Local News

The Board of Commissioners will not be voting on budgets for Josephine County, the Law Enforcement Service District and 4-H Extension Service District until Friday morning, but the Board heard plenty of testimony on one of the spending plans on Wednesday. Finance Director Sandy Novak made brief presentations on all three budgets, but there was no public testimony in hearings pertaining to Josephine County or the Law Enforcement Service District. As expected, there was plenty of testimony on the 4-H Extension Service District budget after two of the Commissioners -- John West and Herman Baertschiger -- vowed to defund the district that 2/3 of Josephine County voters approved in 1996. An unofficial tally showed 17 citizens testifying in favor of the service district and five testifying against it. The OSU Extension Service had multiple representatives at the meeting and offered to answer questions from the Board, but none were asked. Testimony in favor of the district was passionate and included several prominent members of the community such as two members of the Cave Junction City Council and a Commissioner candidate. Perhaps the most reasonable suggestion to solve the problem came from veteran Commissioner Dan DeYoung who stated the Board should fund the district for one year and then place a measure on the November ballot asking voters whether they want to continue to pay for OSU Extension Services. Public hearings and final decisions on the budgets will occur on Friday at 9 a.m. in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has arrested a Central Point man for starting a fire on Table Rock Road yesterday. On Wednesday at 11:56 a.m., a call was received by Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon regarding a possible structure fire at 4600 Table Rock Road. Additional callers believed that dry grass in a field was burning and that the fire was rapidly approaching a building. Jackson County Fire District #3 responded and found a grass fire, with winds pushing it toward a storage unit on the property. Crews encountered locked gates at the driveway that required cutting to gain access. Multiple engine companies from Fire District #3 and Medford Fire-Rescue were able to stop the spread of the blaze, but the building sustained both exterior and interior damage. Investigators found that the fire originated on the west side of the building. They determined the fire was human-caused and involved the use of power tools. Jackson County Public Information Officer Aaron Lewis said a male adult was located on the property and he was detained before being arrested by sheriff's deputies. He said 68-year-old Andrew Joseph Ragsdale was lodged in jail for Reckless Burning, Interfering with a Firefighters and Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman for threatening her sister with a baseball bat and throwing hatchets at her and others in the northwest part of the city this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 35-year-old female subject for the incident at a home in the 900-block of NW Donna Drive on Tuesday. Police said the subject's sister called 9-1-1 to report the woman was throwing hatchets at the family car and nearly hitting her and other witnesses. The caller said her sister first came at her with a baseball bat while intending to cause bodily harm. At least three witnesses corroborated the victim's account of the incident. According to the report, the hatchets struck the victim's car numerous times -- but no one was injured. The suspect reportedly lives in a tent in the home's backyard. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Domestic Menacing. She was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police assisted California Highway Patrol (CHP) with locating a suspect involved in a hit-and-run crash with serious bodily injury in California. OSP reports troopers pulled over a Chevrolet Impala driven by the 49-year-old Prineville man near the intersection of Redwood Highway and Hanby Lane in Cave Junction on Tuesday night. Troopers said they stopped the motorist for several traffic violations and several indicators of impairment were observed. The man was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center where a telephonic search warrant for two vials of his blood was granted and executed. Based on the results of the blood draw, he was arrested. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving, Driving While Suspended and two bench warrants for failing to appear in court. His vehicle was impounded. According to OSP, an investigation is ongoing regarding the hit-and-run collision by CHP.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested an uncooperative motorist for impaired driving this week following a traffic stop near Grants Pass High School. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a black Dodge 4x4 pickup driven by a 22-year-old man near the corner of NE 8th and Olive streets on Tuesday night. Police said they stopped the vehicle because the young driver was doing several burnouts near the intersection of NE 8th and A streets. They said he exhibited signs of impairment, but twice refused to participate in field sobriety tests and requested the presence of an attorney. A search warrant was obtained and the suspect was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw that documented a high level of impairment. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. Due to his uncooperative nature, he was being held without bail. His vehicle was released to a neighbor.

 

Applications are being accepted for a position on the Grants Pass Parks Advisory Committee. This is a three-year appointment. The purpose of the committee is to review and make recommendations to the Grants Pass City Council related to the needs and locations for new parkland and trail locations, park planning, allocation of recreation resources between users, preservation of park resources and funding. The City Council desires to have a balance of viewpoints and demographic representation on the PAC including individuals with interest or experience representing athletic leagues, individuals knowledgeable in natural resource preservation, people involved with recurring park events, frequent park visitors, and individuals who use family-friendly park facilities. Applications can be found at the City Administration Office at 101 NW A Street or online at "grantspassoregon.gov/committee-application." Completed applications must be received before 5 p.m. on Friday, August 2nd.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry has determined that the Upper Applegate Fire was caused by the mowing of dry grass. ODF will continue to investigate the fire and may potentially try to recoup firefighting costs from the unnamed suspect. Firefighters working on the wildfire near Ruch continue to make methodical progress on the incident, bolstering lines over night and mopping up the southern portion of the fire. It remained at 896 acres this morning with 55% containment. Resources have been able to mop up hotspots -- vegetation that is still holding heat -- 35 feet into the fire's perimeter on the fire's south side, bringing mop-up efforts to 10% complete. Firefighters will push to reach 75 feet along that line today. On the northeastern side of the fire, hazard trees -- or snags -- remain a difficult and dangerous challenge to work around. Between the potential of trees falling and the steep terrain, firefighters continue to work as safely as possible. On Tuesday, a firefighter broke a leg while working on a steep slope. The firefighter was carried out by his crew before being met by Rogue Rescue and transported to a hospital. More than 400 personnel are assigned to the fire today including 14 20-person hand crews backed by eight engines, eight water tenders, four bulldozers, two chippers, 10 medical personnel and several managers. Aircraft assigned to the fire include two Type 1 and two Type 2 helicopters as well as an air attack plane for coordination. Evacuation orders put in place by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office remain Level 1 "Be Ready" for Zone JAC-434 and Level 2 "Be Set" for Zone JAC-436. The BLM has issued a closure order for lands it manages in the fire area including Grouse Creek Road.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday adopted an ordinance that paves the way for the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on rural properties. The Board voted unanimously on the second reading of the ordinance that amends the Rural Land Development Code by adding a chapter on ADUs that did not exist before yesterday. The first reading was approved on June 12th. Assistant Legal Counsel Stephanie Nutall testified that ADUs were added to state statutes to increase affordable housing in Oregon. She said ADUs are limited to 900 square feet and they must be located no more than 100 feet from an existing single-family dwelling on rural properties outside the urban growth boundary that are at least two acres in size. In other business, the Board heard from BLM Field Manager Heidi Lowery on the agency's intentions for the Pipe Fork property near Williams. The Commissioners are on the verge of selling the 320-acre forested parcel to a nature conservancy organization and a group from Williams for $2.32 million. The property would then be turned over to the BLM for management. However, the Board expressed concerns about whether the property would be logged and if it would remain open to public access in perpetuity. Lowery told the Board the BLM owns the adjacent property that it is managing as a Research Natural Area to monitor Port Orford Cedar trees for root-rot disease. She said the agency does not plan to log the property and will leave it open to the public unless the disease infects the area or there is some sort of disaster like a fire.

 

Southern Oregon Aspire wrapped up a successful second annual golf tournament fundraiser last weekend, raising over $24,000 to complete renovations at Oregon House. Oregon House is one of the 24-hour residential homes the nonprofit runs in Josephine County to support individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). It is home to five active women who volunteer, work and enjoy living the life they choose in the Grants Pass community. The bulk of the tournament fundraising is earmarked to complete improvements around the Oregon House including $8,000 going toward flooring updates as well as deck repairs and other home improvements. Renovations and repairs have been ongoing, utilizing funds from last year's golf tournament along with grants from the Four Way Community Foundation which has already replaced the fence at the home and provided additional funds for upcoming improvements. Far surpassing the inaugural tournament's $7,000 in profits which were used to complete upgrades at Midstep Apartment Complex, this year's fundraiser continues to further the mission of improving the lives of adults at Southern Oregon Aspire. For more information, please visit "soaspire.org."