GP City Council Disqualifies Pathways, Moves Forward with Elk Island Trading Group Plan
The Grants Pass City Council voted to move forward with Elk Island Trading Group's application after disqualifying Pathways to Stability at today's workshop. During a presentation of the current state of the Addressing Homelessness Grant Program, the council was given options on how to move forward. The first choice was to disqualify Pathways for not meeting contracting prerequisites and move forward with contract negotiations with Elk Island. The second was to invite all applicants to submit a final proposal for re-review and scoring. Other options provided, but not for immediate in-depth discussion, were to cancel the grant and consider alternative solutions, to create a new RFP, for the city to acquire property for a service provider, or to maintain the current resting sites. Councilman Erich Schloegl made a motion to obtain final offers from each of the applicants and re-score them. Following a discussion, the motion failed 5-3. Councilman Joel King then made a motion to disqualify Pathways and move forward with Elk Island Trading Group. Further discussion followed, with the motion passing 5-3. ...Read more

Board of Commissioners Postponed Grant and BOLI Decisions during Workshop

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners made quick work of their agenda during the County Administration Workshop this morning. With Commissioner Chris Barnett being excused, Commissioner Andreas Blech asked to have the BOLI decision moved to next week. The District Attorney presented the Victims of Crime Act Grant and CFA Grant renewal requests to help support crime victim self-sufficiency. The board moved the decision to this week's Business Session. The commissioners approved an invoice from both the Clerk and Facilities Departments, as well as the Recreation Departments out-of-state travel request. The Public Works and Forestry Department's vehicle purchase requests were approved, and the board moved 2-0 to sign the United States Forest Service agreement to extend the contract negotiation window. Motions to approve the Information Technology Department invoices for a Geographic Information System Service Software Renewal and Managed Data Detection and Response Software Renewal passed. ...Read more

OSP Troopers Respond to Fatal Single Vehicle Crash over Weekend

Oregon State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on Highway 140, near milepost 9, in Jackson County early Saturday morning. On November 1, at 3:50 a.m., the preliminary investigation indicated a westbound Ford F350, operated by a juvenile male, 17, of Eagle Point, failed to negotiate a curve, crashed through a guardrail, and rolled into an adjacent creek. The operator of the vehicle, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was declared deceased at the scene. A passenger of the Ford, Mitchel Frank Thorpe, 18, of Eagle Point, was not wearing a seatbelt and was also declared deceased at the scene. Two additional passengers, a male juvenile, 17, of Eagle Point and a female juvenile, 17, of Medford, were transported to an area hospital with critical injuries. The highway was impacted for approximately one hour during the on-scene investigation. Impairment and speed are considered the primary factors of the crash. ...Read more