Local News

The City of Grants Pass invites you and your family to celebrate Independence Day at Reinhart Volunteer Park. Come play for the day at the park and stay for the fireworks show. The 4th of July fun gets going at 3 p.m. with a classic car show and Art in the Park, thanks to the Rogue Valley Cruisers and the Hiive Art Hub. There will also be food trucks, a bounce house for kids, aerial performances, a dunk tank sponsored by Grants Pass High School, and music from two bands and a DJ. If you don't feel like driving to the park, Josephine Community Transit will run shuttles between the Grasshopper Parking Lot and Parkside Elementary School from 3:30 to 11:30 p.m.. Buses will load and unload on F Street at the downtown parking lot. Riders can use a walking path from Parkside Elementary to access the park. The last shuttle after the fireworks show will depart Parkside at 11:30 p.m..

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold three public hearings pertaining to the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget during its weekly business session tomorrow morning. The budget hearings for Josephine County, the Law Enforcement Service District and the 4-H Extension Service District will follow a presentation by the BLM on the Pipe Fork property near Williams and a public hearing on an ordinance that would amend the Rural Land Development Code for accessory dwelling units. Out of the three budget hearings, the most controversial is the 4-H Extension Service District which two of the Commissioners have vowed to defund due to their perception that it has become too liberal. If the Board does not follow the recommendation of the Budget Committee to fund the district, Josephine will become the only county in the state not to receive OSU Extension services. The Board was scheduled to approve the $2.32 million sale of the Pipe Fork property last week, but the Commissioners postponed their decision to be sure the BLM would not be logging the property and to ensure public access to the parcel. Wednesday's public meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for violating terms of his probation after he caused a disturbance in the downtown area yesterday. The Police Department reports officers eventually arrested the 58-year-old male subject in the 300-block of NE 7th Street on Monday at 11:18 a.m.. Police said the subject caused numerous calls for service including the Critter Campus Daycare regarding his violent and tumultuous behavior. They said he was reported to be yelling at kids on the playground at the daycare and telling staff he was going to hurt the kids. The man bent the frame of a gate trying to get in. Officers contacted the man at A-1 Market & Deli where he was displaying pre-assault indicators to the owner of the daycare. They said he was noticeably under the influence of alcohol while holding a can of beer. His probation officer was contacted about the incident. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and the resulting Probation Violation related to past arrests for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Criminal Mischief, Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended man wanted on an out-of-state fugitive warrant following a disturbance at a local middle school yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies arrested a 61-year-old male subject at Lincoln Savage Middle School on New Hope Road in Murphy on Monday shortly after 3 p.m.. Deputies said multiple callers reported a man jumping in and out of traffic, flipping everyone off and writing on signs with a sharpee pen at the entrance to the school. No one was hurt and there was no damage estimate available. Upon arrival, deputies contacted the subject and discovered that he was wanted on a Pierce County Sheriff's Office warrant issued in Tacoma, Washington, for failing to appear in court for Burglary. He was immediately placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and he was being held without bail pending extradition proceedings.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman on five outstanding warrants after she left the hospital against medical advice following treatment for a drug overdose yesterday. According to the Police Department, officers responded to Three Rivers Medical Center for the incident involving a 29-year-old female subject on Monday at 10:10 a.m.. Police said the subject was being treated for a fentanyl overdose at the hospital when she decided to leave the facility despite the advice of medical staff. They said she was located at the nearby Chevron gas station, but fled to Dairy Queen and onto Redwood Highway where she tried to gain entry into a passing vehicle. Upon contact, officers discovered that the woman was wanted on an El Dorado County, California, warrant for Burglary, a Grants Pass warrant for Mail Theft, a Josephine County warrant for Probation Violation, and two Jackson County warrants for Harassment, Criminal Mischief and Furnishing False Information to Police. While being placed into custody, she claimed to have swallowed fentanyl again and had to be subdued with a hair takedown. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the five warrants and she was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police cited a woman for moving violations last night during a traffic stop on the Parkway and she may be facing counterfeit charges as well. The Police Department reports officers pulled over a Toyota 4-Runner driven by a female motorist near the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and NE F Street on Monday around 10:45 p.m.. Police said they stopped the woman after observing her throwing what appeared to be dollar bills from the open driver-side window. She pulled over and denied the incident, but several counterfeit $20 bills were located on the roadway. A routine records check showed the woman's driving privileges had been suspended and she had no insurance. She was cited to appear in court for the traffic violations and released. The counterfeit money was submitted into evidence and additional charges against the woman were being considered by the District Attorney's Office.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man and woman for having sex in broad daylight at a county park last weekend. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies were alerted to multiple reports of disorderly conduct involving the pair at Tom Pearce Park on Sunday at 6:33 p.m.. Deputies said callers advised a man and woman were having sexual relations on the grass near the playground. They said people had removed their kids from the playground because of them. Upon arrival, deputies contacted the 56-year-old man and 38-year-old woman before placing them into custody. There were lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Public Indecency.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two campers on outstanding warrants and trespassed six campers for ordinance violations during city park patrols on Monday. At Fruitdale Park, one woman was cited for Misuse of Open Space and another woman was cited for Illegal Camping and Scattering Rubbish. Both were issued 30-day park exclusions. At Riverside Park, a woman was cited for Buffer Zone Violation while a man and woman were cited for Illegal Camping. All three were trespassed from the park for 30 days. At Tussing Park, a man was arrested on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Criminal Trespass. He was cited to appear in court and released. At Lawnridge Park, a man was cited for Methamphetamine Possession. He was cited to appear in court and issued a 30-day park exclusion. At Kesterson Park, a man was arrested on two Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for Theft and Criminal Trespass. He was cited and released, but ordered to go see his corrections officer.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a local man for a dozen crimes after he was caught with a stolen vehicle in a shopping center parking lot last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a report of a stolen pickup truck in the parking lot near Big Lots off NE Agness Avenue on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.. Police said a man called 9-1-1 to report he spotted a 1990s Chevrolet pickup that had been spray-painted black with a white canopy in the store parking lot. He told dispatchers the vehicle had been stolen out of Rogue River from a friend who is a pastor at a local church. The owner of the truck confirmed that it was his, but the pickup had been repainted and the license plates had been switched. Officers responded and surrounded the stolen pickup, placing the 33-year-old driver and his female passenger into custody at gunpoint. The ignition had been ripped out, the control console had been rewired, and a lumber rack and tool box valued at $1,500 were missing. Tools and cans of spray paint were inside the truck. The suspect was also identified as the person who recently stole a woman's purse from Walmart. He fraudulently used the woman's credit card twice to purchase gas, but was turned down when he attempted to use it to buy items at Home Depot. He was captured on video surveillance each time so he admitted using the credit cards. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief, 1st-Degree Theft, 2nd-Degree Theft, 2nd-Degree Forgery and three counts each of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card and Computer Crime. He was being held without bail.