Local News

For the fourth time in four days, the Illinois Valley Fire District extinguished an illegal outdoor burn. On Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., IVFD was dispatched to an open burn on Hathaway Drive in Kerby. Officials said the burn was small, but it contained household trash and roofing materials. The fire was put out and a citation was issued. On Tuesday at 8:37 p.m., IVFD responded to a grass fire on Takilma Road. Crews put out the unlawful blaze, which was described as a controlled burn. The occupant was educated on appropriate burn hours. Last Saturday night, IVFD crews were dispatched to an illegal open burn on White Schoolhouse Road. The blaze was doused and the property owner was cited. Last Sunday night, crews responded to an illegal open burn off Redwood Highway in Kerby. The fire was put out and the occupant was issued a written warning. IVFD officials said all outdoor debris burning requires a permit, there is no burning allowed at night and/or burning of illegal materials. They encourage residents to get their free burn permits online or in person and to follow the directions.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a Jackson County man for engaging in violent behavior while wielding a machete in a city park this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested a 36-year-old White City man for the incident at Tussing Park on Monday night. Police said they were alerted to a male subject waving a machete in the park and causing public alarm. The suspect struck one man in the arm, causing a 3-4 inch laceration. The victim was uncooperative and refused medical attention. The suspect initially complied with emergency lights of the patrol vehicle for a moment before he chose to flee the scene. He did not comply with lawful orders to stop and led officers down West Park Street to the parking lot at Duo Gym where he refused to exit the Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving. It took the deployment of multiple bean bag rounds and a pepper ball to force him to surrender to police. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue was called in to wash the non-lethal pepper off the suspect who was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for an evaluation. He was then lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Attempt to Elude Police and Disorderly Conduct.

 

The Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement (MADGE) team has been busy removing dangerous drugs and firearms from the local area over the past several months. In October 2023, MADGE investigators made contact with a suspect in the north Medford Walmart parking lot as a result of a months-long investigation. A search of the suspect's vehicle resulted in the seizure of nine pounds of methamphetamine and cash. The arrestees were identified as 52-year-old Angela Rehberger and 51-year-old Stacy Carlisle, both of Grants Pass. In January 2024, MADGE detectives made contact with two subjects in the south Medford Walmart parking lot as a result of a month-long investigation. The two suspects were found to be in possession of 10 pounds of methamphetamine, six ounces of fentanyl and cash. In February of this year, MADGE served a search warrant at the Motel 6 in north Medford as a result of a months-long investigation involving Honduran nationals delivering drugs to the Rogue Valley from the California Bay Area. During execution of the search warrant, 10 pounds of meth and a loaded handgun were seized.