Local News

The Oregon Department of Human Services has announced that the application deadline for the new Summer EBT program has been extended to midnight on September 30th. The program offers $120 per child to help cover grocery costs when school food programs are not as easy to access. Eligible families should act now. Thousands of families may be unaware that they qualify for this essential benefit. Oregon DHS and the Oregon Department of Education urge families to check their eligibility and apply before the extended deadline. Once Summer EBT benefits are received, they must be used within 122 days. Most eligible children received their benefits automatically on June 28th. Children in foster care also automatically received Summer EBT. However, families who did not receive benefits automatically -- particularly those with children who were eligible for the National School Lunch or Breakfast Programs -- should still apply to determine their eligibility. Families are encouraged to visit "sebt.oregon.gov" or contact the Summer EBT Call Center to verify their eligibility and apply.

 

Rural Metro Fire Department has announced the schedule for tomorrow's 9/11 Patriot Day Memorial Walk in Grants Pass. The annual memorial walk will be from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday at Reinhart Volunteer Park. The one-hour event will be around the track located near the parking lot adjacent to Lincoln Road. The walk is in honor of those who died on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It's also for the 343 New York City firefighters and other first responders who died while trying to save others. Americans vowed to "never forget" and this is just one small gesture to uphold that promise. First responders of any discipline are welcome to join the memorial walk including fire, law, emergency medical services, hospital personnel, emergency managers, dispatchers, search and rescue, active military and veterans. The public is also welcome to join in the walk. Uniforms are encouraged, but not required.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a woman over the weekend on a local felony warrant alleging felony-level domestic violence. The Police Department reports officers arrested a 29-year-old female subject they identified as "Kayla Marie Sandgren" in the 500-block of SE 10th Street at 4:46 p.m. Saturday. Police said they were looking for Sandgren because she was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant containing a secret indictment for felony charges of Criminal Mistreatment, Aggravated 4th-Degree Assault and Strangulation plus a less charge of Attempted 3rd-Degree Assault. She was placed into custody without incident. Information that led to the criminal allegations was not disclosed by GPPD. Sandgren was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and she was being held in lieu of posting $50,000 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for several crimes -- past and present -- after he was caught selling marijuana near the Growers Market this past weekend. According to the Police Department, officers contacted a 59-year-old male subject near the Grasshopper Parking Lot on Saturday shortly after noon. Police said a man they identified as "Gary Todd Barker" was trying to sell low-quality marijuana for $10 an ounce while sitting near the railroad tracks just off 4th Street. They said he provided a false name and stuck with it until he was detained and found to be in possession of methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed that Barker was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for failing to appear in court for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. He was also found to be wanted by the Sheriff's Office for a domestic violence case. Barker was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus new charges of Contempt of Court-Restraining Order Violation, Meth Possession and Furnishing False Information to Police. The marijuana he was selling was seized for destruction.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a statewide felony warrant following a weekend welfare check in the southeast part of the city. The Police Department reports officers were requested to check on a 30-year-old male subject in the 1900-block of SE Haviland Drive on Saturday at 8:15 a.m.. Police said the subject was known to them from previous criminal encounters and they observed him trying to sneak into his father's garage. They said he was placed into custody at Taser point due to a lack of compliance and attempted flight. According to the report, the man was verbally aggressive toward his grandparents before heading toward his father's residence. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on an Oregon State warrant for Felony Parole Violation. Jail records show he has been arrested for violating his post-prison supervision at total of 12 times since last October.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant during a weekend patrol check in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers contacted a 42-year-old male subject and placed him into custody near the corner of NE 7th Street and Evelyn Avenue on Saturday at 7:38 p.m.. Police said they observed the subject, recognized him from previous contacts and knew that he was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a 2019 conviction for an unspecified crime. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show he was also arrested for violating his parole last December.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended a man on two outside felony warrants during a weekend traffic stop at or near Robertson Bridge Boat Landing. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a vehicle containing a 28-year-old subject in the 12,100-block of Lower River Road on Saturday around 1 a.m.. Deputies said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and discovered that one of the occupants was wanted on a Jackson County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 1st-Degree Burglary and a Medford felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Burglary. Once the warrants were confirmed, the suspect was transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was booked on the warrants. He was set to be transferred to the Jackson County Jail in Medford. The driver of the vehicle was warned for violating park hours and told to move on.

 

Those who want one last turn of summer cooling at Grants Pass city parks have just two more opportunities -- today and tomorrow. The Grants Pass Parks Department has announced that Tuesday will be the final day the spray parks will operate at Riverside and Morrison Centennial parks. The forecast for today is 92 degrees, with temperatures dropping to the 80s and 70s after Tuesday. Parks workers will start the process of winterizing the spray parks on Wednesday.

 

A boating accident on the Oregon Coast claimed the life of a Medford man late last week. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office reports 9-1-1 dispatchers received an alert regarding a boating mishap in Winchester Bay last Thursday at about 2 p.m.. As deputies were responding, the United States Coast Guard advised they located an overturned boat with subjects in the water. USGS personnel were able to rescue two subjects from the water, but a third individual was still missing. Deputies learned 63-year-old James McKeane of Medford had been fishing with his son -- 36-year-old Kenneth McKeane of Central Point -- and a neighbor -- 35-year-old Anthony Knight of Medford. After a few hours of ocean fishing, James McKeane was returning to the dock due to weather conditions in his 2020 Kingfisher boat. While progressing into the bay, a large wave crashed into the left side of the boat, causing it to roll over. All three occupants went into the water without lifejackets. The vessel eventually capsized. James McKeane and Knight were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard. Lifesaving efforts were initiated on Knight who was unconscious. Both James and Knight were transported to Lower Umpqua Hospital for medical treatment. Efforts to revive Knight were unsuccessful and he was pronounced deceased. Kenneth McKeane was later located by USGS helicopter on the North Jetty and was airlifted from there to North Bend Hospital. The fatal accident is under investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Marine Division working in coordination with the Oregon State Marine Board.