Local News

The Grants Pass City Council is set to find out exactly how much it will cost to build a new water treatment plant during its workshop session today. The first topic on the workshop agenda is "Water Treatment Plant Guaranteed Maximum Price and Funding." It is the largest municipal project in city history. The City Council is also scheduled to receive a staff presentation on a Navigation-Shelter Services Grant before it reviews the agenda for Wednesday night's regular meeting. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

The Oregon State Marine Board will hold a public hearing this week on proposed rules for boat operations on the Upper Rogue River in Jackson County. The hearing will be held Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Riverside Campus of Rogue Community College in Medford at 114 South Bartlett Street. The Marine Board is considering proposed rules for the Rogue River between Fishers Ferry and Lost Creek Dam. They include speed limits for boats on that section of the river including a possible ban on jet boats. Testimony will only be accepted by telephone on the day of the rule hearing. Written comments will also be accepted until December 20th by 12:55 p.m.. Comments can be submitted by e-mail to "osmb.rulemaking@boat.oregon.gov" or by US Mail to Jennifer Cooper, Administrative Rules Coordinator, Oregon State Marine Board, 435 Commercial Street NE, Salem, OR 97301. Agency staff will compile all comments for the board to review before their next quarterly meeting on January 23, 2025. At that meeting, the board may make a motion to adopt, amend or take other action on the proposed rulemaking.

 

After an exceedingly wet November, Southern Oregon is starting out the month of December with stagnant air and no precipitation. The National Weather Service has posted an Air Stagnation Advisory that runs until 4 p.m. Wednesday and possibly longer. The advisory includes Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake and eastern Curry counties. The Weather Service in Medford reports a ridge of high pressure has led to a strong inversion and stagnant air conditions near the valley floors that will continue to trap pollutants. This could worsen air quality over time. Poor air quality may cause issues for people with respiratory problems. Persons with respiratory illness should follow their physician's advice for dealing with high levels of air pollution during periods of stagnant air. Grants Pass received 8.21 inches of precipitation in the month of November. The first chance of precipitation in December will arrive Saturday.

 

Mount Ashland Ski Area has announced that it will open early for the 2024-25 winter season this coming weekend. The local ski resort will open Friday for "Season Passholder Appreciation Day" and Saturday for all guests with the Sonnet, Comer and Windsor lifts running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Single-day lift tickets won't be available for purchase until the 7th. The Ski Area will welcome guests this season with exciting upgrades such as the widening of the entryway to the main mountain, updated LED night-lighting for twilight skiing beginning January 9th, and the highly-anticipated opening of the first new chairlift in over 30 years. All services will be available on Opening Day including lessons, rentals, retail shop, T-Bar Lounge and the Grill. Opening day is only the beginning as the 2024-25 season promises a schedule packed with events.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office arrested a Medford man on child pornography charges this week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 54-year-old David Lee Hurd on the day before Thanksgiving following a lengthy investigation. Hurd was charged with 10 felony counts of Encouraging Child Sex Abuse and he was lodged at the Jackson County Jail. The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) began the investigation in 2023 after a tip came in from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The SOCET task force served a search warrant in August 2023 and seized digital devices from Hurd's residence in the 3700-block of South Pacific Highway. The Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force forensically examined the devices for evidence of child exploitation. Hurd's arrest resulted from the investigation. The case will be prosecuted by the Jackson County District Attorney's Office. SOCET is a joint interagency task force that started in June 2020 to combat child exploitation. It consists of investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Oregon Department of Justice and US Homeland Security Investigations as well as prosecutors from local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine counties.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for stealing an expensive jacket from Grange Co-op this week. The Police Department reports officers responded to a shoplifting call at the store on West Schutzwohl Lane near Redwood Highway on Tuesday afternoon. Police said 29-year-old Kyle William Poole was caught leaving Grange Co-op with a Carhartt jacket valued at more than $118. They said loss prevention was forced to take him down in the store parking lot when he tried to flee on foot. Poole reportedly admitted to entering the store and stealing the jacket without any means of paying for it. Poole was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 2nd-Degree Theft. He was also trespassed from Grange Co-op.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a local felon on three outstanding warrants this week during a patrol check near Home Depot. According to the Police Department, officers arrested 37-year-old Jordan Ellis Haas on the railroad tracks near Mill Street on Tuesday night. Police said they were on patrol when they observed Haas inside the fence at R and M Lumber Sales, which has numerous No Trespassing signs posted. They tried to contact him, he walked away and then started running on the railroad property. Officers caught up to Haas and placed him into custody, discovering that he was wanted on three Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for 1st-Degree Forgery and two counts of Failure to Report as a Sex Offender. Haas was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants plus new charges of 3rd-Degree Escape and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held in lieu of posting $70,000 bail.

 

A Josephine County Jail inmate being held for violating his probation is facing an additional charge after being served with an outside warrant. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports deputies served 20-year-old Angel Ernesto Rodriguez-Ortiz with a Jackson County warrant around midday Tuesday. Deputies said the inmate was wanted in Jackson County for 4th-Degree Assault, but no details about the alleged crime were disclosed. Rodriguez-Ortiz remained in custody on Thanksgiving while being held on bail of $55,000.

 

Two local Oregon Hunters Association chapters and a private citizen are offering a combined $1,300 reward for information leading to the return of nine aluminum boundary signs which might also lead to a conviction of the person who stole them. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the signs were stolen from the Upper Rogue Travel Management Area (TMA). ODFW staff put the signs up in late October to notify hunters of the annual two-week November closure to hunting in the TMA. The signs were reported missing on November 3rd from areas along Highways 62 and 238. The Rogue Valley and Josephine County OHA Chapters donated funds several years ago to assist ODFW in purchasing the high-quality aluminum signs for the TMA. Now both chapters and a private citizen are offering the $1,300 reward for the safe return of the signs or information leading to a conviction of the person or persons who stole the signs. Anyone with information on the missing signs can contact the ODFW Central Point office at (541)-826-8774.