Local News

The Owl Parking Lot at 5th and H streets in Grants Pass will undergo a major reconstruction this year and be converted to a joint parking lot and public plaza for community events. The City of Grants Pass has launched a "Buy-a-Brick" fundraising campaign before construction begins. For just $250, people wishing to add their personal touch to the Owl Plaza can purchase a brick with up to three lines of text engraved on a brass plaque that will be embedded in the brick. The bricks will form part of the patio base of the plaza near the 5th and H Street sidewalks. Hundreds of bricks are still available for purchase. Civic groups and businesses headquartered in Josephine County are also eligible to purchase a paving brick. Text is limited to three lines and 18 characters per line including spaces between words. For this campaign, the City is restricting the lines of text to names only -- not slogans, quotes or phrases of any kind. For more information, contact Dana Pearce at "dpearce@grantspassoregon.gov" or call (541)-450-6014.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on three local warrants during a patrol check at Fred Meyer late last week. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 51-year-old Sean William MacDowell at the store on the Grants Pass Parkway on Friday afternoon. Police said they spotted MacDowell and recognized him from previous criminal encounters. They said he was wanted on three Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for one count of Methamphetamine Possession and three counts of 3rd-Degree Theft. He was cooperative and placed into custody without incident. MacDowell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two local warrants during a weekend patrol check at a fast food restaurant. The Police Department reports officers contacted 31-year-old Jose Manuel Urias at the Burger King on Rogue River Highway on Saturday around 2:20 p.m.. Police said Urias is well-known to them and he was observed walking along the highway near BK. They said he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving, Criminal Mischief and Furnishing False Information to Police as well as a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Criminal Mischief. After the warrants were confirmed, Urias was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants and he was being held on $70,000 bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office tracked down and arrested a woman on a local warrant over the weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies eventually located 52-year-old Angalene Marie Armstrong at a home in the 3300-block of Elk Lane at 1:45 p.m. Saturday. Deputies said they were looking for Armstrong because she was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Theft. They contacted her roommate in Independence and he advised she was heading to Grants Pass for a court case and he hadn't heard from her in more than a week. According to the report, deputies investigated and learned that her last registered local address was on Elk Lane and that's where they found her. She was placed into custody without incident. Armstrong was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on $10,000 bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a White City man for impaired driving during a weekend traffic stop near the South Y intersection. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a white Ford F-150 pickup driven by a 34-year-old male subject near the corner of 6th Street and Redwood Highway on Saturday shortly after 11 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the truck for multiple traffic violations and the driver displayed multiple signs of impairment. They said he performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so he was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where it was determined he was under the influence of both alcohol and narcotics. The suspect was lodged at the Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Controlled Substances plus Reckless Driving. His pickup was towed.

 

A Mount Ashland skier died after crashing into a tree at the local resort late last week. In a Friday evening news release, Mount Ashland officials reported a 76-year-old male subject sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased that morning after colliding with a tree on the Windsor chair-line. Mount Ashland General Manager Andrew Gast said Ski Patrol arrived on scene and immediately initiated lifesaving efforts on the unidentified man. He said both Ski Patrol and Ashland Fire-Rescue continued their efforts as a Mercy Flights helicopter arrived to assist in the ski area's medical room where the man was pronounced deceased. The victim was wearing a helmet on the Windsor chair-line, which is categorized as the most difficult at Mount Ashland. Gast said the Mount Ashland team was heartbroken by this loss. He said they extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends grieving during this difficult time. The Mount Ashland Ski Area is owned and operated by the nonprofit Mount Ashland Association under a special use permit from the US Forest Service.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for chasing two children while wielding a gun in the New Hope area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 66-year-old Robert Lewis Taylor for the incident in the 100-block of East Intervale Road on Friday at 4:34 p.m.. Deputies said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that a man with a gun chased her daughter and friend into a home. The caller's husband also had a gun and witnesses were trying to separate the two men, who were aggressively yelling at each other. An investigation determined Taylor was yelling that the children were being too loud and that he also told the children that he was going to chase them down with his car. While the suspect was carrying a gun, he did not point the weapon at them or discharge it. One witness reportedly had video of the incident. Arriving deputies interviewed the involved parties and then placed Taylor into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for two counts of Menacing and he was being held without bail.

 

A weekend trespassing investigation at a north Grants Pass motel led to the arrest of a man on an outstanding warrant and for drug possession. The Grants Pass Police Department reports officers responded to a trespassing call at the Motel 6 on NE 7th Street on Friday around 11:45 p.m.. The motel manager reported several subjects were warming themselves with a fire in the parking lot. Upon arrival, police said they contacted the subjects who were keeping warm with a propane-fueled barbecue. The subjects left in different directions, but officers followed one woman who entered a nearby motel room. They knocked on the door and that's where they found 24-year-old Calvin Matthew Bertik sleeping on a bed. A routine records check led to the discovery that Bertik was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Burglary, 3rd-Degree Theft and Methamphetamine Possession. He admitted that he had a meth pipe and a small baggie of the narcotic stimulant on his person. They were seized. Bertik was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Meth Possession. He was being held without bail.

 

A report of suspicious activity at a north Grants Pass motel resulted in the seizure of an assault rifle and drugs as well as the arrest of a woman on an out-of-county warrant. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a suspicious vehicle and a man knocking on doors at Motel 6 on NE 7th Street on Saturday at 3:39 a.m.. Police said a motel guest called 9-1-1 and reported a male subject in a black mask was pounding on doors. The man claimed that he was looking for someone, but refused to say who he was looking for. He was associated with a Chevrolet Silverado that had been moved across the parking lot a few times. Upon arrival, police contacted two women in the suspect vehicle and they observed a loaded assault rifle in plain view on the back seat. The women denied having any knowledge of the firearm and claimed they did not who it belonged to. Both were found to be convicted felons and they were detained, but not arrested. The firearm and some drug paraphernalia were seized by law enforcement. The male suspect was identified as "Joshua Pitts," but he was not located. Meanwhile, officers searching for Pitts located another woman whom they identified as 32-year-old Azea Soluna Zoray in a motel room and they discovered that she was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. She was lodged in jail on the warrant.