Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a camper last night for failing to leave a city park after he had been trespassed from the facility earlier this week. Officers responded to a perform a welfare check on the 25-year-old male subject at Tussing Park on Thursday at about 7:30 p.m.. Police said they responded to a report of an unresponsive man lying on the ground near the Rogue River at the park. Witnesses told officers they believed the man had overdosed on narcotics, but he was easily revived and admitted that he was not supposed to be in the park because of a previous trespass warning. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Criminal Trespass. An additional 30 days were tacked on to his park exclusion order.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department has jailed a man on a total of eight criminal charges -- seven of them felony-level -- for allegedly assaulting a local officer. Few details have been released about the incident, but Josephine County Jail records show 48-year-old Jackson Tee Decker was booked on Wednesday at 12:44 p.m.. Decker was charged with one count of Aggravated Felony Assault of a Public Safety Officer, five counts of Felon in Possession of a Weapon and one count each of Felon in Possession of Body Armor and Resisting Arrest. He was still being held without bail on Thursday. The Police Department has so far released no information on the incident including the identity of the injured officer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is reporting the arrest of a Williams area woman for unlawfully growing marijuana. The Sheriff's Office reports 45-year-old Lyssa Rogers was arrested on Wednesday in the 19,000-block of Williams Highway. Very little information about the arrest has been released so far, but an entry in the Sheriff's Log indicates the suspect was transported to the Josephine County Jail by the Oregon State Police. It's unclear if the Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team (JMET) was involved in Rogers' arrest. She was charged with Felony Manufacture of a Marijuana Item and was still in custody on Thursday without any scheduled bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for roughing up a woman this week outside a downtown area church. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a reported disturbance at St. Luke's Episcopal Church at the corner of NW D and 4th streets Wednesday night. Police said a citizen called 9-1-1 to report homeless people fighting on the lawn of the church, with one person possibly brandishing a knife. The caller also said there was a truck parked across the street from the church, with a man and woman yelling at each other and a baby stroller in the roadway. A subsequent investigation revealed that a 39-year-old man struck a woman in the face after the man began verbally assaulting another woman. Witnesses said the man was asked to leave the area and he refused before turning and striking the female victim in the nose. The victim was not seriously hurt. Officers placed the highly-intoxicated subject into custody and lodged him at the Josephine County Jail for Physical Harassment. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for a violent and alcohol-fueled outburst that occurred at a city park this week. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to the incident at Morrison Centennial Park on Rogue River Highway on Wednesday evening. Police said a 41-year-old male subject was reported to be causing fear and public alarm by slamming his head into the pavement and screaming. They said he was visibly intoxicated and had a can of alcoholic beverage in his hand upon contact. According to the report, the man was detained at the side of a patrol car for a search when he began slamming his head into the vehicle, causing a large dent. The suspect remained uncooperative at the Josephine County Jail where he was placed in a smock, restraint chair and spit hood. He was eventually lodged without bail for Disorderly Conduct and 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief.

 

It's Day #2 for the Boatnik Festival in Grants Pass, with several events kicking off the holiday weekend at Riverside Park. The Davis Shows Carnival & Midway Booths open at noon and stay open until 11:45 p.m.. Round 1 of the Grants Pass Automotive Golf Shootout runs from 4 to 7 p.m.. The Friday Night Concert featuring "Firehouse" with guest "Emissary" opens at 6, with a Boat Exhibition at 7:30 and the Fireworks Show at dusk. There will be free parking with a shuttle to and from Riverside Park at Grants Pass High School and the Josephine County Fairgrounds from 4:30 to 11:30 p.m.. The Boatnik Sponsor Tent is open from 4 to 10 p.m. and the Refreshment Garden runs from 5 to 11:45 p.m.. Everything you need to know about Boatnik can be found at "boatnik.com."

 

Starting this week and extending through June 2nd, the Grants Pass Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Office and law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon are using federally-funded overtime to educate the public about safety belt and child safety seat laws. The US Department of Transportation and Oregon Department of Transportation are urging drivers to buckle up for the national "Click It or Ticket" high-visibility seat belt enforcement effort that coincides with Memorial Day holiday weekend. During the campaign, police and deputies will work with fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the message gets out to drivers and passengers. Buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the national seat belt use rate in 2023 was 91.9%. That's good, but it can be better. The other 8.1% still need to be reminded that seat belts save lives. Participating agencies will take a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement and write citations. One of the focuses of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. NHTSA data shows a higher number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities happen at night.

 

In cooperation with the Grants Pass Active Club, the City of Grants Pass has announced weekend street closures associated with the Boatnik Festival including tomorrow's downtown parade. On Saturday from 8 a.m. until after the Boatnik Parade at approximately 1 p.m., 6th Street will be closed south of A Street to Caveman Bridge. During the parade, traffic will be diverted from 6th Street at A to Beacon Drive and then onto the Grants Pass Parkway. Those wishing to travel south of the Rogue River need to leave before 8 a.m. or plan to use the Grants Pass Parkway Bridge. Access across the river during the parade will only be on the Parkway Bridge or 7th Street Bridge (northbound only). No parking will be allowed on 6th Street between A Street and the Caveman Bridge or on Voorhies Way from midnight tonight until after the Boatnik Parade. East Park Street is closed to vehicular traffic from now through Monday at 9 p.m.. Vehicles with a Boatnik parking permit or handicap parking permit will be allowed to enter East Park Street via the Parkway entrance only. Baker Park will be closed to vehicle traffic and boat launching from today at 5 p.m. until Monday at 3 p.m..

 

The Grants Pass Rotary Club is preparing to give away 500 early literacy books to young spectators during the annual Boatnik Parade on Saturday. The goal of the book give-away is promoting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program in partnership with Josephine Community Library. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five every month in participating communities. Through this program, every child in Josephine County is qualified to receive a book by mail at no cost to their families every month until their fifth birthday, thanks to funding support from the Grants Pass Rotary Club and a 50% matching grant from the State of Oregon. Parents and caregivers can register their children for free by stopping by their nearest library branch in Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Williams or Wolf Creek and filling out a paper registration form or by filling out the online registration form at "josephinelibrary.org." Since launching the Imagination Library in 2018, over 5,000 Josephine County children have received 137,602 books.