Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman on an out-of-state fugitive warrant and for drug possession during a trespassing investigation at Fred Meyer early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a female subject sitting with a man at the store along the Grants Pass Parkway shortly after midnight Monday. Police said 20-year-old Alexandria Sage Bella Donna Millwood returned to Fred Meyer after being trespassed from the store on August 29th. They contacted her and discovered that she was wanted on an unspecified out-of-state felony warrant. During a consent search, Millwood was found to be in possession of a number of drug-related items including foil with burnt resin that field-tested positive as fentanyl. All the items were seized for destruction. Millwood was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus new charges of Fentanyl Possession and Criminal Trespass. She was being held without bail and she was once again trespassed from Fred Meyer.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for driving and drug violations after he crashed his vehicle in the Jerome Prairie area last weekend. OSP reports troopers and emergency crews responded to the single-vehicle wreck near the intersection of Jerome Prairie and Stringer Gap roads on Sunday shortly after 7 a.m.. Troopers said they observed a Buick Lacrosse driven by 39-year-old Joseph Lee Bishop speeding on Jerome Prairie Road. They said the driver continued driving too fast for the conditions until he crashed while trying to negotiate a curve. He told troopers he crashed while trying to avoid a deer in the road. He was not hurt, and his 19-year-old female passenger was evaluated and cleared by medics. According to OSP, drug paraphernalia was in plain view inside the vehicle and a crystal-like substance was located during a consent search. It field-tested positive as methamphetamine and was seized for destruction. Bishop was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Reckless Driving and Meth Possession. His vehicle was impounded.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving following a weekend traffic stop near Murphy. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a Chevrolet Silverado driven by a 52-year-old male subject in the 5200-block of New Hope Road on Sunday at 5:50 p.m.. Deputies said they stopped the Silverado for going 80 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per hour speed zone and the driver displayed signs of impairment. He performed poorly in field sobriety tests, but refused to provide a breath sample so a search warrant was obtained and he 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 and Reckless Driving. His pickup was impounded.

 

During the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, we often see a rise in impaired driving deaths. In fact, recent data shows December impaired driving deaths are the highest in 15 years. Starting tomorrow and running through New Year's Day, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office is increasing DUII patrols to keep the community safe from impaired drivers. The Sheriff's Office and law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon are using federally-funded overtime to increase DUII patrols and educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving. The program is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the Oregon Department of Transportation. Local motorists are reminded this holiday season to "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over."

 

The US Forest Service has announced the agency is accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to assist at-risk communities with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks. Now in its third year, this competitive grant program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Individual grants of up to $250,000 can be used to develop and update community wildfire protection plans while grants of up to $10 million can be used for wildfire resilience projects that implement community wildfire protection plans. The number of projects selected will be determined by available money, which is up to $200 million for this round of funding. Projects must be completed within five years of the award. In the first two years of the program, 45 projects across Oregon and Washington received more than $100 million in funding to develop community wildfire protection plans and implement strategic wildfire mitigation projects, investing millions in the safety of high-risk forest communities across both states. Community Wildfire Defense Grants help provide forest communities and partners thin overstocked stands, create shaded fuel breaks, and develop or update wildfire protection plans to ensure forests and communities are better prepared for and resilient to wildfires.

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is implementing new requirements for development in the regulated floodplain for continued participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides Grants Pass residents discounts on flood insurance. In 2009, FEMA was sued by various environmental agencies which claimed the federal floodplain regulations were not compliant with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) -- and FEMA has been working on resolution since that time. On July 15th of this year, FEMA announced the enforcement of short-term Pre-Implementation Compliance Measures for communities located in the Oregon implementation area that participate in NFIP and have a mapped SFHA while they complete their Environmental Impact Study. The changes are intended to protect 16 endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead species and their habitat by requiring "no net loss" of habitat functions. These functions include flood storage, water quality and riparian habitats. The Grants Pass Community Development Department is drafting a development code text amendment to include these requirements and will be sending out notices to all affected property owners in early 2025.

 

The Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce is once again inviting the community to help spread some holiday cheer this year for people residing in assisted living centers. "Operation Joy" is a program that collects unused Christmas cards. The cards are then given out to individuals, clubs and/or groups to be addressed to participating facilities. Completed cards are returned to the Chamber for delivery. Participating locations include Highland House with 85 residents, Royal Gardens with 80 residents, Oak Lane with 65 residents and Regency Care with 50 residents. Do you have leftover holiday cards? Do you want to make the holidays a little brighter for others? Drop them off and/or pick them up at the Chamber, which is located at 1995 NW Vine Street in Grants Pass.
Completed cards must be returned by December 18th. For more information about Operation Joy, contact Christie Swafford at (541)-226-3101 or e-mail "cswafford@grantspasschamber.org."

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for threatening his wife and stepdaughter while he was highly intoxicated over the weekend. The Police Department reports officers arrested a 56-year-old male subject at a home in the 100-block of Whispering Drive on Saturday shortly after 11 p.m.. Police said the subject placed his wife and adult stepdaughter in fear of imminent serious injury during the incident. They said he threw several items at the women, with one of the items striking the stepdaughter. She was not physically injured. The suspect was located on the 7th green of the Grants Pass Golf Club and placed into custody. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on two counts of Domestic Menacing. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a woman for harassing her mother at a Murphy area residence over the weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested the 45-year-old female subject at or near a home in the 5,000-block of New Hope Road on Saturday around 7:15 a.m.. Deputies said the woman called 9-1-1 several times, initially reporting that her elderly mother beat her up and requesting an ambulance. She said she was injured "everywhere" by her mother, whom she claimed had dementia and for whom she was acting as a caregiver. She yelled profanities at dispatchers before hanging up. A short time later, the subject called 9-1-1 again, stating that her brother stole her car and she was walking down the road naked because she was being threatened. The woman was deemed to be "emotionally disturbed" and "manic" when deputies contacted her and placed her into custody. The suspect kicked at deputies while being placed in the patrol vehicle, but no one was hurt. The suspect was transported to the Josephine County Jail where she was booked for Domestic Harassment and Resisting Arrest.