Local News

Heading into the holiday season, Pacific Power is reminding customers to be vigilant about fraudulent communications from scammers posing as utility representatives. Unfortunately, this activity tends to increase this time of year. Customers can protect themselves from these types of schemes by being aware of certain facts. Pacific Power will not contact any customer demanding immediate payment to avoid disconnection of service the same day. Pacific Power does not ask customers to make payments by purchasing a prepaid card. Pacific Power will not demand immediate payment for damaged or broken electrical equipment or any other service. Pacific Power customer service employees will always have your correct account number. Pacific Power will not demand payment via text message. Scammers may use a sophisticated and deceptive tactic that makes it appear to caller ID systems that the call is coming from Pacific Power when it is not. Hang up and call Customers Service directly at 1-(888)-221-7070.

 

Make fishing a part of your Thanksgiving weekend plans with friends and family. Everyone can fish, clam and crab for free in Oregon on Friday and Saturday. No fishing or shellfish tags are required over the next two days. Both Oregon residents and non-residents can fish for free. All other fishing regulations apply including closures, bag limits and size restrictions. See the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for rules and remember to check for any in-season regulation updates, especially for salmon and steelhead fishing. Currently, crabbing is open in bays, beaches, estuaries, tide pools, piers and jetties along the entire Oregon coast. Crabbing is closed in the ocean due to the annual closure from October 16th-November 30th each year. As of mid-November, razor clamming was closed from Cascade Head to the California border due to high levels of a marine biotoxin, but closures may have changed by this weekend so check before you go.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning unanimously approved fee schedule changes for several departments in 2025, but tabled a universal fee to help fund Community Development and Planning. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve fee changes in the coming year for Airports, Assessor, Public Health, Public Information and Surveyor as well as the Community Development Department including Planning. The changes go into effect on January 1st. County Finance Director Sandy Novak testified that the fee changes reflect actual costs of services provided by each department. However, a small universal fee that helps pay for the Community Development Department operations is charged on top of the other services it provides. The Board will take up that topic in the future. The Board tabled three Administrative Action items pertaining to the sale of The Flying Lark to River Valley Community Church because the documents are not ready for final approval. That includes a lease for parking around the facility. As part of the Consent Calendar, the Board approved an order continuing the date of the second readings of two ordinances related to the recently formed Josephine County Rural Fire Protection District. During the public comment period, a man had questions about the new fire district as it pertains to expansion plans of the Applegate Valley Fire District, several people voiced their opposition to the sale of timber properties in the Williams area -- including Pipe Fork -- on December 4th, and one woman had unfavorable comments about Board Chair John West's lawsuit against County Clerk Rhiannon Henkels that seeks to place an injunction on the recall election that is currently set for December 17th

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a moped rider for leading officers on a pursuit after complaints of suspicious activity at and near Reinhart Volunteer Park. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested 55-year-old Jeffrey Alan Washburn at the end of Susan Lane on Tuesday at 2:16 p.m.. Police said multiple calls were generated due to Washburn's riding in and about the area of the All Sports Park on Webster Road. They said he tried to access the River House at the park, which is currently occupied by the new Grants Pass Fire Chief's family. They were placed in fear because of his violent and tumultuous behavior. According to the report, Washburn was riding an oversized bicycle with a large motor and he was observed speeding through the park along the baseball fields and playground, scaring citizens and children by screaming loudly. No one was hurt. Lights and sirens were activated by officers, but Washburn failed to stop and made several eluding maneuvers before he was cornered on Susan Lane and placed into custody. Washburn was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police and Disorderly Conduct. GPPD said other charges may be filed against him.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two women following reports of suspicious activity on the southeast side of the city yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 36-year-old Isis Ladonna Dixon and 31-year-old Meagan Marie Deleone after responded to the incident near the corner of Overland and Axtell drives on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m.. Police said they received reports of two female subjects trying to break into a travel trailer, with one of them holding a crowbar in her hands. Officers arrived on scene and contacted the pair who were sitting in a Ford Fiesta with California plates. Both denied knowing who the car belonged to. Dixon initially refused to identify herself and it did not take long for officers to learn why. She was wanted on an Oregon State felony warrant for Parole Violation related to a robbery conviction as well as a Jackson County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for Manufacture, Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl. After the warrants were confirmed, she was lodged in jail on a no-bail detainer. Deleone admitted to taking a key fob from Walmart and told officers she would return it to the police station today. At the request of federal agents, she was cited to appear in court for probable cause of 2nd-Degree Theft and 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief. She was released from custody.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for violating his post-prison supervision after he caused a disturbance at a local watering hole late last night. The Police Department reports officers responded to the incident at Alibi Tavern on NW 6th Street on Tuesday at about 11:30 p.m.. Police said 27-year-old Christian Anthony Bartell consumed numerous alcoholic drinks at the bar and threw a coaster at the female bartender. They said the woman took Bartell's drink, dumped it out and told him to leave. Bartell reportedly became violent and got in the bartender's face, which caused her to cry. The subject then engaged in a verbal altercation with another bar patron and was contacted outside the establishment where he was placed into custody. After Bartell's corrections officer was contacted, he was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show Bartell has been arrested four times for violating his parole since January of this year.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a convicted sex offender for non-compliance and violating his post-prison supervision after a downtown traffic stop yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a green minivan driven by 31-year-old Jeptha Philip Stricklin near the corner of SE 6th and J streets on Tuesday at 2:54 p.m.. Police said they stopped the minivan because it did not have a front license plate and the registration sticker on the rear plate had been scratched off. They contacted Stricklin and found him to be out of compliance with his sex offender registration and out of compliance with terms of his parole from a 2022 sex abuse conviction. Stricklin was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held without bail. Jail records show Stricklin has been arrested for violating his parole three times since April.

 

A Grants Pass motorist was injured and then cited after a crash on Riverbanks Road late yesterday. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle wreck near milepost 20 of State Route 260 on Tuesday shortly before 6 p.m.. Troopers said the 53-year-old male subject was driving a BMW sport utility vehicle too fast for the conditions and crashed into a tree while attempting to make a left turn off Riverbanks. They said he was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. His wrecked SUV was towed. Following an investigation, troopers cited the man at the hospital for Violating the Basic Rule.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting that occurred yesterday in rural Rogue River. On Tuesday at 11:16 a.m., Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon received a call about a shooting in the 8100-block of West Evans Creek Road. Sheriff's deputies and the Rogue River Police Department responded to the scene, rendered aid to the victim and arrested the suspect. Jackson County Fire District #1 arrived to take over medical care and transport the victim to an area hospital. The unidentified victim was being treated for their injuries. According to the Sheriff's Office, the unidentified suspect is in custody and there is no danger to the general public. Detectives with the Ashland Police Department are assisting in the investigation, which is open and ongoing. More information will be released at a later date.