strangled the female victim a few days prior to this call for service, which restricted her airway and blood-flow. They said the man punched the woman early yesterday, causing her to lose consciousness and suffer substantial pain. His actions put the victim in fear of serious injury or death. Responding officers interviewed both parties and documented visual injuries to the woman before placing the suspect into custody. He was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Domestic Strangulation, Domestic 4th-Degree Assault and Domestic Menacing. The victim refused medical treatment. She contacted GPPD later in the day to report finding a small baggie of methamphetamine in a suitcase owned by the suspect. Officers responded, seized the meth and booked it into evidence for destruction.