Local News

An Eagle Point Police Department drone was used to help apprehend an active shooting suspect on Interstate 5 near Ashland last weekend. Early Saturday morning, the Ashland Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office responded to an I-5 incident involving a male subject shooting a firearm at passing motorists and officers. A request for a drone operator was made to assist in locating the suspect after he fled on foot. The Eagle Point Police Department recently obtained a drone and training through a grant offered by City-County Insurance. EPD Senior Officer Marc Slagle is the department pilot for the new program and he was on duty at the time of the request. Slagle responded, deployed the drone and located the suspect who held his hands up and surrendered once he noticed the drone was overhead. Law enforcement on scene utilized an armored vehicle for protection and were able to take the suspect into custody without further incident. The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Devanta Bell Mader of Ashland. He was lodged at the Jackson County Jail on several felony charges including Attempted Murder, 1st-Degree Attempted Assault with a Firearm and four counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon. The case is being handled by the Oregon State Police.

 

The Oregon State Police apprehended a nationwide fugitive who was also wanted on a local warrant this week during a traffic stop on Redwood Highway in Wonder. OSP reports state troopers pulled over a Dodge Ram pickup driven by 26-year-old Zildjian Alexander Lukei near milepost 14 of Highway 199 on Monday night. Troopers said they stopped Lukei for traffic violations and quickly discovered that he was wanted on a nationwide extraditable warrant out of Virginia. He was also wanted on a local bench warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and he provided a false name to law enforcement. Lukei was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants plus a new charge of Furnishing False Information to Police. He was being held without bail pending possible extradition to Virginia. The pickup was left with Lukei's passenger who was identified as a 33-year-old Cave Junction woman.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man who continues to violate a court order by contacting a woman who is legally protected from him. The Police Department reports deputies arrested 54-year-old Jason Mecham for the incident at a home in the 2500-block of Keagan's Court on Monday evening. Police said Mecham was placed into custody at Grange Co-op after violating a valid restraining order by making phone contact with the protected party and unlawfully entering her residence. He had just been released from jail after a similar incident on Sunday. According to the report, Mecham tried to elude officers by running onto the Grange Co-op property and hiding. He was flushed out with assistance from K-9 Maro and arrested without further incident. Mecham was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for two counts of Contempt of Court-Restraining Order Violation and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for theft and drug crimes after she was caught stealing merchandise from a local supermarket this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint at WinCo Foods on NE Terry Lane on Monday morning. Police said a WinCo employee requested that a female subject identified as 35-year-old Brittany Rae Adams be trespassed from the store. Adams -- who had been previously trespassed from WinCo -- was observed leaving the store with items she had not purchased. Officers detained Adams outside the store and -- during a consent search -- she was found with more stolen items and a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue. She admitted to stealing merchandise and was placed into custody. Adams was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass, 3rd-Degree Theft and Methamphetamine Possession. She was held without bail.

 

Applications are being accepted for a position on the Grants Pass Historical Buildings & Sites Commission due to a vacancy. This position expires on December 7, 2026. The HBSC's purpose is to review proposed alterations to any historic district or designated structure in the urban growth boundary, to promote the community's historic preservation, to advise other agencies on matters related to historic preservation, and to identify areas of archeological significance and buildings of historic or archeological significance.This position is for a representative from the local historical society in Grants Pass. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. Applications are available at the City Administration Office at 101 NW A Street or online at "grantspassoregon.gov/committee-application." Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 8th.

 

Due to July's persistent hot and dry weather, national forests across the Pacific Northwest have increased or implemented public use restrictions. Through these public use restrictions as well as high to very high fire danger levels, the US Forest Service is urging the public to be vigilant in preventing human-caused wildfires while recreating outdoors. Current public use restrictions can be found on national forest webpages or by checking at the local ranger district before recreating. Even if campfires are allowed, please consider whether having a fire is necessary. Forest Service officials have provided a few tips to keep yourself, your family and communities safe as fire season ramps up in Oregon and Washington. Stay vigilant if wildfires are burning in your area or near your community. Know that conditions can change quickly. Adhere to local fire restrictions. Sign up for emergency alerts with your local county. Become familiar with the three evacuation levels. Know where to find up-to-date evacuation information for your area. Make a plan to keep your family safe. Even if some areas of the Pacific Northwest may experience cooler weather than normal, fire danger levels will remain high to very high because already dried fuels remain susceptible to ignition sources.

 

Workers in the Grants Pass Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average hourly wage that is much lower than the national average. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports Grants Pass workers had an average hourly wage of $27.88 in May 2024 as compared to the national average of $32.66. In Grants Pass, the higher paying major occupational groups included healthcare practitioners, technical, management and legal professions. According to the report, Grants Pass had 3,310 jobs in office and administrative support, accounting for 10.7% of local area employment. Nationally, office and administrative support positions accounted for an 11.8% share. Lower paying occupations in the Grants Pass area included food preparation and serving related, personal care and service, and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Grants Pass area included healthcare support (17.8%), office and administrative support (10.7%), and food preparation and serving related (9.9%).

 

Britt Music & Arts Festivals is proud to announce its second year of a special initiative to recognize and express gratitude to the region's courageous firefighters and other fire personnel who play an integral role in protecting our community. As a gesture of appreciation, Britt is offering discounted lawn tickets to three upcoming shows. The shows include Dirtwire on July 25th, DISPATCH on July 29th and Taj Mahal & Steve Earle on July 31st. For these concerts, the price of each ticket will be reduced to a flat rate of $25, with a four-ticket limit per firefighter per show. To redeem their tickets, firefighters and other fire personnel can visit the Britt Main Office at 216 West Main Street in Medford or call the Britt Box Office at (541)-773-6077. Please be prepared to provide an agency ID or other proof of employment to receive the discount. Britt extends its heartfelt thanks to these brave individuals for their unwavering dedication and service.

 

Firefighters working the Board Shanty Fire south of Grants Pass have pushed containment to 20% and cooled the perimeter 200 feet into the incident from the fire's edge. Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 3 reported this morning that the wildfire was 469 acres while the Watch Duty app reported the incident to be 474 acres. Members from a local ODF Type 3 incident management team will shadow the complex incident management team today to prepare for taking over command of the incident on Wednesday morning. Resources devoted to the Board Shanty Fire today total 641 personnel including 24 hand crews, 19 engines, 16 water tenders and 12 bulldozers. Helicopters and other aviation assets assigned to the nearby Grizzly Complex remain on standby for the local wildfire. Firefighters continue to push further toward the interior of the fire, bolstering the strength of the lines. Today, crews will extinguish hotspots identified and flagged by nightshift crews using handheld infrared cameras to detect heat. While mop-up continues, there still may be visible smoke from burning material in the interior of the incident. Josephine County Zones JCU-436, JCU-437 and JCU-448-A are now under a Level 1 "Be Ready" evacuation notice. All other evacuations have been lifted. Unless things change significantly on the Board Shanty Fire, there will be no more evening updates provided by ODF -- although morning updates will continue.