Local News

The Josephine County Budget Committee this week approved sending $675,000 to the Sheriff's Office to hire five new patrol deputies. Sheriff Dave Daniel had asked the committee for 10 new deputies, which would have allowed the Sheriff's Office to provide 24/7 patrols for the first time since 2012. The new hires will allow the agency to provide 20 hours of service daily. The new hires will be paid for with federal timber tax revenues and the new law enforcement district approved by voters last November. The permanent tax rate for the new district is 99 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value.
Sheriff Daniel thanked the Budget Committee who he said had a tremendous task before them this year. He said he's pleased to announce that he will be hiring five deputies so that the Sheriff's Office can better serve Josephine County citizens.

 

The Medford Police Department recently partnered with local retailers' loss prevention employees and the Oregon Department of Justice for a focused enforcement targeting retail theft. The May 30th operation was conducted over an eight-hour period at Burlington Coat Factory and TJ Maxx at the Medford Center. As a result of this enforcement effort, seven individuals were arrested for theft. MPD is seeing an increase in confrontations between loss prevention workers and suspects. The suspects often arm themselves with weapons such as pepper spray, knives and firearms in the event they are confronted by loss prevention. This has resulted in loss prevention not confronting suspects due to fear of being injured. Because of this, retailers are partnering with law enforcement for focused operations to proactively reduce theft in local stores. By dedicating resources to these areas, law enforcement can apprehend suspects and dismantle organized retail theft rings.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department has jailed a local man for two felony-level sex crimes. Grants Pass police detectives arrested the 73-year-old male subject earlier this week. Few details about the investigation that led to the arrest have been disclosed, but the man was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on two counts of 1st-Degree Sex Abuse.

 

The Oregon State Police assisted federal and local law enforcement officers with arresting a Salem man for drug trafficking on Redwood Highway west of Grants Pass near Wilderville this week. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Chevrolet Avalon driven by the 51-year-old man on US Highway 199 near Riverbanks Road around midday Thursday. Troopers said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and -- upon further investigation -- the driver was found with a felony amount of methamphetamine on his person. A consent search of the car uncovered a firearm, drug paraphernalia and a large amount of US currency. All the items were seized as evidence According to OSP, the Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) team assisted with the traffic stop and the driver was a convicted felon. The suspect was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Felony Possession of Meth, Felony Delivery of Meth and other charges. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a well-known criminal offender early yesterday for entering a south-city restaurant and stealing more than $1,000 from the cash register. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 35-year-old male subject for the incident at Casablanca Coffee & Grill on Union Avenue Friday at 12:13 a.m.. Police said an employee of the restaurant called 9-1-1 to report that he left the till and doors unlocked while he went to the back office. When he returned, he saw a man inside the stand wearing a flannel shirt and gray sweatpants with a brown paper bag over his head. When asked why he was there, the man said he was looking for some food before he left and headed west toward Cartwrights. The incident was captured on video surveillance, which showed the man taking $1,008 out of the till. Police searched the area and located the suspect at the Fairgrounds. He was wearing the same clothing and the stolen money was found in his wallet. He told officers that he found the money in a paper bag at Casablanca. It was recovered.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office phone system will be down intermittently between 8 a.m. and noon today due to system maintenance. If Jackson County residents need to speak to a patrol deputy during this time, they can call the non-emergency number at Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon (ECSO) during this time at (541)-776-7206. While the phone system is down, Jackson County Jail staff can be reached by calling (541)-727-1711. Due to this system maintenance, Sheriff's Office e-mails and certain areas of its website will remain down until 5 p.m. Sunday. Affected website areas include jail visitation scheduling, inmate roster and concealed handgun license applications.

 

The State Library of Oregon has awarded a $50,000 grant to Josephine Community Library District to support its new computer basics program that will benefit residents throughout the county. The state grant will fund the program from July 1st, 2024, through June 30, 2025. It will pay for a digital outreach specialist who will manage the program. The Computer Basics Program will offer computer and internet skills classes, provide one-on-one technology assistance for library patrons, and reach out to the community at-large about technology access and digital skills available through the library branches in Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Williams and Wolf Creek. While the library will focus on reaching out to seniors, Spanish speakers and those with lower incomes, the classes and individual assistance are available to all who are interested. It will expand beyond the library facilities by partnering with WorkSource Rogue Valley to offer more opportunities for people wanting to learn more about computers. The program kicks off with assessment and planning in July. Classes will start later this summer. They will be free and open to anyone interested. Library cards are not required for participation.

 

The Three Rivers School District is offering a free summer meals program that is open to all children ages 1-18 -- not just Three Rivers' students. Children 18 & under will be served nutritious meals Monday through Friday, with start dates varying by location. All meal sites will be closed June 19th, July 4th and July 5th. From June 10th-August 16th, summer meals will be served at Harbeck Village in Grants Pass between 11:30 a.m. and noon. Running on the same dates, meals will be served at Jubilee Park in Cave Junction between 10:30 and 11 a.m.. From June 17th-August 16th, free meals will be served to kids at Wildlife Images at 11845 Lower River Road between 11:30 a.m. and noon. From July 1st-August 16th, two meals will be served daily at Fruitdale Elementary School in Grants Pass. There will be a cold breakfast between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., followed by lunch between 10:30 and 11 a.m.. These meals must be consumed on-site.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a well-known criminal offender for entering a south-city restaurant and stealing more than $1,000 from the cash register late last night. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 35-year-old male subject for the incident at Casablanca Coffee & Grill on Union Avenue at 12:13 a.m. today. Police said an employee of the restaurant called 9-1-1 to report that he left the till and doors unlocked while he went to the back office. When he returned, he saw a man inside the stand wearing a flannel shirt and gray sweatpants with a brown paper bag over his head. When asked why he was there, the man said he was looking for some food before he left and headed west toward Cartwrights. The incident was captured on video surveillance, which showed the man taking $1,008 out of the till. Police searched the area and located the suspect at the Fairgrounds. He was wearing the same clothing and the stolen money was found in his wallet. He told officers that he found the money in a paper bag at Casablanca. It was recovered. The suspect was subsequently lodged the Josephine County Jail on felony charges of 2nd-Degree Burglary and 1st-Degree Theft. He was being held without bail.