Local News

Multiple agencies got a quick knockdown on a grass fire in the southeast Grants Pass area late yesterday. On Thursday at 4 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and the Oregon Department of Forestry were dispatched to the reported fire in the 800-block of Summit Loop. Rural Metro officials said arriving units found the blaze had already spread to just under a quarter-acre, but an aggressive attack stopped the fire from growing any larger. They said no one was injured and no structures were threatened. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The U.S Supreme Court this morning reversed lower court rulings, finding that public camping restrictions issued by the City of Grants Pass do not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." The court split largely along ideological lines in a 6 to 3 vote. The Oregonian reports Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote for the majority that the enforcement of laws regulating camping on public property is "commonplace" and not barred by the Eighth Amendment. He found that homelessness is "complex," and that the city's limited fines for first-time offenders, trespass from public parks for repeat offenders and a maximum of 30 days in jail for any violators are punishments that don’t add "terror, pain or disgrace." Citing a brief from California Governor Gavin Newsom, Gorsuch wrote that many broadly agree that "policymakers need access to the full panoply of tools in the policy toolbox," and need to "have the latitude" to tackle the complicated issues of homelessness and lack of housing. The court found that prior rulings by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Boise case and Grants Pass, narrowing the actions cities and towns can take to restrict public sleeping on streets, parks and sidewalks, may have inadvertently increased the homelessness problem by weakening how cities can respond. The court’s opinion was released just over two months after it heard oral argument on April 22nd. The case has been touted as one of the most significant involving homelessness to come before the court in decades and has been closely watched by state and city officials across the country grappling with how to address a growing homeless crisis. They've expected the ruling could have significant reverberations around the country.

 

Firefighters working the Upper Applegate Fire continue to push forward and make steady progress on the incident south of Ruch, increasing mop-up to 15% and solidifying more direct line on Thursday, increasing containment to 65%. The Oregon Department of Forestry reports the wildfire was GPS-mapped at 937 acres late yesterday. It was a slight increase from the morning estimate. Resources assigned to the fire were able to meet their goal of mopping up 75 feet into the interior of the blaze along the southern border. This work helped to solidify the lines created and prevent the fire from reigniting in hot and windy conditions in these areas by extinguishing any lingering fire and heat. More than 200 personnel were assigned to the fire last night including seven 20-person hand crews backed by two engines, four water tenders and two bulldozers. Aircraft flew until nightfall. Strategic firing operations were planned to bolster line on the northeastern portion of the fire, which has been dangerous and challenging ground since the start of the fire on Thursday, June 20th. Evacuation orders remain in effect. Zone JAC-434 is on a Level 1 "Be Ready" notice while Zone JAC-436 remains at Level 2 "Be Set." The BLM as issued a closure order for lands it manages in the fire area including Grouse Creek. ODF has determined the cause of the fire was the unlawful mowing of dry grass.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department is investigating the brazen theft of firefighting equipment from a local motel. Grants Pass police officers were dispatched to the Holiday Inn Express on NE Agness Avenue on Thursday morning where it appears that thieves in the area have hit an all-time low by stealing equipment from US Forestry trucks parked overnight while firefighters finally got some rest after battling the Upper Applegate Fire. GPPD Lieutenant Jeff Hattersley said the thieves took thousands of dollars' worth of Hotshot backpacks, emergency fire shelters, headlamps, compasses, firing sticks, signal mirrors, first aid kits, water bottles and two Stihl chainsaws. Lieutenant Hattersley said this equipment was used to protect the lives of firefighters and residents of the Upper Applegate community. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the stolen equipment or the identity of the thieves is encouraged to call the Grants Pass Police Department at (541)-450-6260. Please reference Case #24-23189.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a felon for violating his post-prison supervision after he punched his mother in a minivan at a city park this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 28-year-old male subject for the incident at Morrison Centennial Park on Wednesday morning. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 to report her son was inside her van when she woke up. The caller said she asked her son to leave and he became upset before punching her in the face. The woman did not wish to pursue charges, but she was concerned that her son was "off his meds." The suspect's corrections officer was contacted and advised of the situation, so the officer requested that his client be arrested for Felony Parole Violation. He was lodged in jail and being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show the man has been arrested for violating his parole 11 times since July 16th of last year.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for violating terms of her probation after she caused a disturbance in the Fruitdale area of the city this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the complaint near the corner of Hamilton Lane and Rogue River Highway on Wednesday at 6:24 p.m.. Police said a man called 9-1-1 to report that a female subject was on the other side of his fence screaming, yelling and messing with his dog. The caller said the woman called him racial slurs after he told her to leave his dog alone. She was last seen walking south on Hamilton. Responding officers searched the area and located the 38-year-old woman a short time later in the 1400-block of Rogue River Highway. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Probation Violation. She was being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show the woman has been arrested seven times for violating probation since September 6th of last year.

 

Grants Pass fire officials were investigating the cause of a dumpster fire that broke out on Rogue River Highway this week. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue was toned by the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center for a reported dumpster fire in the 1200-block of Highway 99 on Wednesday evening. Battalion 4 and Engine 7308 staffed with three firefighters arrived to find a well-involved dumpster with flames extending to the exterior of an adjacent structure. Crews were able to control the fire with no extension to the interior of the building. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available. Mutual aid was provided by Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Police.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners will make its final decisions on three budgets for the next fiscal year this morning. The decisions will be made on the Josephine County Budget, Law Enforcement Service District Budget and 4-H Extension Service District Budget following public hearings that will give residents one last chance to provide testimony. During Wednesday's weekly business session, most of the meeting was consumed by citizens testifying both for and against the 4-H Extension Service District spending plan. Voters in 1996 approved the district by a 2-to-1 margin, but two of the current Board of Commissioners -- John West and Herman Baertschiger -- have vowed to defund the district despite the Budget Committee approving it. Oregon law requires local governments to have formally adopted balanced budgets by June 30th. Today's final budget hearings begin at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced on Thursday that counties throughout Oregon will receive more than $30 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for 2024. Because local governments cannot tax federal lands, annual PILT payments help defray the costs associated with maintaining important community services. PILT payments are made for tax-exempt federal lands administered by federal agencies including the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and US Army Corps of Engineers. Payments are calculated based on the number of acres of federal land within each county or jurisdiction and its corresponding population. Individual payments may vary from year to year as a result of changes in acreage, which are updated annually by the federal agency administering the land. Locally, Jackson County will receive a PILT payment of just over $1.9 million while Josephine County will receive a payment of $1.74 million and Douglas County will get nearly $800,000. Curry County and Klamath County are each set to receive nearly $1.1 million. Senators Wyden and Merkley said they monitor PILT payments closely and will advocate for fair payments for every county every year.