Local News

The short-handed Josephine County Board of Commissioners should make quick work of a business meeting with a very light agenda tomorrow morning. Commissioner Dan DeYoung abruptly resigned from the Board on Monday after a Josephine County investigation into alleged sexual harassment. Tomorrow's meeting agenda includes only one action item: a proclamation naming July 21st-27th as "Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week." During Requests and Comments from Citizens, members of the public are given 3 minutes to address the Board on virtually any topic related to Josephine County. Wednesday's public meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

The Salt Creek Fire in Jackson County is heading toward full containment and a team transition is now underway. The Oregon Department of Forestry reported this morning that the wildfire burning between Eagle Point and Butte Falls was 4,102 acres with containment at 73%. Due to this progress, ODF Incident Management Team #1 is beginning the process of transitioning the fire back to the local districts to continue working the incident. During this time, resources will begin to demobilize, allowing some personnel and equipment to be reassigned to other wildfires burning across the state. With this transition, 961 personnel were assigned to the fire today including 37 20-person hand crews backed by 28 engines, 17 water tenders and seven bulldozers. Aircraft -- including four Type 1, one Type 2 and two Type 3 helicopters as well as single-engine air tankers -- will be ordered if necessary. These resources will continue to mop up into the interior of the fire and get as much of the blaze contained as possible before turning it to back over to the local ODF districts. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office canceled the Level 1 "Be Ready" evacuation notices for Zones JAC-19 and JAC-21, but the rest of the notices remain in effect. The Medford District BLM has temporarily closed its lands in the area for safety. The Salt Creek Fire was first reported on July 7th. The estimated cost of the firefight was $11.8 million this morning. The cause remains under investigation.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man on three outstanding warrants plus domestic violence charges after an incident at a local apartment complex yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to the incident at Rogue View Gardens on Fruitdale Drive on Monday at about 2:30 p.m.. Police said a woman's father called 9-1-1 to report that his daughter was being held against her will by her boyfriend at an apartment occupied by the man's aunt. The father also reported that his daughter was pregnant with her boyfriend's child. Upon arrival, officers negotiated with the aunt, the daughter appeared and they were given consent to search the home. They located the 22-year-old boyfriend and discovered that he was wanted on warrants issued by GPPD and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office. Charges contained in the warrants included Felony Assault, Probation Violation related to Felony Assault and failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. Further investigation revealed that the arrestee was fighting with somebody on Sunday night and when the daughter tried to intervene, she was hurt and placed in fear of serious physical injury from her boyfriend's actions. GPPD deployed two K-9 officers to the front and rear of the apartment, and the man surrendered. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants plus new charges of Felony 4th-Degree Domestic Assault and Menacing. He was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police jailed an Ashland man for multiple crimes after catching him with a stolen vehicle on Williams Highway near Murphy late yesterday. OSP reports state troopers spotted a Ford Transit cargo van near milepost 7.5 of Highway 238 on Monday at 5:52 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the cargo van after learning that it had been recently stolen in Ashland. The driver of the vehicle -- identified by OSP as "31-year-old Thomas Harley Ray Epperson" -- was placed into custody. His passenger was identified as a 33-year-old Ashland woman. She was detained, but not arrested. Epperson was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for two counts of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon. He was held without bail. The registered owner of the recovered cargo van responded to the scene to retrieve his vehicle. Another vehicle -- a Dodge Ram 1500 -- was also listed as stolen by the suspect, but no other information was provided by OSP.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outside warrant during a patrol check in the downtown area early yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers contacted the 31-year-old male subject near the corner of SE 7th and M streets on Monday at 10:37 a.m.. During contact, officers discovered that the subject was wanted on a Coos Bay Police Department warrant for Felony Probation Violation. The man was also found to be in possession of methamphetamine and a small meth pipe that were seized for destruction. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he has since been transferred to Coos Bay PD. He was warned for the drug violation.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for struggling with officers during a Monday afternoon welfare check in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a report of a female subject requesting medical attention and acting disorderly in the 1900-block of NW Vine Street near Black Bear Diner at 1:55 p.m. yesterday. Police arrived on scene and contacted the 47-year-old woman whom they said showed signs of impairment and was unable to communicate what was wrong. The woman was detained and she began forcibly resisting by kicking and pulling away from officers. She was eventually subdued and placed into custody. The suspect was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail for Resisting Arrest. She was also uncooperative with jail deputies and confined to a restraint chair.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for her aggressive behavior at a city park early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to the incident at Morrison Centennial Park on Rogue River Highway on Monday at 9:10 a.m.. Police said a 35-year-old female subject shouted at people in the park and -- at one point -- she grabbed a large stick and waved it around at people. She was pointing the stick at people and shouting random statements when officers arrived on scene. According to the report, the woman's behavior caused public alarm that prompted multiple 9-1-1 calls. However, no was hurt during the incident. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct. She was also trespassed from Morrison Park for 30 days.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a "frequent flyer" for grazing his way through a downtown supermarket last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing call at the Safeway on SE 7th Street on Sunday morning. Police said the 30-year-old male subject was eating food while walking through the store and when he was confronted by an employee, he got into a verbal altercation with the worker who asked him to leave. Officers caught up to the subject outside Safeway and recognized him as a person who has been arrested multiple times for consuming merchandise that he did not pay for. He was warned for trespassing, but immediately returned to the store in a demonstration of defiance. This time, he was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Criminal Trespass. His corrections officer was contacted and requested he be held on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show the suspect has been arrested numerous times for various crimes since the beginning of the year and at least four times for Parole Violation since March of last year.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a Grants Pass man for striking another man with a metal pipe and injuring him last weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested the 39-year-old male subject for the incident in the 100-block of Iris Lane on Saturday night. Deputies said a woman called 9-1-1 to report the subject used a metal pipe to hit her boyfriend in the arm which she said was broken. The caller said the two men were actively engaged in a fight when the assault occurred. She was trying to get her boyfriend into her vehicle so they could escape from the property. Upon arrival, deputies contacted the victim and confirmed a serious injury before the woman drove her boyfriend to the hospital for treatment. They located the suspect on the property and placed him into custody. The suspect -- identified by deputies as "Matthew Lee Hawkins" -- was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Felony 2nd-Degree Assault and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. He was being held without bail.