Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist on an outstanding warrant last night after a traffic stop in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a dark-colored sedan driven by 46-year-old Elliott Ivan Thomas, Jr., near the corner of NE 6th and Savage streets on Thursday at 10:27 p.m.. Police said they stopped Elliott for a vehicle lighting violation and discovered that he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for violating a court order related to an arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. Elliott was placed into custody and booked into the Josephine County Jail without incident.

 

Grants Pass Police cited a motorist for two violations following a traffic stop in the Redwood area late last night. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by a man they identified as "Jesse Vaughn-Silva" in the 1900-block of Redwood Avenue on Thursday at 11:50 p.m.. Police said they observed the muddy vehicle with unreadable license plates and registration stickers and stopped it as it was pulling into the T&C Market. They said Vaughn-Silva was driving with a suspended license and without a required ignition interlock device. Officers said Vaughn-Silva showed signs of impairment and there was an odor of alcohol and marijuana coming from his person. He admitted to taking a shot of whiskey and smoking pot two hours before the traffic stop. He was field-tested and the results were negative. Vaughn-Silva was cited to appear in court for Driving While Suspended and Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device. He was warned for Improper Display of Registration Stickers and told next time his vehicle would be towed.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a young motorist and were looking for his sister after they led deputies on a high-speed pursuit in the Grants Pass area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies eventually arrested 22-year-old Jesse Louis Tillet at a home in the SE Riverside Avenue area late Wednesday night. Deputies said the incident began when they contacted Tillet and his sister in separate vehicles for trespassing after hours at Lathrop Boat Landing. The pair took off toward Grants Pass on Lower River Road at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour. According to the report, the pursuit continued on Lincoln Road, G Street and 9th Street to Riverside Avenue where deputies spotted Tillet's vehicle parked outside a residence. He was placed into custody without further incident. The second vehicle driven by his sister was not found. Tillet was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police and Reckless Driving. He was being held without bail pending his arraignment.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman on two local felony warrants after responding to a reported disturbance at north-city motel this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 39-year-old Melissa B. Cranmer at the Buona Serra Motel on NE 6th Street on Wednesday evening. Police said the Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center received a call about a male and female fighting in a motel room. The unidentified caller advised they heard yelling and saw a man drag a woman into the room by her hair. They said they also heard someone slammed against the wall. According to the report, Cranmer and a man identified as "Leo Kropp" had been living at the motel for weeks and there had been ongoing problems. Officers arrived on scene and contacted Cranmer who claimed there was no fight. She showed no signs of injury so a medical response was canceled. However, a routine records check showed she was wanted on Jackson County and Medford felony warrants for failing to appear in court for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and 1st-Degree Theft. Cranmer was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a well-known offender on an outstanding warrant this week after a reported disturbance at Riverside Park. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident involving 37-year-old Bradley Andrew Peckham at the city park on Wednesday night. Police said a person at TapRock Northwest Grill called 9-1-1 to report a woman screaming for help at Riverside Park near the playground. The caller said they also saw some people walking to the park restroom. Responding officers observed Peckham in the parking lot near the Rogue River and knew him from numerous law enforcement contacts. After contacting him, they discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Disorderly Conduct, Escape and 3rd-Degree Theft. Peckham was placed into custody and lodged on the warrant at the Josephine County Jail. Officers were unable to locate any subjects arguing in the area.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman on a local warrant after chasing her down in Cave Junction. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies spotted 37-year-old Sabrina Marie Wilson in the 300-block of South Junction Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Deputies said they were familiar with Wilson and knew that she was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for 3rd-Degree Theft and Possession of Fentanyl. She took off running toward Caves Highway when she spotted them, but they were able to track her down and place her into custody. Wilson was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant. Deputies made a stop at the Kerbyville Museum to adjust handcuffs.

 

Grants Pass firefighters knocked down a fire at a local metal recycling facility on Thursday. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue crews arrived to find an active lithium-ion battery fire in a pile of unsorted debris at the unnamed recycling depot. Firefighters worked to cool the blaze with water while using large fans to clear smoke from the building. Once the fire was extinguished, crews collaborated with facility staff, using heavy equipment to separate the debris and ensure the fire was completely out. Fire officials said lithium-ion batteries and devices containing these batteries should never be placed in household garbage or recycling bins. They can ignite fires during transport or at landfills and recycling facilities. Officials said these batteries should be disposed of at designated recycling or household hazardous waste collection points.

 

More than 250 firefighters from 121 departments across the state are registered to attend Winter Fire School this weekend at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. The two-day training event -- taking place Saturday and Sunday -- will include classroom learning sessions and hands-on training exercises that will improve firefighters' abilities to protect lives, property and natural resources in their communities. The offerings will include nine different National Fire Academy courses covering a range of topics including leadership and company operations, decision-making at structure fires, the roles of safety officers at emergency responses, community risk reduction, sprinkler plan review, structural collapse incident command operations, and wildland-urban interface incident operations. Hands-on training opportunities will include a vehicle extrication class led by the City of Dallas Fire & Emergency Services Department. Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) staff will lead skills training sessions on forceable entry, hose handling and water map application, pumping station, and firefighter search and rescue. Winter Fire School is annual event offered free of charge by DPSST. It is held over the weekend to accommodate the schedules of volunteers who comprise most of the Oregon Fire Service.

 

Proponents of using electricity instead of natural gas in Oregon have just scored a new victory. The Oregonian reports the Ashland City Council this week voted unanimously to charge developers a carbon pollution fee for installing natural gas heating systems in new residential buildings. Youth advocates who championed the measure and city officials said it's an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve indoor air quality in the city and change how homes are built in Ashland. The ordinance – modeled on a similar one in Burlington, Vermont – is aimed at reducing the use of natural gas hookups and appliances, including furnaces, water heaters, stoves, clothes dryers and fireplaces, though the fee also would apply to energy systems that rely on coal, oil, propane or kerosene. Ashland's ordinance is the first in Oregon since Eugene passed a measure two years ago that would have prohibited natural gas hookups in many new homes. Eugene later rescinded its measure after a federal appeals court ruling rejected a similar gas ban in Berkeley, California. Since then, several cities in Oregon that have adopted climate action plans have been looking to ban natural gas and provide incentives to use electricity in new construction, despite opposition from Oregon's natural gas industry and the federal lawsuit filed in California. The Ashland ordinance goes into effect January 1, 2026.