Local News

The Oregon State Police was investigating a motor vehicle accident that occurred on Redwood Highway in the Selma area last night. State troopers, the Illinois Valley Fire District and American Medical Response were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash on US Highway 199 at Draper Valley Road on Thursday at 5:49 p.m.. Arriving units discovered a Toyota Venza had gone off the highway and struck a tree. The driver was identified as a 71-year-old man from Dayton, Nevada. Prior to their arrival, a bystander put out an engine fire using a fire extinguisher. Troopers said the driver tried to avoid a parked car after being inattentive and he "center-punched" a tree. IVFD officials said the driver of the vehicle was examined by medics on site and then released without requiring transport to the hospital. The heavily-damaged vehicle was hauled to Cave Junction by Jerry's Towing. OSP said it planned to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Cave Junction man for impaired driving after he crashed his vehicle on Williams Highway this week. OSP reports troopers and emergency crews responded to a single-vehicle wreck near milepost 7 of Williams Highway on Wednesday evening. Troopers said a 32-year-old Cave Junction man was driving a Subaru Legacy west when he lost control of the vehicle, slid off the highway and rolled, with the car coming to rest on its side. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Upon contact with the driver, troopers observed signs of impairment and took him to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was more than twice the legal driving limit. The suspect was lodged at the Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Offensive Littering. His car was impounded.

 

Citizens are invited to a three-part program series exploring classical virtues and civic responsibilities with former Oregon Teacher of the Year Lois MacMillan at the Grants Pass branch of Josephine Community Library. The program -- titled "Civic Behavior from Yesterday -- For Today" -- will be held the first three Tuesdays this month from 5:30-7 p.m. at the library branch at 200 NW C Street. Drawing from Jeffrey Rosen's The Pursuit of Happiness and Richard Haas' The Bill of Obligations, participants will examine values like temperance, humility, justice and the common good. Open to teens and adults, this program blends history with civic engagement to inspire personal and community well-being. "Temperance, Humility, Sincerity" is scheduled for next Tuesday, January 7th. "Industry, Resolution, Moderation" is slated for Tuesday, January 14th. "Tranquility, Silence, Justice" is set for Tuesday, January 21st. The program is offered at no charge and it's open to the public. A library card is not needed to participate and registration is not required.

 

The Oregon State Fire Marshal is extending its incentive program to help residents pay for defensible space projects in more communities in the state. The 2024 wildfire season came as a reminder of the importance of defensible space and completing projects at home and at the community level to be better protected. While supplies last, home and property owners in select wildfire-vulnerable communities may be eligible to receive a $250 payment following a defensible space assessment by OSFM or a participating fire agency. The assessments are free and can be easily scheduled online at "oregondefensiblespace.org." Eligible communities were chosen based on their vulnerability to wildfire to get money to those who need it most. After the assessment is complete, those who qualify will receive the payment in the mail. Defensible space is the area around your home and buildings managed to keep embers from having a place to land and spark a fire. Creating and maintaining defensible space is one of the most effective ways to protect a home during a wildfire. The Oregon State Fire Marshal understands that money may be a barrier for some residents to complete these projects and the incentive is designed to encourage people to implement the recommendations they received during their assessment.

 

The Rogue Community College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has been awarded a grant from Business Oregon to pilot a program that expands business advising and support in Josephine County. The $48,320 in funding will increase services, outreach and training for small businesses. Established in 1984, the RCC SBDC offers free, confidential business advising and low-cost training at the Redwood Campus in Grants Pass. The pilot program will fund expanded part-time faculty hours, enhance marketing efforts and develop new curriculum focused on child care and rural entrepreneurship. As part of this pilot program, the RCC SBDC has reached out to partners to identify grants specifically for new and growing childcare providers. Purchasing equipment and supplies for child care startups is a known obstacle to opening a licensed business. In collaboration with local partners including the City of Grants Pass, Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc., Southern Oregon Child Care Resource Network and RCC's Early Childhood Education Department, the initiative also introduces the Child Care Business Accelerator program, supporting new and existing child care businesses.

 

The Grants Pass Committee on Public Art invites artists 18 and older to submit original artwork in any 2-D or 3-D except for video/film, installation or performance art for "Art in Motion." This public art project is essentially a gallery on wheels. Artwork is displayed on 54-inch-by-34-inch vinyl print on both sides of one of the Josephine Community Transit buses. The art is there to engage people, expand public art visibility, create opportunities for the community to experience art in everyday life, and enhance the overall artistic climate of the City of Grants Pass. This proposal solicits submissions for two exhibition periods. The time period that the art will be on the bus is from January through June 2025. The work will be selected based on originality, artistic conception and quality. An effort will be made to represent diverse styles, media and disciplines. One or two artists may be chosen for each exhibition period. The Committee on Public Art will review and select submissions for "Art in Motion." The deadline for submissions is next Tuesday, January 7th by 5 p.m..

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for a domestic violence incident that occurred during a holiday child exchange in the Cloverlawn area earlier this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 100-block of Walker Road on Tuesday afternoon. Deputies said a child was with their father and their mother arrived to pick them up. They said the 32-year-old man called 9-1-1 to report the woman was trying to run him over with a vehicle. He screamed "help me" before the phone hung up. According to the report, the man was on the hood of a Toyota 4-Runner as the woman drove down Cloverlawn toward Grants Pass. The vehicle was stopped in the 2,000-block of Cloverlawn, both parties were interviewed and the man was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Menacing and 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for celebrating New Year's Day by ripping up shrubbery at the downtown post office. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old Beau Thomas Beard at the post office in the 100-block of NW 6th Street on Wednesday at 4:32 p.m.. Police said Beard was observed causing substantial damage to the shrubbery in front of the postal facility. Damage was estimated to be well over $500. It was unclear why the man was pulling out vegetation and throwing it on the sidewalk. Officers contacted the Grants Pass Postmaster who advised he wished to pursue criminal charges against Beard, who had been trespassed from the post office late last month. Beard was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outside felony warrant and for drug possession while performing a New Year's Day patrol check on railroad property. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 64-year-old William Ward Fleming on the downtown railroad property on Wednesday around 2:50 p.m.. Police said they discovered that Ward was wanted on a Jackson County felony warrant for Probation Violation related to an arrest for Failure to Report as a Sex Offender. During a consent search, they found him to be in possession of glass pipe with a white residue that field-tested positive as methamphetamine. Ward was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Meth Possession. He was being held on a no-bail detainer and his dog was left in the care of an acquaintance at the SE J Street campground.