Local News

Firefighters were battling a wildfire near Lost Creek Lake that was sparked by lightning. The Oregon Department of Forestry responded to an estimated three-acre fire located directly west of Lost Creek Lake on Sunday morning. The fire was burning in a steep, remote area that required crews to hike one mile to reach it. ODF immediately ordered Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 helicopters plus an air attack plane to help corral the blaze which officials confirmed was caused by Saturday's thunderstorm when several lightning strikes were recorded in the Lost Creek Lake area. At 11:30 a.m. yesterday, ODF reported crews were holding the fire at three acres and that aircraft were extremely helpful on the incident with water bucket and retardant drops. At 1:45 p.m., ODF reported firefighters were continuing to hold the blaze inside its three-acre footprint. Officials said steep terrain was posing challenges and safety hazards for crews, which was requiring a more strategic and methodical approach for extinguishing the fire. At 4:25 p.m., ODF reported the fire was 75% lined and 20% mopped up. Crews were continuing to make progress and they remained on scene until the fire was 100% lined and mopped up last night. Around 8 p.m., thunderstorms moved through Southern Oregon, with two lightning strikes recorded south of Lake Creek and Highway 140. ODF said it will monitor this and other lightning strike areas for fires over the next several days.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry stomped out a small grass fire near Eight Dollar Mountain that was likely caused by a vehicle's exhaust system. On Sunday at 11:15 a.m., IVFD and ODF responded to the reported fire along Redwood Highway between Eight Dollar Mountain and Gold Canyon roads. IVFD officials said ODF arrived first to find a 5-foot-by-5-foot spot fire, with bystanders attempting to put the blaze out. Firefighters extinguished the small fire in short order. Officials said parts of a catalytic converter was found at the scene.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports scammers were busy on Saturday. Numerous citizens called the local law enforcement agency to report scammers "spoofing" their number so it appeared the Sheriff's Office was calling them on their caller IDs. A "Deputy White" was reportedly using different variations of a story to get people to give him money including -- but not limited to -- having a warrant out for their arrest and demanding payment via gift cards or depositing money into kiosks. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office does not have a Deputy White and -- more importantly -- law enforcement does not conduct business in this manner. If you receive a suspicious call from the Sheriff's Office, simply hang up the phone. If the calls persist, contact the Sheriff's Office at (541)-474-5123.

 

The Grants Pass City Council will review facility needs and continue discussions on the future of Caveman Pool during its weekly workshop today. The City Council will open the workshop with a staff presentation on the Hillcrest Fire Station and City Hall property needs. The Council will then discuss the future of Caveman Pool including whether to rebuild, renovate or shut down the aging facility. Meanwhile, the Grants Pass Family YMCA has approached the city with a plan to build a new center with a public swimming pool on the south side of the Rogue River. The workshop will conclude with a review of the agenda for Wednesday night's regular meeting. Mayor Sara Bristol will then convene a Special Meeting in Executive Session. The closed-door meeting is for real property transactions and/or negotiations. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

A group of approximately 50 people were on hand Friday when a recall petition against Josephine County Commissioner John West was launched at the Grants Pass Courthouse. The chief petitioners are Gold Hill City Manager Lily Morgan, former Grants Pass Finance Director Jay Meredith and Josephine County Library Board member Tina Gotchall. Supporters of the recall petition were both Republicans and Democrats all dissatisfied with the first-term Commissioner who currently chairs the Board. The petition requests the recall of West for ignoring the will of the people and for actions that have affected the health and safety of the community; lost revenue, increased costs or haphazardly cut valued services; and failure to follow the law. Specifically, petitioners pointed to actions that demonstrated a failure to consider the best interests of the people he was elected to serve. These actions include bad faith negotiations in the Pipe Fork property sale; ignoring the will of the people by eliminating funding for community programs such as the OSU Extension Service, law enforcement and public health; a pattern of violating state laws including campaign finance regulations and public meeting laws: unlawfully approving a withdrawal from the local library district; threatening community safety by reducing the Firewise program, reducing the Emergency Management program and eliminating property development fire standards; and hiring unqualified political allies for key County employee or contract positions. The petitioners stated "These actions demonstrate a pattern of unethical and legal behavior, severely damaging public trust and warranting immediate recall."

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters logged another busy week of protecting the community. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 622 calls for service along with 341 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 32 arrests, 29 citations, 41 warnings and five highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 62 traffic stops in the city and they made 16 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 164 potential troublemakers while arresting three people, citing 19 more and warning 53 others. The CRT unit also trespassed 12 individuals and posted 83 transient camps. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 96 calls last week including 28 for emergency medical service, seven reports of fire or smoke, 12 lift assists, two rescue situations, five assists to other agencies and eight false alarms. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,260 emergency calls along with 672 calls for non-emergency service.

 

Five people were transported to the hospital after a Hellgate Excursions jet boat collided with a private jet boat on the Rogue River yesterday. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports the incident at Two Bit Riffle -- about two miles downriver from Robertson Bridge -- occurred at 12:39 p.m. on Sunday. A Sheriff's Marine Patrol unit, the Oregon State Police, American Medical Response, Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue all responded to the mishap. Sheriff's Sergeant Jason Stanton said injured people were taken to the Hellgate River Lodge by boat to be evaluated by medical personnel. He said a total of five people were transported by ground ambulances to a local hospital, adding that their conditions were unknown. According to Stanton, the private jet boat sank at Two Bit Riffle and recreationists should use caution navigating through the area until the boat is removed. He said the investigation is ongoing and no other information will be released at this time.

 

A traffic stop for speeding landed a 30-year old man in the Josephine County Jail on a felony warrant. A Josephine County Deputy began a pursuit of an older white Ford clocked at 70 miles per hour on New Hope Road Friday night at 11: 34. The pursuit conclude4d with the Ford pulling over just past Triller with the driver detained. The driver was identified and was found to have an active felony hold warrant out of Jackson County for a parole violation for an underlying drug charge. The suspect is being held on the warrant plus the new charges of reckless driving and felony attempt to elude police.

 

The Grants Pass City Council had planned to cancel its first meeting in August due to the Josephine County Fair, but next week's meeting is back on. The City Council is scheduled to take action on ordinances repealing the municipal code sections pertaining to Camping in Parks and Criminal Trespass on City Property. The panel will also consider a resolution adopting allowable locations for camping in accordance with an existing ordinance. In late June, the United States Supreme Court overruled an injunction brought by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that forced the City of Grants Pass to allow the unhoused population to "rest" in all parks except Reinhart Volunteer Park. The nation's highest court determined the city's restrictions on camping in public spaces do not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" as contended by the lower court. It appears the City Council is now ready to move forward with time, place and manner restrictions on public camping by banning the practice in most city parks.The Council has identified five places where public camping will be allowed. They include a strip of land near the new Water Treatment Plant, an empty lot next to the Grants Pass Police Station, the "Texas Property" next to Baker Park, a grassy area near the Hillcrest Fire Station and a parcel on the far west side of Riverside Park.