Local News

The Board of Commissioners approved a series of updates to Josephine County administrative policies and procedures during its last meeting of 2024. On Tuesday, the Board approved Order 2024-078 that updated Administrative Policy and Order 2024-079 that updated Personnel Policy. The Commissioners adjourned the short meeting and convened in the Courthouse Conference Room for a workshop, with most of the new Board in attendance. An item concerning the vacancy on the Board after the recall of former Board Chair John West was dropped from the agenda earlier in the day. The workshop lasted about an hour with no firm decisions made and the general consensus to let the new Board of Commissioners make those decisions this year. Incoming Commissioners Chris Barnett and Ron Smith are scheduled to be sworn into office on Monday. They will be charged with appointing a replacement to serve out the remaining two years of West's term.

 

Applications are being accepted for five positions on the Grants Pass Urban Tree Advisory Committee due to expiring terms. These positions are two-year terms. The purpose of the 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. The special qualification for these positions is an interest in the promotion and enhancement of the urban forest in the City of 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. tomorrow, January 3rd. Applications will be reviewed by the committee on Monday, January 13th. The appointments will be made by the Grants Pass City Council on Wednesday, February 5th.

 

A 32-year-old man is in the Josephine County Jail after being arrested Tuesday afternoon in the 100 block of Walker Road. 911 received a call at 3:16 p.m. stating the child was with the reporting caller with Mom after picking up the child. The Sheriff’s log then reflects a male screaming “help me.” Then states the male is on the hood of the white 4-Runner headed up Cloverlawn towards Grants Pass. By 3:41p.m. the log states the man was detained, and then arrested and lodged in the Josephine County Jail facing charges of menacing domestic violence in the presence of a child and criminal mischief II. He remained in custody Wednesday morning.

 

Josephine County Deputies jailed a local felon for a restraining order violation with help from the Oregon State Police. Just before 10 Tuesday morning 911 received a call from the 2900 Block of Merlin Road because a suspect with whom a restraining order was in place had returned to a trailer on the property and had made threats to kill them if they informed law enforcement. The reporting parties were leaving because of the threats. At 10:34 a.m. the suspect, identified at Jeremy Kyle McFarland, 47, was reported to be detained, but not without significant effort. According to the Sheriff’s log McFarland attempted to flee and resisted attempts to restrain him. Deputies and Troopers took him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. He continued to resist as he was placed into the patrol car and transported to the Josephine County Jail. He remained in custody Wednesday morning. The jail booking sheet listed no bail amount for the charges of Contempt of Court and a Post-Prison Supervision Sanction.

 

A Grants Pass fugitive, wanted since 2019, has been captured in Cambodia due to the partnership of the Josephine County Sheriff’s office and the U.S. Marshals Service. Over the last several months, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Analyst has been working with the United States Marshals Service in an attempt to locate Shawn Higbee, who is facing the charge of Sodomy 1. It was discovered by the Sheriff’s office analyst that Higbee had fled to Cambodia and had been there for several years. Higbee’s exact location was pinpointed through the dedicated hard work, training and experience of the analyst. That information was relayed to the Marshal’s Service, who turned the information over to their international apprehension team.On December 17th, 2024, Higbee was taken into custody. Higbee is currently lodged in a Cambodian jail and is awaiting extradition back to the United States. Once in country, he will be transported to the Josephine County Jail to face further prosecution regarding the crime of Sodomy 1.

At the time of this press release, no further details are being released.

 

You are invited to celebrate the New Year with Oregon State Parks free first day hike at Valley of the Rogue State Park as they hike sections of the Greenway and River's Edge trails. The Hike, led by Rangers or volunteers, is slated to begin at 11 a.m. and hikers should meet at the Amphitheatre. This hike is classified as easy at 1.5 miles Park staff will arrive 15 minutes early and depart 5 minutes after the begin time after providing instructions and additional information. Dogs are welcome on 6-foot leashes. Children must be accompanied by an adult. America’s State Parks sponsors the First Day Hikes program nationwide to encourage everyone to start the year outside and connect with nature. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has participated since 2012. The Hike is free and the $5 day-use parking fee is waived today

 

Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles Services is warning Oregonians about a new scam using fake Manufacturer Certificates of Origin to obtain titles for stolen vehicles. That’s a document that certifies the original ownership of a vehicle, issued by the manufacturer when a vehicle is produced and contains information like the make, model, year and vehicle identification number. Crooks are creating fake VINs that appear to be legitimate and adding them to counterfeit Manufacturer Certificates of Origin created by either altering printed information on a genuine certificate or by creating a completely fake version. A fake certificate often lists the manufacturer’s name and an out-of-state dealer or distributor as the first buyer. To determine if your VIN is legitimate, you should first run the VIN through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall site. If no VIN is found, you will get an error message meaning the VIN was not issued by that manufacturer. This search is free. Then check the vehicle history through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Only use an approved National Motor Vehicle Title Information System data provider. These sites will generally charge a nominal fee. If you suspect the certificate or VIN is fraudulent, Oregon DMV recommends you contact the dealer that originally purchased the vehicle from the manufacturer to determine if the vehicle transaction, certificate and VIN are genuine. If the dealer or distributor cannot confirm they purchased the vehicle from the manufacturer, the certificate is probably fake.If you’re buying a vehicle from someone other than a certified dealer, take a photo of the seller’s identification and get their contact information. If they have another vehicle – write down or take a photo of the plate on that vehicle.DMV also warns of fraudulent dealerships being set up. The DMV website provides a look-up tool to verify if the business is a certified dealer. Check the website before doing any business with a vehicle dealer in Oregon. Verify the person you are dealing with is an employee of the dealership. For more information, visit Oregon DMV’s dealer web page.

 

A series of updates to the County’s administrative policies and procedures were approved by the County Commissioners during the last meeting of the year Tuesday morning and, likely the last decision by the current board. Commissioners approved order number 2024-078, updating Administrative Policy, and order number 2024-079, updating Personnel Policy.The Commissioners adjourned a short meeting and then convened in the Court House conference room for a workshop, with most of the new Board in attendance.The item concerning the replacement for a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners was dropped from a new agenda that was released Tuesday morning.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners approved a series of updates to the County’s administrative policies and procedures during the last meeting of the year Tuesday morning and, likely the last decision by the current board. Commissioners approved order number 2024-078, updating Administrative Policy, and order number 2024-079, updating Personnel Policy.The Commissioners adjourned a short meeting and then convened in the Court House conference room for a workshop, with most of the new Board in attendance. The item concerning the replacement for a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners was dropped from a new agenda that was released this morning. The workshop lasted about an hour with no firm decisions made with the general consensus the let the new Board of Commissioners make those upcoming decisions.