Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is seeking public assistance in finding a runaway teenager. Sheriff's officials reported this morning that 15-year-old William Herren was last seen in the Murphy/New Hope area around 6 p.m. Thursday. Herren is described as 5-feet-8-inches tall and 160 pounds, with brownish-blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of William Herren is encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Office at (541)-474-5123.

 

Conservation groups have intervened in a lawsuit brought by the timber industry and counties seeking to strip northern spotted owls of protections for their critical habitat across millions of acres of forests in California, Oregon and Washington. The industry lawsuit attempts to reinstate a critical habitat rollback issued in the final weeks of the first Trump administration that removed nearly 3.5 million acres from the 9.6 million acres that were protected for spotted owls in 2012. The northern spotted owl first gained critical habitat protection in 1992, and those were adjusted in 2012 under the Obama administration. That rule was challenged in court by the timber industry, resulting in a settlement and a January 2021 designation excluding 3.5 million acres from critical habitat protection, nearly all on public lands managed by the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Just 10 months later, the Biden administration rescinded the final designation and instead finalized a proposed rule that excluded 204,294 acres instead of 3.5 million acres. That Biden administration rule is being challenged by the timber industry's current lawsuit, which is seeking to reinstate the expanded Trump administration revision. The US Fish and Wildlife Service protected the northern spotted owl, a bird found only in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. In 2020, because of continued loss of the old forests they need to live and competition with the invasive barred owl, the Service found northern spotted owls should now be classified as endangered but has yet to provide stronger protections for the species.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a convicted sex offender this week after he caused a disturbance at Riverside Park. The Police Department reports officers arrested 68-year-old Kenneth Lee Morin at the city park on the Rogue River late Wednesday afternoon. Police said they were alerted to a group of people yelling at a male subject in a Nissan Altima at the park. One member of the group said they were upset because Morin is a sex offender and he should not be at a public park facility. Morin told officers that he was at the park to use the restroom and he knew he was not supposed to be there per the terms of his post-prison supervision. Officers detained Morin and contacted his corrections officer, who requested his client be placed into custody. Morin was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Parole Violation stemming from a previous conviction for an unspecified sex offense.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for causing verbal disturbances at downtown resting sites this week. According to the Police Department, officers responded to an incident involving 45-year-old Jeffrey Brian Madden at the 6th and A Street resting site Wednesday night. While in the area for an unrelated call for service, an officer observed Madden in a verbal conflict with several other men and women. The officers said Madden was gesturing violently and clearly escalating the situation. Occupants of the resting site later pointed toward a splitting maul he had been swinging around. Madden was told to depart Resting Site #6 and he immediately walked over to Resting Site #5 on NW 5th Street where he initiated another conflict. He was detained and found to be in possession of a pipe with methamphetamine residue. Madden was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Meth Possession. He was being held without bail and was also trespassed from both resting sites for 30 days.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested three people on drug-related charges in the downtown area this week. The Police Department reports officers responded to reports of suspicious activity near Liberty Tax Services at 110 SE K Street on Wednesday afternoon. Police said one caller reported four subjects were shooting up drugs under a tree outside the tax business. Officers arrived on scene and found 38-year-old Kelcey Edwin Cummings holding a methamphetamine pipe and getting ready to use it. They said 42-year-old Esther Elizabeth Huston had a meth pipe next to her feet. She was also found to be in possession of fentanyl that was located in her purse. A third person -- 33-year-old Kyle Flury Palomino -- was arrested for Probation Violation related to an arrest for Meth Possession. His corrections officer was notified. Cummings, Huston and Palomino were lodged at the Josephine County Jail, with Palomino being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known offender for trespassing at a north-city market early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the complaint at the Li'l Pantry Market & Deli on NW Vine Street on Thursday at 5:30 a.m.. Police said 45-year-old Nicholas John Knox Knowles was trespassed from the Li'l Pantry, but he returned and refused to leave. They said he had been issued two prior warnings by GPPD and three by store employees. Store workers said they escorted Knowles off the property, but he came back and was blocking the driveway into the business. Knowles was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. Due to his frequent transgressions, he was being held without bail.

 

The Natural Resources Department of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments has issued a Creek Safety Watch for two waterways in Jackson County. According to RV-COG, Jackson Creek from Jacksonville to Dean Creek Road in Central Point and Bear Creek from Lithia & Driveway Fields in south Medford has exceeded state bacteria standards for contact recreation including swimming and wading. Residents are asked to use caution when in contact with any waterways and to avoid ingestion which may cause illness and contact with open wounds which may cause infection. Very young children should be fully supervised when playing in the water to avoid swallowing the water. Possible causes of high levels of bacteria in the creeks include livestock and pet waste, wild animals, leaking septic systems, illegal dumping from portable toilets or RVs, or any other activity that results in the discharge of fecal matter directly into creeks or through storm drains. Citizens are asked to notify the appropriate agency of any concerns. Failing septic systems and other pollutants discharged into streams should be reported to the Department of Environmental Quality at 1-(888)-997-7888 or online at "deq.state.or.us/complaints."

 

Less than one week after the Oregon Department of Forestry declared the start of fire season in Josephine and Jackson counties, the state agency will be raising the fire danger level. On Saturday at 12:01 a.m., local fire danger will rise from "low" to "moderate" on 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and BLM forestlands in the two-county region. The Industrial Fire Precaution Level will remain at "1." Hot temperatures and windy conditions for the past couple of weeks have caused vegetation to dry at a slightly faster rate than expected. This has contributed to new fire starts and growth. High temperatures this weekend are predicted to reach 100 degrees with thunderstorms also possible. Starting Saturday, all open fires will be prohibited including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires except at designated campgrounds. Portable cooking stoves or fire pits using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed in areas clear of vegetation. Chainsaws may not be used between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. during moderate fire danger. Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is not allowed during the same times during moderate fire danger. Neither is the mowing of dead and dried grass during those hours. This restriction does not include the mowing of green lawns or equipment used for the commercial culture and harvest of agricultural crops. For more information, please visit "swofire.com."

 

School is out for summer, but the Grants Pass School District will be providing summer meals at three different locations. Free breakfasts and lunches are available weekdays for kids and teens. All summer meals include fruit, vegetables and 1% or chocolate milk. Menus are subject to change based on availability. School District 7 will serve weekday summer meals from June 9th-August 8th, excluding June 19th and July 4th. Meals are available to children 18 and under and they must be eaten on site. At Allen Dale Elementary School, 2320 Williams Highway, breakfast will be served from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. At Parkside Elementary School, 735 SW Wagner Meadows Drive, breakfast will be served from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. At the Grants Pass High School Commons/Cafeteria, 830 NE 9th Street, breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 10 a.m. and lunch will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m..