Local News

Jackson County Sheriff's Lieutenant Dave Penkava retired last week after 25 years of dedicated service to the community. Lieutenant Penkava is very proud to have served with the United States Marine Corp prior to joining the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. In 1997, Penkava began his law enforcement career as a Corrections Deputy. After leaving the Sheriff's Office for a few years, he returned in 2003 and joined the Patrol Division. He quickly proved himself to be a great deputy and leader. Penkava became a Field Training Officer, Traffic Team member, Lethal Threat Management Instructor and a member of the Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) Team. Penkava was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 2017. In 2018, he moved up to Sergeant and two years later became a Lieutenant. As such, he was tasked with the difficult job of SWAT Commander as well as overseeing the entire Patrol Division and Lethal Threat Management training program. Lieutenant Penkava has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to serving his country, county and community. His leadership and presence will be greatly missed at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is celebrating "National Property & Evidence Professionals Appreciation Week." The Sheriff's Office recognizes the dedicated professionals who play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system. These law enforcement professionals play a crucial role in ensuring that property and evidence are properly handled, stored and tracked for investigative and legal purposes. Sheriff Dave Daniel thanks them for their hard work, attention to detail and commitment to excellence. He said they are essential to keeping our communities safe and keeping the legal process fair for everyone.

 

The Grants Pass City Council last night delayed voting on an ordinance on the regulation of Humanitarian Service Events on publicly-owned property. The ordinance would create a registration process for individuals, non-profits or other charitable organizations to use city parks and public places for such events, while prohibiting individuals, non-profits and charitable organizations from engaging in the dissemination of drug paraphernalia or combustible materials. Mayor Clint Scherf stated more work needs to be done on the ordinance before final consideration. The Council approved the vacation of property lines between three tax lots with frontage on the Rogue River Highway and Fruitdale Drive to create one parcel. The property owner plans to further develop the parcel and the vacation is needed to meet minimum setbacks. The property is the former Herb's La Casita location. Tax-exempt status was granted to the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association on a 7-1 vote. Susan Tokarz-Krauss was appointed to the Public Safety Advisory Committee and Tim Waters was appointed to the Bikeways & Walkways Committee.

 

Total payroll employment in Josephine County was little changed in February. According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 32,440 people working in Josephine County in February for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 7.3%, which was down slightly from 7.4% in the first month of 2025. Industries losing jobs in February were private education & health services and financial activities. Both manufacturing and professional & business services added 20 jobs over the month. Other industries showed little change. Over the past year, payroll employment in Josephine County declined slightly, down by 100 jobs -- a loss of .04%. Industries adding jobs since February 2024 included leisure & hospitality (+260), transportation, warehousing & utilities (+60) and other industries (+40). Those losing jobs over the year were retail trade (-160), manufacturing (-90), financial activities (-90), professional & business services (-50), wholesale trade (-30) and construction (-30). Government employment rose by 80 jobs over the year.

 

The Grants Pass Committee on Public Art has chosen "The Wings" mural as April's Public Art of the Month. The mural is painted on the side of Oregon Pizza and Pour Authority facing SE H Street near the corner of 7th Street. The mural was commissioned by the Committee on Public Art in 2024 and painted by Crystal Pyren. Five local high school students helped design and paint it. The students collaborated in brainstorming the theme and elements that were included in the design. Their ideas were combined into a final pencil sketch. Pyren then took the sketch and created the final design in color. Two committee members -- Deanne Morse and Robyn Lofing -- also helped paint. The mural was finished last July. It consists of native plants, birds and dragonflies including one damselfly. The students who participated in The Wings project are from Grants Pass, Hidden Valley and Illinois Valley high schools. They are August Dewey, Makayla Dean, Apollo Taylor, Skyylar Pyren and Isabelle Fain.

 

The Grants Pass City Council delayed voting on an ordinance on the regulation of Humanitarian Service Events on publicly owned property during their Wednesday night business session. The ordinance would create a registration process for individuals, non-profits, or other charitable organizations to use city parks and public places for such events, and prohibiting individuals, non-profits and charitable organizations to engage in the dissemination of drug paraphernalia or compressed combustible materials. Major Clint Scherf stated more work need to be done on the ordinance before consideration.The Council approved the vacation of property lines between three tax lots with frontage on the Rogue River Highway and Fruitdale Drive creating one parcel. The property owner intends to further develop the parcel and the vacation is needed to meet minimum setbacks. The property is the former Herb’s Restaurant location. Tax exempt status was granted to the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association on a seven to one vote. The Association has been tax exempt for the last 30 years. That status had been approved by the Board of County Commissioners; however, it was discovered the appropriate approving body is the City Council. The status is valid for 10 years. Tim Waters was appointed to the Bikeways/Walkways Committee. Susan Tokarz-Krauss was appointed to the Public Safety Advisory Committee.

 

Three people were injured yesterday in a head-on collision on Redwood Highway at Hayes Hill. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel from multiple agencies responded to the two-vehicle crash near milepost 15 of US Highway 199 on Tuesday at 11:39 a.m.. Troopers said a preliminary investigation indicated a Dodge Dakota pickup driven by 41-year-old Daniel Clayton Beckham of Kerby swerved into the path of an oncoming Chevrolet pickup driven by 51-year-old Jordan Constantine Reyes of Kerby. Emergency crews used the "jaws of life" to extricate the occupants of one vehicle. A part of the guardrail had to be removed to access one of the occupants. Beckham, Reyes and 50-year-old Melanie Leigh Gibson-Reyes were transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with unspecified injuries. Both pickups were heavily damaged and towed to the City of Rogue River. It was unclear in the OSP report if any citations were issued. OSP was assisted by Rural Metro Fire Department, Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for violating a court order by threatening his mother with a weapon at a home between Wilderville and Wonder early yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 42-year-old David Brian Rich for the incident in the 12,400-block of Redwood Highway on Tuesday around 10:30 a.m.. Deputies said 9-1-1 dispatchers received an open line call and they could hear a car engine when the line disconnected. A woman called back to report her son was off his medications, threatened her with a knife, locked her out of the house and was following her in his vehicle. According to the report, the woman had a valid restraining order protecting her from her son -- but she recently let him move back in with her. Deputies searched the area and pulled Rich over on Highway 199 at Slate Creek. They placed him into custody at Taser point. A pit bull dog was seized and secured at the Animal Shelter. Rich was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Menacing and Contempt of Court-Restraining Order Violation. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on a local warrant for old impaired driving and new drug possession charges at the Courthouse yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies contacted 65-year-old Sean Dennis O'Keefe and placed him into custody at the NW 6th Street facility in Grants Pass on Tuesday at 4:12 p.m.. Few details about the encounter were disclosed, but deputies said O'Keefe was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for three counts of Probation Violation related to a 2023 arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants plus one count of Methamphetamine Possession related to an arrest from earlier this year. O'Keefe was lodged at the Josephine County Jail where he was being held in lieu of posting $60,000 bail.