Local News

Grants Pass 911 received a call reporting a possible intoxicated driver in a white GMC lifted truck weaving all over the road at 11:27 Wednesday night on the Redwood Highway near Ringette. The caller then state they had just witnessed him rear end another vehicle. The caller also stated she had seen him drinking a Pacifico Beer at the Grants Pass Parkway and ‘M’ Street. The GMC then pulled into the parking lot of the Dairy Queen. The responding officer reported the pickup driver displayed several signs of impairment and admitted to drinking several alcoholic beverages. He also stated his girlfriend had been driving, which she later advised she was the passenger. The driver immediately requested legal representation, so a search warrant was applied for and granted. The man was arrested and lodged in the County Jail on charges of Recklessly endangering, reckless driving and driving under the influence. He remained in Custody Thursday morning.

 

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze Watch from 2 a.m. Friday morning through 11 a.m. Friday morning. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 25 degrees are possible in California, the Shasta and Scott valleys, the lower Klamath River valley, and the Mount Shasta region. In Oregon, the Rogue, Applegate, and Illinois valleys. Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. Citizens are advised to take precautio

 

Josephine County Deputies arrested an alleged female car thief Wednesday. At 3:37 Wednesday afternoon a 911 caller told dispatch the woman who stole his vehicle in September was back and sitting on the front porch. He advised she usually has a 9-millimeter handgun in her purse or backpack although no weapon was mentioned in the report. Deputies were dispatched to the 300 block of Ponderosa Lane. The caller was advised to call back if the woman left or if she became aggressive, but to stay separated. At 4:25 she was reported to be in custody. The woman, identified as 34-year-old Cynthia Alicia Smith, was transported and lodged in the County Jail on a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

 

Oregonians have become all too familiar with the need for emergency preparedness due to various hazards, including earthquakes, that remain a top concern, especially given the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Coast, which has the potential to generate a 9.0+ magnitude earthquake and a resulting tsunami.To help Oregonians prepare, Governor Tina Kotek is encouraging residents to learn and practice safe actions to take during an earthquake. This morning at 10:17 a.m., the Governor and the Oregon Department of Emergency Management invite all Oregonians to join the statewide and national earthquake drill. This drill will simulate the response to an earthquake with the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” method for 60 seconds:Drop onto your hands and knees.Cover your head and neck, and if nearby, crawl under a sturdy desk or table.Hold On until the shaking stops.The Great Oregon ShakeOut is part of a global earthquake drill taking place at 10:21 a.m., which will involve more than 500,000 Oregonians, including individuals, families, schools, and businesses. Participants pledge to drop, cover, and hold on, wherever they are and whatever they’re doing. OEM’s Be 2 Weeks Ready program encourages all Oregonians to:
• Be informed about hazards in their area.
• Develop an emergency plan for themselves and their loved ones.
• Build an emergency kit with at least two weeks’ worth of food, water, and other essentials.
For resources on earthquake and tsunami preparedness, Living on Shaky Ground is available for download on OEM’s website. Hard copies can also be obtained at local county and Tribal emergency management offices.

 

The Jackson County District Attorney has filed a myriad of charges against a hit and run driver involved in a fatal accident. The afternoon of Oct. 11th Medford Police Department responded to a fatal hit-and-run involving a vehicle and a bicyclist on South Pacific Highway. Prior to the collision, witnesses had called to report the vehicle driving erratically. Officers were responding to that report when the vehicle was reported to have drifted out of its lane and struck the bicyclist. The driver did not stop but rather continued into a nearby parking lot where Police Officers quickly located it and contacted the driver. Despite officers' immediate attempts at life-saving measures on the bicyclist, 41-year old Jimilee “James” Thomas, was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel.
The Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team was activated and was able to determine that the driver of the vehicle, 36-year-old Cassie Jane Cavagnaro, was believed to have been ingesting an inhalant just prior to the accident. The white van Cavagnaro was driving left the roadway striking Thomas, who was legally operating his electric bicycle in the south-bound bike lane of S. Pacific Hwy. Cavagnaro then fled the scene and was contacted nearby. She was lodged on a probation violation at the Jackson County Jail, and Wednesday she was charged with manslaughter in the 1st & 2nd degree, DUII – Inhalant, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Hit and Run – Felony.

 

The Regional Forest Practice Committee for Southwest Oregon will meet at 9 a.m. this morning at the Oregon Department of Forestry Office on Monument Drive near Grants Pass. The committee's agenda includes division updates, Operator of the Year discussion and voting, Forest Practice Technical Guidance development and stream flow permanence update, E-Notification System changes, Forest resources training strategy and compliance monitoring update. Regional Forest Practices Committees are panels of citizens -- mandated under Oregon law -- that advise the Oregon Board of Forestry on current forestry issues and forest management approaches. Under Oregon law, a majority of the committees' members must be private forest landowners and logging or forest operations companies.Oregon's forests are among the state's most valued resources, providing a balanced mix of environmental, economic and social benefits. The public may attend the meeting in-person or online via Zoom. Public comments will be accepted.

 

Recent fall-like weather and widespread rain has made it possible to ease off on some public and industrial fire prevention regulations on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest Oregon District. Effective immediately the public fire danger level will decrease to “low”, and the industrial fire precaution level will decrease to I on ODF-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties. The city of Grants Pass immediately followed suit, also lowering the danger to low. In low fire danger, public fire prevention regulations which will remain in effect, include:

• No debris burning, including piles and debris burned in burn barrels.
• No fireworks on or within 1/8 of a mile of ODF-protected land.
• Exploding targets and tracer ammunition, or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base, are prohibited.
• Smoking while traveling will only be allowed in enclosed vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water and other specifically designated locations.
• Any electric fence controllers must be approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc., or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services, and be installed and used in compliance with the fence controller’s instructions for fire safe operation. Under IFPL I (one) – fire season requirements are in effect. In addition to the following:

• A Firewatch is required at this and all higher levels unless otherwise waived.

For more information about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Fire Season regulations, please call or visit the Southwest Oregon District unit office nearest to you:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd., Central Point – (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr., Grants Pass – (541) 474-3152

 

Josephine County Commissioners made quick work of their Weekly Business Session with no action items on the agenda. The consent calendar containing the minutes from three meetings was approved as was the reapproval of an order in the matter of authorization of the sale of County Real Property by Sheriff’s Sale. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger pointed out the reason for the reapproval was an item was left out of the initial order. The document is now approved. The Commissioners then adjourned the Business Session. The Board will convene an administration workshop Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in the BCC Conference Room to deal with the Hillcrest Veterans Village, the Martha Mine Forest Land, the County’s fees for 2025, the Applegate Hills Plat map and the resignation of the Coordinator for the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council.At 9:15 the Commissioners are scheduled to convene as the governing body of the 4H/Extension Service District. The agenda calls for a supplemental budget hearing to appropriate 4H Building reserve funds for use on the 4H buildings.

 

An Oregon State Trooper stopped a red Dodge Ram pickup on northeast ‘7th’ Street Tuesday night for a traffic violation. The Trooper discovered the driver, 48-year-old Trevor Jarrett Ridgway, was wanted on an outstanding Josephine County warrant, so he was arrested and transported to the County Jail and jailed with bail set at $25,000. He is facing a charge of distributing a controlled substance-methamphetamine.