Local News

It's time to sign up for the 2025 Grants Pass Citizens Police Academy. The Grants Pass Police Department holds a 12-week academy each year. It's designed to educate the public about GPPD and to provide citizens with an interactive opportunity to get to know the officers on a more personal level. Approximately 25 citizens will be allowed to attend on a first-come, first-served basis. The Academy will be held from August 26th to November 11th. Classes will be held every Tuesday from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Grants Pass Police Department or the Hillcrest Fire Station. Graduation will take place on Tuesday, November 11th. There will be four optional Saturday classes scheduled including Personal Safety, firearms, emergency vehicle operations and SDS practical application. You can stop by the GPPD Station at 727 NE 7th Street to pick up an application or visit "grantspassoregon.gov/249/Citizens-Police-Academy."

 

Applications are being accepted for two positions on the Grants Pass Urban Tree Advisory Committee. These positions are for two-year terms. The purpose of this committee is to review, develop and implement programs and activities that promote, protect and enhance the urban forest as part of the Tree City USA program through the National Arbor Day Foundation. The special qualification for these positions is an interest in the promotion and enhancement of the urban forest in Grants Pass. Applications are available at the City Administration Office at 101 NW A Street or online at "grantspassoregon.gov/committee-application." Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 3rd. Applications will be reviewed by the committee on Monday, July 14th. Appointments will be made by the Grants Pass City Council on Wednesday, August 6th.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold five public hearings during its weekly business session on Wednesday. The meeting was moved up one day this week in order to have a quorum. The first public hearing is for two annexation requests to the Josephine Community Library District while the other four are for consideration and approval of budgets. The first three budget hearings are for the Josephine County Rural Fire Protection District, Josephine County 4-H/Extension Service District and the Josephine County Law Enforcement Service District. The Commissioners will convene as the Board for each of the districts and will hear public comment before consideration. The fifth public hearing is on the Josephine County Budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year. After public comments, the Commissioners will consider resolutions for adopting the budget, making appropriations, and levying property tax rates and local option levy taxes as well as considering the supplemental budget for 2025. Under Administrative Actions, the Board is expected to approve the Special Election results for the Rural Fire Protection District. Tomorrow's public meeting starts at 10 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

An elderly Williams man was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident on Highway 238 near Provolt yesterday. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle rollover crash near milepost 10 of Williams Highway shortly after 2 p.m. Monday. Troopers said the preliminary investigation indicated 87-year-old Bob Arthur Pleu was driving a Ford Econoline when he experienced a medical event that caused the minivan to leave the highway and roll over. According to OSP, Pleu was airlifted by Mercy Flights helicopter to Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford where he was listed in critical condition late yesterday. OSP was assisted at the crash scene by the Williams Rural Fire Protection District, American Medical Response, Oregon Department of Transportation and 3 Boys Towing.

 

Multiple agencies responded to a motor vehicle accident in Cave Junction early yesterday. On Monday at 7:45 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and Oregon Department of Transportation were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash in the 800-block of Caves Highway. IVFD officials said one patient was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with unspecified injuries. They said a pre-existing medical condition appears to have preceded the incident.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Wolf Creek man for violating a court order last night following a traffic stop near the City of Rogue River. According to OSP, state troopers pulled over a Mazda MZ3 driven by 40-year-old Sonny Hurt, II, on Foothill Boulevard near Dove Place on Monday at 7:41 p.m.. Troopers said they made the traffic stop after observing both parties of a no-contact order -- Hurt and a 31-year-old Grants Pass woman -- inside the car. They said the driver had a suspended license and the vehicle was impounded. After further investigation, troopers developed probable cause of Hurt tampering with a witness. Hurt was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Contempt of Court and two felony counts of Tampering with a Witness. He was being held without bail. The female passenger was the protected party and she was transferred to the care of family members.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for his destructive behavior at The Lodge at Riverside early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to the incident involving 31-year-old Ryan Kelly Hale at the riverfront motel on SE 7th Street on Monday around 10:30 a.m.. Police said the manager of Cartwright's Tap Rock NW Grill called 9-1-1 to report that Hale was throwing large rocks at the nearby motel before he crossed 7th Street and entered the restaurant parking lot. The caller said it appeared the man was having a mental breakdown and they wanted him trespassed from their property. Before officers arrived on scene, Hale fled under the 7th Street Bridge and that's where he was placed into custody. Hale was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on an out-of-county warrant. His corrections officer was contacted and he was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant and for violating terms of his probation yesterday in an encounter near the Parkway Public Safety Station. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 64-year-old Timothy Carl Ferguson at the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and East Park Street on Monday at 11:18 a.m.. Police said they observed Ferguson and knew that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Disorderly Conduct. After he was placed into custody, he made numerous statements about harming law enforcement once he was released from jail. Ferguson reportedly told the arresting officer that he would burn down his house, and drop rocks off overpasses onto police cars while wearing a black hoodie and riding around on a bicycle. He also mentioned going around town and cutting wires at buildings as a means to express his hatred toward everyone. Ferguson was lodged without bail at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant and the resulting Probation Violation. He was also flagged for his threats to local law enforcement and the community.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for trespassing at Three Rivers Medical Center last night. GPPD reports officers responded to the incident at the hospital on SW Ramsey Avenue on Monday at 8:16 p.m.. Police said 39-year-old Abigail Reese Ozkan refused to leave the emergency room after being asked to do so by hospital staff. They said she was given warnings that she would be arrested if she did not leave the facility. She could not be reasoned with and chose to be arrested. That's when things got interesting. Ozkan passively resisted by sitting on the ground while holding her baby as a shield to make it so officers could not place her into custody. She eventually handed her baby to a friend who was seated next to her and was arrested. Ozkan was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass.